Do you value a BJD more if it is hard to get?

I tend to shy away from dolls that are difficult to get. Even if I like them, I seem to mentally stamp "unattainable" on them. "Oh! That doll's great! oh. Limited? Everyone else wants one too? Nevermind..." I guess I'd be frustrated by the disappointment of not getting it and trying so hard to get my hands on it.

 

Making dolls limited makes good business sense, but as with many things that make good business sense, it isn't necessarily good for people. Limited dolls cause all kinds of problems between people in this hobby, as do limited items in all hobbies.

On the other hand, our society values not only what is unattainable, but also what is expensive, and with BJD, those go hand in hand!

Personally, I like my unlimited dolls just as much as any limited I've seen. I can understand loving a limited doll because of it sculpt, but I can't understand loving a doll because it's limited. If you want to work hard at something, why not work on your career instead of finding a really hard-to-get doll? But that's just me.

 

No, I think that a doll that was difficult to get would probably just make me bitter and hardly even want it anymore. I don't enjoy the hunt or major competition -- it's just frustrating and too many others lose out. I would much rather stick to buying a doll that I know I could get for sure and avoid the heartache and disappointment.

I actually talked about this very thing in my LJ recently. I'm no business or economics major, but it seems like it would make more sense to have dolls unlimited or limited in much larger numbers. For a doll that has a run of 100, and 200 people want it, then companies are losing out on 100 people who would have paid for that doll.

 

With me it kind of depends on how much I want it and exactly how hard it would be to get.

I had no idea how to get YOSDs either until recently but I guess you just have to enter their lotteries to get the chance to buy them. (which I did when they had their most recent one since I've been wanting one for a while now)

But in general it is really nice to just be able to buy a doll when you want it or when you can afford it rather than constantly worrying that it will suddenly become unavailable...

 

I think it could go either way depending on the person o:

For me, I buy a doll because I like its mold, whether or not it's limited or difficult to obtain. Although sometimes, if a mold is extremely popular, it puts me off from buying it... because I feel as if the mere popularity of the mold is affecting my choice more than the mold itself. Or sometimes, if a doll is extremely limited and hard to get... even if I want it, I don't buy it... because it feels more like a competition to see how far you'll spend to get it.

Overall though, I can't really say if I value a BJD more or not if it's hard to get. Sure, if I found a mold I absolutely love and managed to get it from the maker, then it might feel a little special... but then I'd also be too afraid to customize it... and the customization aspect of dolls is my favorite part... so then maybe it would be less valuable to me ^^;? Haha *doesn't make sense*.

 

That's EXACTLY how I feel. As soon as I see that it's a limited doll, and even before I see what it looks like, I'm not as attracted to it. It might be partly because I hardly ever fall in "love at first sight". I grow to love dolls, so I naturally grow to love dolls that I can get easily.

However, what I DO value are dolls that are rare because they're underetimated. Like the old discontinued Volks heads. They used to sell them separately as option heads, but they discontinued them. I have a discontinued white skinned F-10 on an oldskin SD10 boy's body; both tough to get, and I consider him my most rare and valueable doll. However, I probably wouldn't get all that much money for him if I were to sell him. But he's valueable to me because both his head and his body are so rare.

Same with the Rasendou dolls; the company is now defunct, but what I wouldn't give for the cat girl!!!

 

Most usually I try to shy away from rare BJD's, but if I fall in love with them, it can't be helped. Then again, if there is a doll that is too popular, chance of me avoiding it will occur also. But once again, fascination turns into infatuation and it doesn't just stop.

Overall, it really depends on how much I love the doll. I value every kind of rare/limited doll, but if I don't love it, I won't want it. That's how it works for me.

 

Not at all. If I really want a difficult doll to get (or even just an 'inconvenient' one like my sunlight F-16 boy) then I'll go through the necessary channels to get them, but to be honest? My favourite doll is my run-of-the-mill, bog-standard Shiwoo. I love all my guys, but he's far more valuable to me than my Limited Edition Elf El or any other 'hard to get' dolls I might have in the future.

 

Hahaha! That's my FCS mini boy, Joringel. His headmold is the F-04, and he's white skinned.

 

It's all about the doll. I think a lot of us are influenced by popularity--but negatively. Like, if it's popular, we want it less, just because everyone else wants it. ^^;; There's nothing wrong with that, but still.

Limiteds also keep the attention of the market, maybe? You have to keep on your toes, like.

 

If I want the doll, I'll go after it. Pure and simple. Might take a while and a long time, but I'll try. It won't make me value the doll more... just the OMGstress behind finding it.

 

I find that the rarer and/or more expensive a doll is, the LESS I enjoy owning it!
Nowadays if I want "rare" or "unique" I'll mod it myself!

^_^
Raven

 

My four limiteds were much easier to get than my other two boys Volks LEs aren't hard to get when you know what you're doing.

The status of a doll doesn't mean anything to me, the main reason I don't have any standards yet is because I love white and sleeping dolls and Volks doesn't make them standard.

 

I think the uniqueness of a doll has to be given by its owner, you are the only one who can make it truly unique and just perfect for you. If I like a mold it really doesn't matter if everyone has one too, if it's popular there has to be a good reason for it

Maybe some people feel more drawn to the idea of having a limited doll to be able to show it off and not so much because of the doll itself... Other people just fall in love with a doll despite that detail, I don't really know and don't mean to insult anyone On the other hand if it's limited it's more of a challenge and some people are thrill seakers.

But in the end of the day, when it's just you and your doll/s, does it really matter? I don't think so.

 

Contrary to apparent belief about me, I do not value the limited aspect of a doll more than the doll itself.

My most precious doll is my CP Yder, a completely unlimited, very easily attainable doll. However, I also have 2 hard to get dolls, and one extremely hard to get doll.

My Hewitt I bought shortly after he came out for not much more than the retail price (though he didn't come with any of his default items). It was not hard for me to get him at all. My f-10 is a sato-only sculpt, so it takes a bit of manuevering to get one. I bought him second-hand. Both are precious to me for their specific molds and the characters that they are. Part of why my f-10 is SO extremely dear to me is the unusual circumstances he came to me.

This is the same for my most limited and sought-after doll, my Woosoo. He's limited, and I had to try very hard to obtain one. It was not easy, but it wasn't impossible. One of the reasons he's precious to me is because I DID have to fight so hard to get him. Each time I lost an auction, his character grew more and more. So the process, to me, was much more meaningful than the fact he's a limited sculpt.

I think this goes for some other people as well. The saving up process, the ordering and waiting period, etc. Or with limiteds, the wait to find one, the bidding wars, etc. The process just makes it a bit more meaningful to some.

Please don't let the limited aspect of Volks dolls deter you from them. There is a reason that Yo-SD are so popular. I used to have one, and it was just the best little doll. I've handled many other tinies, but Yos are by far my favourite.

In the end, someone could claim that they put no effort into getting their BJD and yet they're still precious, but I know at least for me, this view holds meaning.

 

Thanks!

FCS means full-choice system. It's the Volks package where you chose your doll part by part, so you can make it exactly how you want it! Here's a great website about it: http://www.crysania.com/angels/fcs/