Pyramid Imports

by Jody H.

I agree about the woman in there being rude and bitchy.  I had intended to buy a new belly dancing costume, but she yelled at me if I even handled the tags to check the prices!  When I asked about trying a costume on, she said that I couldn't try it on unless I bought it.  I told her that was a stupid policy, because I'm not going to buy it if I don't know that it fits.  That's the whole purpose of trying something on.  I left empty handed, and I won't be going back.  The woman who's working there now has ruined the place.

by Sarah B.

A decent Egyptian themed shop but lacking in style and flare.  Personally, I adore Egyptian artifacts and have a lot of statues and papyrus decorating my house.  So I am always looking for new interesting items.This place didn't do it for me.  They had a few nice idols at good prices.  But nothing unique.  Same with the jewelry and papyrus.  A few nice wall hangings but a tad too rich for my blood.  They did have a huge selection of dance costumes and even belly dancing tapes.  So if you are looking for some belly dancing gear, this place has plenty.  And the staff are not too helpful.  Otherwise, it's a nice shop to browse.I really prefer the Pharaoh's Treasure in Pike Place Market.  A lot friendlier with more unique items and better prices.

by Winona R.

I have been shopping at this store for a couple of years (since it was across the street where the Chocolate Box now is), mainly buying smaller items like earrings or a gift certificate for a friend who bellydances. This time, I decided that I wanted to buy myself a hookah for home use and that I would check out their selection because I saw a sign when I was walking by that they had a sale going on. I bought myself a very pretty small pipe and paid something like $60 for it and the actual pipe attachment, which was 1/2 off with the purchase of a hookah. However, when I got my pipe home and wanted to use it, I found that there were some holes in it and that it wasn't drawing smoke properly. In addition, the pipe did not come with a seal to go between the glass bottom of the pipe and the metal top, which presented further problems during use. I figured I would just take the hose back and exchange it for a new one, and ask if they had seals for the pipe that I could buy. The woman who was working when I returned was not the same person who sold me my pipe, and indeed I had a completely different experience with her service than with that of the man who had assisted me before. Whereas he allowed me to roam about the store freely and did his thing at his cash register, this woman watched me like a hawk from the moment I and my friend entered the store. I was wandering around looking at everything and smelling packages of tobacco to see which ones I might like, and she yelled across the store that there was no way I'd be able to smell them because the inside was wrapped in foil and when I said something like "oh, I'm just trying, I can smell SOME of them but if not it's no big deal". She wanted to continue to argue with me about it for some reason so I just moved on to browse elsewhere in the store and look at things. She pretty much followed my friend and I around, mostly keeping at a distance, but generally making us feel like we were a couple of juvenile delinquent shoplifters or something. A friend of mine met me and wanted to go elsewhere, so I approached her and explained my situation and that I wanted to replace the pipe I'd purchased because it had holes in it. She immediately became defensive and set her face to perma-frown mode and told me that it was store policy to test all pipes before sale to make sure they were in good working order and that after it left the store they couldn't accept returns. I explained to her that the man who sold me my pipe didn't make me aware of this practice nor did he test my pipe when I bought it, and that I had just purchased it a few days earlier and had my receipt with me. She took a look at my receipt and said "this was NOT a few days ago. This was FIVE days ago. I can't do anything for you but offer a discount on a new hose for you, I don't have control over what happens to merchandise after it leaves the store". I pointed to the sign in front of her that stated that all returns and exchanges were welcome with the receipt within 14 days of original purchase and repeated again that I had not had my pipe tested when it was purchased and that I shouldn't have to pay again. My friend also spoke up and told her that she should help me out since I am a customer and that the sign in front of her states no such stipulation to the return policy and she said "I'm not talking to you. I am talking to HER. You aren't the customer." Anyway, my long-windedness aside, I ended up not being able to return or exchange this, and she was really rude and unhelpful about the whole thing. Sometimes, there IS nothing that a person can do for you when it comes to returns in a store, but that is no reason to be rude to them about it and I for one will never return to this place, for any reason, ever.

by Rosie R.

I had heard opinions from other women in my bellydancing class and had read reviews of this place on Yelp prior to my visit, so I was ready for anything when I walked in. I needed to shop in here because I needed to buy a hip scarf for my bellydancing class. I had been referred by my instructor and was told to identify myself as one of her students and I would get a discount. MY TACTIC: Kill 'em with kindness. As soon as I identified who I thought was the infamous proprietor (she was the one behind the register looking at me half with disdain and half with disinterest). I didn't touch any of her things and went straight to her to ask for hip scarves and immediately dropped my instructor's name. After showing me the selection, making her suggestions (and me following them, of course), she actually melted her icyness a little and chatted me up at the register about my class, my instructor, and said that I have "the right hair" for bellydancing.I'll likely head back there for my next hip scarf, I like her selection and not only did she know her product incredibly well (including how to care for them), she also knew bellydancing well and could advise me based on my level of skill. I guess the moral of the story is that it pays to read Yelp reviews and know what you are in for!

by Kirsten R.

