John Elway RC PSA 9 $400+

BigMK

I was looking at prices today for a John Elway RC. I was amazed to see recent sales of this card in a PSA 9 sell consistently in the $400+ with some approaching $500. Just 2 months ago, you could get this card for under $200. Glad I bought mine before the spike. Do you guys think the Marino RC will be next? You can still fetch a Marino RC in a 9 for under 200. I remember the Elway and Marino were always close in price. Still cant get over the recent price of the Elway.

Cakes

I don't think Marino will ever close the gap with Elway for numerous reasons: He never won a Superbowl and he has kept a low profile. Elway won a couple, won one as a GM, and has stayed relevant.

I must add as a pure passer I still think Marino was the best ever.

slum22

I believe Elway RC is considered more condition sensitive, so while they are roughly equal as players I suspect the Elway will command a premium over Marino. I am surprised they have both gone up so much recently.

travis t

There are at least 2 persons currently involved with the hoarding of high grade Elway rookies on eBay. Their intentions seem logical as it has become increasingly difficult to locate a PSA 9 or better example which really stands out from the centering, surface flaws, registration and tilt problems that continually plague the card. I flipped a nice one which was purchased last year and more than doubled my money, so I can only moan about how I wish I'd been a little more aggressive on some that I lost out on.

BigMK

I don't follow card prices as close as many of the members of this board, but it's crazy for me to see the Elway (psa 9) more than double in a matter of weeks. Similar to the recent Rickey Henderson RC spike in value. It makes me wonder what high dollar RC will be next to surge.

Dpeck100

Last I checked the Elway PSA 10 goes for over three times the Marino. If this is still the case I doubt the Marino catches the Elway in a PSA 9. I have also seen an Elway bump to a PSA 10 and perhaps this is the goal of the aggressive buyers.

travis t

It's market control, plain and simple. If they gobble up all the 9's, they could name their price, right? The one's I've seen move, including the one I formerly owned, would be very hard pressed to achieve a 10. Perhaps there's a BVG play in mind for some. But, it's the card itself which has drawn further attention recently as these folks plot its capabilities on the higher end.

baz518

Originally posted by: travis t

There are at least 2 persons currently involved with the hoarding of high grade Elway rookies on eBay. Their intentions seem logical as it has become increasingly difficult to locate a PSA 9 or better example which really stands out from the centering, surface flaws, registration and tilt problems that continually plague the card. I flipped a nice one which was purchased last year and more than doubled my money, so I can only moan about how I wish I'd been a little more aggressive on some that I lost out on.

collectorskove (shows up as c***o for me) must be part of the buying group... that eBay user has been buying and selling many Elway/Henderson/Rice rookies recently... although I think they're exiting out of the Henderson realm. Last I counted, they bought 53 Elway rookies, 33 Rice rookies, and only 3 Hendu's... all in the last 100 transactions or so. Interesting on the Elways, the first few they got for $250-$300 range... but the last 17 have been between $400-500. But if they can upgrade one of those to a 10, I guess it's worth it, huh?

craig44

The elway is more condition sensitive. But I agree that Marino was the greatest passer of all time.

gregmo32

baz518,

You have the details, but consider this point. What they really intend to do is keep buying them, now, at the $400-$500 price, until people are comfortable that that is the new going rate. then they dump all of them at the top of the market, including the vast majority that they got in the $200-$300 range. That strategy worked very well for early Jordan PSA 9 and 10's over the last few months.

travis t

That's why I said plot.

baz518

Originally posted by: gregmo32

baz518,



You have the details, but consider this point. What they really intend to do is keep buying them, now, at the $400-$500 price, until people are comfortable that that is the new going rate. then they dump all of them at the top of the market, including the vast majority that they got in the $200-$300 range. That strategy worked very well for early Jordan PSA 9 and 10's over the last few months.

Definitely, I don't doubt it one bit. Honestly, they're probably trying to do a combination of both... as they buy through these, they're examining any for possible bumps. Then as you said, once the new going rate is established they can then start selling the first ones they bought for nice profits. If they can sell through those while also raising the current rate even more, they can unload the newer purchases at a profit as well.



I do see he has one PSA 10 for sell, but have no idea if its origin.

rexvos

Good luck with all that. I picked mine up years ago, circa 2007ish. Think I paid $70ish for it already slabbed. I have owned about 15-20 of these raw. All 7s or 8s at best. All pulled from packs.

