Nice sneaky scratch error
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You’re asking for something OP claims doesn’t exist. How are they supposed to give you that? Basically, OP requires the same evidence you ask for to be proven wrong in the first place. By someone showing poorly cut factory corners on a JP card.
Anecdotally, I’ve yet to encounter weirdly cut corners on Japanese cards as well (having graded hundreds of JP cards, and bought thousands).
The fact that they seem incredibly rare (if they exist, I assume it is less than 0.1% of cards based on my personal sample size), combined with the fact that multiple ‘high end’, graded cards with weirdly cut corners are showing up, makes them incredibly suspicious, at the least. (It’s also not just the corners, some of them have trimmed edges too, which is much easier to identify because they’re straight up not the correct size)
If anyone had a card they remember pulling from a pack, with poorly cut factory corners, I assume they would’ve posted it by now. Everyones saying poorly cut corners exist on Japanese cards, but not one of them has backed the claim up.
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That celebi def looks trimmed. The other examples are less obvious.
Have you tied to precisely measure the card’s dimensions? If perfect corners are not guaranteed from factory, I would assume the dimensions of the card are easier to control. Just a suggestion.
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All 4 are factory
Thinking about it, looks like the cards just may not have been seated fully when cut
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I’m not saying he’s wrong. In fact some of his examples do look pretty fishy. But if I’m going to educate myself on how to spot a trimmed card vs a bad factory cut, I need to see the differences. I don’t believe that JP cards are perfect and have perfectly sharp blades and can never make mistakes, which is why I would like to see the differences. Right now it’s been “trust me bro” evidence and all I’m asking for is a picture comparison.
I want to believe because if they are trimmed then that would be a huge story and very important, but if I’m not shown the difference between a bad blade and a trimmed card then I can’t tell people what’s true and what’s not.
Hope that clarifies
Define “perfect” for us. I feel like OP is talking specifically about the corner roundness and the alignment of the curve with the edge of the card. This has nothing to do with the sharpness of the blade if you ask me. Dull blades typically give you a lot of edge-chipping and/or loose paper fibers at the edge of the card, but they certainly don’t give you sharp, clean edges with differently shaped corners. JP cards definitely have suffered from dull factory blades from time to time, not every card is a guaranteed 10, therefore not “perfect”.
But the shape of the corners, the fact that you typically cannot see a distinct point where the corner ends and the edge begins (the curve aligns with the edge exactly), is very consistent in JP cards. So if you’ve collected them for years and have never noticed an inconsistency in this aspect, it stands to reason that you assume it must not have come out of the factory that way. This is the difficulty of having only anecdotal evidence, it’s like having to prove a negative.
Altered cards slip by PSA all the time, so no wouldn’t be a huge story.
Here an example I took from OP compared to my coro coro mew (aligned by text):
Note the wildly different width of the card. Material has been removed.
Here I aligned the right corner (curvature)
Notice how the corner curve matches, but then abruptly becomes an edge? That’s where material was removed along the edge.
Here the left:
I am not sure which of the corners, if either, is original. But the edge has definitely been trimmed.
I bet you can do this analysis for every card OP posted, and most if not all, would be trimmed.
9 Likes
One source of evidence would be identifying odd cuts on low-graded cards. There is almost no incentive to trim corners/edges on cards that are already in relatively poor condition, so those oddities would suggest true factory imperfections. The other main source of evidence is directly from the pack, as you already had mentioned. 
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I think the size of the card needs to be examined closer. I have charmeleon and dewgong that are not only cut too small but the size of the actual art box is condensed. Could be something similar with japanese printings as those colors seem very off between the Mew… or could be lighting. There’s no telling unless they’re compared properly.
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Can’t believe I’m responding to this in, but let me at least try not to take the piss.
Why it’s not like your Charmeleon/Dewgong
Your cards are English cards, produced by WotC at different factories with different layouts, different methods entirely. They are base set cards, a set with multiple distinct printings, a variety of test prints, and their error has not shown up across multiple sets. For all intents and purposes they are unique (to a specific set of cards produced at the same time).
Even if a similar mistake had occurred, I would not have been able to align the text and the inside edge (the purple-gold edge) perfectly. If you try with your Charmeleon you will find that either the name, or the text below the artwork won’t align. Nor will the inside edge.
Why the colors seem very off
PSA uses a scanner, I take my pictures with a camera. These devices have different whitebalances, different color profiles, different lighting conditions, and a host of other differences (lenses simply behave differently from scanners). PSA’s scans are dogwater. My photo’s aren’t perfect in terms of color either. I cba to color match the difference. Saying I didn’t compare them properly is just an insult to my effort. Color deficiencies/mismatches also are no indicator of other size-errors like miscuts. These errors occur at different stages in production.
Here is a quick mockup of the same gif using a scan of a different corocoro Mew I graded:
Why it’s not a miscut
Many, many (chase) cards from vintage to ultramodern have this exact issue among cards within a singular PSA submission, that means they all come from the same source. If it were a single card among many correctly sized cards, I would raise my eyebrows, but most cards having the incorrect size is straight up impossible without tampering. To top it off, PSA has now unlisted a whole lotta cards from this submission.
