Do you think limited dolls should be rereleased/restocked by their companies?

I don't think companies should re-release a fullset limited edition doll, however, I think that offering the heads as FCS or 'a la carte' might be a good idea for a company, because some LE dolls are released with special hands and/or feet specific to the doll. If only the heads are available on FCS, the LE hands and feet would help keep the value of the original LE released doll. It is also very important to keep hold of the papers, outfit, boxes, wigs and eyes associated with your LE doll because it's those little details that make up the full LE doll, not just the doll itself.

I agree with Lelite's point that a company is within their rights to continue making limited sculpts if they see that collectors are scalping each other with insane mark-ups. I wouldn't blame a company for wanting the reward for their hard work in their own pocket, not someone else's. Especially if the company have never said they will not re-release a doll or make it standard edition in the future.

I don't know how I'd feel if Volks re-released SDC Kurt (my most LE doll!) Presently he commands a high resale price and I did think about selling mine, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My Rupert is very special to me and I couldn't sell him. I guess I'm off the hook really because SDC Kurt was unpopular on release and took a long time to sell out. Volks probably wouldn't take that risk again. But even if the board was crawling with Kurts, my Rupert would always be my Rupert! I wouldn't feel the same about any other Kurt.

I didn't buy my limiteds especially because they were limited. I bought them because they appealed to me, the added value is just a happy bonus.

Volks haven't changed the name with every re-release, Kurumi/Kurumi anyone? Miruku has a slightly different name because she's cast in a different colour. It's never exactly the same fullset each time.

Enjoy your Michele. Look on the bright side, he's still an LE doll and has only had two releases. There have been loads of versions of Michael and I don't see anyone particularly annoyed about that.

 

I must admit I rather like Iplehouse's approach to limited releases: a limited doll cast in limited resin, and a limited faceup, blush and accessories, etc, and then providing a standard edition of the same mold. Same with Dollmore and a few others.

Yeah, I kind of wish a few other companies, like Soom, did the same, as there's a few MD headmolds I would have liked but missed out on. Despite that though, I'm not going to stress and obsess over those missed opportunties.

 

I am a 13 year old girl who REALY REALY wants a soom Euclase and Heliot! But I will never get one from the site. And I have never found one on the marketplace.
So yes for one more time they should sell them ONE MORE TIME!

 

Sometimes, it helps to restock on the limited molds, as I discovered the Elf Ducan and REALLY wanted him so badly. But sometimes, I wish it was just the doll itself, seeing as I don't really need everything else or HAVE to have it. Which is why it's really hard for me to tell if I do want the limited doll or not. But I guess if the limited dolls have been sold for a while now, then it's time to drop them and never sell them again. It might be that it's because the dolls sold so well that they put out another order for them. Who knows. But I like the idea of some of them being restocked.

 

Well, if they kept restocking them then they wouldn't be limited. Maybe re-release them once in a while but to restock constantly full sets and everything then it wouldn't be limited after all.

 

No. a "Limited Edition" set, doll, what have you, is just that. "LIMITED EDITION". If a company says "we are only selling this many" and then a month or two later "do to popular demand we've decided we're re releasing another limited period!" (i've seen this happen in the past, and i thought it was very unprofessional) They are breaking their word to their customers, and seeing as how limited things are usually marked up to reflect their rarity, i find it to be down right rude to say its a rare limited and then go back on that because it turned out to be popular.

The only exception is if it's a seasonal set, like say "we will ONLY release this set around this holiday, and this many will be released"
Like a Christmas angel set or something.

Essentially... If there is any possibility it will be re released, they need to say so instead of saying it's limited edition that's never to be re released. If they're honest and say there's a possibility of it being re released in the future, then thats just fine and i don't find it at all unacceptable.

 

Ah, this is such a hard internal debate I have with myself. The personal heart side of me says "Yes!!! If there is a sculpt I love, I would love to be able to buy it!" Being a newer collector, I didn't have the chance to buy some of the older limited sculpts that I now want. But my head and all my reasonings argue "No." I agree with those before who reason that by the very definition of "limited" it means that it is special and only so many are going to be made. This is reflected in the price initially and the resale value. I do think of it as rude and disloyal to customers if a company claims an item is limited and then at a later date reissues it. To me it would be a sure sign that the company has no integrity and is only concerned with the money aspect.

 

i like some kind of limited dolls but they are very expensive (for limited it's normal) and i would need more time to get the money but the limited times/quantity is to short for this v.v
so, i hope, they get restocked ^^ or the order-limited-time/quantity would increase <_<
edit: i see the post over me, you're right, so i edit my post. i mean the 'limited' could changed into a 'special' because like on Luts (Bory and so one) they are 'only' more special than the others i think, so i hope that limited things changed into an no-limited and special-thing that is expensive, too (XD) and give us more time to safe the money for it V°o°V

 

As much as I'd like to say "YES YES THEY SHOULD RESTOCK THEM" because I'm in love with a certain limited edition head from a few years back, but well... I'm not going to. I think it would sort of... I don't know, the so-called "limited editions" would have no point then, 'cause you could just think that hey, it's going to be re-released next year/eventually anyway, I don't need to buy it now. It would be like a regular doll then, but only on sale at a certain moment.

