> It would be more applicable if you compared the
> cels themselves to the Truffula trees.  Except--
> -the key difference would be that trees are a
> renewable resource, whereas cels are not.

This is exactly why I compared disposable income 
to the trees as opposed to comparing the cels to 
them. Because dispoable income is something that 
*is* a renewable source. But like trees, it grows 
back slowly and sometimes not as well as before. 
If you log down too many trees, you wind up with 
a great shortage of trees for a long time until 
they grow back. If you repeatedly overcharge for 
something, the people buying from you will 
eventually not buy any more since they have a 
shortage of disposable income.

> The moral of the Lorax was not to exceed a
> resource's ability to regenerate itself.

Exactly. Think! We've had an increase (albeit not 
dramatic, but still an increase) in dealers 
wanting to charge as much as the market will 
possibly allow for their cels. We've also been 
barraged by the new "offers" fad (IMHO: "personal
private auctions"), which also cost the collector 
absolutely as much as is possible for them to 
pay. Now answer this: Why are ALL cels selling so 
poorly? On private and dealer's sites alike? 
Isn't it possible that the ability of people to 
regenerate their disposable income HAS been 
exceeded? To the point that some people are even 
trying to make up for maxed credit cards and/or 
having taken money from their *non*disposable 
income?

> I'm kinda chuckling at your argument that cels
> should be cheaper since they are luxury items.
> It was always my understanding that it WAS
> luxury items that commanded high prices.

Luxury items only command high prices if people 
are willing to pay those high prices. However, in 
this case, the cel in question - and many others 
like it - is still sitting unsold on the dealer's 
site. If it was really worth that much, why has 
no one come and taken advantage of the great 
deal? ^_~  Even luxury items have a built in 
check to their prices if the given market is to 
sustain itself. For a dealer who intends to keep 
on selling things, s/he can't drive their clients 
to the poorhouse with their prices or those 
clients can't continue to give them business.

It does change it a little that cels are a finite 
resource - but they're still not scarce enough 
for these types of influences to apply. If every 
unowned cel was set to self distruct one month 
from now, that would be a different story. But 
that isn't the case currently.

> Just because we wish prices were lower doesn't
> make a dealer wrong for charging whatever they
> want.

True. No dealer has a *moral* obligation to lower 
their prices - I never once said they did! I 
think there are a number of other valid reasons 
why, in the long run, it might be more beneficial 
to "high priced" dealers to charge less.

But yes, I do think there is a point at which 
high prices are just being greedy. There's still 
no moral obligation for a dealer to lower their 
prices, but I don't have a moral obligation to 
not have a low opinion of them either. So sue me.

In any case, I also said that *WE*, meaning the 
cel buying community, are the ones who have the 
power to control the prices. If we refuse to pay 
high prices (or even only refuse almost all the 
time), the dealers won't be able to charge those 
prices if they want to stay in business. But it 
takes a *group* effort.

And I agree. . . Unless I had seen *EVERYTHING* 
else there was to see in Japan, I'd make a lousy 
cel dealer. There's no way I could go there and 
sit in a cel shop for hours. ^_^;  I'd lose a lot 
of money on trips to Japan. (*laugh*)

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac