(1)Well, I am very new to the hobby, so I have 
only bought, not sold, cels. However, I am a 
little concerned about not being able to get what 
I paid for a cel if I ever decide to sell it. As 
a result, I try to only buy cels that are of a 
higher grade, have some emotional siginificance 
to me, or are a bit rare. That way, I probably 
won't ever want to sell my cels unless I get 
dreamier ones and if I do sell them, I can 
hopefully get close to what I paid. 

But the bottom line is that it's a cyclical 
thing. If you want to own something that is 
consistently  valuable, then you have to invest 
in gold bars. Cels and the satisfaction derived 
from collecting them are harder to put a number 
on. Even if you don't get your full purchase 
price back, you got to enjoy the cel for a time, 
got to experience the thrill of the hunt, and got 
to experience the sometimes hard-won joy of 
obtaining a desired cel. And who knows? Another 
anime frenzy may be right around the corner that 
will make all of our cels more valuable. OK so 
I'm in an optimistic mood today.

(2)Current socioeconimic conditions have not 
really affected my outlook on cels. On one hand, 
the reality of war makes me appreciate the truly 
important stuff like family, friends, the roof 
over my head, and the food on my table more. But 
my best friend is a Captain in the Marines and is 
currently somewhere in central Iraq close to the 
action. And after receiving a letter from her or 
an e-mail update that I receive through a third 
party, I sometimes need to immerse myself in my 
hobby to escape the sad realities for a little 
while. I think that hobbies in general are a way 
for people to concentrate on something that makes 
them happy, and then maybe they are better able 
to deal with everything else. SO as long as a 
source of disposabe income exists, I will 
continue to collect cels. 

(3) Don't really know how to predict the long-
term affects of CG. Could the lack of new cels 
make older cels more valuable? 

As for the CG vs. cel animation debate, I guess 
that it's like the record VS cd debate. Some 
people can tell a major difference and swear that 
cel animation is warmer and purer. Whereas, 
others don't notice a recognizable difference. 
It's a shame that we won't be able to collect 
cels from future favorite shows though. 

(4) I can't really say. I have a few friends that 
enjoy anime, but they aren't cel collectors. I'm 
all alone in my hobby. That's why I have to share 
with you nice folks. :)