I'm a Bebop post magnet. ^_^  I will try to keep 
my comments as civilized and meaningful as 
possible. ^_^;

Anyway, it has been my impression that the prices 
on some Cowboy Bebop cels are so high because 
CowBe is still very popular in Japan.  As was 
pointed out by Mr. Anonymous, the person bidding 
on that Faye cel (SPIKECOWBOY) is a noted 
Japanese Cowboy Bebop collector. Anyone who 
follows the CowBe auctions on Y!J should also be 
familiar with the amazing ukyuru, another 
Japanese bidder who can kill off deputy services 
with a single bid. ^_^; So, it's not just the 
Cartoon Network factor driving up prices.
The high prices set by dealers and auction 
sellers appear to be justified, simply because 
there are buyers out there (Japanese and 
otherwise) willing to shell out that kind of 
cash. 

I still believe that there are deals to be had. 
No, I *KNOW* that there are deals to be had. You 
just have to be really quick in order to beat 
everyone else to them.

I wish that I could be more encouraging, Alex. 
Sometimes I look at cel collecting like the TV 
show Survivor.  You have to outwit, outplay, and 
outlast everyone else. I think in the case of 
Cowboy Bebop, "outlast" is the key term.  You 
have to outlast all the big spenders so that 
you're still around when the prices come down. ^_^

Good luck!

--rg