Building Maple stand need inexpensive wood supplier


I plan to replace my MDF shelves with Hardwood Maple. Prices on Ebay are high. Can you recommend a hardwood supplier with reasonable prices. I am in San Diego. 24x 18 x 1 1/2 to 2" thick.
kavakat1
Three takeaways:

(1) Cheap quality solid maple is an oxymoron.

(2) You only get what you pay for .... full stop.

(3) Supplier prices for solid hardwood are intuitively very competitive and pricing differences are minimal to nil.
I'm in the L.A. area and found a local carpenter who sources his wood from lumber yards not normally accessible to normal folk unless you know where to look. He advises to stay away from the usual places like Home Depot or Loews. Just hit up google and I'm sure you'll find someplace or someone who can assist.

All the best,
Nonoise
If it’s beauty you’re after get only grade AAA white maple. Oh, and you’ll pay for it. But an inexpensive alternative is Baltic birch ply, a rather handsome wood, actually.
We have a great place here in Michigan that supplies a wide variety of woods. I was able to order some very thick quartersawn oak for the tops of my Sound Anchor amplifier stands.

I think it is all about how you conduct your internet search.  I looked for places that supply woodworkers assuming they are likely to know where to source wood.  I looked around just a couple of minutes on the web and have included a link below that might help.  With a few phone calls, you may be able to find somewhere that can source what you are looking for.  Just glancing over the list, I suggest you start with Frost Hardwood in San Diego.
https://www.google.com/search?q=woodworking%20supplies%20san%20diego%20ca&rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS488US488&oq=woodworker+supplies+san+diego+ca&aqs=chrome..69i57j0.13006j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=32822368,-117173388,6610&tbm=lcl&rldimm=11970610243811531332&ved=0ahUKEwi5kKz1_rrZAhVD21MKHaKUBbcQvS4IcDAC&rldoc=1&tbs=lrf:!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:10#rlfi=hd:;si:11970610243811531332;mv:!1m3!1d307230.5848711836!2d-117.112376!3d32.855669549999995!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i129!2i275!4f13.1;tbs:lrf:!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:10