Chapeau Vintage Market — Local services in Arezzo

One important part of living in Castiglion Fiorentino has always been to support local businesses wherever possible; I have always thought that small businesses to be the heart of local economies

However in the case of this business; the phrase "Caveat subscriptor" ( seller beware) is very important . As is reading reviews here - which sadly came too late for me.

Having asked these people to act in selling our chattels - following the sale of our home here, we entrusted to them to sell furniture, orniments etc, thinking it was a prudent choice .

How wrong and disappointing this decision turned out.

Most items ( I believe) have been sold. But having temporarily moved away from here, communications were difficile and not regular. We did receive an interim payment after 7 months or so, and made various requests over successive months (and year), for an updated account - and further payments. The excuse seemed always to be "I need to do the accounts" which surely any business does daily or at least once a week. But no. The same excuses - and time have passed. The sale of these goods has not been top of our priorities to follow up; we had thought the odd / regular reminders requesting a statement and payment would trigger some action ( then leaving it again until the next time we passed by the shop)

Imagine then, that the direct contact we had a few days ago resulted in this business refusing to pay anything and referring us to the contract (see below), has refused to give us OUR money based on said contract. That might be fine in law, but morally? And in any event the caveats used surely are irrelevant given that we have constantly and gently requested updates; receiving only promises of "yes, I'm dealing with it.

The words charlatan, swindler and dishonest come to mind as well as down right thievery. Yes I do appreciate the legal contractual obligations of both parties, but given our continuous gentle reminders and enquiries of progress, one would have thought there was (also) a moral contract between us and that the money she has earned (50% commission), would be sufficient and that her duty was to pay up now.

So, dear reader - please be aware. Ask questions. Demand regular updates and interim payments. Do not be fogged off by delays, excuses and belligerence.

Otherwise, give everything to charity and then sleep well knowing you have helped another local , who might appreciate a helping hand

Good luck.....

the relevant part of the contract:

I acknowledge that any right to collect credits relating to objects sold in my name and on my behalf expires 365 days after the first day of availability for collection of the credits themselves, as defined in point 3 (art. 2964 of the...

If you like thrift store shopping don’t walk run to this venue. I have visited my fair share of Mercatino Dell Usato in Tuscany and none compare to this one! Chock full including a downstairs vintage clothing section. I saw the most true vintage under one roof than in all the shops in Siena combined. I am usually disappointed in other shops because of the amount of what I fondly call Granny antiques. While this may be desirable for some I am on the mid century MOD hunt for sure. Found a great candelabra perfect for the patio this summer sold cast iron for 25 euros! We...

Il giorno che ho conosciuto la proprietaria Cecilia, le mie prime impressioni, sono state molto incoraggianti, utili e professionali.

Ed è qui che finiscono le lodi (o le impressioni).

Decisi quindi di affidarle tanti oggetti carini e mobili antichi di valore.. Purtroppo però, quando si tratta di riscuotere il venduto la proprietaria non si fa più sentire.

Senonché dopo sette mesi senza ricevere alcune notizie decisi di mandarle un messaggio per chiedere un rapporto sullo stato di avanzamento della vendita dei mobili, cosa che la proprietaria avrebbe dovuto fare mandandomi una mail o raccomandata che purtroppo non ho mai ricevuto.

Questo è un tradimento totale della fiducia. Far finta di niente.

La mia raccomandazione è semplice: recatevi da un vero professionista, dove otterrai il giusto valore per i tuoi oggetti e cosa importante: ricevere il denaro...