The Phoenix VIP Sports Card Show takes over the VFW hall at 804 E Purdue Ave on Saturday, October 3, 2026. October is when this show gets good: the brutal summer heat has finally broken, football season is in full swing, and the October edition typically draws both more dealers and more walk-up traffic than the mid-summer dates. If you only work one VFW show a year, make it an autumn one.
The room is built on sports cards. Baseball remains the deepest category even into football season, with vintage Topps and Bowman, mid-century stars, 1970s and 1980s commons and set fillers, and modern MLB rookies with parallels and on-card autographs. October means the NFL tables are busy, so expect rookie patch autographs, Prizm and Select parallels, and vintage football stars getting real attention. Basketball ramps up alongside the new NBA season, and hockey, UFC, boxing and soccer each hold table space. Graded slabs from PSA, SGC and BGS sit in cases throughout the hall, with sealed wax boxes and bargain bins under most tables. Pokemon singles and sealed product are the main trading card game crossover, and you will also find signed baseballs and photos, vintage programs, comics and collectible figures.
Hours run 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, a single morning window. The early schedule is a Phoenix tradition worth respecting: you can work every table twice, be out by lunch, and still own your Saturday afternoon. Admission at VFW-hosted editions has historically been free or a small door donation supporting the post, and no advance ticket is required. Bring a few dollars for the door just in case, and note that children accompanied by an adult are always welcome.
The VFW Phoenix hall is just off 7th Street near Dunlap Avenue in the Sunnyslope area of north Phoenix, an easy run from Interstate 17 or State Route 51. Parking is free in the on-site surface lot with street parking nearby as overflow. The hall itself is compact and air-conditioned with a straightforward single-room layout, which is exactly what makes it good for comparison shopping: nothing is more than thirty seconds from anything else, so you can price-check a card at three tables before committing.
This show suits casual collectors, set builders and families looking for a genuinely low-pressure entry into the hobby. Serious buyers should not skip it, because small hall shows are consistently where underpriced raw vintage and mispriced modern parallels turn up, and inventory rotates meaningfully between monthly editions. Sellers also do well, as several dealers here actively buy collections on the spot.
Tips for the morning: be at the door at 8:00 AM, since the best material moves in the first hour at a five-hour show. Bring cash, which still earns the deepest discounts. Carry a written want list with ceiling prices so you can move fast. If you are selling, present your cards in binders or top loaders rather than loose boxes, and be ready to name a number.
Follow @vipsportscardshow on Instagram for table availability and upcoming dates. The same organizer runs the companion VIP Sports Card Show North series at Park Terrace, with the next Phoenix VIP dates on November 7 and December 5.