Do you consider yourself to be a BJD collector?

I consider myself to be a collector of dolls, in lieu of a better term. Bjds are a part of my collection, which is rather eclectic.
The only type of doll of which I made some attempt to get as many as possible, if not all, were the Tiny Betsy McCalls.

 

I don't think of myself as a collector for the reasons you stated
i'm not interested in having all dolls. I'd like to have a great number of them, but only because my wishlist keeps growing, and i like having my characters in doll form.
Plus, i have only 2 dolls, so if i called myself a collector, it'd feel kind of inappropriated...

 

I always use the term "collector", because it's the quickest easiest way for non-BJD people to understand. A "collection" implies that you have multiples of the item, and that the item holds value (at least for the person collecting) and that you'll be planning to get more. I don't think it at all implies that you'll have or want ALL of them - no one expects someone who collects Disney trading pins or Hard Rock Cafe pins or stamps to have every one ever made.

Everyone knows SOMEONE who collects action figures or Barbies or porcelain dolls, so if the "why do you have a doll?" question is answered with "I collect them" people instantly get it. I often say I "collect and customize" them, since that also somewhat covers the "did you make that?" question. I'm a collector from a family of collectors - Hallmark ornaments, Christmas village houses, keychains, stuffed penguins, American Girl dolls, Beanie Babies, anything with a bird on it, cat stuff - my aunt has (or had, at least) the largest collection of Socks the cat (Bill & Hillary Clinton's cat when they were in the White House) memorabilia in the US, possibly the world.

I don't want to have every BJD, and I only get the ones I love and usually only ones I have characters for. BUT, people GET the term "collector", so that's what I use.

 

I'm not a collector. Never think of myself like that. "Collecting" has a little negative meaning for me, because it sounds as "I want ALL of them" and it gives the feeling that all you want is just to satisfy your desire of collecting and getting more and more...
I bought my dolls because I liked them to me, it's almost like getting myself a pet.

 

To be technical:

col⋅lec⋅tion  /kəˈlɛkʃən/ [kuh-lek-shuhn]
noun
1. the act of collecting.
2. something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, esp. for some purpose or as a result of some process: a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill.

I have a collection/group of BJDs, so yes, I would be a collector.

 

Well in the technical sense of the term, no. I think it's just a matter of liking the doll for the doll, and having several as a result. Because they can be so human-like, it's hard to say really that you 'collect' them. Cards are easily collected as they have no human qualities, but throw something as cute, personal, and life like as a BJD in the mix, and you have a hard time saying it's a "collection." More like a family, maybe? It's more like a person than a thing. Not really a something, but a someone.

 

Haha I only have one, and don't plan on having gobs (less I get rich!), sooo.. no.. I'd consider myself a BJD Enthusiast.

 

I don't consider myself a collector yet, but I would like to be one day, I know it will take awhile, but all collections do. I'd like to actually have a collection of Volks dolls someday that wear only Dollheart or Volks outfits with Volks or Leekeworld wigs. There are many ways to collect, it doesn't have to be dozens and dozens of them, for example, instead of just all of one brand/size you could make a narrower collection. Like a Volks FCS MSD F-18 in all 3 skin colors Volks offers, if that was your collecting goal it isn't such a hard goal to reach.

 

Not by any means.
I am currently waiting on one.
All I ever intend to have is one, maybe two.
I don't have the money to be a collector. O_O

 

I'm definitely not a ball-jointed doll collector. It would be really inaccurate to describe myself as such. I own one doll and a few items for her. It would be different if I planned to acquire more dolls, but don't want to start up a collection. I usually think of myself more as a hobbyist or enthusiast. (Although, even then, I am not as hardcore as others.)

 

Absolutely.

But (Even though I do have a strong instinct for completeness-) I don't want every doll out there. My collection is more focused than that... I specificly collect Cerberus Project sculpts, with an emphasis on the different types and variations on Shiwoos and Breakaways.

