Would you trim up a strip

[novakjr]

Now, I think there might be some mis-understanding to the original question. It appears that most answers have been under the assumption that when you say "it has room on the borders", you are referring to having the entire Ruth card plus extra parts of other cards.

But, I'm thinking by "room on the borders", you may have actually been referring to the fact that if you were to trim it, that you would not effect the picture area of the card.

If you are referring to the first assumption, then I agree. Cut that bad boy, but make sure you don't go into the originally intended border area.

If you are referring to the borders the way I'm actually thinking you were, then either way you still won't have all of the originally intended card dimension, and at most would receive an "A" when getting it graded. At that point, it's really all up to you. Some people would like to see sharp corners, others would want the most of the original card as possible.

An "A" isn't always just an "A" though. Eye appeal on an incomplete card can make quite a difference in resale value.