Did you ever downsize?

I think the rotation works very well. If you do it slowly your collection will naturally evolve and change to fit what appeals to you.
I like to do it slowly. I did try the one out, one in but ended up one out, two in. Also no matter how many I sell they always grow in numbers, especially if it's a fast method where I put a few up at the same time. The slow method is less stressful too and if the doll/s takes a while to sell it's not a big deal.

I reduce the stress of a big change by going slowly! of course if I have a few tinies and not feeling it at all that is a no brainer and I will just put them all up.

 

In 2009-10 I sold off about half of the dolls I had at the time...
I'd decided that I didn't like the way CP's white resin aged, and that some of the sculpts I'd collected from other companies just didn't interest me anymore or were too awkward to deal with. (First generation Dollshe Hound body, I'm looking at you. <_<)

Some of the white resin dolls were just replaced with a NS version, and my old Dollshe Hound got a new incarnation with an updated body. Over the last seven years, I've also added quite a few new sculpts to the crew.... So over-all, my current collection isn't any smaller than what I originally had. There are actually more dolls here now than there were in 2009, but the content of the collection is very different. There's quite a bit more diversity in companies, sculptural styles and resin colors represented. Selling off those early dolls financed quite a bit of that expansion.

Will I ever "cull the herd" quite that extensively again? Maybe. Maybe not.

There are a couple of dolls that I'm currently iffy about, and they'll probably eventually move on... But at the moment I don't see myself massively downsizing the crew.

 

I thin the crowd periodically, as my tastes and interests shift (and depression plays a role in that for me, too). The last time was the summer of 2016, when I sold about ten dolls, and I think another round of thinning may be coming up in the new year. But I've never done a really thorough downsizing, and I don't want to, at least not yet. I'm too much of a collector to enjoy getting rid of dolls, and as long as I have the space for them, I figure there's no harm in keeping all the dolls that still interest me.

 

I think about this a lot, especially lately. I've never had a problem selling off dolls as a general rule but I've hit the point that I kind of want an actual downsize. Not only do I feel like I have too many dolls (I am out of space for them), I think that after almost a decade in the hobby my tastes have finally changed. I am way more into my 70cm guys than I am any of my others right now, to the point where I don't want a lot of my other dolls anymore.

But my problem is the same as some of the others with this problem, most of them are discontinued or limited. Head and body even, in the case of my hybrids, so if I did sell them and regret it it would be way too late. I'd either never find them again, or have to spend twice as much to get them back. And at least a couple have emotional attachments that would make a new version not the same.... My Breakaway was bought from someone I really admired in the hobby who isn't in it anymore. he's got mods from someone else I feel like I'm friends with I've known them so long. And his body was bought from an actual friend met through dolls....so that's three people he gives me a connection to (at least in my mind lol). I just don't think I'm ready to give that up. Stuff like that keeps me from selling. I've paired down quite a bit in the last year and have maybe reached point where I can't go down much more.

I do feel like moving on the ones I have (and will eventually when I get them up for sale) has helped....Not sure it counts as an actual downsize.

 

So interesting reading everybody's replies! I want to do a thorough downsize for the reasons other people have mentioned. I feel like I have so many dolls that I can't properly pay attention to them. An army is no fun! When I think about it, I've sold about half the dolls I had in my first few years of collecting, but unfortunately I've more than replaced them.

 

I'm new to BJD collecting but I have collected American Girl and other 18" play dolls for several years. I recently downsized by two and I have one more that I would like to rehome. Honestly, I feel great about it because I don't miss them, and I can give more attention/clothes/hairstyles/pictures etc. to the ones I have. I still have about 10 AGs and I'm happy with the diversity/representation of who is remaining.

