lego series 3 minifig question

[nicknack]

My TRU finally had them yesterday! Hurrah! However, I was a total sucker and paid 3.99 a piece! oops.

I think I bought 10 or so, couldn't spend much more than that. I *think* I did an okay job with the bumps but MAN those are way harder to figure out than the barcodes! How are you guys figuring out what you actually have (I know in the other thread people were saying what they had, what they needed to trade, etc...)?

Are you opening them? I'd rather not do that since I'd like to gift them to DS but I also don't really want duplicates since they're so pricey now...

Thanks!

[Corie]

I could NOT figure out the bumps on the packages!! Every time
I would find the bumps, I could not find a match on my cheat sheet!
My neighbor told me to give them to her and she figured them all
out for me. I have no clue how she was able to do it.

I found the barcodes to be much easier to read. These bumps
are too darn hard to see/feel.

(My neighbor did not open any packages. She figured it out
based on the bumps and the cheat sheet.)

[alien_host]

I check the bumps and feel the bag for a distinct piece. The accessories help...fish, maraca, tennis racket, scorpion, sword, hair/helmets/hats. It's not foolproof but between the two tricks you can usually narrow it down.

Good luck!