What you have to remember is that these are one-
once items. Sure, they know that cels are 
collectable but we can't expect studios to sit 
around thinking about how cels can be made to 
last many, many years after the anime is made. 
Not going to happen. ^-^

Why do some people buy 50K+ cars? They know that 
they cant last forever, cant be passed as an 
heirloom (except classics)...but they still get 
bought.

>>Does anyone have the experience of seeing a 
pristine cel that is over 30 ,40, or even 50 
years old, without the color-loss or line fade? 

Definately!! Look around the internet. There are 
still very beautiful cels produced by Disney, 
ESPECIALLY considering how new the cel-concept 
was!

I've honestly never deeply thought about a cel's 
life expectancy. But then again, I dont spend 
more than $200 on *any* cel. They are a luxury 
item that I pick up when fancy hits me. For me 
they are not an investment, not an heirloom, 
nothing more than a physical memory of my 
favorite show. Nothing more, nothing less. (and 
definately not something I'll spend a lot of time 
pondering about) ^_^