A Collector or Addict?

This is such an interesting topic and it's something that's been worrying me for months.

I am kinda scared of developing a unhealthy spending habit because I bought a lot(!) of dolls this year (one per month on average). At least they weren't impulse buys as I have considered all purchases for at least a week beforehand. So far I have not come to regret any of my purchases. And there were a lot of tempting dolls I've said no to. But it's still a lot of dolls .
Yet I have not incurred any dept and I never had to use layaway.

Upon long reflection I have cone to the conclusion that I am way more scared of developing an addiction than actually having one. While I have purchases planned for this month they are mainly parts I miss during photo shoots (mostly hand parts).

So I think I place somewhere between addict and collector.

 

Congratulations! You've managed to do something very difficult and although I don't know you, I am proud of you

 

Definitely an addiction that's also hyperfocus for me. I spend hours upon hours looking at the "perfect" doll, worrying that it might not be the one, rinse and repeat. Once I find the most AMAZING one for me, it's then looking for outfits for another few hours that my creativity sparks in my head for photoshoot ideas. Then I get overwhelmed with the thought of having a doll with a specific theme... time to find the next "perfect" one! lol Can't go a day without thinking about BJDs and concepts. It's calmed down a bit, so I'm not stressing myself out, but it seems wild for outsiders.
No spending quite yet as that will drop me into another rabbit hole.

 

Addict, for sure. The first step is acknowledging that I have a problem and all, I guess!

I had been on a hiatus until late 2019. Really bad timing. When the pandemic hit I went a little loony. I think being stuck inside, depressed, coupled with a new position and a raise made me go a bit off the deep end. BJDs became a bright light in the darkness for me. They occupied my time and forced me to get creative again in a period where I would have previously curled into a ball in the corner.

However, it has become obsessive. I definitely check sales way more often than is healthy, and have made A LOT of purchases over the last year and a half. It is 100% an addiction. I feel that as things eventually open back up, and life gets back to some form of "normal," that I will revert back to being a collector. I think because it's so hard to focus on much else right now, it makes it easy to develop unhealthy habits.

 

I loved reading the posts here, it's definitely a lot to think about. I have to be careful with my spending, I like to collect anime figures, stuffed animals, tamagotchi (only the color ones that I can get in english nowadays), art materials (paper, paint, etc), video games, shoes of a certain brand!
But with anime figures it's weird cause the wishlist is so large that I stopped caring for most of it. I know there is a Miku nendoroid that is my all time favorite that I still really want to buy, but it's been years and I still haven't bought it. I decided to focus on BJD a couple of years ago, but I only make a little money, so I am still not financially independent.

I spent many years without buying bjds after I got my first one, so I am making up for it in a way. But I wanted to save up
for a new videogame and instead I ordered a new bjd on layaway T-T (I can only buy them on layaway) I just thought "oh one of those gorgeous limited elfs Luts does sometimes, she is so beautiful, I finally caught a release so I want to take this opportunity".
At least I know I'm not the kind of collector who needs to have all of item X though. I don't buy something just because it's part of X collection or whatever.
In a way I like to want to buy things... I don't know, it's probably part of my depression (which is being treated) speaking but I like to have goals... sometimes I don't know what I live for, so I like to have an objective I want to achieve, even if it's just to buy something. So I'm kinda excited to work harder to be able to do that ._.

 

I just thought about it and while this may seem slightly off topic I feel strange bringing it up but isn't it weird how this forum specifically about bjds is still being used to this day? Like we are a community just ENTHRALLED with ball jointed dolls and there are so MANY for us to choose from, it just feels so surreal sometimes. I thought I was quite casual until I thought about this fact that I actively check this website and get excited to respond to new topics. Something I thought was so niche is really just getting bigger every time a new social media platform is created. That makes me happy and when I see people so excited to collect it reminds me how I shouldn't feel abnormal for loving bjds and wanting more than one.

 

I think I'm an addict but not of the buying part? @_@

For me, I have specific characters that I want to bring to life so my collection will always have a cap on it. The buying part makes me really anxious if I'm honest. I don't enjoy dropping that sort of money and once I have everyone, I think I'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. At least until I make a new project...oh man, that just about confirms it. I AM A BJD ADDICT IN THE MAKING!!!

 

Collector. I have so many different hobbies that I don’t really have the time to to become a addict. Which probably is a good thing.

 

So, you’re just a “recreational user“?

 

I am definitly addicted to the doll hobby in general though since I am still a student BJDs are still an expensive new thing to me. Since I love dolls in general that is okay. I can substitute with fashion dolls, general doll customizing and crafting and watching endless hours on YouTube to research crafting techinques, fashion and accessory hauls or simply goshing over other dolls an the internet.
BJDs are the very good stuff though xD

 

I would have to say *collector* vs. addict. All my dolls except my most recent one are in boxes. I will not be buying anymore dolls unless a very special pre-order opens and the 2 dolls I am currently paying for on layaway arrive home to me. Eventually I will have time to pull everyone out, dress, photo, and set displays up for them.

