I went there to sell my 22 K gold chain. It was 242.8 g. They paid me about 90% of spot price. All in all it was a positive experience. I don't know what the other reviews are complaining about, they were very transparent with what they were willing to do. I walked out the same day with a check and deposited it with no problems. Everyone was really kind and they even gave my girlfriend a free chocolate bar! If I ever have anything else to sell, I'd definitely head to Royal again. read more

I pawned some gold in 2011, and didn't need everything offered. I was back in a couple days to pickup but misplaced my receipt. I was told there was nothing I could do even though they had me on camera talking for 10 minutes. I found the receipt! The biggest guy in the commercial made a last offer but I was out of there. read more

Nasty nasty nasty place. Men here are rude to women of color. One man did not pass me jewelry but instead chose to throw it on the counter as if he were too good to pass it to me. So I was sure to throw it back. The vibe is off. You can tell they don't respect black women here. It's your average run of a muck pawn shop. read more

Lier's and thieves stay away told me my diamond ring was fake but they would give me 60$ I turned it down and took it to diamond district and got 1200$ read more

This store has a wide range of beautiful merchandise to suit every taste and pocket. They also carry high end purses and shoes. Perhaps their greatest asset is their staff who are friendly and engaging and greet everyone as friends. While there I encountered several patrons who said they had been customers for many years, one person said 35 years. This is a must visit Pawn Store. read more

Went today with some items to sell. Though we didn't agree on a price, they were friendly and professional.

Last year in June, I went to Royal Pawn Shop to try to sell some of my late father's things and to also meet Randy, Elise, and Hime (sorry if I spelled his name wrong), since I used to watch Hardcore Pawn: Chicago while it was still on TV; even though they could not buy any of my father's things, they were very friendly and caring! Therefore if you have something valuable to sell, then I highly recommend coming to Royal Pawn Shop to see if they will buy your item(s)! read more

I didn't really have a problem with this pawn shop like other reviewers. The law of Illinois and the pawn ticket is clear on how long you have to redeem your items. I do not believe that this pawn shop has stolen someone's items like other reviewers claimed. Just like when you get a loan from a bank, if you don't follow the terms of the loan, you will default on the loan. Every time I've called with questions about my loan they always answer them. They also are able to give loans for very high dollar items, which not all pawn shops are able to do. Keep in mind that the interest will be higher than a loan from a bank, since it is a cash loan and there is a higher risk involved. You can avoid paying more interest by paying off the loan as quickly as possible. The longer the loan runs for, the more interest you will pay. However, for someone like me who does not have good credit and cannot get a bank loan it is one of my only options and I'm grateful to have it while I went through some rough times. The problem with pawn shops is that a lot of people visiting them are going through rough times. This results in pawn shops getting more low ratings on platforms like Yelp than other businesses. When these people lose their items because they can't pay back the loan or the pawn shop "undervalues" their treasures, they want to blame the pawn shop for their financial difficulties instead of taking responsibility for their problems. read more

I came by here to sell some high end watches. They offered to let me pawn them for what I was hoping to sell them for. Great deal. Im picking them back up today. They could have easily just bought them, but were considerate enough to make me a fairer offer. If you have never been to a pawn shop before- ANY pawn shop might seem mistrustful. You need to understand the business before judging one. Royal Pawn will loan you money and hold your property as collateral. Check around before complaining. Compare interest rates. But what most impressed me was that they only charge interest rates monthly. If you were to go to most other shops and you return to pick up your items in less that a month, you still will have to pay 2-3 months of interests on your loan. Not here. Just 30 days of interest. Shop around compare, then complain. If you expect to be coddled and babied in the loan process, try borrowing the money from your mother instead. Also just because you PAID $1000 for a piece of jewelry at a mall, doesn't mean its worth even $100. Whatever you buy, wherever you buy it- be a smart shopper. Know the true value of what you are paying for. Be smart. Dont blame a business for your previous poor decisions. I'm a real customer. I pawn, sell, but mainly buy high end watches from pawn shops. Based on my transaction with them and the great service they provided, I'm going to be a loyal customer and am certain they will help me find the right Rolex at the right price. Seriously, this is Chicago, not San Francisco.You need to understand the culture, personalities abd sense of humor of the people here. Its a great city and this is a great shop. They are straight up and honest. You'll get your money's worth here. Oh and I moved here from California. Went in wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals- they still treated me like a Boss. Was well worth the drive from Aurora. read more

