House Calls · Southern California
Antique buyers who come to you.
Free visit · cash offers · no obligation
Most people who call us have the same problem. There is a house, or a room, or a closet, full of things somebody kept for fifty years, and no obvious way to find out what any of it is worth without loading it into a car. So we come to you. We look at everything at your pace, tell you plainly what we are seeing, and pay cash before we leave.
The visit is free and there is no obligation to sell anything. We are California Vintage Buyers, based in Laguna Hills and the team behind the Old 44 Vintage shop, and we buy professionally every day, which is the only reason we can price a room full of mixed objects in an afternoon.
Where our offers are strongest
Jewelry and watches
Estate and costume jewelry, signed pieces, and vintage watches, read in front of you piece by piece. Gold, silver, and diamond pieces we identify, free, so you know what you have before deciding.
Vintage Levi’s, denim, and workwear
Our deepest specialty. Big E tabs, selvedge, buckle-backs, old Carhartt and Filson, chore coats, and military wear. We paid $12,000 in cash for one 1940s Type 1 jacket, same day.
Pokemon and trading cards
Base Set and vintage-era Pokemon, 1st Edition and shadowless printings, graded or raw, plus sports and non-sport cards. Bring the shoebox out, it is worth a look.
Antiques and the rest of the house
Advertising signs, art, coins and currency, guitars, and cameras. Furniture we are mostly passing on as of August 2026, buying only select mid-century and maker pieces, and we tell you which from a photo. We are honest about the ordinary pieces too, and we will tell you when something is not worth selling.
House calls from Santa Barbara to San Diego
We are based at 23011 Moulton Pkwy Suite G-11 in Laguna Hills and drive to sellers throughout Southern California: Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and the desert communities. If you are outside the region, we also buy remotely by video call, with payment sent through PayPal before you ship anything.

How We Work
We evaluate everything in front of you, explain what we’re seeing, and pay cash before we leave. No consignment, no waiting on a sale.
How it works
Call or text photos.
A real conversation about what you have, no pressure to sell.
We come to you.
We look at everything, at your pace. We know what we're seeing.
Cash offer, same visit.
A fair price on the spot, or a full estate sale run for you.
Common questions
What does the house call actually cost?
Nothing. The visit, the evaluation, and our opinion are free, and you are under no obligation to sell. We would rather look at ten houses and buy from three than pressure anyone into a sale they regret.
Most of what we have is ordinary. Is it still worth a visit?
Usually yes, and here is the honest reason. The pieces that surprise people are almost never the display cabinet. They are the jewelry box nobody sorted, the jeans in the garage, and the box of cards in a closet. If you want an answer before anyone drives, text photos of the jewelry box, the denim, or the cards to (949) 449-1255. We will tell you straight when something is not worth selling, and that answer is free too. The one place ordinary usually means a pass is furniture: as of August 2026, storage space and market conditions have us buying only select mid-century and designer pieces, and we will say so from a photo so you can plan a donation pickup instead of waiting on us.
Do we need to clean, sort, or price anything first?
Please do not. Cleaning silver and jewelry can reduce what a piece is worth, and sorting tends to separate things we would rather see together. Leave it as it is and let us work through it with you.
How do you pay, and how fast?
Cash, before we leave, for the amount we agreed while standing in front of the items. For larger estates we can arrange other methods, and we will discuss that on the phone beforehand so nothing is a surprise.
We are outside your driving range. What should we photograph before a video call?
Shoot in daylight near a window, one item at a time, and give us the details rather than the pretty view. For clothing that means the label, the inside of the collar, any care or union tag, the buttons, and both cuffs; for ceramics and metal it means the bottom, any maker mark, and the damage rather than the good side. Include something for scale and photograph the flaws honestly, since an accurate picture is what lets an offer hold. Nothing ships until payment has been sent through PayPal and is in your account.
Is there a minimum before you will drive out to the Inland Empire or the desert?
No. We bundle stops by area across Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Ventura, Santa Barbara and the desert communities, so a single closet in Palm Desert can ride along with the rest of that day. Call once and we will fold you into the next trip out. The visit and the evaluation are free either way, so please do not thin down the jewelry, denim, watches, tools, or paperwork to what you think is worth our time before we arrive. Furniture is the one exception: text a photo of any large piece first, because as of August 2026 we are only buying select mid-century and maker pieces, and we would rather say so before anything is in the driveway.
What actually happens when you come out to look?
We walk through with you, at your pace, and say what we are seeing out loud as we go, so nothing is priced in silence. Ask about anything; the explaining is the point. At the end you get one clear offer for the pieces we can buy, named piece by piece rather than as one mystery number, and a straight answer on what the rest is. Accept, sleep on it, or say no: all three happen every week, and none of them changes how the visit goes.
The knives in the silver chest feel heavy. Does that mean the set is valuable?
The knives are the least reliable witnesses in the chest. A sterling place knife is a thin silver shell over a cement filling with a stainless blade, so the heaviest-feeling pieces hold the least silver, and auction houses exclude the knives when they weigh a set for exactly that reason. Judge a service by its forks and spoons instead. On a house call we sort solid from filled from plate in front of you, free, before anyone talks numbers.
How much actual silver is in a full set of sterling flatware?
Less than the chest’s weight suggests, but still substantial. A typical service for eight holds roughly 50 to 80 troy ounces once the knives are set aside, because their handles are filled rather than solid. Sterling is 92.5 percent silver, and at August 2026 silver prices that much metal comes to roughly $3,100 to $4,900 before any pattern premium. We put a free read on the marks and the pattern during the visit, so you know the floor before anyone quotes you a number.
Know what it’s worth before you sell.
Our field guides explain how the market actually prices these things. No fishing, no hype: real ranges and the details that move them.
One call. We’ll take it
from there.
(949) 449-12555.0 on Google · Free visit, no obligation · Cash the same visit
Mon-Sat 6 am-8 pm · Sun 8 am-5 pm
A real person answers seven days a week, weekends included. Photos sent today are usually answered the same day.
Prefer photos? Text them straight to the same number · or send them here
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