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Wayne Gretzky Mint PSA 9 O Pee Chee Rookie Card

Hey all. This is my 1st post here. I have been lurking in the forum for a long time & enjoying and learning from the knowledge of so many. My collecting has been sporadic over the years and I seem to have caught the bug again recently to get more involved. In order to raise some cash to spring to buy some new items I have decided to sell one of my most valuable cards. I bought this Wayne Gretzky PSA 9 rookie many years ago and it has been locked away. It is holdered in one of the original style PSA cases and wish I got it reholdered prior to listing in the auction to really enhance the beauty, but really just wanted to get it up for sale. I posted the link to the Ebay auction listing here with many pictures and scans. I have over a decade of experience and feedback on Ebay which is 100% positive. There is another PSA 9 Gretzky up for auction from a major consignor going concurrently but I thought it would be nice to have buyers get two choices to compare and contrast. I do not have thousands of Ebay transactions as the other person, but I am reliable and will handle the transaction with utmost integrity. I also think I have the nicer card of course I had to put a reserve as I am not using a major auction house, but it is fair. The last public auction for a PSA 9 O Pee Chee Gretzky sold for $23,962. I welcome any comments/questions/feedback.Mint O Pee Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie
On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.

Comments

  • "Thanks all for the quick replies and comments. I moved this discussion to buy, sell, and trade"



    It surprises me that the old flip is a turnoff to many. Old flip or new flip, a 9 is a 9 in my mind. I realize the new flips are nicer looking but the card quality has always been my focus when shopping, with the old flips being more of an annoyance. I just dislike the idea of the risk of mailing the card in, getting handled again and shipped back with the possibility of things going awry at multiple points in the process (not to mention the cost). I realize my feedback is low but is over a long period of time with all positive. I can see how this will turn away some buyers right away. I thought, people will see I have been on Ebay for a decade and have some trust that I have had no negative feedback in over 10 years and this should mean something. I understand it probably will not fetch quite as much as a major auction house, but if it can save the buyer and seller some money than all is good. I could be completely off base and this may be a learning experience. Maybe I am being too optimistic and naive. The reserve is there for protection even though it is costly. I really appreciate the feedback so far!

    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • shagrotn77shagrotn77 Posts: 5,567 ✭✭✭✭
    The newer flip is all about security and not aesthetics. If your reserve is not met, it might be a good idea to get it re-holdered so that prospective buyers have no concerns about a tampered slab, fake/altered card or slab, etc. The card is a real beauty. Best of luck with it!
    "My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Our childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When we were insolent we were placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really."
  • Thanks for the input. I thought it was quite a bit more expensive to put the card in a new slab, but I called PSA and $35 is very reasonable. If the auction doesn't fetch my reserve than that will be the next step. Meanwhile someone may catch a great deal with this auction the way the bidding is going. I would rather just get the card sold, and I can assure anyone fwiw who is interested from this board that this card is a very legit 9. I have had it in my collection for many years. Although I am new to the forum, I am not a new collector and this is one of the nicer Gretzky's. Of course I am biased image. I love the O Pee Chee rough cut and this one has it in spades guaranteeing it is not cut from a sheet or a fraud. Thanks again for the input.
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • Hey guys, I added some new pics and commentary on the Gretzky rookie for sale. Please take a look. Only 2 days left in the auction. If it doesn't sell on Ebay I will get it re-encapsulated and put it up with an auction house where I am sure it will fetch quite a bit more. The other Gretzky rookie PSA 9 auction on Ebay is up to $18,300 and ends at the same time. I would prefer to just sell it now and save me time and hassle and someone will get a fantastic deal. I can promise you the deal will go smoothly if you are the winner.



    Wayne Gretzky Mint 1979 Rookie O Pee Chee Ebay listing



    I am selling one of my prize possessions of the greatest hockey player to ever live. This is a stunning Mint PSA 9 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Rookie card that has been in my collection for years, stored carefully and looking for a new owner for the right price. It is one of the very first O-Pee-Chee rookies to receive the coveted Mint 9 grade by PSA demonstrated by sporting PSA's original style slab labeling and only 1 has ever been graded higher. Centering on the card is amazing, corners are sharp, colors pop. Card has the beautiful characteristic O-Pee-Chee rough cut edge guaranteeing it was never laser cut from a sheet. These superior quality cards are drying up as collectors secure the remaining few in their vaults and prices are skyrocketing as demonstrated by the recent Mile High auction last Fall selling a Gretzky rookie at a healthy premium to recent "book value". There is another PSA 9 auctioning on Ebay right now & wanted to take this opportunity to contrast the quality of my card against another. The corners on my card appear crisp and the blue border is bold without significant chipping which has plagued so many O-Pee-Chee cards of that year. Judge for yourself. I just added several more photos to show the outstanding quality. I included a photo with the ad promotion from the October 2015 Mile High auction where one sold for $23,962 (not this card). The faint scratch seen next to the "S" in Oilers is on the case not the card. Bid confidently as I have 100% positive feedback and have been a trusted member of Ebay for over a decade. In person pickup is an option if you prefer.



    On Feb-22-16 at 16:37:48 PST, seller added the following information:





    I am going to make one final pitch to ensure a successful auction. I have received some feedback on reasons this Gretzky rookie is lagging behind the concurrent auction happening on Ebay ending around the same time for the same grade of card.



