Age, Income and social responsiability?

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?
I do make assumptions based on age along with a few other characteristics. If someone is young and has a bunch of dolls, that alone will not cause me to assume their parents bought all the dolls. If someone is young and generally behaves like they are spoiled along with having a ton of dolls, I will assume their parents or another adult bought them.

Because I think I misread the question the first time! ...>_>

New answer based on new understanding: I do not assume someone's age based on what kind of dolls they have when on this or any other forum. I make assumptions about age based on the way a person types, the general interests, and things such as the quotes they put in their signatures.

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
I might make assumptions about income with dolls being part of the reason, but doll quantity and quality alone will not cause me to assume anything. I myself have quite a few dolls, but I’m not rich. I’m also not broke, but I am very fond of my Bobobie and may be seen with her alone, without my other dolls at times.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?
I assume they like a specific kind of doll that happens to be expensive unless they show nonrelated signs of always buying pricy things for the sake of buying pricy things.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?No.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
I suspect a certain friend thinks I have an excessive amount of money.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?“I skip the lattes...” then I talk about something else.

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?
I don’t think I have any responsibilities specific to nearby fellow collectors/customizers of expensive resin dolls. To my community in general, I think I have a responsibility to behave decently (yes, very subjective) and to use what skills I have to benefit other people as I can.

 

All 'yous' are general and refer to no one person.

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?
I do make assumptions, but not in those regards. More like when I see someone's collection without knowing their age I kind of have a guess in my head on how old they are based on how they speak, what kinds of dolls they have and the images/quotes they have in their avatars and signatures.

Though I do this on other forums too, not just doll forums. If someone sounds young by their sentence structure (or lack of) and spends 9 hours a day online for 6 days a week talking about pokemon, I often think I can pretty safely assume they are not adults working a nine-to-five job, you know what I mean? So yes, I make assumptions about people online, but not judgements about them (a judgement being young kid with lots of dolls = parents must have bought them all).

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
It's not that clean-cut for me.When I see someone with lots of dolls, I don't assign these big number values to their collections; I'm not a collection appraiser, after all. I don't know how much every doll in existence costs nor how rare it is and unless I hold it in my hands, I can't even begin to have any insight to the quality of it. They could have just one or two dolls in their collection super expensive, expensive, average price, relatively inexpensive, completely inexpensive or they could have dozens in any of those price ranges. That says nothing to me about how much disposable income people have, that just tells me which dolls they like. Also, just because they have less dolls doesn't mean they have less disposable income than you, they may actually have more than you and they just have other hobbies which they would like to distribute money in to as well. I know I'm eying some camera lenses that cost more than any doll I've ever bought.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?
Again, I feel I can not ever properly know how expensive or inexpensive someone's collection is, even if I am familiar with each and every one of the dolls in their collection.I have no idea if they bought this doll when it was new from the company for $1,000 or if they got it later off an auction site for $3,000, I don't know if it actually costs more than that for them if their currency conversion is at a vast disadvantage to the currency that doll might have been offered in, if they had to pay insanely expensive customs charges on it, etc. There are so many factors that make up the end cost of a doll, all of which I am sure I will never know. I'm not going to make assumptions like that about people's collections.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?
Some of the things under this heading literally made me laugh out loud. No, I don't believe people owe things to a community of people who share a hobby. No more so than I believe my neighbor right next door owes me anything because he might have a more expensive car than my own. "Hey, your car gets better gas mileage than mine, it's your social responsibility to let me use your car.", yeah... Not even close. They don't owe me anything, I don't owe them anything. For this reason, I also don't believe people with more experience owe people the benefit of that experience, either. I know the things I learn, I learn through lots of studying, trial and error.

Plus, I am very bad at explaining things in a way that others can easily understand it. I haven't been trained to be a teacher or anything. :P I also lack patience for helping people to that degree as well. Fact of the matter is, many of the questions those people want answers to, they can get just as easily by doing a search engine search without me having to have the frustration of trying to explain it.

