The Velvet Shoestring & The Velvet Shoestring Too — Attraction in Williamsburg

We have used The Velvet Shoestring to buy and sell furniture over the years, with good results, but today was the last day that we will be supporting this local business. We walked into the store at 4:50 to look for a bedside table set. We knew full well they closed at 5:00 and had no intention of staying past business hours. We were greeted by an older lady who said “Hello”, looked at her watch and then said “Hurry up!”

Well that was an easy request because it took one quick lap around the store to see that most of the items they had were junk and overpriced. It’s usually hit or miss there as far as inventory goes but today was a real miss. We were out of there by 4:56 and we will not be returning. The drive across town was a waste of our time and to have to deal with an attitude on top of that was just unacceptable. This place has gone down the tubes since we began using them years ago. Luckily there are other consignment shops in the area that have better offerings and much better customer service.

**As a side note I have always dealt with the younger ladies working there in the past and they have all been pleasant. I am not sure if this was the owner or not but her attitude today lost this business 2 customers for life and hopefully more after people read...

After seeing their attractive listings of decorative items on Facebook, I was curious. I had first asked for prices online after seeing something I might like and was quickly told their items "sold too fast "to bother to note pricing online. In my mind, if you have time to post a picture you can mention a price, right?( Recently they have shown some pricing with photos, guess I helped make a change! ..) So I decided to drive the hour to see this shop, I love second-hand n consignment stores, where great bargains can sometimes be found. It's always hit or miss..but its fun to shop for them! The store is neat and well kept, their merchandise seems in good shape too. In my view, there wasn't a huge range of styles, and while the furnishings were abundant and in better condition than most similar stores, I felt something was missing. Just like my online experience, the staff, in my view, felt a bit cool, and a bit less than attentive. The store appeared active, and a few items looked interesting, though a mix of older and newer wasn't clearly noticeable to the shopper. If you're looking for a good quality second hand.. this could be your place, if you're looking for unusual or different/ exciting pieces, maybe not. Suggestion, Try it...

This is a nice, somewhat large consignment store but in my opinion is just too expensive. I saw many nice items, although nothing unusual, but everything I saw was much higher than I expected it to be, except for 2 items. One was a very small short and chipped marble pedestal for a bit more than $100 and a statue I already own they had for $79. I also saw it in Richmond for $135 recently so I guess $79 is cheap. My mother got it years ago at a garage sale. A painting I liked was $600. Everything I saw seemed to be hundreds. Williamsburg has a reputation as an overpriced tourist destination, so maybe that explains the prices. A very similar consignment store in Greater Richmond has I think a better selection of items and is more reasonably priced. I wouldn't stop in this...