I went through a period of my life of having little to no income and no savings. It forever left an impression on me. Now, I compulsively save a high percentage of my income even though my future (and current) prospects are positive.
Recently, the Milky-Chan the Fawn Bag came up for auction. It went for 501 AUD. That's around 450 CAD.
This morning an auction for the Whimsical Vanilla-Chan ring and necklace ended at almost 300 CAD on Yahoo! Auctions Japan.
I 100% could have afforded to win both of these auctions, but I can't bring myself to spend this amount. I feel I can't justify it, but then here I am moping around. Both these auctions started at reasonable prices, so this situation isn't the result of scalpers. What something is worth depends on what people are willing to pay for it. So where does that leave me? Melancholic with all this money that doesn't bring me happiness (because it would never be enough), apparently. It's ridiculous.
Something I've been thinking about is how Honey Cake was re-released but such releases as Vanilla-Chan and Milky-Chan have not been re-released. Would there be an interest in a re-release? Milky-Chan and Vanilla-Chan dresses go up for sale frequently, but they're often not in great condition due to their age and I expect their prices reflect this. Milky-Chan jewelry doesn't perform above average in terms of price, it's generally at what you'd expect for most AP second hand jewelry that's not from a highly sought after release (there are outliers).
When it comes to Vanilla-Chan, it's a bit more difficult. LaceMarket only has history of two listings for the Vanilla-Chan ring, and two for the bracelet. Again, they are listed at comparable prices to Milky-Chan. I own the Vanilla-Chan bracelet which I believe I paid 100 USD for, which I would argue as being slightly expensive compared to non-sought after pieces. It seems Vanilla-Chan jewelry is significantly rare, even though it was released a year after Milky-Chan (which goes up for sale very frequently). Those listings I mentioned above are from 2016 and 2015. Could it be that the Vanilla-Chan jewelry is less frequently up for sale because it's more versatile than Milky-Chan? Think of all the prints with white cats on them.
As for the Milky-Chan bag there seems to be some variation in listing prices, but I would say the overall trend is for an increase in price.
When I see prices like these, I think about the possibility of a MTO/re-release.
I feel this sentiment on a pretty personal level. Although I don't have any small pieces that I'm actively searching for (certainly not to this extent, not after the Fancy Crepe necklace, which was more of a battle of trying to nab it at one of the many re-releases), I thoroughly understand the mentality of "logically and rationally I know that I can afford it and can indulge, but my inner thoughts won't let me". Someone who has ever been in a position where they genuinely had to budget intensively, live payday to payday, and work hard just to have the basics, never really lets go of that mentality. And while it can be good, some of those habits not only save you a few coins, but might also have other benefits, like being better for the environment or your health, it's not helpful when you're into something like lolita fashion, which both values high quality and encourages hoarding. Even though I give myself a free pass for my wishlist dresses, unless they're the top priority ones I still linger and mull it over until it's either sold out or I finally cave in. Hopefully you will be able to get these pieces one day - at least with plastic jewellery, when there is a re-release, they can't really change the fabric, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone else understands. I am really trying to overcome hoarding of lolita items but it is a slow process. It's especially difficult with damaged items that have very low retail value. It removes the incentive to sell them.
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It would be so nice to have a re-release. The re-released Holy Lantern soo many times. My fear is that if they re-release it they might not include the items I'm looking for.