Houston Historic Salvage Warehouse

Review №1

Rating: 4

Posting this for people like me who want to know if the $55 membership is worth it: If you are looking for brass or other old door hardware, cast iron sinks, old doors galore, old windows, reclaimed wood, reclaimed beams, columns, stair pieces, trim, and a few select light fixtures (mostly Victorian but some schoolhouse and others), medicine cabinets, this might be for you! If you are looking for corbels, furniture, wood finials, or looking not to spend a lot of money, this might not be for you. It is definitely priced to be current market value for things. However, if you re like me and looking for old brass door and sink hardware, they have everything I needed that I couldn t find online and was less than vintage pieces on eBay or Etsy. They also have unique pieces like tall built ins taken out of old homes. I loved looking around and was so appreciative of the worker Anna who helped me put together the door hardware I needed. I am giving only 4 stars because for a $55 membership and being a non-profit, I would like to see reasonable prices not online prices, especially for some of the light fixtures, but I was able to find some good deals in the rough and when you need something you need something.

Date: 3 months ago

Review №2

Rating: 5

Date: 8 months ago

Review №3

Rating: 1

Date: 8 months ago

Review №4

Rating: 1

Rude staff they don t want you there, people are complaining about the member fee but the problem is people are not welcomed there. I am new to the city I found them on Google so when I went there before even saying anything the girl asked if I had an appointment and that just to look even outside you have to be a member and I arrived at 1:55 she said they close at 2pm on Google says they close at 3pm. Anyway I truly hope they are making a lot of money I WILL NEVER TREAT my customers this way. Her face was like she was upset that people are going there my 3 advices 1- don t go there 2- don t go there 3- in case you forget read 1 and 2 to remember

Date: a year ago

Review №5

Rating: 2

paying a $55 membership fee (just to look!) at a warehouse full of salvaged materials is not a good business model. There are plenty of better options. The owner clearly has a huge ego.

Date: a year ago

Review №6

Rating: 1

Im rating a one star just for the $55 to look around. I would drive 5 hours to Dead peoples stuff in OKC or This old house in Fort Worth. All architecture salvage. Free to walk around. I was going to go here normally spend a substantial amounnt at these places but to charge just to walk in bah to many other places to go. Good luck!!

Date: 2 years ago

Review №7

Rating: 5

Great place to shop for my home! I found such interesting pieces there that really spruced up my place!

Date: 2 years ago

Review №8

Rating: 5

Great place, great staff! You ll always find very interesting pieces for home/personal projects!

Date: 2 years ago

Review №9

Rating: 1

For those who havent been due to the pricey membership fee requirement, let me explain how they price stuff. I looked at a raw (unglazed) clay planter. I had one at home that I paid $35 at home depot for several months prior. Wanting another, I asked the price (so much is unmarked). A super snotty woman replied $300. First, this was not an old or historic item, but a new planter. Second its unglazed so the pot isnt as strong as a glazed and should be cheaper as it didnt have to be fired). I explained to her that I had just purchase one identical at home depot for $35. She replied that nobody sells unglazed terracotta and it was rare. Funny because I found a boatload at the local Tuesday Morning for all under $30. The attitudes are always ugly. I have been numerous times. Maybe its the heat since the staff must sweat it out in a warehouse in the Texas heat.

Date: 2 years ago

Review №10

Rating: 1

I think this place is a scam. They say non profit but they run it pretty hard as if they are making money from it. Yuck of course they have more inventory cuz no one wants to pay 55 to LOOK around a store. And thats also why they are struggling to make a profit. Duh. Someone on the board needs to get off their high horse and be replaced with an accountant. Or maybe just someone who finished highschool economics.

Date: 2 years ago

Review №11

Rating: 5

Date: 3 years ago

Review №12

Rating: 5

Date: 3 years ago

Review №13

Rating: 1

Cant shop without paying $55 for membership, not good business practice to turn away customers so quickly. After looking through all these reviews & owner replies Im not shocked at their snooty attitude. Say its been run this way for many years just fine yet look at all these bad ratings from upset customers. Ill spend my money else where.

Date: 3 years ago

Review №14

Rating: 1

This is a horrible way to do business. They are only open to members only and require a $55 fee to join before you can even look. Obviously they are not interested in sales.

Date: 3 years ago

Review №15

Rating: 5

Date: 3 years ago

Review №16

Rating: 4

Fun place to visit with cool stuff to browse through

Date: 4 years ago

Review №17

Rating: 5

Date: 4 years ago

Review №18

Rating: 5

Awesome place!!

Date: 4 years ago

Review №19

Rating: 5

Date: 5 years ago

Review №20

Rating: 2

I hemmed and hawed over going because I didnt want to waste $55 if the prices were not in my budget. I have watched inventory being posted for months, but cannot get any prices online or by phone. I finally caved and went today. What a bummer. Inventory is overflowing the warehouses. But the prices are really steep. $650 for cast iron tubs that need complete refinishing. $100 for a small laundry sink because it is cast iron. Not everything that is OLD is RARE or valuable and the prices do not reflect that. I didnt expect thrift store prices, but I was hoping for reasonable. I wish them the best (and maybe a dose of reality, lol).

