The East Bay Card Show is the biggest recurring trading card event in the Bay Area, and its October edition runs Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 2026 at the San Mateo County Event Center, roughly a half-hour drive up the Peninsula from San Jose. Produced by Tenth Inning Productions, this show regularly fills its floor with hundreds of vendor tables, drawing dealers from Northern California, the Central Valley, Nevada, and beyond, and it is the show South Bay collectors circle when they want scale rather than a neighborhood-sized room.
The inventory depth is the main draw. Sports cards dominate a large share of the floor with MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL material spanning every era: vintage Hall of Famers, junk-wax bargain bins, modern numbered parallels, on-card rookie autographs, and heavy graded representation from PSA, BGS, SGC, and CGC. UFC, boxing, soccer, and racing all have dedicated sellers. The trading card game half is just as serious, with Pokemon vintage and modern singles, Japanese imports, sealed booster boxes and cases, and slabbed chase cards, plus Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Disney Lorcana, and Dragon Ball Z. Add memorabilia, autographed jerseys and balls, comics, Funko Pops, breakers, grading submission services, and supply vendors, and you have a room where a full lap takes real time.
Hours run 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday and again on Sunday, with early access typically available to premium ticket holders ahead of general admission. Confirm exact times on the ticket page before you go, since the organizer occasionally adjusts Sunday closing.
Tickets are sold online through tenthinningcardshow.com and at the door, generally running in the 20 to 25 dollar range depending on the tier and whether you want early entry. Kids are admitted free with a paying adult, and parking at the San Mateo County Event Center is free, which takes a real bite out of the cost of a family day.
The San Mateo County Event Center sits at 1346 Saratoga Drive in San Mateo, just off Highway 101 and Highway 92, with easy freeway access from San Jose, San Francisco, and the East Bay via the San Mateo Bridge. The venue's exhibition halls are spacious with wide aisles, and there is ample on-site food service plus dozens of restaurants within a few minutes of the gate.
This show is built for serious collectors and dealers, but it is welcoming to everyone: families get free kids' entry, casual collectors get endless dollar boxes, and high-end buyers get locked cases full of grails. Vendors buy aggressively, so bring collections you want to move.
Tips for the day: buy tickets in advance, arrive at open or take the early-access option if you are chasing specific cards, and bring more cash than you think you need, since cash consistently unlocks the best pricing on a floor this competitive. Carry a want list, wear comfortable shoes, and lap the entire hall before committing to big purchases.
For tickets, vendor table info, and schedule confirmation, visit tenthinningcardshow.com, email [email protected], call 415-470-2670, or follow @eastbaycardshow on Instagram.