Do dolls hold their worth? Reselling value concerns

It's just economics and demand factoring into a sale. However, just as economics goes, you just gotta wait for the right moment, yet at the same time you can't hold out too long, it's a game of roulette with lady luck.

 

Dolls just aren't an investment; very little is these days and unfortunately that's how it is with luxury items, because they're just that. A luxury item. With no driving demand that makes them necessary you can't really expect the price to maintain or escalate, and to be honest I'm okay with that. It makes me fully think about what I'm buying and less likely to gamble.

 

If I may jump in here for a minute. I have to look at it this way. If I've been enjoying my doll for a long time and then have to sell her at a loss I just feel like I'm really not out the money if I've enjoyed looking at her. Many other things you have for a length of time are trashed when they get old. At least we get something back. When I buy it is with the intentions of keeping for a long time.

Oh the demand factor has very much to do with it. What is most popular today may not be tomorrow. My Cissy dolls used to be worth a lot and now, not so much.

 

I wouldn't pay the same amount or more for a second hand doll as I would for a new doll.

 

Seeing as I really can't see myself selling a doll for another 20-odd years which will give me that long to enjoy them - I think 'investing' in BJDs gives me much more payback than say a cruise (not that I won't go on at least one LOL). By the time my kids get the dolls (you know from my cold dead hands ~HA!~) I'm sure that some will get beaucoup bucks & some not so much. Nature of the world.

 

Year's ago an art dealer once told me, when it comes to collecting "buy it because you love it and not because you expect a return on it." He then of course talked to me about how xyz holds its value...lol. I didn't buy the artwork but I have always kept that attitude when it comes to collecting. It helps to keep me in check and I don't get my feelings hurt if I paid $$$ for something but it's current market value is $. But it's never my intention to sell anything that I collect regardless of perceived value or what I paid for it.

I guess the point I'd like to make is that I know there are various reasons (like whoops I shouldn't have made that impulse buy) or dire circumstances (insert random emergency here) that may warrant the need to sell something from a collection. It sucks if it needs to be sold for emergency reasons and there is potentially some pressure on receiving a specific selling price. However, if it's a simple matter of cleaning house there is a little more flexibility in choosing to wait it out, keep trying, find another means to gather the funds or decide it looks fine where it is on the shelf. But in all cases it's up to the market/buyer to determine "value."

And if anyone who's watched the antique shows on TV knows; there is always that random person that has a rare something or another, that was never popular back in the day but now it's worth thousands...so you never know...lol

 

from my experiance with aniques and collectibles 'in general' it all comes down to SUPLY & DEMAND. If you bought a doll new for a a high price but it was produced and easily available later... no the value wont increase and might even go down. Secondary market for ANY doll tends to lean to not getting back what you paid out. Barbie is the best example of this... Just because you have one of the first ones made does not mean you have a gold mine. Not unless it has never been opened. That being said, if you get lucky and find the right 'buyer'... you can sell anything at a rediculous price. I'd prolly pay more than it's technically worth if I could find a mint (even with nothing more than the doll and outfit) one of my grail doll ^^.

I just bought a LE20 doll for 1200 (I am not even contemplating the cost of 'getting him here cuz he's a 70cm >< )... I will likely NEVER get my money back if I ever decided to sell. FYI I think there is one more of him left ^^ (the one in my avatar). Tho if I manage to creat his 'trunk and wardrobe set like i want... who knows... I might even be able to up a price as a complete deal. It depends on what 'others want' and are willing to pay.

Yup thats about it... the roadshow comment... good to go by... it's totally true and what I sort of didnt say quite so well lol.

 

To an extent they do, but never at 100%. The minute a doll is bought brand new, comes home and then is opened by its first owner, it has lost value. When the doll is picked up and handled, it loses value. And when it stays with that owner over a period of time, naturally, it loses value. This is all subjectable though, as a doll that's been home for a day and has been treated like garbage will lose more value than a 10 year old doll that's spent all its time in a glass case.

However, I do believe certain dolls can reprise a little value with certain factors, such as a very nice face up that is well preserved, being kept out of sunlight , or put away when not being handled. I also do not think that a doll can be deemed completely worthless

 

It depends on how rare the doll is and how high the demand for it is. I just paid well over the cost of a new doll, for a secondhand doll. But, this doll is no longer available from the company as the company has collapsed. It is a relatively rare doll, was not especially popular in the past, and now rarely comes on the market.

Not that rarity will guarantee a good investment either, of course - take, for example, the Woosoo. Does anyone remember when Woosoo was the height of popularity, seemingly everybody's grail doll, and sold for huge amounts - I remember upwards of $3,000? Now? I see Woosoos going in the $600 range.

There are also many dolls that are quite rare, but simply not well liked enough to command a high price, and so never got to be worth a lot on the secondhand market even if they were limited edition.

I was very nervous deciding to offer on the doll that I just bought and am now waiting for, but I don't want to wait months if not years for another of the right color, right condition, complete head and body, to show up. I am willing to accept that I may not be able to resell the doll for the same price I paid, especially since again this doll is rare but not necessarily coveted by many people.

 

Isn't the age of resin a factor, too? I haven't seen anyone mention that yet, so I feel like it's worth considering. My understanding, as someone who doesn't own a BJD yet, is that resin changes color with age. Anyone buying a secondhand doll knows that there's a ticking clock on the resin's color, and by buying secondhand, they're reducing the length of time they'll own that resin while it retains its original color. Doubly so for tan skinned dolls, if I'm not mistaken.

Which isn't to say that economic trends, rarity, and doll sculpt/body fads don't play a part! I'm sure they play a much larger part than just resin color decay, but I would think that it's still a factor. And if I'm wrong, I would love to hear about it! I am all about learning right now

 

It depends on the company's resin--Dream of Doll ages beautifully, old Dollzone turns this astonishing golden color (which I like) and some of the early French Resin Limwhas went...banana yellow. Luts had some batches of ws go beauty green, which can be bad, unless you actually want it (which I did for one character, so I bought a green guy happily at a discount).

The best way to buy a doll is (as people have said) because you like the doll. If you think you may ever have to sell it, don't mod it or keep it in a brightly lit area, and you will probably find a buyer for it, especially if you look and see how much similar dolls are selling for on the current MP.

 

My advice as far as finding something that holds value is to not buy the doll everyone else is buying. Don't follow the trend of what's popular. There will be less of the less-popular doll around if you ever decide to sell. With a little luck, you can then get a better price for it.

I'll use my collection as an example. I bought my original Volks Shinshiya and Misia right when Volks was discontinuing them because of their total unpopularity. Since the dollar-to-yen exchange was very good at the time, I got them dirt cheap. Now there's lot of WTB threads for those models and they go for a considerable amount higher than their original price. Not that I want to sell them because they are my very favourite head sculpt, but if I did I could get far more than what I paid because of the demand. It's a discontinued standard model and discontinued from FCS, and they've been discontinued for a long time. Short of rare special events, there's just no more being made. There is also a high demand.

And that's how that works! So: if you're solely interested in retaining value, pick something super-rare and/or unpopular. You really should buy what you like though. You may get stuck with it if you can't sell it.

 

Everything depreciates, unless it becomes a collector's item like limited edition dolls. Law of economics, people.