Royal Pawn Shop - Real items are worth real money here. - Pawn Shops Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I have used their services three times, once a long time ago, and twice in the past several years. I got a loan against my camera equipment, which has a number of pro-level pieces, so the resale value of the pieces I brought in is probably pushing $4,000. I knew from past experience that most pawn shops will loan someone they don't know about 1/4 of the used resale value of electronics, and might go up to 1/2 of the value if it's equipment with solid resale values (i.e. pro-level stuff), or if they know you pretty well. I asked for $1,000 against the approximately $4,000 worth of equipment I brought in and they wrote it up with no problem. The next time I brought in a little bit less of the equipment and asked for $500, again, no problem. I think many of the people complaining don't understand how pawn shops work. To have a positive experience with pawn shops (these pretty much apply to all pawn shops), keep these things in mind: 1) With jewelry, they will only loan against the scrap value of the jewelry, not the finished retail value of a piece. So even if it's absolutely stunning piece, if it's thin, 10karat gold, with small gemstones of a medium grade, the scrap value will be *far* less than whatever you paid. The only time you'll get offered something even close to what you paid is if it's 24k gold, in substantial amounts, with large, high-grade gemstones. If you go in and don't understand that, they will see you as a rube or, worse, a scam artist. I agree, they should still treat everyone respectfully, but I imagine they get tired of arguing with people who don't understand how pawn shops work, or how jewelry is valued there. 2) With electronics, they'll usually loan at 1/4 of the *used resale value* of the item. For off-brand electronics, often times the used resale value of an item will be much, much lower than what you paid new, even if it's not that old. This is because electronics lose their value relatively quickly, and it's hard to sell off-brand items. The only time you'll get anything close to decent loan offers is with name-brand, high-end electronics, because they lose their value more slowly, and they are easier for the pawn shop to resell if you default on the loan. 3) If this is your first time at a particular pawn shop, they will probably low-ball you, especially if you seem like you don't know how pawn shops work. When I go in and expect to get 1/4 of the resale value of my equipment, and that's what they offer me, they know that even if I'm new, I know how their business operates, which makes dealing with me easier and non-confrontational. 4) If you pawn things frequently, they will give you greater loan-to-value rates. Instead of just 1/4, if you're a regular customer they may go as high as 1/2 the value of what you want a loan against. But they have to know you first, so that they have some idea of how much trouble it will be dealing with you. If you come in prepared, with a realistic expectation of valuation, you will get a loan with good, quick service and if you do it often, they'll start to go further to keep your business. They don't make their money off the one-time person selling jewelry they bought at a mall jewel. I'm not trying to insult anyone, that's just the truth. They make their money from people who come in relatively frequently with substantial amounts of high-grade metals or jewels, or professional-grade electronics. So, for people who know how pawn shops work, are realistic about the actual resale value of their items, and know that most jewelry will have loan values of just the scrap price of their pieces, this pawn shop is quick and friendly. If you don't know how pawn shops work, and have a completely unrealistic understanding of how your items are valued, you probably won't have a good experience at *any* pawn shop. The only reason I gave them 4 stars instead of 5 is that their shop is really, really cluttered and seems kinda dirty. I know it's "downtown" shop, from an era when "downtown" meant a little grimy, but they should really get with the times and realized that "downtown" doesn't mean dirty and grimy anymore. I'm not saying they need to spend thousands of dollars on a remodel, just that they need to organize things better, and do a better job of curating what they have on display. If it looked nicer, they would probably even make a little more money on selling pieces on display. But other than that, as far as their primary purpose as a pawn shop, I think they do an excellent job. read more

