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ABJD's vs. Other dolls

Dec 21, 2011

    1. How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?
      Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?

      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?


      a) Not really part of the equation. It's never been a 'vs' situation at all for me. I'd never give up my momokos for bjd. There are loads of dolls out there, and ABJD are really in the mid-range for price on average so that's not an issue either. I like dreamy, traditional Japanese-inspired aesthetics for my dolls (as in the original Volks look, momokos, blythe, etc). I pay for that, end of story.

      b) Nope lol. I like what I like.

      c) Again, not an issue. There are loads more expensive dolls out there. Barbies have taken a nose-dive in collectibility, and I honestly just don't like them. FR dolls are another story, but you can spend hundreds on one of them. Momokos cost between $133-$400, Blythes can be $1000 or more for a custom... and that's not even getting into the porcelain markets or baby-dolls. ABJD just aren't that pricey where collectible dolls are concerned, and they're very re-sellable if you collect wisely. /shrug
       
    2. How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?
      Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?

      Unlike some of the people who have posted here, I did love dolls as a child. I've collected them (off and on) for many years. I came to the BJD hobby through my love of dolls. I don't feel bad about spending so much on a BJD. Sure, barbies can be customized. So can a lot of other fashion dolls. But they're just not the same. If I wanted to change the hair on a barbie, I'd have to get rid of the hair that is rooted into her head...and I suppose you could give her inset glass eyes, but why bother? It's a lot more effort than popping off a head cap. The fact that Barbies (and Tonners and Momoko and all sorts of other dolls) can be customized in some of the same ways doesn't deter me from BJDs.

      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?

      Simple. I like them much better!
       
    3. Why does someone enjoy a motorbike over a car, when both are vehicles? Usually it's a matter of what appeals to that person.

      Even if Barbies, Reborn dolls, Tonner dolls, porcelain dolls, artistic clay dolls etc were easier to customize or less expensive, I'd still collect BJD's, because I like their style, their height and weight. I like the look and feel of resin and their posability. Although I admire others too, ABJD's call to me unlike any other doll. It doesn't mean that other dolls are inferior somehow, or that I'm wasting my money: it's simply having a personal taste.
       
    4. -How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?
      There are really just chubby baby dolls or barbies around where I live. And I don't like those. At all. Also I don't like the feeling of plastic dolls, or the smell. Barbies have this carved-in smile which is creepy. And you don't get much variation other than hair colour and skintone. You would have to mod them to your liking from the start and they come only in one size and no body variation. And I only ever saw one barbie with joints. But standing or posing was out of the question.
      -Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
      It's not the same at all, so it doesn't deter me in any way.
      -Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJDs rather than regular factory produced dolls?
      They can pose, they come in different sizes and their bodies vary, they can look grown-up without being muscle pumped, I like the feel and smell of resin, I can customize them and on top of all they're my hobby and I can spend my money like I want to. <3
       
    5. How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?

      I love different kinds of dolls, as a kid I use to love barbies but now I don't like them at all. I don't feel they are unique at all like other dolls. I was in another doll hobby were the dolls can be made to order, hair color, paint, look, eye color etc. but they didn't appeal to me like BJD's do because of the look and level of customization that can be done. BJD's are so customizable that's one of the reasons they are so appealing. Sure maybe barbies and other dolls can be customized in some way..but they can never be the same as BJD's. BJD's are on whole different level. I don't think in anyway a doll is just a doll and all can be compared to each other. I pay the money I do on these dolls because I can't get the same thing out of less expensive ones, If I could I would have no problem with buying them.

      Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
      Nope not one bit

      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls? BJD's have a different kind of look to them that you can't get with the regular dolls that you can just buy at your local store. They are very customize able and even though other dolls can do the same its not as easy and simple as BJD's are and the level of things you can do is different.
       
    6. I my opinion, bjds can pose a lot better, are more detailed, have a wider range of sculpts compared to barbies, easier to customize, changeable eyes and wigs, more beautiful. For me, it was because I was not satisfied with Barbie and other similar dolls that I sought for a hobby like bjds. And I found it. I need no convincing to jump in this hobby.
       
    7. @Almaxaquotal Very well put!
       
    8. If your friend isn't a doll person (or at least an artsy person) she might not understand what makes BJDs so special to us. A Barbie is mass-produced, as others have mentioned, but BJDs were made to be customized. Buying a BJD doesn't feel like simply buying another toy; it's bringing a character you've imagined to life. Their bodies are, to me, more physically attractive, being made from sturdy, smooth resin as opposed to the same vinyl a children's toy would be made from.

      Don't get me wrong - I collect Barbies (and adore my Marie Antoinette!), but I think most Barbies pale in comparison to a well-made BJD.
       
    9. Well, I'm not going to buy dolls I don't like just because they are inexpensive and still customizable. I like certain dolls, not just any doll.
       
    10. When I started the hobby, I was especially in awe of the face-ups, and how with a darker shade here, or a stroke-or-two extra there of the brush, the demeanor of a sculpt could change so radically. Even the lighting or angle can change the way the faces look.

      I've always enjoyed wearing wigs and colored contacts myself, so I enjoy changing the eyes and wigs of my doll easily. (I remember vividly as a child giving my Barbie's a haircut and then not understanding why my Mom was unhappy with me :lol:)

      The materials of bjds make a difference too. The density of the resin just gives me the feeling that my doll is there.
       
    11. How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market?

      I don't have a problem with it myself. It's my money and I can do what I want with it. However I don't know many people at all who would understand how I feel about these dolls or why I would spend the money on them that I do, so their price is not something I would confess to, say, my mother, who is also a doll collector but dislikes BJDs.

      And I want to say that you absolutely cannot compare BJDs to fashion dolls. I've been collecting fashion dolls for 25 years and they are completely different hobbies. If you want to redo a fashion doll's eyes, you need to have some damn good painting skills and for someone like me that's not feasible. I suck. I can't paint. I would never try to paint a Barbie's face. But even an idiot like me can putty some pretty eyes into a BJD's skull without difficulty. And really the thing about BJDs that appeals to me the most are their unique faces. Barbie has different molds, sure, but there's not nearly the variety of expression. The biggest differences in Barbie faces are open mouths showing teeth and closed lips. Not to knock Barbies because I have more of them in my doll collection than any other doll types, but come on.. There's just no comparison.

      Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
      The cost keeps me from buying as many as I would like to have, which is probably a very good thing because at 5 dolls I really have no room for more even though I want lots.

      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?
      I don't defend my doll purchases. My wife also collects so we understand each other. My other friends aren't into dolls so I don't bother showing them off to them or justifying their cost.
       
    12. BJDs are simply a much higher quality than most other children's dolls on the market, they are much more customizable and are better to look at. Barbies are children's toys for a reason: they're incredibly easy to reproduce and mass produce and they cost no more than a few dollars and very little labor to make. There are thousands of molds of BJDs, whereas for many children's dolls look the same or very similar. BJDs will also last longer and are worth the money that you spend on them. I definitely agree with almaxaquotal on the terms of McDonalds compared to a high quality bistro.
       
    13. Uuuuhhhhh wow this doesn't even seem like it should be a debate really. We like BJDs, we're going to buy them, even if we could buy like 50 Barbies or Monster High dolls for the price. If you want to buy other dolls in addition to BJDs as well, that's great! If you don't want to buy BJDs, that's fine too! Seriously, if they make you happy, why should you need to justify the price? Why should you need to 'prove' in some way that they're worth it? I've seen tremendously amazing BJDs, just like I've seen tremendously amazing Barbies. This shouldn't even be a debate, it's a matter of preference, and making it sound like you have to choose sides in it is just ridiculous. A well done doll is a well done doll, regardless of price. And if the owner loves it? So much the better.
       
    14. It's true, you can do a lot with Barbies. I've seen a video where this woman has a collection of old, semi-dirty Barbie dolls that she cleans up, removes the faces painted on, and turns them into really intricate artistic pieces. I think most things, at their core, are customizable. People do it to cars all the time. We paint our houses and pick out furniture to suit our style, or even knock out a wall to enlarge a room. You can customize store-bought clothes with accessories, or take a machine or needle and thread to it to create decorative hems or shorten sleeves or pants. A lot of things can be customized.

      But I find I like how big these dolls are. I could never have the courage to customize a Barbie because they're so small, and rely on a certain degree of skill to keep things good-looking. True, you need a degree of skill to do a good face up, but I'm thinking things don't have to be perfectly precise. You generally don't have to paint the doll's actual eyes.

      BJDs can also be posed to look much more natural than Barbies. Unless you mod one, a Barbie can only pose in so many ways and look natural. Many don't have jointed limbs, and those that do, the limbs aren't very graceful-looking. BJD's can be post much more naturally, and many dolls can look almost human. Barbies, and dolls of that nature, always seem to have a 'doll' look to me. Some people I've shown Iplehouse dolls so thought they were people, and not dolls. I don't think you can portray real people with a Barbie doll and expect people to 'connect' like you can with a doll assuming more of a humanistic pose and also has a more humanoid face.
       
    15. you are right. That's what I belive in also.
       
