Discovering the Price...

People generally dont ask me about my dolls, but if they do ask the price its something like this....

Person: Weird, so how much did it cost?
Me: errrr well eheheheheh.
Person: freak.

so yeah I dont really tell people lol

 

i quickly change the subject to avoid telling them. luckly i have a couple of friends who have bjd too . but the ones that dont would never understand

 

I love my neighbour! She makes artist-dolls herself and sells them and when I showed her my CP Tanning Lishe she was smitten by her. She was so amazed by her detailed hands.
So then the dreaded question came up and with a little embarresment I told her the truth. I expected the usual shock and horror, but instead I got this reply:
"That's actually quite cheap! I've seen artistdolls made of clay going for double this price and they are hardly as detailed as these dolls."

Sometimes people do understand why they are so expensive, especially when they make their own dolls and know how much time it costs to finish one.

 

Most my friends don't know about my dolls and they don't ask too much question about money.
I always find it quite rude when people start asking me how much things cost.
This also includes how much my university fees cost and how much it cost me to live in the U.K. a year.
It is especially the case if people start lecturing me about 'All that money you spend on hobbies etc could be donated to the poor!'

If someone does say something like that to me...
I'd probably reply: I AM spoiled, what are you going to do about it?

 

Some people freak out when they discover how much I pay for an individual doll. After having a so called friend harp at me about it forever, I now make it a point to anyone who asks, and gets on my back about it, that it's my money and if they don't like it, they can shove it. It's not nice but, I want them to understand that it's my business what I do with my money.

 

My friends don't care what I spend my money on hehe. I think I'm one of the few who is financially independent (not living with parents, has steady job, makes more than minimum wage, etc).

As for my family? I haven't lived with my parents since I was 17, they know I'm responsible and can manage my money... prolly better than they do since that's my job lol.

I do get joky comments from my friends about my dolls, but no one would ever judge me negatively for my hobby.

~Gio

 

Actually, you'd be surprised about how many people on here are pretty independent. ^__^ I've seen more than a couple who are married or engaged, have nice jobs, live on their own/with friends, etc.

Neither my family or my friends really judge me on it. In fact, they all love them too. I hope to save up enough money to buy my mother a doll. She loves them.

My boyfriend likes them a lot, too, but he's very picky about which ones he likes and doesn't. He rolls his eyes at me wanting $50 eyes, but he understands, too. I think anything that costs a lot of money make people blink, but how can you judge one's passion?

 

I didn't mean people on DoA, I'm talking about my group of friends

 

I freaked out when I discovered the priceXD But that's because I didn't change the currency and was looking on Hong Kong dollarsXD

As for others... The real price I tell only those I trust. My sister wasn't moved at all, my mother groaned and my best friend laughted and said "what is it for? buy yourself some clothes, go on a trip!"

 

I was pretty astonished at the prices myself at first, but now I've handled a doll myself I appreciate that you don't get good quality for nothing, so the prices don't upset me like they used to. On the other hand, I never explicitly tell my friends and family how much my dolls cost a) it's none of their business and b) other hobbies work out just as expensive in the long-term and I don't ask them how much they spend on their hobbies.

All anyone needs to know is "they're expensive" and if they still express serious interest in getting a BJD of their own, I'd be more than happy to point them to a few sites...but I'd never say exactly how much I've spent on my dolls. It just isn't anyone else's business to know. Also, with currency fluctuations, I seem to have bought a lot of my dolls during the boom year when GBP was quite strong against USD, so if someone was to buy the same doll now of course they would be paying more.

 

well I am in a pretty good situation at the moment due to haveing a job, and being able to spend my student help money, because I do have the luxery of still living at home. but I do pay my own bills and stuff *blegh healtcare bill*
but I don't safe any less for my dolls, I have safed up all the money I spend on my dolls.

for me it workes because I am a chronic moneysafer, I will say I have no money left for a month and people will say I could use my safings money. but my safings account is like a one way stream, ones money go's there it will not be used until I really want something.

this way I can safe up for my dolls (though I still have to consider which ones to buy and then safe up a few months) and all my other collections because next to being a chronic safer I am also a chronic collector of anything I happen to like (DVD's, Books, Collectable's and so on)

my friends and parent don't usually make a fuss, eventhough I did honestly tell them the prices, they either like dolls to or accept it since its all my own money

lol ranting off

 

When my mom complains about the price, I usually ask her how much her tattoos cost :P generally she'll counter with something silly about her tattoos being beautiful works of art that are very special to her >_> cause you know, the dolls that artists put a lot of effort into couldn't POSSIBLY be art, or special in any way

Most of my friends are gamers or cosplayers, so any mention of how weird I am for spending that much on a doll is usually silenced with "well, you have $500 worth of cheap cosplay in your closet..." (no offense to cosplayers, I cosplay too xD) or "and your 3DS + games cost how much.....?" xD the rest I just have to put up with.

