If indeed it is true that BB10 devices will use the smaller sim card would it be necessary to show up at the carrier store with a sim cutter in hand so a person would be able to keep his/her old sim card or do the carrier stores usually have a way to transfer info from one sim card to another?
usually the store can do the job. but you can do what suits you the most... like Rosebud68 said, you can use adapters to switch sim cards (use a mini sim card as a regular sim card). you can also make a backup, go to the store and get a new sim card and then back it all up.
You are absolutely right! I bought a cheap one online and it destroyed my old BB... BestBuy has a better one, more expensive than the ones you get from China but it works like a charm... highly recommended...
For those cutting their existing sims to pop in their new BB10's, make sure your sim is an LTE one or you won't get LTE speeds. Most older sims are not LTE compatible, even though it will still work with the phone.