Sailor Moon collectors...

[Angelic-Lair]

This BWA is, apparently, for you!

http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auction/it ... ailor+moon

Some really amazing artwork, but we feel bad for everyone's wallets.

Best of luck to anyone going after those beauties!

[lunacels]

No kidding!! I am equal parts in awe and also having anxiety that these are all up at once. For serious?

Thankfully most don't interest me...but still! Oh well, good luck to everyone! I hope the winners will post their spoils! Even if it doesn't end up being me (and it won't be, at some of those prices!), I hope they go into a gallery of a fellow Beta-Phile so I can live vicariously.

That Jupiter hanken would be a lovely addition to Jadeduo's collection!

[Jadeduo]

OMG I HAD A HEART ATTACK! GOODBYE EVERY BIT OF MONEY I EVER HAD!!!

HOPEFULLY the Jupiter won't go too high *looks nervous*

*I'm going to be sick*

JD

*commences with 9 days of stress*

[cutiebunny]

I find some of the prices a bit insulting. I used to be an avid Sailor Moon card collector, and they have an almost complete Amada PP collection (it's missing the ultra rare PP 14 gold cards) for sale, divided into sets. Their PP14 set has a starting price of 80,000 yen, and this doesn't even include the hard/soft versions of all the prism cards. I was like "Are you F-in' serious?!" Yes, the PP 14 card set is the nicest of the PP sets, but seeing how it doesn't come with the three gold cards, even in mint condition, I'd be surprised to see the set sell at 40,000 yen. Some of the toy prices also seem really high; 90,000 yen for a first edition Sailor Moon R Mercury/Mars henshin wand set?

The rest of the non-SM BWA selection is kinda blah, though the Koihime Musou sketches are quite nice (just not for 3K-ish each). Obviously, they're hoping all the SM collectors will come out of the woodwork and bid on this stuff. I'm still on the fence about bidding. The charity auctions, while full of nice things, have not been kind this year

Good luck to everyone who goes for something

[Moop]

I've always assumed that most - if not all - of the items in the BWA are privately owned pieces, auctioned on percentage commission + buyer's premium by Mandarake, as you'd find at any major auction house. If that's true, it would explain the occasionally confusing prices (e.g overpriced SM cards vs. the pair of harmony ED cels that I missed out on awhile back, which went for less than a third of what I would have happily paid for each of them); owners generally have the right to set a minimum price...even if it's too high and against the recommendation of the house. It would also explain why BWAs are often heavily themed on one particular anime, since all it takes is one major collector with an itch to sell off their stuff.

At any rate, good luck to those who are going after some of the pretties being offered! Hopefully some of the international heavy hitters are spending their cash on summer vacations rather than cels this time around.

[lunacels]

I wondered about some of those prices! I don't follow much in the way of non-cel items, but I was a bit surprised. Frankly I was surprised at some of the hankens too, as there have been a few floating around for not quite that much...

That said...Jadeduo, I'm rooting for you!! And Cutie, Luna-Art, whoever else goes in...I really hope to see your updates!!

I think I am going to be sick, too. If for no other reason, the 1.5 weeks of not knowing the outcome is the worst. Once it's settled, I'll be fine. Ambiguity tolerance is at 2%. I am such a "J" on the Myers-Briggs!!

Summer vacation...? What summer vacation?

[Jadeduo]

@cutiebunny

I totes agree that the toys are ridiculously overpriced they can be found on YJ for much cheaper so I am totes confused on those pieces. I know why the hankens are going to go at ridiculous prices, but why has SM not been bid on yet?? Weird!

@Moop

God Moop I hope so! I am soooooooo stressed out right now, I am going to cry the Jupiter is already at 90,000 yen! At that price it would be the most I have EVER paid for one piece. I am going to be munching on Ramen for a year! *cries*

@lunacels

The reason the hankens are so pricey is they are from the pen of Ikuko Itou, mine and many favorite Sailor Moon Collectors favorite animation director. She draws the scouts particularly Jupiter with such attention to detail I drool everytime I see a piece from an episode she has directed!

