Do you tell people how many and which dolls you own?

Well, I haven't thought it's an issue to tell people who ask about my dolls, or have them listed in my signature. For me those signature lists are just for information, I never thought people would think it's because someone wants to show off with large collections. If someone asks me, I will tell how much dolls I have, why should I keep it as a secret? But maybe I have to think about this signature issue, I don't want people to think I want to show off.

 

No one has ever asked me, but if asked, I would probably just say "a bunch". I don't think the actual number matters because I am not trying to amass a huge collection; I just buy the ones I love as I can afford them. On the rare occasion I attend a convention or meetup, I take my currrent favorite. I list my dolls in my profile because I like to see which dolls other people have and I don't mind if someone wants to see which ones I have as well. It's also handy to have my wishlist where I can easily revise it, which I do constantly. I don't think anyone actually cares what other people have.

 

I only have two, at the moment, so of course I don't mind telling people how many I have. But, maybe I'd feel differently if I had more? I think it sort of goes hand in hand with telling people how much they cost. If someone knew how much they cost, would you be less willing to divulge how many you own? And vice versa? I mean...<_< When people ask how much they cost, if I can't get around answering the question, I tell them the honest truth. A doll can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,000. If someone knew that both of my dolls were on the higher end of that spectrum, I'd probably be less willing to tell them I own two, already, and plan to own more.

 

This is a factor for me. Even if the person I'm talking to doesn't know about how much my dolls costs, just pretending I have "cheap" dolls that costs $200 times the amount of dolls I have makes me uncomfortable.
It doesn't matter it took me several years to get my collection the way it is, if you look at it all at once, it's a gigantic money sink.
I still love my collection, though.

 

This. I think that probably the only people concerned with quantity and price are new collectors who haven't quite recovered from the initial sticker shock. For those of us who have been collecting for several years, the price and amount has lost its relevance.

 

Its in my profile, no one has ever asked though.

 

I very happily will tell anyone who asks, and some who don't, that I own seven full dolls, three floating heads, one full doll I'm still waffling on selling, and three OT dolls. I'm also waiting on three dolls, although one is a gift and one is being split off.

I'm also not shy about their pricetags, because it's money I earned and it's not money that should've gone on bills.

If someone wants to accuse me of showing off, then that's their beef, not mine. And hey, I'm damn proud of my collection, why wouldn't I want to show it off a little?

 

I have a large family, I do not hide that fact. People ask me how many I state an estimate usually, because the number tends to be in flux. Being a programmer, I like databases, so I keep my dolls in a database, and thus keep things updated in one place. I tried updating my DOA profile and the database and that was just to much work, so I just keep things to the database and update the one place, and link things to it (the database is also useful to keep use to keep track of a doll's history/mods/etc... so I don't have to remember later on if I do sell someone). I'm not trying to brag about my collection, I'm proud of my collection just as anyone else is proud of their collection/family.

In our local Doll Community there are several of us with large collections. There tends to be two kinds of people. Those who hide how many they have from most everyone, and don't talk about it. Then the other group who tell people how many they have and then are vary generous with their doll help. If someone is wanting to see a specific doll, or doll company those with large collections are more likely to have a doll, and we'll bring it to the meetup and let people see it. We'll do resin compairs, head swaps, etc... when asked. So there are those who will always be jelous or think your being a show off, but others will come to realize that by being open and honest about your collection, your more likely to be open and helpful with advice for other people and their collections. Heck it's a nice feeling when your able to hand over a doll to be 'doll-sat' by a newbie. When a person has just one doll they are less likely/willing to part with their doll even if it's only for a short time.

 

I had no idea people were getting accused of showing off for owning a lot of dolls! That sucks really, because my favourite thing to do is talk about mine... o.O

I don't think I've ever been asked before, but I keep an up to date list in my profile, and I certainly wouldn't mind telling a fellow hobbyist how many I own if I was asked by one. Outside of the doll hobby, I'd probably be a lot more vaugue and say "a bunch" or "a couple."

I really think it's a shame though that those with larger collections can't freely show them off- I have a whole bunch of dolls planned, and I love seeing those people who have a big collection and the way all their dolls fit together. It's the fun of collecting in my opinion, and one day I might be one person who has a lot myself- I've already got 8 and I've only been in the hobby two years...

 

Hmm, why would you not share that information? Especially at a meet-up, meet-ups are a place to share our dolls with other doll lovers, don't you think?

