Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromBill B

  Date: 10/29/2024

  1 star

  Bill B

  Date: 10/29/2024

  This company will make you sign a written agreement before taking on your product and will have no qualms about breaking their own contract. I signed up to have my antique chairs consigned at their store for 90 days. It was in the agreement agreed to by both parties. Weeks before the 90 days was up, I was contacted by the owner and told to come pick up my chairs because they wanted to rearrange their store for the holidays. You have to give the Velvet Plum $15 up front as a "registration fee" that should entitle you to expose your product the full 90 days. If they change their mind, they think they can arbitrarily call you up and demand that you come get your product. The owner said if I didn't come pick them up well before the agreed up expiration date that she would take my chairs off the floor and put them in storage! Is that fair? In the Signed contract, the owner also stipulates that The Velvet Plum "will not contact the consignor regarding any account matters including inventory status, e.g. item is sold, has been marked down, is near expiration, has expired, etc." So why did they contact me in violation of the contract that they wrote? The contract also calls for them to mark down the item for sale 20% every 30 days that it doesn't sell. They never marked my chairs down once. Why, I don't know. Unless I had physically gone to their store on a typical week day, I would never had known they were closed at least one full day and maybe more. It is hard to sell anything when you close your store during normal hours. They are also very short-staffed and advertise they are looking for full or part-time help. Many companies face this same problem but at least remain open, All in all, my experience with the Velvet Plum was very negative. It is not how customers should be treated and just because you have a contract with them, don't think it provides you with any assurances or that they will live up to what they say. They didn't with me.

  The Velvet Plum Vintage & Consignments

  Date: 10/30/2024

  I was very surprised to read the information that Mr. ****** submitted to the BBB in regards to my shop and his experience. I would like to clear the air with the truth behind his complaints. This shop has been in business and doing things the same way since day one. We have an account fee, which is standard in the consignment business, to open an account. We try to consign for 90 days, sometimes a bit longer, sometimes a bit shorter, depending on the items and the availablity of space in our shop. Mr. ****** insisted his 2 chairs were of very high value. Emailing me his strong opinion, and that of someone else from several years ago. Some antiques hold their value, others do not. His chairs did not get one second glance in my shop. Not one person sat in them, looked at them, or asked about them. It was time for them to go, and find another place to try to sell. I emailed Mr. ****** 2 weeks prior to the end of his 90 day consignment period, asked him to please make arrangements for pic up since there was no interest. He insisted on a date that was not going to work for my shop. I asked him to pick up one day last week. He picked up his items. Mr. ****** and I went back and forth prior to him bringing in his items regarding price , as I wanted him to understand how the consignment process worked. He stated he needed a certain amount from the sale. I did him a favor and did not mark the chairs down, so he could get his price if they sold. He was well aware that I was accomodating his request. I have emails to prove our conversations. As for our open days, we have been closed Mondays, since we started our business, this should not have been a surprise to Mr. ******* Most small businesses on the square are closed Mondays. We are NOT short staffed. We are looking for additional holiday help, as most businesses do at this time of year to help us through a busy time. His gross exaggeration of his view is definitely incorrect and I believe he was hurt his chairs did not sell, as he felt they were very special items. Thats ok, but to contact the BBB and over exaggerate his experience only hurts small businesses. We have great consigners and customers. Thanks for listening and reviewing my response.