Sports cards have been something fun for people to collect over the years. It was a chance to pull your favorite player in a pack and build your card binder. Over the last six years, the market has seen a huge growth in collectible cards. In 2020, during the pandemic, the collectible card market increased by 30%.
Fast forward to 2026, and the market has only skyrocketed, sales have increased more and more throughout the years, and the products have only gotten better and better. You may have even seen the videos of scalpers buying out stores for them to resell at a higher price due to the high demand for boxes.
There has been higher demand for cards now because of their current value and what they could be sold for later. The market changes throughout the days and weeks. Some have to do with what current sport is in season and how well a player or team is doing.
One of the top places to buy, sell, and trade cards is a card show. The East Bay Card Show makes its appearance in many different places throughout California. On April 25, they made their way to the Santa Clara Convention Center. Hosting a two-day event for local card collectors to browse around different vendors and add to their collection.
As you head into the convention center, you are immediately amazed by the vendors’ setup. From left to right, the room is filled with tables and a bunch of people ready to make deals.
It was my first experience at a card show, and I can say it was very overwhelming with the amount of cards there are, and even seeing the prices for some. As a card collector, my goal was to get my first deal done, which I successfully did.
I bought a total of four cards, three for my personal collection. Featuring two of the late great Kobe Bryant and, one including Michael Jordan. The other card was a graded Pokémon PSA 10 Rayquaza.
A PSA graded card is one of the most valuable cards you can purchase. PSA is the Professional Sports Authenticator, which leads the market in graded cards. They value cards on a scale of 1-10, and the highest grade is the most valuable. Cards submitted to PSA are placed in a sealed slab, which will then have the grade on the top of the slab.
Although it was very tempting to go insane and purchase more cards. It was important for me to be a viewer as well, listening in on other people making deals and learning the process of becoming a better card collector and deal maker.
The show was not just about making deals, trades, and money, but also about creating new friendships with some collectors or exchanging collector pages to help people get their names out there. All vendors greeted everyone with a smile and were genuine in each conversation.
The foot traffic just kept on increasing as time went on. It was a packed show, starting with VIPs entering first, followed by General admission at 11 a.m. You could barely even get close to a display at certain times.
It was amazing to see the collections people have made over the years. There were so many cards that I did not know existed at a good price.
One table I found very interesting was selling Hobby Boxes at retail value. Lots of times, you see stands selling for double retail. They had a lot of boxes selling fast due to the great price.
Being my first show, I definitely recommend that other collectors who have not gone to a card show to attend. Even if you don’t have much of a collection, you never know what people are looking for, and they might be interested in your card.
The card market is only going to grow and increase in popularity as the years go on. With Topps now holding licenses for the NBA and the NFL, collectors are excited about what will be released this year and in the future.
Overall, my experience was great, and it definitely gave me more confidence to grow my collection and make it better. I want to become a vendor one day and, hopefully, play a part in growing the collectible card community.
PSA 10 Rayquaza Card
Kobe Bryant Custom made Card