Went to see what they had and Johnny showed me a cross and pendant that I was pleased to see. He gave me a great deal and I'm glad I went because I've been wanted something different for a while now. I'll definitely keep seeing what they have in stock and go say what's up to Johnny when I need more jewelry. Thanks Royal Pawn. read more

Went in to try to sell some rings and the male worker was extremely rude. He laughed at me when I gave him my asking price and gave me a very low offer. Would not recommend going here. read more

Stay away from this place unless you want to get rip-offed and scammed PLease, they will steal your valuables if you put it into pawn and then try to resell it and reek the profits. I am so disgusted and out-done I had to post as many reviews as I could about this place, but I would like to warn others to please, STAY AWAY!! read more

I had been here twice before and had a decent experience, until the LAST time I went in (unfortunately on my birthday) January 7th, 2015. This happened MONTHS ago, but this experience is UNFORGETTABLE. I bring in two sentimental pieces of jewelry, a white gold bracelet with pink sapphires and diamonds, given to me by my spouse and a white gold ring with some small diamonds, which both came from Kay's. It broke my heart to even CONSIDER pawning it, but I had visited Royal before so I figured I was safe. I'm familiar that the markup on jewelry is insane, but at the $1900 price at that store, I thought I could get a decent amount. I enter the store, go up to the window and show the girl my items and I tell her I'd like a LOAN if possible. She asks how much and I say $900. As it left my mouth, you would think I insulted HER with the face she made. It got worse from there. She says, quite rudely, "Uh, really? We're NOWHERE near the same page." She says this as she's snobbishly eyeballing my jewelry. So I say, "Alright. What would you guys say then?" Still looking, she replies, "Well it's 10k gold and the diamonds are tiny, so mayyybe $80." SERIOUSLY?! If you're going to lowball me, do you HAVE to be rude too? Jesus. Before I could reply, she says she's going to ask her Dad, Randy, who was at the case in the front of the store whom I had a nice experience with previously). I wait at the window but I can turn to my right and see and HEAR what they're both saying. She shows it to him and he looks at it with the magnifier. He asks, "what does she want for it?" She says, in the same condescending tone, "$900." He says, (sarcastically) "Oh, that's all?" (chuckle) She says, "yeah, I thought the same thing." He hands it back to her and scoffs at $80. She then returns to me and repeats that ridiculous offer, where I politely asked for my things back. She said, rather insincerely, "sorry" as she's walking away from me - when I say walks away, I mean I was still standing there and watched her return to the back, and this is in a matter of seconds. Wow. Let me just say to the owners: I understand that people probably try to scam you on a daily basis, and bring in things that probably aren't worth much, BUT, there are also sincere and honest people who just fall on hard times and come to you guys for help. I don't expect you, as jewelers to love an item the way I do, but I DO expect to be RESPECTED as a customer and an individual. After this experience, I will NEVER return. The rudeness and dismissive attitudes are uncalled for. Completely unprofessional and insensitive. read more

I'm not sure how you review a pawn shop - after all, they are SUPPOSE to rip you off. They prey on those who are in desperate need of some cash, and cater to those who have stolen goods to get ride of. But in any case, I went here many years ago to make statement of sort - by selling my wedding ring for 15 bucks - certainly showed how pathetic the relationship had become. And how glad I was to part ways with it quickly. Now the guys that work here, OMG. Where do these critters come from? read more

Worst pawn shop I ever been at very rude very snobby and treat you with no respect to make matters worst they over over lowball a piece that I brought in and got $900 for a year ago they tried to offer me $120 the best part is when they ask you how much would you like and you say what you would need and they roll their eyes at you very professional if you want to get scammed go to Royal Pawn read more

Too many brightly colored signs and odd location across the street from the prison. It feels rather sleazy but what pawn shop doesn't? I pawned a watch here for $40. read more

Royal Pawn Shop - Pawn Shops Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Con men. Nuff said. They offered me $50.- for an 18k gold Jaeger Lecoultre slimline wrist watch that was in perfect working condition. Either they were too ignorant to know what the watch was, or they're just theives. AVOID THEM UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET RIPPED OFF! read more

