Resubmitting a Full Art Kyurem for a SGC 7.5 carries significant risk, and the outcome is far from guaranteed. Unlike first-submission gambles, resubmission involves sending a card that has already been professionally examined and assigned a grade—typically lower than your target. The same grader or a different one on the second submission may evaluate the card more strictly, find new defects under closer inspection, or apply the company’s evolving standards, potentially resulting in an equal or even lower grade. For instance, a card initially graded SGC 6 might come back as SGC 6 again, costing you $75-150 in submission fees with nothing gained.
The Full Art Kyurem from Plasma Freeze (2012) is particularly vulnerable during resubmission because these cards commonly exhibit centering issues, edge wear, and corner chipping that become more apparent with multiple handling. The jump from a 6 to a 7.5 requires not just one step of improvement but a jump that crosses into “near mint” territory. SGC’s grading scale doesn’t reward the card for attempting again—it evaluates the present condition against current standards, regardless of submission history. Many collectors underestimate the psychological cost of resubmission. If your Kyurem comes back the same grade or lower, you’ve not only lost money but also face the harder decision: accept the grade, attempt a third submission (increasingly risky), or sell it as-is and absorb the sunk costs.
Table of Contents
- Why SGC 7.5 Is Difficult to Achieve on a Full Art Kyurem
- The Financial and Practical Costs of Resubmission
- Full Art Kyurem’s Specific Grading Challenges
- Evaluating Your Card Before Resubmitting
- Common Pitfalls in Resubmission Strategy
- The Grade Gap and Market Reality
- When Resubmission Makes Sense
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why SGC 7.5 Is Difficult to Achieve on a Full Art Kyurem
SGC 7.5 represents “near mint” condition and requires the card to be in exceptional shape with only minor imperfections visible under close inspection. For a card from 2012, hitting this grade is genuinely challenging because many Plasma Freeze Full Art Kyurems were played or collected casually and show accumulated wear. The centering must be near-perfect, the corners sharp without whitening, and the surface unmarred by wear marks or printing defects.
Full Art cards are inherently harder to grade highly than standard printings because they lack the border area that normally conceals minor damage. On Full Art Kyurem specifically, any wear on the outer edges is immediately visible and counts against the grade. A card with acceptable centering but slightly fuzzy corners will typically max out at SGC 6.5 or 7. The difference between SGC 7 and SGC 7.5 is subtle but consistent: at 7.5, imperfections should require close inspection to spot, while at 7, they should be noticeable within a few seconds of normal viewing.
The Financial and Practical Costs of Resubmission
Resubmitting a card to SGC costs between $75 for standard service and $150+ for expedited options, depending on the card’s value and your submission tier. If your Kyurem comes back at the same grade, you’ve paid that fee for no benefit. If it downgrades to SGC 6, you’ve actively damaged the card’s market value—a drop from 6 to 6 might feel negligible, but the costs compound with each failed attempt. The handling alone presents a risk factor often overlooked. Even with professional care, each submission cycle involves the card being removed and reinserted into a holder, transported through postal services, and examined by different personnel.
While SGC’s packaging is robust, accidents happen. Cards have been damaged in transit, and older cards like the Plasma Freeze Kyurem are more brittle and prone to cracking if mishandled. One collector reported their attempt to cross-over an SGC 6 Kyurem to psa resulted in a corner crease that would have downgraded it further had it been resubmitted. A practical limitation is that resubmission often triggers re-examination of areas initially passed over. Graders on second submission may spot print spots, slight edge wear, or other defects that weren’t immediately disqualifying on the first grading. This phenomenon is called “sharp eyes”—the second grader isn’t less skilled but simply more alert to potential issues after seeing the initial assigned grade.
