Brothers Collateral Loans

Great people. I learned about Brothers from the great Huell Howser. Great deals on musical instruments and wonderful vintage jewelry. Fun collectables as well. Very fair and honest good people.

Really really really cool store owners. Also amazing stuff for sale in there. Highly recommend this place

Everything about Brothers Collateral Loans is great! They have always taken care of me whenever I needed ANYTHING! Whether it was a loan, or buying a gift for a friend or family.
They always gave me the best price for something I needed cash for, temporarily. This was never a problem for them cause they want to keep a competitive edge and make the customer happy.
Ernie & the rest of the team have always been the nicest people to me. They have always greated me with a smile & made sure I was taken care of & sometimes bent over backwards just to give me what I wanted. These people won’t let you down. Go to Brothers Collateral Loans now!

Great deals. Friendly people. Bought some art for myself and jewelry for my now ex girlfriend. We didn’t break up because of the jewelry. She loved it. Glad I got a great deal.

We came here because it had good reviews. My son wanted some unique jewelry and I said we should go to a pawn shop. The store is a nice size and they have everything under the sun. The staff are so nice. Irvin waited on us and didn’t act impatient at all even though my son couldn’t decide what he wanted. We were there over half an hour and they were just chatting with us and took a lot of stuff out of the case for him to try on. They didn’t try to pressure us either. They even offer you candy while you’re shopping. Some things were affordable and some (like most pawn shops) were overpriced. They have a lot of cool musical equipment too but I don’t really know anything about that. We’ll definitely stop by when in Hollywood.

These guys are absolutely amazing. After being stuck between a rock and a hard place, Brothers collateral was able to help me and my girlfriend out when we were in a bind. They worked with us an d were able to hold on to a special item we did not want to lose. They never went back on their word and were able to work with us and even extended our due date. Ernest, thank you for your time and consideration. We appreciate your excellent service.

These guys are awesome!!! Love this spot!!!:) the only pawnshop I go too. =) highly recommended;)

One of the last true American authentic enterprises: Brother’s Pawn (or Collateral Loans). Truly genuine and wonderful humans and atmosphere. I have long wanted to do some oil paintings (and even some serious photography) of the interiors, especially, and also the richly painted exterior of the building. NOTE:
The movie «HUMBLE BEAUTY: Skid Row Artists» covers genius artists hidden in L.A.‘s intense Skid Row. I, myself, (Rory White) am heavily featured in the film, as I founded and ran a Master’s level painting studio in the tenderloin of Skid Row for many years. The film makers, were fascinated when I told them of how much I liked Brothers Pawn Shop, (I also mentioned another shop that i liked in Santa Monica, but particularly focused on Brothers’), and included a short scene in the film with me talking about Brothers, «The Lenders to the Stars». Many philanthropists and foundations made donations and grants to allow me to run such high level art programs for homeless and other marginalized humans, and many friends have helped me. However, it would be ridiculous for me to not also say that Brothers’ made countless loans to me over the last 15 or more years to also help keep this work going… Rory White.

I’ve known Ernie for over 20 years and can tell you this is a place where you are treated like family — whether you are just browsing guitars, amps, effects, pedals, etc. of bringing in a piece for a loan = you always get a genuine welcoming here, not like other places where you can wait for a long time to be acknowledged by someone behind a glass bullet-​proof counter = you see the warm happy faces of people you know! One time I came in to replace a stolen box of tools (bus break-​in) and Ernie and Rudy were so compassionate and helpful discounting the purchase considering my loss — it was really nice — several times I’ve bought guitars for a good value here and they are always helpful if you need to just ‘put something away’ until you have a few bucks to come back and get it. Ernie is the ‘Velvet Hammer’ = he never pushes and always has the right advice on a situation whether it be an instrument or anything else. After 20 years of coming in I recently came by and was happy to meet his 90 year old Mom = what a gem — and what a gem this place is ! Named Brother’s for a reason = you are family here ! It took me a while to write this, buy I had to say how great they are ! I am a recording artist and have taught for UCLA Extension and make regular stops in here to see if they have any ‘goodies’ = they almost always do ! The place itself is a Goodie !
Thanks Ernie ! Thanks Rudy ! Love you Guys !

Used to live across from these guys back when the band was starting up and things were tough. Would hock my guitars for rent and food money, but these guys always came through, and now that I’m on top, I still come down to do business, and trust them with my most precious guitars while out on the road. If you are ever hard up, or in the market for a fine guitar or piece of gear, definitely come here first!

So you can say I’m a n00b when it comes to pawn shops. You see, the only thing I know is of the TV show & with that said I don’t have much experience going to these things & pawning. But yes, I do know pawn shops do rip you off.
My reason for going here? So I recently moved & had a variety of items (hanging lights, a new yoga mat, a DJ thing, remote control helicopters, etc) which I thought still held some type of value so I wanted to attempt at pawning some of it before donating it to the goodwill.
Anyways, what did they end up buying from us? My boyfriend’s DJ thing which costed him $ 100 2 years ago when he purchased it, and he got a cheeky $ 10 out of it. Their response was «We could only probably get $ 30 out of this if we sell it.»
Bottom line? I wouldn’t come back here because the stuff these guys buy, I don’t have. The stuff for sale here like any pawn shop: a ton of jewelry A TON, almost too much, guitars/​amps/​instruments, a SMALL section of cameras (not at all impressive), & old vintage items. These guys are fond of vintage fans which they have scattered throughout the store. Kinda interesting.
My reason for 3 stars? I thought this place was only catering to music related items. So if you have anything music related come here! Or anything vintage too.

