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

I consider myself very lucky that the limited Volks are difficult to get. Otherwise I'd likely have no self-control.

I recently realized that I'm a victim of marketing strategy... I've bought Blythes before that were Limited on the spur of the moment. It's not that they weren't pretty, but that added tag of Limited lights another kind of fire in my heart. So I get this burning desire that I must have one NOW. Not later, because it's limited. I might not have another chance. So out comes the credit card. And the doll arrives, and she's lovely, but months later you can still feasibly get hold of her [sometimes with a slightly higher price tag, but still] and I know I could have waited. And perhaps I didn't want her as much as I thought.

I think a lot of people get that OMGZ! feeling when they see a gorgeous limited... but I'm learning to wait before I buy and then the NEED fades. Yes, they're lovely, but could I live without them? Probably.

I'm beginning to loathe the Limited label because it turns a doll instantly into gold dust. If she's limited, people will clamour for her. It works in every aspect of retail from DVDs to limited line clothes... not that the "limited" part is necessarily a smokescreen [as in, the dolls are always limited to how many parts] but it does make for guaranteed sales.

So sometimes I wish it was easier to get a limited, then I remember how much money I *don't* have. Sometimes the price tag really isn't enough for me to know I can't afford it. The price tag is just a tiny obstacle for me and I'll fight to get it. So I'm glad there are further obstacles to stop me bankrupting myself. ^^ I still find it very hard to say a firm NO! to myself when I see something out of reach.

xxSam

 

Not in the least. If anything, it's a turnoff for me.

The only limited/hard to get doll I ever wanted was a Bermann, and that was strictly because I adore the face-sculpt. I loved it the first time I saw it, at a very deep level.

I was extremely disheartened when I quickly discovred that Bermann was so hard to get, so extremely coveted and absurdly expensive. I would have been MUCH happier if he was an unlimited doll.

I finally was able to get a Bermann head, which I put on a Hound body. I love him to death, but I honestly have to say I love my regular, unlimited V1 Hound every bit as much, and in some ways more, as he was nothing but a joy to buy, whereas the wait time, and angst of that waiting to obtain a Bermann was a major stressful obsesssion for me.

Personally I will probably never buy an limited doll again, for me, the stress of getting one takes a heck of alot of the joy of ownership away.

 

Nope. I have to agree with gayle, it does seem to be a turn-off for me. I kind of mentally stamp "NO WAY" on the doll and wash my hands of it. I know going through all the effort to get a rare/limited doll is worth it to some people, and is in fact half the fun for them, but for me...I'm lazy!

It's a really good thing the boys weren't limited though, because I can't picture them as any other mold!

 

I have to say that I find the competition for buying a limited edition doll to be way, WAY too stressful, and it makes me so unhappy that I just won't do it anymore. I think there are ways of making dolls individual and unique, that the numbers of them available shouldn't be as important. I have a couple dolls that are limited editions , but with the exception of one (Bermann) they weren't difficult to purchase. The Bermann experience really has made me not want to try again for a hard-to-get limited edition doll - the kind you're hunched over your keyboard, waiting for that exact second to send the email or click the buy button - knowing that tons of other people are doing the same. Once was enough! So I'd have to say that I prefer purchasing dolls from open editions, or buying limited edition dolls that are not as fought over (for now) - larger numbered editions, like the Unidolls and Narindolls. Perhaps when their numbers approach their limits, they will become more stressful to buy! ;>)

 

The doll-family process with me is that I look at the mold, some preliminary ideas form in my head of how I want him to look like in my family, and if he does seem like he'll bond with me to a certain degree, then I go ahead and buy him.

When I look at limited releases, I fall in love with their beauty, but the cost and the difficulty to get them makes me care more about their price than of properly developing their position in my mind. So after much thinking, I found that molds such as Bermanns and Woosoos are just "beautiful dolls" for me after all. They do not become alive like my boys do.

Although Breakaway DOES come back to me once in a while...seems like my brain hasn't given up on him yet *laughs* he's the first Luts doll that I fell in love with, after all.

 

Nope - many of my dolls are limited, but I didn't buy them because they were limited - I bought them because I loved the mold! Although I tend to prioritize limited dolls over non-limited ones when it comes to actually purchasing them, just because I know I can get a non-limited one at any point, and if I waited on, say, Kurumi, I'd have had to pay insane aftermarket prices.