Not every doll that I own is a CP, and not every CP here is a Shiwoo or a Breakaway... but they do account for a good share of the total, and they're the ones I'm most likely to go specificly hunting for. (At the moment, for instance, I'm scouting out the scar-faced MNF versions-) The other dolls here aren't so meticulously sought out. They just sort-of... happen.

 

I guess I'm technically a collector, although that word sounds so impersonal really. However, I guess it is the right term to use if you have multiple dolls. That's a collection, therefore you are a collector. I wouldn't say it's a collection in the same sense that you collect pokemon cards, but it still is kind of a collection. It's like art collectors. They will never own every single painting ever, but they tend to collect pieces that they like and enjoy.

Actually since BJDs are kind of like art, maybe we're art collectors.

 

I consider my self a BJD "keeper". In the terms you put, I dont have the urge to collect every single BJD out there, (OMG! I wouldnt have a house big enough!) I only want the ones I like, and there for I am a keeper of bjds since I only keep the bjds I like.

 

I agree with this. Though, it really depends on who is asking the question. Technically speaking, yes I am a collector. I have four, which is more than one, meaning a collection. But I do not seek to own most BJDs, therefore, for some, I am an enthusiast. Either is correct. To be short for people, I tell them I'm a collector because, technically, I am.

 

Well, I never thought of this. I always considered my love for BJDs as one of my hobbies. Like my love for books. I have over 400 books, all read...does that mean am I a collector of books? I have 8 BJDs and I'm waiting for another one, I play with all of them though I admit that sometimes I don't touch them for months!

A collector for me is someone who buys several things of the same group and keeps them in one place without touching them ever again. So, I don't consider myself as a BJD collector, I play with my BJDs and I don't want to own every BJD out there. I actually put myself a limit: 3 SDs, 3 MSDs, 3Pukis and 3 tinies...for now.

 

I guess I am technically a collector also. I am owned by several bjd's. Each bjd has a definate personality. I agree 100% that the bjd is a art form. I have plans to add some, delete some, but by no means any plan to have all of any one certain type. As I come more and more educated in the bjd world I am seeing changes in who I want to add.

 

Having owned a good number of both Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards, I can tell you that never did I want to collect all of them, just the ones I liked, and I did still consider myself a collector, just not nearly as hardcore a collector as those people who were shelling out loads of cash for boxes and boxes of them and constantly hunting for super rare cards and misprints and all that.

I take the same approach to BJDs. I do consider myself a collector, in a technical sense, as I have several and intend to purchase more. I do not, however, want all of them ever made or even all of a particular brand. (To be honest, there are some molds that you could not pay me to own even from companies I generally like, so owning all of them is right out.)

I don't see being a collector as automatically meaning someone wishes to own every one ever made of a particular type of item. Very hardcore collectors, perhaps, but not in general. I also do not think it's necesary to go to quite that extreme to be considered a collector of anything, and I don't believe that you can say that someone is not a collector just because they don't have, for example, every 60cm Elfdoll ever produced, but only, perhaps, Red and Wu. There is no minimum requirement, in my opinion, for someone to declare themself, or to be declared a collector.

Technically speaking, if you own more than one, you are a collector, whether you consider yourself one or not.

 

I'd say I am a collector. Although I only have two, and a third on the way, it's how I always 'collected' things. I never aimed to have ALL of them. Ever since I was little, I only collected the things I found special, unique, or just pretty. For example- disney pins. I picked the ones I liked best, and had no intention of getting many more than the number I had, and simply traded those for even better ones.
The definition provided above really is how I feel about collections. Especially with these dolls, where- with all the limited editions, one-offs, ect. collecting them all is a totally unrealistic goal. However, having multiple dolls is much more likely, and I think it still counts as a collection.
And as AmyAngel said, it really is an easy way to help others understand. Saying something is part of a collection is easier to grasp than a person's explanation about why they have each particular doll- even though I have a precise reason for each of my dolls and planned dolls- it's simpler.