mid-70's hockey....is there just no interest?

Dhjacks

I ran across a short stack of hockey cards from the mid-70's that I thought might grade 8, so I checked the smr and pop reports. While I'm sure production was low, it appears demand is even lower for these cards. The 1976 set has 242 total cards graded.

qualitycards

I'm working on a '72/3 Hockey set and could use some in 8's & over. Theres 176 in the set, I have 88 and I can use 88...jay

helionaut

It's probably a low-demand area, but sometimes there's low demand because there's low supply. A PSA 9 1993 SP George Brett card sold for almost $50 a couple weeks ago. Who knew? Even if no one is actively submitting, if you grade it, they might come.

tripoli

There will be a resurgence in certain types...for example, as a Vancouver Canuck fan, I will bet there will
be interest in any Canuck with the vintage uniforms, now that the Canucks have re-vitalized interest in
their original jerseys.

dan

TurbosHockey

You are definately right on that. Were the sets you looking at OPC or Topps, either way like you said there is not much intrest. I am personally working on the 1971 OPC 1980 OPC and 1985 OPC. There are obvious reasons for this as you can tell. If you look at the mid 70's for superstar rookie cards there just isn't really all that many that the average collector has heard about. To the true hockey fan a Trottier or a Billy Smith is important to non hockey purists they are reallativly unknows. I have OPC sets in great condition from all the years in the 70's but won't get them graded yet becuase of this.

Just my two cents worth.

packCollector

I will buy any high grade bobby orr's in raw nm-mt centered or graded psa 8 +, if you guys have any in topps or opc let me know. will pay top dollar for the right cards. that's all my interest in hockey, I know a lot of the other players but thats about it. have minor interest in centered bruins opc cards. thanks pm me or email me harvey0724@beld.net

Nuyauwka

I think it's actually not just a lack of intrest but a lack of product. If you wanted to try to put a set together and had no gradeble raw personally, it's not very easy to find. You couldn't pick a set to build and then easily go after it. I think when you check Ebay you will find a small smattering of cards and that is more of a discouragement to start the set then an incentive. Low pops are one thing, when there are alot of other cards available in the set, but when there is not much of anything it is hard to peek intrest. Once there is enough graded and someone sees that it's a worthwhile persuit to a set then I think you will see more intrest. Take the 71 OPC set, I collect that as well and many of those cards go for a decent buck on Ebay and there is definetly competition for the cards, but until enough people saw they can actually go after the set and find product it was flat issue. As I said ..low pops are one story , no pops make it completely different. You need enough of a product out there to peek intrest. There is no fun in collecting a graded set if you can't find any of the cards, sometimes more population of cards will raise the price and intrest.

shagrotn77

I've been searching for a mint Trottier OPC rookie forever now.

robstar

The only way to increase the hockey populations is to increase the CANADIAN content on the registry. I find it interesting that the vast majority of the hockey collectors here are American. Don't get me wrong, while I would still expect the number of American hockey collectors to outnumber their Canadian counterparts I feel that the ratio is skewed. It would be great to see PSA at our show in Toronto promoting the registry and the advantages of grading with the leader in the industry. PSA is forever looking for new sources of revenue, I thing this is one worth looking at.

Also, how about placing and promoting a submission centre in the Toronto area. While I realize that there is currently a Canadian option, it only takes a quick look at the POP"S and these boards to see that many Canadian collectors are still either uninformed about PSA or find shipping their cards across their own country first far too complicated. If PSA is going to have added presence in Canada, it needs to be in the population centre of the country. TORONTO.



Rob...

TurbosHockey

I have to agree with you Rob. Iam very fortunate I am a trnasplanted Canadian living in Minneapolis, so I have the best of both worlds. I back to Winnipeg freequntly enough to be able to check out the major card shows there and when I return send them to PSA. I think there is a lot of RAW in Canada that could be graded but the awkwardness of getting them down here hold people back.

yawie99

There's definitely an if-you-build-it-they-will-come element to collecting graded sets. Starting a '72-23 OPC set has been in the back of my mind for some time, but I'm not sure if I'll ever start until I see enough graded commons available on the marketplace. I'm hoping the current special will draw some out of the woodwork. And establishing a greater presence in Canada would certainly be beneficial for both PSA and its collectors.

aro13

I would have to agree with most of the posts. There are plenty of nice 1970's OPC cards in Canada floating around but grading is still new to most Canadian collectors. At shows I have seen most buyers completing sets from the 50's and 60's but very few buying singles from the 70's to complete sets. However, buyers are buying raw 1970's OPC sets in EXMT or better condition. The problem is so many of the rookies after 1971-72 are priced so low in the guides. Hall of Famers like Billy Smith, Dennis Potvin, Lanny McDonald, Borje Salming, Bryan Trottier, Bob Gainey, Bill Barber etc. are priced so low people hesitate about sending the cards in to be graded.
Bryan Trottier is a good example. I bought a PSA 8 rookie at the last Canadian Expo and figure I have a good shot at getting an 8 on the raw one I had in my set. I figured there would be plenty of that card in PSA 8 and 9 so why bother sending it in but when you check the pop report there are no 9's graded. I would personally consider Trottier an elite Hall of Famer and yet there have been so few cards of his graded.

goodriddance189

1. lack of interest in building complete sets, save for a few (71 OPC, 72 OPC come to mind).

2. it seems there are a lack of team and player collectors in hockey, at least in graded form. whether this is due to lack of player sets on the registry, or something else, the same bidders rarely come up for specific players. a few guys who seem to do have interest are Stan Mikita, Bobby Orr, and Guy Lafleur (i myself am collecting a run of PSA 8 or higher Lafleur cards)

3. lack of high grade stuff, especially OPC, and especially in the US

4. on a related note to #3, many high grade hockey cards are sitting in KSA holders. i know many on these boards have bought KSA cards to cross to PSA (with better than average success, from what i have been told), but many Canadian collectors stick to KSA.

5. there is no broad base of hockey collectors chasing PSA graded cards, at least not enough to warrant people to start sending in anything but superstars who are guaranteed to sell. ive noticed many auctions by DSL and 4_sharp_corners for high grade (PSA 9 and 10) hockey commons that rarely sell for over the opening bid, that is if they even attract any bids at all.


what can be done to increase hockey submissions and interest? i think the short answer is a lack of PSA specialty sets on the Registry. ive noticed that sales do increase after a player or team set is added. a few years ago, you could pick up Orr PSA 9's for a fraction of their cost today. and a large part of the increased demand is coming from Registry guys trying to put together Player Sets. PSA could also increase awareness by promoting and setting up on-site grading at some of the larger Canadian shows.

feel free to correct me if i'm wrong on any of these observations; this is just what i've noticed in the hockey hotbed of Lubbock, Texas.

-Will