Abstracta Key West

Walked into the store with my daughters and was interested in the cool eclectic bar and housewares. That was until my daughter accidentally spilled a small cup of water on the floor and offered to help the shop keeper clean it up. Instead he yelled at her, told her to get out of his store and tie her sneakers. I was still in the store shopping and he must not have realized I was with her. I was about to make a purchase when I heard him say, «I’m glad I kicked that girl out!» You my friend are the definition of a jerk! I put the item down and walked out of the store. I also heard him toss the F-​bomb at another customer. I wouldn’t shop in this store under any circumstances.

***** Update *****
After my initial claim and raising this to the BBB, I was contacted by one of the store owners to go over my specific case. I explained to him how the situation rolled out in order to get both sides of the story (merchant & customer). Once discussed, he kindly agreed to reverse the charge for the unused deposit and were able to close this case amicably.
Therefore though experience was not great at first, I take my hats off for the way this matter was handled and rectified in the end.
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I was a walk-​in customer to ABSTRACTA late evening on the 28^th, of June when I found an art piece of which I was interested in. I inquired about the piece and managed to agree on a price of USD 120.00 However, being that it was late evening and I was on my way out for a city stroll, I asked if I could put it aside to pick it up in the morning. Gentleman (Alek) agreed and therefore asked if I wanted to leave a deposit to guarantee the item and for which I offered to leave a 50% deposit = USD 60.00 as refundable security.
The following morning when I went to pick up the piece, another individual took over the transaction and would not allow Alek (gentleman from previous night) handle the situation. I was told that the price I was given for the piece was incorrect and I therefore stated that I was no longer interested in it. His reply was that they couldn’t refund me the deposited amount of USD 60.00 as they have a «no refund» policy. However, the transaction was NEVER completed, nothing purchased, and therefore no merchandise to refund EXCEPT my deposit. Gentleman was quite arrogant and rude so I decided just to handle the matter via other means.
I submitted a credit card dispute with my provider however after an extensive investigation, they’ve initially granted the case in ABSTRACTA’s favor as the information provided by ABSTRACTA was all false. ABSTRACTA claims that I never left a deposit. In fact, they’re claiming that they don’t even have such things as leaving deposits… and that I had grabbed the merchandise and left.
I have launched an investigation with the State of Florida Better Business Bureau (BBB) and I’m working with attorney in parallel for legal pursuit. Please feel free to reach out if you’ve encountered similar experience with them.

Terrible attitude by the sales person today. Was looking at these little metal purses and asked if there was a local discount… The person was rude and condescending. He stated what does it matter you don’t have the money to buy one anyways. Excuse me? I didn’t realize there was a sign on my forehead stating what I can and can’t buy… Just walked out and will make sure all my local friends, who in your eyes probably can’t afford your purses either, never step foot in this store. Never been spoken to like that before aren’t you in the business to sell things?

Terrible customer service, was in town with my family on vacation and bought a couple of lamps and the owners son had promised me a good deal on the merchandise which he did he gave us a good discount for the lamps. The «owner» or dad doesn’t know how to run business and definitely lacked customer service he cursed at us because we got a good deal on the lamps and it’s not my problem nor fault that his son was nice to me and my family. They promised me to build the lamp for us and then he ended up saying they were just too busy and couldn’t do it. Mind you that the store was empty. Will never be back.

