We wish! No I do not think the market is coming
back up whatsoever. IMO what we are seeing is
individual collectors dumping their collection(s)
during the holidays on YJP. I for one doubt the
trend will continue for too long. Ask yourself
when was the last time you saw a A quality cel
from Kishiro? There has been tons of crap not carp
in the pool. As you already well know, since you
collect Hirano and Kishiro cels, there are very
few quality cels available. I am not referring to
the crappy $20.00 selling for $100+...
outrageously overvalued IMO. So, the trend if you
even call it that is an occassional blip on the
radar screen. Just means you have to constantly
have funds available, just like in stocks to buy
when you see opportunities (which are few). And as
for Mandarake every now and then you might find
something, but look at the closing prices...
usually it is nuts. My take on this is b/c
Mandarake is well known in JP and has a pretty
good following in the US. People watch for good
items, as such you get bidding wars when some
quality items appear... it's doubtful you will
find a bargain there anymore. Good luck all the same.