The continuing horror of buybacks

I don't know how long stamped buybacks have been around.

I have considered them a recent creation as they are so pointless to me that they have to be a modern invention, right? The earliest reference to buybacks that I can find on my blog is from July, 2014, not that I should be a historical source for buybacks.

In fact, my disregard for these affronts to cardboard means I'm fully unaware of the fact they probably have been around for much, much longer (I am aware of the longstanding practice of inserting old cards that are newly signed into new product, but that's a different thing and totally understandable).

For instance, the card above.

Did you know that is a buyback? Did you know it's a buyback from 2003?

I didn't notice the stamp at first as it's much less apparent than the buybacks these days. And then I was horrified. WHY ARE WE STAMPING A PERFECTLY GOOD 1961 TOPPS GIL HODGES CARD?

It's a good thing I have a copy of this card -- unstamped -- already. This rant would be a lot longer.

So this weird practice of stamping perfectly good cards has been going on at least since the the start of the 21st century. I have to say, this is not a good look, 21st century. Stop it right now.

I received this card from Jeremy of Topps Cards That Never Were (And Were Never Stamped). Just about all of the cards he sent were fancy in some way, numbered and other kinds of semi-exclusiveness.

This is a Donruss Studio Portraits card from 2005 Throwback Threads. The stamp on the back (ON THE BACK -- BUYBACKS -- ON THE BACK!!) says it is one of only 25 made. I already have another one of these. So having two of the 25 makes me cackle inside.

Parallel versions of base cards. That Kendrick card is quite a sight and baffled me for a good while. I believe it's one of those "pulsar" parallels but in gold form. Yup, had no idea these existed.

This is the relic portion of the package. The Shawn Green relic gets added to my already completely unnecessary number of Shawn Green relics. The LoDuca is a relic card I had once but then got rid of in a relic purge and now it's back! The Gibson relic is the best because it's my first one of him. Likey.

Now the Panini portion of parallels-and-such that I didn't know existed. I will probably get every parallel of Caleb Ferguson by the end of the year because people keep sending them because nobody knows who he is.

Jeremy also sent a couple of his creations, although both are kind of half a card. I guess you'd call them samples.

The Muncy card is a very good reason for creating a Card That Never Was. The guy needed a base card in a 2018 flagship set and Topps didn't want to create it.

The Homer Bailey is flat-out interesting as Bailey never played for the Dodgers. He was acquired by the Dodgers in the Yasiel Puig/Matt Kemp deal and then instantly released. He's now with Oakland, sporting a 6-plus ERA.

So those are some much appreciated -- and different -- cards from Jeremy.

They're helping me get over the stamped horror of that '61 Hodges.