Absolute rip off! They sold us a couple of led lights for $ 25… Telling us they were hard to find. I walked out in the street (because they wouldn’t let me use my phone in the store) and found them on EBay for $ 5. They also sell plastic IQ puzzle lights for anywhere from $ 25-​$ 300. eBay has them for $ 3.50! RIP-​OFF! Don’t get taken advantage of! Stay out of Abatracta!
Just wanted to add the message that the owner sent directly to me, rather than reply in public:
Yaron W.
Business Owner
So we looked up ebay and their bulbs are similar but not the same as ours, you can see the remote control is different and non of them advertise a lifetime warranty as we do! (They actually cost as $ 12 and sell for $ 25)
Maybe we should buy them from ebay and sell them for $ 10 without a warranty. Thanks for the great source!
Our lanterns are not «IQ puzzle light», they are a different brand! «IQ puzzle lights» are made in China and are a cheaper non quality brand, just for your knowledge!
All that being said, let’s not forget we have to pay high rent here in Key West, and pay high salary to our employees that manage to sell people like you a bulb! I wonder how much your hotel charged you per night compare to other places in the US, did you give them a bad review «RIP-​OFF» as well? You were told in advance the prices of things, no one ripped you off. But, If your IQ is smart enough to pay we are smart enough to take your money! In other words, next time you go on vacation take your brain with you and don’t be drinking while shopping! Another idea, just shop on ebay!!!
By the way you got to have a certain IQ level to put these lights together, good luck to you…
LOL…
None of the things he states are true, btw. They’re all the exact same things you can find on eBay… And all of the things I bought in this shop just happen to say «Made in China» right on the box! How odd!
Nice of him to actually attack me publicly below… To prove that it’s actually him sending me messages and attacking me privately!
To the owner– a refund? No one ever offered that… And I also never heard anything about a «lifetime warranty» before, either! Just be honest and do the right thing… You’ve been caught! Admit it, don’t attack me! Being honest… That’s called «old fashioned» and it also has been called «The American Way». If you did that, I think you’d find that your store would be wildly successful and you wouldn’t get «outed» on Unilocal!
Don’t lie to people and tell them those lights are «hard to find».
Good luck!

Not sure why people are giving them one star for not being able to take pics. It is art people, you would not want your ideas being stolen and copied.
I really love the unique items that they sell here. We wound up buying a steam punk gun and metal link dragon. Very cool! The only downside is price. Definitely worth checking out while strolling down Duval.

Abstracta is a great gallery for picking up unusual souvenirs that don’t necessarily scream Key West. For the most part you get the feeling that their goods could be sold at just about any funky shop, but there are a few pieces that are touristy enough to remind you where you got them from. For example, I picked up a retro style Florida map wall-​mounting bottle opener that highlighted Key West for me and a sugar skull dog skeleton bottle opener that resembles their pup as a gift for my hosts. They also had replicas of sugar skulls, tin signs, and these captivating, unique steampunk style light covers with movable parts.

They have a bunch of those mechanical-​made pets and such, but I think the prices are a little high. It’s a fun store to browse though. Many eclectic gifts.

I was in town on vacation and visited the store. I had my phone out to «check in» and review it later. My phone was facing down, not aimed at anything and I wasn’t facing it when their attendant approached me stating she’d only give me one more warning for taking photos before she’d make me leave. Shocked, and with my phone in hand, I told her I was «checking in» and that she could check my phone, which was unlocked. She stated that she saw me and I’d need to leave. I told her before accusing me she was free to see my photos on my phone, none of which included any item from any store. She never once ASKED if I was taking photos, but made a scene and embarrassed me. She never once apologized and asked me to leave. I was with 4 other potential customers. Sales lost due to her attitude.
I contacted the store to inform them and in their response they said I must have «mislead and allowed» their employee to assume– wow.
As a side note– this is not as issue of being able to photograph their merchandise– I respect that. It’s an issue of how they treated me as a customer and their lack of respect when I contacted their management with the issue.

A really cool store to check out when in Key West. Fans of mythology will find lots to see.

Cool stuff. BAD customer service. DO NOT purchase the stones for drinks. THEY DON’T WORK. When presented with the opportunity to make it right, they declined. I also purchased the stone tap which was fine. I am in KW at least 6 times a year and they are banking on one tourist purchase and off you go. They won’t be there long.

Really cool stuff in here. Stop in. If you buy in quantity you can haggle them. My husband got a bunch of those 3D lamps for a sweet deal when he brought 10!