Did you ever buy a doll and just hate it?

Yes, this happened to me. I ordered an adorable little Bobobie March in Green. When I ordered her (through a doll shop here in the USA) she was being produced in a soft mint green and I just adored all the owner pics I'd seen of that color. But for some reason it took 4 and a half months for her to be shipped to the doll shop from Bobobie, and in that time they had changed their green formula drastically. (Now I wonder if the delay in shipping from Bobobie was due to their running out of the original soft mint green and needing to get a new batch of resin!) Anyway, the doll that arrived was a much darker, more yellowish "frog" green!!! I was so disappointed, I took photos of her immediately without ever putting a wig or clothes on the poor thing and sold her on eBay.

 

Mods, if this is a repeat thread, please of course delete it! I did a quick search and didn't find anything like it, but I could have missed something! ^^ ♥

Anyways:
I was just wondering if I was the only one out there who did this. When I recieved my Dollzone Chen 1 after three months of waiting, I was so excited I couldn't contain myself. I had four friends stay three nights at my house (over summer), waiting for him to arrive after I recieved my shipping notice. When the UPS man came to my door, I nearly plowed him down.

After ripping the box open, I started unwrapping my new boy. I saved his face for last, as most people usually do. I took off the face mask and gasped.

But it wasn't out of joy. My very first thought about him was "He's so ugly!". I hated the blushing on his cheeks, I hated his eyebrows, I hated his lips. I was extremely upset, but hid my dissapointment.

However, after I put his wig on and clothes and held him for a few minutes, I really started to love him. Every feature was so well sculpted, and so well painted, and it was like a beautiful dream. I couldn't have been happier.

But even now, I still feel bad for thinking such awful things about my doll. I asked my other friend who has a BJD if this happened to her, and she said yes. She said that she hated her doll at first glance too.

I find this extremely odd because most people describe it as the best moment of the BJD hobby; saying how excited and happy they were as they took their doll out of the box and saw it for the first time.

So my question is this:
Has anyone else ever opened a doll and hated it upon first sight?
Did you opinion change after a few minutes?
If it didn't, please explain what you did next (did you change the faceup, eyes, wig, ect).
Do you feel bad about it now, or not? Explain.

Thank you for reading, and if you decide to comment, thank you for taking the time to give me your opinion! ^^ ♥

 

When I first opened my DoD Petsha I had the same reaction, and again when I got my DoD Homme Ivan. But like you after I put their hair on (even switching them to see if it looked good or not) I fell in love with them. I think it's more that we're so used to seeing and purchasing the dolls when their dressed up and fancy in appearance that when you receive a bare, naked, joints-are-visible doll we're more taken off guard and thus think it looks off or ugly. I love my dolls now though and I don't feel guilty about my first reaction as it wasn't a lasting thought and it changed ^_^

 

8V I only have one doll, but I research a LOT before I buy, so I know precisely what I'm getting. Sometimes I'm confounded by the events of people just buying dolls, not liking them, and then selling them immediately. It seems a little foolish, time consuming, and not a wise way to spend money IMHO [nobody flame me on this please =u=; Won't change my opinion anyhow]. So to answer you, no I've never had this experience.

O_o Alch may be onto something, with the idea of prefigured dolls being what we see so often, but I thought it'd be reasonable for people to set back their expectations for a naked doll before deciding 'omg its ugly' or something drastic xD; Only in the case of perhaps a gorgeous LE would I expect a doll to look omgoshamazingfullsetbeautifuleverything straight out of the box 8D;

 

Generally I over research dolls, and most of the time, any displeasure with the sculpt/faceup/body comes after months of playing with it and looking at it enough to pick out little faults.

That said, I seem to like the sculpts that nobody has or just doesn't post pictures of, which makes me a little wary. I agree with Laelen about not wanting to buy dolls on impulse (even though I just did that a few months ago, still haven't been able to find pictures of the mold and think it might've been discontinued, so no more company pics either. Dx) Regardless, I always think that there might be somebody else who wants it so if I really don't like it after several months, then I might sell it, just not immediately.

 

I hated my Dollmore Thinking Larme when I got him. He was wearing a shoulder length blonde wig and had brownish golden eyes I had chosen and he looked blah. I was really upset so tried on a long black wig and he came to life. Then I gave him red eyes and voila! He become this entirely different character and I adore him now. Strange how doing so little can do so much.

