Ever try reading a book you loved as a kid and catch a background gag the artist threw in that you never saw before? That's the thing the seller was getting at. When you slow down you start catching stuff the artist hid in the edges, a poster on a wall, a character from another book standing in a crowd, a sign in the background that lands a joke the main story never makes. Bendis used to stuff pages with that kind of thing, and so did old Mad issues, where you'd miss half the gags if you read fast. Flipping through is fine for spotting a cover you like, but the real payoff is in the corners nobody looks at. That guy was basically handing you a free lesson for three bucks.

Did you find it got easier after a few weeks of the one trip thing? I do the same bank app gamble every Sunday and honestly the spreadsheet sounds way less stressful than that pit in my stomach.