“This is so much fun. It’s like a toy store to me,” said Man Cave Consignment owner Dave Mengel as he gestured enthusiastically to the variety of wares that fill his Brentwood store. The small retail space that opened April 1 is loaded – floor to ceiling, wall to wall – with surprising steals Mengel has scored from garage and estate sales plus consigners.

“Nothing in the store would be considered a need,” said Mengel. “It’s all a want.”

For a guy who runs a consignment store, Mengel oddly enough isn’t a collector himself, and hasn’t created a man cave of his own at home. “It’s part of the green way of thinking,” he said. “I never buy anything new. I consider myself a ‘picker,’ meaning I go out and bring in inventory. I know what I need, and I know what things are worth. We’ve been slowly evolving and picking up things that people think are cool.”

Case in point: Oakley resident Val Valerio recently brought in an item for consignment and stopped in his tracks once he got a glimpse of a picture signed by Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.

“As I was looking around,” said Valerio, “I thought, ‘I cannot pass that up. I have to buy it!’”

Man Cave Consignment stocks an abundance of ideal Father’s Day gifts. Mengel invites gifters to skip the starched shirts and cutesy coffee mugs and take dad on a shopping safari he’ll actually enjoy. He’ll find neon beer signs, a pre-1940s bamboo fly rod and framed, signed sports memorabilia cover. Golf clubs. Vinyl music. Vintage camping equipment. Collectible Hot Wheels. Giants paraphernalia. An Erector set from 1964. Lucchese single-quill, ostrich-skin cowboy boots. Jack Londonesque snowshoes. Exercise equipment. First-edition “Tarzan” novels by Edgar Rice Burrows. Baseball cards. Globes. Poker tables. Tools. Harley Davidson merchandise – for starters.

“All the stuff that comes in is original and exciting,” said Man Cave Consignment employee Randal Mori. “The days I don’t work, I’m eager to come back and see what’s new.”

Approximately 50 items arrive daily, so the inventory is constantly changing. The concept behind Man Cave Consignment is that folks bring in their stuff and it’s put up for sale “as is,” and the consigner and Man Cave split the revenue 50/50.

“I’m not looking for garage-sale leftovers; I’m looking for the things that people want to show off to their friends,” said Mengel. “The nicer the piece, the faster it sells.”

Man Cave Consignment displays an item for 90 days. If the item doesn’t sell, it gets returned to the owner or goes up for auction and sells to the highest bidder. (Mengel welcomes auction-only items as well.)

The initial Man Cave Consignment auction premieres Sunday, July 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. Information regarding big-ticket items (priced at $500 and higher) will be published online for potential bidders. The outdoor event features a celebrity auctioneer plus food and beverages available for purchase. Depending on the success of the inaugural event, Mengel intends to hold an auction every month.

“Guys like a real eclectic mix of stuff,” said Mengel. “I have a little bit of everything that guys are going to get excited about.”

Man Cave Consignment, located at 3850 Balfour Road, Suite M in Brentwood, is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.mancaveconsignment.net or call 925-420-5614.