Checking in and WHOA CEL PRICES!

[lunacels]

So admittedly it’s been a minute, or years, since I purchased a cel and updated my gallery. But my favorite Sailor Moon episode was included in the offerings at the latest Mandarake BWA, so I caved.

I watched the others out of general interest, though I wasn’t intent on bidding on them. And holy smokes! Some of the prices got up past 400,000 yen!

I remember when those same cels would have gone for $500-800 USD…of course, that would have been a decade ago now. I’m wondering if it’s a combination of inflation and the aging of the series/general lack of supply. How are other collectors faring? Are you seeing the same price increases?

Just curious mainly, and happy to see some familiar faces here.

[cutiebunny]

I also bid on BWA items this time around due to the episode 200 artwork up for grabs. I expected that I would not win what I was after. Prices for key scenes have really shot up. I didn't even bother to bid on the Ikuko Itoh SM hankens and they each sold for about $14K when that BWA auction fee was added to the final price.

I like artwork but I have my limit and it is well before $10K

This time around, while I was after a few cels, I also was targeting some of their card auctions. Been well over 10+ years since I've bought Sailor moon cards, but there was one Morinaga promo card set that I was 1 card away from full completion. Honestly, I was blown away by the prices of the cards that sold. I remember being critical of myself for spending $500 on the Amada PP 14 Gold Card set (3 card set only awarded to those who sent in a winning card) back in the early 00s when I was collecting. That same set sold for 490,000 yen this time around.

Anyways, in regard to cels, what I think has occurred is that a lot of contemporary art collectors (and museums) have gotten into the market. The Sailor Moon items that sold the most this time around were the hankens and the cel featuring SM and the Inner Senshi. If you don't know the series and are out there to buy something that will have long term value, focusing on images where the entire team is present is sort of like a "one and done" piece. Fans of the series generally focus instead on collecting a character/episode/scene.

2016 was the year I noticed that prices begin to skyrocket with SM and particularly with Cardcaptor Sakura. That was also the same year that I had a few museums contact me about lending cels for upcoming exhibits. A few years after that, auction houses like Sotheby's Hong Kong, begin to hold 'contemporary art auctions' with Miyazaki, CCS, SM, Dragonball, Pokemon, etc and now other companies, like Heritage Auctions, have delved into the anime waters. I suspect that artwork from worldwide popular series will retain and increase in value.

It's nice to see you around as well! I'm glad to see that you're still collecting!

[ginga123]

I’m not going to lie. The BWA this time around did catch my attention— mainly the hanken and the M9 cel. (My obsession with the mistress all these years came back after I saw the cel.) I was curious, but I kept my distance. I was surprised at the final selling price of her. I used to spend up to $450 on her easy per cel. The cel was valued at 2005 prices. I didn’t bid. Maybe next time. It seems that this character may keep me playing peek-a-boo out of my mole hole.

[lunacels]

So great to see both of you!

That’s an excellent rundown…I wondered why the cel of SM and the inner senshi in particular went so ridiculously high, but that explanation makes sense.

(I would absolutely go to a museum exhibit of your collection! That would be so cool!)

Good luck on catching those cards and M9 cells to you both!