Buying Dolls Secondhand

Personally, I prefer blank. I buy dolls to shell my OCs, and it's very rare that an existing faceup/blushing will fit my needs. However, there are people who don't do their own work and may prefer it so they aren't stuck with a blank doll or having to pay extra for an artist to do it. In your situation, I would probably leave the doll as is and write in the description that you are willing to complete the blushing OR wipe the doll at the buyer's request.

 

It always depends on the buyer. Your best bet would be to give the buyer the option of requesting you to finish it. Let the buyer do any removal if they choose to, so that if damage is done to the doll in that process which devalues the doll, it's not on you.

 

I prefer with faceup and blush, because I'm a sewist, crocheter, and knitter, but not an artist. I love the face-upped, blushed doll I got recently, and currently wouldn't consider buying without a faceup cuz my skills just aren't there. Maybe you could list and give with/without prices, then do the work if no one wants blank?

 

It really depends on the buyer. I would prefer to buy blanks, however, if the body blushing and the faceup was something to my taste and I think it's something I can work with, then I may be interested in buying the customized doll. Like everyone else suggested, I'd probably give them the option to complete/erase the work, especially if you're willing to do it for no charge.

 

I prefer faceups/blushing done already, as I'm not confident enough to do my own faceups and blank dolls kinda scare me, haha.

 

In my case I think it depends on the character I want the doll for. My FP65 girl I bought second hand specifically because that individual doll in particular had a special meaning to me and I loved the faceup. If whenever I find the right sculpt for my first MSD girl I decide to look for her second hand, I'll probably prefer blank because I have a very specific look I want for the faceup and I'd feel bad wiping an existing faceup to send her to an artist, haha. I think the best option is to offer the buyer the choice. That way you don't push away either type of buyer.

 

I used to prefer with faceup/blushing, but after getting my own equipments, I prefer blank since I can paint them.

 

I definitely wanted a doll with a faceup/ body blush/ etc. when I bought my first. It was so much less intimidating. Now I prefer blanks. I agree that giving your buyer the option of having you complete the work is a good way to compromise on the options available to you.

 

I don't tend to blush my dolls' bodies, mostly because of cost and lack of skill. I think if a doll came pre-blushed, I would think that was a neat bonus, but honestly, whether it was blushed or not would not affect whether I would buy it. If it was unblushed, it would just be like all of my other dolls, after all.

I guess one way to look at it is that, if you want to practice your blushing skills, you can get that in on this doll before you sell her. But yeah, I can also see where you'd think it was a waste if they just wiped it. Like someone earlier suggested, perhaps you could offer to finish the blush on the sales page, and if they plan to wipe it, don't bother, but if they want it, then go ahead and finish.

 

Currently I prefer with the faceup completed as I'm a complete newbie and I don't have the confidence to do a faceup myself - I'm looking forward to being able to get to doing my own faceups in the future, though.

I agree with the thread so far, that it's probably best to provide it as an option for the buyer, unless you feel like completing it for fun lol.

 

While looking for a second-hand doll, I tend to look for the specific sculpt first before deciding based on the faceup (and of course, price). While having a blank doll can be fun to work with, my faceup skills are still far from being 'nice' and I would prefer to buy a doll with a faceup that I like. ^^ Unless it's a project doll, of course.

 

I usually prefer blank, because I will hire out an artist to finish the doll. I recently received a YoSD Elena and she had the company face-up. I almost never keep defaults, but I ended up really liking the default on her...and so I'm keeping it for now.

 

Personally, I prefer almost anything ^_^ A doll with a face up etc can be good too since if I still don't have the cash to send him to an artist at least he doesn't look pale or weird among my other boys And to be honest I like buying dolls with a bit of a damage (yellowed but not heavily modded etc) since I like taking before and after photos ^_^ it makes me proud when I see them like "Oh he looks so ugly back then but now he's a bae!"

 

If I see a doll whose sculpt is exactly or nearly what I need for a character, it won't make a difference to me whether it's blank. On the other hand, if I'm just browsing and see a lovely faceup, I may be tempted to buy the doll as is and base a character on that faceup. Body blushing is a bonus; I don't usually expect to see it.

 

For me it just depends on what I'm looking for. When looking for a specific sculpt I've found that I prefer the doll to be blank, but if I just came upon a sales post and liked the doll I wouldn't mind if it had a faceup/body blushing. I agree with some of the others above that possible offering to finish/remove the work done, would probably be your best bet.

 

I just bought a secondhand doll and I'm so sad. The seller said she was a little bit yellowed (no problem if it's a little bit) but I received a totaly yellowish/greenish doll! I was so angry and sad, I just send her back to the seller who'll normaly send my money back. I was so happy to received her but I was shocked by her color o_o
The seller had good feedbacks but sometime I think the person don't see the defect of their own doll :/

 

It depends...If it's a doll I'm looking for for a character I have in mind, I prefer her blank, but I often fall in love with customs and I'd love to buy them

 

It depends on the customizing work and what the buyer is looking for.

I personally prefer to buy blank, without anything else attached like clothes, wigs or whatever.
I customize my dolls myself and most of the time the other included parts don't fit anyway.

Do not force people to buy something that wasn't part of a full-set (like some random wig or outfit).
Better list them on their own, and if you want to offer them in the doll sale always make it possible to split!
In case of customizing it only makes sense if you are a really good (or popular) customizer, and if what you did is pretty "normal".
That means for example a natural face-up that can be used for many looks.
In general it's better to offer a clean and blank doll, since that way people also don't have to worry the doll might be stained or damage underneath the paint.

 

I would prefer a doll with a faceup since I'm unable to do my own, I think I tend to look at dolls with faceups more as well. Having said that, if I don't like a faceup or it was blank or unfinished it wouldn't discourage me from buying a doll, I always look at their blank sculpts too. Like everyone else is saying, it really seems to be based on individuals buying the dolls.