Alameda Business Spotlight: Red Wagon Collectibles

Owners: Calvin Hao and Arvi Dorsey

Opening day: Oct. 15, 2011

Patch spoke to Calvin Hao about Red Wagon Collectibles.

What type of merchandise do you carry? We sell a variety of things. We sell antiques, art work, collectibles, things from different eras — whatever strikes our fancy. We do take consignments and we do estate sales. Over time, we’re bound to come across a lot of unique things.

What’s in the store now? A collection of things from our own homes! Things from auctions, estate sales and friends. And we’ve already had a few people talk to us about consignments. Anyone who wants to sell something should either email us or call us.

How does consignment work? We sell the item and share fifty-fifty with the owner. That’s pretty standard in the industry.

How did you and your partner Arvi decide to go into business together? We’re old friends. We’ve always talked about having a shop together and finally did it.

Why did you name your shop Red Wagon? I really like the iconic wagon. I had one as a kid. Everyone had one. If you look around the shop, you can see we have a number of red wagons.

So people can buy a red wagon here? Actually, no! We’re not selling any of the red wagons. They’re just for display. Throughout the year, you’ll see them being used in different ways.

How do you like doing business in Alameda? I love Alameda. I’ve lived here for six years. I’m so happy to have a store here. We’ve had a lot of foot traffic on our first day. Our neighbors from the West End affirm that there needs to be a store like this here.

Red Wagon Collectibles is located at 1553 Webster St. Telephone 510-521-6003. Email: redwagoncollectibles@gmail.com.