Do you like the idea of "limited" dolls?

I didn't say all LE collectors, I said some : ) If you feel persecuted by your misunderstanding, perhaps you shouldn't be attacking me for your feelings.

And I never said it justifies what I said. But you could wonder whether they're getting it because they love the sculpt or that they have the money to get it?

There are people on this forum who say it's ok to go into horrendous debt to get dolls, perhaps even stretching it to getting LE dolls, and they are the ones who have no sense.

You're right, maybe it's a severe case of Sour Grapes Syndrome, but I don't hate the collectors for getting the LEs, I hate the fact that I don't have the money to get them myself. They can do what they want with their money, but what's the point of spending it when they don't ACTUALLY LIKE THE SCULPT AND ALWAYS FIND FAULTS WITH IT.

 

All "you"s below are used generically.

Why does it matter? Furthermore, why *should* it matter?

If someone wants a doll and can afford it, they should buy it regarless of the reasoning behind the purchase. This hobby, like any other, is open to anyone who wants to join. There is no screening process to see who is "worthy" of a certain sculpt. If you can afford the doll and it is the perfect representation of your RP/fictional/fandom character you have loved since you were three years old, buy it. If you can afford it and it is a pretty thing that will sit on a shelf and forever be nothing more than a pretty thing, buy it. You are no more or less deserving of that doll than anyone else anywhere in the world.

Because they can. And because they want to. Again, why should it matter?

If I sat down and thought about it, I could find something I disliked about every single one of my dolls. Something I wish was different. A smaller nose, eyes that weren't so child-like, horribly-shaped hands. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. (Actually, I'm not. There's an entire thread dedicated to flaws of dolly sculpts bouncing around somewhere.) Should I (or anyone else) not own any dolls (limited or not) just because they aren't absolutely aesthetically perfect to in every single way? Or once we plunk down the money for a doll, is there a criticism-free contract that I've apparently overlooked in all my boxes?

 

Dittoing this. Not to mention... customizing happens on limiteds, too. That feature someone can't stand may be a scrap of sandpaper or patch of epoxy away from total perfection.

 

I guess when I meant they (generalization) didn't like the sculpt and always found faults with it, I meant that they dislike it completely and there weren't any minor mods to do to make it 'liked'.

But yes, they're all valid points. I just didn't like the assumption that I hated LE collectors when (hopefully) I'm about to get an LE myself.

 

I really like limited dolls! I have one, who was my dream doll, and I had to wait almost a year to be able to get her. I didn't get her fullset or anything, I got her with her defult face up, eyes, and body. So I got a limited head I guess you'd say....I think that limiteds give people something to strive for, rather than a little "buy it now button" And alot of the time, limiteds AREN'T even close to as scalped as people say they are! My girl is an VOLKS MSD SwD Yui, and she was around $500 for her nude and with her eyes. Her fullset was around $680 as pictured here http://www.volksusa.com/osaka5yui.html
So IMO, that reaaaaaally wasn't so bad, considering it was for a doll+airbrushed faceup+glass eyes.

What DOES bother me, is the Unoa method. I find that so annoying. In my opinion, I think they should be regular (order when ever) or limited (event/limited amount) and not with the whole "pre-order" stuff. The scalping on THOSE is wow.

What also bothers me is when companys like VOLKS make more limiteds than standerds and never really make more of them. I think that the concept of going to an event for a doll is ADORBALE and all, but really, ordering online is alot easyer and alot of the time more possible. Plus, alot of the standerds just look so....plain. Maybe put on some of the FCS molds or SOMETHING to mix it up!

Sorry if this post kinda jumps around...I've been on the phone/typing to others/wig shopping at the same time so... ^^;;;

 

Be wary of assuming that you know what other people's motivations are, or how much sense they do or don't have. Most of the time, people on the forum don't know each other that well--unless they go into great detail, we don't know what their situation is, or what made them want X doll, or whether or not they really love a sculpt.

In being active on this board and going to doll meetups, I've not noticed a whole lot of elitism in connection with LEs--most people don't seem to make that much of a fuss, really. They may get excited when a doll they want is released, but you don't tend to see much gloating or obnoxious behavior. I'm not saying that there isn't anybody out there like that, just that it seems pretty rare. Where people often seem to cross the line is when they're frustrated by the whole idea of LEs or they want a particular doll so badly that they start interjecting themselves in the owners' business--that is something I've noticed in several different threads.

