(And I use CAPS for emphasis, since we lose a lot 
of expression when all conversation is typed.  I'm 
not just using them for fun.)

Sooo, the problem is that some people seem to have 
better luck at catching updates.  But we should 
ignore the fact that some people have more time on 
their hands due to the nature of their 
jobs/lifestyles.  We should also ignore people who 
spend more effort and time trying to check for 
updates (whether or not their schedule makes this 
easy or not).  What is your gripe, then?  That not 
everybody has an absolute equal chance to get 
first crack at new cels?  When is life totally 
fair like that???

Perhaps you can help me understand your mindset a 
little better.  For example, when Taro raised 
their prices a while back, were you one of the 
people who complained that they shouldn't do that, 
despite the fact that their cels still sold out 
within minutes of an update, because "it wasn't 
fair"?  There are some folks out there who think 
that acquiring art is some sort of right and that 
everyone should have an exactly equal chance.  
That would be nice, but it's so far from reality 
as to be laughable.

If you really want to rant, why don't you consider 
the fact that those updates you are chasing are 
only showcasing leftover cels after about 8 layers 
of dealers and their friends and best customers 
have picked over the best cels at a fraction of 
their final internet prices?  You're ultimately 
fighting over scraps.  (I do, too, but I don't 
complain about it.)

Let me ask you this: What would make you happy?  
It seems like you want dealers to say, "Well, 
sure, my cels are all selling.  But they aren't 
being distributed evenly to all the internet 
community.  I should take a poll of everyone's 
individual lifestyles and schedules and rotate my 
updates accordingly."

?!

You said you sleep normal hours and miss updates 
because of it.  Well, I'll stick to my mantra that 
if you want to catch more updates, you need to 
make a better effort.  You can sleep your 
uninterrupted 8 hours at the same time every 
night, or you can sacrifice.  Likewise, I'd like 
to sit in my house and have cels show up at my 
door, but sometimes I need to drive to the next 
city or the next state to find good cels.  I don't 
want to, and it's not part of my normal routine, 
but I'll do it.  And I'm not going to complain 
about the people who live closer to those cel 
shops or conventions.  Because it won't make a 
difference.

:-/

I apologize if the whole point of this thread was 
to just rant and blow off steam.  If so, it 
doesn't need a reply at all.  But it seemed to me 
that some people were identifiying this as a 
fixable problem.  And if that's the case, I 
disagree.

JP