Do you find limited dolls very.. limiting?

Well, I only have one that's limited (and they've made some more with that faceup so he's getting a little less limited maybe) but I have two with expensive, special artists faceups. One of the ones with an artists faceup I'm a bit more careful with, but the others? Not really. Granted, I am more paranoid about ALL mine, even standards, who have faceups I did not do, but they've all been to meets, been outdoors, been handled by non-doll owning friends, etc.

I guess maybe I'm not as cautious as I could be, but I've carried the one who's face I most worry about around a 'Con, taken almost all of them outside for photos and wouldn't hesitate to do so again, taken them to meets, etc.

I do find that I don't go for limiteds that often. Sometimes, but not that often. If it doesn't fit (or quickly become) a character, I'm not that likely to buy it, and the extra expense of limiteds makes me much more picky about them. I'd rather buy blank standards most of the time, and do their faceups myself. I guess you could consider the MNF Scar Shiwoo I have and the Scar Breakaway on the way to me as "limiteds" as they are gift heads, but they come blank and I get to make them who I want them to be. They won't be the first ones I reach for to go on vacation with (though they are high on the going-to-a-meet list), but they will go outside for photos and things like that.

 

I have agree I that the "now or never" feeling during sales periods are a PITA, but personally, I'd rather have a sales period rather than a limited number of dolls, like an edition of 20 or 50.

I only own one limited at the moment, and I'm not as tightly bonded with her as my other dolls. Probably because she doesn't have a faceup yet.

 

I don't look at limiteds for the very same reasons you're having trouble enjoying yours. Fortunately, I haven't seen a doll that's a dead ringer for a character I'd like to shell that's only LE, or one that's simply too stunning to pass up, but I think it may be partly becuase I've told myself that I don't want the worry over damaging it.

 

Not really. I'm not into the modding and painting thing. (I don't buy a doll if I don't like the default faceup.) As a real, live person I do my makeup the same every day (it's a pretty versatile look). I express myself through accessories, clothing, hairstyle, and so on. And that's how I am "creative" with my dolls. A new look, a new scene, and so on. So it doesn't matter how limited the doll is. I can be creative without changing the look of the doll at all.

I might be a lot more CAREFUL with a limited doll, but I'm careful with all of my dolls.

 

Both my girls aren't exactly limited, but they are discontinued. My first girl is a dollfie dream version one, which was discontinued with the release of the version two, and my other girl is a Volks SD13 Megu which, with the rest of the SD13 4 sisters, were discontinued after the pureskin changeover.

When I bought them (or first planned to buy them, in the event of my Megu13), they weren't limited, nor did I have any idea that they would become limited.

Lucky for me, and them, I buy dolls that I like in their purest form, all original, no modifications, so they will retain their worth as now limited dolls.

Do I worry about taking them out? Not really. Although they're discontinued, you can find them around for less than they marketed new. In general they aren't sought after, which might explain why they were discontinued to begin with, unlike a limited which gets harder to find and more expensive over time.

I never intended on owning limited dolls at all (because I simply can't justify the cost), but my girls kind of snuck under the wire on a technicality.

 

At the same time, should I compromise for a doll whose sculpt I like less just so that I can have fun without reserve?
Hey, it's up to you, really. If you really can't feel free with your limiteds and want a doll to bang about with, then go for it.

I don't feel limited by my limiteds, to answer your main question.

I have a Volks One-Off... I won't change his faceup or eyes, of course. But I have other dolls I can fool about with, so that doesn't worry me. I was happy with him as he was... otherwise I wouldn't have bought him in the first place. I've taken him out to gardens and to meetups and such. No problem.

So I was wondering, Do you treat your limited dolls differently than your regular release dolls?
Most all of my dolls are limiteds (of about 16 or so, only two tinies are standards). So I treat them like regular dolls because... I don't have any regular dolls to treat differently! Truly, I bring my white skin limited dolls outside and to places, etc. No problem. I try not to mis-treat them or damage them, but I treat them like dolls... whatever that means to any individual!!!! I wouldn't feel I'd treat a regular release differently... what... just throw it around??? NO! I LIKE my dolls, limited or not! I'm not going to mistreat any of them. I'll take the same care of all of them because I LIKE them. Not because some are rarer than others. They are ALL irreplaceable to me.

