Quote:
Originally Posted by swarmee
It's just silly the rationale people are attempting to use to legitimize hacking up uncut sheets to replicate cards that were meant to be cut at the factory decades ago. The value in a card that has survived in top shape despite being released in packs 100 years ago and survived in high grade is what the grading industry was built on. However, incompetence by the grading companies in not detecting alterations does not make altering cards okay.
If the card was released in cut down format (Topps/Bowman/T206 etc trading card), it's not okay to cut it from a sheet and pass it off as original (even in a grading slab with a number grade). If it was only released as sheets and intended to be cut by the customer (Hostess/Post/Jello/strips), then those were intended to be cut by the customer and can be cut now.
SGC offered a sheet cutting service with grading, just a few years ago, but they either didn't get many takers because they were putting "sheet-cut" on the flips or because people would rather do it in the privacy of their own houses to scam.
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I'm not trying to create any rationalization. Personally, I don't think sheets should be cut up. But as I thought through the objections objectively, I could see arguments both ways. So I tried to list out what my specific objections were. Was I opposed to the timing, the equipment, etc.?
I like how you've put it, "The value in a card that has survived in top shape despite being released in packs 100 years ago..." Do by cutting a sheet, somebody is cheating those of us who are buying cards from packs as they were originally issued.
I didn't know that SGC used to offer a sheet cutting service. I like the concept though because it's noting such cards as "Sheet Cut" in the same way that PSA qualifies later photos created from the original negatives as Type 2. That allows the buyer to make an informed choice. Do I want the original pack issued or the same card that was cut from a sheet later.
But with the money to made, it wouldn't surprise me if a card manufacturer started buying up sheets to cut them and ew-issue them in a new mystery box. I mean, they cut up bats, autos and game used jerseys. Cutting up sheets that were originally intended to be cut up doesn't seem far-fetched.