Resubmitting a Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza currently graded BGS 5 carries meaningful risk, primarily because a resubmission could easily result in the same grade or lower rather than the improvement you’re hoping for. BGS grading is remarkably consistent on vintage cards, so if a card received a 5, the factors that led to that grade—surface wear, centering issues, corner damage—are unlikely to disappear on a second submission. The main risk isn’t that the card will suddenly be graded higher; it’s that you’ll spend $50–$150 in submission fees without moving the needle, or worse, receive a 4 or 3.5 if the card is examined under different lighting or handled differently during the review process.
For a Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza specifically, vintage condition is already working against you, and a BGS 5 suggests this card has observable wear that’s difficult to overlook. The decision to resubmit depends entirely on whether the card’s current market value justifies the cost and risk. If you paid $30 for a BGS 5 Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza and resubmission costs $75, you’d need to realistically believe the card could grade a 7 or higher to justify the expense—and honestly, if it grades a 5 now, jumping to a 7 is unlikely. The real question isn’t “can this card grade better?” but rather “is the difference in value worth the submission fee and the risk of a lower grade?” For most collectors holding low-grade vintage cards, the answer is no.
Table of Contents
- What Does a BGS 5 Grade Actually Tell You About Your Card?
- The Economics of Resubmission and When the Math Breaks Down
- Squirtle Stamp Variants and Why Print Quality Matters for Resubmission Decisions
- When Resubmission Actually Makes Sense for Low-Grade Vintage Cards
- The Handling and Risk Factors in Sending Cards Multiple Times
- Alternative Options to Resubmission for Vintage Cards Stuck at Low Grades
- Market Trends and the Value of Low-Grade Vintage Cards Going Forward
- Conclusion
What Does a BGS 5 Grade Actually Tell You About Your Card?
A BGS 5 is considered “Poor to Fair”—it’s the grade you see on vintage cards that saw genuine play or rough handling. This grade indicates that while the card is still identifiable and collectible, it has visible wear that affects both aesthetics and value. On a Rayquaza, this typically means worn corners, possible light creasing, surface scuffing visible to the naked eye, and potentially centering issues that make the borders uneven. The stamp (the small Squirtle indicator on the bottom of the card showing which printer produced it) is consistent across a print run, so this isn’t the variable—the card’s physical condition is. The important thing to understand is that graders see the same things you do, plus magnification.
If you can see wear and damage without a loupe, the graders absolutely saw it too. When a card receives a 5, the graders have documented every flaw. Resubmitting the same card weeks or months later doesn’t erase those flaws. What could theoretically change is the grader’s interpretation of severity—one grader might see heavy wear on the corners and call it a 5, while another might call it a 4.5 or a 6. This variance exists but is typically within half a point, not a full two or three grades. A BGS 5 Rayquaza is unlikely to suddenly become a BGS 7 or 8 on resubmission.
The Economics of Resubmission and When the Math Breaks Down
The first-time submission cost with bgs typically runs $30–$75 depending on turnaround time, and crossover service fees (converting the card to a different holder if needed) add another $20–$35. If your card graded at a BGS 5 for, say, $50 in submission fees, resubmitting it costs another $50–$100. This means you’ve now spent $100–$150 total to hopefully increase the grade. For that to be worthwhile, you need to know what price difference exists between a BGS 5 and a BGS 6 or 7 for that specific Rayquaza. Consider a practical example: suppose a Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza grades at BGS 5 and the current market price for that grade is $40–$60.
A BGS 6 of the same card might sell for $80–$120. That’s potentially a $40–$60 upside if you can improve the grade one point. But if resubmission costs $75, you’ve already consumed most of that potential profit before you even get the result. And if the card comes back as a BGS 4.5 or stays at 5, you’ve lost $75 with no return. The math only works if you’re dealing with cards where grade jumps create substantial value gaps—typically modern cards grading in the 7–8 range or valuable vintage cards in the 5–6 range. A BGS 5 Rayquaza is likely in the lower-value category where the economics don’t support another submission.
Squirtle Stamp Variants and Why Print Quality Matters for Resubmission Decisions
The “Squirtle Stamp” designation refers to one of several print versions of Pokémon cards from specific print runs, identifiable by a small Squirtle illustration on the bottom of the card. This stamp doesn’t change quality, but it does mark which printer and time period produced the card. Vintage cards with Squirtle Stamps are typically from the first or second edition runs, which can have their own print quality variations—some stamps were cleaner, some cards came with better centering from that run. However, if your card already grades at a BGS 5, the print stamp is irrelevant to your resubmission decision. The grade reflects the card’s actual condition, not its rarity or print variant.
What matters for resubmission is whether the Squirtle Stamp variant you own is actually valuable enough to justify the attempt. If you have a rare print variant or an early print run, there might be more incentive to get it in better condition. But if it’s a common variant, a BGS 5 will always be a BGS 5 in the market—and resubmission won’t change the underlying wear and tear that caused that grade. The limitation here is that vintage cards, especially with visible condition issues, tend to have consistent grades across multiple submissions. Don’t assume a resubmission will reveal a “hidden” BGS 7 underneath the BGS 5. The graders got it right the first time.
