Do you want your doll to be popular or as long as you like it?

I’ll admit there’s an appeal to popular body sculpt in that they typically have more readily available artisan items (i.e. Volks or fairyland), but I think it’s most important that your doll appeals to you. And I’ve definitely purchased Heads in the past and later realized it wasn’t the sculpt that attracted me so much as it’s limited availability. Now I try to take my time and consider what it is I like about a doll and how it will fit into my collection.

 

I am ok with having dolls that I love, but that are not exactly super popular like my planet doll David, my Impldoll Akasha, or Cristy Stone Siren.

But I get you, there are some dolls that I like, I'm not sure how popular they are though, whose preorders I've missed, that I might be waiting for them to turn up in the secondhand market, but I've had no such luck.

 

I don’t go by the popularity of the sculpt. I go by if the doll’s overall look is pleasing to me. Face-ups can drastically change a doll. So, I really just want my dolls to be pleasing to me. The popularity of the sculpt means nothing to me.

 

Haha that’s a good question! Sometimes I also asked something like this for my self. I’ve noticed that I don’t really like popular dolls but till now I still don’t know why... maybe it’s much more easier to getting bored if I can see him/her anyway on any others hands

 

I don't care if my dolls are popular sculpt or not. Grazia from IOS is probably not too popular, but he is my love. What is important, that I like it, or not. I don't really like popular dolls, but not because they are popular. Venitu or Fairyland Cloe is just not what I like to own, even if I like the lots of Venitu pictures out there and how different they look. Now I am waiting for two dolls : DC Laney was enabled for only a few months, and Rindoll discountinued Law, and I don't have a clue if they are popular or not. But I don't care. I wanted them because I like them.

 

Dolls that i love, for im in this hobby for my love of it not others. I also seem to like the dolls that are hard to find sized in-between yosd and msd. so any thing for them is very hard to find, thus i usually have to just make it for my self, if its needed. (yet that process has been fun as well.) Iv also found i like hybrids, witch then my dolls are like no one els's. infact i dont have a full doll from one company. lol!

 

Definitely the personal enjoyment of the doll itself. I couldn't really care less what other people think of them!

 

I’ve accepted that my favourite aesthetics are not popular. It makes me happy that some people like them, though!

 

I really really really hope the dolls I like are less popular or easier to get because when supply <<<< demand, you get ridiculous prices or nothing at all

……yes I am looking at you DM hwayeong and illusuon garden
pretty much impossible to get them directly from the company now and has to turn to ridiculously inflated second hand market… is just sad

 

It's nice to have a doll that is popular because it's way easier to shop for, get the doll second hand (as long as it isn't limited AND popular) and also have other people interested in it by default.

However, at the end of the day I just want a doll I like. What everyone else thinks of it doesn't matter. I have to live with it and do things with it, noone else. And interest in your doll just because it's a MNF or a specific head is never as nice as someone liking it just for your customization work or the character you made out of it.

But I understand the notion of "this seems popular, maybe there's something about it", I had that with 5th Motif Venitu. He was everywhere and a lot of my favorite photographers own him, and for some time I thought I wanted one too. Got a head as a commission and while painting I realized his face is absolutely unappealing to me. I just like what those artists did with him. Was glad I could see him before buying one, especially since he ain't cheap second hand either.

 

I've always been a big old weird, so I've never been into popular things. All the dolls I own are sculpts that were so unpopular they were discontinued due to them not selling well, with the exception of DollZone Mo-Wen -- whom I purchased back in the day when DollZone were still not seen in good light, and they were still having quite a bit of QA/QC issues. However, I don't really think consciously about purchasing dolls because nobody likes them, or because they are popular. I'm simply naturally attracted to things that are not normally seeing as beautiful (like death, horror, creepy stuff). I don't mind either way, if nobody likes the sculpts I own, or if everybody and their grandma want one. As long as I like/want the sculpt, I'll purchase it, regardless of other people's opinions about the sculpts I like. The only down side I see so far (for the sculpts I own) is that unpopular sculpts are not easy to find in great condition, more so after they've been discontinued for a while.

I've never liked any BJD that everyone liked, so I don't know what the positive sides are besides having everyone like the doll you own, but I am guessing it would be easier to find one second market even if the prices were more than what it originally retailed for. (:

 

I am certainly not bothered about having a popular doll, in fact although I can appreciate why some of the popular dolls are so well loved, they do nothing for me, as well as certain brands (sorry fairyland and luts). I think considering how much money and time we put into our dolls, the most important thing is that we like them, irregardless of how they look or what other people think.

 

Popularity or unpopularity isn't something I take into consideration at all. Sculpt either suit the intended character or appeals to me or it doesn't. I'm just a bit sad, there are many beautiful sculpts one can't find any owner photos of. Most important is whether the doll makes me happy, not what others think of it.
Besides, I'm a poor photographer and have only a phone camera. (So, maybe the camera is to blame not me?) When I try taking photos of something small, delicate with a lot of details, like dolls, it went out terribly. So, shoving off isn't a thing for me right now.

Disadvantage of unpopular dolls is the lack of photos, availability, and problems to find clothing.

 

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The thing you have to think about is, even if you buy a "popular" sculpt now, five years from now, something else will come along and take its place. A thousand years ago there wasn't a thread here that wasn't saturated with CP Delf El's. Shortly after I got into BJDs Migidoll Ryu was SUPER popular. No one cares about these sculpts anymore. If you buy a doll based on its popularity, what happens down the road when it's no longer the "it" thing? Buy dolls you like. If they happen to be dolls everyone else likes, yay for you. If not, at least you still like your doll. You are the one who has to pay for it, and then live with it. My favorites in my collection have never been the "it" doll. In the grand scheme of BJD ownership, only a handful of others even own the sculpts I like the best, when I first joined DOA with my first doll, I couldn't find anyone who owned one. It effects me none at all. Though it does make it more fun when I connect with other owners who also love the molds I love. Since there's so few of us, it's like making an instant friend!

 

I have to admit, when a sculpt is too popular and I see it everywhere it does sort of make me have second thoughts. I suppose it's because I then just struggle to make it my OWN you know? When i see a certain sculpt literally everywhere I think I find it harder to put my own stamp on that canvas because everyone else has already done anything i'd want to do. Lol.

I have a fondness for the wierder less common sculpts because I find them more inspiring. I can make them really far more unique, I think anyway, because the base sculpt is, in itself, unusual.

But the biggest issue there is that finding blank sculpts or owner pics is SO HARD omg.

oif course it could just be my inner hipster all "eugh, this is popular, don't want" hahahaha.

 

A lot of my dolls are not very popular. I guess I have a slightly different taste then other people in dolls.

I honestly wish that they were maybe just a wee bit more popular, because I love to look at what other people have done with the same sculpture and admire the diversity. I like seeing the dolls in ways that I would not have expected them to look, or personalities in their features, that I could not have imagined.

With most of my dolls, I do a search and it's mostly my own pictures, with an occasional company picture. When I see another owners pictures of one of my more rare dolls, I get happy that they are also enjoying this doll.

My Dollzone Carter, however, will probably be popular for life.

 

When I’m looking to shell a doll, I’m searching for the character I see in my head and I couldn’t care less if it’s a popular sculpt or not...that just honestly doesn’t factor into my decision whatsoever. That being said however, I do find I am drawn to some of the more popular companies it seems: Luts, Volks, Doll Chateau, Soom, Fairyland. But I believe that’s just because their sculpts match my preferred personal aesthetic in general.