Collect-A-Con Los Angeles 2026

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Arrival airports

Choose from the following airports, with convenient access to the event and venue.

Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Graded slab

A trading card that has been professionally authenticated, numerically graded and permanently sealed inside a tamper-evident hard plastic holder, commonly called a slab. The label shows the grade, the card's identity and a certification number you can look up in the grader's public database.

2

Raw card

An ungraded card still in its original or a sleeve-and-toploader state. Raw cards usually trade at a discount to the same card in a high grade, because the buyer is taking on condition risk.

3

PSA, BGS and CGC

The three grading companies most often referenced by US card collectors: PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), BGS (Beckett Grading Services) and CGC (Certified Guaranty Company, which also grades comics and non-sports cards). Each uses its own 1-10 scale and label design.

4

Population report

A public count, published by a grading company, of how many copies of a specific card have received each grade. Collectors use the population, or pop report, to judge relative scarcity before paying a premium for a high grade.

5

Gem Mint 10

The top grade on the ten-point scale used by the major US graders. A Gem Mint 10 copy typically trades at a multiple of the same card in a 9, so centering, corners, edges and surface all affect value.

6

Booster box

A factory-sealed display box containing a fixed number of booster packs from a single trading card game set. Sealed boxes are collected as investment stock as well as opened for pack breaks.

7

Elite Trainer Box (ETB)

A Pokémon TCG sealed product containing booster packs, card sleeves, dice and condition markers. ETBs are a common entry-level sealed collectible and a frequent vendor-hall comparison item.

8

Chase card

The most desirable card or short-print in a set, the one buyers open packs hoping to pull. Chase cards drive sealed-product pricing and are usually the first cards to sell out at a dealer booth.

9

Alt art and secret rare

Higher-rarity print variants inserted at lower pull rates than the base version of a card. In modern Pokémon and One Piece sets, alternate-art and secret-rare printings often carry the largest single-card premiums.

10

Pull rate

The odds of opening a specific rarity from a pack or box, usually expressed as an average number of packs per hit. Pull rates explain why a sealed box price differs sharply between sets.

11

1st Edition and Shadowless

Early Pokémon print markers. 1st Edition cards carry the edition stamp next to the set symbol, while Shadowless refers to an early English Base Set print run with no drop shadow around the artwork frame. Both command large premiums over later unlimited printings.

12

Reverse holo

A card where the artwork window is non-foil but the rest of the card surface carries a foil pattern. Reverse holos fill out modern set checklists and are a common binder-trade item at card shows.

13

Rookie card

In sports cards, the first mainstream card of a player issued during their debut season. Rookie-card status is the single biggest driver of sports card demand and pricing.

14

Case break

A group format where a host opens sealed cases or boxes on camera and allocates the pulls to buyers who paid for a team, a player or a random slot. Breakers attend card shows to source inventory and to film booth content.

15

Consignment

Handing cards to a dealer or auction house to sell on your behalf for a fee or commission. Show-floor consignment desks let sellers drop cards without renting their own booth.

16

Trade binder

A binder of cards carried around the hall to swap with other collectors. Binder trading is the low-cost side of a card show and works best with clearly priced or clearly tagged pages.

17

Toploader and penny sleeve

Two layers of standard card protection: a soft acid-free sleeve against the card surface, then a rigid plastic toploader for handling and transport. Bring spares if you plan to buy raw cards at the show.

18

One-touch magnetic holder

A rigid display case with a magnetic closure used for higher-value raw cards. It protects the card while keeping it accessible, unlike a permanently sealed grading slab.

19

Autograph authentication

Third-party verification that a signature is genuine, usually evidenced by a sticker, certificate or database entry from an authentication service. Signed memorabilia without authentication generally trades at a significant discount.

20

Artist alley

A zone of the show floor reserved for independent artists and illustrators selling original artwork, prints, sketch commissions and fan-made merchandise rather than manufactured product lines.

21

Convention exclusive

A product, variant or promo card released only at a specific show or through a specific event partner. Exclusives are usually limited in quantity, which is why attendees queue early on the first morning.

22

Vintage versus modern

Collector shorthand for pre-2000s material (vintage) versus recent print runs (modern). The two sides use different pricing logic: vintage trades on scarcity and grade populations, modern on set hype and pull rates.