MilehighHOF

It's pretty interesting how the two people worked together to get the prices up so fast. Starting in June one of the buyers (call him buyer 1) started stocking up on them when they were less than $200. Then in July the other buyer (mentioned above, but I'll call him buyer 2) started getting in on the action. In several of the auctions that buyer 2 won, buyer 1 was often the second place bidder. They did this for a few weeks and slowly pushed the price up around $300. A few times buyer 1 would list a card for a BIN price and buyer 2 would immediately buy it. Once the card started selling for over $300 they wasted very little time using the same method to get the price around $400. Once the $400 price started sticking, buyer 1 listed 5 cards in 4 days at $450 and all were purchased by buyer 2. At that point everyone with an Elway PSA 9 started listing them for over $400 and other people besides buyer 1 and 2 started buying them and now they are "worth" $400 to $500.

The other interesting part of their plan is what they are still doing now. A little over a week ago a 20 card Elway PSA 9 lot was listed by a well know consignor. Most of the cards in the lot were purchased by buyer 2 in the last few months. The lot sold for $7,400 ($370 per card) and buyer 1 was the second place bidder. Interesting. Then a few days ago the same consignor listed 20 more Elway RCs, but this time they were listed individually. Again, most of the cards listed this time were purchased by buyer 2 in the last few months. Buyer 1 is actively bidding in several of those auctions. Both buyers are still buying and bidding on Elway RCs at the new price point.

This sort of thing is the reason I have sold most of my collection. I only have 5 PSA graded cards left in my collection (2 of which are Elway PSA 9 RCs). I can see why so many people on this board were so skeptical over the last year with the rise in prices of so many cards. I think a lot of the price changes were legit, but stuff like what is going on with the Elway RCs makes me question how legit other prices really are.

PMKAY

Anyone surprised this scheme is working considering this card has a POP of 1929?

ThoseBackPages

#BuyersGroup aint dum

travis t

If people see this action and own the card at a much lower price point, they might be motivated to sell and take the profits now. If enough people do this, let's say as many as a couple hundred Elway 9's get absorbed into the same hoard, someone will have a nice percentage chunk of those 1929. With so many of them having been graded at this level, it may also be safe to assume, as mentioned before, that of all the 9s pouring into the marketplace and being taken by the same individual, eventually that person might hit a bump to a 10.

JJCTHE1

I think the elway in a high grade is a good buy to hold onto. As much as Marino was arguably a better qb, without a ring And the fact that the elway is more condition sensitive I think it's a better choice long term

SpinFadeSplash23

Yes, please and thank you.

BLUEJAYWAY

Wonder if somewhere down the line the "group" will opt to "invade" the unopened vintage market with their strategy. Since some have stated here that, in some cases, vintage unopened is a bit soft now. May be ripe for picking.

ClockworkAngel

Originally posted by: MilehighHOF
It's pretty interesting how the two people worked together to get the prices up so fast. Starting in June one of the buyers (call him buyer 1) started stocking up on them when they were less than $200. Then in July the other buyer (mentioned above, but I'll call him buyer 2) started getting in on the action. In several of the auctions that buyer 2 won, buyer 1 was often the second place bidder. They did this for a few weeks and slowly pushed the price up around $300. A few times buyer 1 would list a card for a BIN price and buyer 2 would immediately buy it. Once the card started selling for over $300 they wasted very little time using the same method to get the price around $400. Once the $400 price started sticking, buyer 1 listed 5 cards in 4 days at $450 and all were purchased by buyer 2. At that point everyone with an Elway PSA 9 started listing them for over $400 and other people besides buyer 1 and 2 started buying them and now they are "worth" $400 to $500.

The other interesting part of their plan is what they are still doing now. A little over a week ago a 20 card Elway PSA 9 lot was listed by a well know consignor. Most of the cards in the lot were purchased by buyer 2 in the last few months. The lot sold for $7,400 ($370 per card) and buyer 1 was the second place bidder. Interesting. Then a few days ago the same consignor listed 20 more Elway RCs, but this time they were listed individually. Again, most of the cards listed this time were purchased by buyer 2 in the last few months. Buyer 1 is actively bidding in several of those auctions. Both buyers are still buying and bidding on Elway RCs at the new price point.

This sort of thing is the reason I have sold most of my collection. I only have 5 PSA graded cards left in my collection (2 of which are Elway PSA 9 RCs). I can see why so many people on this board were so skeptical over the last year with the rise in prices of so many cards. I think a lot of the price changes were legit, but stuff like what is going on with the Elway RCs makes me question how legit other prices really are.

Really interesting, I can see how this plan would work, Definitely market manipulation.

This hobby is very unique in that it is so susceptible to things like this.

scashaggy

Back down to around $200.

olb31

Don't believe the hype!!

travis t

Time to buy another one.

Dboneesq

Buy another.