 

i had that reaction with my second doll. he was my first from B&G and after my very first doll (who in my eyes is still perfect) i was a little shocked in a not-so-good way. it only took me a few minutes to get over the shock and fall in love with him. i still have him more than a year later and would never sell him...but that first five minutes was touch and go XD

i had a similar reaction with my third doll a DZ Shoyo. i never really recovered from that and didnt bond well with her. in the end, she had to go.

 

Has anyone else ever opened a doll and hated it upon first sight?
Yes! The first doll I ever bought, actually. I hated her when I had gotten her. Her face was softer than it had looked in pictures, and her body was chubs. Not for me!
Did you opinion change after a few minutes?
Oh no.
If it didn't, please explain what you did next (did you change the faceup, eyes, wig, ect).
I tried everything! New face, new clothes, new eyes, playing with her a lot, fixing the broken things on her. It just didn't help. Eventually I re-homed her.
Do you feel bad about it now, or not? Explain.
All I feel bad about is the money I sunk into trying to bondr. At least she went to her next owner looking a little better than she had come to me.

 

Yes I've had two dolls that I hated out of the box. Both of them where Soom monthlies, Cuprit and Heliot. The over shopped photos didn't help (I still like the official photos of them), but they were both completely different in person. I tried hard to make them both work, not very hard though, just with the wigs and eyes I already had. I just ended up selling both. I was very happy to see them both go. I'll probably just be sticking with companies I've bought from previously or had a chance to see in person.

 

I buy all of mine blank, so when I see them for the first time it's mostly a matter of their potential. What can I make them look like, from a blank slate. I only start to dislike a doll over time. If that happens, I either hybrid it, mod it, or sell it. ^^;

 

I never opened a doll box and hated it, though I've only opened 2 so far, but in both openings I immediately thought they were even better than I ever could have possibly imagined, and better than every picture I had seen of them.

But, I can understand if you've really built up a doll in your mind (so much that you have your friends stay over for 3 days in anticipation) you can build it up too much and when you open it the reality sets in and it's not the same as your mind pictured.

Box openings are like a birth to me, and when actual babies first come into the world, they're not exactly pretty if you know what I mean. But once you dressed him, put his wig on, held him in your hands, of course you fell in love with him, because he's your boy. I wouldn't feel bad about it, I'm many mothers (both dollfie and actual) first thought that when they first saw their babies.

 

Well, I've actually Gotten nervous before actually opening my Kid delf Luts boy bory, named Dobry. I was worried that maybe I didn't pick the right doll, that maybe I wouldn't like him, but the second I opened the box and saw him I absolutely adored him. Occasionally I do feel bad for doubting that I would like him before >.<

 

I'm usually even more thrilled when I see them in person...but one time I hated the doll on sight! It was a horrible experience. I had ordered a green skin Bobobie March which at the time, came in a lovely soft shade of minty green. Owner pics were absolutely wonderful, and I couldn't wait. Unfortunately, Bobobie was way behind in their orders and it took 4 whole months for her to arrive. When I opened the box, I was completely shocked. During that lengthy 4 month wait, Bobobie had completely changed the color of their green resin. It was no longer a soft minty color but a very deep and bright yellowish frog green! I had no choice but to put her up for sale immediately because she would in no way match the character I had purchased her for. Fortunately, because of Bobobie's big backlog at the time, I had absolutely no problems selling her.

 

Has anyone else ever opened a doll and hated it upon first sight?
I think spending the huge amount of money on a new Elfdoll Soah made me feel very guilty and unhappy, which I transferred to her.
Did you opinion change after a few minutes?
Sadly, no.
If it didn't, please explain what you did next (did you change the faceup, eyes, wig, ect).
I love the sculpt, I think she's very beautiful and realistic. However, my first ever SD was definitely not realistic, so they didn't go well together. I actually didn't even play with her very much, other than to dress her once. I eventually sold her.
Do you feel bad about it now, or not? Explain.
No, I mean, I took a loss on the money, so I feel stupid because it was such an impulse buy. But it taught me a lesson about thinking the sculpt through and how it will go with my others before actually purchasing.

 

You and I are in total accord, I also like to build from scratch.

That said, when I saw my Belita in person, I was very disapointed. The bridge of her nose went from eyewell to eyewell and the spaces between her eyelids on brow line were puffy. She had her own charm, but she wasn't to my taste at all. A little sanding, a couple of trial and error face-ups and now she's in my top 3 most loved.

 

Oh, heck yes.

Though it was only once it burned a hole in my pocket enough to make me very wary of it ever happening again. There's just something that multitudes of owner pics, gallery pics, dolly FAQ and whatnot do not show unless after being handled in person. And I believe that these somethings are purely depending on the preference of the individual; like features that people don't notice (or can care less about) may hit another like a brick wall. It's an unavoidable love / hate relationship part of an exciting but a oftentimes taxing gamble for me.

