James D B.
Yelp
After living in Ithaca off and on for nearly 30 years, I have never been so thoroughly disrespected by a local business as I was by Mimi's Attic. I am not one to post bad reviews, and I am not a keyboard warrior, but I am still seething about an especially unpleasant experience I had dealing with this business and its staff. Earlier this year, I consigned four items from my late father's house (2 dressers, a writing desk, and a table). Three of the items sold relatively quickly, but the final item, a cherry chest of drawers, took longer to sell. I was traveling to and from Ithaca from Austin and was busy dealing with what was left of my father's estate. Admittedly I didn't keep track of the pickup date as closely as I should have. About 2 weeks after the pickup date I realized that I still hadn't heard anything about whether the final item had sold, so I gave the shop a call to inquire. I spoke to Ian on the phone, and was told that the chest of drawers still hadn't sold and that I could come to pick it up. I said "OK, I am thinking about coming by tomorrow (Monday, May 6th) to take it back". Before hanging up, Ian said "OK, but if it had sold before we talked, we wouldn't have been required to compensate you for the item." This gave me a bad feeling, and I decided that I shouldn't wait until tomorrow. So, I went to the store less than two hours after speaking on the phone to pick up the chest of drawers. To my utter disbelief and shock, I saw that the Cherry chest of drawers had a sold sticker with a note that stated it was a "phone order." I immediately went to the front desk and told the person at the cash register that I was here to pick up my check and a consigned item that didn't sell. The cashier checked their notes, and with a confused look and told me that they needed to talk to somebody. They brought over Ian (the same person I had spoken to on the phone) who told me that the dresser had sold in the two hours since we had spoken on the phone. Keep in mind that the dresser hadn't sold in the 2.5 months it was in the store and then somehow miraculously sold in the span of 2 hours of us agreeing for me to pick it up. I reminded them that we had just spoken on the phone and that I had told them that I was coming in to pick up the item. Ian went on to say that I had seemed unsure about picking it up and that, anyway, it was already past the pickup date and they had a buyer so they had to honor the sale. I kept my cool, and said ok but can you at least honor our agreement and give me the 40% of the sales price that I am owed, which Ian refused. My partner and I tried to reason with them, explaining that I had called ahead, that the item was still in the store, that we were traveling, that the item being sold was part of my late father's estate and we never (not even once) received a reminder of the pickup date. Ian explained that they couldn't pay me my share today even if they wanted to because they need to wait for the buyer's payment to process. To which I said that I could come back in a day or two to pick up the check. Ian immediately backpedaled and said that they still weren't going to give me any compensation for the chest of drawers. At this point I was so fed up and angry that I couldn't stand another second of speaking to them. After they cut me my check for the three items that had sold, I turned and left without saying another word. My family and I have probably done thousands of dollars of business with the store since it opened on State St years ago. Mimi's advertises itself as a consignment shop, which means they should feel obligated to make a good faith effort to compensate and notify consigners. Ever since it was bought by new owners, they have offered poor compensation, and even poorer customer service and communication. Beyond this, it is clear that they conspire against their own patrons and will attempt to cheat them at the first opportunity. It is truly a shame how a local business that used to pride itself on its quirkiness, fair dealings, and good taste has descended into perfidy and greed.