And no, I do not believe people with more money should have to buy things you have made just to help you save, that is ridiculous and hilarious. Also no, there isn't a point at which people should be giving to charities instead of doing what makes them happy and they can safely afford to do. Specially since, speaking from my own standpoint, there are thousands of charities I'd never dream of giving my money to. "Give money to the *insert religion* Children's Charity Fund!", "So you can go to other countries, force your religion on others, rip children away from their families and only use $0.10 of each dollar I give you to do so? I'll pass.", I've seen more than one charity that does this exact type of thing while lying through their teeth about doing it. So quite frankly, there are very few charities I feel right donating to and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
Yes, there has been and I really don't care about those people's wrongly made assumptions or misunderstandings. They can think whatever they like and I am not at all bothered by it, nor am I going to waste my breath 'informing' them of the real deal so they understand properly. Truly, it is none of their business to begin with and I really don't like dealing with people who make wild assumptions before getting anything close to the facts from the actual people involved. A signature on a forum is hardly enough information to make an informed opinion on and they're kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?
I don't say anything, it's not something I feel like discussing with people I meet over the internet who know nothing about me and I honestly wouldn't want people I don't know intimately to know so much amount my spendings and savings. I wouldn't tell someone I just met on the street how much money is in my savings account, why on earth would I tell some random person on the internet that?I don't think people need to "appreciate" where my hobby money comes from anymore than I need to "appreciate" where their hobby money comes from.

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?
None, I'm not indebted to anyone just for being part of a community.

Wall of text is a wall of text, rawr. Sorry about that, I got really in to it lol.

 

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?

No.

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?

None.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?

None.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?

No.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?

No.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?

If I ever met anybody who was socially inept enough to bring up the topic, I'd tell them, as politely as I could, to mind their own beeswax.


What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?

To love, honor, and obey? Geez. I'm not involved in a local BJD community, so I am not qualified to answer. As to the social responsibility I owe to my community in general, that is far too complex to go into on a BJD forum.

 

[h=2]• Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?[/h]No, not really. I do sometimes make assumptions from the way the doll is dressed and presented rather than the sculpt or the amount of dolls a person has. I'm not always right though!

• Younger and lots of dolls therefore you assume their parents bought them for them...
Older and only a few, that they are new to the hobby...

I don't care who bought the dolls or what age the collector is, each to their own.

• What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
Lots of dolls, you assume they have a lot of disposable income...
Only a few dolls, you assume they do not have a lot of disposable income...

Same answer as above really, I just tend to take people as I find them and hope they have the courtesy to do the same for me.


• Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?
-Is it assumed they have more experience and should teach (sewing, re-string, answering questions, etc...)

This is such a load of hoooey!!! This is a hobby and therefore there are no social obligations, the "community" is just a bunch of like minded people chatting about dolls, it's not like we have our own army! No one should "assume" that anyone has any obligation to teach or pass on their skills or knowledge, the fact that many do is all totally down to the individual.

• If there is a contest where a 'doll' is a prize that they should not enter to give those with less money/ability to buy a doll better odds/chance.

No, why the h*ll should they? A lottery is a level playing field, everyone has the same chance, why should anyone step aside?

• They should help out with advice on how to save funds, maybe purchase clothes/jewelry you have made to earn funds, etc...

You know, the fact that many people do offer advice and help out newbies is just from their own good nature and I'm sure as many young, cash poor students and school kids offer great advice as the older, more comfortably-off collectors

• Is there a point where they are wasting their money on dolls, when they should be helping out charities, etc...

How do you know they aren't doing both anyhow... and again, who the h*ll's business is it anyway? I hope the judgemental tone of these questions isn't actually reflected among the views of the DOA users!

• For collectors with a 'fair amount' of money put into their collection....
Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
-Is there 'assumptions' made about you/your collection, due to your age/job.
-A misunderstanding of the 'work' you have put into earning funds.
What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?

