Mystical Voyages
Aug. 13th, 2008 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badstarSo I made it up to Mystical Voyages in White Marsh on Saturday, after hearing for what, two years now how great the place was. I wouldn't have made it up there this week were it not for making up an appointment with the therapist.
Can't really say that I thought it lived up to any great hype. It was another new agey-pagan store, though larger than most. not much in the way of books, but lots of tarot decks (and a sample copy of most if not all of the decks for sale so you could look at the whole deck before buying it. That was kinda cool.) Their selection of statuary was impressive, but what really struck me overall were their prices on well, almost everything. Holy markups batman.
I realize that independent stores have to mark their prices up more to turn enough profit to stay afloat. But...whoa. A lot of their statues were literally twice or more the price that I've seen them elsewhere. Their rocks were also largely extremely expensive. Fifty dollars for a large citrine crystal? I bought one of similar size and quality- from another independent store- for maybe ten dollars. Ten dollars for a little piece of blue apatite? Twenty-five for a small polished labradorite? Yeah....
The combination of being so high-priced and out of the way doesn't make this a particular shopping attraction for me. I'll stick to Grandma's Candles on Saratoga, thanks.
Though the lemonade in the café was really good. actual lemonade from actual lemons, not a powdered mix. They make it unsweetened and let you put your own sweetener in it, including providing some sort of, as the lady there called it "raspberry goo" that tasted really good in it. The lemonade was actually reasonably priced too and $2...not sure how big but it was decent.
Can't really say that I thought it lived up to any great hype. It was another new agey-pagan store, though larger than most. not much in the way of books, but lots of tarot decks (and a sample copy of most if not all of the decks for sale so you could look at the whole deck before buying it. That was kinda cool.) Their selection of statuary was impressive, but what really struck me overall were their prices on well, almost everything. Holy markups batman.
I realize that independent stores have to mark their prices up more to turn enough profit to stay afloat. But...whoa. A lot of their statues were literally twice or more the price that I've seen them elsewhere. Their rocks were also largely extremely expensive. Fifty dollars for a large citrine crystal? I bought one of similar size and quality- from another independent store- for maybe ten dollars. Ten dollars for a little piece of blue apatite? Twenty-five for a small polished labradorite? Yeah....
The combination of being so high-priced and out of the way doesn't make this a particular shopping attraction for me. I'll stick to Grandma's Candles on Saratoga, thanks.
Though the lemonade in the café was really good. actual lemonade from actual lemons, not a powdered mix. They make it unsweetened and let you put your own sweetener in it, including providing some sort of, as the lady there called it "raspberry goo" that tasted really good in it. The lemonade was actually reasonably priced too and $2...not sure how big but it was decent.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-08-13 03:50 pm (UTC)I've always wondered if a store wouldn't do better with cheaper prices because so many people would be shopping there to make up for any losses. *shrugs*
no subject
Date: 2008-08-14 06:10 pm (UTC)Ironically, I walked right past Grandma's Candles a year back or so, was intrigued but also hungry for lunch and so didn't stop. The way you keep talking about it I wish I had.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-14 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-15 06:41 pm (UTC)