What clients say about Great Stuff By Paul in Frederick (MD)
Lots of good finds. Mostly furniture or accessories in the 'rough' style e.g. raw wood bowls, buckets,well worn furniture. Bring a coat as the overflow room/space is unheated. Owner is friendly but does not hover/upsell.
So my wife and I decided to go to Paul’s and see what the 50% off was all about. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by Paul and he seemed to have a little bit of an attitude. We ignored it and went on to look at what he had. A lot of the stuff he had was marked really high but it was 50% off. Even with it at 50 % off it was still above retail value. He kept telling us it was wholesale. So we found a couple pieces we liked and made him an offer of less than 50% off because we looked it up online and we found it way cheaper. He told us he doesn’t negotiate prices and said this is a rare piece of furniture from England. I don’t mind paying for an item but he had applied a gloss urethane on the entire piece which totally took away from the value. When I collect items I like them with the original petina not refinished which takes away from the value. He wouldn’t go lower on his price and got a serious attitude and started raising his voice. We decided that this was not a sale as it stated on the front of his building it was a gimmick to get you into the store thinking you are getting a bargain at 50% off. You were actually paying retail after the 50% mark down. Not a deal. My wife and I will definitely not be going back to his place. Bad attitude and doesn’t want to deal.
Wow, I am so relieved that the owner was not rude only to me! The place is full of interesting items but the guy's attitude is extremely off-putting and surprisingly unpleasant. He may be the single rude shop owner in all of Frederick- i have never encountered anything like this! We strolled in by chance while riding our bikes, and the second he realized we were not going to strap one of his 100-year-old chopping block counters on the racks, he stopped mid-sententce, turned around and walked away! That was after making a mean comment about my accent. Wow!
Comments don’t exaggerate his customer service skills. I found the perfect broken rain barrel for a project my sons been asking for and asked him for a price. He said $200 at 50% off. When I got to the register he marked it as $300. I reminded him that wasn’t what he told me. And he said that was for the small ones. It Is NOT what I showed him. I walked out. Multiple people left while I was browsing due to his mannerism. Sad really.
We keep tryingggg to like stuff by Paul but let’s be honest. He’s always running a sale that isn’t really a sale. His building is “always selling” so he pressures you to buy fast. He’s extremely rude and condescending (believe the reviews) and honestly we won’t be back. What a complete and total waste of time. He does have unique items but if you have to interact with Paul, it’s going to be miserable.
I dont know if he is actually dangerous but the owner asks questions like "where are you from" after looking at my name on my BC in an extremely aggressive manner. I have learned the difference between someone asking about city of residence or country of origin. He made a lot of unnecessary comments. I felt a very strong old America vibe here if you know what I mean. Be careful and avoid if possible. He certainly ruined my day!
I just went through the reviews and confirmed my suspension.
Update March 2025: This place is still open. I popped in to browse for a new table and the prices are astronomical. I didn't see a piece of furniture for less than $1000. The pieces are unique, rustic, with an industrial style, but are overpriced.
Sad that this place is closing in September of 2023 because there are many unique pieces in this shop. Definitely recommend stopping by before they close!
The owner is hands down one of the rudest individuals I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. I was yelled at and berated for simply walking around and browsing. When asked if I had ever been there before I said yes many times and he snapped at me and said “yeah right”. They’re closing in August and honestly to that I say good freaking riddance.
Owner is insanely rude. Will pester you, follow you around, and stare at you if you linger too long. Lost his mind when asked if he’d be willing to come down in price on the trash he sells. Old rickety overpriced junk drowned in polyurethane.
This is not an American antiques store!!! They used to be antiques importers, so you'll find original things from all over the world. You'll also find old things repurposed into new things. Everything is always on sale. That's why the sticker prices are so high.
Paul very rude from The moment me and my boyfriend entered the store my family works in antiquities so I was very interested in some of the history of his pieces that he claimed were from 750 years ago China Indo China different places when I simply asked do you have historical papers to back this up? He said no I just went to the country and bought it and I said well then wouldn’t you have paperwork showing that I’m not gonna get into this with you very angrily when I was just trying to verify the actual antiquity of an item He is pricing these items based off of them being an antique from a different country and time period When asked for any evidence or clarification, he becomes very angry and rude. When asked questions about items from Cultures relating to my own ethnicity such as Turkish and Persian he pretended like he had no clue what I was talking about and waved me off
Not sure what these other reviews are spewing about. Went in here today and Paul (the owner) is what made the experience so awesome. Talked our ears off, but in the best way possible. Gave genuine advice, told funny stories, was very easy to chat with. The selection is awesome, maybe some items are a bit overpriced, but a lot of things in the main showroom are custom built and refurbished, with the history behind the items I think it’s worth it. I left the store today without buying anything and with no issue, he wasn’t pushy about sales at all, and welcomed us back anytime. Paul is the OG, put some respect.
