well, first off about eBay: i hate eBay. it 
really has become the garage sale of online 
shopping. i will honestly admit right now that 
when i go to eBay, i expect to find cels that i 
like for cheaper than they run at dealers and 
cons and stores and from individuals. why? 
because that is what people expect of eBay. that 
is one reason why cels don't go for that much on 
eBay.

but also, you made the point about the Rou 
Kenshin OP cel, which i saw yesterday had sold 
for above $1000 at animegame. and i saw that same 
cel on eBay, but here's the thing: that cel has 
more than 5 days left on it, and the seller is 
already getting half of their buy it now price. 
*a lot* of cel collectors are waiting until the 
last minute to bid, now, because it doesn't jack 
the price up for them. what they don't realize, 
though, or do and don't think about it, is that 
it *doesn't* get the price up to what the seller 
invested in it. and we're back to the online 
garage sale that is eBay.

also as someone else pointed out, when a dealer 
has a cel up, especially dealers like animanga 
and animechaos and animetaro, it goes quick 
because everyone knows this is where a lot of cel 
collectors look. they have to make the decision 
right then and there, especially with the rush of 
updates and more recently, sales. on eBay, 
though, you have time to wait and see what the 
price goes to, time for the mental price that you 
are willing to pay for the cel to fluxuate up or 
down. as for the buy it now price, maybe the 
person who bought it off of animegame didn't see 
the auction before they made their purchase.

if people collect cels and think that they will 
regain all of their profits, then this isn't the 
right hobby for them. think of a cel like a piece 
of clothing: your favorite shirt, you wear it... 
you 'love' it by wearing it. but then you have to 
sell it because you need money for a new favorite 
shirt. would you pay the same price for a 'loved' 
(used) shirt than you would for a new shirt? but 
you'd feel bad that you were letting go of your 
favorite shirt for less than you paid for your 
new one, because, while your new one is cool and 
should be your new fav, you still love your old 
one...

haruna