I agree with s0yuz about Iplehouse's policy, it seems great, as well as other limited fullsets. But then of course it's the clothes&accessories&make up and not the doll itself, but I guess that's another issue.

And I guess the problem with limited editions is that they tend to cost more and you have much less time to get to money...

 

I think they should. I don't really care about resell value. The dolls themselves cost enough as it is. And it drives me crazy when I see a doll I absolutely LOVE that fits the character I have in mind PERFECTLY and when I click on them, there's a
huge
red
sign, that reads:
"SOLD OUT"
under the listing price. It just... makes me die a little inside.

 

Not sure if I said something before (though I voted 'yes'), but while now I don't think limiteds should be restocked (thus the word limited) I do think there should be a greater chance for more people to get one. I understand how limiteds are special dolls, but when people are saying there's some kind of line between "haves and have-nots", then why not try to level the playing field a bit by either making more, or extended the time they'll be out?

And this hobby isn't a contest to see how many limited dolls we can acquire.

 

This is a tough question D: I'm soon going to own 3 limited dolls (DOI Black Elf Sha and Code 11 *bought from Yahoo Auction* and REGEN LE from Luts) Two are from yahoo auction and only one is from the website itself.
Somehow I hope that the company should republish them again since I'm sure there's many many people around the world in this ring wanted to get certain doll but they might be under some financial or other issues which made them unable to get the doll ): I didn't manage to get the two mentioned ones from DOD since I missed the period >.< And I'm pretty new in this area ):
I seriously want a Black Code no.02 from DOD and I really hope that they will open the sale again )):
However on the other hand,this might cause the doll to lose some value o_O...I'm not talking about the price but it's the preciousness.(I get the dolls not because they are limited,but because I really love the design)
What makes this doll so special in some sense is because of its' limited availability ...I guess the company should really stick to the definition of the word.
but you'll see more people like me,hanging on yahoo japan or other sites to get them....In some sense, the company is making a loss too.
I guess on business wise,no company would want to make a loss ...everybody wants to make profit.
but I will be really happy if DOD re-release Black Code 02 again I really want this boy,he's such a hottie in my eyes ^_^

 

I think that is for the discretion of the company, it's not my business or even interest if they do or do not. I am not in this hobby for investment purposes, I'm not that dumb.

 

I haven't seen a markup such as you describe from the companies themselves. In the secondary market, yes, but not from the companies that are producing the dolls. You can't really fault the companies for what the secondary market does.

I have seen higher prices on limited items, but this is usually because of elaborate accessories, different (and more costly) materials used (such as unusual or difficult to cast resin colors), or other distinguishing elements that do add to the cost.

 

I don't think it is right to re-release a doll if it was sold as limited.

 

Well, it is a tricky question but I would tend to think a limited edition should mean that a certain number of artefacts and no more should be made. Some companies seem to have a very elastic notion of "limited edition", others use it to test types of dolls they will then sell in bigger numbers, etc.
As far as I am concerned, of course, I would love to be able to find some dolls that I like and that do not seem to be available any longer (or not yet...) "limited editions" or not.

 

I think the problem here is that people often mis-interpret what part of their purchase is *actually* limited. Often it is the full set - clothes/face-up/eyes etc - that is limited and not the sculpt. In that case I think the company should stick to their guns and not re-release an identical set again, but if they want to release the same sculpt in a different form, go for it. The second-hand market price is absolutely not the concern of the original manufacturer, and I'm with Stella Maris on this one - these dolls are collectibles but they are not investments.

As far as actual limited head sculpts, I'm not too fussed on this if the company re-releases it in small quantities occasionally. I think its fair to people who missed out, and the company isn't wasting their resources hence keeping prices fair. Often limited heads are not more expensive that the regular heads anyway, so I don't see why people get so upset, unless they purchased it second-hand in which case, I refer back to my above point that this has nothing to do with the original manufacturer, so I don't see why anger is unleashed on them.

 

I don't own a limited doll and I think that if the companies restock their limited items they already wouldn't limited.

Then, the essence of limited items is the inability to be acquired outside the limited time.

But I'm agains people who buy limited items for resale and make money at the expense of.

Anyway, come what may I'll not buy a limited doll because I LOVE Customizing, so this issue doesn't concern me too. I explain: I'll not pay a big money for a limited doll what I 'll change completely.

 

Nobody's breaking their word to anyone. They don't need to tell you that any sculpt may be re-released again (or discontinued) in the future; it's assumed that you already understand that the artist can do whatever they want with that sculpt. If they release two limited editions of the same sculpt, BOTH of those releases are still limited. Each edition, separately, is limited. This isn't an abstract concept. "Limited" does not mean "will never be sold again"-- it merely means "not regular stock".

Volks don't always change names on rereleases; it's more common that they don't. Both my Shiros are still Shiro Tachibana, and both my Isaos are Isao Nanjou, different editions of the same character doll. And how many Ceciles and Williamses and Michaels and Lucases and Chrises have there been?.... Each of those individual releases is limited (some extremely limited).

 

not the full set, but the mold, like iplehouse does, and now recently soom