Do you have BJD Addiction?

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I found out about BJD's mid December.. I now own FL Carol, Ine, Rens, Eva. Cygne on the way. Also have a fullset Rendia outfit w/ wings. Also spent a bunch on faceup supplies recently. I sold all my other hobbies to help fund most of it. Still in debt for awhile though.. BUT I'm super happy. I have health issues and haven't found enjoyment in anything in the past year. I finally have a hobby & something to look forward to. They're surprisingly very therapeutic. I already have a ton of future plans. Going to have to wait til the end of the year or next year though lol!

 

LOL! I'm going to *try* to resist marketplace and not even ask for access until my credit cards payed off. I only have 1 doll I still want but I'm afraid if I see the marketplace that may change.. lol!

 

I think most people start out buying everything they see that they think is cute/handsome/gorgeous (or whatever their personal moth-to-a-flame aesthetic is) and can hopefully afford. But after awhile, we all slow down, because we become pickier and pickier as we realize that we can NOT afford everything we want...and something better may be waiting just around the corner. Nothing worse in this hobby than falling in love with the most amazing sculpt you've ever seen...it's limited and only available for a couple of weeks...and you've just spent your last penny on a standard doll that you like a lot, but it will be around for a long time. Still addicted - but in moderation.

 

I'm guilty of that for sure. I'd love to have all Fairyland girls.. I'm trying to slow down & stick to a budget/list from now on. Going to *try* not to buy a doll for the next 4 months. Then I'll look for my grail doll and specific accessories. I kinda went over budget /crazy buying faceup supplies though (but I'm so excited for that). I'm trying to figure out my favorite things and not buy things I won't absolutely use.

Oh gosh, sorry to hear that! Are BJDs just a hobby for you or do you make money off of it? (Faceups, sewing, wigs, etc)

Brand of dolls? I have a Fairyland addiction(lol) but Ringdoll's have caught my eye. Might eventually get a guy for my Carol . I also like Doll Leaves and they're cheap but haven't found *the* one yet.

 

I see this, too.

I noticed that a lot of people go crazy buying a bunch of dolls when they first start out in the hobby. After they discover what they like/don't like (and realize that they don't *have* to own every doll they think is cute), they will focus their collection and often try* to sell a lot of dolls they bought when they first started out.
*I say "try" because the BJD market is over-saturated with choice, which makes secondhand sales sloooow.

 

Haha, you and I are in the same boat! I’ve always been vaaaguely aware of bjds, but I ended up going to this convention over the summer that had a doll panel featuring Resin Junky/Pikko Chan. I was instantly in LOVE with the dolls that I saw in person, but hearing that the cheapest you can normally find a doll at was $300 kind of made me bury the obsession until I later ran into some doll videos on YouTube. Hearing people talk about the dolls they bought normalized what previously seemed insane in terms of prices, and pretty soon I was like “Mmmmm, maybe. Seems like I could possibly pull it off.” Long story short, I got five dolls in two months. It’s a drug.

What really makes it an addiction for me is the fact that you can make the characters look however you want. When I finally get a doll just right, it’s like they radiate a presence that makes me want to just sit, stare, and think about what kind of stories they’re involved in. And what a coincidence that I also bought an in stock Ringdoll!! I was between Rinku and Dracula, but I settled on the later. I hope we both get our handsome men soon!

 

Well, you couldn't pick a better time for buying a Zuzu! Luts has all of those adorable little fullsets on sale, and you can get whichever sculpt you want with whatever outfit you want - a mix 'n match thing that they didn't used to do. They're all so charming! I love my Rumi to pieces, so I'm afraid I'm a bit of an enabler where Zuzus are concerned.

The good thing about that, though, is that they'll last for a long time, and save you a fortune on company faceups (generally about $60 these days), so you can just tell yourself that you're actually saving money by spending money, lol.

SO true. Unless it's a wildly popular or rare sculpt, you're likely to wait a long time for a sale...

 

When I first started, I bought a flurry of dolls to satisfy my desires to make different styles of outfits for multiple dolls and display multiple of the same thing together, which required a minimum number of bodies. I was also trying to shell several OCs that have been with me for years.

Now that that's out of the way, I've slowed down my spending, but it's not so much because I've decided to stop as I bought most of the things I was looking for, and only buy new ones when I either get a new idea, or find something that can expand on an existing idea (hopefully I will be able to expand my delf girls wearing fers collection some day, though that requires finding both delf girls and fers on the secondhand market). There are still a few more things I'm actively looking for because I need them for an idea I have.

Basically, I have had stories running through my head all my life. They grow and gain detail all the time. The dolls are only an extension of something I have always done, so I would not say I am addicted to them. If I was better at drawing, I could draw instead of using dolls, and if I was better at overcoming the anxiety that grips me whenever I try to write them down I could write... but I haven't managed to do that yet, so instead my dolls are my best form of creative expression.

 

That's very true!! I am planning on getting Momo & Rendia and if I do an okay job, I can do their faceups instead of paying $75 for FL At first I was so afraid to not get dolls fullset/complete because I've never bought such expensive things and I wanted to keep them as 'complete' as possible to hold their value. But now I think that fear's going away and I want to have all my girls the way I want them/custom^^

 

As others have already said, a lot of collections do end up being heavily "front-loaded" as new owners try out a lot of different dolls early on, to get a feel for what they like and what they want. Most of us do slow down over time, adding only sculpts we know we'll love, selling the ones we don't and refining our focus. When you have a firm idea of what you like, it's just easier to know what's a Must-Have and what's a Cool-But-Not-Right-For-Me.

That's not to say that you might not *still* end up with a small tribe's worth of dolls when all is said and done... My own crew is pretty much the poster child for that kind of thing … But going a little over-board when you first start out is pretty normal. Keep an eye on your bank balance. Never buy more than you can afford, but have fun. The early days are exciting. Enjoy them. ^_^

 

Verified, but I don't need to go to a BJD Anonymous meeting, I promise!

All said and done, I've never done any serious out-of-control doll spending. My first doll I bought direct from the company as a full set and decided pretty much immediately I was never doing that again. I've always been a pretty thrifty shopper, so from there on out I've bought just about every other BJD I own secondhand. It helped me to not have that "buy it now" button available as I'd have to wait for someone to put up a sale thread first. Also older dolls tend to be cheaper, so I've actually been able to bring home more dolls for less money this way.

Also it helped that I didn't apply for a credit card until I was in my 30's. I don't have a super amazing job or anything, but I have a lot of dolls and I've been able to afford them by balancing my real-life commitments and purchasing predominantly secondhand.

I call myself an addict because this has been my main hobby for years now and I would be shocked if that changed anytime soon!