Do you feel more comfortable expressing creativity through colors/painting/modding on a doll that is not limited?
I've modded limiteds. I do it because they are mine and I don't plan on selling them, so it doesn't matter if someone won't want to buy a mod, etc. They are my dolls and I'll do what I wish with them. (I do try to respect the sculpt, however. I buy them because I like them, after all... not because I wish to change them into something else. Mods have usually been slightly opening eyes.)

I usually won't touch 'em, though. As I said, I buy them because I like ALL aspects of them. Otherwise I wouldn't buy them.

Have you ever compromised a characters sculpt because you did not want to be held back by the limitations of a limited doll?
I don't do characters. I buy dolls as they appeal to me as dolls--entire dolls... usually default faceup and all, although I'll change eyes and clothes and wigs, of course. That's most of the fun for me. My dolls become their own characters, but I like them as dolls first.

 

I hadn't really thought about this until iiru's doll type sold out on dollmore (ws pado with a very particular face-up), probably because I'd have to say he's my favorite in my crew. It worried me for a little bit, but I got over it. I don't see a point in *me personally* buying these dolls if I'm just going to keep them on the shelf and not get any use out of them ('use' being used lightly); I enjoy photographing them and having them out of their boxes, if I was too worried about them being limited I'd just wind up stressing myself out.
I'm careful with my dolls in general though, limited or not.

 

I have one limited doll and I treat him just like the rest except that I am a little more wary of taking him out of the house because I could not replace him. I buy resin dolls specifically because I can play with them, changing them if I like. I prefer to buy standard dolls and only bought this one because it's the only way I could get him. I think it comes down to collecting style; I wouldn't buy a resin doll I couldn't play with. I also would probably not compromise if I really loved a specific doll.

 

I choose the sculpts I like, either limited or regular edition (though a quick count of my guys seems to show I have more LEs and hard-to-gets than otherwise...) but to be honest I'd turn things around and say I treat all my guys like Limiteds, certainly when it comes to taking care of them, their faceups and resin-colour and the like. On the other hand I've modded two of my Limiteds and I drag my Limited guys all over the place with just as much frequency as my standard ones. While I'm aware of the features that make my guys limited and take care of all of them as best I can, I don't let that consideration affect my enjoyment of them.

 

I'm very much on the same boat as Xi-feng with this one. I take care of all my guys well, regardless of their limited status. I buy my dolls because I love the mold, and as it turns out I end up with a lot of limiteds mostly because my two great company loves are Volks and Soom.

I feel like... this isn't a cheap hobby. So if I'm going to spend $500+ on a doll, it needs to be one I really love and think is worth the money, not just one with a fancy, limited status, and in the same thread of thought it shouldn't be one I "settled" for so I don't have to worry about something happening to them.

 

I got one limited doll: Cherishdoll's Cynical Baby Cathy. And I actually took a chance with her and waited for months before I got her. I discovered her in summer last year and went like "Ok, if they still got her in October, I'll get her for Christmas". As she's obviously either a less popular sculpt (or they had a large number of the limited version), they still had her in October and as they could ship her at once, I had her by November. So, going after that experience, I'd say no, I don't find limited dolls limiting.

On the other hand, I'm not the type to get about every doll I think looks nice. I don't have enough money and space to do that. So I usually don't have any dolls on my "wanna"-list, usually. In fact, I only got a "if I ever happen to move into a bigger flat and find I got several 100 Euros left, I'll get them"-list. Currently on it: Realpuki Soso and a Volks FCS SD-13. Most of the time, with limiteds, I'm more like "uh, looks nice but I ain't gonna buy a doll for THAT much money - I'm not THAT crazy." - the Cynical Baby Cathy's the big exception since there, the limited version was EXACTLY what I wanted (she looks like a very angry Anne of Green Gables in that dress and wig of hers *lol*) and I didn't consider her too expensive. I maybe would now - but not then.

 

The way I see it, any ball-jointed doll is irreplaceable to me--which is true for most of the items that I am truly attached to. If I lost or damaged Claire, it wouldn't just be a matter of finding a new one, because that new doll could not be the same as my former doll. It doesn't matter that she's a limited edition; I would feel the same about a standard doll, because it is my doll. It makes a difference to me.

