What is considered low pop for a card?

PaulP

Hello Everyone. I'm new here. I was going through some of my 1980's O-Pee-Chee Hockey PSA 10's and I was wondering is there a number that is generally considered low population for cards? Is it less than 10? less than 5?. I always wondered if there was a general rule on that.

Thanks!
Paul

PaulMaul

It has to be measured relative to the rest of the set.

Ripkenfan126

I've always been told if there is less then 5% of the total graded in 10 it is a lower pop rare card?

maddux69

<< <i>Hello Everyone. I'm new here. I was going through some of my 1980's O-Pee-Chee Hockey PSA 10's and I was wondering is there a number that is generally considered low population for cards? Is it less than 10? less than 5?. I always wondered if there was a general rule on that.

Thanks!
Paul >>



First of all, welcome to the boards.

IMO, "low pop" is just a generic sales term used to generate higher profits. Many sellers will use it as a blanket phrase in their titles to enhance the listing and create a false sense of scarcity.

MrNearMint

<< <i>

<< <i>Hello Everyone. I'm new here. I was going through some of my 1980's O-Pee-Chee Hockey PSA 10's and I was wondering is there a number that is generally considered low population for cards? Is it less than 10? less than 5?. I always wondered if there was a general rule on that.

Thanks!
Paul >>



First of all, welcome to the boards.

IMO, "low pop" is just a generic sales term used to generate higher profits. Many sellers will use it as a blanket phrase in their titles to enhance the listing and create a false sense of scarcity. >>




I always like seeing the ebay listings or 4 sharp listings that say "pop 1"...and its a modern card graded a psa 7 or 8. lol


There can be a few different examples of "low pop." For example, I just bought a Michael Jordan BGS 9.5 graded card, and out of nearly 1,500 submissions, only 69 have been given a 9.5. I would consider that fairly low pop relative to the total amount that has been submitted for grading.

IndianaJones

Paul---

Welcome to the PSA boards. Really, you have asked an excellent question. The answers you have received are good ones. While there seems to be warehouses, or at least storage units and basements, full of 80s cards, I would imagine O-Pee-Chee might not be as plentiful, though that was a very evocative time in hockey with Gretzky and company, Mario Lemieux, and then the arrival of Patrick Roy and the reemergence of Montreal as a Stanley Cup winner. Trading card collecting was growing with each year of the 80s.

Having said that, study the current PSA population numbers of O-Pee-Chee. Now that PSA has hit 25 years, I would imagine a definite pattern has been established for certain given sets and individual cards. However, the cost of grading those cards has always seemed to be exorbitant, while the whole process of sending cards in for grading is definitely non-user-friendly. PSA has, to their credit, strove to make the process a bit easier. Thus, whether it is worth the while to take the time and to go through what one has and carefully find them, and then the sheer expense to get the cards graded largely depends on what the demand is for those O-Pee-Chee hockey sets and superstars of the era. Ask around if collectors or faded out dealers are known to be sitting on cases of the stuff. You might get some honest answers, but don't count on it, as a lot of collectors enjoy keeping that kind of information to themselves. If however you do find out there's "a mountain" of the 80s hockey out there, forget it.

Nevertheless, one thing has been shown to be surprisingly frustrating. Just because cases of cards 30-35 years old have been recently ripped and handled with extreme care, then submitted to PSA for their verdict, does by no means guarantee they'll come back graded PSA 10 GEM MINT. The desired double digit grade is only awarded the best, and card companies at that time had all sorts of quality issues (centering and pesky print spots) that render cards an 8 or a 9, and many with some sort of qualifier. If you have PSA 10 O-Pee-Chee, those cards cannot be topped, but there may be a lot of raw cards out there that can be turned into PSA 10s if the owner is willing to put up with the hassle, the expense, and the perhaps decent chance a bunch will be graded 10s.

If you're trying to be investment minded, dealing with 80s stuff is very risky because the supply of cards may be unlimited or at least potentially way more than the demand will ever be.

Hopefully, you'll get some more input here. ---Indiana Jones (Brian Powell)