 

I don't think I've ever truly hated a doll, but I've certainly felt uncertain or apathetic during a box opening. Usually it's due to the gap between the photos and reality. Going from 2D to 3D is hard sometimes, lol.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that one should not be so quick to judge. For me, some molds fall into the "will love always" category and other will fall into the "just not my style" category. But the majority of them belong to a middle ground, where a bit of customizing can put them either way.

One time I received a Yo-SD Puff head in a trade and felt it wasn't my style. I couldn't see the potential in the head so I sold it. It's been two years, and recently I've been thinking that I would have really come to like Puff if I'd worked on it and customized it to my liking. Usually I keep dolls for a while to see if my opinion changes, but for Puff I didn't wait very long and I think I didn't give that mold a fair chance.

 

Oh yes! When my Dollzone X arrived I was horrified. The main reason I bought the full-set was because of the fabulous Goth face-up. Very unfortunately the face-up was absolutely NOTHING like the promo pics, just a light smear of shadow, not the deep, smokey eyes & dark lips. The clothes were very disappointing too, cheaply made & too clunky. I was ready to cry as I'd waited nearly 4 months for that doll.

I did try to enhance the face-up to look more like the pics but couldn't quite get it just right. The more I looked at the doll, the less I liked it & the angrier I got with the company for such misleading photos. I ended up putting him away after listing him for sale & I was able to sell both the head & body fairly quickly but really took a beating finance wise as no one wanted the full set.

While I've now simply chucked it up to experience, it has totally turned me off Dollzone dolls. I no longer trust their photos & will never buy another one. I'll stick to Korean dolls from now on unless I see a Chinese one in person. (Well, except for my gang of 28cm Bobobies/Resinsoul.)

 

Has anyone else ever opened a doll and hated it upon first sight?
I was a bit disappointed by my Pipos Cheshire (his default face-up is much too blue for him, and not nearly as detailed as I'd thought it would be).

I'm also very worried about my Soom Galena. I wavered back and forth endlessly before ordering about whether to get the GS or the WS, and I'm still not totally convinced that I made the right choice. I'm already half-dreading opening her for the first time.

Did you opinion change after a few minutes?
Not really for my Cheshire - I'm still planning on altering his face-up to be closer to what I want. But the sculpt has definitely grown on me, and I definitely don't regret the purchase.

Galena, I'm hoping I will come to like once I get her in some blue/white outfites and give her some black hair. I think my biggest problem with her in GS has to do with Soom's default outfit and wig, so I hoping that will be easy to overcome with my own stylings.
If it didn't, please explain what you did next (did you change the faceup, eyes, wig, ect).

As mentioned above, I will be altering my Cheshire's face-up, and I'm hoping that Galena will look better in a new wig/outfit. I definitely wouldn't ever give up on a doll without at least changing their wig/outfit/eyes, since they are all so easy to change without harming resale value.
Do you feel bad about it now, or not? Explain.
More disappointed than 'bad'. I wanted Cheshire to be perfect, and I hate being so doubtful about Galena (especially since she's so expensive and I'm still paying her off). But I've had nothing but good experiences with my other dolls (Cuprit was perfect, Cass surprised me by being much prettier than expected, and Chrom's face-up was much less bruised-looking than I was expecting), so I think it balances out, for me.

 

Has anyone else ever opened a doll and hated it upon first sight?
Yup, well not hate exactly. I just felt like a balloon that all the air was just let out of.
Did you opinion change after a few minutes?
Nope. I just did not care for him at all. Nothing about him, not his face mold, not his resin color, nothing.

If it didn't, please explain what you did next (did you change the faceup, eyes, wig, ect).
He was a Limited doll so I sold him. I only took him out of the box when he arrived and he went right back in until he left. I never even dressed him.

Do you feel bad about it now, or not? Explain.
Well, he was a Limited doll so it was get him now before he is sold out. I liked the promo pictures but I always research a doll and make sure I still like the mold in owner pictures. But in this case I bought first then I researched the mold, bad idea. I had that sinking feeling and I just knew I was not going to keep him. I even tried to talk myself into liking him and then when he came I got that same feeling. Luckily, he went to live with a new mom who loves him very much.
I also discovered after buying my second boy doll that I am a girl doll person. I do on occasion toy with getting another boy but there are so many girls I want and I would hate to have to sell another boy.