Before cracking a BGS slab to resubmit a card, you need to know what you’re actually working with. Our research could not verify the existence of a specific card called “TAG 6 Koraidon” in any Pokémon Trading Card Game database, pricing guide, or grading submission history. This suggests you may be working with a different card—possibly a TAG Team variant, a misremembered name, or a card from a recent release. If the card doesn’t exist as described, the question becomes moot.
However, if you do have a Koraidon or TAG Team card you’re considering for BGS submission, the risk of cracking an existing slab is substantial and worth understanding before you attempt it. Cracking a BGS slab is one of the most dangerous decisions a card collector can make. Even with the right tools, damage is nearly inevitable—pliers or screwdrivers can leave dents, scratches, or creases that permanently reduce the card’s value and grading potential. The financial math rarely works in your favor unless the card is worth significantly more than your total investment in grading, shipping, and resubmission fees.
Table of Contents
- Why Card Identification Matters Before Any Grading Decision
- The True Cost of BGS Grading and Why Most Cards Don’t Break Even
- Understanding BGS Market Position for Pokémon Cards
- The Physical Risks of Cracking a BGS Slab
- Why BGS Resubmission Gambles Often Backfire
- When Cracking Might Make Sense (And It’s Rare)
- Moving Forward: Verify Your Card and Understand the Real Numbers
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Card Identification Matters Before Any Grading Decision
The first step in evaluating any BGS submission strategy is confirming you have the right card. Use TCGPlayer, Serebii, or Bulbapedia to verify the exact card name, set number, and card number. For TAG Team cards specifically, GoCollect maintains detailed pricing data that can help you understand market value. Without this verification, you’re making financial decisions blind—and potentially pursuing a card that doesn’t exist in the first place, which would waste your money on grading fees that can’t be recovered.
If you’re looking at a Koraidon card, multiple versions exist across different Pokémon TCG sets. Each has different rarity levels and market values. A holo rare Koraidon from one set might be worth $15, while a different variant could be worth $150. Getting this identification wrong changes everything about the risk calculation for BGS submission.
The True Cost of BGS Grading and Why Most Cards Don’t Break Even
bgs standard grading costs $20–25 per card, but that’s only the beginning. Shipping to BGS runs $15–25, and if you want insurance, add another $10–20. A single submission typically costs $35–50 in total fees before you even get the card back in a slab. If you then crack that slab and resubmit—which many collectors do hoping for a higher grade—you’re doubling those costs to $70–100 per card.
For this to make financial sense, the card needs to be worth at least three times your total grading investment in its expected graded condition. If you spent $50 on grading, you need the BGS-graded card to be worth at least $150 to break even after resale fees and market losses. Most pokémon cards don’t hit that threshold. BGS also commands lower resale prices for Pokémon cards compared to PSA-graded cards in the same condition, which further reduces your profit margin. This is a critical limitation that many collectors overlook until they’re holding a $50 graded card they can’t sell for more than $40.
Understanding BGS Market Position for Pokémon Cards
BGS provides detailed subgrades and the prestigious “Black Label” designation for perfect 10s, which appeals to serious collectors. However, the Pokémon card market has historically favored PSA grading, and BGS slabs often sit longer on the secondary market.
A BGS 9 and a PSA 9 of the same card might have significantly different selling prices—the PSA might move quickly while the BGS lingers unsold. This market reality means that even if you successfully crack your slab without damaging the card and get a higher grade on resubmission, you may struggle to recoup your investment. A collector who spends $50 on initial grading, cracks the slab successfully (a rare outcome), spends another $50 on resubmission, and upgrades from a BGS 8 to a BGS 9 might still find the slab difficult to sell at a premium price—especially if the raw card value doesn’t support a $100+ graded asking price.
The Physical Risks of Cracking a BGS Slab
Cracking a BGS slab without damaging the card is extremely difficult. The slab is designed to be permanent, not reversible. Tools like pliers or screwdrivers can slip, creating dents or creases on the card surface. Even careful collectors using specialized plastic pry tools report bent corners and microscopic scratches that drop the grade.
