Beginner's help wanted

phreakydancin

Hi all, this is only my second post and my first thread starter, so please go easy on me

First off, let me state that my only interest is in hockey (as you might have guessed from my icon). I'm interested in purchasing a wax case of Score 1990 Hockey, busting it open, and getting the top pulls graded. I picked this issue specifically because it is reasonably inexpensive, good looking (in my eyes, anyway... I have to say that having recently re-entered the hobby after a 10-year hiatus, I'm amazed how unattractive many (most?) of the new issues are), and contains a large crop of good rookies.

A case of 10,800 cards should yield approximately 24 of each card (440 cards in a set). How many of those 10,800 cards would really be worth grading (i.e. would sell on the open market for more than the cost of having the cards graded, $6-$8)?

There are two major variables, as I see it:

1) The number of cards in the set that would be worth grading. A quick bit of research on eBay shows that the following rookie cards in PSA-10 or BGS-9.5 grade sell regularly for more than $8: Brodeur, Richter, Blake, Roenick, joseph, Lindros, Jagr, and Modano. PSA-9 and BGS-9 Brodeurs also clear the $8.00 threshold. That's 8 players, of which a case should yield about 195 cards. There are other 'borderline' star rookies (Sundin, Recchi, Kolzig, Nolan), but I didn't find any recent sales in my checks.

2) The condition of the cards coming out of the case: obviously, this varies from one manufacturer to the next, and I don't think Score was one of the better companies in this regard (or am I mistaken?).

All of this is a round-about way of formulating my question. How many of the 195 or so cards star rookie cards could I reasonably expect to pull in gradable condition? 1? 10? 100? I really have no idea what my odds are. Any information from an experienced collector would be greatly appreciated.

goodriddance189

i love the '90 Score Hockey set, the rink design is awesome. in fact, i just busted a few boxes of '90 UD and '90 Score looking for some rookies to get graded. i had good luck with the Score, centering was good, and the only thing you have to worry about are the red borders.

in terms of getting a decent return on your investment, it might be difficult. the Brodeur is the only card that brings a decent return in PSA 9 form (about $15-$20 on ebay). for the other rookies, you pretty much need to pull a 10 to make any profit, and even then the return might only be $5-$15 per card. most PSA 10's from this set only pull about $15-$25 on ebay. the problem with this set is that its not as desirable as UD and OPC Premier. besides Lindros and Brodeur, every rookie has more desirable cards from '90.

you might try picking up PSA 9 rookies on ebay, as they usually sell for $2-$4. if you want to bust a case and test your luck, i'm sure Dave and Adam's Card World has some unopened product. their website can be found at www.dacardworld.com.

good luck and welcome to the boards!

Will

GoSoxBoSox

I wouldn't waste my time or money on those cards. I'm not taking a shot. The demand just isn't worth the risk.

bengineno9

I used to buy a ton of 90 score unopened sets then i would grade the Jagr's, Brodeur's, and the Lindros cards. Made a pretty good profit at the time. I turned a $8 set into Jagr PSA 10 that i sold for $372. I remember a time when the Brodeur PSA 10's were going over $500.

But i'm gonna have to go what BoSox just said. The market is flooded with these cards in high grade. I don't think i would waste my money or space with buying a case.
I think buying high grade Brodeur RC's would be a better choice when it comes to this set.
Just my opinion though.

Ben

yawie99

Yeah, don't do it, man. All of the 1990-91 sets are dogs in terms of investment value.

phreakydancin

goodriddance and bengineno, thank you for the informative replies. Obviously the Brodeur is the carrot in this set, but I wasn't aware that they were selling for much more previously. A BGS 9.5 sold on eBay recently for over $200, which I thought was pretty good incentive to start box-busting, but $500 previously? That's mind-boggling!

yawie99

I swear I remember a PSA 10 Brodeur selling for more than a grand many moons ago. An eBayer from New Jersey, theemaz, I think it was, used to buy Brodeur's like crazy. I once sold a 9 for more than $100. It was nuts. Even if Brodeur goes on to beat Roy's record, the card will never even come close to reaching those levels.

Basilone

<< <i>I swear I remember a PSA 10 Brodeur selling for more than a grand many moons ago. >>



Yep...I remember those days too!