I visited Tim's Baseball Card Shop in person, and it absolutely lives up to its reputation. This is…read morea real card shop for real collectors. Tim is knowledgeable, approachable, and clearly passionate about the hobby--no pressure, no attitude, just straight talk and fairness. The shop is well organized with a great mix of vintage and modern cards, and the pricing is reasonable and transparent. Tim took the time to talk cards, answer questions, and make sure I walked out with exactly what I was looking for. That kind of service is getting rare. If you're tired of overhyped shops or sellers who don't know their inventory, this place is a breath of fresh air. I'll absolutely be back and would recommend Tim's shop to any serious collector.

Great selection of cards and extremely personable owners! Reasonable prices on all cards. Gave…read moregreat local recommendations for our stay in Chicago!

Great family owned spot. They have what you may want and what you may need. Owners will share…read moreknowledge and a genuine interest in sports/gaming cards. If the price is right go ahead and scoop it up!

I stopped by on a Sunday afternoon soon after they opened. It's a large store with lots of space…read moreand plenty of vintage and new cards and memorabilia. I was really happy to find about 30 1972 Topps Baseball that I needed--plenty of options for each of them so I can get the best condition for the price. They prices were very reasonable and the service was snappy and pleasant. I can't wait to go back next month.

I really like this store because it has a lot of my favourite players and teams sport cards that…read moreI've been needing. There's this one worker his name is Lou and he treats me very nice, gives me nice deals on these very nice sports cards. Overall 10/10 experience I recommend this store to anyone.

This place is amazing! I went in to ask for advice on some vintage cards I have, and I met Ronnie…read more He's an incredible person - if PSA graded people, he'd be mint. Ronnie was super helpful, fun to talk to, and gave me a ton of advice. He's passionate about what he does, knows his stuff, and has a great collection of all sorts of collectibles. I visited Elite Cards #2, and I'm sure I'd have the same great experience at his other store. He wouldn't take a dime from me, by the way. You really should check it out!

My first time coming to Elite Sports Card was today honestly one of the best experiences I've had…read moreat a memorabilia shop from the product on the shelves to Ronnie behind the counter all round would recommend anyone to come shop and ask questions. Ronnie was the highlight of the shop. He answered every question with so much knowledge it was honestly the best. Thank you for the help and definitely will be back soon.

I have always had a wonderful time dealing with CFU and this time was no different. Even when the…read morepost office in my country was on strike you were so accommodating and help me get my split early and quickly. I can't express how much I love using you guys as a vendor and I always make sure to recommend you to whoever I can when they need to order splits. Thank you all again.

One of the card shops in the Chicago land for Cardfight!! Vanguard…read more If you're looking for a card shop that has other card games besides Vanguard, keep searching, CU (Cardfighters Underground) only carries Vanguard. The shop is a small section integrated into a record store that has tables for playing, a display case with cards, supplies and booster packs available for sale. The variety of product the shop has available for sale is limited due to the shop being so small. However, there are many Japanese products that are not often sold in card shops including Bushiroad import sleeves and anime-themed deckboxes. The shop is smaller than most which limits the size of tournaments CU can host. There are available areas for play all over the store but the shop likely would not be able to hold anything too big. Tournaments and events that the shop hosts are pretty good events overall; the shop owner and the judge/main vendor are both open minded individuals who will take the time to listen to the questions, comments and concerns customers have. The overall prices of the shop's products are very competitive as well. They are willing to make deals with customers on top of having overall lower prices in general. They are also very flexible. A friend of mine once bought four copies of a card (we'll call it Card A). He later pulled a copy of Card A in one of his booster packs even though he was looking for Card B, a card of equal value. The shop had a copy of Card B; the owner went up to my friend and offered an exchange as soon as he saw it. It was really nice of him to make the offer. The owner also plays the game himself; you can challenge him to a match anytime! There is a healthy variety of snacks and drinks that the shop has available for sale, most not costing more than a dollar. Great for a card shop setting, where tournaments can last longer than a few hours and cut into meal times. Available prices for buying product in bulk, such as boxes or cases, are also quite competitive as compared to other vendors online and shops in the Chicagoland area. My friends and I have bought many boxes from CU and are planning to buy more in the future. TL;DR - Overall, whether you're new or old to the game, CU is great for Vanguard and I'd recommend it. Unfortuantely, their shop is a little smaller than I'd prefer, but it's a great shop nonetheless, with a nice variety of products as well as a shop owner who is very open minded to helping you get what you need at the price you can afford.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Richi's Collectibles and I must say, it's a paradise for…read morecollectors of all kinds. The store boasts an impressive selection of collectibles that cater to a wide range of interests. The first thing that struck me was the organization and presentation of items. Everything was neatly displayed, making it easy to browse and discover hidden gems. From vintage action figures to rare dolls, beanie babies and many more......., they had it all. Best of luck to you on your new Endeavors

This independent store owner was not only very professional, but also very friendly. He was the…read moreonly business owner within 100 miles that had a PlayStation 2 in stock, and at a good price and condition. You can tell he's just starting out, but is very passionate about his business. He also invited me and a friend to a pop up event for his store's promo and gaming events. If you are looking for good quality nostalgic collectibles/novelty items, I would 100% recommend this store.

