Help! Need opinions
 

I just bought an SGC 1.5 Aaron rookie on Ebay and I was putting it into my display when it fell about 7 feet and the case broke open. Is this normal? Should I be concerned that it was tampered with? I'm certainly not feeling warm fuzzies here, but I don't want to cause heartburn for the seller by trying to return it if this is something that has been known to happen with SGC slabs. Any input is much appreciated.

probably just hit the floor at the perfect angle to break it open. Not to worry...

sgc slabs are notorious for opening easily

So you dropped it from above your head and are surprised it opened? I'm more surprised the case isn't cracked in multiple places. In addition, you would no longer be returning it in the same condition and the seller can no longer verify your allegation that the case was tampered with.

Thanks guys. I don't have a lot of knowledge about graded cards and I suppose I expected these slabs to be pretty robust. The last thing I want to do is cause a stink on eBay, but I wanted to know if this was some kind of anomalous event that would indicate foul play. Appreciated.

I’ve had some SGC slabs I could pry apart with my fingers, so splitting from a 7’ drop doesn’t shock me one bit.

I usually crack out any slabbed cards I buy. I'm happy to buy an SGC slab because they are much easier to crack open than most PSA slabs are.

I once dropped a PSA case ('57 Mantle PSA 5) and had the case pop open on me as well. So it can happen with PSA too. Fortunately the card wasn't damaged, but I wasn't expecting the case to open from a light drop.