Opinions on the Evils of Trimming

[kav]

I think the debate is because trimming is the one kind of resto where a book can be the exact same as an untrimmed book due to the vagaries of printing. No other type of resto can claim this.

[InvstmntComcSuply]

 

I think the OP is asking why one type of damage (trimming) is disliked more (and sometimes vehemently) than another (color touch).

 

So far the best explanation that I read (ever, actually) was that a trim could affect all pages of a book rather than one page and it's that great amount of change that affects the way someone feels about a book.

 

 

I disagree with "extent" of trimming being an explanation for it being considered more heinous than other forms of restoration and think the level of distaste is better explained by the reasons already stated and one not yet touched on:

 

Always destructive vs. sometimes additive in the case of color touch, tear seals, etc

Historically rampantly undisclosed

 

One other reason not mentioned is: Difficulty of detection.

It doesn't take a lot of experience to catch most of the other forms of restoration. Thus trimming is often the thing that bites the seasoned collector who is in it for the long haul. These collectors do a lot of the buying, so their experiences end up being the ones that are most discussed. Once bitten, they are more vocal. Thus, due to the difficulty of detection, combined with chance for loss, trimming is more vilified than other forms of restoration.

[Red84]

Lots of food for thought, primarily falling into two camps:

 

Trimming is bad because it facilitates swindling.

Trimming is bad because it makes the book incomplete.

I'd guess that most of you are in both camps, as am I.

But I still think tape is worse.

(non-archival that is)

 

 

I actually don't mind tape on the spine too much because it adds character to the book. Someone taped that spine because they liked that book. They read it so much that the cover came off; or it tore. Tape can at least have a story behind it. (kind of like the patina on old metal). Trimming doesn't have a story behind it.

[rjpb]

Lots of food for thought, primarily falling into two camps:

 

Trimming is bad because it facilitates swindling.

Trimming is bad because it makes the book incomplete.

I'd guess that most of you are in both camps, as am I.

But I still think tape is worse.

(non-archival that is)

 

 

I actually don't mind tape on the spine too much because it adds character to the book. Someone taped that spine because they liked that book. They read it so much that the cover came off; or it tore. Tape can at least have a story behind it. (kind of like the patina on old metal). Trimming doesn't have a story behind it.

 

Or until recently they wanted to turn a CGC 1.0 into a CGC 2.0

[makeminemego]

As a midgrade 4.0-7.0 collector, I can live with a wide variety of defects. General wear, sub creases, Marvel chipping, small tears, a little tape, a little color touch, etc. don't bother me at all. Trimming on the other hand, I just can't handle.

 

Other forms of resto or conservation ADD something to the book through techniques that can in some cases be reversed. Trimming is REMOVING something from the book that can never be added back in. It's a heavy handed way to make a book more appealing.

 

This doesn't even take into account what a devious practice trimming is.

[bluechip]

Trimming is often done to deceive the potential buyer into thinking the comic is in better condition than it actually is, and therefore extract more money out of that buyer.

 

People want the original article in as close to its original condition as possible. Trimming creates that illusion when in fact the book has been damaged.*

 

I could understand a collector who bought trimmed books so he could have a group of books that looked much better than they are for a fraction of the price. But of course, that is a situation where a buyer knows they're buying a trimmed book and pays accordingly.

 

Unfortunately, trimmed books are often sold as unrestored books, and then people get hurt on the resale.

 

This has nothing to do with the OP's thread topic.

 

I'm curious why trimming is so high on the list of things that turn collectors off.

 

The OP does not wonder why people dislike undisclosed trimming.

 

He's wondering why people dislike disclosed trimming.

 

 

 

This is the crux of the matter.

 

The best way to encourage disclosure is not to punish it the same as non-disclosure.

 

 

[vaillant]

My personal evaluation:

 

1) It is mutilated of a part (which is artificial, and not incidental like it might happen if – say – a portion of the back cover comes off because of repetitive folding);

 

2) It makes (especially if done badly) the book of a different size compared to the surrounding issues (I have a pair of trimmed SA books which are more than 1/4" shorter…

 

3) It cuts out part of the cover artwork, which in some cases is precious to set the whole tone of the cover picture, and thus it occasionally destroys the mood of the image (this can happen also with bad production cut, but it is different as the artwork is shifted but not mutilated).

 

Example:

This is an untrimmed Sub-Mariner #22:

 

 

This is a trimmed (above and below) Sub-Mariner #22…

 

 

Side by side:

 

 

[vaillant]

The OP does not wonder why people dislike undisclosed trimming.

 

He's wondering why people dislike disclosed trimming.

 

 

Right Roy – I think my reasoning still holds, as it’s not related to price and/or fraud.

 

Also, I would not mind much trimming when:

 

1) It is a rare book (esp. a rare GA book);

 

2) It is moderate;

 

3) It derives from a previous binding which did not damage the spine, which also helped to preserve the book, and thus the book has crazy white pages and is fresh as a newborn – I bought a GA italian Disney book from a dealer and friend with these characteristics. Same series of the one below (but it is not this one, this one is untrimmed, and very nice for what can be found of these, I am just showing it to show the kind of book, as I don’t have a scan at hand of the trimmed one):

 

 

But I would not buy a SA/BA/CA Marvel with trimming, no matter if undisclosed or not.

Well, maybe a FF#1…