Is it just me, or is there something seriously 
wrong with the wild justification attempts 
thrown around in this thread.

To the person doing the copying I want to say 
the following: 

That you did ask for permission from someone to 
make the fancel is a noble act and shows 
character. The person dishonest was the person 
giving you permission, when in fact they did not 
own the cel. Since you now know who actually 
owns the cel and the way that person feels about 
having her property copied, I think you should 
reevaluate your position. I am sure you did not 
mean to get permission from a thief, but the 
actual owner instead.

And here is what I think about people calling 
cels cheap plastic with paint on it and copying 
not a big deal: 

Cels are works of art and the comparison with a 
Van Gogh is valid. Granted, one is much more 
expensive than the other, but there is still a 
similarity. How would you feel, if you just 
purchased a piece of art and made it publicly 
available for all collectors to enjoy. Then you 
find yourself staring at a copy of your piece on 
eBay. It is nicely marked as a copy, but it is 
very close indeed. How many trades do you think 
it will take in this world for some dishonest 
person to cut off the water mark and sell the 
cel as a damaged, but still very nice original 
cel? 

Besides, just the presence of copies dilutes the 
value of the original. How can you distinguish 
the original from the copy, if it is the 
original, which has no marks on it? A Van Gogh 
does not suffer from this issue BECAUSE it is 
well know where the original is. How would the 
owner of the original proof that she owns the 
original? If there are many copies of a cel, 
chances are any one of the ones on the market is 
a fancel. A cel has value, and don’t call me an 
un-true collector for saying this.

I must applaud the seller for his/her honest 
effort in signing the fancel. Not everyone does 
that. I am sure the person gets great pleasure 
from this hobby and also shows a lot of talent. 
Art supplies are expensive and there is nothing 
wrong with selling fancels, as long as the 
seller asked for permission from the owner.

I think, the seller, probably through no ill 
intent from his/her part, ended up taking 
advantage of another fellow collector. While 
eBay seems to confirm that the auction is valid, 
I strongly think the seller should consider the 
position the owner of the cel finds herself in, 
and do the right thing. 

Although I'm sure you didn't mean to, please 
don't take advantage of someone's generosity 
with your hobby.