Posted By:
Harry HallerI think it means that only a few cards in the lot are trimmed, and most of those are commons. Not quite as syrupy as the '52 wax pack description...or that infamous t206 Plank description in the last Mastro auction.
Over the last two years it has been increasingly common for the big auction houses to sell large lots containing a significant number of trimmed vintage cards. Acceptance of this by the vintage collecting community has resulted in more of the same, with fewer and fewer of such lots being described accurately - basically, the hobby has evolved to a point of "buyer beware", regardless of who's doing the selling. It would be nice to see an auction house refuse to sell ANY trimmed cards, but those days are gone.
BTW, I know Lew Lipset accepts returns on cards that turn out to be other than as described. How about Mastro? Robert Edwards? This is a serious question - I have never had to return anything to Mastro (and never wanted to!)
(edited to add the following)
In all fairness to Mastro, if you are really serious about a lot - just call them and ask for detailed descriptions of individual cards or other items. I have never had such a request turned down, and most times the lots ended up better than described.