General Forum

I call BS. Topps has now decided that certain Goldschmidt and Judge base Chrome cards are now $20 and certain refractors are $200+. No offense to Goldy because I've always loved him as a player, but his RC (11T Update for those wondering...yes, that set), until recently, couldn't clear $20. But a base '22 Chrome card now is... And those that are returned to Topps, goodness only knows what happens to them outside of being ruined. And they wonder why kids are getting turned away from the hobby.    

Topps MVP Buyback Offer Turns Even Common Judge, Goldschmidt Chrome Cards Into Hefty Credits (sportscollectorsdaily.com)

Yeah.  I think it is a godawful promotion.  Luckily for me, I don't collect either player, Cardinals, or Yankees, and I have no interest in collecting the 2022 Topps Chrome set.  I really feel bad for team or player collectors that will now have to overpay for a common card, if they can find one at all.  And the refractors will probably never be attainable anymore. 

I assume there is a certain # of buybacks Topps will buy back. It defeats the purpose if the entire pop. of the card becomes part of whatever they have planned. I think the early birds will get bought back and those late to the party will be shut out.

The article states the program runs until March 31, 2023.

Believe it also states that shops can buy back/not buy back at their own discretion 

I also have to wonder the effect that this will have on 2023 Topps Chrome availability.  I have to think that players in the MVP conversation when the product comes out will be next to impossible to find simply due to hoarding. 

with fanatics wanting to go to consumers rather than distributors. I wonder if this is to build relationships with hobby shops and get them to work with them for distribution. helping to cut out the middle man.

Complaining because Topps wants to give you $20 for a junk base card or even more for parallels?  As much as I don't like the current card market, I don't see how this is a bad thing.  It's nice that they are trying to do something to move the absolute crap ton of Topps Chrome they made this year. 

Also, if you don't have a shop close by, you can just send them into blowoutcards and use the store credit to buy more wax. 

As for effects on next year's Chrome, it doesn't look like future incarnations of this promo will be limited to just Topps Chrome.

It is not a bad thing if you have no interest in collecting the buyback cards.  But if you are a Cardinals collector or a Yankees collector or a collector of either player, you will be paying a significant premium for that "junk base card" or else your team set will be short. 

So yeah it is a good thing if you don't collect them, but if I am collecting the set I don't want to pay $20 to get a Goldschmidt.

Then don't.  Wait until after the program is over.  There is no shortage of unopened product.  I'm sure there are a lot of people that don't even know about this program and/or will procrastinate and forget to get these redeemed in time.