 

First off, your a grown woman (or man.....i didnt look that up). You have bills you pay, and things you pay for out of your own pocket. If you want to spend money on a silly item, you should. If your friend rather spend money on something frivolous, more power to them. I used to spend my money i couldnt even show people....which i wont mention.....but now i spend it on something a bit more generalized, my dolls.
Ok so at to the question.....i got a job and some bills...but not so much i cant spend it on pricey items. I first started looking at dolls and within a month decided on Dream of Doll for my first sculpt, made my order, and was out $1000, again within a month. =)

 

I've gotten everything from "that's stupid," to "why don't you spend the money on yourself?" I just explain to them that I make sure the hobby costs as little for me as possible by looking for deals and whatnot, and it's basically if I didn't get an iPod or jewelry. Simple as that. Some people buy art, and then there's us, who buy CUSTOMIZABLE art.

Now that's talent right there. xD

But I have to admit, price is a big thing, and it's what made me throw away my wishlist and almost leave the hobby without even getting my first. But if you watch what you spend, it's very easy to watch what you're doing. You'd be surprised how much money is thrown away on movies, clothes, eating out, etc. Before you know it, you've easily wasted two dolls' worth of money away. No one realizes the FORTUNES people throw away on TV and cell phones. You don't need the best cell phone that just wastes your money and time, and you don't need cable TV with thousands of channels. The internet has everything and frankly, you can only watch one channel at a time. I'd rather pursue and more hands-on hobby than sit there and be a couch potato.

 

I've had this numerous times from people. There was a time when I would tell people the prices, but now it goes something like this...

Curious Person: How much did you pay for that doll?
Me: A lot.
Curious Person: How much is a lot?
Me: It's a lot.

The price of my dolls is really not anyone's business. If a close friend were to ask I would probably tell them, but sometimes not even then because I just don't really care to waste my time justifying why I spend so much on a doll. I don't ask other people to validate why they buy whatever they spend their money on, so why should I have to? And if the person does find out just how much they cost and is shocked by it, I've gotten my fill of the usual questions: "Why would you spend that much on a doll? I could buy a bunch of videogames with that!" or "What the hell?! That's a whole month's rent! Why?" What it really comes down to is this: I have a pretty steady job, my bills are always paid on time, I pay $15 a month for Netflix so I don't feel the need to buy movies constantly, I don't really need anymore clothes (and certainly not any expensive ones), TV doesn't interest me, and if I want to play a videogame I have about 10 I've had for years that I've never finished and 30 more I would love to play again. It may be hard for some people to believe, but yes, I would much rather have a doll than a new videogame system. I am well aware of how busy I am, and honestly I'm too caught up doing other things to play a game for hours all the time. But it only takes a little time out of my day to change my doll's clothes, photograph them, or give one of them a new faceup. And it only takes a second out of my time to look at them and smile because seeing them makes me happy.

 

The majority of the cash I used to save for my doll was from excess gas money. I would've gotten more, but I only need to gas up every few weeks, as compared to a few years ago, when I had to gas up weekly.

Unless someone is grossly wealthy, I don't see objection to someone's eyes bugging out when they find these dolls cost an upwards of $150. When my friend and I first discovered Volks, we saw the prices ($600-700) and we decided that that was way too much. It's perfectly normal to have that reaction, especially if you've just gotten into the hobby.

It's what you do next that's important.

I don't want to spend more than $400 at a time on any BJD. Of course, that means a certain group of dolls are off-limits to me, but that's OK. While I like some Soom and Volks dolls, I'm not interested in owning any, and usually a price higher than $400 turns me off from buying the doll.

If you find the price too much for you to handle, feel free to look for a company with legit dolls that cost less money. There are plenty. If you still don't like the price, you don't have to buy one; if you know someone who owns one, or know of a meet that happens near you, you can easily just enjoy the dolls that way. It might inspire you to buy one of your own.

 

I love having the "OMG SO EXPENSIVE" conversation with my friends that drink and party.

Friend: "Spoiled! Spoiled! Spoiled!"

Me: "My doll costs the same as your sat. night. At least mine last more than 12 hours."

 

None of my friends really judge me on what I purchase. Most of my friends are designers/artists and they understand the price one would pay for beauty. Most of them are owners of expensive art pieces and sculptures and would not judge me in the light of art.

My nursing friends simply dont have much of an interest and go eh... doll? not my thing.

The only reaction I had was from my mother when she found out the price of one of my dolls. She nagged at me for abit for spending so much on inanimate objects. But later on asked if she can help make clothes for her as well o.O; My dad still has not found out about the cost and I dont really feel inclined to tell him either

 

As long as you are independent and paying for your dolls on your own, it's really none of anyone's business what you paid for them. It's extremely rude to ask how much something costs. I've been fortunate to never have to deal with anyone wanting to know the specific price. I have been asked if the dolls are expensive in general, which I am fine with and I do tell people that this is not an inexpensive hobby. But if anyone ever seriously gave me a hard time about the price, I'd have to politely tell them that it is really none of their concern.

 

I had asked to get help to get my first doll, (now I've bought ones on my own) I showed him the current doll I liked which was a Dream of Doll Shall. My dad took one look at the price and laughed. "that cost as much as a good hunk of Crome!" (my dad collects Harley Davidsons). Other then that I haven't heard a thing about me spending money. My parents like it that I'm able to buy things on my own.