I don't know, no one has been rude enough to comment so far

• What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?

Non, the part of this question in brackets is not relevant to this forum and would take to long to answer anyway​

 

I was going to post a wall of text in reply. But I figured all of my answers can be summed up by two rules I follow in the BJD world:

1. Live and let live.
2. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

 

First off, I'd just like to say that a "large" or "expensive" collection is completely relative, so I'm not sure what mine is considered. I own/have on the way 14 dolls, ranging in retail value from $140 to $599. To someone with 60 dolls and none cost under $1000, I'm cheap and broke. To someone who owns one Bobobie and has been saving for a year, my collection might seem huge. Therefor, I'll answer all questions.


Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?
Sometimes. But it isn't based on number or price of their dolls. A teen could do odd jobs to save up for an Iplehouse or Soom, and an older collector might have just fallen in love with a ResinSoul.
I do assume ages, but based more on other things. Like if they have been collecting since 2005, they are probably not a teen. If they use a ton of text speak or often speak of not be allowed to have expensive dolls or not having a job, I assume teen or preteen. If they are frequently buying new dolls, I'm assuming an adult with a job that can spare the money, since saving takes time.

Time spent online has nothing to do with it. I'm online all day, but I work in an office that allows this. So I'm working and playing at once. lol

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
If they have, say, 100 dolls bought within 2 years and are all $500+, I'd say they make good money. but a large collection or type of doll really means nothing as far as money. Some people who have the money still get "cheaper" dolls because they love them. I've bought AoD when I could have gotten something else just because I love AoD. And quantity means nothing as well. I've gotten 3 dolls since May. But I'm not rich. I was unemployed and not qualified to draw a check until the end of June. Now I have a job that is not even a dollar above minimum wage. How do I afford it? By selling old stuff I don't need. Bills were paid from money I had saved before I quit my job, so anything earned by selling things was free for dolls.

.
What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?
That the owner likes that type of doll.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?
No, not at all. Contests should be open to anyone. You shouldn't owe anything to newbies just because they are new. It's nice to step aside but it should not be required or owed at all!


Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
oh, yes. I've been told more than once that "not everybody can afford that"...to which I say, yes you can, if you try. The most irritating part is when people make it out like I'm rich and they're poor and nothing can be done. I'm not rich. I work 35 hours a week with no benefits and low pay. I have a house payment, utlities, groceries, etc. I live with my husband and sister and we split stuff 3 ways, but it's still not cheap. I allow myself $35 a week "allowance" and either save up or sell stuff to afford the hobby. I have no sympathy for people who don't work and act like I get everything handed to me. I don't.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from? I don't have to defend my spending to them! It's MY money.

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)? None. You don't get a responsibility just because you enjoy a hobby and have been in it longer than others. I enjoy helping new people learn about the dolls and showing them how to restring, do faceups, pierce ears, etc. But in no way do I feel obligated to do it.

 

I think it is a good idea not to make any assumptions of people and maybe try to get to know them instead?
Making assumptions and forming conclusions in your own head never turns out pretty.

edit: This is from having made assumptions in my head and finding out what's really going on and ended up feeling like an ass. Haha. Rather not do that again.

 

Honestly, I cannot say that I've really found myself making any of those assumptions. I don't mean that in just the generic, "you shouldn't make assumptions about people" way - because I realize that to some extent, it's natural to start drawing conclusions from partial information. So long as one is open to the possibility that those assumptions are incorrect, and to adjust one's first impressions, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

That said, I just don't really feel like any of those assumptions make much sense to me - guessing anything about people's incomes, possible gift status of dolls, length of time in the hobby, or the like. I suppose if someone has a very large collection of expensive dolls, I wouldn't think it unreasonable to suspect they've got a reasonable amount of disposable income, though they could have just been in the hobby a long time, they could have been given dolls as gifts, or they could have "connections" within the hobby. Regardless, it isn't really my business.

