"But I want them all!" - aka How do YOU choose?

Usually when I have a list of dolls planned to buy and a lovely Soom limited is up for sale (at soom website itself), that one will have priority.

For the others... It is quite random actually. I just safe up and when I have reached a certain amount of money I go for the doll that I want most at that point.

 

I was on verge of laughing and crying in misery when I see this topic. I saved up enough to buy myself a D.O.I. boy for my birthday. However, both Code no.2 (D.O.T boy), Brant & Cosmo (DZ) are up right after that.
While I do have the money to buy all three of them but I already planned to keep the money that I saved up from my work at the publisher for 3 years for later uses (I'm in college and I will need these money to help me when I'm out of college).
Lucky for me, both three of those dolls are not limited, a.k.a. I'm going to wait until I can save up enough from my current job to buy the dolls instead of dipping into my other saving.

 

For me it's really about characterisation, aesthetic and purpose.

Do I want a doll for a specific character? Of my two four dolls, three of them are based on characters of mine. If I want to expand that number in the future, I consider how the characters are going to work together. Anyone who does character dolls know they always come in pairs or sets or a myriad number of ways to pile up your doll count :P. You have to balance that against molds which suit your characters.

Similarly, because of that they need to have a similar aesthetic or else it can look strange. This concept bothers some doll owners more than others, so you often get comments about dolls not 'fitting in' with established residents. Now that I've been in the hobby a while my tastes have developed and stabilised, and I'm more in to dolls with more realistic facial proportions. Sometimes this is a blessing in disguise because it limits my want list to a narrow range, haha.

And lastly is the purpose of the doll in my collection, which is basically a way of saying 'what do I want to get out of this doll in terms of my interests and engagement with the hobby'. For some people that might be sewing, photography, fulfilling characters, aesthetic interest or diversity, etc... My incoming Tan Rosy fits in to this section because she isn't a character doll; really she's just an excuse to have a pretty girl around the house, haha. Sometimes it's just nice to have a doll who I can dress up and admire, and not worry about a pre-defined character who I need to 'get right'. It's probably also the reason why I don't think I'll get a Soom MD, because though they're lovely, I just wouldn't know what to do with them... If I can't see a doll fulfilling an outlet in my collection (creative, character or otherwise), then I can't justify getting it. I hopefully learned the lesson of impulse buys from my PVC figure collecting days

 

Though I don't have my first one (I've decided my first one is going to be an I.O.S doll, so I'm patiently waiting), I've managed to narrow a miles-long list down to just five MUST-haves using these requirements:

1) Must suit a character of mine to a T.
2) Realistic-ish, 60cm-70cm.
3) Guys only (for now).
4) I've come back to stare at it at least a dozen times no matter how many dolls I see.

Of course, once those five have been acquired, I'll have to devise a new set of rules. >3>

 

I add the ones I love to my wishlist, then as funds become available, I buy the one I want the most at the time. If one of them suddenly becomes endangered (being discontinued, etc.), they move to the top of the list. Simple. In the unlikely event of a really big windfall, I would order them all at once. As for choosing them, I don't have to worry about that; they seem to choose me.

 

I don't really think I have any set order for how I want to demolish my wish list.

So far I bought Aya (Minifee Shushu) because she is my dream doll.
I bought a PukiPuki Piki off the Marketplace because it was a really good deal and I wanted to get one anyway.
I'm currently in the process of saving up for a Seorin, to be Aya's boy toy. I don't really have a character worked out for him yet, exactly, but I figure once I get him and Aya together they'll develop their own little thing.

I wouldn't mind getting another Fairyland girl, be it Puki or Minifee. But there are a couple dolls from other companies that have caught my eye so, really, who knows.

 

I've already made a permanent list to follow so I guess I'm still safe >.<;;;
I've picked out molds for each character I already have so it's basically a point of WHEN i'll get them back.
I'm currently in college with no part time job whatsoever *basically living off an allowance cringe*, so I'm the type who saves up and then buy. I go one by one because with the amount I save I can only get one at the time then I'll probably need another year + to get the next home oTL!