Stopped in looking for something in particular. I'm not going to lie, there were some nice and interesting items in the shop but definitely overpriced. I was greeted by an older gentleman who at first was nice. He explained a few things about his inventory and then asked me what I was looking for. I told him and he said he had several in the back. When I explained that I wasn't looking to spend a fortune on a butter churn, he became irritated and basically dismissed me and told me to go look in the back. When I couldn't find what I was looking for I came back towards the front with a picture and he became very agitated and said that he had it but all the pieces were sold separately. He began to rant about the amount of money that I wanted to spend and was extremely rude! When I asked him why he was being so short with me, he told me it was because I was irritating him and wasting his time. I told him he was rude and his attitude was bad for business. From that point he followed behind me to the front door basically yelling goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. I actually did find an item that I was interested in buying, but after the way he treated me I wouldn't spend a dime in his shop. Rudest man I've ever met!
Sort of good selection. The owner is rude, condescending towards minority groups. High prices are not an issue but I just don’t like the feeling that if I am bringing you income, at least treat the customer right. For this, we simply walked out. Looks like the place will be closing soon. Elevated prices may be to compensate losses.
Many poorly crafted fragile imports with a heavy inconsistent varnish. The old man is odd and rude. Seems he can’t have a conversation without humiliating someone, including his customers.
I used to frequent this shop being today would be my last day. The owner is very very rude and tries to pressure you as a sales tactic. When he realizes that you're not going to buy, he's very indignant! All of his pieces are way overpriced and if you try to bargain him on any damaged items he insults you. I was going to make him a bulk offer on items but decided not to based on his behavior! He's been having this closing sale every year as his prices are still in the stratosphere. He will be eating his inventory if he doesn't croak first.
His items are not so great and neither is Paul! A very distasteful and rude owner he is.
Owner was nice to us. I heard him asking another customer when she had planned on buying an item she was interested in......she said when she was ready, she would buy it. He AGAIN asked her Well when?? Very pushy!! Weird stuff in here, it's Not really a normal antique store.
Just called to inquire about selling a nice antique vanity and matching chair. The old man that answered was so rude he immediately cut me off when I was trying to explain what I had and he said "he didn't know what I was saying!" I stated i hadn't finished yet and he proceeded to interrupt by yelling a couple times. Perhaps the signal was bad. Finally he stated "were not buying anything!" and I said okay have a nice day. Then he proceeded to say "well what do you have?...i gotta do this quick" And I stated well if you're not buying anything whatsoever as he plainly put it, then why does it matter what I have? He laughed very rudely and said well maybe I can give you some advice. He said this sarcastically not genuinely trying to help. He was so rude the whole time and kept cutting me off like i was just bothering him. If he didnt have the time to talk not sure why he would answer the phone or not put me on hold or even a call back. Its pretty simple customer service. I used to purchase from here but I will not be going back due to awful personnel that apparently run this place. I just hung up as I couldn't keep speaking to a man who was so disrespectful to customers. After reading multiple reviews I've come across quite a few describing a very rude older man. Not sure why he is still employed unless he is the owner but people are definately not a fan of him.
Beautiful shop with unique furniture and such. Items from India and China as well. We will be back.
Going out of business. All will be closed-gone by October 2023. We stopped in today and got the news. 40% off furniture over $400. Lots of things below 200 are bogo.
very unusual antique shop. It is a large store with many items I have never previously seen being sold. Sizes of items vary from quite large (Asian prayer windows and entrance doors), to very small things. I loved the old stagecoach suitcases. Absolutely worth a visit.
I must say Paul certainly does have some great stuff! ALOT of it! This place was almost like a well organized museum of relics from around the world! It has a very well laid out functional showroom with a huge warehouse behind it, then a scrap yard beyond that. Im usually one looking for potential bargains or furniture to repurpose so unfortunately I mostly struck out here but it was a fun, educational tour of old world wonders. Im no expert on antiques but Paul's to me feels like a place you go if you have an unlimited budget, not a place you plan to barter on.
On a side note they do offer storage of items until you are ready to pick up, paying in full required. Also they have delivery options available through outside contractors. Happy hunting!
What an amazing stop! My husband and I found an antique ladder to use as a blanket ladder and a beautiful round coffee table! We can’t wait to go back!
This place seemed like it had a lot of "great stuff" and we were excited to look around; but as soon as we walked in, we were stopped at the door by an elderly gentleman who informed my husband that his face covering was not acceptable. My husband's face shield, which currently IS acceptable as a face covering, covered his entire face, but this guy wearing a bandana as a mask told him, "You know that doesn't count as a mask, right?" And would not let us in until he checked with Paul. No thanks. Educate yourself before you turn people away for stupid reasons.
502 N East St, Frederick, MDTowing service
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