Why is OPC baseball not in the basic sets?

jbox

I'm sure this was settled years ago, but I'm a bit new and was wondering why OPC cards are not in the basic baseball player sets and Leaf cards are.

Any thoughts?

mdkuom

PSA took a poll of what sets should be considered "basic" a couple of years ago. OPC didn't make the cut.

SDSportsFan

O-Pee-Chee could really be considered a "regional" issue, since the cards weren't sold in all areas. Basically, unless you were in Canada or probably the Northern and North-Eastern United States, you never even saw an OPC card. I know I never did growing up in Southern California.

Steve

jbox

Was Leaf not distributed the same way? I always thought of Leaf as the Donruss equivalent to OPC/Topps. I really love OPC cards from the 80's so it's probably good for me that they are not in the basic sets or they would be more expensive.

JBox

Zeeck

I had always thought of OPC as a regional issue as well, but it is certainly up for debate, especially considering the preference for OPC in hockey.

SDSportsFan

<< <i>I had always thought of OPC as a regional issue as well, but it is certainly up for debate, especially considering the preference for OPC in hockey. >>



That's a valid point, but I look at it this way:

Baseball is most popular in the United States; it is our National Pastime. Topps is a United States company, and is synonymous with baseball cards. Topps has the longest history producing baseball cards.

Hockey is most popular in Canada; it is arguably, Canada's religion. O-Pee-Chee is a Canadian company, and is synonymous with hockey cards. O-Pee-Chee has the longest history producing hockey cards.

So there you have it.....Baseball = Topps and Hockey = O-Pee-Chee.


Steve

Frozencaribou

But... in PSA registry hockey sets, Topps cards are included in basic sets.

I don't mind that opc is not in the basic sets, but I do mind that PSA will not create OPC sets in the registry. Tried with Clemente, and was told that there is a lovely little spot for a request like mine in the "how I collect" part of the registry.

Seems pretty arbitrary to me.

RedHeart54

Because OPC baseball is much more scarce than OPC hockey (the percentage was something like 5%-10% of Topps' numbers?), there just would not be enough high grade examples around. Most collectors would have a perpetual "hole" in their registry sets (or at least a midgrade within a PSA 8 or 9 set).


As long as we're on the topic I'd be curious if 1960s and 1970s OPC baseball was even found that much in western Canada. I mean, was it primarily distributed in eastern Canada to satisfy the Blue Jays/Expos market?

PowderedH2O

The vast majority of PSA's registry base is from the USA. So, most of the collectors grew up buying Topps cards (and Fleer, Donruss, etc... for the younger ones and Bowman, etc for the longtime collectors). I never saw a pack of OPC cards at the store as a kid. So, I just kind of ignore those cards. I would do the same for hockey except for two things: 1) The OPC sets were bigger than the Topps sets and frequently had key rookies and cards that the Topps sets did not have (Mark Messier, Guy Lafleur, etc...) and 2) Topps stopped making cards for awhile in the early 80's which leaves a bad taste for me, since I want complete runs. So, I have chosen OPC to be the sets I collect. But only because they are a better product than a non-existant or too small Topps set. In baseball, the OPC sets are the small ones. I have no use for them. So, I think that many collectors are like me in the sense that they don't care about the OPC baseball and don't want to have to buy them. In hockey, it is a necessity. Now, as far as Leaf goes, well... I don't buy those either.

vladguerrero

<< <i>Was Leaf not distributed the same way? I always thought of Leaf as the Donruss equivalent to OPC/Topps.
JBox >>



good point

jbox

I appreciate the responses. So it seems that OPC not being in the basic sets is pretty arbitrary. If Topps is the hockey basic sets and Leaf is in the basic sets, then there is no logical reason that OPC is not in the basic sets. I'm not saying it definitely should be, but if Leaf is in, then OPC should be in. Otherwise, remove Leaf from the basic sets!! Sounds like a few people with a personal preference made a decision that stuck for good. I think most would agree that OPC is much more of a recognizable and nostalgic name than Leaf ever was. Don't get me wrong, I love Leaf too! Sorry, just ranting a bit.

JBox