If I had dolls with characters that existed separate of the doll, as I know many authors do, I might feel differently.

Thus, I do not find limited dolls to interfere with my enjoyment of the doll. I don't handle my dolls with kid gloves--I do more than just leave the dolls up for display. I don't feel it is necessary to preserve the "limited" status of the doll unless I am planning to sell her, so if the face sculpt is wonderful but the faceup just doesn't seem right to me, I will have her repainted. It just so happens that sometimes a limited doll is a better starting point, even if there are aspects I would like to change.

 

I have two limited Elfdolls, who weren't particularly popular. I don't like my Soah's limited dress and hardly ever use it and I don't care for my Red's limited wig and pants. I try to take reasonable care of their limited face-ups, but if they ever get worn I'll repaint them myself and not think anything of it. They were bought from a lady who couldn't bond with them and kept them in boxes the whole time. She was kind enough to sell them to me because she wanted someone to have them that would actually play with them. They have a much livelier time with me.

 

75% of my dolls are LE models because companies market them that way.

However, I do not feel "limited" by the fact that they are LE models. Besides my one off dolls and dolls who are still WIP; all have custom face up; thus they are all LE that way. But that is how I like it, I do not KEEP anything in default. I take and mix everything to my liking - that is how each doll shows me his personality (aka best sides).

I take them out for photo shoots, dress them and they stand around my house. I take precaution when they are out of their boxes other than that; I do not feel limited by their rarity at all.

I know I may be different from other collectors. I do not have dolls because I can recover my expenses later, I buy them because I want to play with them. Many of them are the ones I will never sell thus I do not feel that I must keep them in so-and-so condition. I spent the money on them I rather enjoy them while they are at their prime.

 

Most of my dolls are limiteds or hard to get sculpts, and all the dolls I have modded are limited sculpts. The perceived rarity of a sculpt doesn't stop me from enjoying my dolls, because that's what i bought them for - to enjoy them. I take care of my dolls, but at the same time they sit around the house for me to enjoy as much as possible - they're not kept in boxes or in a case or whatever.

 

As awesome as I think limiteds usually are, I don't tend to want to buy them because they usually have an already established look...and normally that look doesn't fit with any of the characters I'm working on. If you have characters that you make dolls based on, I would think it would be hard to have as close a bond with them as one you bought as a 'blank canvas' and built to your satisfaction yourself. Plus, with the high cost of most limiteds, I'd be afraid to let them leave the house...@_@

The only time I was truly tempted was when Lati came out with their unicorns...the only thing that stopped me was the fact that I would have been short on the rent money if I did. ^_^;

 

I think only one of my current group is limited, but she's probably the least expensive of them. Though she's limited I'm planning to visit all sorts of customization mayhem upon her, bwahaha!

I know what you mean, though... but for me I find I don't 'play' with my dolls, even though I've tried buying dolls to schlep about or whatnot... I just can never bring myself to do it. I finally decided maybe I just don't need to.

Raven

 

Now that you mention it - and I actually think about it - I only have one regular, non-limited doll. Like you, I get Soomed quite often, so two of my dolls are Soom MDs, another is a Soom FFD (which isn't really limited, but not exactly a regular release that you can get any day of the week either). My fourth doll is a limited release from Luts... so yeah, that leaves my fifth doll, the DoD DoI, as the regular doll.

I don't treat the limiteds much different from my DoI. I even took my two Soom MDs on vacation with me in October and carried them around while I was over in Hong Kong XD

It's not that I don't worry about them being dented, broken, stolen, etc, but it's never really stopped me from taking my dolls out to places or shoving them next to my dog/guinea pigs during photoshoots. I think that might be down to the fact that I never actually order a full set though, so I'm not afraid of doing stuff to my limiteds since it's not like I'll accidentally destroy a one of a kind face up or body blushing, or anything like that. And more often than not, my two Soom MDs don't even wear their fantasy parts

But I will admit, whenever I experiment with something, I usually grab my DoI and use him as a guinea pig. He was my second doll (first doll got sold), so he's been with me the longest; thus force of habit to grab him and use him for non-permanent mod experiments.