    #1)People don't like the look of the old slab. I agree. I called PSA today and for $35 you can have the card re-encapsulated by PSA at the same exact grade. If I had know this was an issue I would have submitted it for re-encapsulation myself

    #2)My feedback is low for the value of the card. True enough. However, check my profile and you will see I have been on ebay since 2005 with 100% positive feedback buying and selling. I have not been waiting over a decade to do something devious. Bid with confidence.

    #3)Some prefer a major auction house. While there are many fine auction houses, I prefer to save us all some money and you can avoid a huge buyer's premium.



    I did add additional pictures from the original listing and hope this auction can be successful. The card is mint, mint, mint, with a beautiful rough cut edge characteristic of O Pee Chee that year which ensures this is not a sheet cut card. It is a real beauty! Wayne Gretzky Mint 1979 Rookie O Pee Chee Ebay listing
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • mb2005mb2005 Posts: 165 ✭✭
    I agree, I think a lot of people might pass over this auction because of the reserve. Better choices are:



    1) If you want a quick sale, and want to know the real value of the card, start it at 99 cents with no reserve (most of the big auction houses do this most of the time).

    2) Put it at a pretty high number with a 'best offer' option. You will have to haggle some, and it might take longer than a straight auction

    3) If you want to guarantee some number for yourself, then put it at buy it now and be prepared to wait



    All of these are better than setting a secret reserve price.
  • Thanks for the feedback. Auction ends tonight. To help anyone feel more comfortable for bidding I will happily send the card into PSA to get a new holder prior to shipping to the winning bidder if you so desire as a bonus to PSA members. I know for a fact the card and holder are legit and not tampered with. It seems pretty obvious to me, but some don't trust the old holders as much. If you have any other questions or concerns please contact me. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and if someone wanted to pick the card up in person I could meet you at the airport or somewhere around Cincinnati. if you would like to talk by phone send me a private message
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-W...300:g:~GwAAOSwzgRWxJhl



    Auction ends in 7 minutes. Reserve $23,000. Very close
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • Reserve met. 3 minute warning
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • shagrotn77shagrotn77 Posts: 5,567 ✭✭✭✭
    Reserve met thanks to bidder y***4.
    "My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. Our childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When we were insolent we were placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds - pretty standard really."
  • Yeah just pushed it over. In the future, I probably won't use reserves. Looks like my low number of feedback even though all positive only hurt me slightly. Thanks for the interest and comments. Are you y***4?
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,520 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Congrats on the sale!


    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • sushihotwingssushihotwings Posts: 452 ✭✭✭
    Yeah I didn't have a reserve initially and then 24 hours went by without a bid, i got nervous and for protection put one in and all of sudden the bids flooded in after I added some additional information. Guess I didn't need a reserve again, but I consider it similar to taking out an insurance policy. Even though my feedback is around 150 now and 100% positive it is still relatively low compared to the large sellers and could leave me vulnerable. I don't see a big downside to having one except if the bids get just short of the reserve and auction ends. First auction for the o pee chee went fine with the reserve and financial cost of a reserve is much less if you have an eBay store which I now have. I can tell you at this trajectory i would be surprised if the reserve is not hit. i do have a couple references now from this board if anyone has interest in this card and if bid has been placed I will be happy to share that reserve privately with that invidual on the board.
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    What a beautiful card and good luck on the sale!



    edit to add - this is just me, but if I had a card of this "calibur" still, I'd really consider having someone like PWCC handle the auction. Would totally be worth any additional fees.
  • sushihotwingssushihotwings Posts: 452 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the advice and I considered PWCC. I was very close to sending to them and decided to list on my own. I really want to establish myself and develop a good reputation on EBay as a trustworthy member and nothing like doing that with a few high dollar successful sales with good communication, service, and feedback. I also want to get more active on the buy sell trade boards here and I will be listing more here as I have grown more comfortable with the high quality members here. It probably sounds odd to the long term members but some may have forgotten what it was like first starting here and learning a group of people and being comfortable with buying, selliing, trading with members with no real protection but with time and interaction comes trust. eBay makes it so easy with an established process and some protections even though I realize some have had very bad experiences buying and selling on EBay. Thanks again for the advice guys and hope we can do some trading in the future.

    Dave
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
  • flcardtraderflcardtrader Posts: 788 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: MULLINS5



    edit to add - this is just me, but if I had a card of this "calibur" still, I'd really consider having someone like PWCC handle the auction. Would totally be worth any additional fees.




    +1



    The sale prices coming out of the auction houses are staggering!



    Those prices are not being realized because the seller has 100% feedback but because they have a loyal following who purchase high end material.



    On another note - Sushi, that's two PSA 9 Gretzky's in less than 6 months! Look forward to seeing your BST posts here!

    flcardtrader@yahoo.com
    Website
    Shopify Store
    Ebay Store
  • maddux69maddux69 Posts: 2,130 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just a note, that is an oil drop in the Oilers logo, not a flame as mentioned in the auction description.
  • MULLINS5MULLINS5 Posts: 4,517 ✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: maddux69

    Just a note, that is an oil drop in the Oilers logo, not a flame as mentioned in the auction description.




    Also, it is very common to have a centered oil drop in the Topps issue. It's the OPC ones that are notoriously off-centered.
  • sushihotwingssushihotwings Posts: 452 ✭✭✭
    Logo info">http://www.thehockeynews.com/b...no-17-edmonton-oilers/



    Indeed you are correct. All these years I thought it was a flame. Growing up around oil refineries and seeing the flares I always thought the orange color and shape represented an oil refinery flare and never considered otherwise. Thanks for correcting me.
    On the hunt high grade Star Basketball.
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