 

I pick ones that I've been wanting for the longest time. But if I see a good deal on the marketplace for one that's on my wishlist, then I might go ahead and buy it.

 

I have a wishlist of dolls I like - pretty much any doll that really calls to me can get on that list. But for me to actually BUY a doll off the list, I have to either already have a character for it to be, or pretty quickly figure out how it's going to fit in and become a character. So the list is currently prioritized with the dolls who already have names and characters at the top of the list (ordered by how important I feel they are to have here for stories or whatever), and ones I just LIKE at the bottom. The idea is that each time enough doll money is saved up I get the next one on the list.

In practice, if I see a great deal on a wishlist doll in the marketplace and can figure out roughly how it will fit in, it can jump ahead in line. A LOT of mine have done that. Also if it's a limited or otherwise likely to be difficult to get, and I can figure out how it will fit in, I may go ahead and get it. My MNF Shushu, Finn, was supposed to be my first doll - but I found the others before her and she kept getting jumped ahead of in line, until her head popped up on the marketplace finally for a great price. My next doll should be a Dollmore Tan Pado boy - but several others have jumped ahead of him in line too, because of great deals, needing to get in on an event, or time-limited issues. Part of my tax return money is slated to get him if I haven't come up with enough money just by saving by that time.

 

I have a list of dolls that I want. I usually buy the most expensive on first to get it out the way and I usually buy one at a time. But this time it didn't work out that way and I have three dolls on layaway at the moment. A Volks Ruby (Volks dolls that their prices ,) a Zaoll Muse, and a DZ Xmas Baby.

But after this I'll be done with dolls for a while because I have other things that I need to save up for...like a car .

 

I don't have that problem at all. For me it takes a lot of looking before I find one that speaks to me enough that I would actually buy it.

 

Not just speaks. It is the doll who hits me up the side of the head and screams, "Buy ME!"

 

I've mellowed out in my doll collecting, and right now with plans to only own one doll at a time (and only two that I want) I find that the only way I choose to buy is if it suits a specific purpose/desire like wanting a character, and if I can afford it and have the space to display it.

 

I buy the limited. If it's limited than any standard doll falls off the list and I buy the limited. I don't even own but one standard edition doll anymore...

This is because I don't like marketplace prices. But if just deciding between two regular editions then obviously hte one in my price range wins. For bargain hunting the MP is a great place! Other than that try to set money aside! Layaway is a great way to make your dollar stretch too.

Now, excuse me while I go agonize over tiny deer on Soom....

 

Yup, this!

 

I'm pretty decent at now falling into resin temptation. But I suppose that's because I'm in college aka dead broke. Sure I love them, but I realize that I can't spend my money right as I get it, I have to pay for tuition.

But when I do have money, I go by the character that I need most at the moment for my story line. Or last time, I went and got the limited full set of one doll. I could of gotten her later, but I loved the full set. Do I need Larten in the story more than Sara right now? Yes. Do I regret my choice? No.

 

I thought I had a list (in my head) of the dolls I want, but it all goes out the door when I see one I haven't seen before. So I gave up and decided that there will be those that reach out and those are the ones to get!

 

I have a set number of characters I want to make into dolls and I buy them based on on who I want next and prices. Most of the time I buy them based on who I reallyreally want to bring home next, and after finding the perfect mold.
It also bases on my mother, who buys my dolls for me if she dislikes the mold or not. Then it just takes some moving around of characters and convincing.

 

I'm definitely the type that, if I let myself, I would buy up WAY too many dolls. The only way I have of really limiting myself is through stories. I buy dolls for characters that already exist in some of my original fiction. Only problem is, sometimes a doll will inspire a story...and then the whole thing just gets thrown out of wack for a while.

As for order, mine usually come as I find molds that fit characters. Once I find one that works perfectly, it's the next one to come home (assuming I can find the mold right away). If I find molds that might work, I wait and keep searching.