Hand Prop Room

Went there with a female coworker and an employee made a comment to us that was extraordinarily inappropriate and borderline sexual harassment.
Good props, but would not go back there. Very creepy.

The fiancé and I just left HPR. and it was awesome. They were really helpful… I’m not sure of the first guy that helped me (he was a taller Latino guy I think?) but he helped me get a pair of handcuffs and he was funny… when he brought me upstairs he said «don’t feed the rats» hahaha. Then after I was done I think Nathan was his name helped me get a deck of playing cards. I also asked if they knew of any place that had a Gotham police badge and he said «dude we have one of those ill go look for it» I thought they wouldn’t have it but they did. It was a awesome experience plus they were referencing whooppiiseeee from mortal kombat and talking about F-​Zero hahahahahahhahaaaaah

So I rented a few props from here for a short film I recently produced. This place is quite big and you can easily forget where you saw something you wanted so be prepared with your tags in the beginning so you can mark stuff then pull it out to the main room for the employees to bundle. The employees will help you find things if you ask but for the most part will assume you know where stuff is and leave you be to wonder around alone. Do not try and talk to them on their lunch break either because they will not care to help you. I did end up finding a few cool pieces in here but this is one of four prop houses I went to and it was the least favorite. But it is good if you are looking for small gizmos and gadgets.

This place is MASSIVE. I didn’t really realize how big it was and it could be easy to get lost in here. How these people know where everything is, I don’t know. I kind of get a weird vibe from most of the employees. However, I got a pretty good deal here while working with Ernie.
I had to rent a bunch of prop weapons for a shoot I was doing and found that the Hand Prop Room could fulfill my needs of a quick pickup. Everything here is a weekly rental, but Ernie gave me a discount because I was doing a Friday pickup and a Monday drop off. Here are some tips:
GET YOUR TAGS WHEN YOU WALK IN. They do everything here for rentals by someone (you) tagging it with a paper tag and tape. You can hold things with these tags until you are ready to rent them. Please do not be the kind of person to take off someone else’s tags!
YOU CAN HOLD THINGS. Even if you aren’t ready to rent and you want to hold something, you can tag it.
IF YOU WANT SOMETHING AND IT’S TAGGED, ASK. I discovered that a lot of things that are tagged are just on hold. You can ask them to ask about if the person who’s tagged them is going to be taking it or not. It might be available for your shoot date.
TAKE PHOTOS OF WHAT YOU WANT. Make sure you photograph all of the props you want so you can make sure you get the exact thing. It’s easy to email with them in order to find exact prices.
FIND EXACT PRICES. I kind of was quoted a few different prices on the same thing … so if you take a photo you can get your exact price.
YOU MIGHT NEED HELP CARRYING IT OUT. I’m a pretty light girl and they packaged everything I ordered into one box … which ended up breaking. It was way too heavy for me to carry. Maybe they should package things a little better, like maybe 1 box per 10 items or something. Because I had maybe 25+ items and it was just in one box and it was a mess.
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE WHAT YOU SEE. Before you rent, think about the cost of making what you’re renting. Example: bundles of cocaine, money. These both rented for extreme amounts of money, but I was able to make bundles of cocaine myself (and they looked even better). Flour is only 6 dollars per 25 pounds, people…
All in all, would come back if I needed props.

For those looking for props for whatever reasons; movie, commercial, photo-​shoot, staged play, cosplay, bedroom romance… etc. This place will show up in your search results and for good reasons. All the guys here are a bunch cool cats and their selection is wide enough for you to find something that’ll definitely work within your budget/​vision.
It’s a bit hidden but conveniently located close to the 10 fwy. If you’re serious about finding what you want/​need, even if they don’t have it, they’ll refer you to someone/​where that does.
As my «first date» mentality goes: Go in with zero expectations because you’ll be pleasantly surprised more often than you can imagine.
Props to you Props handlers.
Sent from a galaxy far, far away…

Poor customs service. The place was full of A-​holes who had attitudes the whole time. Too bad because this place is awesome and had everything needed. Screw them tho, I highly discourage anybody from going here.

I’m surprised by the negative reviews. I typically design for small budget shoots, and this place treats me just as well as someone coming in with a gigantic prop rental order for a major feature film. The guys are so nice, welcoming, and incredibly helpful. I’ve always been helped by Charlie who gives me the best deals, is very patient with me when I’m indecisive, and makes sure everything gets into my car okay. Regardless of how busy the place is, Charlie and the rest of the staff always make sure I’m finding everything I need. While some reviews say this is their «last resort», I’m happy to say that this is one of the first places I go. Don’t listen to the negative people and go check it out for yourself. You’ll be amazed by the quality and selection of inventory, and the cool, friendly service just makes it all the better.

I dealt with Charlie and had a horrible experience. He was rude to me when I came in, rude to me on the phone, and never responded to my emails that he told me to send to him instead of calling. He messed up my pick up date for my props and blamed it on me not telling him the correct date even though it was printed clearly on the form, which I showed him later and got no apology. Luckily, I had taken pictures of the props I wanted to rent so he was able to find them again (he had lost them when I came in to pick up). He did not care at all about my order and acted like I was inconveniencing him whenever I interacted with him.
I don’t know how the other employees are there (the woman who answers the reception phone is always nice when I call), but definitely avoid working with Charlie if you can help it.

If you go here, you should ask for Rey Castillo. He’s short.

