I neither work for the pawnshop nor am I related to any of its employees, but I do visit there occasionally (especially when I am out in Banning to visit my children) and have firsthand knowledge of their rapport with customers (including me). They have a sign in their shop that states, "Come as a stranger/guest, leave as a friend" and I truly believe they are inclined to fulfill this motto as they build relationships with their customers. I have found them to care about their customers and go out of their way to help them - sometimes at their own loss.
Now, they are a business and many don't understand their side of the deal - people come in with their used items (even if it is in the packaging once it is purchased from a store its value drops because it is now being sold secondhand) but these are people's "treasures" and many times people want the value of replacing them - but this is unrealistic because this business can only price an item at what it is selling for on the common market (as defined by "Offer Up", "Amazon", "E-Bay", etc.) and then they still have to be open to negotiate with a customer who will want to get it at a still lower price; meanwhile, they also have to pay utilities, wages, and rent to be open to provide loans/buys to customers needing cash so the ceiling on what they can give for an item is limited, and they also have to reject some items because they recognize it will not sell and would just be a loss for them. And yet, I have seen them still loan/buy items from people just to help them at a tough time on items they knew would be a loss for them. Their store is relatively small for sales - they do a lot of that on remote sites like E-Bay, but they readily pull from their back rooms if you ask for an item and they have it in stock and work with customers to make those items, or items on the floor, affordable. There will always be disgruntled customers but this company also always has pleased customers - so, the best advice is for you to go in and get to know them so you can form your own reliable opinion (and if you have any unresolved questions, problems, or helpful comments you can talk to the owner - Henry - who is easy to converse with and is not just concerned with making a transaction, but developing a repeat visitor to his shop) . read more