Hello all! Could someone please tell if the BIG Auction on Manadrake is any good?
I'm looking for Fushigi Yuugi and Rurouni Kenshin cels. How does the auction work? Can anyone look at what's up at auction or do you have to pay the fee for the privilege to browse. Please advise. Thanks!
You do not need to be a member or to have paid the 500 yen participation fee in order to view the auction listings during the Big Web Auction period. You do, however, need to pay the fee in order to bid on the items.
Mandarake releases a catalog for each BWA about 1 month before the start of the auction period. If you buy the catalog, you do not need to pay the fee.
The auction listings will be added to the Mandarake site about 1 week before the first auctions are scheduled to close. I believe someone mentioned that they'll be online around July 6(Japan time).
Each BWA features a different selection of items. Sometimes, one anime is featured more heavily than another. Other times, you won't find any artwork from the show(s) that you collect. However, it is the only time when you'll find really rare items, like 1960s robot action figures, Osamu Tezuka hand drawn manga pages, and things of that nature. Because of the variety of high end items involved, prices for items tend to end on the high side. It is not uncommon to see items, especially anything Miyazaki, end in the 10K+ price range.
So, if you don't see something you like this time, chances are, in a BWA or two, you will. The BWA occurs four times a year(January, April, July & October) and costs 500 yen to participate each time.