Went there today...did not have a good experience. I called ahead to see if they took furs and they said yes...but when I got there with my fur stole with the appraisal, they barely looked at it. They didn't touch or look at any of my items. They just glanced at two CD players and said 25.00. I thought the people who worked there were very cold and unfriendly. I would strongly suggest going to GoldPro in Oak Lawn-friendly, professional, and you feel like you're being treated fairly and as a valued customer/client. Avoid this place if you can at all help it. read more

Great place to see and be seen! They give very nice prices on high end watches and jewelry. We will be back

I had to take a trip to Los Angeles and brought in a new iPad mini 4 and a coach signature purse and was only given a $125.00 loan which did not help me out at all I would not recommend this place to anyone the guys were rude and unprofessional I had receipts to show my merchandise was new and authentic but that was not good enough. read more

I was very happy doing business here. If you need high end watches this is your pawn shop. Also gave me a very fair price on my trades. If you go deal with Nate he is the man. read more

A fantastic cabbie named Coffee brought me here tonight. I bought a gorgeous pair of studs for a way better price than I would have paid at the other stores I shopped on Jewelers Row. I'm so excited! read more

First of all, filtered reviews are hilarious. As someone stated, Royal Pawn Shop is sleazy. I took the reviews into consideration and walked into the pawn shop with an open mind. The location didn't concern me, because I was familiar with that area from high school. But anyway, when I walked in, one word that comes into mind is disorder. The salesmen, if you can call them that, were leaning all on the glass counters, there were multiple people behind the counters looking less than professional. Plus, their jokes were inappropriate. I had a Canon G7 which originally retailed at $700. It is a semi-professional digital camera, therefore the body of the camera is bulkier than your average digital camera. I could tell the salesperson wasn't well versed in electronics and assumed the camera was a dinosaur. Thus, he tried to low ball me for $50! This camera goes for $300 used. I was like, "um, no!" LOL. Then I had a Canon Rebel. Its film only. Another indicator that these men knew nothing about the cameras I brought in was the fact that he was initially impressed more with the Rebel as opposed to the G7. He said $25, I'm thinking, "dude...go to sleep". Their not trying to give you anything close to what your item is worth if you are trying sell. And their website is a polar opposite to the actual business itself. Do yourself a favor and stick to Ebay and Craigslist, because these mugs are more like peasants than royalty. I am so serious. read more

This is bar far the best pawn shop in Chicago. The staff is friendly. They give you great value for stuff. They also have a parking lot with free parking. read more

Just like everyone else is saying-this place is a total scam. Not only that, one of the guys takes the time to flirt his way through the whole process making me feel so uncomfortable. At least I thought I was going to get my moneys worth. He offered me a terrible price. Like I guess they think people have no brains or something like that. Don't go to this horrible place. Go anywhere else read more

This place is as professional as a Mahjong game in china town. I've seen better deals in a flea market. Have some respect for your customers grease balls! read more

I can't speak for the pawning side of this business but I went to sell some gold and expected to only get about $200, if that for some pieces of jewelry I don't wear anymore. I left with $520. Can't complain about that! About these other reviews, the location is in downtown, what prison? Its right by the stock exchange near the blue line. There weren't too many brightly colored signs then again I went during the day. I was treated nicely and left happy. Also, I didn't feel I had to walk in with a posse to feel safe. read more

I never really paid much attention to Royal until the recent "gold rush". Somehow I kept hearing a commercial saying "Royal pays the most for your unwanted gold". So, recently I was in need of some extra cash. I took a couple of old broken 10 k necklaces to a local cash for gold place and the guy offers me a mere $200. I'm like "no way! I'm not a hype trying to get a quick fix". So I decided to put Royal to the test. Would they really pay top dollar? Well, I checked online and and knew that the full value of the gold I owned was around $500. These guys paid me $360! It was 160 more than what the other guys was offering and hey, they've gotta make a profit too! Right? And to top it off, Royal sold me a new violin for my son for 50 bucks! My experience at Royal was Great. I plan on going back to buy one more violin for my other son and I highly recommend Royal for selling your unwanted gold. They do pay top dollar. read more

