Help needed - Is it worth buying?

[ellford]

I have a near complete set of the 1980-81 O-Pee_Chee NHL set. The set is ungraded, but they've been in protective plastic sheets since I opened them. I'm missing just 39 cards from the set (that don't appear to hold much value):

#22 - Jim Craig#24 - Ken Linseman#28 - Pat Hickey#35 - Robbie Ftorek#43 - Reed Larson#64 - Rocky Saganiuk#98 - Keith Brown#109 - Richie Dunn#137 - Dave Taylor#148 - Paul Woods#155 - Dale Hoganson#177 - Lars Lindgren#207 - Doug Halward#221 - Doug Hicks#223 - Michel Dion#224 - Jim Watson#225 - Wilf Paiement#247 - Tom Lysiak#249 - Reggie Leach (Flyers Team)#256 - Marc Tardif#265 - Bobby Lalonde#266 - Bob Sauve#279 - Pete Peeters#286 - Mike Murphy#288 - Gary McAdam#291 - Per Olv Brassar#293 - Dave Hunter#294 - Steve Jensen#305 - John Tonelli#307 - Rod Schutt#310 - Larry Pattey#324 - Doug Soetaert#333 - Ron Low#335 - Gary Edwards#357 - Tim Trimper#380 - Colin Campbell#381 - Dave Debol#383 - Ken Erik Andersson#387 - Cam Connor

A guy in town has 28 of the 39 cards I need (also ungraded).

I plan to sell the set as I need to move and I can't keep stuff anymore (divorce) so I need some input - is it worth buying these 28 cards for $30? It means I'll be closer to having a complete set (11 shy). Or should I just sell what I have as is?

Or would it be best to sell some of the higher end cards (e.g. Wayne Gretzky, Ray Bourque, Mark Messier (mine is the error print that says he shoots right), Wayne Gretzky (All Star)) and then sell the remaining set that's missing those key cards?

Sorry I just don't know what to do and thought I'd appeal to your expertise on this.

Thanks,

[cjb]

This is a tough one.....

Incomplete vintage sets selling on ebay is nothing new but 39 cards is excessive

I would complete the set

IF you have free time and an ebay account it will probably take 2-3 weeks to find and have the final 11 cards delivered to your home address

There's a lot of sellers on ebay that will sell you singles for $1

[doniceage]

I personally would not compete the set. As you said you still need 11 cards after you get the 28. If your planning on selling before you move it, Will you have the set done before you move if not why try to complete it when you know your going to sell it. I would potentially look at what the better cards sell for graded and perhaps grade them. Of course you might be waiting for a while as the line for submissions is long depend on who you go with. Just a thought as it never good if you have to sell a set in a rush.

DON

[ellford]

So a completed set of this brand/year is worth more than an incomplete one?

Regarding the better cards being graded, do you think there's a significant market for this brand/year of better cards if they're graded?

[cjb]

Obviously complete sets sell more then incomplete sets. A few missing commons won't make much of a difference but 39 missing cards will affect the price.

When it comes to card grading it all comes down to conditioning. If you think the cards are going to come back PSA 7 or higher then grading may be worth it. Anything lower isn't worth it. Also if you need to sell it soon then grading cards is probably not a good Idea. I don't grade cards but word on the street is that wait times at PSA are kinda long these days.

Complete sets tend to go for $150-$300 depending on the condition of the cards, especially the main ones (gretzky, Bourque, Messier)

Where are you selling these cards?