Anyone selling commercially, especially an auction house has a challenge when it comes to this stuff.
We all want clear policies on altered stuff, but can't agree on what is an alteration.
Writing something that is clear and concise, and also takes into account the wide variety of alterations out there seems to me a nearly impossible task.
way back, some cards were often cut down to fit the pages available at the time. No attempt at fraud, as most at that time were worth maybe $2. People just wanted to put them in pages and enjoy them. (Tall T206s and e-90-1s especially)
Then there's the moser sort of trimming that gets hidden by having the card graded, and is obviously intentional fraud.
The erasure to me falls somewhere in the middle.
Is it an alteration? YES.
Is it non- obvious and hiding behind the slab? NO,
it's obvious that it was done, who would spend that sort of money on a card without taking a good look at it. (I suppose there are some blind collectors, good on them for giving it a go. It seems extra challenging)
Would it have been better if it was mentioned right at the start? YES. Does it make sense that someone might not feel the need to mention the obvious? YES.
To use the car analogy, if I'm selling a junker that is missing a door, I don't think it would really be necessary to point it out.
If you're buying fairly expensive cards based on no more than a casual glance.... 1 slow the _ down and look. 2 Where the heck are you when I'm selling? (Yeah, my stuff to sell is too cheap, but still... )
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