I have been here once with a friend of mine who was looking for a video camera. This place was pretty sketchy and I honestly didn't feel very safe. The selection on merchandise inside was also not that great. A lot of their items were old and beat up. read more

What an experience. I watch A&E and saw this pawn shop on tv. They claim to purchase anything so I call them and ask if they buy listed artist art work. I have a painting that I paid 1,400 for at Leslie Hindman. Reputable art auction house. Had the listing in the catalog from the auction house. I take the painting into Royal pawn to see about selling it, the guy takes his hand across the 78 yr old painting and says how do I know it's real. I'm like you claim to buy art work and don't even have a brain enough to know an oil painting when you see it. He's like without knowing if it's a real painting I can't buy it. I'm like so you really are as dumb as you act on tv and left. Nightmare and waste of time. read more

Went into this pawn shop recently to look for high end watches. The people there were not very nice. I went into the shop wearing tshirt and short, and they probably thought i don't have money or something. All the stuff they had looked crappy. I would recommend going in there with at least a friend or two. read more

Went in here to sell my pen...the pen I was selling goes for $500 brand new in the store....one of the girls offered me $30 for the pen....I consider that an insult....I then asked the guy (I think he's one of the owners) what's the most he would give me for it...he said $40 or $50....on top of that he said my pen was cracked...and it wasn't....I understand your a business and you need to make money but $50 for a montblanc boheme pen? Not even over $100? The value in these pens go up every year...I wasn't even expecting half of $500...I just wanted a reasonable amount.....but these ppl think they can lowball me and think ill accept their offer and resell it n make a huge profit...yea not happen...FYI I was a car salesman....don't try and bullshit a bullshitter..stay away n take ur business elsewhere read more

Super friendly and welcoming people who provided all the help we needed. The place was very well kept with unique items being sold. Definitely a place to check out especially if you are looking to sell any items you think may be worth anything. I've had more help and sold for a lot more from these guys compared to any pawn shops in the burbs. I will definitely be going back soon since my eyes caught something pretty on the way out. I can't wait to put it on my wall. read more

I have shopped at this pawn shop for years. What you call a prison across the street in the middle of downtown Chicago is a Federal detention center not a prison. This a favorite spot for police officers like myself. They have more jewelry that is not on display just ask. Stop judging a book by the cover, the owners are not criminals most of their patrons are law enforcement officers and they have good relationship with law enforcement. You are safer inside of here than you might be in any other jewelry store. read more

The kings of chicago, reality tv's stars have the best pawn shop in chicago! Randy and Wayne are the best to go see for your item of value. -Nick The Greek read more

My grandma passed away and left me some random jewelry. I shopped around at a few jewelry stores and pawn shops, and Royal Pawn shop offered me the most. It was a deal I couldn't resist! I even ended up walking out with a MacBook Air! I would recommend this place to everyone! Don't really know what all these negative reviews are about, but this place is awesome! read more

I was drawn to this place because of all the musical instruments that they had showing in their windows. After going in and looking around, nothing in the store really looked like it would work. A lot of the stuff they had in the store looked like they were picked out of a dumpster. Customer service was ok, although of the 4 people working there only one person seemed to know anything about their merchandise. The place itself looked kinda shady, and while they had a few items I might be interested in, I'd probably only go there as a last resort. read more

I recently went into this pawnshop to bring in my gold. I work in the loop and had shopped around to price out what I would get for my gold. As a last resort, I went into this pawnshop. I say last resort because these types of places are usually not my kind of thing. I walked in and walked straight back to the window. A man named Randy, who was either the manager or owner, helped me. He quoted me higher price than any other places that I went to. Just for giggles, I countered his offer and he accepted. Right on the spot I had cash in hand. I was happy with my experience there. read more

i went their last week i met randy his daughter and the other employees they were very nice they treat you good make you welcome i will be back . read more