Buying a pre-owned doll vs. buying a doll from the company

what are your guys opinions on getting second hand dolls to brand new dolls. Im not talking about special edition ones, just regular everyday ones where you can buy them at anytime. Me personally I would prefer to buy second hand if I found the perfect sculpt/part on sale on doa or any other site. Sometimes that is hard and then you just have to buy new (not that anything is wrong with that everyone loves that feeling of being the first to have that one lovely doll)

so would you prefer to have a second hand or brand new doll? what are your views on the subject?

 

I don't have any secondhand dolls (yet), but if I can find a doll I want secondhand I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat, especially if it was in good condition. No waiting except on shipping. As close to instant gratification as you can get when it comes to BJD! Besides chances are it'd be less expensive than brand new too.

 

Most of my dolls are second hand...it's the the fact you don't have to wait forever, or for what feels like forever, for them. They are just as wonderful as my brand new dolls, so I have no problem with second hand ones at all.

 

I would prefer a new dolls because if the cost are close, why not just get a new one?
Maybe it's just me, but I do enjoy to buy a new doll and start to change him/her to the way I want...........

 

Usually I prefer to buy brand new straight from the company in order to show them my support. I'm reasonably patient and don't mind the waiting period (unless it becomes ridiculous, but that's really a case by case basis and not a regular thing from what I've seen with other people actually managing to get their order).

For example, Migidoll is my favourite company, and I would've bought all my doll heads straight from them. The only exceptions were Miho and Cynical Yujin which I got second-hand, and that's mostly because they already got faceups that I've fallen in love with, and since they were already done I didn't really want to do the whole buy doll from company, wait until shipping, commission the same artists, wait for faceup and shipping, etc (and I don't like buying more than one of the same sculpt, so I couldn't buy these straight from Migidoll again). The other exception was Yujin; I bought him second-hand because by the time I'd gotten interested in his sculpt, he was already discontinued, and Migi had said he would never be produced ever again when I asked about him.

Plus, it's sometimes cheaper if buying straight from the company. You know you'll get it new, and if it comes damaged, there's the option of reporting the problem to the company and they can respond by sending you a new, undamaged item.

 

I buy the doll I fall in love with, whether that is new or second hand I don't limit myself to one or the other, otherwise I would miss out on something beautiful!

 

If I ever were after a basic doll, I would not mind a second hand one. Not only would I get the doll that I am after, but the sale would help out a fellow doll lover.
If what I was after was not available second hand, I would have no issues waiting for a new doll.
(I have gotten second hand dolls three times now, but they were all older limiteds.)

 

I have both and it doesn't really matter to me. If I'm looking for a particular doll, I always check out the Marketplace first to see if there is one for sale. I like the idea of supporting the doll community here by buying dolls someone wants to re-home, but if I can't find one, I will order from the company. As long as it isn't a recast or otherwise illegal, I have no problems with buying a secondhand doll.

 

It doesn't really make any difference to me one way or the other. I've got a mix of brand new, second hand, splits and hybrids; if I'm looking for something specific, I'll generally check the marketplace first. If I'm after something special from a company (limited, event items, etc), I'll skip the marketplace and go direct. Either way is fine to me!

 

At the moment, I prefer brand new just because I like the idea of being the first owner and it makes it feel like the doll is more my own. However, I don't think I would mind buying second hand. It would either have to be a doll I really really want, or because I see a doll and I feel in that instant like it just..belongs to me.

 

I prefer to buy brand new dolls directly from the companies. I want all my dolls to be blank when I get them and not have had any makeup before so that makes it difficult for obvious reasons to buy used dolls.

 

I don't mind new but I actually prefer to buy my dolls second hand. It saves me some $$$ and I really don't mind that someone has loved them before.

 

I don't really mind either way, if I really love the doll it doesn't matter to me whether it's new, straight from the company or pre-owned
(but I wouldn't pay the same price, and much less higher, for a standard doll second-hand)

 

I would personally prefer a new doll because it would truly be mine, I don't think I could clean slate a pre-owned doll without feeling guilty. Really the only way I'd buy a pre-owned doll is if I could no longer get it from the company. It's an iffy thing.

 

I prefer the idea of getting pre-owned, mostly because I worry about the environment, and if I didn't order the casting, I would avoid the guilt of feeling directly responsible... Of course that probably seems like ridiculous reasoning to most. Of course other benefits are getting the doll without the wait, which is quite nice(and pretty much the other main reason for preferring pre-owned), and the price. Though as said above, I would prefer they never had face-ups.

 

I don't mind either way. I have my first pre-owned doll on layaway right now, and I'm just as excited to receive him as I would be to receive a brand new doll. I feel like pre-owned allows me options I don't have otherwise. My boy is a Luts head on a Volks body, and I like him much more on that body, as well as liking his faceup more than the default. I've definitely seen other hybrids and custom faceups and modifications in the marketplace that I prefer over the brand new dolls. Plus, I can afford the doll more easily because I'm able to talk to the seller about a layaway plan that we are both comfortable with, but is flexible as well. Since he is older and yellowed a bit, he's also cheaper than a brand new head and body would be. I don't mind small damage/yellowing, because if I fall in love with a doll, the age doesn't matter. Maybe he'll just arrive with a personality that's already established, and that's okay in my mind. Maybe even better, because I'm not good at establishing character and personality for my dolls.

 

It doesnt matter to me. Its still a "new" doll for me lol. One nice thing about a second hand doll is no wait. Like I just bought 2 dolls this past thursday and I should be able to pick them up tomorow at the post office. Plus a lot of second hand dolls have custom faceups already. I'm afraid to send a girl out for a faceup and am not good enough to do my own so a professional faceup is a big sell for me when it comes to a second hand doll.

 

I generally love pre-owned things because there's a marvelous sense of not-wasting. Also, generally pre-owned things have depreciated. For example, when I bought my car it was two years old, in absolutely spotless condition, fully loaded, had a history completely free of damage and accidents, and I got it for about 3/5ths the original ticket price.

What's more, my living room table is a gorgeous thing my dad found in a dumpster and refurbished. No one would ever guess.

Dolls are different because they're collectors' items. They don't depreciate the same way, of course, and there's also a need to get a doll that's just right. Sometimes no one's gonna be selling the one you want secondhand, sometimes someone will. Sometimes no one's making the sculpt anymore and you have to search the pre-owned market. That's why I have no preference for dolls. You get what's perfect for you however you can.

...but for anything else? Clothes, furniture, jewelry, shoes? You'll find me at the thrift store, being the most picky person in the place. Small bracelets make amazing SD-sized necklaces, cuffs make belts, and I even salvage old fabric and lace from extraordinarily ugly or damaged thrift store clothes. Perfect for doll sewing!

 

While I too like the up-cycling feel of second-hand dolls, there's nothing quite like opening a brand new, made just for me resin BJD from a company I love. Even when I hate to wait, I love that my money is going to support these companies. So I'd have to say if I had to choose, I think I'd pick brand new dolls, though it's awesome to have the option of both choices.

(In the secondary market, I suppose my money also sort of inadvertently supports the same companies, too--by maintaining the value of the marketplace, I suppose.)

 

99% of the time I would prefer new from company, but the 1% is when my dream doll is out of stock forever ...