MarketPlace 3301

Friendly staff. Great merchandise. Very creative displays. Fun way to spend an afternoon and gather up some great decorating ideas!

Great place for anyone who loves to spend an hour or possibly two perusing everything from antique and vintage furniture to vintage clothing right on up to Star Trek memorabilia and seasonal décor. This place is HUGE, the booths are attractively displayed, and the atmosphere is fantastic. My husband and I absolutely love it.

Letter from Marketplace 3301
Dear Cory,
Thank you for your feedback, and thank you for letting us know about this review so that we could address the situation.
First, please know that we did address the owner of booth #15 the day that you called us and stressed to her the importance of taking items off of Craigslist immediately. We were assured that she would take care of the situation promptly.
Secondly, please understand that we cannot «order» vendors to do anything on their private online accounts. Unfortunately, we are completely at their mercy when it comes to items posted anywhere online, be it Facebook, Craigslist, eBay, etc. With over one hundred vendors, it is impossible to track what they privately put on or off the internet at any given time.
We understand if you don’t want to remove the review, but we appreciate your time in listening to our side of the story. If I haven’t heard anything further from you within the next week, I will respond to your review publicly so that future customers can understand that we are sometimes not in control of these unfortunate situations.
My letter to Marketplace
In regards to your issues, I simply called you to let you know my circumstances. While you said that you had addressed this issue, and you were assured by your vendor that she would take care of the situation promptly, by removing her ad on craigslist; it was almost 3 weeks later and your vendor still did not follow through. This is simply unacceptable to people that want to purchase items that are already sold. Again this is an issue of false advertising. Come on, 3 weeks to take something down of of craigslist? It is not only a slap in the face to you as an Owner of Marketplace 3301, but it is also a slap in the face for the people of the smaller towns that drive for 2 hours one way to get there. Not only was my time a factor, but the wear and tear on my vehicle, my gas which was around $ 40 is not cheap. That could be a persons wage for the day if they are making minimum wage. I don’t think that you nor the vendor that advertising in booth #15 take this into consideration. Driving 120 miles one way is a lot. But when I was told by your staff (the other Owner) that he would take care of the situation, and it took 3 weeks… I am not buying it. I would make some changes in your policy for people that are selling in more than one place. A common courtesy should be afforded to your cliental by simply requiring your vendors to choose to sell it on craigslist or not. It took 3 weeks? 3 weeks? Really? This is a simple case of false advertising. I feel like this is a used car salesmans tactic. Cheap and undeserving towards your shoppers. I understand that you have 100 vendors. Marketplace is a great place for people to sell their wares, but at what cost? I will now have to make more of a decision wheather I want to shop at Marketplace just for the simple fact that I could of spent that 40 dollars in gas for shipping on ebay. Not to mention my 4 hours of driving time that it took me to get to Markeplace and be disappointed. It would of been less of a pain in the butt for me to buy it on ebay. If one vendor is doing this, are you going to allow all 100 of your vendors to control you and your store and it’s policy? It truly was like you were the one that is being made a fool of. You are being manipulated by this vendor and you are the one that is losing business in the long run. Your statement of being completely at their mercy when it comes to hundred vendors, it is impossible to track what they prvately put on or off the internet at any given time should just be a stated policy in your contractual agreement with them. Because now you are at our mercy when it comes to us being bothered with businesses that are falsely advertising their wares. Make this your store. Not theirs. This is your reputation. They as a vendor can always go elsewhere, but it is simply your reputation, your honor, and your word. It that can not be followed through towards a customer, than all respect and your business will be lost. Remember, it is your store, you control it. Thank you again for your input. I did just now look at craigslist and I wonder if vendor #15 is posting on craigslist out of spite for me or for you? I wonder if other people think this way and were so disappointed also to find more items being advertised; I wonder if they are already sold or if this is just to get people into Marketplace? Hmmm… decisions, decisions… I am sure you will be just as successful as Grannies attic, and all the other great stores that were once in Billings. They really were an asset to Billings and I consider Marketplace to be a super store with great finds for one that likes to decorate. One persons momentarily dissatisfaction with a store does not mean that I will not shop their any longer (more said) Oh well, there is always ebay, ruby lane, etc… you get my drift.