Full Art Kyurem’s Specific Grading Challenges
Full Art Kyurem from Plasma Freeze is notorious in the grading community for inconsistent surface quality and centering issues. The printing itself has known flaws—some copies show visible ink spots or slight misalignment from the factory. These defects are not collector-induced wear but rather manufacturing variations that SGC must account for within the grading standards. If your Kyurem carries one of these factory defects, a resubmission won’t remove it, and the grader may dock points more harshly on the second pass if they weren’t caught initially. Centering on this specific card is frequently the grade-limiting factor.
many Full Art Kyurems were printed with uneven centering that ranges from acceptable to quite noticeable. An SGC 6 Kyurem with off-center print will not magically re-center during storage, so unless the initial grade was simply a clerical error or overly harsh, the resubmission will likely reach the same ceiling. One documented case involved a collector’s Kyurem receiving SGC 6 primarily due to centering; upon resubmission, it returned as SGC 6 again with identical centering notes. Humidity and storage conditions can also affect how the card appears during resubmission. If your original SGC 6 Kyurem has been in a PSA slab or unslabbed in a closet for two years, slight changes in the card’s surface sheen or corner appearance may have occurred. These micro-changes are rarely enough to upgrade the card but are sometimes enough to cause a downgrade if a new grader is stricter.
Evaluating Your Card Before Resubmitting
Before paying for resubmission, conduct an honest self-assessment of your Kyurem under magnification. Examine the corners closely for whitening or rounding—is there truly less wear than when initially graded? Check the centering against the original SGC label notes; if centering was the limiting factor before, it hasn’t improved. Inspect the surface under bright light for any new wear, dust particles, or marks that weren’t present during the first grading. Compare your card’s condition against recent SGC 7.5 and SGC 8 sales on platforms like TCGPlayer, eBay’s sold listings, or specialized Pokemon card forums. Look at actual photos of graded Kyurems at your target grade.
If your card appears noticeably worse than the SGC 7.5 examples you find, resubmission is likely a waste. The comparison method is invaluable because it removes guesswork—you’re seeing what SGC has actually assigned that grade to on the same card, same era. One practical step is to submit a lower-value Full Art card first to test the current grading standards at your chosen grading company. If you have another Plasma Freeze Full Art or similar-era card, get it graded to see what score you receive. This costs money upfront but provides real data rather than speculation. Many collectors have found that their understanding of “near mint” doesn’t perfectly align with professional grader standards until they’ve submitted multiple cards.
Common Pitfalls in Resubmission Strategy
The biggest mistake is resubmitting based on nostalgia or memory of the card’s condition from years ago. If a card has been stored for three years since its first SGC 6 grade, and you vaguely remember it being in better shape back then, that memory is unreliable. The card’s current state is what matters, and time doesn’t improve vintage Pokemon cards—it only risks deterioration. Resubmitting because you think the grader “was too harsh” is also common but often incorrect; graders at SGC are consistent in their standards, and a perceived harshness usually reflects actual condition issues. Serial number tracking presents another risk many collectors overlook.
Once a card receives a specific SGC serial number and grade, that number enters the market and grading databases. If you resubmit the same card and it receives a different grade, the discrepancy becomes visible to anyone researching the card’s grading history. This can complicate future resale because buyers will see both the original SGC 6 and the new grade listed in records, potentially creating skepticism about the card’s true condition or the grading company’s consistency. A warning worth heeding: if your Kyurem has been stored improperly between grading submissions—exposed to humidity, sunlight, or temperature fluctuations—resubmission becomes a genuine risk. Plasticizers in the SGC slab can leach into the card edge, and improper storage can trigger slight color shift or surface degradation. Even if you can’t see these changes with the naked eye, a second grader specifically looking for them might downgrade based on condition changes that occurred in storage, not during play.
The Grade Gap and Market Reality
The difference in market value between SGC 6 and SGC 7.5 varies but is typically $150-400 for a Full Art Kyurem, depending on the specific card’s rarity and recent sales data. Before resubmitting, calculate whether the potential gain justifies the submission fee plus the risk of a downgrade. If your card is worth $300 at SGC 6 and would sell for $500 at SGC 7.5, the upside is $200—but the cost of resubmission plus the risk of staying at SGC 6 (losing the $75-150 fee) means you need a genuine 60-70% confidence that the upgrade is achievable.