Well, either they feel like the underlying structure of the sculpt is closer to what they want than what else is available so they do major mods, or there must have been something that drew them to the doll--maybe it was just rarity, but you know what, there's nothing wrong with valuing that either. We all participate in the hobby in different ways, and some people have more of a collector mentality where even if they aren't as fond of the sculpt, it helps to add completion to their doll collection. It's not the way I personally do things, but I can easily understand why someone might choose to do that.

 

I love limited dolls or le anything for that matter, always have but ive had both le dolls and regular doll so its not a buying factor for me it all depends on the doll itself

 

Sorry, try again-- I don't feel persecuted at all, and I'm not attacking you. You shouldn't take Debates personally, and you shouldn't extrapolate any personal involvement from anyone's rhetoric. It was simply mind-boggling how you could think it would be OK to make such a rude offhand blanket statement in a debate forum, which is intended for the exchange of ideas that have been thought through, and not for venting.

Actually no, I have never wondered that. Economic standing doesn't enter into it at all; there are plenty of people who own "loads of LEs" who are utterly not what you would call "wealthy". College students who live on financial aid & ramen have LEs. It's a widespread misperception that all limiteds are hideously expensive, & it's an even wider-spread misperception that purchasers of limiteds are all rich. (Or, for that matter, that they're heartless rich slobs who're incapable of loving their dolls and they only buy LEs just to make you feel miserable about your finances. XD Riiight.)

Motivation also doesn't enter into it. It's none of my business why anybody else buys their dolls, & vice versa. They could be buying that doll to impress a boyfriend, or they could be buying it on a dare, or they could be fulfilling a lifelong dream, or they could be buying it because they have nothing else to do with that spare $1000 in their pocket, who knows.

That's the other area where your argument makes no sense-- where/who are these collectors of whom you speak? People who buy a doll they absolutely dislike? I've met many different types of LE collectors in the past several years (lots of different collecting-styles), and not one of them would even consider buying a doll they completely disliked, & had no intention of making into a doll they did like. Is this a "theoretical type of person" thing, where you're trying to invent an archetype for argument's sake?

So that other people can police their motives online & make sure they're pure, of course.

 

I understand the companies wanting to make limiteds, I think it keeps the designers and artists excited about what they are doing (I'm sure Luts is totally sick of standard Lishes, which is why I am sure the occasional elf-ear version makes them happy)(and me too. Plus much of the "wow" for limiteds is the clothing and props, and if you sew (looks around furtively) you can often choose the parts you find most wonderful and re-create them yourself for your own standard doll. Or you can also lie in wait on the MP and collect bits of the limiteds you missed as they drift past, often for a discount. The dolls aren't Barbies, being pumped out by the millions, and that is one of the things that makes them neat. I do regret the difficulty of getting things like the Soom monthly dolls, but it's also a reality check..do I really *need* a resin mermaid or do I need shock absorbers for the car? And I get to see the pretty spam in the galleries without having to store them.

 

I think what a lot of people forget is that in Japan, FCS sculpts are pretty much Volks standards. You can go into any Sumika and order from quite a large selection of heads, and while some travel may be necessary, if it's a Sumika you're looking for, there's probably one within a reasonable distance in most places in Japan. Sato only heads require a trip to Sato which could be more long distance to some people and expensive - Shinkansen tickets are not cheap and travel in Japan in general can get $$ - but it is possible to do it in a day from say the Tokyo area.

And while Volks does do special things for the foreign market, it's always been heavily focused on pleasing and keeping its Japanese fanbase. There isn't a huge compelling need for them to keep producing new standard dolls when their biggest demands from their biggest buyers is for more limiteds and FCS innovations.

 

Hmm. The idea of limiteds. Ok! Well, I guess my simple answer would be: Sure! Whatever!

Now having said that, I do own a number of limiteds. In all but one case I bought the dolls 2nd hand and for all but one I didn't even know they were limited. I just liked them Tan K is the exception, and for him I just had to leap even though I knew he'd show up on the secondary market at some point. But it didn't have to do with his being limited, per se, as with the "I MUST HAVE HIM!" that was not going to be argued with. I also own a bunch of off-the-rack DZ BBs and so on. Love them all, don't care what their status of production number is.

I absolutely understand all of the rationales for having limiteds. I also understand the sadness and frustration that other people experience because they aren't able to just leap every time something cool comes up.