This review is actually meant to be an update; I thought I gave this place a review the last time I went in (3 years ago) since the experience was so good, but I guess I lazily never gave that review.
Pawn brokers are like tattoo shops: if you visit enough of them you will come across one that shocks you away from the bad stigmas the others so proudly represent.
The reason most pawn shops are seedy is because they have no moral or ethical issue taking advantage of someone who NEEDS money right away – a position that usually ends in desperation. The other reason they have a bad rep of being seedy is because most pawn shops are full of imbecilic businessmen who immediately shoot out an insulting price based on absolutely zero research, or even worse – bad research. It usually goes like this:
YOU: «If you do your research you’ll find you can get $ 500 for this, so I’m asking for $ 250.00…»
‘PAWN BROKER:’ «Yes, but you see I am rather lazy so I can only offer you $ 35.00 based on what my friend, who has no credibility, tells me of this item. Also, this is only a front so I can launder money from my illegal prostitution ring… so I really have no time to SELL this item. $ 35.00, take it or leave it.»
Nothing but a good experience is what you will find in this place! First of all, a sign of a good pawn shop run by good business people is found by a simple view of their merchandise. If all they have is a few crusty and outdated car stereo equipment, and crappy jewelry laying around, it’s because the shop doesn’t have a competency of buying and selling. If they did, and they’ve been open for longer than 6 months, they should have plenty of collectibles, jewelry, musical instruments, memorabilia, etc… anything worth money. This place has tons of cool stuff, all at good prices! Give them a visit, you never know what you’ll find in there because they accumulate enough to keep it interesting; and it goes to show that this pawn broker makes DEALS with customers that he wants to come back!
I’ll bet Pawn Stars has made for shops like this having people coming in and having unrealistic ideas of what they can get for their item. In fact, I know the show has done just that. In the show customers usually get 50% or more of an items assumed retail value. In the real world, good pawn brokers tend to give only a third of the evidence that shows a realistic resale value. So don’t get bent if Brothers’ shoots you a price lower than you were expecting – because these guys do FAIR and RESPECTABLE DEALS! And, they’re really nice, and take the time to communicate with you! A rarity in the pawn broker business!
If you have something to sell/​pawn, and you’re in LA bring it here! Earnest, the owner, or anyone on shift will give you the fairest price they can give you with all the niceness and consideration you deserve! But, pawn shop etiquette mandates that you don’t get too upset if they politely explain that you’re asking for too much – which is what just happened to me. Even if your expectation is based on experience, the fact is their tool at hand is past experience and internet searches, so they can only make a decision based on what they realistically assume they can sell the item for.
Fair deals, great customer service, mom and pop history, plenty of great merchandise, buying and selling is made easy at Brothers.’ Give them a visit on your way to or from the Melrose Flea Market, or anytime you need to pawn/​sell something.
This place is a gem; worth your time.

It’s great that they are open Sundays

Nicer than the average pawnshop. The décor is interesting. The employees are helpful and polite. I was looking at their diamond jewelry and instead of being pushy or trying to talk me into a particular ring, the gentleman said «if it’s meant to be then it will be here when you’re ready».
I’m sure I will stop in from time to time to check out their musical instruments.

Los Angeles seems to be a city of unexpected experiences, and my visit to the Brothers Collateral Loans pawn shop this morning certainly qualifies.
I’ve always had the notion that pawn shops were dark and sleazy, perfect backdrops for a scene in a dime-​store mystery but not the kind of place in which I’d see myself hanging out. And I had no intention of challenging that preconceived notion until I saw James P.‘s review of the place, and I got to thinking.
Turns out, the shop is clean, comfortable, and filled with all sorts of unusual bric-​à-​brac. Ernest, one of the owners, is an incredibly nice guy, and he struck up a conversation with me immediately.
It was a strange experience, but I’m glad I went. I’m not saying all pawn shops are cool, friendly places (I live in Hollywood, and I’ve walked by enough Hollywood Boulevard pawnbrokers to say that creepy and shady seems to be the rule rather than the exception) but this place is aces in my book.

Drastic times call for drastic measures.
If you need to hock something, this is *the* place to go!
First, they are open on Sundays, unlike pretty much every other pawn shop in town. So there’s the convenience factor.
Next, it’s family-​owned, not some big corporate offshoot of BofA or whoever, and their payday loan subsidiary that’s staffed by surly unshaven bums. The Brothers are actually brothers, and their mom is often there, too. She’ll come out from the back occasionally and pass out candies.
The shop itself is a fun browse — they seem to favor old radios and antique-​y things — usually one of the vintage vacuum-​tube radios is playing the Classical station, depending on which of the brothers is in that day. Rudy tends to go for the classical. Ernie seems to lay off the radios.
This shop also tends to have more art than others. There is a very nice bronze sculpture there now. Musical instruments are also a specialty at this shop.
Of course, jewelry of all kinds is available, and always welcome if you need a loan. They really know watches.
The really good thing about this pawnshop, what really sets it apart from the others, is the guys who work there. Particularly Rudy and Ernie, the «Brothers» who own the place, and Cameron, who’s been there a long time.
They actually care. They are friendly and understanding, not cold and brusque like you’d expect from a pawnbroker. They aren’t there just to take your stuff — I think they actually want you to get through whatever tough patch it is that brought you there with your jewelry or whatever. If they can’t give you as much as you want for whatever you bring in, they actually sound a bit apologetic about it. These are nice people, and when you need to hock something, that goes a long way, too.
One of the guys there told me that they have a very low percentage of people who don’t eventually redeem their stuff, and he was quite proud of it. I don’t recall exactly, but I think it was something fewer than 10% who don’t manage to eventually get their things back.
I’ve bought stuff there, and I’ve pawned stuff there, for probably 10 years. So, if you find yourself in need of a pawnshop, I give this one my highest recommendation.