Best Collateral Telegraph Ave, Oakland

Best Collateral Reviews

• K

  Krista Freelove
  5

  First off, I would like to express my admiration in the way this shop has continued on in the face of so much adversity in the past two years. I am an Oaklander of aprox. 20 years and have purchased some incredible jewelry from here on several occasions. The staff has always been kind, professional, and knowledgable. To his credit, a former employee had more expertise in the jewelry department than anyone I had ever had the pleasure of doing business with. This is saying a lot because I love jewelry, too much actually. Today I received a hand written thank you card in the mail. It was so heartfelt and made my day. I mean, who does that anymore? A hand written note of thanks in the mail. Wow, simply wow. I will definitely continue to patron this shop and support their success. Also, the manager seems to run a very tight ship. Shout out to him. I say some raises are in order. (insert smiley face here). Krista

  Response from the owner

  Wow! Thank you, Krista, for this amazing and heartfelt review. We are so grateful for your business over the years, and we truly value your feedback and praise. It is so satisfying to read that the efforts we've made to ensure a superb customer experience every time sets us above the competition. Thank you again. We're here to serve you!

• J

  Jay Moose
  1

  I see alot of reviews on here that are very old, but I will definitely give an updated review. This is one of the few pawnshops I will not go to. I personally have watched people come in with some prized possessions and get low balled. Employees seem to be trained to give the worst bottom barrel prices. The manager (Kwame) will take first crack at any high item that comes out of pawn that he is interested in, not even giving it a chance to hit the sales floor, but will tell an employee to follow the rules when he is breaking them. Do yourself a favor.... find another pawnshop to sell, pawn or even purchase from. They are not in the business of looking out for the customer.

  Response from the owner

  Hello Jay, As a company that is breaking stereotypes and leading the modernization of the oldest collateral lending and luxury goods experience, we are sorry to read a review like yours. For the benefit of others reading this response, we’d like to point out that all employees of Best Collateral are tested and certified by the Gemology Institute of America, the foremost expert in the jewelry industry. This uniquely qualifies our employees to provide consistent and accurate testing, verification and assessment of the fair market value on items that customers bring to our stores. We are not aware of any other pawnbroker in the area that upholds the same professional standard. We all have prized possessions that we have held on to and that we hope to sell for a “pretty penny” someday. However, that doesn’t mean that all prized possessions are valuable or can command a high price. Most know that a ring made of solid gold is more valuable than a gold-plated version of the same ring. We also know that a guitar with a broken peg is less valuable than the same guitar in perfect condition. Without proper training, knowledge and the proper tools, it can be difficult for many to really understand how to calculate the true value of an item. Every one of our employees in all 11 of our Northern California locations follows a standard procedure for assessing the value of an item. Another reason why our customers know they are getting an honest value. With respect to items that come out of pawn, our policies do not allow our employees to “cherry pick” the best items. Customers who come into our stores get first crack at everything! This is what makes dropping by our pawnshops exciting! You never know what treasure you will come across. Best Collateral customers know that we back our Company Values, posted in all of our stores – we serve with a strong code of honesty, respect, dignity and integrity. Jay, If you’d care to provide more information or have any questions, please send an email to [email protected]. We’ll be happy to provide a reply.

• J

  J Manor
  1

  A year ago I gave these people 5 stars. Now, they get 1! Why, well, a year and a half ago I brought a number of instruments here and some jewelry. The jewelry wasn't worth much but for sentimental value to me. I had the intent of buying back most everything. 9 months ago I bought back the instruments, continued to pay to keep the tickets active on the jewelry and also moved 3+ hours away. Tickets on the jewelry expired a month and a half ago. I've been continually calling, because I had no way to get to Oakland until now, asking if I could pay off or to extend over the phone because i couldn't physically get here and they said, as if they were parole officers holding my stuff for ransom, that I had to physically come in so they could get my fingerptint! They know they're a Pawn Shop, right. I begged them to keep all of it and I'd get to Oakland as soon as I could, and they told me on more than one occasion, that even if it was sent out, we could get it back for a fee. Now today, I get to the store and they tell me, this includes the manager, who I'm fairly sure I spoke with on at least one occasion in the last month, says if I could tell him for sure who I spoke with, he'd use this scenario as a training exercise. He seemed surprised at my shock at that response, and I told him to forget it and left. They're ignorant, lazy, and self-important, and I'll never come here again, or recommend Best (worst) collateral to anyone again. Thanks for in essence stealing from me and then throwing it away. In essence that's exactly what you did.

• B

  Boi boi Black
  1

  I came in to pawn some items and did not have my new id as it was being renewed.. Just a copy of the old one. The supervisor Luis told me to bring in my receipt for the renewal the following day. I did that and he wasn't at work and was told what he told me was illegal. They would not contact Luis and was dismissive. They don't have anything posted in their store regarding what is required to start a pawn and was given some paper off the internet from the state. Dont go here. It is possible u will be asked to do something illegal depending on who u talk to. I was disappointed considering the reviews were decent. I went to a competitor whom had bad reviews but they accepted paperwork. Go figure.

• P

  Phillip Mckeown
  5

  I have been a customer for 7 years.... And no matter what the situation. From emergency funds to splurge purchases they have always been there for me... I consider this local business family to me. Never had a bad experiance and they are really there for you. Sincerely. Phillip Mckeown

• R

  Rae Z
  5

  I really think that greed weight heavy on those leaving bad reviews. Best Collateral is a nice shop with a lot of interesting finds. Employees might not be the best but I DO find what I need at good prices. I wouldn't advise taking in a D-bo bike looking to get rich BWAHHH!! Items have to be on point before they take them.

• L

  Light Angle
  1

  I was greeted warmly at the door followed by an inquiry. I wanted to sell my diamond ring set. Only to get low balled! Do not get intimated by their fancy equipment, fancy hand movements (the jewelry was checked here and there), and switch and bait tactics. After 7 mins. Of doing this and that, even getting another agent involved, the assessor very sneakily says, "2084." I respond with "2084?" Before I could blink, she quickly said "1080." I stared at her. She then quickly says "284." I continue to stare at her. Finally she says "180." I repeated for clarification "$180?" She says "yes." I then tell her my price. She whispered to her partner then says "284." Having been in retail many years I know a few tricks too but what was that all about?

• B

  Bill Wheeler
  5

  My pxperiece was as always the best.Someone made a great choice when they hired the new young lady. She not only works for BC but for the customer as well.I told her what I could spend knowing the worth of guitars and ams and she brought it in with in the dollar was very pleasant and nice to deal with you guys look out for her and make her welcome thanks again young lady at closing on Thur Feb 4th Bill Wheeler

• a

  aaron ron
  1

  Not only did they treat me with disrespect...but they also used a RACIAL SLUR in front of me, bad talked other employees right behind their backs as, handled my equipment with no sign of respect or care (slammed it once on the counter), but they laughed at me numerous times and had me operate another piece of equipment in the store to prove that mine worked, when i had no previous experience with the equipment. . . . .im this close to filing a law suit

• F

  Felicia Molina
  5

  Just wanted to stop by and give a review for Jonathan, my dad recently passed and I needed help for his funeral. He was very sensitive and gave me the highest dollar amount he could. So easy and simple to go get all my stuff back, thanks Jonathan!!