NJ’s Premier Quality Consignment Center

"Don’t Give Your Treasures Away. Consign Them Today"

812 Main St, Toms River NJ

Phone 732-608-0413 Fax 732-608-0415

Melody Tektas could easily have kept things simple, being content to haphazardly cram knick-knacks alongside valuables into the 7,000-square-foot warehouse and leave it to customers to wade through the confusion. And the sellers? Well, how would they know the tumbler set they thought was worth $10 was actually worth $500? But Melody’s passion is antiques, and treating customers and consigners well, and Yesterdays and Todays Consignment Center is her love letter to those who share that passion.

Banned from the sound system is Lady Gaga and the latest American Idol; instead, Dean Martin serenades customers with “Besame Mucho,” then yields to Neil Diamond for “Cracklin’ Rosie.” But the senses shift from the music to the sights, the lighted glass counters hold everything from Goebel-Hummel figurines to Fenton art glass to toy RC Cola cars. Tiffany lamps hang from ceiling fixtures. Oil paintings of every style adorn the walls. Are those commemorative Star Trek plates on those shelves in the back? That’s just the view from the front door.

“If you love antiques or collectibles, forget it!” Melody said.

Yesterdays and Todays is a place to linger, a place in which to amble down the lacquered wood-plank floors with coffee in one hand—it’s complimentary and to the right near the entrance—and nothing in the other. You’ll need that arm free to carry purchases.

“You really can’t leave without buying a little something,” vendor Sylvia Jones said.

The newly opened “men’s room” features vintage bar signs, magazines, fishing poles and “The Duke.”

Head right for fine china, vintage kitchen tins and utensils, Asian vases, quilts, sterling silver jewelry by Gew-Gaw, scrapbooking materials by Sylvia Jones, Decorative Brush Strokes hand-painted items, Lynn’s Forget Me Nots vintage jewelry and gifts, antique dolls, Depression glassware, dishes, candles, quilts and lace and finally, a sun-drenched furniture showroom that invites you to seat yourself at a dining set and be transported back to Christmases at Aunt Mildred’s or sink into a Queen Anne sofa and remember being a child sitting in the same kind of chair, legs dangling impatiently, waiting for Grandma to bring out the tin of Ritz crackers, like the one you saw back in the country kitchen room. Try to find the rainbows cast by prism-laden lamps, just like you did years ago.

Ambiance matters. Melody credits her husband, Moonstar Painting owner and contractor Seyithan Tektas, with translating her vision of Victorian elegance fused with country charm into the reality that customers and consigners experience. “If it wasn’t for him, this place wouldn’t look like what it does,” she said. (Family and friends also volunteer their time to man the registers and help assemble and arrange consignments as they come in.)

“People love it. I have people who hang out in here for hours,” Melody said. “They say, ‘Oh my God, my mother had this, my grandmother had this.’… It’s like walking down memory lane….Things go fast, though. If you want it, you have to buy it.”

Stroll back the other way and explore the newest offerings: vintage handbags for the ladies, and with the men who accompany their women, fishing rods, Hess trucks, vintage magazines, bar signs and the requisite John Wayne posters.

“We just opened the men’s section, so when women are shopping, the men have something to do,” Melody said.

An avid antique-lover herself, her own Victorian home is filled with antiques (items that are 100 years old or more), Melody, a 25-year merchandising veteran, loved the idea of opening a consignment antique shop. She sold items on eBay but wanted something more. However, she said, true antiques are hard to come by and the current economy didn’t support an antique-only approach. She decided to include vintage collectibles (40 years or older) and select modern items. It took three years of researching antique and vintage markets, two years of seeking the perfect location, she settled on the 200-year-old Siperstein’s building on Toms River’s Main Street, to create Yesterdays and Todays Consignment Center. The center is as rare as many of the items it holds. According to Melody, stores like hers exist in Texas and Arizona, but it’s the only consignment store of its kind in New Jersey.

“We have great values. Why pay $5,000 for a new dining room set when you can get better quality for $1,000? You get great things for little money,” Melody said. “We’ve got items for $5 all the way to high-end items. There really is something for everyone.”

Customers aren’t the only ones who benefit. Melody deals with nearly 400 consigners and has several vendors renting out space. Consigners receive 65 percent of the sale price, a split Melody says is unheard of, and get paid once a month. There are no fees to consign at Yesterdays and Todays.

“People trust me,” Melody said of her consigners. “We try to get them the money we can.”

Yesterdays and Todays Consignment Center is located at 812 Main Street (the old Siperstein building) in Toms River. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Consignments are taken 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday only with a 15 item maximum per consigner. Those wishing to consign furniture must call ahead. Yesterdays and Todays will pick up the furniture. Home delivery for customers is available. Call for details.

Melody is currently seeking Civil War, military, fishing, hunting and NASCAR memorabilia, cast toys, collectible cars, coins, pipes and bar signs. She does buyout antiques and estates. Vendor space is still available.