LCbS pickups...get it while it's hot.

That's not a typo, I mean LCbS.  Local Comicbook Store.  They also have some cards.  I  had no intention of making any major purchase; I just didn't feel like going home after work yet.  The first card I picked up cost a whopping 10 cents. 

2003 Topps #3 Jimmy Rollins

I think this may be the first time I paid 10 cents for a card and went through the trouble of scanning both sides.  Anyway, it's 2003 Topps #3, which filled a need in my Topps #3 collection. I'm now up to 62%, not including the 4 I have in my Topps Diamond Giveaway account.  I also went through the bargain relic/auto box.  The cost was $4 a relic and $5 an auto, and buy 3 get one free.  The price is pretty reasonable considering the selection in the box.  I would say 30% of the cards were worth the $4/$5 or more, which is better than most LCS's do.  After digging through the box, my pile stood at 10 cards.  Here comes the math part.  If they are buy 3 get one free, I want a multiple of 4. I didn't want to go up to 12, so I went down to 8.  Then, I factored in the amount of money I had to spend.  After the Rollins card, I had spent 10 cents more than I had available.  For those of you who aren't mathemagicians, that means I had $0 to spend when I walked through the door.  As such, I narrowed it down to 4 cards.  I can hide a 4-card purchase from my wife (starting to understand the title of the blog, yet?).  Three of the cards were relics that caught my eye, and are available for trade.

2006 SP Legendary Cuts When it Was a Game Jersey Tony Gwynn #48/75
2005 Topps Pristine Legends Valuable Performance Bat Relic Robin Yount
2003 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch Jersey Mike Piazza

The Gwynn sold me with the pinstripe and the numbering /75.  The foil has a refractive quality, too.  The Yount bat is just a cool card design.  The Piazza was a no brainer given the number of people that collect him or collect Mets.  The cool blue pinstripe doesn't hurt either.  The fourth card is one that I had to buy given recent events.  I hope this is a case of buy low sell high.  Mike Morse has absolutely been killing it lately, so I'm hoping to make a couple bucks off of this, or trade it for something decent if someone wants it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find this in the bargain bin:

2005 Leaf Certified Materials Next Generation Mike Morse RC Auto #380/499

Hopefully he can keep it up this season.  I've been meaning to put some trade bait up for quite some time now, and I hope to do it soon.  For now, these 4 cards are available.

Since I was then $13.10 in the hole for the LCbS trip, I went ahead and grabbed some packs, because, well, why not.  4 packs of 1999 Topps Finest Ser. 1, 1 pack of 2000 Justifiable, 1 pack of 2000 Vanguard.   All together, this trip cost me the price of a blaster.  I say that's a win.