Do they really hold their worth? How "old" are YOUR dolls?

I don't worry about depreciation too much. If you think about it, $600 over 4 years is about $0.40 per day. For the amount of enjoyment I get from my girl, that's a small price to pay.

 

I'm just starting with bjd's but I get attached to things that I buy and have to really dislike them to sell them on. As an example I'm currently selling xbox 360 games that I absolutely don't want to play and want the storage room back under my bed (for ds boxes naturally) These games are 4-6 years old and I've been sleeping on top of some of them for a long while. Also aided by the fact a couple of years ago I translated from xbox 360 player to ps3 player I obviously don't feel attached to these titles as much. I've also sold my nono hair remover that I haven't used in a good year or so and it's been sat on the side, as well as selling on some dreamcast games I'm not so attached to anymore. However, back to dolls, I feel that once I own the 3 I have my heart set on I will probably focus on the clothes/ wigs and eyes side of it and will look after those 3 dolls for a long time. I actually find it odd that so many people trade their dolls, buy new heads and sell on so often because to me I'm only going to buy the ones I really want and I'll just admire the other beautiful dolls through photos.
And as for what do you consider old, anything older than a century. People tend to focus on their own small lives when in reality, with care, some of these dolls will live way beyond us and we should look after them with that knowledge.

 

I think LE sculpts or even well loved brands that are no longer in business not only retain their value, but increase as time goes on.
When I sold my first doll I took a small financial hit but that was because she was missing an original part, I could have easily asked for $1000 at the time if she was complete since they were still hard to obtain and my model was no longer sold. Those were simply the prices back then.

What I'm saying is yes, a doll can retain it's value. She was in pristine condition considering how OLD she was! 2003 old. I've seen some others from that year, yellow beyond belief, cracked, just...in poor shape. It really depends on how well the doll is taken care of. If it's in good condition and a favored mold, someone out there will want it.

This is one of the only hobbies I've found that you can't cheap out by getting a doll sold for half what it's worth(excluding emergency sales) because people will still pay almost full price for a used doll. Often times the buyer saves on shipping buying the doll from their own country, maybe they just like "broken in" dolls. Whatever the case, you're not likely to find a doll played with once or twice and sold for half it's worth simply because it's "used", even broken pieces sell in the marketplace for modders needing parts! Nothing goes to waste. I like that part of our hobby.

 

What do you consider to be an "old" doll?

Ummm...more than 50 years old, I'll consider him/her as old doll. But it's really up to how people take care of them. Some antique dolls still look new and young, comparing to a few year doll with no one cares.

Do you think the dolls hold there value?

If it's about my dolls, I don't think so. I bought/adopted them because I like and they didn't cost much and not LE one. So their worth might be lower than when I got them. But I don't really care about this fact, since I don't think I can give up on them.

Do you own an aged or damaged doll? If so, what do you plan to do with it?

My dolls are undamaged but not 100% perfect since they arrived from company. I'm still new about fixing them, so I like to join doll meet because there has many professional or senior hobbyists who can help me out and give some advice like how to clean strains on body, restringing, etc... I've learned a lot from them. And if I own a damaged doll, I will find a way to fix him/her over giving up.

How old are your dolls and how long do you plan to keep them?

Average a year or few months...I started this hobby a year ago, that's why But one of mine whom I adopted, is already 4-5 years old. I plan to keep all of them definitely.

 

What do you consider to be an "old" doll?

In terms of BJD's anything over about five years or that has really aged visibly in a negative way, like major yellowing.

Do you think the dolls hold value?

Some limited ones might but over all once they hit a certain age and level of decay probably not. I would not pay as much for a six year old, half yellow doll as I would a brand new one. It's just not the same thing and I don't think my bought new dolls are going to be worth the same thing years later. Depreciation happens, even with BJD's.

Do you own an aged or damaged doll? If so, what do you plan to do with it?

Yes, several. Mostly keep them. I bought them actually because they were old and because as older less perfect dolls I could afford them. Age can work to your advantage in this hobby. I have dolls that I could not afford newer.

How old are your dolls and how long do you plan to keep them?

The oldest is like7-8 years I was told. Probably forever. I do have heads I don't want because I'm just not particularly into them but aging has little to do with my getting rid of a doll. I view aging as part of owning and loving a doll. I don't give up on my dolls because they get old. I love them anyway, despite their imperfection. If I sell or swap a doll it's because I'm just not into them and giving them the love they deserve and I figure they might as well have a better home with someone who likes that sculpt more. I do try to fix my dolls if I can, de-yellow them if possible, swap bodies if it really gets bad maybe, but I usually don't get rid of a doll sculpt I really like.

Even if they get yellow or brittle as they age they're still mine. It's not been an easy thing for me to learn to tolerate. I came out of collecting fashion dolls and some of the ones I bought they aged very badly. For the money those dolls cost I was very upset by that. I ended up replacing a lot of bodies on some very expensive dolls and it really ticked me off. Resin dolls I was leery of at first because I knew from reading at first that it could be even worse with some BJD's. But over time I started seeing the ways people got around it, like airbrushing or dying yellowed dolls and I kind of got into that. You can't really do that as easily with non-resin dolls so in a way it now seems like resin dolls are maybe better to me in that aspect, not worse.

I don't expect my dolls to retail full value when they are a decade old and a different color than they were originally. To me that's just not logical. Factory new is factory new and most of the really old resin dolls that I've seen they look nothing like they did when they first were made. There are some dolls that age very well, where you can't tell, but a lot of them you can, and paying the same for an aged doll as a new one? Nah. Not unless it's hardly ever seen used and I'm feeling pretty lucky to have a chance to buy one at all...

 

What do you consider to be an "old" doll?
Sometimes it may depend on how the doll is taken care of. Some "old" dolls are in such good condition that they still look new. Though I think all dolls will yellow over time and their strings will be stretched out. A little love and care can make these dolls look good again. I guess if I had to put a number on it, I would say maybe 7 years is pretty "old" for a BJD.

Do you think the dolls hold their value?
It depends on the doll and the condition of the doll.

Do you own an aged or damaged doll? If so, what do you plan to do with it?
I own one aged/damaged doll. I had my lovely friends help me clean her up and put her back together and now she looks great again.

How old are your dolls and how long do you plan to keep them?
Most of my dolls were purchased in 2012 and 2013, however I have one head from 2010 and an old Delf Soo of unknown age. I imagine she's from before 2010, but I'm not sure. I definitely plan on keeping all of them