Review of Carolina Antique Mall ~ Cameron Village, Raleigh NC, by H. Kent Craig

Review of Carolina Antique Mall ~ Cameron Village

2060 Clark Ave. (Lower Level)
Raleigh, NC 27605
919-833-8227

by
H. Kent Craig
©1999

The Carolina Antique Mall is, at first blush, just another nameless, faceless collection of anonymous dealers paying their monthly rent to an antique mall collective. But on second blush, after you spend an hour or two wandering the aisles so narrow and cramped in places that two people passing each other sometimes have to turn sideways; after the odor, the combined smells of all the antiques and collectibles and historical items permeate your nostrils; and after the thrill of the hunt is further enjoined by having to poke up and under and around all the delightful nooks and crannies within, you get the sense that this place is a place for reborn synergistics more than an old energy sink like many of its contemporaries.

The ratio of genuine antiques to collectibles to newer stuff and reproductions is around 65%/30%/5%. A tiny handful of fakes and forgeries are present, scattered like cowbird eggs among the nests of genuine articles sorry to have to report, but there aren't any more or less than one would expect from such a diverse and eclectic collection of over a hundred different non-resident dealers.

Prices are spread over a wide range, from 50% below typical street values to 50% over same. The reason I'm giving Carolina Antique Mall a "C" rating instead of a nearly-deserved "B" one is this disparate range of price and value ranges. Of course, as with any antique mall structure, all of the hundred dealers are free to set their own prices to whatever they think the market will bear, which accounts for much of the wide non-market pricing on either side of typical street pricing. That said, while you might luck up on a bargain in whatever speciality you collect for, especially since it's a royal pain to try to bargain with a given dealer (again the antique mall protocols, you would typically have to get a dealer's name and number from the clerk at the check-out, contact them directly and negotiate a lower price, etc.), for all intents are purposes you're more likely to find an item over market value than under it.

Don't let the spread of pricing scare you away. Let the variety of antique furniture, china, crystal, Victoriana, jewelry, linens, clothing, tools, silverware, magazines, phonograph records, etc., entice you into a visit. Even for just a quick run-through, be prepared to take at least an hour, or two hours plus for a more thorough scouting of all the dealers' booths. I guarantee you'll find something that will tickle your fancy, whether the price for that tickle is worth it or not will depend on mostly on luck.

While you're there, do yourself a favor and visit the smaller and more intimate Antiques Emporium which is on the second floor area directly above them. Click on this Yahoo!Maps button to bring up a location map for both of them, thank you!

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