This is kind of a continuation of the 
controversial thread above, but I decided to 
start a separate thread since that one turned 
sort of ugly toward the end. ^_^;  I'm not as 
curious about how people afford cels as I am 
about how people justify in their own minds 
laying down a lot of money for a cel. Now, I 
realize that the concept of "a lot of money" is 
completely subjective and dependent on the 
individual's circumstance. For the sake of 
argument, let's use me as a point of reference(I 
am the one asking this, afterall!).

Coming in at an whopping 28 years old, I'm 
probably one of the elderly around here. Not only 
do I have a good job, but I live in a two income 
household with my fiance. I even participate in a 
retirement plan (Let's face it, that celloid and 
paint aren't going to do much for me when I'm 80 
years old.)! And if all goes well, in two months 
I'll have a decent sized mortgage to pay in 
addition to all the student loan, credit card, 
and utility bills that I've been accustomed to 
paying. 

The most that I've ever paid for a cel is $200, 
but I admit that it takes a lot to get me to 
spend over $100 on one cel. While it is true that 
I can't really afford to shell out hundreds and 
hundreds of dollars per month on cels, even if I 
could, I don't think that I would. Perhaps I'm 
just a less committed collector?  I've enjoyed 
anime for several years now, but can I honestly 
say my interest will hold, say 5 or 10 years from 
now? Can any of us say that? Even if you've been 
a anime fan before there was an Internet to 
promote it, you can't deny the fact that 
interests and lifestyles change.

One may argue that by buying higher priced cels, 
you're buying higher quality cels that if the 
time comes to sell, you'll be in a good position. 
While I agree that it's probably better to buy 
one incredible wish list cel for $500 than to buy 
10 mediocre ones at for $50 each, which would you 
have an easier time reselling if you had to? I 
know of a collector who is selling off an 
enviable collection at fair prices that are at 
cost or lower, but having a tough time doing so 
because there just aren't a lot of collectors 
around who are in the same league.

I don't mean to chastise anyone, so I hope no one 
takes offense. Everyone is entitled to spend 
their money however they please. This is just a 
subject that has become very relevent to me as of 
late because the one series that I love to 
collect the most, Cowboy Bebop, has gone 
completely beyond what I've been willing to 
spend. Now, Bebop cels have always been 
expensive. I've been willing to pay higher prices 
for them and am realistic about their values (I 
don't expect to find a Julia or Vicious cel for 
less than $500). It's only been since the 
beginning of the year that even mediocre cels of 
the common characters(Spike and Faye with eyes 
closed, body parts missing) are selling for over 
$100. Now, I'm not going to waste everyone's time 
whining about it because this has probably 
happened to everyone's favorite series (ahem DZ, 
ahem Tenchi). Should I take advantage of the 
situation and sell what I have at a premium on 
Ebay, thus saving myself the heartbreak of losing 
out on cel after cel? Should I just get over it 
and be happy with the cels that I have? Or should 
reconsider my spending limit? For those who've 
made the latter choice--is it really worth it in 
the long run?

All constructive thoughts are welcome and 
appreciated...

Thanks!

--rg