Best Deal You've Ever Gotten

My Bermann was the most unexpected find. I had setup an Ebay search for the ever elusive Dollshe Bermann. One day I got a notice that one was for sale for a more than reasonable starting bid. I researched the doll here to make sure it was legit. I stalked the Ebay listing for days and then just for the fun of it since no one had bid yet and there was only a couple of hours left I placed a bid for the minimum amount, closed the computer and went to bed fully expecting a flurry of last second bidding from collectors. The next morning I nearly fell off my chair when I found out I had won him. Somehow he had gone completely under the radar. I never thought I would ever own a Bermann he's so rare, I was incredibly lucky I got him for less than half what he would normally have gone for. Had he been listed on Den of Angels there would have been a bidding war for him.

 

I once was paid to own a Soom Amber head

Amber had been on my “someday“ list for a while, but prices for single heads from the original release were not great.
Lots of them are yellowed and without certificate too.
I had already given up to get one.

One day a local person put up her whole collection on ebay.
Lots of old Soom MDs and other older limiteds, all full-sets, with 1€ starting bids.
Her dolls were all unplayed too.
She only shipped to Germany and accepted no Paypal, which meant only a small pool of buyers.
Sounds risky, I know.

I decided to bid on the Amber and Heliot full-set, let myself bid out from the Heliot after I found out that she in fact only had one of the two heads.
I won the Amber full-set for roughly 600 Euro.

The horror started then.
It took weeks for the doll to be shipped and when she arrived I realized all human parts were missing!
A long battle for a refund started, gladly my best friend works for a lawyer and we decided to send her an official looking letter.
I got a refund of 200 Euro, gave half to my friend, sold everything but the head and had 100 Euro extra in the end

So, on top of my mint condition Amber head with certificate and default face-up I also got some money extra.

A month later I found my second wish head, OE Heliot, for 80 Euro on Mandarake. Again, great condition with default face-up.
Amber basically paid the Heliot head

 

I am said friend whom Ara mentions and even if that is not my doll, nothing will ever beat that Amber deal ever XD

 

Avian was an amazing deal! They were 75 dollars and came with really cool extras!

 

I found a VOLKS SDC head on yahoo japan with some additive mods listed as junk and managed to win the bid. It was $50 including proxy fees (otherwise he would have been more around $30. Darn fees!) I'd say that's a pretty good deal since most SDC heads I see go for $200+ then I was able to trade a head for a junk body for him and get money since the trade was uneven. So my VOLKS Miko eventually cost nothing after that trade. =D

 

A pair of Dollflower eyes for "only" $65! Much better than the $120+ retail (not to mention I was able to avoid the 1-2 year wait times).

 

A lot of more than 10 pieces of SD clothing in brands like Nine9 Style, Mio and more for $60! It was in good condition too!

Also, I got my Migidoll Cho head for about $100 if I recall correctly. He was cheap because he had been modded, but the mods were perfect for my character. I ended up paying less than half what I would have for a new Cho plus mod commission work.

 

I feel like all of my dolls I got good deals for, but I think the most "impressive" one is my Dollmore Bella Auden. I got her head for free during the free dollmore head event, so no money paid there. Then I spent a few months looking for a body, I ended up stumbling upon a Dollmore model body for sale on the floor of the PNW BJD Expo in May! It was listed for sale at $300 I think. I kept my eye on it and at the end of the day it was listed for $175, so I purchased it. So I ended up getting a Dollmore model doll for just $175

 

I wanted a Volks Dollfie Dream and decided to look around secondhand. The prices can fluctuate greatly, yeah they sure do...
Not long into my search I found a pretty badly stained body. It looked like she had black stockings on for a very long time and the stains were really dark. But the price was just over a hundred dollars, quite the deal. I spent about six dollars on acne cream and a few weeks applying it, letting it sit, repeat, to remove about 98% of the stains. Just the toes could use more work. The head came directly from Volks and was 40 dollars. So for a beautiful DD well under 200, yeah I'm happy!

 

Probably the boy&girl Loretta white cat ver. I got second hand from the Chinese second hand bjd forum - came with all the CoA and in perfect condition for less than 100usd!

 

Dave's head is hands down the best deal I've ever gotten on a doll, EVER. Elfdoll was clearancing out all their boys, and I wanted a Wu, so I bought Cecil for something like $300 (which is, in and of itself, a screaming deal for a brand new doll that was $550 originally). I love Elfdoll boys like burning so I looked at the Aden head and went 'oh hell why not, it's $35, if I hate it I can sell it'. I ended up loving it. $35 for a doll head? Brand new from the company? Hells yes.

 

My 5StarDoll SD body for 50 $. And it was in Europe, so no customs. And with certificate. Best deal ever.

 

My Minifee Shushu, She was a local purchase and I got her (with both heads) and two boxes of clothes, shoes, wigs, furniture, props and other accessories for, I believe,$250 CND.

 

A Dollfie Dream Lucy Misora head for $60 and a body for her for DD body for her for $120. So I scored a hard to find limited DD for less than $200. I thought that was a good deal. And I traded some Monster High dolls for a Volks F-10 head.

 

At a convention I bought a complete 1/3 sized Fate/Stay Night Archer cosplay for $35. I wasn't looking for one but my friend and I happened to stop by a BJD booth in the merchants room. I had a Gilgamesh poster with me and when the seller saw it, she asked if I was a Fate fan. I said yes, after which she pulled out the cosplay. It was absolutely gorgeous! My friend does a lot of embroidery so she could see that all of that work had been hand-made. The quality was stunning and it fit Raice perfectly. For that price (and the seller threw in the wig for a $10), I just couldn't pass it up. Apparently, the original owner maker had sold it to her cheap because she didn't like it. I love the thing and want to get Andy a matching Rin cosplay so they can pair at conventions.

 

Probably the Volks Ian I got from Mandarake together with Roterwolkenvogel. We each paid half of the amount (30,000 Yen - so we paid 15,000 Yen each and split shipping and customs fees, too) and got a Volks Ian kit basically mint in box. The bag with the doll-parts had been opened - everything else, outfit, wig, eyes, was still sealed. After seeing how much Ian usually sells for - best. Deal. Ever.

 

A BW Type 1 Delf with unpainted sleeping Elf Yder head from eBay for something like $140... PLUS a NS Type 4 Delf boy body that was only a couple of months old and came with its certificate from the same seller for just over $200... AND she combined shipping.

On top of this, the Type 4 body was for an Aragon head that I'd picked up from the Marketplace for basically the cost of his Luts face-up alone - so all in all I ended up with an all but brand new Delf boy for about half of what he would have cost from Luts. (I was so happy and now, illogical though it may be, I feel as though I 'saved' him and he's one of my favourites. )

I also got the most unbelievably wonderful deal on a Limited Peakswood Girl here on the Marketplace. Doll, original box, certificate, spare hands, wig, limited eyes and faceup... AND a wig, fabulous boots, and outfit all from Dollheart - all for less than a third of what it would have cost originally.

Then there was the Angel Studio 60cm boy I got from eBay - complete with face-up and body blushing for just over $200. I ended up not liking his head very much, but his body went to a Delf event head that I'd also qualified for a free face up on - so, still, quite a bargain for a complete doll!

There can be bargains out there. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

 

...you know I completely forgot about that. Jepp, Volks Ian is a deal I've actually gotten argh xD