What kind of grading: This 1980 Wayne Gretzky Sportscaster?

mikafilm

Hi -

The fine folk on this board tend to be experts on potential PSA grades and such, so I wanted to run this through you guys. I'm thinking of maybe getting this graded by PSA, even though it's insanely expensive to do from my country in Europe, but since I want to sell this. But do you have any thoughts if that's a good idea on this particular card? I ask because I think this is in pretty good condition for being a 41 year old card... buuuuut, what do you think? What's your gut reaction?

JBrules

I don't think you can expect a high grade on this card. The damage to the lower corners is noticeable. having said that a PSA 5 of this card sold for 749.99 on ~2-17-21. Only 19 of these cards have been graded. A PSA 9 recently sold for 2499.00. I don't see your card grading that high. These are very tough to predict a grade but I would guess a low of PSA 4 and PSA 7 as the highest.

Not sure how much your costs to get it graded would be but it no doubt is going to cost a decent amount given the costs of grading fees today plus shipping. I would get it graded as I like cards of all-time greats to be graded. You can always get it graded and keep it if you don't get the price you want right away.

Hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide.

82FootballWaxMemorys

Given you are small private submitter I'd guess grade will be 4-6 with 4 being more likley than 5 or 6. I'd wait until grading fees are far less than they are now. Perhaps in 2023.

daltex

My gut reaction is that PSA doesn't (and shouldn't, IMO) take into consideration that it's a 41-year-old card.

mikafilm

Thanks for the help!

As for pricing on eBay these Finnish ones have usually sold for way more than the english language ones, as I've been tracking them on there for a while, with PSA 5/6/7/raw easily going for at 1600 - 2500 USD or around there, whilst yes, there's been one where someone got a good deal for much cheaper which is maybe the one JBrules refers to... it's a bummer that eBay's Sales -section only shows a little bit of history as it's the one everyone checks for the current base prices.

And then of course Goldin auctioned off PSA 10 of the English-version for 31k USD which made me think about grading this one.. but... it is really expensive from here due to it leaving the EU and coming back, which activates customs fees and new taxes. So maybe with PSA 4-7 it's not worth it as the grading costs with all the hassle would be over 300 dollars, hmm.

dontippet

@daltex said:
My gut reaction is that PSA doesn't (and shouldn't, IMO) take into consideration that it's a 41-year-old card.

Exactly. PSA's grading should be even across the board. Being a 41 year old item doesn't factor into the grade. That's why it's harder to obtain PSA 10's in cards from the 50's and 60's than it is with recent cards.