(disclaimer:  I'm not a cel dealer, and the 
following observations are just that: 
*observations.*  Corrections are welcome ^^)

Yes, their prices are high.  But, please keep in 
mind that you may be comparing two different 
pricing models.

Model 1:  Price low, to sell quickly.  Dealers 
that follow this model have low prices and a 
large inventory, and since the cels are priced to 
sell, they're quickly gone within hours of an 
update.

Model 2:  Price high, to sell for maximum 
profit.  The dealer prices cels sufficiently high 
such that the casual buyer probably wouldn't snap 
it up, but the person whose dream cel it is would 
pay that amount.  It seems that dealers that 
follow this model can afford to wait until the 
right buyer comes along, however, it also seems 
that these dealers keep smaller inventories as 
well, since they're not selling cels as quickly 
as dealers that follow model 1.


I think we can all name dealers that fit into one 
or both categories.  Dealers that follow model 1 
are my favorite kind, and get nearly all of my 
business.  *^_^*   However, I don't avoid dealers 
that follow model 2 -- while I've never ordered 
from one, who's to say that my dream cel won't 
pop up on one of their sites, and then it'll be 
my turn to gladly turn over the cash for my dream 
cel.

I'm not sure that it's *quite* fair to say that 
the dealers that follow model 2 are gouging 
collectors.  Their prices are high, yes.  And if 
you think that a dealer's prices are unfair, I'd 
hope that you (and others) wouldn't purchase from 
that dealer.  As has been mentioned time and time 
again on this forum, (I think most recently by 
Drac, please correct me if I'm wrong o.o;;), the 
more people that refuse to pay inflated prices 
(not many people these days, it seems -_-), the 
more likely it is that prices will drop.

zenj