Do you have BJD Addiction?

My addiction comes in waves. I will get in moods when I won't buy anything for months - or even a year or so and I do not buy a single one. I also go into complete overhaul waves too (I am currently in one) and I will sell basically everything and re-do my currently collection.

I have... currently 4 dolls on layaway. I want more but I am trying to behave and wait until the current layaway's are paid off and at least some of them come in before I continue to go crazy.

 

I don't consider myself addicted. Stopping anytime on the other hand...

Compared to some, I've bought pretty slowly. Buying in pieces really helps with pacing. Near the beginning I was buying mostly heads and now it's mostly bodies so I have to save a good bit more. I can usually head off the heady "Ooo, I want them all!" feeling and stick to the ones I really want. But the problem is that once I've almost finished my wishlist, another doll I dismissed hops back on. I'm always *this* close to being finished. I just want to get to the mostly accessories stage at this point

 

As of right now, I'm going to say no, but if you look at my recent purchases, you might think yes. Since November, I've bought five dolls and my sister is gifting me another one. However, I've also sold more than that, and one of the dolls I bought is just to replace a body on one of my hybrids that I didn't like. My collection is going in a new direction, and I actually have fewer dolls right now, including incoming, than I did this time last year. I'm at 15, including incoming. In the past, I've had more than double that at one time.

There was a time when I couldn't pass up any good deal or cute face, and I'd drop money without a thought, and often end up regretting it and looking for the next one. I think it did sort of become an addiction for awhile, especially when I had 4 on layaway at once! I ended up becoming overwhelmed, and sold a bunch, but the cycle had a tendency to repeat. Then, I had some major changes in my life that affected my spending money, and I had to really adjust to not buying whenever I wanted and really save up (or sell a lot) to buy ANY doll. It really made me think about what dolls I wanted to focus on and keep, and what things were worth buying and which I might regret.

 

I've accumulated 24 full dolls atm, but I've been in the hobby for 12 years. I pretty much only got 1 doll/head a year throughout high school and college (with the help of my parents). It wasn't until I graduated and got a job that I started freely buying dolls/parts when I wanted. At the moment, I'm actually trying to downsize and get rid of heads/bodies/parts that I no longer want.
I'm very particular about the dolls I buy, and the ones I do sell are ones I did not "bond" with. I tend to shop the 2nd-hand market as opposed to new releases, and I only spend money I have in my checking account (usually via short layaways) which is also shared with other bills/payments. So if something is expensive, like car work or heating oil for the house, I'll avoid doll stuff for a bit.
So I would not say I'm addicted.

 

I voted addicted as in rarely does a day go by when i don't log into DOA and look at bjd's and enjoy looking at what people make for them. I haven't purchased any dolls in the past year and have been enjoying the dolls I have and enjoying the community. I've spent money every year going to one convention for every year that I've been in the hobby and by entering contests and taking workshops. So yes I'm addicted, to the whole hobby, not just dolly collecting. I've purchased lots of face up art supplies and made props, wigs, clothing, furniture, dioramas, etc... and I enjoy all of it and especially meeting new people who share my interests.

 

Yes. Yes I am. I originally was looking only at one type of bjd (yosd, human) but now there’s a few on my list that I would love to own some day! Almost all of them are yosd but they’re towards fantasy and animals. And there’s 1 bigger doll I want now too TAT. Someone come and stop me lolll. I think I’ve resisted buying them because I can’t afford them but if I ever obtain that money... who knows.....

 

My 1st year was the worst! I bought a doll almost every month! I couldnt stop myself and i sold 2 that i got on impulse and couldnt bond! I am less than 3 years in the hobby and i got 24 dolls now! Mainly 1/6 of assorted brands, 1 pukipuki, 1 dearmine bean and 1 mdd. I am an Addict! LOL

 

Yes, I too am addicted and I'm not even a year into this.
5 here, 2 on order. And 'needing' to place an order for wigs. Trying to sit on my hands (not spend) vowing not to get another doll.
Mine are all very distict characters, I saw, knew who they were to me and they came home. Like others have said, mine too are therapy dolls. Helping me process stuff, helping me write stories for their characters is helping. I love how chaning clothes or wigs changes them so much.

Worries me how addictive this is. Trying to learn to sew for them to at least save funds that way

I keep seeing dolls I like, but quickly realise that's going to happen, I put them on a wish list n wait a while now. I've learnt that when a doll arrives they bring their own characters with them, and not always who you 'thought' they would be, not in a negative way just the way its gone. but don't have safe storage for more so mustn't by more dolls. Trying to own the halo thats on the profile pic

When I was wish listing the wigs I liked for the resin fam I have, made me realise to stop buying more dolls, it would be nice to have more clothing n wig options for them tho, as atm its just one set of clothes n the one wig.

Helping me NOT want so many, 1. storage, 2. when u think you want them, imagine if they were to come alive on your shelf, would u still want to be around them? (narrows the flock a bit) and the zen approach, don't bring any in that you couldn't later allow to leave again, which can lead to, then do I need to buy them in the first place. I'd like to spend more time with the ones I have. and wish I had space for them to live on a shelf like I see your dolls sometimes do.

 

Honestly, I wish I were more into bjds like I was in the beginning. When I was really new and just discovering bjds, I was addicted to learning, exploring, and saving to buy dolls. Fast forward to now and I do have a doll. We have spent so much time together and I'm starting to save for another doll soon. I have started really getting into other hobbies of mine as well and it is hard to focus on bjds as much as I used to. That isn't to say I'm not addicted, I still sort of am, but I just have other hobbies that take the focus away. I really want to revive the interest in bjds so hopefully I can get to that soon.

 

Salut tout le monde!
J'adore le bjd depuis 13 ans.
J'attends longtemps pour acheter parce que i did leave a little appartment . Now i leave in big house. I've a piece just for me

 

It’s great to read everyone’s responses!
I just got into the hobby late last year and have my first doll with me. I do look at different dolls often, but I’m quite specific about the style of sculpt I like. So I wouldn’t say I was addicted!
However, with doll accessories and clothing...that’s a different story.. I bought two sets of outfits and two wigs before my doll arrived. But none of them looked right on her. So I still am actively looking for more outfits. With that said, I have a few pairs of shoes, clothes and wigs commissioned again already..I probably would end up with a whole bunch of outfits at this rate.

 

I'm hoping it's just beginners' mania (I started the hobby a little over a year ago and already have 20+ dolls) but yes...Unfortunately It feels like an addiction. I didn't go into the hobby hoping to have a large collection, but sort of just... started buying a doll whenever I liked it and could afford it. Which, I mean... sounds responsible enough, but it went against my own conflicting desire to not accumulate a bunch of expensive stuff.

I know I really SHOULD stop buying dolls, but right now it's difficult to convince myself to stop. Because it's extremely rewarding (not just emotionally, but also doll customizing has taught and refined so many of my artistic abilities) and I can afford it pretty easily. But weighing that pro against the somewhat irrational "oh god I'm accumulating so many dolls oh god I've spent so much oh god I'm becoming a crazy doll lady" cons is somewhat difficult.

 

Yeah, I can't knit or saw, even though I have been thinking of wanting to learn knitting for years now, but never even started it... Honestly I sometimes feel like I spent a bit too much on outfits lately, and 90% of them are imp. The amount I spent on outfits is quite a bit greater than what my doll cost me at this point...

Regal African queen huh, that sounds like it's going to be very beautiful, but I'd assume the outfits are gonna be a pain to get hold of! I think you can definitely buy wigs like that! You can probably get some mohair wig with that style as well. I'd look around on Etsy if you haven't done so yet, there are a lot of options on there!

 

I am definitely addicted. I think it was the smell...

But seriously, my real addiction lately is online shopping. I can't stop scouring eBay, AliExpress, Craigslist, Facebook, wherever, looking for doll props or craft materials or cheap random things I can flip to make money for more dolls. I've been in the hobby for about 6 years and I only have 5 (on-topic) dolls so I definitely think you can be addicted even if you don't have a huge collection.

 

11 years in the hobby and I currently own 54 dolls. That number is HIGHLY likely to slide up to 56 in the very-not-distant future *sigh*. I did not intend to own that many. I didn't buy a lot in the beginning as money was very tight back then. I like to think that because of that and needing to very aggressively save for dolls I wanted, it set me up to continue as I started.

Even now when I have much more discretionary cash than back then, I still must have the money in-hand for any doll purchase and the money must come from my dedicated dolly savings account. Doll stuff absolutely cannot impinge on any real life stuff like paying rent, utilities, food, other bills, etc. No doll comes home who isn't already a character (all my guys are characters from the novels I write).

Over 6 months last year I bought 8 dolls. The majority of them were limited in nature with one being an MP find, so they were of the buy it now or lose it sort of thing. After that... flurry of buying, which was highly unusual for me, I said I wasn't going to buy anything else. Yet here I am very strongly contemplating buy yet another doll and knowing that I'm going to need to purchase another to complete a pairing as the original pairing won't work as far as sizing goes.

Do I have an addiction? Possibly? I may be more addicted to having my characters in a physical form than I am to dolls in general. But I could also be trying to justify the size of my collection and recent buying habits.