Zelma's Emporium — Local services in New Oxford

I visited twice here recently; the first visit the lady at desk couldn't have been nicer and when she saw that i was looking at jewelry, she suggested I look upstairs to an area with a sale on jewelry....she described the location of the booths with the sale....she then must have sent her husband and co-owner up....because he appeared there when i got up there... he was very pressuring and pushy; he said he had purchased the jewelry collections of an x-dealer there...after looking through case after case and space after space of jewelry that was not my market and was not the type of vintage/antique jewelry that i buy/collect, i only found 1 piece....this seemed to anger this man who became rude and he remarked, "yeah i sure will get rich with this sale....especially after buying up all this jewelry...." I left there and purchased nothing because of that kind of stalking and pressure attitude. I like to shop and peruse without pressure! Second time I decided to give it another try and avoided jewelry looking instead at old books on the second floor and found a large and old unbound book, in space #76...it didn't have a price but was very interesting so took it down to front desk to inquire about the price and purchase; while the lady was looking up the dealer of the item, before she could a man came up grabbed it and said, "Oh....I have seen these they are worth hundreds of dollars...." I replied, " Really?....It is missing its cover and the pages are degraded and disintegrated..." The lady said, "... OH... that's the "book guy". dealer # 344 or some number like that..." To which I asked if she could call the dealer for a price...she said , "Oh...no he is out of the country..." To which I replied, smiling, "....Its the 21st century international phone calls are freely available by cell phone..." Then the the guy walked over grabbed part of the book and said, "... I am looking this up online for a price..." I insisted....why don't you just contact the dealer who owns the book for a price, for me....I also sell on eBay some items on eBay are listed for a higher price due to the cost of listing on eBay and for PayPal services...but many dealers rather than wait 2 years for a sale or pay the cost of selling online will sell at a much lower price for a sale....to which the lady at the desk did something unprofessional and unforgivable,...she leaned in to me and said, "...Oh no we are not contacting that (book owner/dealer) guy...he is a ":Whack Job" he thinks he knows everything...." Shocked at her remarks and wondering why a dealer paying for space there should be treated with such disrespect ....and knowing why the place is always empty and without many customers or dealers! Their behavior was unprofessional, greedy, and dishonest....I feel very bad for the dealers paying rental fees and commissions , only to be trashed and violated behind...

Nice place with a broad selection. The pricing suggests the antique dealers haven't figured out demand for their stuff is low and it's a buyers market - but still a great place to shop for unique things. Lots to see. I stop in every couple months to try and find something interesting to buy...for the right price (that's the challenge...pricing).

have been back several times - have been able to make offers and buy - so that has been good. I recommend this place -...

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this store and will definitely add it to my list of places to frequent throughout the year. It is much larger on the inside that one would first expect, and it is filled with quality, authentic primitive antiques from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. Due to the nature of the items sold here, prices are on the steeper side, but many of the items are so unique and one-of-a-kind at this point in time that the higher prices are to...