Carnival of Collectables — Local services in Winslow Township

First, I am not the type of person that likes to write reviews. To that end, my wife and I have frequented this place in the past. The store is spacious and it has a lot of interesting items, that are moderately priced. However, the problem here is their policy to aggressively go up to a customer, corner them and ask to hold the perceived items that may be purchased at the counter. Moreover, this discretionary policy is very prejudicial, as I noticed that type of discretion was not applied to any of the Caucasians customers. I approached the counter and proceeded to pay for the items, but I commented to the clerk, and manager/owner that they made me feel very uncomfortable with their discriminatory policy and how I was treated. {Reader please note, that they have a 40-inch monitor with multiple cameras (at least 16) right by front counter.} Their response was that that is their policy and that I am just another one acting like a victim. Needless to say, that based on that response, I am not the only one that they have done that to and it seems that they have perfected the art of acting aloof about their profiling practices. Additionally, they tried to reverse the script by propositioning that I am the one with the problem. As a customer, I should not have to feel like I am walking on egg shells when I go into a store, since its livelihood depends on hard working people like me, to spend their hard-earned money on vintage trinkets and nostalgia pieces. I felt disrespected, and devalued as a human being, and all they could say is that I am the one with the problem. I am not ranting or trying to be malicious. I am a veteran, and a college graduate, with a post graduate degree. To this day, GOD has blessed me with a job which affords me and my family with a comfortable middle class life style. So as, they say, this is not my first, rodeo folks. However, racism has no bounds. Thus, if you are an ethnic minority or a person of color, beware this is not the place for us. In sum, I am quite certain that the owner will try to discredit my statement, but they know what they did, they have the cameras, and what they did is wrong. It is evil and evil must be confronted and exposed for what it is.I gave them one star, but they did not ...

There's some cool stuff here and not so interesting stuff; a mix of genuinely rare and old things mixed with new, not so rare stuff. It's mostly decorations and aesthetic items with a handful of somewhat practical items like furniture and old tools. Apparently this antique mall works by renting out space to individual vendors. Each section has different stuff put out by each person that is renting the space, there's paintings, toys, modern action figures, sports cards, coins, figurines, records, some generic old house hold items, statues, posters, etc. It's pretty much like any other thrift shop/antique store.

The worst part about this place is the prices; many items are listed for more than they cost online on eBay. Some vendors list their entire lot on sale, so for example everything in one section would be a flat 15 percent off; I tried to make an offer on an individual item and asked an employee there to potentially relay the offer to the vendor. The item was listed for $70, everything in that section was 15 percent off so it would've been 60 and I tried to make an offer of 50 bucks. The staff wouldn't work with me on the price even though the exact item is listed on eBay for $55 and the item in the store is chipped/damaged and negotiations went no where. There are items there listed for three grand and if the staff were making a fuss over 10 bucks there's no way I'm going to spend thousands of dollars here. In another section there was a Bruce Springsteen album for $10, you can get the same record for $1 at Goodwill or online.

If you're okay with overpriced stuff then this might be a good place to buy some things. There are a handful of things that's listed for reasonable prices but most of the stuff is overpriced, you're probably better off going to the Berlin Mart on the weekends down the street, or check out the many Goodwill and salvation army in the area. Literally next door is another flea market type space that's open on the weekends where you can get pretty much the same stuff and you get to interact with the actual vendors and you can at least try to haggle. Other than that it's a neat space with...

Oh my gosh...how had I missed this place? My husband & I ventured there for the first time 2 weeks ago, (and then again LAST weekend....lol) and it was GREAT! We spent a few hours just perusing...everything including vintage toys, jewelry, linens, retro holiday decor, vintage & antique housewares, oddities....you name it, they had some of it. That being said, if you're in the market for a high end Queen Anne High Boy, this is unlikely to be your spot. It's a wonderful place to go during the cold winter months, when the usual outdoor markets are closed. Most prices were VERY reasonable, too, and a lot of the vendors were having significant sales of 20 to 40% off. Everyone working there has been super pleasant , too, even when we were closing the place down...lol! Well worth the 35...