But my only REAL gripe with limiteds is the statement that goes along the lines of "it enhances the uniqueness...." Um, wrong! A thing is either unique -- meaning the only one of its kind anywhere -- or it is not. There are no "degrees of unique", and something that is a limited run of more than one is not unique. By definition.

Grammar Patrol gripe for the day, over and out.

 

I sort of kind of like the idea of limted dolls But the fact that whenever I see a limited doll I love, I realize it's either A) Sold out or B) I do not have the money for the doll. I really liked Soom's MD Amber, but I didn't discover her until late July XD I really wish that the dolls I want weren't "limited." :/

 

Well, thats true, but here in the America's its not...I totally hear you about wanting their Japanese base most, because it's the most important for the company, but I forinstance live in PA, which is realllllllly far from any VOLKS store, haha. There is Sumika in California, but the US isn't like Japan in travel. Maybe an on-line FCS would work better? BUT, as it is NOW, there aren't those standered dolls avalabe everywhere, so in an odd way they themselves are limited.

 

There are people who act as shopping services, though, and since there are no limitations when it comes to the number available of any certain sculpts they still wouldn't really fall into that category...it's like they take a little more work to get, but it's completely doable if you really want it, and there's no deadline within which you have to get it done.

 

Thats true But they also add on thier fees, which makes it more difficult. By "standerd model" I assume it means something like "click and order, ship to your house or pick it up here" but the FCS require...a few more steps xD
But, getting limiteds is ALSO completely doable then You may not be able to get it right from VOLKS, but you can't get the FCS right from them using a service either. It may take a bit more saving and time, but you can do it.

I'm not sure if that relates... O_______o;;;

 

Yes--I suppose the difference is that with LEs there's a very finite number of what's available and the prices on the secondary market can be very changeable--a lot of people manage to snag the LEs they want in the end given time, but what I was thinking with FCS is that there's no pressure or hurry because those sculpts are going to be there--nothings going to get sold out, so you aren't left guessing later about availability. I tend to think of FCS as being kind of it's own thing--not standard exactly, but certainly not limited either. They may cost more than a standard doll off the website, but the pricing, fees, and availability are at least predictable. Does that make sense?

 

Ahh, yes, it does ^_^ But at the same time, couldn't every FCS be concidered a "one-off"? Since VOLKS does the face up as you uniquely request, it makes it OOAK...which I think makes it sorta limited.... But I def. see what you're saying.

 

I don't know, adhara, if your posts are meant to be theoritical or that they reflect your idea of LE-collectors (I'm inclined to think it is both), but in both cases the image your creating of them is a faulty one.
First of all, like others have said, it is not up to you to decide for people when they have the correct motive to buy a doll. Everyone has different reasons and there isn't a single one that will give you more right to owning a particular doll.

Secondly: Where is this elitism people keep talking about? I've been in this hobby for quite some time and I have never seen it. What I did hear were many accusations, but none of them could be backed up by a convincing example.
I know quite a few people in this hobby who own mostly limiteds (myself included) and none of them are snobbish about their collection. To them these dolls are just pretty plastic, just like any other doll.

Thirdly, you keep giving the impression that LE-collectors are horrendous financial managers. I can say from experience that most people who buy limiteds are quite capable of managing money. Almost all of the people I know (again, myself included) save up for a very long time - sometimes more than a year - to get the doll they want. None of them have gotten themselves in a debt and none of them have rich daddies who are willing to back them up. Like JennyNemesis has said: Most of them are students or people with a modest income, there are no supervillains who own a money warehouse among them.

Besides, I don't think there isn't a single owner out there who thinks their doll is completely flawless, but it doesn't matter. In the end it only matters how perfect the doll is to you. So even though you don't see what is so special about it, and even though you only hear the owner complain about what they don't like about their doll, it doesn't mean she detests it. I can't imagine someone spending so much money on an item they only hate.

 

This is me, too! I get rather excited to see all the new limiteds come in, and to see them in the galleries and to watch the owners' excitement! So I guess, in general, I look forward to limiteds as a special thing, regardless of whether they're my own or not... I like the sharing aspect of this forum

 

I like the idea of limiteds personally, because it keeps things new. I mean, it does suck that you may fall in love with a doll and never be able to get it, but it also may give you an idea of something new to do on your doll, a new haircut, or faceup or what have you.
Plus, it also means if you are after that one perfect doll - you might be able to keep an eye out and get EXACTLY what you are after, maybe? Instead of having to customise one ^_^.