The best buybacks are ones I don't have to buy

 

By my quick calculating card blogging is at its lowest point in terms of frequency and number since my first few months of blogging.

I counted about 12 card blogs now that write at least 5 days a week. Then there are around 50 card blogs that write less than that -- a few times a week, once a week, a couple times a month.

So that's maybe 65 blogs that write about cards at least once a month. The amount of former card bloggers that I know is five times that amount. This means interaction is down and that's a bummer, but the good part is everyone -- card bloggers and former card bloggers and definitely non-card bloggers -- still collect cards. And they also (*phew*) still remember who I am.

 

I received a major reminder of that last week and I'm still getting to that later in the week, but here is an appetizer:

 

These are 1975 buybacks -- all needs -- from Cardboard Catastrophes (who is still blogging, thankfully). 

 

Jeffrey's a Yankees fan, and he guessed that it was difficult for me to get Yankees buybacks. He is correct. When I was chasing down these Heritage buybacks a couple months ago, it was a little upsetting. You would not believe how much one guy wanted for the Jim Mason card. JIM MASON! Nobody bought his card, so it was relisted and I thought "oh good, it'll be cheaper." Nope. Still Wild and Unreasonable!

 

The Mel Stottlemyre was going for a lot more than when I was searching for buybacks before 2024 Heritage came out, too. And the Roy White was in my clutches early in my Heritage buyback pursuit before I didn't pay attention one day and the auction expired. Cliff Johnson and Carmen Fanzone were also noticed in my chase but I didn't get to them.

 

So was Cardboard Catastrophes my competition? His note led me to believe he found these as a lot, so probably not.

 

Anyway, yes, I'm definitely glad I don't have to chase these anymore and certainly glad I didn't have to pay those prices.

 

The next group of recent '75 buybacks arrived from former blogger and good friend grogg  (@grogg.bsky.social). We go back a ways to the early blog days.

Yeah. 

 

He said he opened a whole lot of 2024 Heritage and that it was tons of fun. It sounds like it!

Those are a lot of buybacks to accumulate all at once. Unfortunately, I have a lot of '75 buybacks. I've been on this particular collecting journey for seven years, you know. So most of these are dupes (yeah, yeah, I know Topps wants you to think that these are entirely separate cards from their previous '75 buybacks, but there's no way I'm that gullible).

So this is what was new to me:

Just two cards. But they're two really good ones!!

I was following a Parker buyback on ebay but that got to be too much money. I did notice an Oliver one, too, but stopped paying attention early when I noticed I wouldn't have a shot.

So I have a fair amount of buyback dupes available. I don't show any favoritism as far as buyback stamps (there are about 5 or 6 different ones in my '75 collection). I'll probably pick the card that's in better shape to go in the binder.

This gift send has gotten me to 516 of the 1975 cards in buyback form, which is 78.1% of the whole set. I'm also now able to fit my entire buyback want list on one screen so I can get a screen grab.

I'm actually stunned that this adds up to 144 needed cards, which would match with the 516 I have. I didn't expect that.

A reminder that this is still a pretty casual pursuit. I don't expect to get every card. The whole mission from the very beginning was "let's see how far I can go" and I never expected to get this far.

 

If I was really serious about this I'd be on ebay every day fighting with people.

 

And, really, all I want to do is collect. And write.