cracking open PSA holders

thenarcissus01

I have recently read posts on this site and people have stated that they have had pretty good luck cracking graded cards and resubmitting them for higher grades. I have quite a few 1987 Fleer Barry Bonds graded PSA 9 (both regular and glossy versions) that I feel PSA was pretty tough on. I am curious what is the easiest way to crack open the holders without damaging the cards? Also, I would like to hear from some people who have had luck going from 9's to 10's and some people who this approach has backfired on.

VintageJeff

How did PSA giving a 9 make you think that they were tough on them? IMO a 10 is a 9 and a 9 is a 10. Almost any given day most 9's could be 10's and most 10's could be 9's. When you break a card out of a PSA slab you risk damaging the card, repackaging the card you risk damaging the card, you again risk damaging the card during shipping and we all know how little damage can turn a 9 to an 8 or 7. I just can't see how it would be profitable to bust 9's out of their slabs to send it back in and "try" to get a 10. There are lots of extra grading fees, shipping fees and if even one gets damaged your profit margin may be shot before they even see the graders hands. JMO.

cdchanger

Gambler's Caveat: It is possible that many nines are tens, but not all are.

It is hard to show examples of the "arbitrage weakness" in the system
without either encouraging competition or exposing ones own turf, BUT
for academic purposes ONLY I am going to call your attention to just one
of thousands of possibilities that more than justify any of the real risks
that have been cited.

I am not farming this plot.

SMR 1978 TOPPS Baseball.

There are MUCH better examples, but this one is pretty clear.

Cher

IJustLoveCards

heres a way to pop them open:


link

DCICEMAN

I tried the knife method, and wound up damaging a card by the knife going too far into the slab.
What I use is a small, SHARP wire cutter, and snip off the top of the case from one side to the other, taking only about 1/8" off. From there, I carefully pry the slab apart with a small screwdriver. That method has yet to damage a card that I have broken out.

Knuckles

I had a heck of a time cracking a SGC slab once.. had to use a hacksaw.. I flipped the saw upside down and slid the slabs edges along the thin saw blade until I had enough space for a butter knife to go into the crack to wiggle/crack the slab open.

zef204

Here is a good thread. I described the method I use and others talk about a dremel.