 

That's exactly how I am, I have a quite strict self limiting mechanism that kicks in, it's part of the reason that I don't have some dolls that I am totally in love with, I realise if they were easilly availiable I still wouldn't be able to afford them and that's kinda ok, you don't get everthing you want in life.

 

For me, I have to answer yes and no, as a bunch of people already have. For me, the sculpt of the doll is the most important thing. A beautiful standard face on a body that has had bad reviews is still a temptation for me. If it's an ugly face, but cast in lovely resin, with a wonderful fullset outfit, still a no go. However, a beautiful doll in junky resin can set off my 'no' bells as well. For me, ideally, I want the whole doll to be perfect--sculpt, posability, resin quality, etc.

Often times, the more expensive dolls are higher quality. The first doll I had for my Apollo was CP El, white skin. His expression, his hands, he was such a lovely doll. However, the slight green tinge to his resin kept me from really enjoying him, especially since the other dolls he was posed with were both Volks pureskin. That was one of the factors prompting me to sell him and buy Volks Kohya to portray Apollo's character. The bihaku pureskin resin does the character much more credit...and at double the cost. He's an LE, and while I lucked out getting the last one from VolksUSA, he was harder to get. So...yes, I do value his new, harder to get, form higher.

Also, I like my dolls to be unique, a little less often seen sculpts. If this means I'll have to work a little harder to get the perfect one because he's rare, so be it. If that means I'll have to put aside a bit more money for him, so be it.

I don't want to be a doll owner with a lot of dolls of not-quite-right. I'd rather be a doll owner with fewer but just-the-right dolls. That's what it comes down to for me.

 

No, I value them the same, it only matter what's important to me about them and not if they're harder to find.

 

Limiteds scare me away, because I'm afraid to become attached to something I won't be able to get. When I see one, I ignore it and look away. Even if I could get the money immediately, I still wouldn't be fast enough.

 

Ooh, I hope none of the ones I ever want to get are limited... but the important thing to me is what something looks like, not its level of rarity.

 

I wanted a limited K, but ended up getting the basic version. He was sold out. DX But I didn't want him because he was limited, I wanted him because I wanted a K doll. The extra wig and the outfit was what tempted me.

 

not really...I really have no interest in most uber-expensive volks dolls...I go by looks not rarity

 

i cant even imagine what it would be like to own a really expesnive doll, im scared enough that im going to be clutzy with the one i have. i guess its really up to whoever is buying them which is more important. the price and rarety or just wether or not they like how they look.

 

Nope. I value a doll based on whether I really like looking at it. A lot. And whether it "speaks" to my heart or not.
If it's a limited, well then, that just makes it that much harder to get, not make me want it more.

 

I just get more neurotic about my harder to obtain dolls, because they're harder to replace if something happens to them.

 

Even if it's limited, I found that I value my BJD more if I had gone through hell to get him perfect.

My first love is Ryo, (Volks Shiro) was difficult to get not only that he was a HTF limited but I had to get him in pieces, first his head, which took about three tries and then waiting for his original body. His body came half a year later. Both times, I had to bust my butt working two jobs plus school.
And then there was all the peronal problems that only made him more valuable to me.

My current dream doll is a volks Liz-boy, Who's turing out to be more difficult to get then Ryo ever was, missed heads, no lay-a-way sellers always keep him out of reach.
And then more personal problems, Even before I can get him! O_O

But I'm not giving up on my Liz-boy....now's just not the right time for him yet.


As for the qustion: "Do you value a BJD more if it is hard to get?"
A: Yes, I do.

I have a non-fullset Magical Micheal named Sephion, even though I love him, he was easyier to get then Ryo was and He's ment to be a compaion to my future Liz-boy.
I could easily get another M-Micheal but I'd reather not, Sephion's just establishing his personality. and I've finally got his face-up to how I like it.


I believe that your beloved Doll is priceless to you.

 

No, not really. Most of the very expensive/hard to get ones don't even interest me.

 

i dont value a doll if its harder to get......it's true that, some of the times, the dolls which are harder to get have something special (they're more wonderful or wathever) and for me, that "something" special that makes it harder to get is what can make me to value it more, but not just beacuse its hard to get.....did i explain myself well? xDDD sorry U____u"

 

It's about connecting with a doll right off the bat for me, no matter how common or rare she is. If she is "the one", then I'm saving up for her!