Here's another comparison to a photo of mine for your viewing pleasure from a trimmed card I found in one of the submissions posted by OP:
(open the image in a new tab if you want to zoom in)
Can we please put the idea that these are not trimmed to bed. Trimming exists in sports cards, how hard is it to believe that someone is trying to make money using fraud in Pokémon? Obviously PSA should be catching this without even lifting a finger, the fact that they apparently don’t measure the cards they receive is worrisome (could even automate it for manual review).
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So because my cards were printed in America, Japanese cards are perfect qc? It’s literally the same process. Given, Charmeleon and Duong were likely an isolated printer, it doesn’t mean that Japan didn’t have bad cuts. Trying to determine intent on a cut is like trying to determine intent on Belgium marking their cards for 8 years.
Cite the submittor
It is literally a. different. company. doing the printing. You were the one bringing these cards up in the first place, claiming they could be a similar case! I never claimed Japanese cards have perfect QC, that’s a straw man, but I have yet to see a natural differing width JP card (supply the proof then, I did!). It’s like arguing with a wall here, next thing you’ll ask for video proof of the trim.
Cite the submittor
Logically if there is a ~80% removal rate by PSA from subsequent cert numbers, with me spotting at least two more in the same string of numbers that haven’t been removed yet, the most logical explanation is that these are part of the same submission (and not by some miracle different people submitting). Something something, occam’s razor, I’m done here.
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Glad youre done
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This is way too much speculation and arguing for me to bother reading through completely (sorry) but for the abridged version: is this just some sorta new hobby someone has, or is PSA actually delisting these slab certifications and paying out the owners for the difference of value from what the grade is that they purchased, and whatever an “altered” value is worth? Because I (very honestly) couldn’t give a shit what my corners look like or if they’re a micro-fraction smaller as long as the card remains PSA 10 or I’m getting paid out the difference. I’m not ogling my slabs with jeweler’s loupes like a master prospector to enjoy my cards.
Thanks for whoever can answer.
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Funny corners = trimmed
Is it true? Potentially
Will we know for certain? nope.
Is psa deactivating these certs? Yes.
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If PSA is deactivating a cert, are they paying out the owners that purchased the cards? I thought PSA only deactivates certs or fixes mislabels if they are resubmitted by the owners.
They should be bc of their grade guarantee policy.
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Bang on, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Then this feels like less of a concern to me if the cards either remain a 10 or we’re paid the difference. Thanks for the clarification @rtas Carry on with the jewelers loupes!
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Be careful with this. PSA has an exception that applies here. If the buyer purchased the card after the date that PSA deactivated the cert, the grade guarantee is void.
- the Guarantee does not apply to cards where the certification number has been deactivated by PSA before the most recent purchase of the Item;
Also, for some added discomfort, here are additional Grade Guarantee exceptions. I’ve included the ones especially relevant to Pokemon. 
the Guarantee does not apply to, and cannot be utilized by, the original submitter (or anyone acting on behalf of or for the benefit of the original submitter) of the Item. PSA reserves the right to investigate the relationship between the person making the PSA Guarantee request and the original submitter, including by way of performing a background check;
the Guarantee does not differentiate between the “Authentic” and “Authentic Altered” designations due to the fact that PSA does not always print the term “Altered” on the label itself for technical reasons (e.g., such as character and spacing limitations). Items labeled “Authentic” must be viewed as potentially interchangeable with “Authentic Altered,” and therefore equal in value and not subject to compensation through the guarantee policy.
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item as to which a clerical error has been made with respect to the assigned grade or description;
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item as to which a clerical or mechanical error (i.e., a typo or “mislabel”) has been made with respect to such Item’s specification, set, variation, or parallel;
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item that has been removed from the PSA holder either inadvertently or intentionally;
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item for which the PSA holder and/or label shows evidence of tampering or fraud;
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item for which there is evidence of rough handling, such as shaking or slamming, which can cause a discernible pattern of damage to certain cards;
the Guarantee does not apply to any Item that has been environmentally damaged due to improper storage or natural disasters, such as fire and water damage, or environmental deterioration (such as sunlight exposure or mold) subsequent to initial grading;
the Guarantee does not apply to manufacturer defects, including misprints;
the Guarantee does not apply to the authenticity or grade assigned to any autograph, whether certified by a manufacturer or applied after its release;
the Guarantee does not apply to the authenticity or grade assigned to sketch Cards or Comic or Magazine art;
the Guarantee does not apply to the authenticity or grade assigned to any unopened material, such as packs and boxes, nor is PSA responsible for any damage caused to a pack’s wrapper due to gum movement;
the Guarantee does not apply to any physical electronic media including, without limitation, video games, music recordings, television shows, or movies;
the Guarantee does not apply to lost, stolen, or damaged Items; it solely applies to questions regarding an Item’s authenticity or, solely in the case of Cards, their assigned grade; and
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