[Exhibitman]

There is no ethical component per se to cutting down a sheet unless you are trying to pass off the resulting card as original for trade or sale. If that is your goal, I'd divide the cards into two classes: those meant to be cut out by the consumer and all others. If they were meant to be cut out by the consumer I see no issues at all. Wheaties, strip cards, etc., everyone knows that they originated at retail as sheets or strips and have been cut out by the consumer. If you are cutting down a Topps sheet to make a card of it in the hope that you can slip it past a TPG and get a high grade so you can sell it to someone without disclosure, however, I don't think it is brain-strainer to realize that you are doing wrong. The Golden Rule applies readily to the situation.