North Bridge Antiques — Local services in Concord

I have been a customer of North Bridge Antiques (NBA) for the last ~4 years and always stop in when I'm in Concord. Earlier this year, I excitedly planned a trip to Concord to buy a piece of jewelry from them for my 30th birthday. While it shouldn't have to be said, I almost always buy something when I stop in. NBA was one of my favorite antique stores in the greater Boston area until today, when I was disrespected and discriminated against by the people working there. Whether or not they are the owners, this store is represented by stunted, inane women with middle-school emotional intelligence who may attempt to passive-aggressively harass you out of the store if they don't think you can buy anything and/or don't like your presence.

Everything was fine for the first several minutes. I like to take a picture of the pieces I'm interested in so I can review everything at the end, process my options, and re-locate the pieces. I recognize that not every antique store welcomes pictures, but typically, if that's the case, they'll post a sign asking you to refrain from photography or politely, directly tell you their policy. While this method helps me to engage with the antiques, I would comply if told, as I love small businesses and want to contribute to making any environment I enter a respectful, functional one. There are no such signs around the shop, and I've been coming for years and never been informed of this policy. Given the other reviews with images, photographing pieces in the shop appears to be common practice.

As I got closer to the back (perhaps signaling that I was nearing the end of my visit), I started to hear the woman working the shop and another woman hanging around with her (a vendor, I believe) whispering and sensed negative energy directed my way. Not sure if they were intentionally trying to make me hear, or if they're just artless, but I could clearly hear them 1) gossiping about the other vendors in the space, saying things like "Oh, I would never buy from X," and 2) sneering that "she [me] is not going to buy anything, she's just taking pictures!" I was taken aback and kind of in shock. I couldn't believe how unprofessional and like children these women (closer to death than not) were acting both in front of a customer and toward said customer.

I believe they discriminated against me because I am a young woman judged unable to pay for anything and thus an annoyance by very presence. I am a doctor and can/will pay for antiques that interest me, but I look like a young woman, so I guess they thought I deserved to be put in my place. On a previous visit, I once watched an older lady relentlessly haggling with the shopkeeper for ~20 minutes get treated with more patience and dignity than myself today.

When I confronted the woman at the counter and said "I heard you whispering about me, and it made me extremely uncomfortable," she cowered, although did not apologize, and tried some excuses like "we don't allow photography in our store" and "I'm trying to close up" (I left at 4:13pm per the receipt for my last ever purchase at NBA today; they are open til 5pm according to the hours online and the fact that when I walked by the shop 10 minutes later still trying to process, their OPEN sign was up).

I've never encountered as sloppy, unprofessional, and emotionally immature a shopkeeper as the one I encountered today at NBA. This encounter triggered me and ruined my day off in Concord. If anyone with integrity at NBA is reading this, please consider that this person has permanently put me off your business and directly harms the many vendors represented at your shop by disparaging her colleagues in front of customers and harassing said customers out the door.

I find it incredible to encounter such small-minded, miserable people in one of the most concentrated historical seats of great American minds. But then, Henry David didn't go off into the woods and flee Concord center...

This place was an absolute gorgeous treasure trove I will have to come back again!

I would say though that when you have customers who clearly are running some kind of vintage antique business, and they take up whole sections and block whole areas being on their cellphones calling “vendors” and talking quite loudly it makes for a bad experience. One man who was quite large and immovable blocked entire sections while we were here extremely rudely, and no staff ever instructed him to move aside so other paying customers could get around or through.

If we come back and it’s a situation like that where we are standing for 10+ minutes behind customers trying to barter and haggle on the phones with vendors we will save it for another time, it’s simply not a good experience.

Outside of that, the selection was impressive, and one of the best I have come across. This place is a must visit gem in concord and you will want to leave your cumbersome coat or bookbag behind to be careful as to not bump anything due to...

I was looking for a buffet lamp for my dry bar. I did my homework and went across the street to look at lamps. I got attitude there. I'm not an interior designer, nor am I filthy rich. So, I crossed the street and went into this cute antiques store. The owner's taste leans toward classic New England. As I was about to leave, I saw this cute little lamp with a silk shade and a Chinese themed lamp base. I'm so glad I purchased this lamp. It looks great on my dry bar and throws the perfect amount of light. (I replaced the incandescent bulb with a LED.) The price was fair. I really couldn't have...