OK, maybe crack / resubmit isn’t a full-on craze. But if you’re into vintage and grading, you at least have heard of folks cracking graded cards and resubmitting them. Sometimes a PSA 7 gets cracked and resubmitted in hopes of an 8. Sometimes an SGC 6 gets cracked and resubmitted with the owner hoping for a PSA 7. Etc.
So, why do collectors crack perfectly good slabs only to resubmit them? What is the upside / downside equation? And what impact does this practice have on graded population reports?
What is Crack / Resubmit?
First, a crack / resubmit is exactly what it sounds like. It involves (carefully) breaking an already-graded card from its plastic case, and resubmitting the card to the same grader or a different one as a raw card for grading.
Here’s an example of a card cracked from PSA and resubmitted to SGC:
How is this different from a Crossover?
This is different from a “crossover,” which is when you submit a card in its current plastic to a grader (typically, a different company). In this case you are “crossing over” to a new slab, and perhaps a new grade (higher or lower). People choose this route for a couple of reasons:
- They do not want to crack open the slab and risk damaging the card;
- You can also stipulate a “minimum grade” for the crossover, meaning that it will be returned to you as-is if it would not reach your minimum grade. This means worst-case, you cannot lose the “value” of the current slab and grade.
There are some challenges to crossovers. Eric Drew from SGC submitter Boca Card Subs sums it up this way:
So in other words, it’s best to cross over for PC (personal collection) reasons rather than to “increase the value” of a card. In my experience, crossovers are more successful at lower grades, and damn near impossible for 10’s, for example. This has nothing to do with “grader bias” in my opinion and more to do with the fact that it’s hard to evaluate a card through one or more layers of plastic.
Why Do Collectors Crack / Resubmit?
OK, confession: I’ve never cracked to resubmit. I have done a few crossovers from PSA to SGC (PC preference), and in both cases stipulated the same grade or better as a minimum. In both cases, the cards crossed fine. I’ve done this with a PSA 2 (MC) 1955 Topps Clemente rookie (crossed to SGC 2) and a 1954 Topps Banks rookie (PSA 3 to SGC 3). But I’ve never cracked and resubmitted as raw.
There are several possible motivations for doing so, including:
- You think the grader got it wrong;
- You think the current slab / grade might bias the grader;
- The current slab adds no value or possibly even detracts (BCCG).
Most typically, the owner just believes in the card and thinks the grader undergraded the card–or that a different grading company will assess it differently. SGC and PSA have different grading scales and criteria, so it’s not invalid. Some of the differences between the two leading vintage graders are covered here.
An SGC 5 with poor centering might squeak in as a PSA 6, for example. A PSA 5 with a rough-cut edge might fare better at SGC.
What is the Upside / Downside?
Obviously, the upside is: a higher grade and more value. Here’s another PSA-to-SGC resubmission:
The downside can be catastrophic for value if you bet big and lose. I once saw a gorgeous old-label SGC 8 Red Heart Mantle that the owner cracked / resubbed to PSA for a shocking 6. Frustrated by the downgrade, he cracked again and resubmitted back to SGC. This time, it came back as Altered / trimmed. Whoops!
Making Sense of the Results
I tend not to think too deeply about the implications of one single crack / resub result. In the context of millions and millions of cards graded, a few stories are statistically insignificant. I’ve seen PSA to SGC go up, down, and sideways. I’ve seen BVG cross well at times, but mostly -1 or so.
Folks seem to use these limited results as a sort of confirmation bias. The cards in this article are either evidence that PSA is “really tough,” or “has clueless kids grading cards,” or that SGC is “too lax,” or “more fair,” or “more accurate,” or . . .
The reality is that card grading is generally a low-wage job and in this heavy-volume market, mistakes every which way will happen. Those who have the best crack / resubmit success, though, are probably those who know cards and grading the best.
What is the Impact on Pop Reports?
Due to the nature of the practice (cracking the slab and usually discarding the label), it’s impossible to know for sure. But personally, I’m aware of single examples of some very low-pop cards that account for nearly 50% of the total PSA / SGC reported population. So as a pop report percentage, crack / resubs of low-pop vintage can skew the total population. This means that some cards are even more rare than you think!
PSA has technology now that can fingerprint cards, but this would only negate PSA crack / resubs back to PSA. And this wouldn’t account for the already-massive numbers of single cards that are logged multiple times in various reports.
Let’s Hear Your Stories
How many times have you resubmitted a single card for grading, and what were the various results? If you have any success stories (or horror stories), share them in the comments!
