There have been numberous times that Taro 
has "surprised" various groups of collectors with 
a big update. The trick isn't knowing in advance 
when the update will be, the trick is in keeping 
aside a bit of money for when you do catch an 
update. A "surprise fund", if you will. ^_^;;

Think about it this way. . . Even if the update 
had been announced in advance and you had a 
chance to save money, how many of those cels 
would you have gotten with *everyone* *else* all 
waiting there too, mice hovering over the order 
buttons?  I don't know about anyone else, but 
(assuming I'm there at the start) my luck seems 
to run decently better given an unannounced 
update. . . . Because there's a good chance I 
don't have everyone else waiting there too!

Not to mention if I *can't* be there, an 
unannounced update is MUCH better.

But yes, announced updates are nice since they 
let you plan. However unannouned updates don't 
necessarily favor the people "with money". For 
every update I catch of series I collect, I 
completely miss about two others. And money rarely
will fetch the nice cels out of the hands of the 
people who did get them.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac