Lee’s Keys & Locks

Went here because silly me locked my guitar case before I went to study abroad and forgot where I put them when I got back! :(
Took my guitar case (with the guitar inside) to the guy at the kiosk in uville. I wasn’t too sure if I could trust him because this was an expensive guitar inside an expensive case, but there was really nothing else I could do without risking damage or my guitar or case so I had to pray that this guy was trustworthy and knew what he was doing
THANKFULLY, when I came to pick it up everything was fine and the lock was undone :) only had to pay 15 bucks, which was alot better than me breaking open my case and then having to buy a completely new one

I was trying to get two keys with designs on them. He took my keys and started to make two new plain duplicates before i got to tell him my intentions. I had no idea that he in fact was already making them without my permission.
After i told him that i wanted two keys with designs on them, he threw one duplicated plain key to us and said no, i could get only one key with designs on it because he has already made one plain one. He told me that its 4.50 for the plain and an additional 7.50 for the design key. I argued with him that I never asked for a plain key. So after a couple back-​and-​forths, he said I can get rid of the plain one if we pay 8.50 (instead of 7.50) each for the two design keys. He also said that he will only take cash (to avoid credit card fees).
I pointed out that he raised the price of the design keys, and he just threw me my original keys and shut the window. I wouldnt come back here even if he were to be the only locksmith alive. I would get a damn keypad lock.

I had been told that no one could make me a duplicate key.
I went to Lowes and Fred Meyer. AHHHH! Both said go to a locksmith so I went to two different locksmiths, both on capitol hill. AHHHH! They both could not make one. So I gave up hope.
Months later I stumble upon Lee’s Keys while at U-​Village. I had seen the nice Asian man in the little hut with the window over the past 17+ years living in Seattle and thought I would try one more time. $ 10 later I had a new key. I was skeptical and thought I just lost $ 10 when I got home and tested it, it totally works.
VERY impressed he could do what others could not do. Thanks Lee’s Keys!

Really bad service, the guy was really rude to customers. I am surprised he still have business. Suggest to go to Home Depot for better service with reasonable price.

zero stars. he made a mistake, the keys he copied for me did not work and he refused to refund me the $ 30 he charged for the 2 simple key copies… he said it was my fault (?). I said he didn’t need to refund me then, just make me a new set that worked. he refused and then he shooed me away. he refused to talk about a solution. anyone have a locksmith recco? I will never go to this guy again.

I wish I had the foresight to check the Unilocal reviews before giving these people my money. Many of the other reviews would have warned me about their predatory pricing and unscrupulous behavior.
The woman at the window counter charged me $ 20 to replace the battery in a simple $ 50 skagen watch. Just one year later the battery ran out of power again. When I opened the watch, the battery had wierd purple markings on it. Not only did they overcharge me, but they didn’t replace my old battery with a brand new battery. Just awful.

Business with no integrity. I came here on Friday, and I was given a quote of $ 40 for a car key. I wanted to shop around over the weekend but no one else was open. So I came back here on Sunday to get my key copied only to find out the price is now $ 50 from the same lady. She refused to honor the original quote. NO THANK YOU! Avoid it like a plague.
Please do yourself a favor and call Maple Leaf locksmith who will do a better job at a cheaper price.

I took a belt watch that also has a light. The light was working but the watch had stopped. I left the watch with Lee and when I came back he told me that there were 2 batteries and he only changed the one for the watch because two batteries would cost $ 30. Fine, but now the light doesn’t turn on. I pointed this out and he pretended like he didn’t understand me. I suspect that he just used the live battery in it for my watch and charged me $ 15 (without tax) for it. When I pointed out that the light was working so why didn’t he keep the battery in there? His response was the light wasn’t working which is not true. Do not go there, and I will not go there again.

The prices here are ridiculous. It cost me almost $ 8 to duplicate one key with a really crappy key design. You’re better off just going to Lowes or Home Depot because it’s half the price with better key designs.
Also, they only accept cash.

He was able to duplicate all of the keys I need duplicated. Price was pretty fair for the area (1 key = $ 3) but the actual price after tax was more than the quoted price.

