My personal "per-cel limit" ($250) is staggeringly
low compared to that of other collectors. But 
although that is a general rule for me, I will 
spend more than that for some cels. *SOME* cels. I
have (if I remember right) only five cels that 
individually cost more than $250.

The real reason for my limit is based on the idea 
expressed by the person who declined to log in. I 
know (in general) if I pay more than about $250, 
I'll never truly enjoy the cel. I'll always look 
at it and only see too much money spent. So my 
limit isn't something I have to force myself to 
obey. Much the opposite, it feels "natural".

But! You have to consider the series. There are 
some series I collect from only sparsely -- or 
not at all -- not because I don't like them, but 
because the cels I consider worth owning sell for 
more than I want to pay. You have to be realistic.
For example, if the cel you're looking at *IS* of 
Chun-Li (my personal SF favorite!) then $100 is 
not a bad price for a nice frame of her. I've 
seen what I consider mediocre cels of her sell 
for around $85 or so.

But just because the price is nice, doesn't mean 
*YOU* want to spend it. I adore Vampire Hunter D 
and love the new movie cels which are so much 
closer in style to Amano's art. I know the prices 
and recognize when one is marked lower than you'd 
expect, but I've no problem looking and (with NO 
REGRET) walking away from mid-three-digit price 
tags. It's just not worth it to me. As my husband 
likes to joke: "For $20, you can buy the DVD and 
have every single cel from the whole thing!" ^_^

So only you can decide (based on your disposable 
income and attachment to the image) if the amount 
is right for you to spend. Also, just because you 
spend over your usual once, doesn't mean you have 
to do it again. Yes, I've spent more than $250 on 
a few cels. My most expensive cel (bought fairly 
recently and which I've put below in case you're 
curious) squeeked in just under $400. Although I 
lost, the highest I've ever bid on a cel was just 
over $650. Do I do that all the time? HELL NO! But
I go the mile for *some* cels. ^_~

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac