Late to the party here, but I have changed the way I collect since learning how many altered cards are in slabs. Always new that trimmed cards were getting by, but the sheer number of cards beating the TPG's was pretty surprising.
My response has been to focus on my raw sets, and to buy mid grade / under-graded vintage that is victim of the new and mostly inconsistent grading standards. While there has always been discrepancy between grades, it is out of control now which creates a lot of opportunity for those of us that only care about having nice looking cards, raw, grades, multiple TPG, whatever.
TBH enjoying the hobby more then ever, will let others battle over high grade altered cards.
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