Oh what an amazing place. Smells like stale garage sale, but MAN, what an arena for wonder. I wondered the halls and maze-​like quadrants glancing at all the trinkets, oddities, random weirdness, and just plane old organized junk for about 25minutes. I never knew you could buy rubber slautered cows and trout, and surfboards. Granted, you are going to pay premium prices, but it is pretty amazing to see so much stuff under one roof. Amazed. Once I found my item, the guy who helped me out was cool.
When I returned, everyone was nice and helpful, including when I paid my bill in the back office. No, not like that.

This place should be your last resort. We were desperate for certain props and came here– their prices are over the top (sometimes twice as much as Universal or WB). Their staff seems to just make up prices for items, and they have no idea what customer service means. Yes I’m a film student and I don’t have that much budget, but you don’t have to be condescending.
I HOPE I NEVER HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM AGAIN.

Basically, if you’re desperate for a certain prop and can’t find a place to purchase it in 3 days time, then go ahead and go here as a last no-​other-​conceivable-​options resort. Prepare to be ripped off.
lol @ their valuations of their own props. Check your invoice and you’ll see that old POS rocking chair you rented is actually worth $ 4,000! Of course, old pieces of shit are in high demand on the free market and one must pay accordingly. They’re also badly organized, so make sure you don’t lose your original invoice.
One of those places where most of the staff members know nothing, can’t be assed to do anything, and get paid to stand behind the counter and talk incessantly to each other while ignoring customers.
I rented 3 items and they were still «unable to find» one of them several days after I returned it.
They took nearly 2 weeks to return my deposit on 3 items I rented. One of the items they valued around $ 5,200 which was completely absurd considering what the thing was (feel free to PM me for more info), so my deposit was accordingly absurd (think $ 1,000+).
Will gladly replace this with a better review if customer service is improved and item valuations start to coincide with reality.

I had to use a lot of props from The Hand Prop Room for a photo shoot this past November, and it never crossed my mind until now to write a review about my experience there! We needed a ridiculous amount of things for this shoot — we might as well have been filming a TV show — and they were able to get every single thing on our list + more that we weren’t expecting. Nathan, in particular, was a HUGE help but everyone else there was super laid back and friendly, too. At the last minute on the morning of the photo shoot I ended up having to drive again to HPR at 6am for a few things we decided to add the night before, and not only were they there with the items ready for me to grab (knowing I was in a hurry), but they had prepared a few other things they thought might be perfect for the theme, all of which ended up being awesome. We will definitely be using them again for our next photo shoot! Thanks Nathan and HPR!

Holy crap this is MECCA. I could spend hours wandering around in this warehouse that is filled to the brim with every ‘thing’ you could possibly imagine. I’m a photographer and always in need of props and accessories to complete my shoots — this is always my first stop. If you’re involved in the industry in any way then you definitely have to find the time to browse the shelves here. Need a coffin? A racing bike from the 70s? A pink rotary telephone? You name, they’ll have it.

Frank is the MAN! Great props and always willing to work within your budget. Drey is a serious expert and runs a decent gun room. Parking sucks, but overall, big budget or low budget, this is the place to go!

Are you an art director? Photographer? Or film student? If yes have you visited this store? No? Well that’s a shame because this is probably the coolest place in LA. I wished there was a store like this when I went to film school in NY.
They have an unbelievable selection of props especially vintage stuff. I rented a few times here and every time I can find the exact item — either it’s an original suitcase from 1940s or super realistic movie weapon — I can find it within five minutes. I have to stay a bit longer every time just to check out their stuff.
The staff is super friendly and helpful. Parking is fairly easy around the area. Close to the West Side is a huge plus. Highly recommended.

What a lovely place.
I came to the HPR looking for props, but not props to show, but props to make sounds and let me tell you that the selection here is FAN-​TASMICAL if your a foley person! Very organized and reasonably priced for what they offer, shelves about 20′ high and 50′ long fill a warehouse in Los Angeles.
They have limited parking around, but you can park across the street at the HPR Design parking lot. I only know because the guys behind the counter were nice enough to tell me, and they had refreshments. And don’t be afraid to go in and grab something and take it to the counter for check out, they provide TOS of props for TV shows and Films ALL the time, so I’m sure the self help option is a relief for them.
Like Dima O. says «Just about any prop you can imagine».

Possibly the coolest place I’ve ever been in LA. They should give tours!

No reviews yet? Are you kidding me?
Wow, guess I have to be the first to declare: This place is a creative person’s dream!
Just about any prop you can imagine (guns, fake lobsters, body parts, armor, Egyptian statues, foreign currency, paintings, fake packs of cocaine, coffins, etc. etc) is at your disposal at this rent-​by-​the week place! And yes, they’re open to the public. Anyone with a credit card can rent! You will be amazed at the sheer size of this place: it goes on and on over two floors, with room after room to be discovered, and just when you think you’re done… head outside to see more!
The staff is good, friendly people.
The most major down-​side is that the prices are not listed up front. You’ve gotta pick out what you want and ring it up at the counter, praying it’s not too expensive. The prices really depend on what you get, but here’s a sample of the stuff I’ve rented:
(price for 1 week rental)
Metal samurai sword — $ 55
Rubber fish — $ 20
A ½ inch thich stack of Cuban dollars — $ 7
Rubber pistol — $ 13
Metal trick «Bang!» gun — $ 25
Rubber head sledgehammer — $ 6.50
Prop AT4 rocket launcher — $ 53
(I’ve uploaded some pics I took with these props in action if you’d want to see.)
Also, I should note that apparently these are my post-​discount prices as listed on the invoice (my discount ranged from 15%-30% though honestly I don’t know what I did to deserve it but whatever).
The parking is limited to just a handful of spots but one is usually available. If not, you can park on the residential side street.