No doubt what REA did was admirable to a degree and far better than not saying anything.
Could they have chosen to pass on the items-- sure. I personally would have, but that is just me. It is true then that the owner would have just moved on, where they would have doubtless wound up for sale with no mention. Considering that scenario, what REA did was a service to the hobby, in that these particular cards have now been "outed" to some extent in a widely read, rather high-profile hobby catalog.
Yet much of the debate regarding what REA did, and could have done further, belies the responsibility of the owner.
I once had several cards I suspected were trimmed. I brought then down to PSA and told them as much. PSA bought them back and destroyed them. I put the ethical onus primarily on the owner of such a card, when he hears they might be trimmed. It would bother me too much to own a trimmed card, and would bother me more to pass it along to another. Have PSA review the card for the alleged trimming and render their final opinion-- they may say it's good and disagree with whoever says it looks trimmed, or they may agree a mistake was made and honor their policy.
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