Copying Sketches...What for???

Yes, I am well aware there are copies done by the studio - I have copy layouts and model sheets that were included with some of my cels I have bought - there would be no reason to make *more* copies of these. However, when you buy something that is ONLY copies, and you aren't Roy buying a trailer load from a studio directly, how can you tell WHO made the copies? You can't. Sure, Mandarake isn't making the copies, but the person who commissioned them to auction them might have. Someone could have the original and make all the copies they wanted, and you would have no way of knowing since they would all be first-gen copies.

So why pay more than the price of the paper?

I think that one of the big indicators, someone can jump in on this if I'm wrong, is paper size. I remember reading that the studios generally don't use A4 sized paper for production material, and yet, you will often see with the third party produced stuff that the copies are indeed, A4 sized. I don't have any settei myself, so if this is completely wrong, please correct me.

Also, with the case of Mandarake, they do ensure that the items are genuine. These are items from their stores that they are selling, and they do get stuff straight from the studios as well. I don't think that it needs to be worried about. If you're spending 1k on a stack of paper, I could suggest other things to worry about...:)

If I'm gonna make $30 per copy, I'd buy a ream of paper that is the proper size. ;)

Or, failing that, copy on oversize paper and trim to match. Easy.

My point is, and I don't mean to pick on any particular store, is you *don't* know the provenance of any set of copies unless you bought them yourself from the studio. There is just no way to tell, no studio stamp that says "yes, these are copies made on the studio's very own copy machine" or anything like that.

And even if you *did* buy it from the studio - do you know how many copies there are of that? ;)

The funny thing about that is, with a lot of the auctions for copy-copies it says "A4 sized copies", so the sellers are either too lazy to make a perfect reproduction, or they don't care.

And I agree, there isn't any concrete way to be sure(but hey, the more money you spend, the more authentic it obviously is...right? Right???).

Although I would love to get some input from the people that are passionate about buying these, be they studio copies or fan copies.

I think everyone has covered it for me too...I just don?t get the thrill of owning a fan-made (or even production) photocopy (although I think Settei sets are a lil different, as you can?t usually get those sketches elsewhere). I really don?t understand why anyone would pay good money for a photocopy?it'd just be like me saving all of your galleries to my hardrive, it'd mean nothing ? but it would sure be nice to look at, yet I wouldn?t have to pay for it.
I mean no disrespect to people who collect them, as I?m sure they're nice to look at it, but in the end they are just photocopies and it seems to me, some people are paying far to much for them. Each to their own though! Like Space Runaway said, it?d be interesting to hear from someone who collects these.