Posted By:
E, Daniel"These are examples of procedures that, if done carefully and properly, are unfortunately undetectable."
Unfortunately undetectable. Note Unfortunately. Not just the word undetectable. Summs up everything I feel about the practice too.
So then I would ask the erasers and soakers and corner flippers/wrinkle pressers of the world, one thing:
What about all your unsuccessful work? The stuff that doesn't pass grading muster, the efforts that leave visible damage and change.
When you attempt a corner flip and weaken the area, cause some flaking or encouraging a crease, how do you feel about intentionally weakening and diminishing one of the small reserve of extant examples of our hobby?
When you soak and clean off boogers and dirt, stains and whatnot, gently using a cue tip and whatever else, and you've physically rubbed paper away however miniscule in conjunction, do you really feel the right to thus create damage on the card?
Why the need to make the card look like it hasn't suffered the slings and arrows of ownership for 100 years? Why does everything have to look new and shiny? If I want shiny, I buy 2007 hobby boxes. Seriously, what's the deal?
It's been done before? Is that all you got? Because truthfully, the only reason to do cosmetic stuff is to make some money in your pocket when you sell. And in doing so, you've done the equivalent of getting some lysol and removing the patina off an 1830's ladderback chair because it's gotten a bit 'grimy'. Seriously, I just don't get what the altering crowd is thinking....
There is only one area I see use for alteration in the card world, and that is where a card structurally will not survive without it and is disintegrating because of contact with destructive agents. And even here, I would save efforts for where the know surviving number of that card is less than say 20.
The rest IMO is just bush-league with people saying there's nothing you can do about it "so there". Absolute Bush-league.
I apologize ahead of time for my hot-headedness in tone re this topic.
Daniel