Crispy Cardboard returns to the Monterey Beach Hotel on Saturday, September 26 for the autumn edition of its recurring cards and collectibles show. The September date sits at a useful point in the hobby calendar — football season is underway, baseball is heading into the postseason, and the year's flagship sports releases are hitting shelves — which reliably shifts what shows up on the tables compared to the summer editions.
Expect football to dominate more of the floor than usual. Rookie cards from the current draft class, Prizm and Optic parallels, vintage Topps football and graded quarterback inventory all get more table space in September than they do in July. Baseball stays strong through the postseason, with playoff-team rookies and star vintage moving well. Basketball inventory builds as the season approaches. Beyond the big three you will find hockey, soccer, boxing, UFC and racing, plus a consistent trading card game contingent handling Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece. Autographed memorabilia, comics, Funko Pops, sports figures and hobby supplies fill out the remaining tables.
This is a one-day show. Doors open at 10:00 AM. The published closing time varies between editions, so plan your visit around the morning and early afternoon rather than assuming a late close. Traffic peaks around midday. The last hour, whenever it falls, is when dealers become most flexible on the pieces they would rather not carry home.
Admission pricing is not published for this edition. Crispy Cardboard has run both free and low-cost door charges historically. Bring cash for entry as a precaution and confirm on the listing beforehand if it matters to your planning.
The Monterey Beach Hotel is on Del Monte Avenue directly on Monterey Bay, with free on-site parking. The lot is adequate but fills as the show peaks, so an early arrival saves a walk. The show space is indoors and climate-controlled. September is one of the best months on the Monterey coast — warm, clear and past the summer tourist crush — which makes this a genuinely pleasant show to build a day around. Cannery Row, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Fisherman's Wharf are all within a ten-minute drive, and the coastal recreation trail runs right past the hotel if you want to walk off a morning of digging.
For Central Valley collectors, the drive from Fresno is roughly two and a half hours over Pacheco Pass. That is a real commitment for a one-day show, so the calculus depends on what you are hunting. Vintage collectors and set builders tend to find the trip worthwhile because Monterey dealers stock differently than Fresno and Clovis dealers do. Casual collectors are better served by a closer show unless you are pairing it with a coastal weekend.
Practical notes. Bring cash, a want list and supplies for raw purchases. Ask about trade — Crispy Cardboard's crowd trades more actively than most, and bringing a small binder of duplicates can stretch a budget considerably. Check the glass cases first for high-end vintage, then work the boxes. If you attended the August edition, come back anyway; inventory turns meaningfully between shows and the seasonal shift in football and basketball product makes September a different floor.
Updates and future dates are posted on Treasure Hunter and the promoter's Instagram account.