Different costs for upkeep due to size?

In my experience eyes, wigs, and shoes are often the same or almost the same price wise. It is clothes where I've seen more of a divergence with cost with tinies being on average cheaper to clothe compared to the larger sizes. Even then a lot tends to come down on the quality/detail/style having a big role in the price ranges you are looking at.

 

I just have msd sized dolls right now, but I’ve noticed while shopping for them that there isn’t much of a difference in price for accessories with differently-sized stuff. At least not for low to moderate quality items. It’s more like you pay for quality instead of size.

The only things I’ve seen with a price difference has occasionally been Shoes and clothes, but on places like Etsy it’s usually a difference of a few dollars.

 

I have had many sizes and I would say the clothes and shoes do vary in cost, but I also find the cuter the clothes the more I so buy. I try to say three outfits per doll. Not weather,cold weather and special occasion outfits. But then you figure it they have jeans, shorts or both you can buy those cute tops, or jackets. Then of course dresses can get esp expensive. I have triplets. Three SD13 girls that have to not only have their own special outfits, but those outfits that day yes we are triplets. It's a case of buy quality not quantity of you can help it.

 

I mostly make my own clothes, so there I do see a concrete price difference. SD clothes cost twice as much to make as MSD clothes, due to the amount of fabric and ribbon it takes. However, we are talking really small sums. Most fabrics I use range from 4 to 6 USD a meter, and ribbons from 0,3 to 2 USD a meter. For a blouse I need like 0,3 meters maximum, skirt can be 1,5 meters plus three meters of ribbons. Also for SD dolls' outfits I can use general supplies and fabrics and don't need to order so much specially made small scale supplies that tend to be more expensive and hard to find.

Wigs depend on head sizes, not necessarily on doll size, and SDs and smaller dolls don't always have that much difference in head sizes after all. For example Minifees are small, but they have exactly the same head girth as some SD women, and Minifees are not even that bobble-headed. Lati yellow again is a tiny doll but definitely has as big a head girth as some my SDs have. I make wigs myself too, so all they cost is materials. There tends to be price difference in ready made wigs according to head size, but mostly to cover the extra material and work. Especially natural fibers like alpaca are quite pricey, so the price difference can be bigger than in synthetic cheap wigs.

I haven't really noticed price difference in eyes or shoes, they tend to be mostly the same. And if I made doll shoes and eyes for sale, I would keep the price same for all sizes too, as at least for me making smaller stuff is more difficult and therefore actually takes more effort and time. Also the detail in SD size stuff is usually better. Therefore, in my opinion SD size is much nicer to shop and sew for than minis or tinys, and I don't mind the small price difference because there are so many pros for me in SD size that I gladly pay a bit more to enjoy them. I only have one MSD doll at the moment and probably will not get any more.

 

Crafting/maintenance supplies is where the upkeep cost difference comes in. Mostly fabric/fiber quantities like @vauhtikatti said, but also maintenance and customization supplies like new elastic, faceup materials, epoxy, etc. My tiniest dolls can literally wear a dress made of 4 inches of ribbon, while a similar dress for my 60cm girls might require a whole meter or two of fabric.

On the other hand, finding materials in the right scale can be a lot harder for tiny dolls, like fabric prints, eyelashes, jewelry materials... so what you save in money you may lose in time and convenience tracking down what you want.

Of course, if you're not really looking to customize your dolls beyond buying clothes and accessories, none of that probably matters.

 

From my experience, it's about the same with eyes, wigs, clothes, shoes and accessories, though it's hard to say that when taste and style can make a huge difference in price. I tend to like pretty casual dolls, so the prices are about the same regardless of size. A tiny doll and a large doll would get about the same number of faceup layers, so the price difference there is minuscule (and I hate hate HATE painting tinies, so the smaller amount of materials is more than made up for in frustration!)

I think the biggest price difference is going to be in furniture and props. The teeny tinies can often use dollhouse scale items. YoSD does well with Barbie stuff. MSD and Slim Mini can usually use furniture made for American Girl and other 18" dolls. SD and larger...usually need things made specifically for them. Which gets really expensive, really fast. Sometimes you can repurpose a jewelry box or maybe stuff for baby dolls, but it's a lot harder to find ready made stuff in large scale without being too large (like little kid furniture.)

 

I collect and own dolls of varying sizes, although I prefer mature tiny (but don't actually own one in resin yet). I mostly own larger dolls however, because I stopped purchasing BJD ten years (or more) ago, and tiny mature-looking BJD weren't really a thing back then. I do own varying dolls of other kinds in 1:6 or smaller non-scaled sizes. I can say that I see any correlation in size and cost of upkeep of a doll; unless you include costs of customizing, which not everyone does (like body blush or modifications). I used to purchase multiple wigs and eyes for all my dolls regardless of size, and the wigs for the smaller ones didn't cost any less than the larger ones, neither did the eyes nor shoes (depending on the brand). I don't think size and costs of them relates to the clothing and accessories all the time, however, I do believe it becomes a larger hassle when it comes to photographing and customizing in general. Edit: I don't purchase nor shop for BJD clothing, so maybe it does make a difference when it comes to clothes.

I'm short, scrawny and weak, so carrying around my largest BJD just around my home to take photos of him, has always been a struggle for me. I've never weighted him myself, but he's pretty heavy for me to carry for a long time. He takes forever to clean as well, because I do enjoy blushing my dolls but it kind of doesn't last long (depending on how much you play with the doll). He's probably the one doll that takes the longest to get completely cleaned, and then blushed once again. Doing the face up on a larger doll (for me) is much easier though, as is doing any sort of modifications so I guess that's a win when it comes to ease of customization in relation to size of the doll. I rather paint or modify a larger doll's face, but it does take a lot more fixative, clay, or time than the smaller sized ones with relatively smaller faces, which take less of all but are more of a struggle to paint or modify (for me) so I guess it evens out in the end. DX

 

The only major price differences I've found in some clothing for the bigger dolls. But that's only for the super intricate detailed stuff that have tens or hundreds of hours going into them. I believe it evens out.
It's a lot easier to make bigger clothes(for me at least), so it goes faster and cost less per hour. Smaller clothes are a little more finicky, so it goes slower and costs more per hour. Balancing out the material cost difference.

 

My smaller dolls have cost considerably more. I like to make stuff, but I cannot manage making anything smaller than 1/4 size. So I have to buy everything for them--clothes, wigs, eyes, shoes, props. I have small dolls ranging from 1/6 to 1/12 (all Fairyland). I had the WORST time finding wigs that fit everybody. For each doll, I bought at least four wigs that didn't fit, before finding one that did. With my bigger dolls (1/4 to 70cm), wig caps easily solve ill-fitting wigs. Same with shoes and outfits.

For props, the Realpuki (1/12) is my absolute favorite. There are so many amazing dollhouse minatures and fairy garden props out there, and most of them are affordably priced! She may end up costing me the most in the long run, because if I can find a really cute fairy dollhouse, I will be forced to buy it immediately.

 

I’ve found that it’s more dependent on the item I’m looking at than an overall kind of cost. It depends on what size I’m ordering for as well. I’ve found that a lot of tiny items are relatively expensive probably due to their size, but there are plenty of SD items that are also highly priced. It just depends on how smart you are with crafting or deciding to buy instead. I think researching your product or project is the most important thing you can do.