Attracted to Lesser Known Dolls?

You've sort've got two wholly seperate topics here. Off topic for here dolls are less visible BECAUSE they're off topic, it's not necessarily that they're less popular, just that you're not looking in places where they're likely to be shown and whilst it's ABSOLUTELY true that DoA's on and off topic rulings HEAVILY effect a dolls sales, you can get a very false impression of the popularity of certain sculpts and companies if you only take into account what you see and hear of on here.

Then you also have the subject of less popular sculpts that are on topic for here and those are many and varied, all of which have their fanbase, but again, you may not see it HERE because of the restrictions on posting on DoA.

If you want a broader idea of what people actually OWN as opposed to what they can say they own on HERE, I suggest you have a dig on Flickr and DA where there are healthy BJD groups with all manner of sculpts from just about every company around.

Critique never ends well here, btw, that's probably not a good plan.

 

I find that a lot of the dolls I own aren't exactly popular. It's not like I aim for the dolls that no-one else has, it just so happens that I find them better for my bunch. Or it could also be, because those dolls aren't available anymore and so people can't get them anymore. Somehow that happens often.
But then again I also own some of the more popular dolls, too. And there it wasn't like I wanted to be part of the pack, it just happened. But then I'm glad that I can share the fun. ^^

 

I have mostly dolls that aren't very popular. I didn't choose them because they're not; it just turned out that they didn't appeal to most people, but I somehow found them to be enchanting. It doesn't matter in the least, really, because I am very happy with them.

 

Well, the only one I have on her way is a Momocolor LE Blue Rose Elle and I believe that the company is a brand new one. The thread isn't terribly active when compared to other more popular companies but I am in love with the doll all the same - it was love at first sight for me, so I honestly don't mind that she's not that well-known.

However, my next doll purchase would most probably come from RosenLied. I love their customer service and the dolls are just gorgeous!

 

I love less popular sculpts! I have several, including AoD Gu, RS Lu, DiM Robel, and Asleep Eidolon Adzuki Bean (I've had him almost a year and he's still the only one on DoA, I think). Then I have a few that there just aren't very many in existence, like my MNM boys. I tend to gravitate towards less popular dolls and sculpts I think because they aren't everywhere. I owned a RS Mei, and though she was cute, I never bonded because there are SO many of them out there that she didn't feel special to me at all.

 

I seem to be drawn to the un-popular sculpts a lot! The only down side to this is all of the threads that I could discuss them in are pretty much dead. It's no fun being the only one in a thread! So I don't get to chat much, but I do spend time looking around and seeing all the popular ones, and discovering the ones who slip through the cracks, as it were. lol.

 

I am also one of those who seem to like the more unpopular dolls... But I usually get my dolls based on their faces (and ofcourse the price). Luckily the companys I like are not unpopular but those specifi dolls I like are But I donät really mind, it's enough for me to like them. Besides, it's kinda cool to have dolls that you don't come a cross all the time

 

My collection includes everything from a couple of CP Els (a sculpt that everyone and their sister seems to have owned at some point-) and Soom Monthlies (also very, very "flavor of the month" for awhile-) to dolls like my Senior Delf Pedro and CP Edgar... You could count the number of those guys around here on one hand and still have a few fingers left over.

I honestly don't value one type over the other. I've never been tied up in the idea that my dolls needed to be unique and special snowflakes, so rather a sculpt is as common as dirt or as rare as hen's teeth is immaterial. I like what I like, and that's what influences who I add to the crew.

 

No. They're "on topic" because they meet the criteria the mods have established for the site. It's not a popularity contest.

 

I'm not certain I am understanding you correctly, but the dolls have to meet certain criteria before they are considered on topic which doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with their popularity. It may just seem that way as a result of many on topic dolls coming from the same large companies. However, even the large companies come out with off topic dolls. Here is a list of the criteria for inclusion:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/content.php?203-criteria-for-inclusion

I do not choose my dolls based on DOA's criteria for on topic and I suspect most people do not either.. I have a lot of off topic dolls as well and enjoy the variety.

 

I have been collecting dolls for a long, long time. I have my dolls for me, not for someone else to approve of. Besides, most of the dolls I really love are on topic somewhere on the internet.

Sometimes, when im in doubt about the purchase of a new doll I do take "on-topicness" a bit into account, because dolls that are on topic will be much easier to sell if i dont really, really like them when they get here.

 

I don't care how "popular" or "unpopular" my dolls' sculpts are. I like what I like, and I buy them based on what I like or whether I think they look enough like the character I am attempting to replicate.

I had never even heard of Angel of Dream Chi before I randomly came across him on ebay and fell in love with his face. (I had heard of the company before, but not that specific sculpt.) After buying him, I found out that several other people that I know on other doll forums have him, as well as some people here on DoA. Knowing that, and seeing the other owners' pics of their Chis, doesn't make mine any less (or more) special to me.

 

If that were true, a WHOLE load more dolls than ARE on topic here, WOULD be on topic here. Perhaps a bit more research needed?

 

Those are important qualities, but there's more to it. Other points include a certain number of ball-and-socket joints, have a 2 part head with eyes you can change, be humanoid, be able to be fully nude (no sculpted clothing), Asian aesthetic, meant for customization, anatomically detailed.....the actual rules list is the one Wendalynne posted the link for.

For example, most Doll Chateau dolls meet these criteria, but my Faramita does not. He IS resin and strung with elastic, but doesn't have jointed legs, he's not humanoid, isn't anatomically detailed....but even if he's not on topic here, it doesn't stop me from loving him. And he's more popular than some of my on topic dolls!

 

I'm not attracted to less-popular dolls just because they're less popular. That just happens to be where my tastes lie. I mean, look at the dolls in my sig, how many of them do you see around?

 

I'm the opposite of many people posting in this thread: all the dolls I like are VERY popular Except for my one limited head (which in itself was a very popular one), all the sculpts I own are also owned by many other people, and my all-time favourite sculpt is CP Delf El - which, as mentioned, is probably the most popular sculpt in the hobby (or at least on DOA). I own two of them and I'm planning another :P

The reasons I tend to go for more popular dolls is as follows: because more people have them, you tend to see more pictures, making them a less risky option and also allowing me to see more diverse ways of handling the sculpt; because the most popular dolls also tend to be the most conventionally "pretty", which is more fun for me because I like to make my dolls very creepy, and it's much more fun and challenging to make a pretty thing creepy; and because I usually buy my dolls on the MP where buying popular sculpts is easier than buying rare ones.

That said, if I see a sculpt that is perfect for the character I'm shelling, I'd go for it regardless of how popular it is.

 

The majority of my dolls are considered Off Topic here, which makes me sad :C

But yes. I am attracted mostly to the off topic dolls. I wouldn't quite say they are lesser known though.