Any shops specializing in vintage cards in LA area?

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Posted By: Big Spider Beck

Have to travel to Kollyfornia in a few weeks. Can anyone suggest any shops, if any exist, in the Los Angeles area that specialize in pre-WWII (or at least pre-doubleknit) cards? Am not looking for any specific cards or sets but would just love to browse in a place that had T206's in the counter case instead of them frickin' pre-WWIII Yugioh cards. With all the high-flying discretionary income over there I'm hoping LA will have a shop like that. TIA for any tips.

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

In Orange county, the best shop on the west coast would be SportsCardsPlus. They are the only vintage dealer in Orange county that I know of. www.sportscardsplus.com.

30 miles from L.A. (?)

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

Beverly Hills Baseball Cards shop is the only vintage shop I know of in L.A.

1137 S. Robertson Blvd. L.A.

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Posted By: Anthony

It's pretty slim pickings. BH Cards occasionally has something interesting, but expect to be quoted Mastro level prices for grades that fall a bit short. Across the street and up a block is All Star Cards, lots of YuGiOh but he occasionally gets some interesting stuff- I saw some Wilson Franks and an E120 Ruth last time I was there.
Best bet by far is the Hollywood Park show- the next one is the first weekend in June. Best of luck.

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Posted By: J Levine

Not a lot of shops anymore in L.A.

If you are looking for pre-1970 stuff, Burbank Sportscards is your best bet. They are super organized but a bit pricey. Very little in the way of pre-war stuff though.

Beverly Hills Baseball card shop has a little bit but he has to pay for his rent there so his prices are often very steep.

Valley Baseball cards is my favorite shop and has been around forever. They have a little pre-war and have a large selection of vintage topps and bowman. Depending on who you get, you can sometimes get pretty good prices too. They have a bunch of oddball stuff too.

If you are willing to drive, Sportscardsplus has a a good selection of vintage but again a little pricey but sometimes bargains can be found on off-condition stuff.

L.A. is a card vacuum...

-Joshua

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Posted By: JimB

I have found Matt at the Beverly Hills card shop to be quite fair on prices. The last few times I was in there (on visits to LA) he has had hundreds of T206s and other odd pre-war stuff from Goudey's to the obscure issues. His emphasis is more on 50's and 60's, but he covers the gamut. SportscardsPlus may only be open by appointment these days. I would call ahead to check about that.
Jim

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Posted By: Aaron M.

I happily bought a 1948 Bowman Mikan grey variation from Matt at the BH Baseball Card store a couple months ago for a very fair price and he was very open with the fact that the card was hand-cut from the sheet and most likely would not grade. Really nice guy and he will chat you up with hobby related stories for as long a time as you have. Though his inventory changes frequently, he seems to have a great selection of pre-war and tobacco cards, with boxes of obscure issues behind the counter. Just go in and tell him what you are interested in and he will find something. FYI, he's closed on Sundays and Mondays.

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Posted By: Big Spider Beck

I have business in West LA and Long Beach so all the places you've suggested from Burbank to Beverly Hills to OC are within striking distance. Thanks-a-million everyone!

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Posted By: Dave

If you contact Daves vintage baseball cards, you may be able to schedule a visit, they are in West Los Angeles, and have a very large inventory of vintage cards.