Iron Horse Antiques — Local services in Manassas

The store was charming and had many beautiful things. My husband and I are antique collectors so browsing these types of shops is one of our favorite weekend activities. This was our first time visiting Iron Horse Antiques since we are rarely in the Manassas area.

My husband took interest in a small bench near the entryway that ended up not being for sale. The NSF tag was folded over, so he didn’t notice it at first.

When he asked the cashier about it, she was very abrupt (borderline aggressive) with him. We were a little taken aback by how unpleasant she was. You typically don’t encounter that type of attitude in shops like this. Most people are warm and enjoy chatting with customers about the various pieces. Many shops also entertain offers or at least have a bit more finesse in how they communicate.

My husband liked the bench quite a bit, so he didn’t see any harm in asking about it. We’ve acquired many things over our years collecting that initially were not for sale or were display pieces that the owners later decided to sell.

My husband understood and respected the fact that the bench wasn’t currently for sale, but he did ask if he could leave his name and number just in case the owner ever did decide to sell it. The employee refused.

This shop is lovely to peruse, but do not expect an engaging or pleasant interaction if this person is working.

After leaving, we stopped by another shop in the area, and the man there was extreme welcoming – completely the opposite of the girl working at Iron Horse. He greeted us, let us know he was available for questions, and that anything in the shop was negotiable. This is more consistent with the experience we typically have while out antiquing. If you don’t want to interact with shoppers, then perhaps don’t work in a shop?

Response to the shop owner: Thank you for replying. We visited on Sunday the 15th around lunchtime. There were two employees behind the checkout area. A gentleman, who seemed very nice, and the girl we spoke about in our review. She had curly red hair. We simply asked to leave our name and number IF at some point in the future the benches might be for sale. She refused saying she knew the owner “very well.” Her tone was pretty arrogant. Maybe she is the owner -- who really knows. In any event, we weren’t asking about her relationship with the owner or for her to speak on behalf of someone else. We simply wanted to pass along a message. I can't understand why she was so difficult...

its okay I particularly wouldn’t go out of my way again to go here! I was looking for vintage or antique plates with pastel colors and florals for inspiration for painting but everything they had was just old looking without any class. it seems like everything was very picked through. furthermore that day I purchased a ring that I didn't notice till I got outside was fake opal glued and broken. fixing the lighting would be nice that way I can SEE what I’m buying. I didn’t bother to go back inside for a return b/c it clearly said all sales are final. I don’t appreciate those types of practices so for that reason I will not return. It was a waste of time. Things should be honest if something is a fake stone and repaired it should say so. I even asked before buying, “is this real opal” I was told it was. when I saw the ring in the light outside* and gobs of glue falling out of the sides of the ring, it really upset me! I don’t wear things with gobs glue on it. At this point, I’m just going to throw it away because when I see it, it just annoys me! I get it antiques are old, but there’s nothing useful or remotely interesting about your store. It’s full of things that have no intrinsic...

This is a lovely antique store with a wide variety of wares to browse, I was quite impressed by the establishment as a whole. However I found my experience overall a terrible one. Upon entering the building I was overwhelmed by a rancid fecal-matter smell which permeated the entire building. I tried to ignore the awful smell and enjoy the many shelves filled with beautiful antiques but no matter where I went the smell followed. Come to realize it was radiating off of an EMPLOYEE. An older woman with bangs. Everytime she walked passed me the smell was so strong I nearly gagged. Surely she must have had an accident and neglected to clean herself. Honestly I found this very distracting and unprofessional. It greatly impacted my...