[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snowman

The same reason you don't see hardly anyone else here and on Blowout voicing their opinion despite a large percentage of collectors saying they see nothing wrong with it in anonymous polls. They see the public outlash and don't want that pointed in their direction. Hell, just look no further than this very thread to see people calling me names and accusing me being a trimmer despite the fact that I've made it very clear multiple times that I do not condone this activity and consider it unethical.

What's interesting though is that in other hobbies, alterations and restorations are disclosed with pride. In the casino chip collecting world, the words "cleaned and oiled" will often even result in a slightly higher price than chips which haven't been restored.

I know nothing about cleaning or oiling casino chips, but trimming -- actually removing part of an original item -- seems to me in a different category altogether. In any event, at least historically, most alterations have been viewed negatively by most people with respect to sportscards. People prefer to differentiate cards by how well they have withstood the rigors of time, not by the skill of the card doctor.