Murano glass factory

[quanmama]

Hi all,

 

We are interested in going to a glass making factory in Murano but not sure if it is worth the visit. We had seen one glass making factory in Japan and thought it was cute and interesting. For those of you have done this, how was it for you? Did you end up buying some of the products? Thanks!

 

--Rebecca

[Tulsa Cats]

:(We did the Murano glass factory "tour" two years ago. What a joke. It's a scam to get you in their showroom. You see about two minutes of "demonstration", then the tour consists of the showroom filled with the thousands of dollar pieces. I bought a picture frame, which was no bargain, and they treated me like scum ! I shopped their "bargain basement", then they dump you on the street, and you get back to your hotel on your own, with no assistance from your "tour guide". It was a huge rip off, not just my opinion but out friends' as well. But if you want to see Murano, go.

[quanmama]

:(We did the Murano glass factory "tour" two years ago. What a joke. It's a scam to get you in their showroom. You see about two minutes of "demonstration", then the tour consists of the showroom filled with the thousands of dollar pieces. I bought a picture frame, which was no bargain, and they treated me like scum ! I shopped their "bargain basement", then they dump you on the street, and you get back to your hotel on your own, with no assistance from your "tour guide". It was a huge rip off, not just my opinion but out friends' as well. But if you want to see Murano, go.

 

Wow what a bad experience!! Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear about this. So you were touring with a small group?

[grandbanksguy]

:(We did the Murano glass factory "tour" two years ago. What a joke. It's a scam to get you in their showroom. You see about two minutes of "demonstration", then the tour consists of the showroom filled with the thousands of dollar pieces. I bought a picture frame, which was no bargain, and they treated me like scum ! I shopped their "bargain basement", then they dump you on the street, and you get back to your hotel on your own, with no assistance from your "tour guide". It was a huge rip off, not just my opinion but out friends' as well. But if you want to see Murano, go.

 

I’d take the vaporetto there and back so you are not under pressure to buy when you take the “free” water taxis. The glass blowing workshops are interesting, although some are better than others, but not worth the trip by themselves. There are, however, bargains to be had for glass pendants and glass jewelry from the shops on the streets, but be prepared to pay with cash for the best prices. Murano is a fabulous little island. It’s worth spending a few hours enjoying the trip across the open water, wandering the islands quaint streets, enjoying lunch and getting away from the crowds in Venice for a short while. :)

[Bobed1927]

Don't be misled. Just because it's the factory doesn't mean that their prices are good.

My SO bought a piece there and later saw the identical item in a shop in St. Marks Square for much less.

[AmoMondo]

I just got back from venice at the weekend. We had vaporetto passes so went to Murano one morning. There was a glass factory close to the stop and whilst we had originally intended to pay it a visit we gave up as there was a long queue to get in and it was far too hot waiting out in the sun with no shade. Not sure if we missed much or not but loved our visit to the Island and had a great lunch there and a wander along the main street. we found it very beautiful and very peaceful and relaxing after all the hustle and bustle in venice.

[helencw]

We took the vaporetto to Murano and enjoyed the relaxing ride and the view of the lagoon. However, we didn't get off in Murano.

 

Instead, we went to a glass blowing demonstration at Galeria San Marco, a shop in St Marks Square #139 (it's on the left as you face St Mark's Basilica. I read about it in Rick Steve's Venice book.They've agreed to let inidividuals with the book join the tour group demonstrations and also a 20% discount on anything you buy.

 

They were extra nice to us, announcing "con libro!" giving a glass blowing demonstration just to the 3 of us. The very lively salesman gave us a very informative talk and showed us various beautiful pieces, including some inexpensive items.

[NYC cruiser lady]

Instead, we went to a glass blowing demonstration at Galeria San Marco, a shop in St Marks Square #139 (it's on the left as you face St Mark's Basilica. I read about it in Rick Steve's Venice book.They've agreed to let inidividuals with the book join the tour group demonstrations and also a 20% discount on anything you buy.

 

They were extra nice to us, announcing "con libro!" giving a glass blowing demonstration just to the 3 of us. The very lively salesman gave us a very informative talk and showed us various beautiful pieces, including some inexpensive items.

 

I had the same great experience at Galeria San Marco thanks to Rick Steve's book, but does anyone know about the Murano Glass Museum? It looks interesting on the website.

Edited August 12, 2009 by singlemom

[Scrapchick]

Proceed with caution... I am in the middle of a nightmare over a glass clown I purchased on Murano from one of the big stores there- Ducale Vetreria... The clown is now in NY, at a customs broker warehouse and I received notice from them that I owe them $360 in customs and entry fees before my clown will be delivered. I have 7 days to get payment to them, by check only, before storage charges start accruing.... The clown cost me $1300. I love Murano glass and have a decent collection of it. I was conned into the "free shipping and packing" offer. There's nothing free about it. I am now being held to ransom for my property bt this company.

 

Interestingly enough, I bought another similar clown from another store in Venice and that was shipped straight to my front door via UPS, with no demands for money at all...

 

I have had several discussions with the customs broker. Thy will not tell me who the freight broker is in Venice who is giving the orders. The store I purchased from sent me two very rude e-mails telling me I signed a "contract" on the purchase slip and there will be NO refunds, and I am on the hook for all the fees.

