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

Yes, I do. Though I'd rather companies rereleased the sculpt and outfits/parts of outfit on their own. There are plenty of parts that I wish I could buy but for this I would have needed/need to buy a full doll to get them. And I am not keen on buying on the 2nd hand market as they usually are way more expensive than they were when released. The Halloween wings and the steampunk wings of Fairyland come to mind, as well as Impldoll Chad animal head or even Rho mechanical arm, Risse's steampunk shoes, Angela's eye etc....

 

I feel the character concept should be limited but the sculpt available as a basic. In other words, make the full set limited- only 50 of these costumes and faceups- but offer the doll itself, aside from the marketing/intro concept, as a basic. This would cut down a LOT on recasting too, as some people just have to have a certain sculpt for a certain resin child. If it was available as a basic, doll owners may not feel the need to go to recasters to get that special face.

 

Yes I do. I didn't buy these dolls as an investment. This is a hobby for me.
I was overjoyed when some companies decided to re-release their limiteds.
And I like companies who would release limiteds as a basic doll.
It's really sad when there are no owner pics at all. You can't even get inspired when you're stuck.

 

What is limited? Is it 5, 50, 500 or 5000? If they released 500 on initial release, and then 500 more, the doll would still be limited no? I think fullsets with a specific faceup should stay limited if they are being promoted as limited, I wouldn't mind if the mold was re-released as a basic as long as the faceup wasn't the same.

 

Well, generally speaking, I'd have to say no. Nor do I own one. Having everything available at our fingertips is nice and all, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a limited. How would it feel to those that bought them already?

Rereleasing them later down the line as basics without the fullset extras does sounds like a smart business move, however.

 

I'd also have to say no. I have bought LE dolls in the past and been stung by a massive drop in value due the company in question rereleasing the doll with full set, same make-up etc as standard release (this wasn't a BJD but the same applies). If a company reproduced a mold but without the full-set, make up etc then that would be acceptable to me.

 

I'm also against re-releasing Limited edition dolls. If you make another version of that scult (like a dreaming version) i'm ok with it but Limited is Limited for a reason. Especially when it's an xx sets available. Now i don't own a limited doll, but i'm saving up for 1 at the moment. And i wouldn't like it if they decide to re-release her like 2 years later.

 

I think if limiteds became "unlimited" it would definitely make it hard for a buyer to get their money back if they ever needed to. There are so many sculpt possibilities and so on, I suppose I just think there is a unique doll for everyone and there isn't a need to make them unlimited.

 

Haven't read all the replies, but here's my 2 cents: I have a limited, and a few event dolls, but I'm still generally against the idea of limited dolls. Because most of the rationalization for not rereleasing them is so the originals can fetch more money on the marketplace. But getting your money back (or in many of these cases, getting more) is no guarantee in any collection hobby. Also, the only person who stands to earn money from this markup would be the seller. But if the company were to offer the limited sculpts again, it's the company who would make the money and be able to reinvest in itself, maybe making newer sculpts, etc.

 

I own few limited dolls myself, but I don't mind if they re-released. There is many dolls aren't limited but sold out, I think that's the same thing, because the company no more making them or it takes forever to order a new one.

 

I don't think any limited (or discontinued) doll should be re-released. I own several of myself, have missed several others, and have a couple of unavailable sculpts that are on my wishlist right now. But the fact that I want those dolls (and have no intention of selling the ones I have) doesn't mean that any of those dolls should be re-released. It's up to the company to decide what they want to do; if enough demand exists, they'll re-release those sculpts if they want to. If for whatever reason they don't want to re-release them in spite of demand, that's within their rights as well.

Companies like Soom, who've built their current model on limited releases, have clearly found a model that works for them, and I as a collector have no right to tell them to change that model. They depend on sales to pay their employees, pay their bills, and so on. Some may argue that "well, there's clearly a demand! If they re-release those limiteds as standards, it'd be like printing money!" But that's not necessarily true--how many people, after all, have put off buying a standard to grab something else because "it'll be there later?" Limiteds depend on the urgency of demand, and without it, they won't bring in money the same way for the company.

And I doubt that re-releases of limiteds would cut down on recasting, as well. People who buy recasts are largely using "but I can't buy it new!" as an excuse; take that away, and they'll find another. If it was the only reason, well, we wouldn't have recasts of standards out there alongside the limiteds, now would we?

If a company wants to re-release the sculpt, it's fine, but there's no reason at all that they should have to, and no reason anyone should expect them to.