My friends (about 6 of us) and I went into this store just yesterday.  Two of us are taking bellydancing, and needed to pick up sets of zills.  There was a small display of them, so we started to try them out.  The elastic was really loose, and one fell off my friend's hand, landing on the counter.  Nothing broke, it just made a loud noise.  We laughed, but the woman scolded us, telling us to "be more careful." There were sets of smaller zills I liked better because they looked like they would fit my hands better.  I wanted to test out the sound, to make sure they didn't sound too tinny.  I didn't see any out, so I asked her if I could open these to try them.  "No, you can't open them."  "Well, do you have some I can try?"  "No, I don't have any small ones open right now."  ...gee, thanks for your help.I decided I was going to give them a try anyway, especially since they were really well priced.  So I take them up to the counter, and along the way, we're looking at the costumes on the rack.  We reach the front, where the heavily beaded tops are, and she says "don't touch the beads.  They are beaded on both sides, so if you want to see them, I can take them out for you to see."  My friend told me later she wanted to ask to see them ALL, since we couldn't do it on our own.She doesn't say anything to me as we're dealing with the purchase, and then asks for my card.  I have a debit card with my picture on the front; granted, my hair is much longer now, but it's still clearly me.  She asked to see my ID.  I just got married, and changed my last name, but haven't gotten new debit cards yet.  She asked to see another form of ID, so I pulled out my old license, with my maiden name on it.  But she refused to take it.  By itself, it's not a bit deal.  But she was such a bitch about it, I took my card back, and left.  I will not be returning to that store unless she's gone.

by Donna T.

I agree with the statement about the clerk's rudeness.  When this store was located across the street (about 2 years ago), the staff were nice and helpful and this lady was no where to be seen.  Since the move, they acquired this very rude and condescending clerk.  The prices are passable, but not if I have to endure being treated badly.  On top of that, I tried to strike up a conversation about some of the troupes I know shopped there, and she flat out lied about them.  There are better and less expensive places to get this merchandise and nicer too.Update:  I went in there today for earrings, thinking I would give them another chance.  While the clerk was with another customer, I went over to look at the price tag of an item hanging on the wall.  I took three steps back to the cash register and then one end of the item fell, breaking a glass item that was on the shelf below it.  I wasn't near it; I didn't pull or tug on it.  Except for the price tag which was hanging there, I did not touch it.  I walked away from it and a few seconds passed then it fell.   The rude clerk admitted the item was heavy and not secured well, nevertheless, she tried to make me pay it.  I refused as it was not my fault.  After arguing, we agreed I would take my business elsewhere.  YOU be the judge.

by Amani E.

Yay! A store where I can go meet some of my people! I'm half Egyptian, and don't have many Arabic friends. I strolled in with high hopes-I have only this to say- the woman in there is a bitch. At least she was yesterday.She treated me and my friend like we were thieving teenagers, she was argumentative when my friend started a conversation about the bellydancer on the screen, she was bossing her co-worker around, and she was dressed like a slob.Their products are wildly overpriced, and the signs everywhere warning paying customers NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING are stupid. I could find everything in there, elsewhere from nicer people. They have low-quality items for ridiculously high prices. that combined with their mean, surly employee(s?) means I won't be going back there.

by John S.

RUDE. That's the best word to describe the owner/manager. (Actually amazingly inconsiderate, irritating, pedantic AND rude... but that's more than one word.) Like the last review, I too have a hookah from this store. Fortunately when my friend bought it for me the nice man that sometimes works in the shop helped him and I'm quite happy with the purchase. My friend even commented on how helpful the gentleman was. So my wife and I were strolling through Pike and wandered into the shop. I picked up an outfit to show my wife (on a "sale" rack) and this woman came around the counter to scream at me telling me not to touch anything (and can't i read the sign - which wasn't anywhere on the rack in the center of the store, but on one small rack on the wall 10+' away). I thought picking the hanger up on something you might want to buy would be a good idea...? Certainly if the outfit can't handle that "abuse" you don't want to own it. She explained that these were much too "valuable" ranging from $300-800 dollars. I looked down at the tag clearly marked $99 ...Oh well, at least she didn't beat me I guess?She then proceeded to tell me not to touch anything else and turned her back to my face and started "helping" someone else just like she "helped" me. I grabbed her card hoping to let the owner/manager know how terribly rude she was and she proudly told me that was her and she owned the shop... I guess thinking I'd want to come back and spend my money there.... Too bad. When her employees work you get a good experience (I'm told), but she has to be the rudest storekeep I've ever encountered... and that's saying something.Stay away would be my recommendation (unless you see a nice gentleman working), but keep in mind the money's still going in the rude woman's pocket.

by Tracy S.

Either I was assisted by a different lady, or just was lucky.While I am sometimes the latter, I had no personnel troubles at all.A friend of mine had brought back coffee from Turkey and wanted a Turkish coffee maker. Another shop on Capital Hill told us that this was the place to find them.The lady explained where in her shop she kept the items and where to find great recipes for using the pot (which I had never seen before, having never been to Turkey myself).In any case, they had the one thing I was looking for and a lot of other interesting items that I didn't need. Just like every other store I've successfully shopped at :)