Pennsbury- Chadds Ford Antique Mall — Local services in Pennsbury Township

A really lovely place, but this place has an UNLAWFUL policy in place that, while having good intentions, is improperly executed, and this business should in have their Visa and Mastercard Merchant status revoked.

Over the past 6 years I have spent more than one million dollars across 20 states on glass and dishware in antique stores and estate sales, as I am a wholesaler to a major corporation of these items. Only 4 times have I ever been asked to produce a photo ID when checking out. Twice I was using my own card, and 2 times I was using my business partners credit card. The second most recent time in Ohio they simply understood when I presented both of our business cards and explained my handicapped business partner was not with me.

But here at Pennsbury Antique mall, the cashiers absolutely refused to even swipe the card before seeing a photo ID to match the card. Despite explaining my business partner is handicapped and stayed home and they can speak to them, it was an absolute refusal.

Just so the business owner here knows, ASKING FOR ID AS A CONDITION OF PURCHASE IS PROHIBITED BY VISA AND MASTERCARD. The Visa I presented was SIGNED and was fully valid, so according to Visa and my rights under Pennsylvania Consumer Law, they had NO grounds to refuse my payment. I use to work in Loss Prevention in retail and I know for a fact that Merchant Card Processing Systems will prompt a cashier to Check the ID or the digits on the card, or prompt other various security checks IF THE CARD WARRANTS SUCH! Modern day security features exist on credit and debit cards for EXACTLY THIS REASON because it is not a cashier's job to play cop or understand how someone's life operates.

Texas is the ONLY state in the country where a merchant may require ID as a condition of purchase at a retail store. They can institute this policy on Discover and American Express cards, but I will be filing a formal complaint against this business for Visa and Mastercard to investigate their practices. I am legitimate business man who spends a lot of money at small businesses and I do not appreciate being treated like a criminal, especially after offering up my own photo ID, business cards, and I have a business license and tax exempt certificate if they had any interest in seeing any legal documents, or they could have spoken on VIDEO to the cardholder themselves if they wouldn't have been so adamant about their improper policy.

I do plan on returning to the business to

a) buy more amazing, high quality items from a store of lovely vendors who do not deserve to have their business limited like this, and

b) to update this review to let the public know if they have reversed out their improper policy or if I end up having to file a complaint with the AG.

All the people who work here are very lovely, and it is such a shame that a great co-op of a business has this dark cloud of suspicion hanging over them that is pushing away paying customers.

I'm all for protecting yourself, but you can't go so far as to alienate legitimate, paying customers and place every single transaction under an invasive and illegal policy just because you were a victim...

We really like looking around this place for a few hours at a time and I’m in love with the Wyeth family’s artwork so this place provides immensely!The fossil area downstairs is reminiscent of a museum, too, which makes for an interesting time. I just saw a recent review about store employees at antique stores being colder to younger shoppers and while I have personally found this to be true elsewhere many times, we haven’t had an issue here. My husband and I were even told at one store in northern PA how unusual it is for us young ppl to be interested in “these types of things,” so I empathize with the previous reviewer. Mind you, this was as I was explaining to the man what a stereoscope was and he even worked there! Granted it was explained to ME by an older man a few years ago and I purchased one right away and haven’t looked back since, so in that case I’m not mad just disappointed that assumptions are often made so quickly. The reason I mention this, though, is bc Pennsbury-Chadds Ford Antiques has an amazingly large selection of stereoscope cards most of the time. I appreciate the times I’ve had the employees here pull out bins and patiently wait for me to look at each card. The only reason I’ve rated 4 stars and not 5 is that I bought a large Moravian star candle display a few years ago specifically bc it was in a sale area nestled amongst a bunch of Christmas items claiming that Christmas-related decor was 15% off. Despite this, the woman at the counter downstairs refused to do the discount bc she said that it was not a Christmas item. I’m not Moravian personally, but it was my understanding that it is a symbol frequently used for Christmas celebrations and if you google it, the first few links are to buy Christmas lights specifically in that shape and by the name. But really, it was a two dollar discount so in the end it’s not enough for me to never come back. In fact the pros outweigh any small cons here and I have bought some items that would’ve been extravagantly high prices elsewhere. My favorite being a large hand-painted folding screen for about $20! EDIT: Changing stars from 4 to 5 bc on second thought, bc this place is deserving of 5 stars as stores of much lesser quality containing much more unreasonable ppl have pretty high reviews and I feel this one should stand...

My girlfriend found the engagement ring she wanted here. It was in a display case right near the entrance. Price was $2000, unmarked, no information, was not marked “FIRM” on price. Claimed it was Emerald, Diamond, and Platinum. I wanted to make an offer and they told me that they had no contact info for the seller. What a lie, how can you have items in consignment and have no contact with the seller. I questioned the rings authenticity and wanted paperwork or proof. So we went downstairs (how convenient) to the antique shops own jewelry store and they tested the jewelry. Told me exactly what I wanted to hear. I only purchased the ring because my girlfriend said it was the one. But to lie to me and tell me it’s impossible to contact the sellers about their products is just poor service. They value their profit that much they won’t let anyone make offers. Even if 90% of the store’s items should’ve been thrown away instead of stocking...