 

Because you're going to get hassle for it in certain circles if you have a sizable collection and meets are often the worst place for such things.

Personally I don't talk about my collection a great deal, I don't feel the need to share numbers and sculpts after a world of bad experiences and only those who come to my house to see them get to ever enjoy the whole lot together...actually even then, it's fairly unlikely that they'll see ALL of them, more like 2/3rds at any one time.

 

I would pity anyone who came to my house. *shifty-eyes*

That aside... I... am now pondering what it would take to bring all of my dolls to a meet. I could probably transport them all in my mother's SUV without too much trouble, but I genuinely can't imagine dragging them all out of the house at one time.

I would totally get pulled over. (But maybe I could use the HOV lane?)

 

If someone wants to know, I'll tell them (although I don't always divulge prices to non doll folks). I don't necessarily assume that they do, though. I don't have mine in my signature, because they don't all fit (my banner thingy is pretty outdated as well). I do list them in my profile, but as I'm rearranging and changing around the dolly personnel it's also not quite accurate... as you can see, there is a theme going here, lol. I don't consider sigs to be showing off or bragging, and I'm always curious to know what other people collect. People who are convinced that listing dolls in a sig is bragging and who get offended are morons who aren't worth my time anyway. There are several people in the meetup groups around here who also have a lot of dolls (hey, a lot is all relative anyway) and as far as I can tell it's never been an issue.

 

I don't mind telling but I'd prefer not to because the next question I get is about the price. I really don't like answering that one.

 

All of mine are in my profile...I should start saying "a lot" when asked though...Haven't been hassled about the size of my crew and I counted Brightfires..we're right at even. Not that I'm trying to keep up with anyone! I don't think anyone should hassle another about their collection. It took all of us a while to get the ones we have. Some just work at better jobs than others.

 

There are probably only a few people who have seen all of mine at once. Our locals meet very often and it's just not practical to bring out every doll to every meet. Fortunately, no one in our group seems to be the harassing type (hint: if you don't give someone grief about how many and which dolls he/she owns, he/she is much more likely to bring out dolls when you want to see them for a resin match, a height comparison, clothes sizing, etc) and it's easy enough to throw a note in the meetup thread to ask which doll(s) people want to see.

That said, I haven't had anyone bother me about the number of or which dolls I own. There are always going to be people with more dolls than me, and always going to be people with fewer dolls than me. That's just the way the world works. It's more important that I be happy with how many and which dolls I own.

 

Wow. I never thought about all this. Like, honestly, I don't think it's showing off at all if someone has lots of dolls and lists them. I think it's actually kind of aweinspiring actually. Being jealous seems like a waste of time in this hobby, in my opinion. There will always be new and exciting dolls and getting upset over each one you (general you) can't buy that someone else can seems like a horrible way to enjoy such a fun hobby.

That being said, if it was someone in hobby, I would tell them if asked. Plus, I plan to keep my dolls listed in my signature because, honestly, I am proud of them, proud of the hard work I did for them, and so happy to finally have them. But, if it's someone outside of the hobby, like one of my friends, I may say "a few" or something like that. They think my dolls are a waste of money and, frankly, I don't want them sitting around trying to mentally calculate how much money I supposedly "wasted". So, yeah.

 

I only have one doll, so telling people how many I have isn't an issue.

But I am weary about showing my doll to others. I've never taken her out of my apartment, and I'm still a little OCD about how I'd transport her, or trying to avoid accidents... Even though I have something like 300 pictures of her (that began in September), I'm still a little cautious about showing my doll to non-doll friends. Even though I have friends who know I'm not off-the-wall, or anything, I do worry about where the line is for them when they top thinking I'm just quirky, and think I'm borderline nuts. Even though I love my doll, I know that not everyone thinks the way I do.

Doll friends will understand you, so I'd be more inclined to tell my one or two doll friends about my doll because they know how it all goes.

 

I only have the one so far so...it wouldn't really matter.

I do think it's a shame that people are getting hassled over having a lot of dolls though. I rather like talking to, and seeing people with large collections. As others have mentioned it helps with resin matches, size comparisons, and clothing. Especially if someone has a couple of dolls from the same company, but from different years, seeing as some companies like to change their resin color whenever the wind blows. So for now I won't/don't mind saying, if I happen to amass quite a few that may change.