Good selection of non run-of-the-mill Pokemon plushies which is exactly what I wanted.read more

Neat little Japanese pop culture shop in Chicago. It has various anime knick knacks such as…read morekeychains, figurines, and plushies. There is also a good assortment of Gundam model kits as well as the tools for them (great place to start the hobby). It's not a huge store, but it beats paying Japan import shipping fees if you end up finding something you like here!

THEY STORE ALL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IF YOU BUY! AND SELL IT!…read more This place does well for three reasons LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION...other than that it has absolutely nothing to offer you except apparently low ball offers and rudeness according to other yelp reviews). I walked in there a couple of years back b/c I conveniently work near there and I purchased some gold and silver. The 2nd time I walked in, one of the guys I usually see demanded to know my first and last name. I did not have an issue with this since I am not hiding and I figured he already knew my name. Before the purchase could be completed, he took out a pen and paper and demanded to know the exact spelling...this was strange. He also requested an ID to photocopy for a "money laundering" check. I told him that was ridiculous as I wasn't selling anything and I was buying retail products they were selling with cash. Eventually after threatening to walk out, we made the sale all while this guy was jotting down more on his pad. I have a colleague who is an avid coin collector (has coins from ancient Greece to modern day US Mint) and I had been meaning to ask him if he goes to this place but never got around to it as I purchased there a couple of times more times without incident and I felt I was getting the usual customer treatment. The final time I went in there, I didn't have time to go to the bank so I had to use a credit card. This chubby younger guy behind the counter asked to see me id. I gave it this time b/c I figured he just wanted to see if my name matched the credit card...fair.. no one likes credit card fraud. But then he started writing down all the information. When I asked him why he was doing this, he said "money laundering." I again told him I was not selling anything and was a retail customer buying THEIR merchandise off the shelf just as I do at Walmart and Costco but they don't accuse me of money laundering!! We got into a big argument until I finally left as he told me he needed to put my information in data base in order for me to buy there. When I finally got around to asking my colleague about that place, he went hysterical and said "DON'T GO THERE! THOSE GUYS ARE CROOKS!" He told me they trick ppl into giving their info for "money laundering" and sell it to data brokers and ppl search sites. He also said the community knows it as an IRS roach motel. Almost aanyone who buys there past a quantity and is foolish enough to give there information, gets an instant audit. Obviously with selling there are rules. Like a pawn shop, they need your info in case the items you sold are stolen. BUT DON'T BE SO SPITEFUL TOWARDS YOUR CUSTOMERS that you lie to them to make more money off of them by tricking them into giving you there personal information! Lastly, my friend told me if you are a coin collector and want to buy coins at a good price, just go to ebay.

I am not a Avid Coin Collector however after coming from Daley court for a trial of someone I…read morewalked and I had found this coin and antique coin and relics for Ancient Roman, Greek and Egyptian coins and artifacts. I actually went to the one location in Oak Park, IL back in 2009 but they closed down. Anyways I came in to look at all the coins and Some ancient Jewelry which intrigue me. I spoke to an associate name Zach and he was very knowledgeable about the antiquity of Roman and Greek as well as Hellenistic coins. I mentioned originally having a Buddha Jade pendant and necklace my sister bought which they also have a separate expert and sent pictures to find out it was not an antique Jade. I did come back to show my Ancient Hellenistic coin I bought in Jerusalem, Israel traveling in the shops and he gave me alot of info on how much I paid and I had made an 14k gold bezel which was what tourist or people do in Israel but I did not want to spend $$ there and hired a Jeweler in Wabash Ave downtown Chicago to redo it for less in 14k gold. He said my coin was now worth more since 2009 and funny because the person in Oak Park said appraised it and said it was worthless just to find out it is worth more and had more silver in it. Anyways he showed me a Ancient Roman coin that was sold for $145 and I bought it the week after since I liked it but did not have $. I do recommend this place for research of true coin collectors. Here are pictures of what I purchased. 5 stars for there knowledge and service of coin collecting and artifacts plus there friendliness. They are not snobby when it come to customer service.