Does anyone feel like I do about the 3 Slayers 
cels of
1. Blushing Zel that went for approx. $700
2. Full-body Zel that went for approx. $2000
3. Full-body Amelia that went for approx. $600 
and was popular enough to trigger yet higher 
offers?

Yeah, how do I feel about that..? I bid along on 
blushing Zel. Since I have that "virtual money" 
thing called PayPal, I lost my feeling for the 
value of money, so I was willing to bid close to 
the ending price simply because I didn't realize 
that that money can be a 2way flight to Japan, a 
chopper, a car, surgery for my cat, 140 manga 
books, loads of DVD, my dream dog, a new PS2 and 
all the games I want, ANYTHING but a sheet of 
painted plastic used to produce a cartoon. I am 
SO glad that I lost! For that money, I swear, my 
next update is going to be too cool...

I think it's like.... absurd? Granted, those 
were great cels and the pouring rain that came 
down on me complimented my feelings after I lost 
the blushing Zel, but even a Lord of Nightmares 
or open-eyed Xelloss cel would have a hard time 
trying to approach such a price. I mean, this is 
Slayers. I remember Slayers being "cheap to 
medium with high-end exceptions". I missed my 
chance on bidding on the full-body Zel (I was 
buying something much better for only $4: a cool 
rabbit!), and when I checked on the result, I 
was like "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?". And I tried 
everything to snap out of my nightmares as I 
wouldn't believe my eyes when I saw Amelia's 
final price.

But these absurdities are what make cels 
interesting on the level of money, right? Like, 
a US retailer asking $150 for Saiyuki repro cels 
while any Japanese seller who knows their true 
value only asks up to $40. Or all those Neoranga 
OP cels that sometimes had to beg for a buyer 
who'd take them for $50 while some seller asks 
$500? A cheap-show cel my friend bought for $40 
is trying to sell for $300 elsewhere (sequence 
mate).

Life'd be boring if everything were predictable.

My personal conclusion is: prices are neither 
dropping, nor climbing. It's a "serene chaos". 
Like space tossing around rocks all the time 
while other rocks are just peacefully floating 
around although nothing really distinguishes 
them from those who're being tossed about. Just 
the random moods of gravity and gasses and stuff 
that grasp that one rock. It's like that all the 
time, but within this seemingly changing 
picture, everything stays the same..

Ah, ranting...

Me off :)
Anna