When Resubmission Actually Makes Sense for Low-Grade Vintage Cards
Resubmission is worth considering in specific scenarios, and none of them typically apply to a BGS 5 unless the card is extremely valuable or you have a legitimate reason to believe the initial grading was an outlier. The strongest case for resubmitting a low-grade card is if the card was graded at a different company (PSA, CGC) and you want to move it to BGS, or vice versa. That’s not resubmission in the traditional sense; that’s a crossover, and it can make sense if you believe one company’s standards favor your card. But resubmitting the same card to the same company within a year or two has little rationale.
Another scenario is if your card was graded years ago and you believe standards have shifted—vintage cards sometimes do receive slightly different evaluations as grading philosophies evolve. However, this is rare with established companies like BGS, and it’s not a risk-free bet. The most honest assessment is that if you’re holding a BGS 5 and wondering if it’s worth resubmitting, the answer is almost always no. The money is better spent buying a BGS 6 or 7 outright from another collector, which at least guarantees you the grade you want without the resubmission gamble.
The Handling and Risk Factors in Sending Cards Multiple Times
Every time a card is submitted for grading, it goes through the mail twice (to and from the grading company) and gets handled by multiple people during the grading process. Each handling event introduces risk—not just risk of damage during the resubmission itself, but also risk that the card’s condition could subtly change. A corner might get slightly more worn, a surface scuff might develop. For vintage cards already at a BGS 5, these cards are fragile. They’ve already shown they don’t hold up well to handling or play. Sending them through the postal system and through the grading company’s facilities again isn’t risk-free.
The practical warning here is that low-grade vintage cards are more fragile than their grades suggest. A BGS 5 card might be structurally intact but borderline in terms of condition. A second submission could expose new micro-damage or result in the card being re-evaluated more harshly based on new observations. Additionally, there’s a small but real risk of loss or damage in transit. BGS and other graders use strong slabs and packaging, but cards do get lost or damaged in the mail. For a card you’ve already determined isn’t valuable enough to justify high-end grading initially (evidenced by the BGS 5 grade), risking another submission is a compounding bet against yourself.
Alternative Options to Resubmission for Vintage Cards Stuck at Low Grades
Instead of resubmitting, consider whether holding the card as-is or selling it and buying a higher-grade copy makes more sense. If you own a BGS 5 Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza and wish you had a BGS 7, the simplest solution is often to sell the 5 for whatever you can get and put that money toward buying a 7 outright. This avoids the resubmission gamble entirely and gets you the card you actually want. The price difference might be $50–$100, but that’s likely less than the cost of resubmission plus the risk of downgrade, plus the time waiting for results.
Another option is to have the card reholdered or cracked out and resubmitted to a different grading company. CGC and SGC have different grading standards than BGS, and occasionally a card will grade differently between companies. A BGS 5 might come back as a CGC 6 or SGC 6 with a fresh evaluation. However, this is also a gamble and can cost $50–$100 depending on the service. For most collectors, the most practical path is acceptance—a BGS 5 is what it is, and holding it or selling it is more cost-effective than chasing a higher grade that may never materialize.
Market Trends and the Value of Low-Grade Vintage Cards Going Forward
The vintage Pokémon card market has matured significantly, and one trend is that low-grade copies (BGS 3–5 range) have become more accessible to budget-conscious collectors. Rather than being seen as undesirable, they’re now recognized as legitimate entry points into owning iconic cards. A BGS 5 Rayquaza has value because Rayquaza is recognizable and historically important, even if it’s not a trophy copy.
As the market continues to mature, the acceptance and desirability of low-grade vintage cards will likely remain stable or increase slightly, making the case for resubmission even weaker. Looking forward, if you hold vintage cards, the smart play is to accept their grades and build your collection around them rather than investing in repeated submission attempts. The grading companies have refined their standards over decades, and a BGS 5 is a reliable assessment. Your money is better spent on acquiring additional cards or upgrading through purchase rather than gambling on grading variance with cards that are already borderline in value.
Conclusion
Resubmitting a BGS 5 Squirtle Stamp Rayquaza is genuinely risky and almost never justified financially. The card received a 5 because it shows visible wear and condition issues that aren’t likely to disappear on reexamination. Grading variance between examiners is real but typically measured in half-point increments, not full grades. You’d need to spend $75–$150 on resubmission fees to have a reasonable shot at improving the grade, and even then, the upside might only be $30–$60 in added market value—and that’s assuming the best-case scenario of a single-grade improvement.
The realistic outcomes are that the card grades the same (you’ve lost the submission fee), grades lower (you’ve now got a lower-grade slabbed card), or grades one point higher (you’ve barely broken even). Your best path forward is to accept the BGS 5 as the card’s grade, enjoy it as part of your collection, or sell it and upgrade to a higher-grade copy through purchase. Both options provide more certainty and better financial outcomes than resubmission. If you ever come across vintage cards in the future that are already in strong condition (BGS 7 or higher), those are candidates for resubmission since the upside is meaningful. But for a BGS 5, the practical answer is no—the risk and cost don’t justify the potential return.