JD

[Sui Kune]

(Augh, I really need to participate a lot more! I do have quite a lot to say here, I've just been especially ill this past year or so. I'm not dead I promise!)

Yeah, the prices of the toys and cards are just making me O_o. Especially since there's been such a flood of new merchandise, some of which are actually improvements upon old releases (Proplicas!). Especially absurd are the prices for the Outers Liprods and Talismans; while they are all MIP and gorgeous, there's still a hell of a lot less pressure on collectors who want the Liprods to buy the old ones now that some great gashapon versions were released. And hell, Bandai's releasing a 1:1 Neptune Mirror in September, blowing the old toy right out of the water! (And I definitely wouldn't count out Proplica versions of the Liprods and/or Talismans either!) Sure there will always be completionist collectors, but yeah, these prices really are insulting. Even their general shop's prices on older things is really....bleugh.

A couple things did catch my eye though that I'll be keeping an eye on. And man I'm just drooling all over the place in general seeing all these awesome things piled in one place! Best of luck to anyone going for something! <3

[cutiebunny]

In the case of the toys, I sorta wonder if that's the issue and if this isn't some last ditch attempt to get rid of toys that are likely to be replaced by later Bandai and Proplica editions. Prices for the original versions have definitely plummeted once the Proplica/Bandai reissue came out. Mandarake is banking on either those that avidly collect the toys and/or those that don't know about the reissues to buy these items.

My assumption with Mandarake BWAs has always been, if the start price is high, it's likely owned by a third party and Mandarake is acting as a proxy seller. I think what bothers me in the case of private sellers using Mandarake to resell potions of their collection is the price gouging. I understand making a profit, but even if Mandarake took a 20% cut from the seller, in the case of the SM PP 14 card set, the seller will still receive a minimum of 60,000 yen for a set that would likely resell for less than half that on YJ. It makes me very bitter when I see collectors taking advantage of others. Obviously, the case is very different when it comes to one-of-a-kind artwork, but the fact that many of these items with high start prices have no bids on them yet means that either people are waiting until the last hour to bid, or that others simply find the asking prices preposterous and are staying far away.

[lunacels]

I can't take the suspense. I knew they were going to get pricey, but that Ami hanken though! Ouch!

[Jadeduo]

They just took a 30 minute break before the cels! Gah!

*dies*

[lunacels]

Oh, THAT'S why. I thought somebody had crashed their page on purpose and was starting to freak out!

[lunacels]

GAH! Okay, that was rough! Who won something? Jadeduo, did you walk out with that Jupiter? Cutie? Anyone? *fingers crossed*

But wow, the cels weren't as rough as the shikishi (shikishis?). That Usagi by Naoko-san is still going!

This is amazing! I would sign up for twitter and live tweet except no one in my circle would have a clue what it was all about.

[Jadeduo]

It's exhausting I did get Juppie... But nothing else I was trying for the Saturn and princess but had to tap out! I heard some other peeps got some stuff but I don't know if I can name any names! ^_^

JD

In the meantime I am tired wired and want coffee something fierce!

[lunacels]

That's awesome!! I'm so happy you won!!

I ended up winning the only two I really tried for--the Uranus/Neptune, and the girls from Stars ep 167. That taps me out for a long, looong time. I apologize in advance to anyone who was in that epic bidding war with me (no, seriously! I'm sorry, I know it got ridiculous, but I've been trying to find those specific scenes for like 15 years)! My husband started talking to me in the middle of it and I was like, "NOCAN'TTALKRIGHTNOW!!"

There were some real beauties in there...I thought about vying for the Sailor Moon/Chibi Moon pan, but didn't want to risk it with the others going so high. The Saturn was gorgeous, too.

I think that's it for me. I'm going to bed!!