Well Guv, the only things that define a player in Tori is their belt, and their reputation. To conserve "definition" of a player their reputation must go become worse if their belt becomes better with no extra objects added to the system.
Ok, well that isnt a real rule, but it works that way =P.
It is like they are cheating though, its like your pretending that you are better then you are. Imagine if you have just done the qualifiers in a F1 race. Then suddenly someone pays the refs a bunch of money and suddenly they are starting at #1 poll position. Everyone in the crowd goes "Wow, hes epic!", but in truth hes worse. You can still beat him, but its fucking annoying.