Do you find this hobby competitive?

In a sense I can see how people try to make is competitive, but I haven't had to deal with it personally. And I'm sorry your friend has made it feel that way for you. This hobby shouldn't be a competition, it's something to enjoy and do out of love for it. My friend and I are very competitive in games, but when it comes down to hobbies and the sort. Ones we share, and ones that only one of us takes part in. We are very supportive of each other, and thoughtful about it. AndI hope you can get to that point with your friend.

 

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any kind of competitive streak at all. I absolutely do (*)... But I firmly believe that there's a proper time and place for that kind of thing and the doll hobby just is not it.

I really feel like we all ought to buy our dolls and style them for ourselves alone. What other people have and what they do with it shouldn't even come into it. It just doesn't matter what the Peanut Gallery is up to.

(* In MMO PvP, as it turns out. I love making people grumble over getting their tail-feathers kicked by a Templar. )

 

In my opinion, I'm buying dolls & their stuffs because I love them & lucky I have the money.
I never force myself to buy dolls / their stuffs when I'm in tight budget.

If my friends have more dolls than me and much more expensive than mine...
Then, it's their own business, not a thing I have to worry about.

Why I have to get jealous over thing like that ?
It's a hobby that I enjoy with friends, not a competition that I have to win.

When a hobby becomes a drama with jealousy and stuffs...
I better get out & just simply leave it.

 

Um....not really. I have no one to compete with except myself. I'm glad other people can get theirs so I can go check out what they look like in real life. Also, it means there's one more person who owns a doll I like but couldn't get, and they might put it on the market place some day.

 

Fortunately, the people I've met don't have a competitive attitude. It's really all about enjoying your hobby in your own way,

 

I find that this hobby can feel competitive at times, but I don't know if that's even a conscious part of other collectors or something that's just a part of human nature. We all feel jealous of other's dolls/skills at times or a sense of pride at something we've accomplished within the hobby and that can easily become inflated or twisted. I don't think I know a single person though who honestly views BJD ownership as a competition, and for that I'm truly thankful!

 

No, unless you're competing with someone for a quantity limited doll - but then it's usually just a matter or who has the fastest internet connection.

 

Some friends are just really competitive. I have some friends like that. If you are happy with your collection then you should feel proud of yourself. Sometimes when people are like that they are just looking for their friends to approve of them. I few "oh man that doll is amazing, I'm so jealous lol" should cure her even if you arn't actually jealous of the doll. Some girls just want people to call them amazing because they have trouble doing it for themselves.

 

Someone in here was saying this should be a non-competitive hobby. I agree with that, it's just collecting dolls and doing things with them.

However I do feel like there could be an underline of competition and it's something that has to be kept in check. I personally have felt people are discriminative against certain types of lower budget dolls or trying to buying the best brand or making the best item. Just go read some bjd doll secrets on tumblr and see what I mean.

On a whole, I feel the doll world is more loving, and accepting and less competitive then other hobby types. While there may be some stray strands here and there, this tends to be a low key sort of atmosphere.

 

It's strange how some people just love to compete with each other in every possible way. Personally i don't care about others people dolls in this way, some of them are very beautiful, i like to look at the pictures just to admire them, and i would like to have some of this dolls in the future but that doesn't make me feel jelaous. Having friends like this must be little bit bothersome, it's like they are trying to kill all your happiness...

 

That just seems sad to me. My friend and I support each other through our purchases and honestly play with each others dolls so much that it doesn't matter who owns it. I trust her enough that I've left dolls with her and she's left dolls with me and we share eyes clothes and wigs pretty openly. It shouldn't be a competition but something fun.

 

Not as competitive as materialistic, I think. I don't experience the hobby as something to compete in, but I do think many people are way too obsessed with buying things, the more expensive it is, the better. It's sad too see, but perhaps that's the case in any hobby, when some people have much money and some none at all. As someone who makes all the clothing for all my dolls, I personally don't see any sort of prestige in buying expensive clothes, whereas some people I know of buy clothes fanatically, for, what it often feels like, the sole purpose to show off and talk about the cost. In a way that might be seen as competitive, but like I said, I see it more being materialistic.

 

I don't think it's really a competition, but I think there might be some jealousy of seeing people get new dolls when you want one and can't afford it. But usually those feelings are pretty tiny and easily dealt with. And that's something pretty typical in anything really. When you're low on funds, it can be hard to see others get cool new stuff--but you're happy for them anyway. Or should be.

I've found the hobby really great when you can find people who love their collection and can be happy about others new dolls. I think it's something you grow into to. You know there are cycles where you can afford things and then can't and have to wait. And waiting is hard--but in the end it's worth it.

 

Personally, no.

However, I do get frustrated with my own dolls when I can't get them exactly how I want them.
For example, when I can't get faceups/mods as perfect as those that I see online ^^;

 

actually, I do not really compete with others, but I really find this hobby competitive when I want to buy some related things.

For example, some wonderful outfits are always limited.. or even one off.. it must be competitive because more demands than supplies..

usually who has the highest offer get the outfit.. but we have no choice to that...

 

Sadly, sometimes I feel overshadowed by people who have a million dolls and I can hardly afford even one

 

I almost felt like I had to compete with the people I knew who had BJDs in the beginning. My friends all had them first and also had multiple dolls. I guess I didn't feel like a real owner because I had only one doll for over a year. I don't think it's quite the same as your situation, original poster, but I did feel competitive and like I wasn't a good enough owner. Instead of being competed with, I was the one who felt like competing. There wasn't really an actual competition.

I don't really feel that way anymore. I've been in this hobby for almost three years, and those people I knew with dolls are not as close as they were. I have four amazing dolls at home, and one on the way that I am eagerly anticipating. I am active in the local community now, and I am a very happy doll owner. I pay less attention to other's dolls, which used to seem so much better than mine, and think mine are better. I think it had a lot to do with myself changing over time and becoming more confident in my own choices and abilities.

 

I've never experienced any kind of competition against any one in the hobby.

 

But how long did it take those people to get to the collection they have now? People don't buy 'a million' dolls in one day. Such a thing takes time .

 

Not really, but I have been known to get jealous when people can get 2+ dolls in one go, or very close together, or when my friends have more dolls than I do. It doesn't particularly effect me too much, though.