xD Yeah, I don't often stick to one avi for long so I don't often ask for avi art from people I have to pay a looooot of gold to. I DO have a story I'm writing, so getting art done for the characters in there is always enjoyable. (There's nothing like politely asking an artist to draw a dead, cross-dressing, ex-porn star. You have no idea how many "....oooookay"s I've gotten.) That's usually why I like auctions for those things, they seem to be more open to drawing odd things. From my experience, at least.
It's a bit frustrating too, when there's ten other artists but you only want the one. On the other hand, I've won an auction where the person I wanted the art from didn't really impress me, but the others all put out really interesting pieces. =3 All were pleasant surprises, so I don't get as frustrated with those auctions anymore.