Trading Post Corporation — Attraction in Crystal Lake

I stopped in last Saturday with the intention of buying something, but I had no idea what I was going to buy. I've been enjoying their YouTube videos, and I thought I would stop in to repay them for all of the entertainment by making a purchase at their store. All of the employees were very friendly and extremely helpful, but Kevin, in particular, was really great. He helped me in the musical instrument section of the store, and it was clear from the start that he really knew what he was talking about. Not only was he a great salesman, but he was a pretty cool guy, in general. I walked out of there thinking, "what a great experience". He helped me to pick out an amplification system for my electronic drum set. He took the time to demonstrate that the machine worked properly, he listened carefully and paid attention to my specific needs, and he very considerately wrote out a hand receipt that addressed my concerns for returning the device in the event that it was incompatible with my drum set. I got the device home to find that it worked perfectly with my rig, and I have been having so much fun with it ever since. I think I may have even been a witness to what will, most likely, be a video featured on their YouTube page. And unbelievably, I ran into an old friend that I haven't seen in 11 years while I was there! Overall, I'm very glad that I drove out to the Trading Post from Chicago. It was an afternoon well spent, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you're watching the videos and enjoying the material that they put out, get on down there and spend some money! They've got a lot of very cool and interesting things priced very affordably. Pete is a welcoming host, and his animals are just as sweet and friendly in person as they seem on YouTube. The cat walked right up to me and climbed on my leg while I was squatting down to look at something on a low shelf. Thank you,...

As far as selling stuff to the Trading Post, all I can say is try and do it when Pete is there. If he's not present, and you've gotta deal with Ryan and Kevin, don't expect much. I've been there 3 times. The first time Pete wasn't there and they wouldn't buy my item, which was a very popular original folded 80s movie poster in pristine condition. The second time Pete was there and he bought almost everything I had brought in. And he gave me a very fair deal for everything. The third time, Pete was there but had to step out to run an errand (of course, right as I walked in with all my stuff). BTW, the second and third time I brought stuff in was all man cave stuff (video games, vintage beer stuff, some rock music related stuff), which is all stuff Pete loves to buy and sell. Ryan and Kevin barely bought ANYTHING I had, and it was a giant tote full. Really pissed me off. 1 hour and 20 minute drive for basically nothing. Oh well. I'll continue to watch their YouTube channel, which is very enjoyable, but I'll probably never visit the...

Extremely rude, they undermined my items when me and my friend brought in some things we were trying to get rid of. I know the value of what I brought in and one of the employees just came up and literally just pointed at stuff and said "$1" for things without even looking. I also want to mention a friend of mine brought in a motorcycle here, they downright lied about the Kelley Blue Book value of it saying it was worth $500. When he went home and searched it on Kelley Blue Book and it was valued at $1,500. Then they had enough nerve to say that they would not even offer the $500 and they would only offer around $300 for it. A week later in the Crystal Lake classified it sold for $1,300 easy. This place is a RIP OFF, your better off donating your stuff instead of dealing with...