San Francisco Provident Loan

We bought 2 watches and my engagement ring over the past year and half. No where else can you find a staff that is so knowledgeable and helpful as well as FAIR!!! A rare thing to find in this industry. I won't shop anywhere else for my jewelry again as these guys know their stuff and their prices AND quality cant be beat!!!Not to mention their shop is as cool in appearance as they come, its something to see. I now realize that retail is NOT the way to go.

Pros: Service is outstanding, deals are unbeatable

Cons: parking was a little challenging until I found the mission st garage

Posted 11/15/07

My Wife and I had an excellent experience doing business with the San Francisco Provident Loan company. We needed to get an appraisal for my wife's engagement ring for insurance purposes and have checked out several local jewelry appraisers. All of their estimates were at least 3 times the cost of SF Provident Loan's estimate.

The service that we received was outstanding. We have never done this before so he explained everything very thoroughly. He took the time to show us what was involved with appraisals which made us feel really comfortable with our decision to go with SFPL.

My Wife and I highly recommend speaking to SFPL first before going to any other jewelry appraiser.

Posted 09/13/07

The person who gave this place one star is obviously a competitor, who most likely, cannot compete. Provident Loan has taken care of my family for years, and we wouldn't use anyone else. They are experts in jewelry and always give me prices well below any of their competitors. Joey is a great guy and absolute pro. I've bought watches from him a couple of times and a diamond ring for my wife. All great deals and terrific merchandise. When putting together a down payment on my first home, I brought in some jewelry to use as collateral and got a great loan. I don't know of anyone else in the city who is doing what they are over at Provident. And even if I did, I wouldn't go anywhere else. A true San Francisco gem!

Pros: Great Deals, Terrific Service. Ask for the owner, Joey.

Cons: The neighborhood didn't used to be the best, with Bloomingdales down the street, it is ever improving.

Posted 08/05/07

I dont recommend. They dont have state of the art equipment. Becareful with the owner he is sneaky like most pawn brokers. the photos of the shop online is not the way it is when you go, it is a run down dump. They must be writing their own reviews. Go to a legit appraiser. Good luck

Pros: none

Cons: bogus

Posted 08/02/07

I never thought I would need a pawn shop and everything I'd ever seen or heard of them had me thinking they were sleazy places that would just rip me off. However... recently I found myself in the unusual position of needing to sell a piece of jewelry I had for some extra cash. I searched the internet and the first place I came across was San Francisco Provident Loan. I read some reviews online and decided to check it out. From my very first phone call this was a completely pleasant experience. I was helped by a man named Ben, who was not only helpful but also relaxed and definitely not sleazy. He checked out my piece of jewelry, told me all about what he was looking for and then made me an offer. He then gave me the names of several other places that also buy jewelry and told me to check them out first, that his offer would be good for a month but he actually encouraged me to get second opinions. Well I did and his was the best offer. I went back, and true to his word his offer was still good. He was so nice and the experience was so pleasant I can hardly believe it. He even walked me to the bank to deposit my cash because I felt weird walking down the street with that much cash on me. I HIGHLY recommend this place. Check it out if you find yourself in need of selling some Jewelry." Make sure you ask for Ben, he is great!

Posted 07/18/07

My fiancee and I bought an engagement ring and our wedding bands from Joey and Ben upon the advice of a friend of ours. In both cases we researched designs we wanted for each ring, brought specs to their office, and they were able to make the rings. We just picked up the wedding bands and they look great! We were so pleased with the relaxed nature of visiting SFPLA: never did we feel pressured or hurried into buying anything. This is in stark contrast to other retail jewelery shops that were filled with unpleasant, pushy sales people. Highly recommend you visit these gentlemen if you have any business to conduct around buying, selling, or creating jewelery. Also, GREAT price!

Posted 06/12/07

Joey at Provident Loan was very helpful to me when I needed to perform the unpleasant task of selling a precious diamond. Other brokers in San Francisco offered to put my ring on consignment or give me one-half of the amount the appraiser said I should get. Joey at Provident, however, gave me exactly what I was expecting to get for the ring and the transaction took only 20 minutes. I called the "other guy" from the Provident Loan lobby and he said that the deal I got from Provident was "Remarkable".

