1. The best thing that’s happened to your gallery/collection.
2. The most surprising thing that happened to your gallery/collection.
3. Thing that concerns you about your collecting experience.
4. A cel/sketch-related resolution for 2009.
5. Did you stay true to your cel/sketch-related resolution posted in 2008?
(see http://www.anime-beta.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=23168 for quick reference)
1. The best thing that’s happened to your gallery/collection.
I hit 20K hits on Christmas
As for my collection, I was fortunate enough to acquire several wishlist items this year.
2. The most surprising thing that's happened to your gallery/collection.
Nothing surprising has happened to my gallery. I haven't tinkered around with it much.
As for my collection, whether due to economic downturn or lack of interest in what I collect, I have been fortunate to win some nice items for far less than I expected to pay. This is the first year that I can recall where the prices for some of the items that I collect are actually going down.
I also am slowly starting to shift towards sketches. The idea of them being animated interests me, and even though I have no clue as to how to make a gif, I'd like to try in 2009.
3. Things that concern you about your collecting experience.
Similiar to last year, it's the supply that is concerning me. I can't find anything that I want to add from the primary anime that I collect from, Sailormoon. I think I've purchased around 10 items from that anime this year, not because I can't afford the always high prices, but because I can not find anything that I want.
Another thing that concerns me is the rampant image theft which seems to be plaguing most of the Sailormoon collectors. It's gotten to the point that I have had to restrict access to my site, and even having to block the ability to see the screenshots that I spent quite a bit of time last year making. I don't like having to do this, so I'm now left with two choices - keep access limited to my gallery or watch silently as the artwork that I have collected gets placed on a large Sailormoon image site.
4. Did you stay true to your cel/sketch resolution posted in 2008?
In 2008, due to price and supply, I wanted to focus more on other anime instead of Sailormoon. Considering the amount of items I've purchased this year, Sailormoon items make up less than 10% of my new additions. And, thanks to my trip to Japan this year, I was able to purchase several nice cels at Mandarake for a couple of dollars each. All things considered, I think I have kept my resolution by staying away from Sailormoon and focusing on other anime.
5. Cel/sketch resolution for 2009.
My resolution is the same as last year - to continue collecting from lesser known(or collected titles). Yes, I will still faithfully continue to check out the YJ auctions for what I collect, but if the supply is any indication, I won't be purchasing much in the way of Sailormoon.
