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

I think I prefer having dolls that aren't too popular to really have something unique. Even if it means it will be harder to find items for them (clothes, shoes,...)
But if I really like a popular sculpt, it won't stop me from getting the doll I think the most important thing is to love the sculpt you want to get! Everyone has different tastes and all sculpts should be respected

 

I don't really factor the popularity of a doll if I like the sculpt. A couple of sculpts I've bought were very popular, and a couple others I can hardly find other owner pictures.

Also, the thing that's kind of nice about popular sculpts is that they're probably much easier to sell if you decide you don't like the sculpt after all! And a popular sculpt will often have many more owner pictures online for you to look at as reference, if you're trying to decide to buy a sculpt or not. Company photos often don't show every angle, so it's nice to have plenty of other photo reference to see the doll in different lighting, weird angles, different faceups, etc.

 

I like the sculpts I like, and I don't really care if they're popular or not. I think a lot of sculpts are popular for a reason (i.e. Fifth Motif Venitu), but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a sculpt specifically because it's popular.

 

I don't really care if my dolls are popular or not, I like them (that's why I bought them) and that's really all that matters. I like that other people enjoy them too but my feelings towards them wouldn't change just because of that.

 

I'm buying my dolls for me, not for whoever's looking at them but contributed nothing toward their purchase or customization. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Some are popular, some aren't, and none of that is remotely important.

 

Its a pro's and cons list! More popular dolls have more options for ready-made stuff, but honestly in my opinion tend to be less "out there" sculpt wise. Less popular dolls tend to be a bit more unique and strange, which I like!

Either way, as long as the sculpt makes me happy, I'm good!

 

I buy dolls based on what I like best. Sometimes I may like a popular sculpt, but if I like a sculpt that isn’t popular I’ll still get it. All the matters is the the doll makes me happy!

 

I'm indifferent to whether or not people like my dolls. It does make it easier to buy them used when they are popular but ultimately if I like it, I like it and that's it.

 

Personally, I believe that the most important thing is that you love your doll. After all, you are the one spending the money to buy it, so what other people think, at least to me, is not important. Like others have commented, fads come and go, so to me popularity is not as important as long as I love the doll. Although, I’m not going to lie, a few months ago I was going to buy a doll ‘cause he was popular (and he looked kind of cool). Thankfully I did not, which I’m glad I didn’t do because I would have stopped liking the doll once the “wow” factor of it being new rubbed off. Right now I only own one doll and I am happy with that because he is the only doll I have truly loved right away since seeing his picture, and I have never doubted that I wanted him. Curiously enough, this hasn’t happened again with any other doll I’ve seen, as of yet. He doesn’t have a super fancy faceup, body blush, or clothes but I love him.

 

I do not care at all if my dolls are a popular sculpt. I love them to death and that is all that matters to me. That said, I do plan on surprising my mom with a doll sometime in the next few years and will be getting her a very popular sculpt and body so she can easily find clothes. She is more into the dress up aspect so I want to be sure she has lots of options. But for me, I don't care. I'll just make or commission them clothes if I can't find anything ready made for their bodies.

 

It doesn't matter to me whether other people like my dolls. I have to love them.

 

Over the years, my views on this have changed somewhat as I have encountered different kinds of doll collectors in real-life. In hindsight, I used to be "anti-popular" when shopping for Volks sculpts (my primary collecting focus) and that kind of directed my collecting habits in what I would term a "misguided" direction as then I was forced to create compromises about what I could buy. If I were to do it all over again, I would do things differently.

My experiences in doll-collecting are unique in that the dolls I fell for first were those I saw in real life at doll events. The ones I really loved were Luna, Kurumi and SwD Nana - all dolls that were at what I considered crazy high prices on the secondary market. Because I stubbornly refused to pay over retail that shut them out of the realm of possibility for me at the time. Now, though, after owning all three, I do wonder if I would have saved money if I had just bought the dolls I fell for in the first place. The reason is that then I would not have spent money on dolls I did not like as much.

So, to be "anti-popular" can kind of sabotage one's collecting efforts just as much as buying something just because it is popular. My approach now is to simply buy what I love.

This is very true. Looking back, I seem to recall seeing *a lot* of School A heads around "back in the day" during my first few years collecting (2007-2012 era) at doll events in Japan. It got to the point where I grew so accustomed to seeing them that I actually started to really like it and consider it as a possibility for me simply because it started to feel so "comfortable" in a way. I think that sometimes the popular dolls can grow on people simply because they are always out there and unintentionally can shape people's preferences in a love/hate kind of way.

But, there is also something else I noticed here in Japan.

A number of years ago when the SDC Rene sculpt was super-popular I saw a group of four collectors all bring their SDC Rene to Tenshi no Sato. I believe a couple people had twins so there were like six SDC Rene sitting side by side on a table on the first floor of Tenshi no Sato. It was almost like they had a "SDC Rene" club. So, whether a doll is popular or not, people with the same dolls can be drawn together in the hobby.

To be honest, I find a lot of Japanese collectors I have met or encountered tend to want the same dolls as their friends. It could be competitive, sure, but I also think it creates a commonality so that they have a reason to all bring their "matching" dolls out to take photos at various places, including photo studios. Even different dolls in matching outfits is a thing here.

That said, I perceive those as fun facets of the hobby because it concerns interacting with dolls and enjoying them with other collectors. There can be a darker side when it comes to attempting to emulate wealthy collectors in Asia who spend thousands and thousands on the rare dolls, outfits and all that. I feel that sometimes people strive to have collections like them simply because they are rich rather than because they actually enjoy the doll hobby. I think an example of that can be seen with the recent Bisque Kasumi sales on YJA where the person clearly did not even play with the doll. That person, I think, likely bought a doll he/she could not afford or did not really like simply because it was what all the rich people were doing.

