The best comparison for Polish Pottery I am familiar with is either Pampered Chef stoneware or Home and Garden Party stoneware. The difference is that Polish Pottery is completely painted and glazed inside and out. Thus, it is really beautiful stoneware that is just as durable; it can go from the dishwasher to the microwave, into the oven and then onto the table as a serving piece. This pottery is quite expensive once imported to the U.S. but if you travel across the border into Poland and purchase it there, not only is there a tremendous selection but the price is much less as well. This price difference is mostly due to the exchange rate between the Polish Zloty and the Euro or the U.S. dollar. I did some price comparisons on websites while living in Germany and a typical cereal-size bowl that would cost about $30 to $40 in the United States, I could buy on the American base for about $20 or drive to Poland and purchase it there for about $8 to $10. Thus, something which is financially out of reach for most people became affordable for many just through proximity.
When Cory and I had decided that it would be fun to purchase some Polish Pottery for our new set of dishware and as a memento and reminder of our time living in Germany, we were keeping our eyes open for a sale. When the new PX opened at a nearby American base, we were in luck. The local Polish Pottery wholesaler decided to have a half-price sale. They took some seasonal pieces and mixed sets and laid them out on a table marked half off. Our family had gone to the new mall and PX store to buy some things and have a familiar fast food dinner.
We noticed the sale when we walked into the mall that Sunday afternoon but did our shopping and then fed the family first. As we were finishing our fried chicken dinner, Cory sent me there to look things over and check out the sale. The Polish Pottery store had quite a few pieces that I liked on their ½ off table. I examined several pieces and counted the plates in stacks and did some quick mental math to see how much they were charging for the sale items. The ½ off price brought the cost down closer to the prices over in Poland which was a much more attractive and doable endeavor for us. Cory briefly brought the kids over to see the pattern and price of the stoneware but then quickly disappeared again to entertain the two and five year olds elsewhere while I stood in line to purchase the pottery. We did not want to be forced to buy some broken items just to replace their inventory!!!
It was drawing towards closing time, and there was a gal in front of me also buying stacks of the stuff on sale. I heard her ask about some other matching pieces and the store staff responded that they may get some more of it on the next truckload in a few days. The lady responded that she lived several hours away by car and wouldn’t be coming back anytime that soon. When they finished bagging and wrapping her items, she left and it was my turn to pay.
Since the store was near to closing, the other clerk began to add up my order on a calculator before the other customer had finished her transaction. Then another store worker began wrapping and bagging my dishes. So, by the time the other lady finished I just had to hand over my money, get my receipt, gather up my packages, and leave. My husband and teenage son reappeared to help carry the box and bags of dishes out to the car with our other household purchases. When we returned home, we got the younger kids into bed before we unpacked and inspected the newly purchased dishes. It was no surprise to my husband that I had spent about $100 but as he unpacked things and laid them out he was surprised that there were so few plates. We unwrapped every item and laid them on the table and then double-checked the back of the van. It was empty.
We were missing almost half of what I had purchased. It just wasn’t there. I looked at my husband ashen-faced and shook my head. “The lady in front of me must have ended up with a bag of my items,” I told my husband. We were missing all of the large plates, a creamer container and the small desert plates as well. “I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Well, you’ll have to go back tomorrow and tell them that you paid for those items and didn’t receive them,” Cory said.
“Okay,” I responded, “At least I have a receipt.”
“Yeah, but it’s very non-descript. And I want the dishes or I want my money back,” He explained.
Then I broke the bad news, “Well, we might not get the dishes back because I overheard the lady in front of me say she lived several hours drive away and wasn’t planning on coming back any time soon. Plus, she just ended up with some free dishes."
“Well, then I want my money back,” retorted my husband.
“I understand. I’ll go back tomorrow and see what I can do."
I was just so disappointed because we had purchased this particular pattern because we liked it but also because there was almost an entire set of matching dishes on sale. And now I only had ½ of them. It truly ended up being a half price sale; half the money but half the dishes as well. I was hoping to make it back to Poland to purchase a few more matching pieces before we left Europe, but there was no guarantee that this would be possible.
I went back to the store and after some discussion the owner did, grudgingly, refund my money. And then about a week later, the pottery store called with the news that the dishes had been returned. So, I drove over to the next town again the following day to repurchase my returned dishes!!!
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