Considering some concerns were raised from the RS "Let it Out" and AB "Pet peeves"

What a fun topic!

1) What have you LEARNED from your cel collecting experiences?
A lot. I learned so much about animation history, production, marketing, cultural views, etc. I could probably write a novel on this question alone!

2) What are you most GRATEFUL for in our hobby?
#1, the people. I have met so many wonderful people in this hobby and it makes thing so much more enjoyable to share something in common that you love. I am also grateful for the wonderful and rare finds I have acquired through the 10-11 years of collecting.

What I have learned -


Patience. If I thought I had patience before, I think doubly so after being in this hobby for as long as I have been. There's patience to wait out an auction that you really want to win, the patience for the auction package once you do win and the patience to wait several years for items that others own that may never be sold to you.

Evaluation. I think the hardest part about collecting is knowing, financially, how much something is worth to you. And while there will always be the items that are worth any price, the majority are things that, while neat, are not 1K neat. Putting a price on an item is difficult and doubly so if you're bidding through a deputy service.

Perseverance. Anyone can cast a bid to outbid someone. It's sticking to your guns after you bid your max, despite really wanting the item and being outbid, that's the hard part.



What I am grateful for -

It's already been mentioned that most people are happy with the people they've met through this hobby. I agree with that sentiment. But I also am grateful that there's a variety of artwork at a variety of prices in this hobby. You can get quality artwork for under $100. But there's also no shortage of really nice items in the 1K and over price range. I'm grateful that I've been able to sample both ends of the spectrum and end up with the collection that I have.

I'm grateful for the auctions that I've won and lost, because, without losing, I might not have been able to afford the items I did win.

WOW! Thanks everyone for sharing some great and thought provoking insights. =)

Now, how about the rest of the lurking community? Chime in! Cheers!

Recently learned it really is important to let go of clutter. Some of the cels we use to hold dear just do not mean much shouldn't come as much of a surprise after over 20 years collecting cels. Still we are quite happy with our small but memorable collection. What about you? :)

I agree and have spent some ten years reducing my household of papers and possession in moving to a smaller, neater house. And I did some 5 years ago reduce my collection somewhat as I refocused its agenda (from being CCS-based to being much more eclectic). It's a lot of work, especially at cel-bag-changing time. But I haven't gotten to the point where a cel that I really wanted to get now doesn't mean much. On reviewing my ten years of collecting, I was surprised to find that many of my early buys were still very special to me.