Has anyone ever ruined a high dollar or rare card by cracking and resubmitting?

Gemyanks10

I haven't actually cracked and resubbed any cards yet. I have seen "how-to" videos and the like, but has anyone ever had an accident during this process? I have also heard that the new PSA holders make it that much harder.

The Rickey Henderson thread got me to thinking on how much risk is involved with this if you don't really know what you're doing. Imagine having a gorgeous Rickey, or any high-dollar card for that matter, and ruining it because of a malfunction either trying to cross a card over or trying to achieve a higher grade. Any good "war stories" or things to watch out for?

Thanks,

Jimmy

charrigan

I definitely scratched a card once with a screwdriver when trying to open a slab. That sucked, but it was under a $50 card.

The old holders were MUCH easier to open. I can reliably crack them in under 20 seconds.

The new holders are trickier: my advise is to follow the same procedure (snip a corner, then separate the halves), but to completely separate one "horizontal" seal (top or bottom) before trying to unseal a side. If you do the sides first and then try to peel across, you'll likely get the plastic to crack, which is no good. I should make a video at some point...

LarkinCollector

I haven't cracked that many, but for BCCG and the older PSAs, I don't think the cards were ever in danger. Just crack one of the top corners off with some pliers and work it open with a screwdriver. Card sits in the bottom half while prying off the top.

I've got some BVG/BGS that need popped soon, and can update once I do.

Gemyanks10

Thanks for the responses guys, and yes any updates would be appreciated. Even though it was "only" a $50.00 card, it was still a $50.00 dollar card. I could only imagine having a gorgeous PSA 9 Henderson, or any older vintage card and having something bad happen. Especially now with the rising costs of vintage unopened, less of these are likely to surface. Speaking only for myself, I rip far less since the price increases so the act of scouring Ebay looking for nice "9's" to possibly resub for an upgrade is going to be happening more and more for me.

BobH

I've had good success with snipping the corners with a good set of cutting pliers as has been described (Dpeck I believe has a good video on the subject). I have better success with box cutter blades in a sturdy holder vs a small screwdriver. I can get in the small groove better and slowly work along the horizontal border lifting as I go.That usually cracks the vertical borders also and then just use your hands to crack out the prize. I have not ruined any cards but i did stick the box cutter in my thumb which caused some blood loss and embarrassment

Boopotts

I destroyed an SGC 92 Roberto Clemente 62(?) Jello card, which I paid somewhere around $800 for, as well as a '71 PSA 7 Rose. There have been others, to be sure, but those two stand out.

addicted2ebay

Yep, a NM 65 Namath RC... A small chunk of the PSA slab got into the holder and dented it when I screwed it down. I did not see it because it was clear. Cost a lot of $.