 

I am in shock over this... I would have hand carried that clown home and paid excess baggage charges to the airline for a fraction of what this is now going to cost me and I seem to have no recourse. The customs broker says they're just following orders from italy, the Italians basically gave me the finger....

 

Please learn from my mistake. I intend to write this up and post it on as many websites as I can find to warn my fellow travelers about my experience in the hope they can avoid it. It will be a long time before I can face opening my box once it finally arrives. I am absolutely disgusted and furious about the whole thing. I love Italy, especially Venice and Murano, but this has soured me a great deal.

 

If you do buy anything, buy with extreme caution and DO NOT SHIP YOUR PURCHASE HOME!!! You too could face a bill from a company you never heard of and didn't know you would be doing business with for hundreds of dollars just to get the item you thought you had already paid for...

 

Ducale Vetreria is one of the first big factory showrooms you come to when you get off the vaparetto in Murano. Feel free to share this with everyone you know. I fully intend to spread the word about these crooks.

[agabbymama]

We did make take the vaporetto over to Murano. There are two stops on Murano, but either one is close to glass factories. It was cloudy and rainy the day we went, so the water was a little rough going over/and back.

 

But we went to the demonstration, and really enjoyed it. We saw two artisans. One made a vase (eh!) the second one made a horse. It was truly amazing to watch this man work his craft. I decided I wanted one of those horses. The shop at the factory wanted $40 and I didn't want to pay that, so we walked along the street and checked out the others stores on Murano. Sadly I left Murano without my horse.

 

Later that night we were walking around Rialto Bridge (lots of swap meet type stalls & small shops). I found a horse for only $15. It says it was made on Murano. Don't know for sure that is a fact, but I'm willing to take their word for it to save $25.

 

Go to Murano and have a ball!

[Hlitner]

Proceed with caution... I am in the middle of a nightmare over a glass clown I purchased on Murano from one of the big stores there- Ducale Vetreria... The clown is now in NY, at a customs broker warehouse and I received notice from them that I owe them $360 in customs and entry fees before my clown will be delivered. I have 7 days to get payment to them, by check only, before storage charges start accruing.... The clown cost me $1300. I love Murano glass and have a decent collection of it. I was conned into the "free shipping and packing" offer. There's nothing free about it. I am now being held to ransom for my property bt this company.

 

Interestingly enough, I bought another similar clown from another store in Venice and that was shipped straight to my front door via UPS, with no demands for money at all...

 

I have had several discussions with the customs broker. Thy will not tell me who the freight broker is in Venice who is giving the orders. The store I purchased from sent me two very rude e-mails telling me I signed a "contract" on the purchase slip and there will be NO refunds, and I am on the hook for all the fees.

 

I am in shock over this... I would have hand carried that clown home and paid excess baggage charges to the airline for a fraction of what this is now going to cost me and I seem to have no recourse. The customs broker says they're just following orders from italy, the Italians basically gave me the finger....

 

Please learn from my mistake. I intend to write this up and post it on as many websites as I can find to warn my fellow travelers about my experience in the hope they can avoid it. It will be a long time before I can face opening my box once it finally arrives. I am absolutely disgusted and furious about the whole thing. I love Italy, especially Venice and Murano, but this has soured me a great deal.

 

If you do buy anything, buy with extreme caution and DO NOT SHIP YOUR PURCHASE HOME!!! You too could face a bill from a company you never heard of and didn't know you would be doing business with for hundreds of dollars just to get the item you thought you had already paid for...

 

Ducale Vetreria is one of the first big factory showrooms you come to when you get off the vaparetto in Murano. Feel free to share this with everyone you know. I fully intend to spread the word about these crooks.

 

This situation is sad and, unfortunately, all too common. We have also run into issues with US Customs on shipping art work from Europe. The problem is that if the ICE agent decides to levy a duty the object will be shipped to your address COD. Your only choice is to pay the COD (which can be hundreds of dollars) or reject the shipment which means you will have wasted your purchase money. If you accept the object, you do have the right to appeal the ICE assessed duty, but their procedure is a real nightmare and you will usually lose. You also have to deal with the potential (and all too common) issue of items being damaged in shipment. After many years of traveling internationally we finally learned it is just not worth the hassle...

 

As to Murano Glass, beware beware beware. More and more of the products being labled as Murano Glass are actually made in Eastern Europe or Asia at much lower cost (and quality) and than mis-labeled. You need to deal with highly reputable merchants or factories, and it is difficult for most tourists to know with whom they deal.

 

Hank

[vismay99]

You can always buy original Murano glass online. Be careful to verify if it's a certified seller, if they have positive reviews and, important, if they sell also in different markets like amazon or eBay.

I personally love MadeMuranoGlass

[LondonTowner]

On 8/12/2009 at 3:49 PM, NYC cruiser lady said:

 

I had the same great experience at Galeria San Marco thanks to Rick Steve's book, but does anyone know about the Murano Glass Museum? It looks interesting on the website.

We have recently visited the Murano Glass Museum. We took the vaporetto from Piazzale Roma and the museum is close to where you get off he vaporetto.

 

its a very pleasant museum with some beautiful pieces, but it’s not very large. It wasn’t at all busy the day we were there ( beginning June).

 

murano itself is worth a visit and a pretty place.