@ Serge

Oh I know it’s not serious, but it’s hot-button for sure. I wanted to say “Poor Wayne,” but how many people would attack me for that?

Many Canadians think that anything short of Wayne taking a slapshot to Donald Trump’s face is unnacceptable.

Everything is political these days, and I don’t think any two people can agree on anything.

@ Libertarian

A lot of people have told me to look on MaxSold for hockey cards. I’ve tried, but it’s usually junk.

The problem with the sports card market (or the benefit…) is that it’s now highly commoditized. In 1988, I would go to a show, ask to see a 1983-84 Steve Yzerman rookie card from behind the showcase, then tell the dealer, “This looks near-mint, not mint, so I’ll give you $40 instead of $50.” It was just how it looked to the naked eye. In 2025, every card has to be professionally graded by PSA and “slabbed” in plastic, with a serial number, and grade. Then you can look up the card and see: 1) Population, 2) Trending sales history.

Let’s look at a MaxSold listing:

https://maxsold.com/auction/97400/bidgallery/item/6828280

That’s a Ray Bourque rookie card, but it’s “raw,” meaning not graded.

From the looks of the card, I think that would grade a PSA-2.

There are over 3,000 Ray Bourque rookie cards graded according to the population report available on the PSA website:

https://www.psacard.com/auctionprices/hockey-cards/1980-o-pee-chee/ray-bourque/322215

A Gem-Mint PSA-10 sells for $8,000+.

But a PSA-2 sells for $25.

It costs $20 minimum to send a card for grading, hence why so many “raw” cards aren’t worth anything.

But if you ever see any hockey cards on MaxSold from before World War II, let me know!

I bought some old cards (not hockey) on there. Not much money. Pick them up soon. Will be interesting to see what shape they are really in.

Tesla has been at wildly different prices. Market “value” can only be proven when the earning come in. Obviously Tesla sales are about to take a real and unpredictable hit, so the price is falling. Real value is in the earnings power of any company. Watch any company fall short of expected revenue or earnings, and the price gets hammered.

Real estate is a different market entirely. You don’t buy a house in most parts of Canada based on the expected earning capability of the asset. Real estate in Vancouver is priced on demand, which has zero connection to the actual population of the city, local incomes or the GDP of the local economy – not a major financial or political center. More expensive than Toronto for much of my lifetime – go figure.

Thanks, David! Pls do not take it seriously. It was just such an uncanny subject. Looks like those cards are the “condo zone” of this market. Mass-production. Now it could be in crisis, too.

@ Serge

I assume you’re referring to Wayne Gretzky.

It’s amazing how we politicize everything.

I don’t invest in any Wayne Gretzky hockey cards. In fact, the single most boring hockey card in existence, in my opinion, is the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky card. There are currently 13,780 graded by PSA. Doesn’t exactly scream “scarcity” to me, but I’ve been to shows where one dealer has a showcase with 800 Gretzky rookie cards, graded from 1 through 9. That’s such a turn-off.

The player in question for the purpose of today’s blog post is Frank “King” Clancy.

In our times, hockey players could be a sensitive political subject…

LOL I thought the same thing. We’ll settle for a pic. You don’t have to share any other details! 😉