 

I am on what feels like a constant merry go round with this hobby but as I love it, I just have to accept that its the way it has to be for me. I only have a small place to display my dolls in my bedroom and have quite an eclectic taste too. I get too stressed if I have more than five out on display as I just feel too cluttered in my small space, and I feel that I am not making the most of them either. I like to buy my dolls blank and paint and characterise them in full, so do put a lot of heart and soul into each one. I tend to feel a little burnt out with them after I have completed them and the novelty wanes a little. Sometimes I will repaint them but in general I will sell them to be able to fund another purchase. I keep my favourites but inevitably I have to be firm with myself and let dolls go that I am still very fond of. I worry about yellowing and so don't see the point in keeping a doll that I don't want out anymore and would rather put the money towards an exciting new project. The price of them also dictates the requirement to sell. I feel less guilty buying a new doll if I am selling one. It is a conundrum at times as it is impossible not to feel torn when we buy the dolls we love in the first place.

 

I'm having this same internal battle. I thought I would ever have max three dolls, but I'm now at two SDs, 8 slim MSDs (+ waiting for my birthday gift girl), 7 tiny dolls, and 4 floating Minifee heads. I want to downsize, but apart from the SDs and some of the tiny dolls, I'm having a hard time letting go. Also, I've so many slim MSDs (mainly Minifees) on my wishlist whom I really want, but because I feel like I shouldn't be buying more dolls when I want to downsize, I end up buying a lots of heads from the second-hand market. Then of course, I need to try to find bodies for these heads, because I don't like them sharing. I could have ordered the full dolls directly from the company and saved both money and time, and ended up with less dolls. I'm seriously going up the wall.

 

About two years ago I decided I needed to downsize. I lived in a place where I just didn't feel comfortable and was anxious I'd have to move out of a sudden (which actually happened a month ago anyway). To me, the idea of owning about 20+ dolls was overwhelming. Anyway, I had about 7 head and 5 bodies and I thought it's just too much. I sold them gradually (one doll in 3 months) and I ended up with just 1 MSD, 1 SD and two sd heads to put it on. For a while I was happy that I had so many accessories. Plus, I freed myself of the OCological bounds. I could now clothe my dolls anyway I wanted and even swap heads - one was a pastel cutie, the other a gloomy gothic chick.

But... I came back to where I was lol xD The difference now is that I like my current crew I moved out and feel more comfortable. I still try to keep my crew limited, but overall I like just looking at a few dolls sitting cuddled into one another. Warms my heart

Also, one of these dolls is for sale anyway and one of the heads has been put out for sale (I just don't bump it, because I'm not sure I really want this one to go :P I guess I still need more time and I like this head because it's perfect and LE)

My advice - like a lot of people above said - don't get rid of them just because of the number. If you have a doll that doesn't inspire you anymore, poses badly, looks boring, completely out of your new style etc - sure, give it a new loving home and use the money on other dolls or hobbies I do so

Plus... When I first came to the hobby, I was buying just any dolls, not experienced in how to look at the photo to assess whether i'd like them, not even aware of the variety in companies... and my dolls were, well, just plain ugly sometimes (so were my faceup skills :P) but now I'm surrounded with many dolls I'd thought I could only dream of having.

Someone also said that they made a list... Well... that's how I do it too I write down the things or just take them out of boxes and part - non-keepers and keepers I do the same with my own belongings - clothing, books etc. I come from a family of squirrels, so I just had to learn how to declutter etc.

 

If I didn't down-size, I'd be drowned in dolls! I tend to keep my collection fairly active, buying a few selling a few. But there comes a time when I have so many dolls that I just can't handle them. Then it's time to seriously cull the herd. My basic rule is if the doll doesn't make my heart beat faster, it can go. I'm only keeping my favorite dolls & an amount that will fit in the cabinets.

 

I have been systematically downsizing my collection over the past two years, because I lost a huge amount of interest in the hobby for various reasons. I decided I would only keep the dolls I really, truly wanted and sell the rest. I still have a few that are for sale, but I've gotten my collection down from a staggering 37 dolls to just 16 (with two incoming, hopefully in March). I didn't have a difficult time choosing which ones to get rid of. In fact, at one point, I would have willingly sold/given away all but three of them. In fact, I did give away a number of dolls nobody wanted to buy for actual money. It was a massive feeling of relief to get rid of them, to be honest. It's helped me appreciate the rest of them more, as well.

 

Yes. I have downsized before in the past. And honestly it was probably for the best at the time.

I got into this hobby very young. I joined the forum back in 2006 at 14ish. I fell head over heels for the hobby and abjds in general and found myself at a young age wanting every doll I saw. I collected up until 2010. Purchasing dolls that were in a lower price range that I didn't necessarily want but felt I needed. At the time I felt the bigger the collection the better. This ultimately backfired on me for a number of reasons. One I was a highschooler with no job and two I burned myself out. So I took a break.

Fast forward to now and I am back in the hobby. These days I am restarting my collection. I know what I like and have a job that financially makes it able for me to purchase whatever i really want. I'm more mature so I know what I like and have a better understanding of the value of things and that I shouldn't sacrifice the desire to have a specific mold rather than to have just have a doll to have a doll. I'm more cautious about purchases and have a better idea on my interests.

I guess that explains it? I'm a firm believer that once you start feeling burned out it's a time to purge and move on. If it's meant to be you will be reunited or come back to something and that's exactly what happened for me.

 

I am currently downsizing my collection. Tho i dont have a lot and only own a few SD's. Ive re-homed 2 of my boys because they were bought on impulse. They weren't really the sculpt i wanted so i had to let them go. Now im just keeping the ones i really like.

 

I have been in your shoes, owning a large collection and feeling overwhelmed but ultimately unable to take action for fear of regret.

You sound like you have a good system going with rotation. However, I went a step further: I put ALL my dolls in storage. That helped me in a couple ways. First, without seeing the dolls, even knowing they were taking up space in a closet, everything felt a lot less cluttered (including my mind). Immediately evacuating my collection wasn't as pressing with them out of sight. Second, it forced me to evaluate how much I was missing each doll individually. I didn't take any dolls out during this Doll Fast, even the ones I was having tender feelings about, because I wanted to see how I would truly feel over a long period with them "gone."

By the time I was ready to take my dolls out again, I had come to the conclusion that almost all of them have something amazing I would truly miss if they were gone...and the ones that didn't, I knew I was ready to let go. It wasn't a huge number I wanted to let go of, far less than I'd wanted to actually, but I was satisfied having "trimmed the fat" and having only the best parts remain.

Also I am on the "uncommon old sculpts" train! Some BJDs are just classics, and some were never very popular to begin with and would literally be almost impossible to replace if sold. Not only would you not be able to get them back more than likely, you'd be taking quite a serious monetary hit on them. They will be worth more to you than the price they would command.

I hope you're getting into a better headspace with your collection (and everything else) and wish you the best of luck!

 

I've also struggled with this a lot these past few months. My mother is a pack-rat (borderline hoarder) and I feel so uncomfortable when I'm in her house. I've been slowly going through a home culling process and last to be culled is my doll collection. I've gotten rid of so much, and the dolls make me so happy, that I've been reluctant to approach this task. However I read a discussion question the other day where the doll owner was very happy with 2 dolls and didn't want to add more. I was super jealous of that. I've taken my group of 20 and ear-marked 5 for re-homing. By the end of 2018 I'll go from 20 to 15. But I also know I may never be able to go fewer than that, because I'm just too attached to those remaining. I think I'll be okay with that. That may not be a huge culling, only 1/4 of the collection, but it feels big to me right now. Maybe next year I'll be able to do another 5.

 

In the 1st few months of starting the hobby i bought dolls every month on impulse! And i couldnt really bond wif them! I got stressed out and constantly looking for new dolls! Well i sold some of them to my friends and they are very happy! Glad they went to good home! My current family is manageable and since i only stick to yosd i wont be stress out!

 

The beautiful thing about a hobby is: it exists solely to please you. You can keep every doll you ever bought or sell every doll you ever bought or anything in-between. You can change your mind and change it back again continuously, if you please. There really aren't any rules here, but if there were, it would be "Do as you please."

That doesn't mean, though, that we don't all agonize over decisions. I have way too many dolls (off topic ones) and they need to go. It's gonna be a big job. :P

 

I have thought about downsizing,but, I’m not ready to give anyone up yet.