BJDs in a poor community - thoughts?

Well, first, regardless of the type of neighborhood you live in, MOST people think that $50 is expensive for a doll. The only people who really know better are doll collectors (regardless of the TYPE of doll they collect). So. Rich or poor neighborhood, people are going to think even a 'cheap' resin doll is overly expensive.

As to the rest. *shrugs* I live in a fairly poor neighborhood. A LOT of my neighbors get food regularly at the food bank in the community center around the corner. Our Elementary school up the street gets extra funding for meal programs to make sure the children here are fed properly.

I keep my dolls on display in my home (though that display has gotten large enough to move to my bedroom for the time being) but I don't hide them away. I see no reason to. I do not feel bad for having more money than others in my neighborhood. Just like I don't feel bad about having less money than a few of the others in my neighborhood, either. I take my dolls out to take photos of them in my yard, or my dad's yard. I take them to the community center playground sometimes when I take my children there to play. I'm also happy to let people handle my dolls if they're curious so long as they understand not to touch the face. Adults and children. I do warn them that the dolls are expensive, and to be careful, too.

If you really feel badly for being able to afford something your neighbors can't, do things to help out in your neighborhood. My family does a free haunted house for the kids of the neighborhood at Halloween that all the neighbors love because it gives kids that can't afford a $25-$40 ticket to go through the 'professional' haunted houses the chance to participate in that Halloween fun. We also donate time and items to our Head Start preschool program so that it can keep running, and even qualify for more funding for more free classrooms to take in more children who are in families that can't afford private preschool (heck, we can't afford private preschool for our kids, either! Those things are EXPENSIVE when they're not just a glorified day care!) Normally, we also do a large vegetable garden in the Spring and Summer, and give baskets of veggies to friends, family, and neighbors who can use them. No time for it this year, but when we can, we do. So we help our community, not just live in it. And people don't begrudge us the niceties we can afford that they can't. Instead, we're all friendly with one another.

 

I don't feel bad. I think as long as you are using your money that you earned to buy a doll, it's nobody's business but your own. I really don't understand the whole "owning something nice should make you feel guilty" concept. I don't see it as bragging that you are "richer", but as saving your money that you worked for and enjoying it. My neighbors have a pool...it doesn't mean they are better than me or putting me down, it means they invested their money in what they wanted. I chose the dolls.

 

Even poor people have hobbies and little things that they put more money into than most. I live in a very poor neighborhood, and folks around here scrimp and save up for surboards, car customization, gaming, gardening, Apple products and the like, so I never feel guilty about my dolls or hide them away. (I, myself, save hard for my dolls unless they happen to be gifts.) Saving up for something expensive that you like is seen as something to be proud of around here. And even if they are expensive dolls, most other people aren't going to simply know that out of nowhere. To them it's just a doll. I don't really think you need to tell anyone how expensive it is, really...I found that most people are here tend to assume they're twenty-something dollars.

Even with the twenty-something assumption in play, however, if you tell someone to stop doing something they will normally quit unless they're being rude on purpose. "Oh, don't touch the face, it might get dirty," seems to be enough for me to get people to stay away from the face. Even though others might think my dolls are only twenty-something dollars, they immediately understand that they are precious to me and don't want to mess them up. I would assume that other people can tell when something means a lot to someone else as well, even when assuming it's cheaper than it really is. To keep people from handing your dolls you can also just outright say "Oh, that's fragile, I really don't want anyone else touching it" and people usually understand as the first thing they tend to think of is porcelain dolls, which are very fragile.

/long, winding post

 

@Bookwormbeth6: Hmm, that does tend to color things. I agree with Kaninchen that you can still keep visitors careful with your doll by saying explanations without mentioning the price. Going with the white lie of it being a gift to you, that it's fragile, that the face gets dirty easily and you can not replace it, things like that. I do this to my young cousins, so that they remain careful around my dolls and not pester their parents for wanting one ("it's a gift, I don't know where it was bought" ).

 

I don't really see how anyone would know what you have or how much it's worth, unless you go around telling your neighbors you just bought a $700 doll and show him off. And anyway, I don't know anyone besides me and my wife in my state who even know what BJDs are, let alone my neighborhood. My neighbors have seen us cart out dolls out to the car on the way to photo shoots and they essentially point and laugh and make comments at us. Trust me, nobody's jealous and even if I told them what I had and what's it's worth, they're not going to care. Though this is a rather crime-ridden area and it wouldn't surprise me if after that my house would be broken into. We're afraid to even throw away video game console boxes because we've seen people going through trash cans down the alley and we don't want them to know that although this is a poor neighborhood, there are people here with money and nice stuff. I'd be a lot more concerned about having my house broken into than hurting someone's feelings. People around here steal what they covet. They don't mope.