    16. I'm sure those before me have already covered all these points but I might as well add my two penneth:

      "you can do with BJD you can do with Barbie dolls
      Such as
      *modding-http
      - to a limited extent and doing the work is often a pain in the a*se because they are small, fiddly and not made with that in mind
      *Face-ups - to be honest (and apologies to those who do them, it's just my opinion) but face-ups on Tonner and Barbie style dolls always look weird because they have to add a lot in the painting that isn't there in the sculpt. Those dolls are made with a mixture of rotation and injection moulding and from vinyl and simply don't have much detail in their generic soulless little faces!
      *pictures - you can take a picture of anything pretty much so she has no point at all here
      *photostories - as above
      *box openings - as above
      *making wigs and clothes - I got so sick of making tiny clothes and wigs that didn't sit right on my fashion dolls anyway (hence my love of SDs) and rerooting is laborious

      The only thing I could bring as a defense was *they could stand, *they are pretty - you really weren't trying there were you ;)

      How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market? - Been there, done that, didn't find it anywhere near as satisfying as my BJDs. I think I'm right in guessing that a lot of the older BJD collectors will have progressed from plasticy fashion dolls to much nicer, more detailed, less plastic even though resin is basically PLASTIC... BJDs. Maybe some people go back to the fashion dolls, maybe some people enjoy both, but most would agree there isn't much comparison between the two.

      Does this deter you from the hobby in any way? - No because I find the argument redundant (sorry can't make the un-bold work anymore!)

      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls? - I have collected, made and messed with all kinds of dolls since childhood, Barbie has never been a favourite to be honest (she looks too vacant and pleased with herself!) and I guess it is just a case of been there, done that. I can't imagine going backward now as working on BJDs is simply a lot more rewarding for me and aesthetically pleasing in a way that fashion dolls never were.
       
    17. I'm a sucker for aesthetics, I couldn't even compare a bjd mold that I like vs one that I don't and say well their both resin because in my mind there will be a tremendous difference in what I view as quality.

      Barbie carries no spark to me, to me they are more one dimensional while I'd say the bjds I prefer are more multi faceted. To me its like comparing cement floors to marble floors, one has a beauty that I am drawn to.
       
    18. Well, you can't do everything to a Barbie that you can with a BJD. As it's been argued before, Barbies all have the same face mold. There's no variety like there is with the different BJD sculpts. That being said, Barbies are marketed (mainly) towards children. Hence the price difference and the fact that they are vinyl. What child would want an expensive doll they would have to be super careful with?

      I wasn't a doll person as a child. I had my American Girl doll and a Shirley Temple doll but other than them it was all ponies and cars for me! In fact, that's still what I primarily collect. But through my pony collecting I got into Pullip dolls (which I love!!) and subsequently now I'm curious about BJDs.

      I don't own a BJD yet but I wouldn't feel bad about spending the money on one or feel like I needed to justify it to anyone. This is the hobby where you get what you pay for.

      The price is not a deterrent from the hobby, just possibly a deterrent from several dolls. :lol:

      You shouldn't need any "good defenses" about what you choose to spend your money on! You buy something because you like it! That's what matters.
       
    19. How do you feel about paying the money you do on dolls when you could do those same exact things with barbie dolls and other less expensive dolls on the market? Does this deter you from the hobby in any way?
      Do you have any good defenses about why you would spend the money on BJD's Than regular factory produced dolls?

      As said before by fellow forum-members, BJD's are so much different to a barbie or other kind of dolls I know. It's the sculpts, posability and the different kinds of modification you can do on BJD's. Also, I think when holding a BJD you can feel and see the craftmanship in the doll, which I don't have with a Barbie. I don't mind paying the price for a BJD I like, because I pay for the handwork of it, the artpiece actually. I would mind it if I have to pay $200 for a Barbie :lol: I do know some collectors would pay this for a limited/rare barbie. Whatever floats your boat of course.

      I do collect Pullips (& co) though! Okay, they are plastic and unless you put an obitsu body on them, they aren't that very posible either. Though you can customize a Pullip almost as much as you can customize a BJD, but their face-plates are all the same (Pullips have the same pullip-faceplates, Taeyang taeyang-faceplates and so on). But I love their look and I appreciate them as much as I appreciate a BJD
      I appreciate all these different types and bjd or pullip, they brighten my day when I play with them :) But but but, I wouldn't pay $300 for a pullip, but would for a BJD. Craftmanship and use of durable products (resin instead of plastic) is the keyword in this.

      I agree with Phantomwings, why do you need defenses on what you choose to spend YOUR money on? It's your hobby and it's something YOU like!
       
    20. Ah, but I like the large size of bjds, and there aren't really any mass market dolls of that size besides AG dolls and other stuffed body-type ones. Not my style. I don't like how there is nice furniture for AG dolls, but they can't even bend their knees to sit on it properly :doh