October 2025

I’ve cracked dozens of slabs. SGC, BGS, even a few stubborn CSG cases. It’s routine: clip a corner, pry with a flathead, pop the card free, ship to PSA. Done. Usually with a 3–4× return on modern rookies that cross to a 10. So this summer when I pulled the trigger on a 2024 Panini Prizm Stephon Castle Rookie – Blue Shimmer 1/35  FOTL SGC 10, I saw dollar signs. Raw comps for PSA 10s were already climbing, and crossover data screamed upgrade. I even told my family at dinner:

“This card? That’s our flights to Orlando next summer.”

Confidence: 100.

Preparation: penny sleeve/cardholder

PSA submission: Built.

Box: Labeled.

Service level: Regular (4-6 week turn around) 

The ball was set, the only thing left to do was execute…….

The Crack

Down in the card room, I laid the slab on a microfiber mat. Snipped the top-right corner with my Kobalt cutters — clean. Inserted a medium flathead into the seam — gentle pressure.

Then the SGC case did something it had never done before: it gave up immediately. The top half launched off like it was spring-loaded. My hand — still pushing — followed through.

THUNK.

The screwdriver tip kissed the inner sleeve. Then the card. Then my dreams.

I froze. Closed my eyes. Whispered a prayer to the grading gods. Opened them.

A dent. Not a ding. A crater. Top-right border, dead center in the shimmer foil. The card went from pristine to “well-loved” in 0.3 seconds.

The Aftermath

No yelling, No tears. Just numb silence. My brain blue-screened.

I couldn’t keep it. The thought of seeing that card in my collection, that dent would forever scream, “Hey, remember when you didn’t get those flights to Orlando!”..

So I did the only sane thing immediatly I listed it raw EX for 10% of my cost. Sold in 15 minutes. I needed to delete this event from my life as soon as possible, less I slip into despair. Shipped it out first thing in the morning. 

Lessons Learned (The Hard Way)

1.  SGC slabs vary — some are tanks, some are tissue paper. Test resistance before committing.

2.  Use a pry bar, not a screwdriver — less leverage = less catastrophe.

3.  Clip two corners — gives the case somewhere to flex away from the card.

4.  Never hype the flip to your family/kids — the echoes hurt worse than the dent.

5.  Have a “damage plan” — I didn’t. Now I do: instant raw sale, no regrets.

Final Score

Good news is that this was just one sport card, yes I messed up. But opportunity knocks for those who seek. I continued to seek and throughout the summer was able to flip other cards to pay for the flights. Flights are booked and my family and I are all set to go to Orlando as planned! 

Moral of the story? Measure twice, pry once. And maybe stick to BGS — at least those ultrasonics fight back fair.

@Get_BIG_Cards @sports_ol @DarnellLPayne @CardPurchaser @VintageHobbyGuy @BALLBAKEDTAKES @MotleySchuh @GhostRunnerCard @TarHeelCard @lewshighlights 

#hobby