How are you guys doing collectingwise?

[aernath]

I cut way back a couple years ago when I went off in pursuit of an Ichigo doll.

But I've still been keeping one eye open on the Ichigo market, and have managed to snag some really nice things.
Been slowly adding to my Ranma collection as well, but that's about the extent of it.
Maybe a cel from here or there, once in a blue moon.

With the downturn in the economy... well, as stated before, I SHOULD cut back, but...

So, in an attempt to spend my time rather than my money, I've been trying to get all the things I've bought the past two years scanned IN.

[gundamx2]

For me, it has slowed down, although there have been maybe like a few times when I find myself in a situation where I don't have time to wait b/c if I don't act now, that cel will gone forever.

An example would be the Hell Teacher Nube cel I got from Mandarake big web auctions, although that was painful financially (but still worth it).

I just can't afford cels like I used to, even harder in this recession setting.

[sensei]

I'd say my collecting habits have gradually shifted toward more conservative over the last 18 months. I've really tried to buy less and buy better. (That rings false today, since I just put up a really extensive update that took a couple of weeks to organize and install, but I do think it holds true over the long haul.)

It's not the economic situation, as I give myself a budget and stick to it month by month. Nor is it the lack of things to collect -- like Graymouser, I'm finding nice stuff still popping up unexpectedly. It simply that the bigger the collection, the more hassle it is to maintain it and keep it organized. What you have becomes more important than what you don't have.

[Keropi]

Around what percentage has the US Dollar/yen exchange rate gone down? I haven't been paying much attention to it. I've only won cheap auctions the past seven to nine months.

I've been surprised by some of the auction prices I've seen lately. Some items I expected to see at least two bidders on and I only seen one person. It's not uncommon for me to see things going for less than half of what I expected them to go for.

It is definitely a buyers market right now.

Yeah...it's easier to say no to something new when I've already acquired a number of items that I can appreciate, but I also have to balance that out by wondering if I'm ever going to see the item again. Maybe I'll never see something else from that show again. This wasn't quite the problem when I only collected cels.

[cutiebunny]

Around what percentage has the US Dollar/yen exchange rate gone down? I haven't been paying much attention to it. I've only won cheap auctions the past seven to nine months.

If memory serves me, in 2006, the exchange rate was about $1 = 120 yen. In 2007, it was around 110 yen to the dollar. Not as nice as 2006, but it still made for relatively inexpensive transactions. Up until early 2008, you could easily take the end price on YJ and, convert on a 1 to 1 ratio and that would be roughly the price you would pay when exchange rates and deputy fees were added to the item.

When I visited Japan in October 2008, the exchange rate was equal...$1=100 yen.

Now, it hovers around 88 yen = $1, however, most auction sites will rate it at 83-86 yen = $1. So, the more costly of an item you buy, the more the exchange rate is going to sting.

[Shampoo]

How have you guys been collecting lately with the downturn in the economy? Are you guys still collecting like usual or have you been cutting back?

Definetely have cut back quite a bit-- but mostly
because I can't find nice things anymore (speaking strictly
for the two main series I collect)

One of them, can't be helped. The series' animation
is fugly compared to its predecessor, so I'm not too interested in
the gengas I've seen on YJ. Plus the characters I want, not
very many or any have been released yet.
I don't know if its because Pierrot shipped off the process
to be mostly done in Korea while they focus on the shitty Shippy movies
or Bleach, but dang. Some of the shots look NOTHING like
the manga.


And Ranma, I cant find many A grade shots at
their market value . And when I do they
are 3times the amount they use to be.
So I've been forced to be selective.
Sad thing is many times, they dont sell. They just float and
twirl and tease me.
Some folks on YJ seriously smoking , as I've seen $250 shots
priced at $8-900.
Blah! Dont even get me started on one particular asshat
whom I've lost 2 Mandarake auctions to, only to
place them on YJ at 3-4 times their ending price
only a few days later...which NEVER sell. well.. DUH!

ok...
im venting now..

LOL!
[/quote]

[star-phoenix]

I have been significantly more selective with the cels I buy these days, mainly because one cel from Disney is equivalent to 10-50 cels from an Anime series! I actually just spoke to someone over the weekend who works at a huge art gallery in California, and she mentioned that BECAUSE of the economy, many people who have extremely rare items that you would never see on the market, are actually putting them on the market. The new cel I am going to get in next week is actually one of those cels that are normally "NEVER" seen in the market before because it was so rare.

So, as you can see, it can go hand in hand. You will probably see a lot rarer pieces coming out fairly soon since people are more inclined to sale.

[Killua]

One of them, can't be helped. The series' animation
is fugly compared to its predecessor, so I'm not too interested in
the gengas I've seen on YJ. Plus the characters I want, not
very many or any have been released yet.
I don't know if its because Pierrot shipped off the process
to be mostly done in Korea while they focus on the shitty Shippy movies
or Bleach, but dang. Some of the shots look NOTHING like
the manga.

Spoken for truth. I don't know what on earth is going on with the Naruto animation team. The original run of Naruto looked awesome, now shots often look awful.

[lcatino]

I've definitely had to cut back for financial reasons.

Most of what I need to add to my gallery has been with me for months.

[Keropi]

When I visited Japan in October 2008, the exchange rate was equal...$1=100 yen.

Now, it hovers around 88 yen = $1, however, most auction sites will rate it at 83-86 yen = $1. So, the more costly of an item you buy, the more the exchange rate is going to sting.

So it could be up to 20% more expensive now depending on what you're buying? Ugh...that's pretty bad.

[HotIce]

my actual collecting of anything that costs money has slowed down, a LOT. I bought my first cel in months with my Hellsing Rilezu, and my actual production cel with the Trigun cel I updated with, and an OLS cel on the way. But their total cost combined is less than I use to pay with out even thinking about it before. They were both impulse buys. I do have some original artwork from Crystal, I need to update with... and I have had for forever.

[JWR]

I can say my collecting has slowed quite a bit mainly to the lack of finding anything that strikes my fancy.

I did have an offer on a cel I have loved for a long time accepted so I my actual dollar spending has remained the same , just more quality than quantity.

[Cordelia]

Collecting habits are still the same since I've always tried to be selective and I only collect from a few series. But I'm trying to slow down due to the uncertain economy (It's not helping when the media tries to sensationalise the situation, one day it's up and the next it's down).

But it's harder now because many beautiful cels are appearing on the market as collectors are liquidating their collection. I still hope that prices will drop...sometimes I can't believe how much I'm paying for paint and plastic

[aernath]

When I visited Japan in October 2008, the exchange rate was equal...$1=100 yen.

Now, it hovers around 88 yen = $1, however, most auction sites will rate it at 83-86 yen = $1. So, the more costly of an item you buy, the more the exchange rate is going to sting.

So it could be up to 20% more expensive now depending on what you're buying? Ugh...that's pretty bad.

Yup. I used to just use the 100 yen = 1 dollar, but now that's just not even close to true anymore.
I recently won a Ranma cel off Yahoo Japan for 2500 yen. After fees and all that = $52 *headdesk* So even the "cheap" cels aren't really.

[Keropi]

I didn't even buy a cel last year that's why I didn't create a "Favorite Artwork from 2008" last December.

Last year I got nineteen sketch sets from thirteen shows (not counting the Anicyo one I never requested to be shipped). Only three of them were over 8300yen. I used to surpass 10,000 yen on a regular basis, but not last year. I just don't feel like doing it last year.

I hope this year isn't disappointing as well.