I should also mention, however, I have seen people who are not rich (or perhaps they do not flaunt their wealth) really love their bisque Kasumi. One collector, for example, I have met has both versions - open eyed and romantic glance - and I saw her at Tenshi no Sato taking photographs and playing with them multiple times a month for years. She really loved those dolls and likely still does. The love for the dolls needs to be a priority, even over price, in my opinion.

This is a valid concern, I think, but I have different reasons for feeling that way. The idea people "own" an idea or a concept about how a doll may be styled can run rampant in the hobby. The "you copied me" accusations are so childish to me, but I have seen them chase people from the hobby entirely. The thing is there are no truly original ideas at this point. Everything is inspired by something else because none of us lives in a bubble free from exposure to other dolls and doll collectors. There are merely personal interpretations of a doll and sometimes people exposed to similar things will have similar dolls without ever seeing each other's doll collections or even encountering one another in the doll-collecting community. That is why I feel it can be a bit self-defeating to place "originality" over the actual love for a particular sculpt. If one simply follows the flow of the heart, the doll will become a perfect fit for that collector, I think. But, I simply love seeing people love their dolls so that does create a kind of bias with my perspective.

 

The one downside to buying lesser-known dolls is the lack of owner pictures and community around said dolls. I turned back on getting a doll I really wanted because I could not for the life of me find the information I really needed to hybrid this doll. Meanwhile, I just added a doll to my collection made by a very lesser-known artisan who only sold the doll in very limited batches. While this is fun because it is a novelty and a conversation starter, it's impossible to find owner pictures. I don't know why that bugs me, but I love sitting and scrolling through hundreds of people's interpretations of the same sculpt - does anyone else do this?

Regardless, both of my boys are sculpts that hardly anyone else has, and I wouldn't change it for the world. Though I do wish I had more of them to ogle at and compare with other collectors, at times. But with the rise of limited-run, small-batch, one-person-show artist dolls becoming more popular, there's a sense of community in that, too. We're all huddled together waiting for literally anyone else to post a picture of their dolls that are the same sculpt as ours.

 

If by "popular" you mean "a doll that's currently being offered, but due to demand exceeding supply, I am having a hard time purchasing it," then I understand the frustration the OP is suggesting. In that case, you'd hope the popularity for that doll would be less, not because you're trying to be different, but because you just love that doll and want to have the opportunity to buy it.

I don't truly feel like I see any BJD hobbyists purposely buying only "popular" dolls, but I definitely do see a lot selling off their old dolls to buy newer ones. When a new doll is released, I can count on my IG feed being swarmed with photos of it which is understandable, but then see that same doll being moved on frequently when the next big release or two comes. I don't know if this is done to keep up with doll trends and have relevant social media, if the owners have a strict "one in one out" policy for financial or physical space limitations, or if the love or inspiration for the doll just isn't there anymore. If you have been in the BJD hobby long enough, as @VampireAngel13 said, you'll identify waves of time when some dolls seem to be just everywhere, until room is made for a new doll and the once-familiar face becomes a stranger again.

Personally, I've been a doll collector nearly my entire life. When I began, the internet wasn't widespread and I didn't know a single other person who shared my hobby. As doll collecting had been a solitary enjoyment of mine for years, I was very used to collecting just for me with no regard for anyone else's perception of my choices. That's still true for me today. My preference is for the overly-stylized and occasionally amateurish BJDs that were released in the early-mid 2000's; they definitely have a small but distinct fanbase but are generally overlooked by the majority of current BJD hobbyists. I've accepted that this is what I like and don't care if they somehow miraculously make a comeback (I mean, they say fashion trends repeat every 20-30 years, haha). Curate your collection for yourself and you'll be content.

 

As long as I love the doll all the way, doesn’t really matter if it’s really hard to find clothes, when I love the doll it’ll look good even in rags that I’ve made for them

 

Oddly enough, for some reason, I like the idea of having a doll that isn't as well-known.
BJDs are all about customization and having your own unique ideas for style, after all, so it feels slightly more personal to have a sculpt I don't see around a lot. It makes it feel more... personalized. Or in other words, "mine."

 

I think it is personal
I don’t like a doll becoz it’s liked by more people, or otherwise

 

I have a Minifee Chloe and the popularity of the sculpt had nothing to do with my decision to get one-I simply grew more and more fond of her whenever I saw blank pictures.

Neither popularity or unpopularity will ever be factors when I’m considering a sculpt,all that matters is how I feel about it.

 

If I like a doll, I like it. It does not really matter to me how many other love it.

That said, I am happy for the artist if other people love their work.

 

Truthfully, I really don't care.

But I do think that it's human nature to become familiar with something that you see over and over again and then incorporate it into your own life. As a hobby, we all go through the same thing with trends. EVERYONE wants a Fairyland Chloe; so we see an influx of pictures. Since we see that sculpt in so many styles/genders, it becomes so normal that buying one doesn't feel so far-fetched when one comes up.

However, I do think that it's a little irritating when this happens since the prices get so gouged on dolls that already aren't cheap/easy to find to begin with. For example; CP Soony has suddenly become all the rage for whatever reason. She's a doll that I've been looking for casually for a while, just waiting on a decent deal....NOPE. This now 10 year old doll that *should* be selling for $350 is now selling for $750 and up because of a sudden popularity surge? That's infuriating!

With the dolls that I have now, so many of them are old that I couldn't classify myself as someone who follows trends. I just buy whatever I like after a couple glasses of whatever poison I'm drinking that night.