Marie-Philip Poulin's now well-known card, found by a collector in a Candiac store last month and for sale on eBay for $50,000, was finally sold, but not at the asking price.
The card was purchased for $20,000 by a Florida resident on Monday and has already been paid for.
This card of the Montreal Victoire’s captain, produced by Upper Deck, is unique in itself. It is what is called in the industry a "1 of 1", as only one like this has been printed. For those in the know, it's a Young Guns Outburst Gold Upper Deck, a very popular type of card that can be found in both the PWHL and the NHL hockey cards.
With a market for women's hockey cards that is not yet developed, it was difficult to determine its true value. Some collectors were trying to compare this card to the one Upper Deck produced of Canadiens rookie Lane Hutson, saying it could not sell for the same price, valuing Poulin's card at about $10,000. Some even predicted $5,000.
However, the skeptics will be confounded. Hutson's card sold for $13,505 in U.S. dollars, $19,296 in Canadian dollars as of today, slightly less than the price paid for Poulin's card.
Making the right comparable
It was a misunderstanding of the real importance of Marie-Philip Poulin in the world of hockey. For Patrick Brisson, owner of the Collect Edition store and the person responsible for selling the card, there were no comparisons to be made with Hutson.
"When customers told me that $50,000 was too much, I asked them how much a Sidney Crosby Young Guns Outburst Gold 1/1 would sell for if the card existed. I was told $100,000 or $200,000. So, I explained to them that Marie-Philip Poulin was in many ways the Crosby of women's hockey. You can't compare her to Lane Hutson, who hasn't won anything yet. Poulin is a hockey icon," Brisson explained in an exclusive interview.
The problem also lies in the market for women's hockey cards. The release of Upper Deck's first PWHL collection was a resounding success, as boxes of 12 packs are close-to-impossible to find in stores and were selling for three times the original price a month after their release. However, this is a new market and there were no real comparables.
A $10 offer!
"I told my client that some of Crosby's unique cards were on sale for $80,000, and ended up selling for $15,000. So we could do the same thing with Poulin,” said Brisson. “Putting it at $50,000, letting people know that the card was out, allowing people to make an offer and then, evaluate the offers."
Aside from a few ridiculous offers (someone offered $10!) and a $20,000 offer from a buyer that turned out not to be serious, the other offers hovered around $10,000. And that's when a buyer, a serious one, also offered $20,000. A month after the card was released, Brisson knew he could hardly get more. He spoke with his client, Cassandra Melanson, who was comfortable with the offer.
"I would have hoped for more, but the market for women's hockey cards is not yet established. With a more balanced market, the card could have sold for even more, I think, but people are not yet ready to offer more for women's hockey," said Melanson, when reached by phone.
A new stick
"But I'm happy! That's a lot of money. I'm a collector at heart, so I already have Marie-Philip's regular Young Guns card. That's why I could sell this one. It will allow me to pay off some debts and buy a new hockey stick," adds Melanson, who plays hockey in her spare time.
In fact, a meeting, coordinated with the Victoire public relations team, is planned soon between Melanson and Marie-Philip Poulin. It's a safe bet that Cassandra will ask her idol to sign a card or two... for her personal collection this time and not for resale.