About Pawn Shops

The pawn shop is one of the oldest businesses around. They were around in Acient Greece and the Chinese have had pawn brokers for at least 3,000 years. Queen Isabella of Spain pawned her jewels so that Christopher Columbus could sail in search of a new route to the west Indies. In turn, he stumbled upon America. Throughout history, people from all walks of life have used pawn shops from Kings and the rich to your average Joe. You can buy and sell things at a pawn shop and use your valuables as collateral for a loan.

Pawn Shop Facts

• Pawn shops can buy your valuables or offer you a loan using them as collateral.
• Pawn shops are licensed by state and local government to offer customers loans. Resale shops, cash for gold places and buy / sell stores are not. Royal Pawn Shop is licensed by the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.
• The interest rates that pawn shops can charge are regulated by law. Royal has some of the lowest interest rates in the City!
• Pawn shops are not "just for poor people". Many of our customers are what could be described as being from a middle or upper-economic background. We are here to help all people get access to cash when they need it! When the banks aren't lending, you can always get cash at Royal Pawn Shop.
• Pawn Shops are a great place to buy jewelry. We don't charge the mark-up that retail jewelry stores charge. In fact, many jewelers are our regular customers. They buy low from us and mark up their prices to retail. When you come to Royal, you may find jewelry prices at up to 80% off of retail. This includes name brand products and luxury watches!
• You must be at least 18 years old to pawn or sell an item, and you must show a valid state or national photo ID.

How do pawn shops work?

Many people are hesitant to come into the pawn shop because they are unsure how it works. Pawning your gold or other valuables is really a very easy process.

Simply bring in your gold or other valuables to any of our Chicago pawn shop locations or our Oak Park pawn shop location. We need to be able to examine the item in person. If it's gold, we will test it for purity. (click here to read about gold purity and the gold karat system). If it's an item such as a flat screen TV or laptop computer, we will take into consideration things like age, condition and resale value.

After we examine your item, we will determin a value and price that we are authorized to pay you for your item as a buy, or lend to you using the item for collateral. You can generally get a little more cash for your item if you sell it. If you decide to sell, we will pay you cash and you are on your way! If you decide to use the item as collateral for a loan, we will lend you the money and you will have a certain amount of time to come back into the store and pay the loan back plus interest. Loans can be anywhere from a month to three months or more, depending on what you need. If you run into a jam, we can usually work with you to extend the loan as long as you cover your interest. You are charged interest monthly until you pay your loan back in full and redeem your item.

What happens to items in pawn that aren't redeemed?

Most items in pawn get redeemed by their owners. However, sometimes they aren't redeemed. When you fail to redeem your item by paying back the original loan amount plus interest, we will resell your item. Items get resold in our show rooms, to wholesalers and retailers and to refineries. If you ever think that you're going to have trouble paying back your loan in the agreed upon time and don't want to give up your collateral, please talk to us.

Pawn Shops in Chicago and the Chicago Suburbs.

If you need cash, Royal has a pawn shop location near you. Come down and see us. Click here to see our Chicago pawn shop locations.

Pawn Loans:
APR as low as 36% to 240%
You may choose a loand period from 90 days to up to one year.
Loan may be repaid at any time with penalties.
A 3% to 17% storage fee will apply.

For example, a $100 loan taken out for 90 days would require a repayment of $160.

Learn about gold, diamonds, platinum and silver

Sell Gold and Diamonds in Chicago, IL

At Royal Pawn Shop, we will buy or give a loan on any item of value. We pay the best prices for gold
and diamonds in Chicago. At Royal, you can,