 

I think a lot about this. I am predisposed to addiction, both through my family and through my own mental illness (bipolar II if anyone wondered) and I have a few lines I draw for myself)

the first distinction I make is is buying this doll financially viable, or are we committing crimes against my visa? It stops being simple collecting when I have to log ridiculous amounts of overtime to pay off my card after I decide I need a doll.

the next is is this doll going to fit my collection, or make me happy, or have another reason to come home, or am I making this purchase as a crutch against some other emotion? If I’m depressed, I will buy things that aren’t advisable because they feel like they’ll make me less depressed. That runs a little close to self-medicating, so I’m really careful to make sure iM making a decision I’d have made when not in an extreme mood. On the flip side, my impulse control goes out the window when I’m hypomanic, so I tend to buy dolls because life is short, I’m feeling great, and what better way to celebrate feeling good than giving twigling all my money? In all seriousness, I try not to make purchases of any nonessential kind when I’m not euthymic. That again, gets into buying dolls because of (mood disorder-based) feelings, which runs too close to being addicted/using purchases to moderate emotion. That’s just dangerous for me, because I can’t form an emotional dependence on spending money—especially this amount.

Plenty of other people can do these things though. It’s okay to buy a doll as a pick-me-up if you have lots of money, or it’s not going to become habitual, or plenty of other reasons—I just can’t do it with the way my brain is wired, so please don’t feel like I’m calling you an addict for having a different limitation than I do.

 

I'm just a collector.

I'm very fond of my dolls, but they've always been in the category of interesting objects to me... Playthings instead of a passion. A hobby rather than a Lifestyle.

That said, having a pretty strong drive for completeness as a collector means that I've ended up with quite a few of the things over the years. I was just never going to have a SMALL collection. I knew that going in. That probably makes me look like some kind of addict from a minimalist's point of view.

 

I think I might be an addict. It just feels good to buy things for your dolls that it becomes an unhealthy addiction. The thrill and excitement to wait for the package to come and that empty feeling once it came, so you ended up buying more to keep that thrill and excitement going. Anyone experiencing this too?

 

Yes! The joy of the Internet era is being able to find anything at any time of day or night and have it delivered. But, there is no instant gratification, especially in this hobby! You would think we’d be used to it after waiting months for dolls.

 

Definitely an addict that's trying to change their ways!

I have issues with impulse control and emotional spending, which are things I've been working on getting under better control. It's difficult because I have a lot of mental health things going on (bipolar, anxiety, ADHD, and autism) that heavily contribute to my addictive tendencies.

I'm trying to become more intentional with my collection as a way of slowing down. For instance, I view my SD crew as being nearly perfect. I have 5 of them, I adore all of them, and they're definitely my favorite dolls. They're on such a high pedestal for me that the bar is set VERY high for adding more to that "crew." There's one more I want, but I've been searching for the absolute perfect sculpt for her- I have no desire to impulsively buy one I might not love as much as I love the others.

On the other hand, my MSD crew is a hot mess. I've cycled SO MANY dolls in and out of that group over the last year and it just feels very disjointed. My biggest issues with impulse control are with them- they're too easy to acquire when I can pick some up for as low as $100 secondhand. I'm trying to use my dissatisfaction with the state of that group as motivation to stop buying as impulsively. I also hate the process of selling dolls because I'm super impatient, so it's like "do you want that doll? do you REALLY want it? will you turn around and sell it in a month? you know how much you hate waiting for a sale/trade." It helps haha

 

I'm still relatively new to the hobby (about 4 months until it's been a full year since getting my first doll, though I've admired BJD from afar for several years before I actually bought one) so it's probably hard to really discern if I'm a collector or not yet, but I definitely feel like the hobby is already starting to become a little addictive to me.

I'm the type of person who tends to habitually gather things I like with little regard for whether I actually need them, so I tend to accumulate large amounts of stuff over time, and I have a hard time parting with these things as I very easily develop emotional attachments to my possessions. It's not too much different when it comes to dolls -- I started collecting props for my doll a year before I'd even ordered the doll itself, and ever since it arrived I've found it hard to not buy more and more clothes and accessories too. I'm running out of space with all the props to be honest, and I've only got one doll I feel like this hobby is starting a shopping addiction that I never knew I'd ever develop, especially since my impulse control is pretty poor.

Honestly if I had unlimited amounts of money, I'd probably be buying new doll clothes and scene props every few days, so perhaps my very limited spending power is a blessing in disguise when it comes to not filling up every inch of space I have available with more stuff.


On the flip side, I don't really see myself buying too many dolls, rather I just buy too many things for the dolls I have. I'm really picky with the sculpts I like, and I'm planning to only buy dolls that I can use to shell my existing original characters (with the exception of a few collab DDs I'd like to own), so I don't tend to really want to buy a lot of dolls even when I think a lot of them are really pretty.

I feel like with the dolls themselves, I'll end up more of a casual collector, or maybe just a storyteller that wants to bring their characters to life, but when it comes to everything else to do with dolls, it will probably become an issue if I don't keep my impulsive decisions in check. I haven't experienced buyer's remorse at all yet, so I think I'm doing ok(ish?) for now!

 

Same! I'm kind of ashamed of my behavior to be honest. I think I need to take a few steps back and just sort myself out for a bit.