The only real responsibility to the hobby and community I would feel that I, or any other collector, has is the same as one has toward the larger community - to be decent and considerate toward one another. I would never presume that a collector who's been in the hobby longer should be in any way obligated to help me out just because I'm newer; it's awesome if somebody wants to help out, but there's no reason they should have to.

The idea that people who put a lot of money into their hobby are somehow "wrong" for not donating it to charity instead is also one I find rather preposterous and presumptuous, so I'd definitely say no to that one - it is each person's right to spend their funds how they see fit. I would certainly not appreciate having anyone tell me how to spend my money, either.

 

Wow, this is a really complicated topic - but an interesting one.

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?
To be honest, I find it difficult to define "young" and "old". Is 13 years young, or 25 years? Is 30 years old, or 99 years? So the answer is "no, I don't make assumptions regarding someone's age in general".

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
Not directly connected - it is rather the will to save for a doll instead of spending money on other things that counts, as long as the is any income at all.

The next ones are difficult, because like CloakedSchemer, I also think that I am in the middle range.So will answer them all too ^^

For collectors with a 'smaller amount' of money put into their collection...
What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?
No matter how much one's income is, there are always other possibilities to spend money than dolls. That is why I assume that if they chose the dolls, they probably really love the doll hobby.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?
No. I don't think so. I think one's social responsibility shouldn't be derived from one's doll collection.

For collectors with a 'fair amount' of money put into their collection....
Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
Yes. But when we talk more we find out they spend at least the same amount on holiday travels, or on cigarettes, or on clothing. Then they begin to understand where my doll money comes from - from setting my priorities differently.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?
I just say that I work and save for my dolls. I don't really care if anyone appreciates that ^^

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?
I don't feel any responsibility towards my local BJD community, except the usual Kant's categorical imperative. I feel social responsibility towards community in general, and act accordingly, but to describe it more exactly would verge on OT.

 

I'll agree with that others have said, that one shouldn't make assumptions about what people are like without knowing them in person. However, we all do create pictures in our head about certain people, based on their online persona. I'm teasing out my responses based on those impulses.

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?

I tend to think that people who have large collections have steady incomes (i.e. generally older than 25). No bones about it, even with less-expensive dolls, this is a spendy hobby, and usually only those of a certain age have the income to support it. However, there are also plenty of students who work part time, but aren't responsible for rent and food who can afford it as well.

It doesn't go the other way, though. I don't think that people with small collections are young. I just tend to assume that they are either more selective or can't afford lots.​

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?

See above. I will assume that people who collect a lot of SD+ Volks and Soom limited fullsets have the cash to support it. Same with folks who have a lot of layaways going at one time.

​

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?

I tend to assume they're older with a good retirement or decent-paying job, but if they're not that old, then I tend to think they mostly work and live at home, and all their funds go toward more dolls.

​

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?

I don't think it's really based on the cost of the collection. To me, I do believe that senior members do have a responsibility to teach what they know and provide encouragement to newer or less-experienced members - that's how communities bond and grow, after all. I don't think they have any obligation to donate to charity or redirect their funds, just because they've hit some arbitrary value limit.
​

 

Whoa. "Hate" and "jealousy" are mighty strong words for something I'd assumed (there's that darned word!) was essentially a playful hobby.

(Also, and this is just a pet peeve of mine, so take it as such, "jealousy" refers to things you have and are afraid of losing, "envy" to things you don't have and want.)

It's true that "being nice" is a social strategy rather than an intrinsic character trait, but if you have to employ that strategy to keep people from hating you, I think you may be hanging out with the wrong people.

 

I dont make assumations, because Im too busy looking at the dolls rather than thinking things like 'Ooh I wonder how they afford these things and how old are they?' !

Also how people raise the money for dolls is their business and what you do with your money is your business.

Thats my short answer

 

I'm pretty well in the "don't know, don't care" group. The extent of my concern goes to whether or not the owner, regardless of age, is a decent human being or not ... and whether or not they'll let me gawk at/touch/play with their dolls.