 

I can't for the life of me remember who said this or in what thread it was, but I remember a DoA member telling that someone had broken in into her house. The burglars took her television (which was worth something like 40 USD on the secondary market) but left all her dolls alone who were on a shelf right above that television...

 

lol That's what I'm hoping for, if anyone breaks in! Well, not that I want my TV or gaming gear stolen at all, because I use them the most and honestly like them the most, but they'd be easier and cheaper to replace than my dolls. I really want to take inventory and get stuff insured. I remember a 'doll insurance' thread a while back. That's a good idea for anybody, whatever kind of neighborhood you live in!

 

I agree with a previous poster, unless you go around telling people what your doll is worth they'll probably won't know (or care).
My father still believes my larger dolls are not over $50, not that I want to correct him. If you are worried that due to ignorance of how
much your belongings are worth, someone might accidentally damage them, then don't keep them around where they might accidentally
get damaged. I don't live in a place where I have to be afraid of owning expensive items but I also don't go around telling people that I do
or do not own those things, I don't see why anyone would have to. (:


- Enzyme

 

Just lie and say its cheaper than it really is. Its a "toy". But make sure that they know how fragile it is!!!! If it is going to be in a poor neighborhood, then nobody will know the real value. Most of the time, shoes or phones are noticed well before anything else.

 

Everyone, regardless of financial standings likely has a hobby. Plus, this hobby isn't all that well known, so just because you own a nice looking doll or two won't make it look like you're flaunting money around or anything... Like it's anyone else's business.

 

Drawing attention to anything, poor area or not, is a bad idea. So just enjoy your dolls in private. That will solve a lot of problems. Sometimes people share too much! Share things only with yourself and close friends who welcome the sharing. It's just about being smart and considerate. Yeah, you may want to carry your doll around, but try and THINK about what you're doing before just doing what you feel like.

About people touching or damaging dolls... This is just common sense for any situation. Don't leave dolls where they can be damaged. Don't bring them into situations where they can be damaged. Tell people to look but don't touch. It doesn't matter if a doll (or anything) is expensive or not. If you have something you don't want touched, then tell people not to touch! Do it politely, but firmly. If they are still upset, then that is their problem. ... OR your problem, since you brought your doll out where they would be tempted. Sometimes you just have to NOT bring your dolls out if there might be problems.

Worrying about theft isn't just a problem in certain areas. Theft can happen anywhere. And many thieves are looking in more affluent areas because the pickings are better there. --So don't let yourself be lulled by being in what SEEMS like a safe area!

Basically, to get back to the main theme of this thread--it's basically about being considerate of other people and not showing off expensive items (whether people know they are expensive or not). And it's about being smart and not broadcasting to people that you have something worth stealing.

 

I would like to retract my post. It was worded very poorly and did not articulate the syntax of what I was trying to convey. I hope anyone I've offended will forget these words and foolishness and move on.

 

If you'd prefer to have your doll out and looking pretty, here's another option you can consider - relatively affordable plastic display cases, like these. Compared to a glass or wood display case/cabinet, these are more lightweight, less fragile, take up less room, and are easy to store when you're not using them (the clear plastic panels can fold up flat), and they give less of an impression of 'valuables displayed in a china cabinet' and more of an 'art project' vibe. At the same time, they protect your dolls from any unwanted touches from visitors, as well as dust, etc.

 

Because it's a lot easier to save up and make a one time payment on a $500 doll than it is to make monthly payments of $2k+ on a house.

 

Basically what CloakedSchemer said. It's very easy to put aside $20, $50 or so after you have everything you need for the month to save for something you want and make a one-time payment--in the case of people who buy BJDs...well, that's BJDs. More often than not, there's no way you can take that relatively small amount of money you put aside for your hobby(ies) and use it to move to a "better neighborhood." If you are well fed, have the care items you need and a roof over your head, there is no harm in saving up and purchasing something that makes you happy. (Believe me, if I could I'd move to a "better neighborhood," but I live in a place where $1000 a month in rent is low-end for a studio. Without utilities.)

 

That's very much common sense ^^ but what I meant was that if you have cash to burn (even if it was saved up, and considering that this hobby is an extremely costly luxury hobby), it would be more wise to move to a different neighborhood first. Something about priorities and whatnot. Even though it's a small amount of money, if you save up in bursts of $500s, it can really add up in the future. It really is up to the person in question, but this makes more sense to me... from a straight up logical point of view ignoring feelings though. Once you factor those in, it gets wonky.

And reading what I wrote (since I have a tendency to get off topic) It seems I've started blabbering about weird things. -w- I need to take a public speaking class or something. My brain is a mess.

 

You'd be amazed how many people in a "poor" community have "expensive things", smart phones, flat screen TVs, clothes, tricked out cars, game systems. It's all about priorities and what you spend on.

If you're bothered telling people how much you've spent on a doll then don't tell them. To most people a doll is a doll is a doll.