One small slip—a momentary hand tremor or tool misalignment—can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost value. Compare this to the alternative: keeping the card in its BGS slab and accepting the grade. If you have a BGS 8 that you believe could be a 9, the risk of cracking and potentially dropping to a 7 is real. The financial tradeoff is stark: you’re risking a certain loss (damage during cracking) against an uncertain gain (a higher grade after resubmission). Insurance and shipping also favor keeping cards slabbed rather than opening them multiple times.
Why BGS Resubmission Gambles Often Backfire
Many collectors crack slabs because they believe the card was undergraded and will receive a higher grade on resubmission. This assumption is frequently wrong. BGS graders are consistent, and if your card received a BGS 8 on the first submission, it will likely receive another BGS 8 on the next submission. Occasionally, a card might bump to a 9, but the risk of dropping to a 7—either from actual damage during cracking or from a new grading evaluation—can erase any potential gain.
The psychological trap is comparing your card to others you’ve seen. You might look at a BGS 9 of the same card and think, “Mine looks just as good.” But grading is subjective within a range, and submitting the same card twice doesn’t guarantee a different outcome. The only thing guaranteed is the new grading fee, the shipping cost, and the substantial risk of physical damage. This is a limitation that separates fantasy from reality in card collecting: resubmission is not a pathway to grade bumps; it’s a gamble with two likely outcomes—breaking even or losing money.
When Cracking Might Make Sense (And It’s Rare)
There are narrow scenarios where cracking could make sense: if you have a BGS-graded card that has become damaged in the slab over years of storage (rare but possible), if you need the raw card for display or personal collection purposes and don’t care about the grade, or if the card has appreciated so much that the grading fees are negligible compared to the raw value. An example would be a collector who owns a BGS 9 Koraidon that’s appreciated from $30 to $500 in raw value over five years—in that case, the $50 grading cost is 10% of the card’s value, and cracking to display it raw might make personal sense.
For most collectors with most cards, though, these scenarios simply don’t apply. The typical card holder—someone with a few BGS-graded Pokémon cards worth $40–100 raw—should never crack a slab.
Moving Forward: Verify Your Card and Understand the Real Numbers
Your first task is to confirm what card you actually have. Use Serebii, Bulbapedia, TCGPlayer, or GoCollect to find your exact card, its set, and its current market value in both raw and graded conditions. Once you know what you’re holding, run the numbers: What is the raw value? What would BGS grading cost? What are similar BGS-graded examples selling for? If the graded price is less than three times your total grading cost, submitting to BGS in the first place doesn’t make financial sense—and cracking to resubmit certainly doesn’t.
The Pokémon card market continues to evolve, and newer cards enter the market regularly. Staying current with databases and pricing guides is essential before making any grading decision. By the time you’ve done this homework, the answer to whether cracking your slab makes sense will be clear.
Conclusion
Cracking a BGS slab is risky for a simple reason: the financial math almost never works, and the physical risk of damage is high. Even if you successfully crack the slab without damaging the card, you’re facing another $35–50 in grading fees with an uncertain outcome. For the card to justify this investment, it needs to be worth substantially more than the typical Pokémon card in the $50–150 range.
Most cards in BGS slabs don’t meet this threshold, making the resubmission gamble a losing proposition. Before considering any cracking strategy, verify your card’s identity, research its market value in both raw and graded forms, and calculate the actual break-even point. If that number doesn’t align with your card’s worth, accept the original grade and move forward. The safest path for most collectors is to keep BGS-graded cards slabbed and focus their grading investments on cards that have a realistic chance of appreciation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I crack a BGS slab without damaging the card?
Theoretically, yes. Practically, it’s extremely difficult. Even professional graders who have attempted it report microscopic damage that affects the grade.
What tools should I use to crack a BGS slab?
Specialized plastic pry tools exist, but any tool risks damage. The slab is designed to be permanent, not reversible.
Will my card get a higher grade if I resubmit to BGS?
Unlikely. BGS graders are consistent. A BGS 8 will likely receive another BGS 8 on resubmission, with the risk of dropping due to new damage.
How much does it cost to crack and resubmit a card to BGS?
Total cost is typically $70–100 when you add initial grading fees, cracking time, shipping, and resubmission fees.
Is BGS or PSA better for Pokémon cards?
PSA commands higher resale prices in the Pokémon market. BGS offers detailed subgrades but typically sells for less.
At what card value does BGS grading break even?
Cards should be worth at least three times your total grading cost ($50+ for a $50 investment) to justify submission financially.