These guys say they replace watch batteries. I took my watch there recently, and it worked fine for a few days, then stopped again. I took it somewhere else to see what was wrong, and they discovered that Lee’s had used the wrong size battery, which broke a screw on a retaining clip, which caused the battery to move around in the case, only making contact and supplying juice intermittently. The other place fixed the damage, and put the right battery back in the watch. When I took the wrong size battery and the broken screw back to Lee’s, they refused to listen and refused to refund me money either for the bad battery (which I was offering to return to them) or for the damage to the watch.

Superb service. I needed a room key made and they did it for me in less than 2 minutes and it costed $ 3.
The quality of the metal is not that great but it hasn’t broken yet (three months of daily use later).

I needed to get some old keys made and Lee’s Keys were able to make the copies in about ten minutes. Their little hut is inside the University Village complex, so just walk in towards the Starbucks. Also remember to bring a signed letter from your landlord if the keys say «Duplication Prohibited.»

The couple that runs this shop is really nice! The two times I went, they were watching a Korean soap drama haha. But once I showed up, they were very fast at making copies of the key I requested, and it was pretty cheap (around $ 3). I will definitely be back and definitely recommend!

Had a broken spare car key that should not have been able to repair, they lowered the price and said it wasn’t a sure thing but worth a shot. Got home popped the key in and the key worked fine. Best key shop I know and only place ill ever go to.

Terrible service. Extortious practices.
He significantly scratched my door and inside panel. He did not listen to me. He finally got into my car and I paid him in cash. Then the alarm starts going off. I can’t turn it off and the car wont start.
As the alarm is going off, he said «I’ll fix that, but it will be more money.» I said no, I figured 55 dollars for 5 minutes of scratching my car was plenty. So he leaves me there with a broken and scratched door, with the alarm blasting, in a car that won’t start.
I do not recommend this business.

Although the lady wasn’t able to cut one of my apartment keys that said «do not duplicate,» she was able to cut my other key in less than 2 minutes! I only paid $ 3 for one key. Pretty good!

I was really excited when I received my car remote key blanks. I looked up places nearby the university for convenience and found this place. I asked them how much and the lady said she would have to charge extra because it was a hard key to cut. I paid about 9.50 for a cut on my key. On top of that, I supplied my own key and did not use theirs. I was weary about the price at first, but they convinced me that it was an extremely hard to cut key. When I told my gf how much it was, she questioned it and called the local Ace Hardware store. Turns out it only cost 2.99 to cut it. Same service, same outcome, but significant price difference. I will not be coming back here for key cutting again.

I only found out about this place through Unilocal because I looking for somewhere I could get «duplication prohibited» keys made. I’ve tried Home Depot and ACE before to make copies of these keys… but to no avail.
I’m the kind of person who needs lots of spare keys. One apartment key isn’t going to cut it for me, because it’s just a matter of time until I lock myself out.
Thankfully Lee’s made the keys very quickly. It was pricier than I expected ($ 18 for 3 keys), but it’s understandable given that it’s a small business. At least they didn’t refuse to make it. The kicker however, is that they made the copies of the keys on «do not copy» keys, so it’s not like I could take the blank key copy to home depot and make several more copies for a bit cheaper. Not a big deal… I’m just happy to have spare keys now.
Also, hate dealing with U-​Village parking, but that’s not really something this key place can control. Took me 15 minutes to find a parking spot… on a Thursday early afternoon.
Thanks Lee’s Keys & Locks!

After going to Home Depot and Ace several times to get a key cut (it’s for an old 1920s house and both places didn’t have the right «master» key… or whatever you call it. The Home Depot guy was kind enough to explain to me in excruciating detail why he couldn’t match my key.)
The little kiosk was easy to find and the Lees (hubby and wife) were sitting down with their fav Korean drama when I arrived. They cut my keys in 15 minutes while I did errands and voila — the keys worked like magic first time around. No jiggling, no praying, no crossing of the fingers.
However, they are more expensive than the big box stores and they didn’t give me a receipt. I’d cut 4 keys at HD for the same price they cut me two. But for all the aggravation it saved me, I can’t complain. I’ll come back here again for hard to duplicate keys!