However, I feel the need to log in any bright spots that work their way into my piss-and-moan-worthy existence; so, when I snag a great deal, you hear about it! Yes, it is pretty pitiful that getting a good deal on some stupid Pokemon cards will frequently end up being the least miserable part of my day ... but, as I've frequently noted, it does indeed "suck to be me" much of the time.
Anyway ... today I snagged five auctions (out of about 10 that I was watching and/or bidding on) for a total of 56 cards. The total I paid was $10.41 (including shipping), for cards that were "worth" upwards of $165.50 (that was the total for the "cheap site" ... which is also the one that sells the reverse-holo cards, so is my main "reference site" ... although the "high site" had the six regular holo cards out of the 56 at about 3-4x the price, or $15-$20 a piece, so the "delusional value" could be much more). So, my "fraction of retail" came in at more than twice as low my "target" of 1/7th of retail, hitting about 1/15th! This is good, because, frankly, we really didn't "need" a lot of these cards. Daughter #1 was missing four of these ... and while the total paid was still under the "value" of those four cards, it did temper the celebratory fist-pumping, etc. On the upside, getting the four cards she "needed" for less than retail AND putting in over $150 worth of cards into her "trading binders" is not bad for spending a sawbuck and change!