I never said that everyone putting up the "make 
offers" signpost is looking to price gouge. The 
problem is that enough *are* so that the ones who 
*aren't* are rare - lost in the shuffle. ;_;  And 
there are so many pages of cels up for "offers", 
especially now, that there's a LOT of shuffle in 
which to be lost.

I'm also not saying it's easy to be stuck in a 
situation where you *have* to sell - especailly 
during a bad time to sell. (And for cels, it has 
been a VERY bad time to sell for a while now. o_0)
Because it doesn't matter what you're selling, 
you *will* most likely lose money on it. I'm not 
just talking cels here - one of the reasons my 
husband and I got our house for so (relatively) 
little is because we knew the owners were 
completely over a barrel and *HAD* to get rid of 
it even though they didn't want to sell. And 
that's a HOUSE - which people NEED - not a luxury 
item like a cel.

But getting back to the cels, lately it almost 
doesn't seem to matter *what* you have for sale - 
people don't have the money. I partially think 
it's *because* of all the "make offers" pages. 
Suddenly people can't get a deal once in a while 
anymore. ("Deal" being a relative term - you can 
buy a cel for $200 and depending on the cel, it 
can be a real deal.) Now *everything* is an 
auction if you want *anything* and people's bank 
accounts are starting to reflect that. Auctions 
for collectibles are very financially draining 
for the buyer. So cons aren't the only reason 
people are streched thin - this bad luck with 
selling started *before* con season did. As 
people have less to spend, you're not going to 
get as much for your cels. It's a vicious circle. 
And it's not much comfort to know you're not the 
only collector caught in the middle of it all. ;_;

But trying to sell something and being *able* to 
let it sit there until it rots also isn't ideal. 
At the same time your cels aren't selling well, 
the cels of the person who would be willing to 
buy your cels aren't selling well either. There 
were a couple cels you've sold recently - one 
offered directly to me - that left me scratching 
at my computer screen in frustration. I'm just 
too tapped. And I can't sell off lot remainders 
like I used to be able to - which wasn't much, 
but fed *something* back into my habit. (If 
fantastic cels won't move, think how fast "little 
stuff" will - a dying snail comes to mind. 9_9) 
And quick-selling a cel I like only to get 
another cel I like doesn't make sense to me. So I 
wind up declining where otherwise I wouldn't. 
There have to be other people in my same 
position - people for whom, it isn't the price 
that is wrong, but the timing and empty 
pocketbook of it all.

But then, that's the hell of needing to sell at a 
bad time. o_0;  Hence why I overstress more about 
careful spending in the *first* place. Because of 
the fact that I was initially very picky about 
what I bought for what price, that's the only 
reason I can still buy anything at this point 
without needing to sell. (Or turn away from 
things without regretting what I have spent.) 
Even barring unforseen accidents/crisises, it's 
ever *MORE* important now for the general 
collector.

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac