Gretzky future

[pootshwan]

Despite these seeing a large spike in price over the past 5+ months do you still think this is an undervalued card with room to grow? If we take a look at what the Michael Jordan rookie card (which is 7 years newer) has risen to $600,000+, Tom Brady cards, Mantle in baseball, etc. It figures to reason that The Great One still has some catching up to do in terms of pricing. Or does Hockey lack the interest/coverage to ever get to those levels?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by pootshwan

does Hockey lack the interest/coverage to ever get to those levels?

This.

[maniac_73]

There is just so many of them out there. They are pretty much a common card here in the great white north with the amount of ppl selling graded (PSA,KSA) and raw. I don't see it holdng value because while Gretzky does transcend hockey, he is nowhere near a Michael Jordan worldwide who's demand could outstrip the lack of rarity of the card

[goldenage]

In 1987 at the National in Atlantic City dealers were thrilled that Lemieux rookies were selling for $7 and Gretzky rookies were selling for $50.
They had never seen an increase in price like that and couldn't get their cards out fast enough to sell.


In 1993 Gretzky rookies were selling for 400-500 and Lemieux rookies were
selling for 300. Sellers were loving it.

Today they're going for thousands of dollars.

I do not see that trend reversing. Kids who watched Lemieux in 1992 are now
45-50 years old. When they hit their retirement years in 15-20 years they
will be looking for the best Lemieux and Gretzky rookies they can find.

Lots of them to choose from, so look for the best ones. Supply is there, but quality is not always there. When you see a good one, buy it.
I just paid $5200 for this one, which was a little over what 5's are going for right now. Whenever I see a good one I buy it, because what I've learned from this
hobby is that you'll never lose money with Gretzky or Lemieux. You may make more with Jordan and Mantle, but I'm a hockey fan.

Jordan 86 fleer rookies in PSA 8 have dropped to the 18,000 range. Jordan PSA 8 rookies were selling for 24-28k last month. Gretzky opc PSA 8 rookies are holding strong above 25k.
With there being so many less PSA 9 opc Gretzky rookies than Jordan PSA 9 rookies, I think PSA 9 Gretzky's may be more valueable than Jordan 9's in the future.
Just way too much 86 fleer out there.

[goldenage]

5's are going for under 5k, so I paid a bit higher for this one.

[irv]

Originally Posted by goldenage

5's are going for under 5k, so I paid a bit higher for this one.

Sharp looking card, Goldenage!

Congrats on a great pick up.

[FrozenInferno]

Originally Posted by goldenage

5's are going for under 5k, so I paid a bit higher for this one.

That is a great looking 5. Mine is a PSA 5 as well but yours definitely looks nicer.

[goldenage]

Great looking card frozeninferno. You can never go wrong with paying under or over for great looking cards, and thank you Irv.

[goldenage]

Just paid $560 for this one this month. Had to with this front and back centering on an 85 opc.

[goldenage]

Wrong photo, and don't know how to erase photos. Here's the right one.

[pootshwan]

Nice pickups gentleman. You can never go wrong with Gretzky.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Compare the pop on the Orr RC to the pops on the Gretzky RCs.

[FrozenInferno]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Compare the pop on the Orr RC to the pops on the Gretzky RCs.

The Gretzky RC has many, many times more examples in the pop than the Orr RC. In fact it's a pretty common card.

I'm a PSA guy so I haven't taken the time to check pops at BVG/SGC/KSA/etc but the last time I looked at the Gretzky at PSA I recall it was sitting above 6,000 for each of the OPC and the Topps. So over 12,000 combined, just in PSA holders. With more flooding in all the time. And any time you go on eBay there are lots of them available in pretty much any grade you could want.

The last time I checked the 1966 Topps Orr it was sitting around 980 total copies at PSA give or take. Again, I don't know the pops of the other graders but just looking at PSA there is roughly one Orr RC for every 12 or 13 Gretzky RCs. That is a pretty significant difference in scarcity. And when you go looking on eBay for one the pickings are very slim in comparison.

Grade for grade the Orr generally sells for about double of what the Gretzky OPC gets, so the scarcity definitely is a factor to some extent. Honestly it should probably be a much wider gap when there could be a 12x difference in supply, but I don't know if or when that will change. Any collector from any sport knows who Gretzky is even if they don't follow hockey at all. But they may not know who Orr is, how important he is to hockey history, or how scarce the RC is so it might remain undervalued forever.

I'm a proud owner of both the Topps Orr and OPC Gretzky RCs and although I love both (and am in the camp that Gretzky is the undisputed GOAT) I appreciate my beater Orr a lot more. It's a true grail card.

[goldenage]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Compare the pop on the Orr RC to the pops on the Gretzky RCs.

This doesn't always apply in the hockey card world.

Look at the scarcity between 1971 opc hockey and 1971 bazooka hockey.
Same cards (a little smaller for bazooka), but very few collect bazooka and everyone collects opc. There are bazookas on ebay that just sit and sit and sit and never sell. Plenty of guys have the money to go after them, but they don't.

Look at the scarcity between 1955 parkhurst and 1955 quaker oats. Very few go after the less common quaker oats.

I would assume that everyone in the 55 and above range want some kind of Orr. I would assume that every child who was around during the card boom in the 80s will be more likely to buy a Lemieux or Gretzky before they think about an Orr.

Gretzky's are abundant, but Orr's come up all the time as well. And a Gretzky rookie card purchase is not an easy one. There are so many poorly centered ones in holders they are not even worth looking at.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by pootshwan

Despite these seeing a large spike in price over the past 5+ months do you still think this is an undervalued card with room to grow? If we take a look at what the Michael Jordan rookie card (which is 7 years newer) has risen to $600,000+, Tom Brady cards, Mantle in baseball, etc. It figures to reason that The Great One still has some catching up to do in terms of pricing. Or does Hockey lack the interest/coverage to ever get to those levels?

I clicked on your link and I see the Gretzky Topps rookie. Are you talking only about this card or his OPC as well? Because you mentioned the Jordan rookie, then I guess it only makes sense to talk about Gretzky's OPC rookie here.

Now, I was just reading a COVID-19 article that said a third-wave is probably coming soon here in Canada. As long as this sh*t keeps going on, and majority of folks are stuck at home, then yes, the OPC Gretzky can go higher in value. The last PSA 8 sold for $30,000 USD and I wouldn't be surprised if it peaks at $50,000 USD. However, you guys have to understand that a PSA 8 was going for less than $5,000 USD prior to the pandemic. This is a very "high-risk" card, and for long-term collectors, this is definitely not a good place to park your money. The Bobby Orr rookie is a much safer investment, in my opinion.

Originally Posted by goldenage

This doesn't always apply in the hockey card world.

Look at the scarcity between 1971 opc hockey and 1971 bazooka hockey.
Same cards (a little smaller for bazooka), but very few collect bazooka and everyone collects opc. There are bazookas on ebay that just sit and sit and sit and never sell. Plenty of guys have the money to go after them, but they don't.

Look at the scarcity between 1955 parkhurst and 1955 quaker oats. Very few go after the less common quaker oats.

Ah, be careful there! What you're failing to realize is that the 71' Bazookas and 55' Quaker Oats are food issues. Very few collect food issues.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by goldenage

With there being so many less PSA 9 opc Gretzky rookies than Jordan PSA 9 rookies, I think PSA 9 Gretzky's may be more valueable than Jordan 9's in the future.
Just way too much 86 fleer out there.

FWIW, the Fleer isn't the RC, the Star is. But regardless, Jordan has worldwide and growing appeal. He is a global icon and brand that is perpetuated by Nike. Gretzky has much less appeal. Not even close. Maybe he's the king in Canada but that't like being the toughest Muppet.