Date: 5 years ago

Review №21

Rating: 5

Neat place. We were able to get some great ideas.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №22

Rating: 3

Prices are high! Factor that into your restoration costs. The place was super cool though!

Date: 5 years ago

Review №23

Rating: 5

Date: 5 years ago

Review №24

Rating: 4

Date: 5 years ago

Review №25

Rating: 1

We drove in from Austin and were very disappointed we could not even look around the store. You could tell the staff was tired of explaining the membership rules. I think the Board should consider changing their policy. Maybe you could have a 1 day membership at a reduced rate for folks that are only visiting town or you might also consider allowing people to look around without a membership. In the long run I bet it would increase your revenue. I dont see what you have to lose.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №26

Rating: 2

They will not let you even look unless you are a member. How do you know if you want to be a member unless you look? Also, if this is a nonprofit, dont you want to encourage as much traffic and interest, and turnover of items as possible to raise funds for the exempt purpose? While I understand the membership fee may support overhead, so will regular sales. Why not make membership have a discount, or extra times, etc. to make ongoing membership attractive. If the purpose is reuse of salvaged items, why not make it as easy as possible to get access, even if one just needs one or two items. The membership limits the salvage use to professionals or serious rehabs.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №27

Rating: 4

The membership is worth it if youre there to buy for your business, profession, or renovation project. May not be worth it for the antique tourist since its not a retail shop with knick knacks and nonsense.

Date: 5 years ago

Review №28

Rating: 5

Great place, have been shopping here for years. Glad to see this organization keeping this material out of landfills and making it available for restoration projects.

Date: 6 years ago

Review №29

Rating: 5

Date: 6 years ago

Review №30

Rating: 1

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Not because of their inventory but because of their membership plan and bratty staff. Ive renovated 3 homes (one was feature on the Houston Heights Home Tour) over the last 10 years and spent about $25k-$30k there. We traveled from San Antonio to visit them today because we are remodeling another home but we were turned away because our membership had expired. We asked if we could browse first and the worker told us thats not how it works They lost a very loyal customer for life. What a shame! We miss our friend, Dani! She wouldn t have let this happen!

Date: 6 years ago

Review №31

Rating: 5

Date: 6 years ago

Review №32

Rating: 5

Date: 6 years ago

Review №33

Rating: 1

Snooty attitude indeed! My husband and I have been members for a year or two, and have featured projects that we have completed using salvaged materials from HHSW on our social media platforms and blog. We regularly bid on items when they have their auctions, and engage in their emails. In summary, we have spent hundreds of dollars here and have given them good press. We recently vised the warehouse to look for cast iron sinks. We found a few that could work for us, but they didnt have a price. We went to the register to ask for help, and the woman (Lynn I believe) asked us if we were members. We told her that we were, but it had expired. She promptly got an attitude with us, and said that we shouldnt even be here or shopping without a membership. She told us that she wouldnt help us or give us a price on those sinks until we payed up. So we left. This business model is so backwards to me! We were prepared to buy the sink (spend ~$300) and pay our membership fee ($50), but instead, because she was rude, we walked away. She lost a $350 sale because she was rude about a dumb $50 membership fee. Also, what kind of place makes you pay before you can even shop in a store?! This isnt Costco- its a non-profit! You should be begging people to shop your poorly-lit, disorganized, nasty warehouse of odd house pieces! Dont turn them away b/c they havent paid a ridiculous fee! No wonder products sit there for a long time and customers are dwindling. They need to seriously reconsider their policies and consider changing them to benefit the customer.

Date: 6 years ago

Review №34

Rating: 5

Lots of interesting things from salvaged houses

Date: 6 years ago

Review №35

Rating: 4

Only picked up an item that i had purchased on auction, but would have loved to browse this place. Huge assortment of vintage items to choose from, but theres a catch. They offer a membership, but at 55 dollars/year for an individual, that seems a little pricey unless you are building something and will be making a lot of purchases from them. Nice selection of items though.

Date: 7 years ago

Review №36

Rating: 1

Why the hell would you charge someone to shop at your store? Especially by appointment only. Snooty attitude.

Date: 7 years ago

Review №37

Rating: 2

$55 membership required. By appointment only.

Date: 7 years ago

Review №38

Rating: 5

Date: 7 years ago

Review №39

Rating: 5

Always find that special something at a great price

Date: 7 years ago

Review №40

Rating: 4

Very rare items. Very unusual shopping conditions.

Date: 7 years ago

Review №41

Rating: 4

Great place to get recycled items for your renovation projects.

Date: 7 years ago