Pros: professional, available by email, courteous

Posted 05/25/07

I have never sold a piece of jewelry before, and was hesitant to go to a 'pawn shop' with my very valuable diamond wedding ring. Ben was very easy to work with and gave me a fair price. Diamonds usually go for about half (sadly) of what you paid retail.

It took less than half an hour, was a perfectly pleasant experience, and Ben walked me to my scooter since I was carrying thousands of dollars in cash. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to sell valuable jewelry.

Pros: easy, no pressure, very helpful staff

Cons: seedy neighborhood

Posted 04/30/07

We were pleasantly surprised when we visited SF Provident Loan Association. It?s not your typical pawn shop! Our scheduled meeting for an appraisal with GIA Specialist Ben proved to be the best investment of time we?ve spent in quite sometime! Ben?s knowledge and attention to detail is unprecedented. He educated us as he took us step by step into the realm of what to look for with those four ?C?s? when it comes to selecting a diamond. It's true, they have a wonderful selection of jewelry. We?re thrilled we were able to make several purchases, and we look forward to future purchases with our new friends!

Pros: excellent service

Posted 02/05/07

GREAT SERVICE.
Ben was extremelyhelpful and knowledgeable.. I am quite uneducated in the field of diamiond buying but now know enough to handle myself.. I got a great deal on agreat set of earrings for my girlfriend I highly recommend this place to anyone looking to be treated fairly and wanting great service!!!!

Posted 12/22/06

The friendly, honest, helpful staff really set me up. They performed a free informal appraisal of some jewelry I had purchased online, going so far as to pass me the loupe and point out all the characteristics in the stones that influenced their calculation. They also gave me an outstanding price on some jewelry they had in stock, and were completely upfront about the stones, declaring the inclusions and showing them to me without being asked. Definitely one of the best experiences I have had with a jeweler. No hard sell, very open about everything they were doing, and great value. Highly recommended.

Posted 12/06/06

I went to see Ben at SF Provident Loan for an insurance appraisal. He was very friendly, professional, and accomodating. I'd visit Ben and his colleagues again for any jewelry repair, loan, or appraisal needs.

Posted 09/13/06

The folks at Provident offered very professional services. They were straight forward as to the saleability of my item and offered me other options regarding the item sale from which to choose. They were also low key in their offer and approach and easy to deal with. An excellent resource for the sale of jewelry.

Posted 09/03/06

When I made an appointment and went to their store I was a little worried because it is indeed a jewelry pawn shop, and I didn't think they would pay honest prices or do anything but try to take what I had for as little as possible. I don't know that much about jewelry, and was a bit afraid of being taken advantage of.
I was pleasently suprised by how well they knew the history of what I had, and actually offered me substantially more than what the other, more posh stores would. They bought some items outright, sent other to auction on my behalf (at a rate less than the auction house quoted me,) and sent me to an antique store on Market street who would pay more for the silver jewelry I had.
They are busy in that store, but they took more time than they had to with me, and I appreciated them putting me at ease. Who would have thought that a pawn shop would have treated me with more respect and less attitude than the others (who I'm biting my lip not to name....)

Pros: Helpful, respectful, honest

Posted 08/01/06

A friend recommended that I buy a refurbished watch from these guys... ended up getting a rolex at about 15% of what i would have paid in a store... one of my most amazing buys ever...

Made friends with the guy at the counter (Ben)... and he actually went out and found a new stone for my now wife's engagement ring. Again, an amazing deal: about 20% below the cost of Blue Nile diamonds... best price in town.

I did not have to get a loan from them... but this would definitely be the first and only place to go for a loan on jewelry... they are true jewelers and would be one of the only people i would trust who could understand the value of a rare piece-

Pros: Cheap jewelry, high quality, great product

Posted 03/16/06

when I was in a bit of a bind. The staff was very professional and was very willing to help educate me with jewlery terminology and diamond quality. They also pride themselves on CONFIDENTIALITY! I would recommend this place to anyone. I've never seen a pawn shop with Bulgari and Cartier in their display case.

Pros: Staff, Rates, Selection

Cons: Parking, Hours

Posted 02/15/06

No one ever wants to have tosee a pawn broker, but they were nice and professional. Iliked that they deal with jewelry exclusively, and they were cheaper than the other shops that freaked me out a bit. I never want to havetopawn anything again, but if Ido, I'll be going back there.

Pros: knowledgable, polite, professional

Cons: location, fees, hours

Posted 02/01/06