Authentic Gretzky rookie value?
Schultz24
Posts: 202 ✭✭
Hello all. I took a chance on this raw Gretzky rookie on Ebay. I knew going in that it had some issues such as rough corners and a crease that the seller took good pictures of. From the pics I felt it looked authentic at least and I emailed the seller to ask about its provenance. He stated that he has had it for years and was 99% sure it was authentic. I also asked him specifically about any known alterations to the card and he said there were none. Through those conversations, I didn't have the feeling that he wasn't being honest about it. As you can imagine, when I got it in hand there were more problems than disclosed. It has another significant crease across a corner, and a small one on one of edges. These wouldn't be the worst since after looking at it next to another PSA graded rookie and other loose '79 cards I am pretty sure it is authentic. Unfortunately I am also 100% sure it is trimmed on the left side of the card. Using my handy dandy card centering tool, you can see immediately that the card is short left to right. Also, measuring with a very fine ruler revealed that it is about 2/32 short. Lastly, if you look at the edge clearly you can see something not right about the cut. All this being said, I wouldn't mind keeping it since I have a bunch of loose '79s and it could be a hole filler for the set, I might even send it in to at least see if I can get it in a holder as authentic but altered. I would also rather not send it back to the seller to ensure it doesn't make it back onto the open market for another unsuspecting collector. The point to the whole post is what do you experts think the market value of it is as is? I will obviously have to ask for a significant refund or file a SNAD if that doesnt work. What are all of your thoughts? Thanks for your opinions!
Comments
I've tracked a lot of Gretzky sales when researching for my own purchase plans on those. If you have it slabbed Authentic with no qualifiers, you might be able to get $100 or a little over, though it will take some time until the right buyer finds it since it won't fly off the shelf for that price. If you get it slabbed as Authentic and they add a qualifier such as Altered for example, you might be able to get between $60 & $75.
I would file a SNAD through eBay. By filing through eBay the seller will have to pay the return shipping. If you just email the seller and ask for a refund, he/she will probably try to make you pay for shipping and will only refund the original bid price of the card.
James
*This.
I would add to my comment earlier too that if you get stuck with it and can't return it for some reason, you'll need to get it into an Authentic slab of some sort if you are going to move it. Only keep it raw if you end up keeping it for your own collection.
On the flipside, 1/16 is not that much for a card to be short and even my graded one seems prety close to this size. Has anyone else noticed 1979 Topps hockey to be a tad short left to right often enough for this to be within acceptable range?
Where can i find/buy a copy of that card tool you have there?
He sells them.... .... .... .. .
I saw the tools on ebay. How do they work? Do all the regular sized cards fit into the largest square?
72skywalker,
There are detailed directions in with the tool, but basically you center the standard sized card behind the tool window inside of the largest square (either raw or in a cardsaver works best, but you can keep it in a toploader and it will also work). After doing this, you will be able to read which number on the tool lines up on the "picture" edge (basically where the image starts after the border left to right for example). Read this for both sides and then reference the number chart (also included) to see the approximate centering. Thanks and please don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions!