Curiosity killed the cat

I wouldn't count on finding many BJDs via craigslist, estate sales, garage sales, or thrift shops, simply because, as your say, it's a very niche hobby, and it's not particularly old, either, as far as hobbies go.

The majority of research, experience buying and selling, takes place on line, for the average BJD hobbyist, so that immediately eliminates a lot of doll collectors from older generations from participating. Of course BJDs do have some amazing elderly participants, but the knowledge and internet requirements, I would assume, are probably restrictive to those older individuals who are not comfortable on computers. And when I think of estate sales, I normally think that they are sales on an individual's entire life. Years upon years of collecting, accumulating things, and just living life. When I think of estate sales, I think mostly of the elderly. (Perhaps I'm wrong in that?) So, I would think that estate sales would probably have a rather limited selection, if any, since the types to have estate sales have a fair chance of not participating in the BJD hobby, even if they are doll hobbyists in their own right.

Garage sales and thrift shops would indicate that whoever turned over the doll probably doesn't know its value. A resin doll is likely to be worth quite a bit more than a shop would be willing to pay, so surrendering a doll to such a place would, at least to me, indicate that the individual doesn't really know what he/she has. If that were the case, the individual wouldn't be the doll's original owner, and honestly, I wouldn't imagine that too many of us here would just hand a resin doll over to someone who isn't also a bit of a hobbyist, themselves. These dolls require special considerations and care to remain in decent condition. So, I'd imagine that if someone did find a legit BJD in their hands without understanding its value, they'd likely have just inherited it from someone who didn't want to be bothered with selling it or giving it to another hobbyist. Just doesn't seem like the most likely of scenarios, in my opinion.

Then, craigslist. I think that Craigslist, out of all the other options, probably involves individuals who have a better grasp at pricing their items, for the most part. Then again, however, I figure if someone has BJDs and understands their value, then they'd probably also understand where people go to buy and sell second-hand. And craigslist just isn't that place. I imagine if people want full value for their dolls, they'd want to try putting ads and selling in places where others in the hobby know to look. And if the doll falls into the hands of a non-hobbyist, then I don't think craigslist would necessarily be their first choice to list a thing of questionable value. If they had been informed of the value but are still non-hobbyists, then maybe craigslist makes a little sense. But is that scenario common? I'm not all that sure that it is.

There simply aren't a ton of us out there. We are a global community, so the community feels rather big on the internet, but down at the local levels, it's not as if every city in the US, for instance, has hundreds of hobbyists. Some major cities don't even have a dozen. So, we're a small-ish hobby, we're very, VERY internet-based, and we're in a hobby that requires at least some research and understanding of the items we collect. I think those factors about out hobby are what keep people from finding BJDs all over thrift shops and craigslist. I'm sure it definitely happens from time to time, but I imagine that it's probably rather rare for a doll to slip through the cracks like that.

Now, this is all just me making a bunch of assumptions. My guess is as good as any. :P So feel free to take it all as a grain of salt.

 

I've heard the rare story of people finding slightly damaged dolls at 2nd hand stores but most collectors and their families know their worth and there are certain places that collectors go to sell their dolls (Facebook groups, forums like DOA). I don't see that ever changing because there is a lot of recasts and con artists in the hobby and us as collectors want to buy/sell/trade places that have feedback/references/a community to hold people reaponsible.

 

Honestly, I found my two BJDs through Instagram using #bjdsales.
Obviously you need to ask the main questions about a COA and all, but both of my boys are legit and came in good condition. Most people are honest when it comes to recasts on there as well, and if you ask around, you can find out a lot about the seller from other people. There are so many different BJDs for sale on there, many in great condition, that the options are endless! Hope this helps a little!

 

Like wherethelilacsbloom said, BJDs are a new niche of doll collecting, with Volks making the first widely available ones in 1999, if I'm not mistaken. That's less than 20 years ago. And this is definitely mostly an internet based hobby. I came into this world a the end of 2012, and every doll I own was purchased online. I have more than 10 now. And some dolls, if in good condition, go up in price in the secondhand market. The odds of finding a BJD at an estate sale or thrift store are extremely low.

If you are trying to find BJDs secondhand, I recommend you go to the Marketplace here on DOA, or ebay. I have seen BJDs on ebay with a COA and sometimes the original box.

 

I have been in the picking business for nearly 20 years, and I have never found a BJD in a thrift store, yard sale, estate sale, or Goodwill Bins. I heard someone stumbled across a couple at an auction around here, but you know how rumors are.
It could happen, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

 

Sadly, there have been BJD collectors who have passed away recently. In those cases, their collections were sold by family members or friends who knew the value of the collections and sold them via the usual doll venues.

Also, a side comment about other types of doll collectors-- you'd be amazed (I was) about how much antique doll collecting happens online. I would say that most niche hobbyists are familiar with computers these days.

 

I'm one of those lucky people who found a doll in a charity shop Though it was a complete fluke since it was before I was even in the hobby! It was finding her that actually started me off
That said haven't found any others since... I guess you always seem to find things when you aren't looking for them ~

 

Unfortunately the chances of finding a BJD in a secondhand shop is about the same as buying a backpack from a thrift store and finding diamond earrings inside >.< The best place for secondhand dolls is right here on DoA on the marketplace

 

Thrift shops and charity shops are much more savvy these days about collectibles. I would be surprised if they thought a BJD that crossed their tables was a cheap doll.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I live in a place where there are a lot of seniors, central Arizona. And to put in the most polite terms, when they pass away, the family often donates their giant porcelain doll collections. I find them constantly at thrift stores in piles. How many BJD dolls have I found at thrift stores? Zero. I go a lot too. There is one advantage to this, that if you have female dolls that need clothing or shoes, you will often find very high quality clothing that will fit MSD and SD dolls. I have also found doll furniture and props for photography very often.

Frankly, the BJD hobby needs to age by another 20 to 30 years before you can expect BJD dolls to become a more common place second hand item. Re-editions of old porcelain dolls were a craze in the 1990s and people bought them up thinking they would hold value, but they didn't hold any value, the craze ended, and now they are dumped at thrift stores all the time when the aging owner dies. They probably won't be as common a BJD collection, but it works on the same principle. The main collector has to age and die before the family gets rid of the collections. Most BJD collectors are in their twenties, so it won't happen any time soon, lol

 

Uuummm, actually, there are quite a number of BJD collectors who are WAY older than their twenties. I myself am 40. I know a number of DOA members who are even older than that. There are also quite a few younger collectors who are still in their teens. The hobby is small, but there is definite diversity in age.

 

I've found Tonner dolls in charity shops before, as well as vintage dolls from the 60s-70s which are worth a fair bit in the correct niches. I found a tonner in his original box without the lid once for £5, I think they assumed he was porcelain.
I always do check of course, and there's always the dream. It happens, but very rarely. If there are markings on a doll, the staff will google it to work out value.
Added to that, it's unlikely anything other than those sad situations with estranged family would not know the value. But you do hear stories.

Still, I tend to stalk Ebay as that's where most of my lucky finds seem to come from anyway.

Generally though, the situations required for someone who has no clue of the value of an item are thankfully rare. You never know though, in a decade or so maybe some cheaper ones will start popping up second hand as people age out.
I mean heck, I have two Makie dolls here (3d printed dolls, custom made) one of whom was found in a charity shop by a guy who picked the doll up because it "looked interesting" and was told by a friend what it was, and the second of which the parent had purchased it for their kid who'd aged out of dolls so they sold the doll for £8. What was odd in that situation was that they had paid the original £70 for her, they even remarked upon it in the auction saying "man they saw me coming a mile off". I couldn't quite fathom why you'd pay £70 for a doll and then sell it for £8. You'd think you'd ask at least half of the original price... or... check other ebay auctions to see what the going rate was?
But they didn't. Which meant that during a time where these things were selling for INSANE money due to the business shutting down, I got an absolute bargain. £80 would have been a bargain at that point, some of them were selling for upwards of £200!
It was madness.
But yeah...

point is, some people are weird. I know a few collectors who seem to have more money than they know what to do with, so really will just stuff expensive stuff into cupboards and forget about it. To them £300 is nothing, to me that's a year's savings and I cannot comprehend of hanging onto something worth that much if you don't want it (some of them are all "yeah I bought this and I don't actually like it, oh well." and i'm like "SELL IT THEN!?" but they won't because the effort is too much, the money isn't important.
I can see dolls from those sorts of collectors being the ones that end up in estate sales and such.
I find it bizarre though.

 

I would warn people though that although the marketplace is the best place for second hand, I would actually recommend newbies going direct from the companies or dealers like Alice Collections etc. since (in my experience) dolls sold in the Marketplace are usually just as or more expensive than the new dolls. This is unless you JUST have to have that particular doll or you love some artists face-up. People often think that second hand is cheaper and that's why they scower the Internet looking but that's not really the case with BJDs. Just because your not the first owner doesn't nessararliy mean that the doll will be cheaper. Of course this is just in general and you never know yet still with luck like mine I wouldn't recommend it if your looking for a deal.

 

I think a lot of people don't give them to thrift stores for a few reasons. I wouldn't ever put my doll in a thrift shop unless I had to get rid of them right now. I want them to go to someone in the hobby rather then some person that might see them as just a toy. Granted I'm fine with the person that buys them doing whatever they like, but I do feel better selling them within the hobby. I can't sell my dolls for as much money as I paid but I have been able to get some money from them too. They may be older but still in good condition. A lot of people sell old dolls that are well taken care of for less then you could get them first hand, so it's a pretty good deal for both parties involved.

As for not selling on other sites... A lot of people sell dolls to make money in bad times or have some money for new dolls, and your less likely to make money if you sell to an unaware market. You also don't get as much interest from people outside the hobby. I find a lot of people that don't know about BJDs seem to think they should cost things like $12.... They don't understand they are not like off topic dolls that are normally sold as toys.

 

No, no luck here either. I flagged a search on e-bay and got e-mail notifications nearly every day for over a year. Nothing I either liked or was legit. I did find a couple of new dolls priced quite a lot higher than the manufacturer's price which I suppose impatient people may be willing to pay for. In the end I gave up and bought from a manufacturer. Glad I did because she's perfect and exactly what I wanted.