Historic Burlington Antiques and Art Emporium — Local services in Burlington

Been going here for YEARS with no issues, but our experience has drastically changed.

Upon walking in we were neither greeted with a "good day/good morning" and instead we were immediately ordered to leave our one small bag at the front desk. (bag just large enough to store a phone, some medicine, and a small purse)

Not sure why this was necessary, if the goal was to prevent theft then why not utilize all the security cameras that are bolted to every beam and rafter within the building? In addition to this, after relinquishing our possessions we noticed that every other patron walking the building was allowed to keep theirs bags (ones that were big enough to smuggle a small child in). Clearly we were profiled and profiled quickly without a moments hesitation..

While attempting to browse the goods up for sale we were being followed/watched like chicks by a mother hen. Any item we touched was quickly inspected moments after we walked away.

This observation combined with the extortionate prices of most of the items within the store spoiled the experience and we left after about 20 min of walking around. (Things used to be reasonable, but now it seems prices have doubled, a response to the pandemic I suppose)

Perhaps it was an off day, perhaps there was an issue/situation prior to our arrival which led to this experience, but sufficed to say it felt wholly inappropriate.

Still, a fun and interesting place to go on a rainy day when it isn't being managed by...

Our visit here yesterday was surprisingly disappointing. When we first came in the store a lady helped us choose a few items from locked cases and told us that everything in the store was 10% off. After spending about 2.5 hours there going through every booth and display in the scorching heat, we found many things we wanted to purchase. At check out, the manager rang everything up without the discount. When we inquired about it she could only complain about having to "re-ring" everything and said that we had to let her know about the discount ahead of time. If you are the manager, don't you know that everything in your location is on sale and all customers should be afforded that offer? Because she made such a big deal about it and refused to fix the problem, we simply left leaving several hundreds of dollars of merchandise behind. This woman could have very easily resolved the situation and in addition she would have generated more income for her location because we saw several other items we wished to purchase in the near future. We do not recommend this location. Why be in the customer service industry if you are not going to treat your customers with kindness and appreciation? We would appreciate a conversation with the owner...

Another reviewer said this was a small place. Not sure if she was thinking of one of the other antique places right around there, but this place is by no means small. Per the website, they've got over 65 vendors and 14,000 square feet. Admittedly, I didn't measure the place, but the number of vendors is easily accurate. We spent a good 1.5 hours in here and were rushing towards the end (they were closing). The day we visited there had been an event (we missed it), so there were snacks for sale and complimentary coffee. The coffee is offered daily, however. With so many vendors, prices and items vary quite a bit, but there were plenty of affordable items to balance out the more expensive pieces. I left WITH a pair of ladies gloves and WITHOUT a set of kitchen canisters that match my salt and pepper shakers (I was practicing self restraint). I did get a...