Hey all, For those in Chicago, what do you think of the headshops? I know there's Secrets and Smoke Dreams, any others? How are the prices? What do you think of each
I agree that prices are high in chicago shops. I like Secrets, good service and selection. Novelties and stuff i didnt like, they have a bunch of staff but i had to wait 10minutes for service just because one person was ahead of me.....these are both in the Belmont and Clark area Theres a couple shops within a few blocks of where i live, in Wicker park. Which is really nice, i havnt bought anything yet from either one, but it sure is nice to know you got two headshops within walking distance from home!
Secrets is always a good choice I like their selection. If you wanna make the trek All About It, in McHenry that has an amazing selection Toro etc and always will deal on the price
LIST: All on the same street. All within a mile radius Secrets-I don't like this shop. Prices are high and the people that work there can be rude. Burneys Smoke Shop- Decent shop. Secrets owns this shop and they carry the "cheaper" stuff Novelties and Stuff- My favorite headshop. Will always work with you on the price and are very nice people. Got that at Novelties... Marked at $275 and I got it for $120 w/o tax and my choice of bowl Smokers Zone- I don't like this shop. Very very very pushy to get you to buy something. Will NOT work on prices... (Forgot the name)- Decent shop. Decent prices.
They use to own pipesandstuff also which is now gone, stopped in there the other day and it was a completely different store with different people, still a headshop but I didnt check anything out.
I think the guys at novelties are some of the best to work with... You tell them your budget and they will try to find something in your price range. If you see something you like tell them and they will get as close to your budget as they can.
The main two that I look at are Secrets with it's sister shop Bernie's(that might be spelled wrong) that is literally across Clark as well as Novelties and Stuff which has a similar sister store, Pipes and Stuff, about half a block down Clark. I really like Secrets. Very relaxed, knowledgeable staff, and from what I can see, reasonable prices. I've never lived anywhere else so take that with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, there's four shops with a good sized inventory if nothing else. Certainly worth looking at.
I've had decent luck with Adams Apple. Nice small shop with a good variety of pieces. Prices are a bit high but which headshop isnt. All the pieces I've seen here over the years have been quality pieces, and with competitive prices.
While I was in Chicago, I bought a pipe from Secrets. Everyone here is right about the price gauging. Glass is overpriced in the city and Secrets is no exception.
You might be right but there's definitely two head shops around that intersection owned by the Novelties and Stuff folks.
Yep. My understanding is that it's one family and their employees. If you're ready to buy they're very helpful.
I am currently staying on the 1300 block of North Lake Shore Drive. I will be heading to the Novelties and Stuff, exactly 2.2 miles away, tomorrow - very cool. Glad i read this thread since I was wondering where I could find a headshop here.
Check them all out... They are all really cool to look at. I feel like Secrets have some really knowledgeable people but they can be kind of mean IMO... I called one time to see if they had a certain slide, they said they did. They told me a price over the phone( I asked the person's name so I could talk to just go in and buy it when I got there). However, when I got there I talked to the same person and they told me a completely different price(higher of course) then when I had called 5 minutes ago. Edit: Usually when I'm on Clark street I go to one and tell them I will be back because I want to check out other options. If you do end up going back to one of the stores they will tend to lower the price a little..