Quick Question

loki23

Up until recently I have bought the newest cards available...I'm fairly new to buying older material. I just bought my first vintage card yesterday (68 Topps Bob Gibson #100). My question is...I'm thinking about buying a couple packs of 79-80 Topps cards. What are my odds of getting a Gretzky Rookie? and would anyone think it's worth the money for the chance?

goodriddance189

if you buy unopened '79's stay away from those 3 pack trays. apparently they were packaged real tightly, and suffer a lot of corner damage. buy single packs from a reputable dealer, or GAI graded packs.

as for the odds, i believe there are 10 cards per pack. with 264 cards in the set, your odds are 1/26.4 packs of hitting a Gretzky rookie. at $45-$50 a pack, its pretty much a high risk crapshoot. i would recommend buying a graded Gretzky rookie. you can pick up a PSA 7 for around $220, and a PSA 8 for $300-$350.

of course, you could buy a few packs and hit a mint Gretz, grade it a 9, and sell it for $1500 bucks. but the odds are strongly against you.

loki23

Thanks for the advice, It's a great help

Any other tips would also be appreciated

goodriddance189

i know the guy who has the #1 1979 Topps set on the Registry. he built it from packs. the issue here is whether or not you're only looking for a Gretzky, or are you trying to put a set together. if you're only looking for the Gretz, just buy one graded. the packs will become $50 lottery tickets, with a 1/26 ratio on hitting the $300 prize. those are low odds.

even if you plan on grading the other cards, your return will be pretty low. PSA 8's sell for $5-$6 each on ebay, and PSA 9's usually sell for $15-$30. with the centering and corner problems associated with this set, your odds coming out ahead are slim