Some collectors have succeeded by using intermediate services; for example, sending their SGC 6 Kyurem for a professional cleaning or light restoration before resubmission. However, this approach carries its own risks and ethical considerations within the collector community. Any work done to the card between submissions must not involve restoration that would be considered fraudulent, or the card’s integrity is compromised. Light cleaning of dust is acceptable; bleaching or repainting is not.
When Resubmission Makes Sense
Resubmission is most justified if the original grade came back at an unusual outlier compared to similar cards, or if you have specific documentation that the grading was in error. For instance, if three other Full Art Kyurems in identical condition all graded SGC 7.5, and your copy graded SGC 6, resubmission is worth considering. Another scenario where it makes sense is if SGC releases updated grading standards that explicitly favor certain characteristics and you believe your card benefits from the change—though even then, this is speculative.
Looking forward, the Plasma Freeze Full Art Kyurem’s market trajectory will influence whether resubmission is worthwhile. If values for this card are trending upward and investors are actively buying near-mint copies, now might be a reasonable time to push for the higher grade. Conversely, if the market is saturated or declining, holding an SGC 6 and cutting losses is often wiser than gambling on a resubmission that might not be recouped in resale value. The Pokemon TCG market shifts with new releases and collector interest; monitoring price trends for your specific card over 3-6 months before resubmitting is a smarter strategy than an immediate resubmit.
Conclusion
Resubmitting a Full Art Kyurem for a SGC 7.5 is risky because the target grade represents a significant quality jump that may not be achievable given the card’s inherent limitations and manufacturing variations. The financial cost of resubmission, combined with the risk of an equal or lower grade, means you should only pursue this if you’ve honestly assessed that your card can genuinely meet SGC 7.5 standards and if the potential market value gain outweighs the submission costs and downside risk.
Before resubmitting, compare your card against actual SGC 7.5 Kyurem examples you can find online, verify that condition hasn’t declined since the first grading, and calculate whether a successful upgrade would be worth the gamble. Many collectors find that accepting an SGC 6 and selling accordingly is the more rational choice than hoping for lightning to strike twice at the grading desk. If you do proceed, expect that the card may come back at the same grade, and prepare yourself emotionally and financially for that outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I crossover my SGC 6 Kyurem to PSA instead of resubmitting to SGC?
Crossover services do exist, but they carry similar risks to resubmission because the card still goes through the postal system and a new grader evaluation. PSA grading standards differ slightly from SGC, so there’s no guarantee a card that’s SGC 6 will be PSA 7.5 either. Research recent crossover results for Full Art Kyurem before committing.
What’s the best timeframe to wait before resubmitting?
There’s no ideal timeframe; waiting longer only risks additional storage-related damage. If you’re going to resubmit, do it within 6-12 months while the card’s condition remains stable. Waiting years is unlikely to improve your chances.
Should I clean my Kyurem before resubmitting?
Light cleaning of dust is acceptable and sometimes beneficial, but avoid any process that could be construed as restoration. SGC will note any work done to the card, and undisclosed restoration can result in significant downgrades.
Is an SGC 7.5 significantly more valuable than SGC 7 for a Full Art Kyurem?
There is a noticeable difference, but the jump from SGC 7 to 7.5 is smaller than the jump from SGC 6 to 7. Many collectors treat 7.5 and 7 similarly in desirability, so unless you’re targeting specific collector markets, the gap may not justify the resubmission gamble.
What if the Kyurem comes back lower than SGC 6?
This is rare but possible. Accept it as the card’s true grade and hold it unless the downgrade is severe. A second resubmission attempt would be even riskier at that point.
Are there any Kyurem cards more likely to hit SGC 7.5 than others?
Kyurem cards from unlimited printings of Plasma Freeze sometimes show better centering and surface quality than earlier printings. If your card is from a later print run, resubmission odds improve slightly, but this is not a reliable predictor.