 

I'm in agreement with honestrabbit and Praesagium, when I'm looking at dolls I don't give any thought to the owner's age/income/status because it doesn't concern me, I just like looking at dolls and finding out information.
I don't think anyone has any social responsibility in this hobby, it's just down to doll people generally being nice and helpful towards each other, I would hope that comes naturally and does not feel like a burden! Also, yes, what you spend your money on is your own business, I don't think any of us has the right to tell another member 'no, sorry, you have too many dolls, go and buy something else/give it to charity'.

 

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?

No. I don't really pay attention to things like that.

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?

If someone has dolls, I assume they can afford them. Nothing beyond that.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?

I assume that the dolls are to their personal taste. I think all these dolls are expensive, some more than others.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?

No. I can't imagine what kind of social responsibility one would have to other doll collectors, except to be polite.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?

No one has ever been impolite enough to ask me, but then no one has ever asked me where my funds come from for anything else I own either.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?

If someone were to ask me (although they never have), I would tell them that I choose to spend my mad money on dolls. (Which is true.)

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?

I have no responsibility whatever to local collectors, except to behave pleasantly to them if I happen to meet them somewhere. I don't generally hang out with many of the local collectors because I am decades older than most of them and have nothing in common with them other than dolls. I've been to a few meetups in the past and most of the younger collectors seem very nice, but I felt shy and out of place so I stopped going. In any event, I am not responsible for other people's life circumstances and they are not responsible for mine.

 

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?
No. I don't care and it's none of my business.

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?
None. Sure, if someone has six Soom limiteds on layaway at the same time I might raise an eyebrow, but people come by money in all sorts of ways so I'm not going to stop to think about their income.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?
None. I'm more likely to be concentrating on how nice their collection is than the collector themselves.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?
No.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?
I've never had anyone ask, and it's none of their business anyway.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?
It's never happened, but if it did I'd probably invent a ridiculous story about where my money comes from. I don't see why anyone would need to know that sort of information, it's rude to ask, and it's not as though the answer is particularly exciting in the first place.

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?
None, beyond playing nice at meets. I don't see what kind of responsibility one could possibly have to their local BJD community.

 

Do you make assumptions in regards to someone's age when it comes to their collection?

As a young person myself, I don't make assumptions based on age, because I know how much I went through to get my secondhand first doll.

What is your assumption in regards to Income and quantity/quality of dolls?

These dolls are pricey! Even dolls from less expensive brands like Kizdolls, Bobobie, etc. are usually 100+.
If they have a doll, then they have one.
Just because someone doesn't have a large flock of dolls doesn't mean they can't afford them. Maybe they just don't want to have a lot.

What assumptions do you have in regards to an 'expensive' collection/collector?

That they have a eye for pricier dolls. ^^;;

If the person is older, then I will assume they have a good job.

If the person is younger and does not have a steady income, I will probably assume that they're getting financial support if they have many expensive dolls.

Do you think there is some sort of 'social' responsibility that a collector with a more 'expensive' collection has to you or the community?

No obligations, as this is a recreational hobby.

However, like with every other doll owner, it'd be nice if they shared pictures, company reviews, and general information about the dolls, in case someone else wants to buy one too or is trying to make a decisions. ^^

Nothing that they have to do though, its a matter of choice.

Do you ever have people not understand where your funds for the collection comes from?

Since I got my doll last week, not yet.

What do you say/tell people who seem to not understand or appreciate where your funds come from?

I say, "I have never owned a game system in my life. I'm not into hobbies like video gaming, I don't play sports so no money used on equipment, and all my clothes are from the sales rack at Wal-Mart. I'm choosing to spend my money the way I want."

What sort of social responsibility do you have towards your local BJD community (or community in general)?

I'm not obliged to do anything, except be a decent thoughtful person when commenting and posting. I answer questions when I can though if there are any in the forums, like resin comparisons, quality, etc to help out others.