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| - I found this place, quite by accident, during a recent trip to Phoenix, and although I went in with no expectation of finding anything I needed, I did walk out with a bargain.
I walked several of the aisles of locked glass cases, and the concept is great, particularly I know from having checked out many of these malls (in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Tennessee) that shoplifting is a problem in them. That may be why a lot of them just don't last--the sellers just decide the return isn't sufficient to offset the shiplifting. The glass cases at BA alleviate that problem for some of the sellers. However, it does make decision-making to buy an item difficult without being able to hold the item---and the delay for getting the keys to a particular case may have an influence on the mental toss-up about buying an item.
I like the open booths better, I think. There is much more space for things and one is able to touch and handle the items. And I lucked out. I found an item that I considered buying, and the lady who owned the booth was there, we talked for several minutes, and she discounted my item more than the 15% she was offering. I was tickled, and came home with another piece of antique crystal for my collection.
As in all antique malls, items tend to be overpriced, which is why one sees so many 10% or 25% or half off signs on the booths--because the sellers know that people will buy things at a discount, even if the discount drops the price down to the true value of the item. People are funny that way.
I'll go back to Brass Armadillo, probably. It is all the way across Phoenix from where I usually stay, but I think it's worth the trip, even just as a place to kill a few hours.
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