BJD's Under $300 (as of June 2006)

I think Dream of Doll has some "cheap" dolls. The Too & Bee-A-Set costs 438$. That's 219$ for one doll. But you have to buy them together!

 

I have to plug Bobobie a bit. I have a Sprite and an Elena and a female body on a hyrbrid. The resin is lovely, and the ONLY negative I have is that when they come they are strung very loosely and as a consequence I've pulled about 3 miles of extra string out of my kids. And other than the Sprite I have to say that the company photographs do not do these sculpts any justice at all. Weylin and Apollo are drop dead gorgeous, and Elena has one of the sweetest, most wistful faces I have ever seen. In fact, other than the Sprite, most of the Bobobie sculpts seem to lean in the direction of slightly melancholy, so if that is the look you are going for, find some owner images of these guys and see if that is what you are looking for.

 

If you are a FIRST TIME BJD buyer, I highly suggest you take a look at Angell Studio. All of their dolls are under $300, including the SD sized dolls.

Plus, you get a free pair of eyes, and a wig. Your choice in color. It's a very great site to get started with~

Angell Studio

For 1/4 Dolls they are marked $254USD.

For their 1/3 Dolls they are marked from $285-301USD.

They don't have much in eyes, accessories and clothing. But it's still a great site to check out.

 

Can I add Nabi Kiss by the Garden of Dolls to this thread. She costs around $250 with default faceup and for a little more Ashley will do a faceup to your request. She comes in white, normal and tan skin and fits Narae sized clothes

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174213
http://www.gardenofdolls.com/

 

I'll chime in and 2nd this. I just got a Bobobie body for a floating head and I am quite pleased with it! Although I did get it 2nd hand here on DoA, I know they are quite affordable new, as well. I was a bit nervous about the body since I had not seen a Bobobie doll up close in person, but I am really happy with it. It was a very affordable solution for my floating head

 

i'd like to revive this tread a bit..as there are probably a lot more dolls on the market that are under 300/350...

i'm espacially searching for sd sized dolls under 300/350 usd...
i hope we can come up with a lot of big size dolls for not soo big prices, lol

if someones knows one and/or likes to give info over a sd sized body under 300/350, you're more than welcome here...
especially hybrid info and how you liked the doll and dolls posability...

well let me see..i know:

dollian 220 usd...(i don't know if they still are being made)
dollndoll 265 (55 cm)
fantasydoll (not excactly but a bit under 200)
bobobie 138
aod 210

ok, that's what i know...any other suggestion/reviews and comments or have i just named them all?

lamira

 

Pretty useful

 

Oh! Nice idea! This will certainly come in handy.

 

[Sorry if it's been mentioned]
http://www.aoddoll.net/
Angel of Dream has beautiful dolls, well made to boot, all under $300 (1/3- $275, 1/4- $175, 1/6- $120), and shipping is about $35 for the US, I believe.
^__^

 

after looking and looking I picked out an Angel of Dream AOD doll called MoLan she is 23inches tall and lovely. her hands and feet are very well detailed. she has great joints, is extremely poseable. not kicky. stands well. came with eyes. i really like this doll. I chose her and think she is perfect for me. Cost is approximately $300. I could have bought any doll at all. I wanted this one because of how she looks. I also like the Nabi Kiss and think she is next!!

 

i totally agree!!! My first resin girl is a 60cm Ophelia & i just love her to pieces!!!! i'll definitely buy from Bobobie again!

 

I love Bobobie at the moment, my first girl arrived from them a few days ago and despite being a little floppy in the arms she stood right out of the box and kicked me (And I'm fairly sure it's not just because she hates me )

Bobobies are just as brilliant as any other make of doll and are great value for money, I am definatley buying my next doll from them

 

Oh, I must put in a word for Bobobie as well! I absolutely love the dolls that I've gotten from them. I kind of like the extra elastic that comes in some of their dolls as it allows for tightening or loosening depending on your preference.

We just got an Elena here a little while back and she came very tightly strung. I was really surprised when we pulled her out of the box. XD Their dolls are beautiful and well worth the money! I definitely want a Weylin sometime in the future.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Majesty View Post
If someone wants a doll bad enough, they save up for it.

I completely agree. Although I probably shouldn't be throwing too many stones (my three current layaways are for dolls each costing under $300), I purchased them because they appealed to me, not because of their price. I'm not looking to swell the ranks of my BJD collection with 'cheap' dolls for the sake of having more.

I'm also not too happy with Chinese companies attempting to undercut the Japanese and Korean doll companies, by introducing cheap dolls to the market. I believe purchasing from them will only damage the companies we've come to know and love.

 

Ok, I think that's a bit out of line. If a maker can afford to sell their dolls for less, they have every right to do so. It isn't anything personal--different makers will set the price they feel is right to ask depending on various factors. Even if you take the least expensive out of the equation, prices are still all over the map depending on size, company, availability, skin tone, etc. Besides, there are lot of people who buy the more expensive dolls anyway, because they are attracted to the sculpts, and there are people who have doll families that include a variety of price ranges. It's not some either or thing, or worse--'us' vs. 'them'. If the Korean and Japanese companies continue to produce nice dolls that people like, then they'll be just fine.

