You could also do the reverse though. You could have ten of the base card, and mail it in for a 10-stripe replacement. That would have been the way to go. I never actually mailed any of those in, but I had some. And I bought a box of the WLAF cards a couple years ago REAL CHEAP at a flea market. Got a 100-stripe of some guy I hadn't heard of, and also got either a 5- or 10- stripe of the same guy in the box. Crazy idea they had there. And I don't think I ever figured out a checklist for the NFL insert cards that came in that box.
I'm going to reevaluate how I collect after the new year. It's just getting way too expensive for the new stuff. Sometimes I just want to buy a pack, not a whole box or even blaster.