Volume discounts and a Schmidt RC?????

 OK, the title kind of gave away the finish on this post, but the rest of it is fun too!  Skip to the end if you like.....but if you want to see some other great cards I picked up at a recent show, read on!

I spent way more than usual at this show (~$65), but it was worth it as I got some awesome deals!  Oh, and my scanner was out of commission, so you get phone pics today instead of scans.  Here are some highlights of my finds.

I LOVE gold refractors, and they don't usually come cheap, so I was really happy to add this one of a solid catcher.  This was in a 50 cent box, but I got a volume discount.

Cool 2014 Finest of The Captain.  I believe this was a quarter.

I love these too!  The old Pacific sets really did some fun stuff.  The string was hard to get into a top loader, which is how I store my cards.  Same 50 cent box as the Perez.

I already had all of these, but they were in a quarter box!  I would have grabbed 50 of them at that price!

OK, this one I am confused on.  See the white border on the top and left of this card?  It almost seems miscut, but usually there is not a white section between cards in a sheet that would show on a miscut card.  Especially in this set.  The card looks and feels just like others I have from this set though.  And the back looks right too.  Any thoughts?  For a quarter, it was still a no-brainer.

This one I pulled out of the 50 cent box just because I didn't have any early Rizzo's, not because I really collect him.  When I got it home and looked it up though, it looks like I got a steal at that price!  Lucky me, I grabbed 2 copies of it.  Anyone want to trade for the other?

This was in a quarter box as well.  It's not just the SP version (according to COMC), but the SP Rare version with him holding all those presents.  Whatever that means, I like it!

Oh yeah, I love me some Ichiro parallels!  This one is numbered out of 450.  Was in a volume discount stack that I will talk about later.

Another 50 cent steal here, though I didn't know how big of a steal until I got home and found out that this is the 2011 Topps Update SP Legends variation.  I'm feeling pretty lucky!

One of several Urias cards I found at the right price.  I just didn't really have anything cool of his.  Still don't have an actual RC though.

And another 50 cent find, this strange "Peach" parallel Machado.  It is serial numbered, but I can't remember out of what.  Volume discount stack again.

Solid, if "ugly Panini" Griffey parallel.

I quite like this set, like many others.  This was one card that I actually feel like I overpaid for.  $1.

A quarter may be overpaying for this too, especially since it off centered.  But I like it.

The flashiness got me here, but I don't feel bad for 25 cents!

This one was in that volume discount stack.  Got it home and found out it's a pretty good card!  This insert set must be one of the semi-popular ones from the years when I was out of the hobby.

And these Happy Days stickers were quarters too.  Just couldn't pass them up.  They are from a 1976 Topps set.

And finally, we get to the main event, and where I spent most of my money.  I was at a table with a dealer that is new to these shows, building the "volume discount" stack I keep referring to.  Some nice cards, for sure.  The dealer was quite a talker, telling me all about his wife not liking cards all over their house and other stories.  Then he pulled out a small stack from behind the table and showed me a couple of cards that I was VERY interested in, but figured I had no shot at due to my tiny budget.  They were pretty beat up.  He pulled one card out and mentioned that he had offered it to someone earlier for $50 and that they might come back later to get it.  I (expecting to be laughed at) offered him $25 for it.  He didn't laugh!!  But he didn't say yes either.  He hemmed and hawed, while I looked through the stack he had brought out.  I grabbed one more old beat up card from the stack, and the other cards I had been piling up, and made another offer.  I offered $40 for the "volume discount" stack AND the 2 cards below.

And he took it!!

As you can see, they both have serious flaws, especially the 3rd year Alcindor.  How much do you think I cared at that price?

What a show!