Why is this considered altered?

[Snowman]

Regardless of what BODA would like you to believe, PSA does not consider tape removal to be an alteration, so it shouldn't have been because of that.

The truth is that most of the time the graders are guessing with respect to alterations (at every grading company and even with the most experienced senior graders). Yes, some are obvious, but most are not. This is why you can send the same card in 3 times and get a different opinion every time. It's also why you can send in pack pulled cards and have them returned with "evidence of trimming".

The reason PSA fails to provide an explanation for cards they slab as altered is evidence of their hubris. They know they have a strong hold over the market and they don't care about customer service. At all. I also think they don't want to put their opinions out there on record because then they could be held to account for it later on after someone resubmits the card and gets a different opinion the next time. They have to know that their consistency is all over the map these days. They just can't admit it publicly. They want to conceal this fact you whatever extent possible, and not giving you an explanation for your grades is likely a key component of that strategy.