Just another thought--why are the Japanese and Korean companies the only ones worth being concerned for? Why should location even matter? All us hobbyists and all the abjd companies (wherever they come from) are all part of the same hobby and all bring something different to the mix. Variety is good for the hobby, and competition encourages innovation.

 

Location matters, because in Japan and Korea they pay their workers a living wage. That is one of the key factors for the pricing of the dolls - how much it costs to produce, not just in terms of materials but the cost of labor.

Really - I have nothing against the Chinese dolls themselves. I'm sure they're well-made, and a lot of them are very lovely. In fact, I wanted (and still want, for that matter) a Bobobie Charisma. Unfortunately, I, personally, just do not want to support an economy that pays its workers next to nothing, while making them work 7 days a week in many cases, for 12 - 14 hours a day.

I like to see variety in the mix, and I understand that people purchase dolls for many different reasons. You need to understand that people choose not to purchase dolls for as many reasons. This is one of mine, and I thought this was a forum for expressing our opinions.

I do believe that Bobobie's representative posts on the board. Perhaps he'll weigh in on the issue.

I'd really like to be proven wrong about this. I'd like to hear about a Chinese company that treats its workers well - that pays its workers good wages, and that they work a 40 hour week like the rest of the civilized world.

If the Korean and Japanese companies continue to produce nice dolls that people like, then they'll be just fine.
Unfortunately, that's not necessarily true. For many years the U.S. produced nice products that people liked, and the people who produced them made a living wage. Unfortunately, cost became the overriding factor, less expensive goods started to be introduced from China, and now many of the products that used to be made in the U.S.A. are now imported from China. The jobs that used provide good incomes to workers in the U.S. were moved out of the country.

Something similar happened in the late 1800's, when the French were undercut by the Germans, who came into the market with their less expensive dolls. The French companies, Jumeau and Bru, ended up crumbling. They combined their forces with several other French dollmakers into SFBJ, and tried to compete, but in the end were unable to.

 

I remember Japanese companys like yamaha and tokai getting sued for ripping of USA guitars and undercutting the USA factorys, not sure why you think there more deserving of your money now that there economy is strong.

 

More Bobobie love from me. I have a Weylin and I just love the shape of the ears. It'd be nice if they had more of a variety of hand sculpts (although you can substitute hands from other companies if you don't like the way they look.) They come with default faceups too, if you don't like the idea of paying extra for one and don't feel really inclined to do your own.

 

Hmmmm...while that has happened with various consumer items, the bjd hobby is so specialized, and there's more that goes into picking out a doll than price for a lot of people. I think you have to take the culture of this hobby into account too--the loyalty a lot of people have for certain companies and an expectation that, yes, these dolls get expensive. Some people will feel more comfortable spending less per doll and completely bypass anything more costly (though some will still turn to Korean and Japanese minis and tinies anyway), but I don't think they necessarily make up an overwhelming majority--more of a little niche to cater to, just as people who really like LEs are another little group, and so on.

I'm wary about directly comparing this hobby to others, because all hobbies have their own feel, their own cultures and behavioral norms. From what I've seen from hanging out on DoA and Resinality, unless something drastically changes, I don't think the Korean and Japanese companies have too much to worry about from the Chinese (and there's a few Chinese companies that don't price that much under some of the midrange Korean dolls)--at least not the well established ones. It's all relative anyway. What's "cheap" depends completely on what it's compared too. Next to some dolls, $500 is a bargain, yet it doesn't stop people from shelling out $600 -- $700 dollars for some of the higher cost standard dolls. If it were that motivated by price, the highest cost companies would've been taken out of the game before the Chinese ever entered the arena.

Ah, I think I'm dragging this thead off topic, so I'll stop now. It would make a good debate topic, though

Ok, now for something On Topic:

These are my two top pics for inexpensive companies:

I'm a real fan of Bobobie--a lot of the company pics aren't great, so I would definitely suggest that interested people go look in the gallery and databases (there's some really nice pics in the databases, and I believer there are at least 3 for Bobobie) to get a better idea of what they look like. They are floppier, yet mine still stand incredibly easily despite this--I'm not entirely sure how, lol, but they do. Their flexibility does allow them to relax into some very expressive, realistic positions however. The resin is seamless and silky smooth to the touch, and I love their selection of colors. I just wish there were better company pics. They do feel different than other dolls in that they are much lighter weight--this is particularly apparent with their big guys and girls. However, mine have all been very sturdy and have held up to posing, being taken places, handled a lot with no trouble at all.

I'm also very impressed with AOD--my 60cm boy is so sturdy feeling and weighty. He also stands like a rock, and the body has nice detail. His seams are non existant and also has smooth resin. They just released new girl and boy bodies that I personally like. The boys get new hands with non-pointy fingers too, and the new girl body is sleeker looking. They also now offer a more yellow toned normal skin along with the pale pink.

 

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