Do your families know the cost of / support your dolls?

That's so sweet of your parents! My mother was never really crazy about the price of my dolls, but has a weird habit of having me show off my one full doll every time a family member comes over. So I'm not sure what her real feelings are. I don't really care to ask, not because I think they'll be negative for sure or something, but because their my dolls and I'm using my own money, that I've earned working, so her opinions on the subject don't really matter to me much.

 

I wish I did! but I mentioned it to my parents but they kind of laughed about it...its what I expected tbh but I am older, not that it justifies it but yeah. So happy you have a supportive family and happy birthday!

 

My mum isn't a fan XD She appreciates them being pretty n stuff but she hates me spending money, especially large amounts on stuff that "isn't useful". My dad doesn't really know much about them, and has only seen a couple of them, but he's generally more chill than my mum XD
I was concerned what my bf would think of them when we started dating (and at the time most of my dolls were in boxes to save space), but he doesn't mind at all and understands spending large amounts of moola, as he used to do warhammer painting, and is into airsoft and is saving up to buy stuff for it. I now have all of my dolls out on a shelf unit in my room and he doesn't bat an eyelid XD

 

For years I have consistently told them this
SDs: $300
MSDs:$200
YoSDs: $100

it seems to work! They have no clue I spend $700+ on average on my SDs! My mom thinks I go overboard on the number of dolls I have, my dad can’t tell most of them apart and thinks I only have like 5. They overall like my dolls since they are impressed by the clothes I make them.

I’ve always had expensive taste, so they’d rather I buy a "$300 doll" than a designer bag.

 

My parents and my husband's parents have been supportive of our hobby. I think they knew the prices of the dolls when we first started the hobby but I don't think we've told them recently how much our recent acquisitions cost. On my end, I think my parents are used to me collecting things since I used to/currently collect Barbie, porcelain dolls, manga/anime, Xena/Hercules, and Star Wars stuff. My parents were of the mindset of also protecting the dolls behind a glass and wooden curio. Every once in a while, they'll see one of our dolls out in the open and they'll remind me to put them in the curio (we never do) to protect them. Hahahaha. My brother and sister-in-law know about our dolls. My brother is a collector of many things so they understand the whole collector thing. My cousins on my Mom's side have seen my dolls and they are of the mindset that they are creepy. My family on my Dad's side have seen my dolls and are indifferent or are used to seeing them because other family members and myself have collected porcelain dolls in the past. Neither set knows how much they cost though. Almost all my best friends know about our collection. One I converted into the hobby early on and she eventually got her hubby into the hobby as well. Another two know of our dolls and even remembered the name of our first doll sometimes. Of those two, one is a collector of Hatsune Miku stuff, so she understands while the other appreciates my hobby and is respectful of it. The rest of our friends and acquaintances may have been introduced to my first doll way back when, but I don't tend to talk about my doll hobby because they are not into that kind of stuff which is fine.

I think with the people that I really love and trust, it's all out there and it's fine. Like with my brother or my friends that have hobbies or collections that can get expensive, I can appreciate what they have even though I may not want to delve into those hobbies/collections myself. I think it's fun too trying to find things for them that fit into their hobbies. I really appreciated when my friend that is into the hobby herself found stuff that was BJD sized for me and vice versa. I would REALLY love it if my other friends and family members did that too, but I would also feel a little bad since I know how expensive this hobby can be.

I have to admit though, now that you mentioned that you're going to do a box opening with your parents, I probably should do something similar with mine. *looking over to see which doll to stuff into her box again* I think they would get a kick out of it and it would probably be a fun bonding time with the parents.

Although it's probably going to be a few years before I can do it, I actually can't wait until my nieces are old enough to give BJDs to. I can see my brother actually having fun customizing the dolls and all that, but it would be fun to see my nieces playing with them just like they would with any doll.

 

My immediate family know, if fact daughter in law is in hobby as well. My mother in law was okay with it, rest of the family no clue, but don't care. As for cost tonight since I used to have real horses my husband feels in the long run these cost a lot less.

 

My mom has several dogs and a horse so she really can't judge me She's mostly concerned about my dolls getting broken when I take them out for pics. My S.O. is a computer nerd and uses the same amount or even more on his computer stuff than what I use on my dolls.

 

Not gonna happen.

 

My mom knows about my dolls, and is fairly supportive, although a bit shocked whenever I mention the cost. She thinks it's a good hobby, and is currently teaching me the basics of sewing so I can make clothes for my dolls. My dad doesn't know that I've ordered two more dolls recently, and while I don't think he'll mind I just haven't had a good opportunity to bring it up. I haven't talked to my extended family much about it at all, but a few of my friends are into doll customs, so I can to share my excitement with them.

 

My boyfriend helps me a lot with my dolls and he's just trying to stop me when I start to be mad and impulsive and wanna buy in one month all the dolls that I love hehe. My dad knows nothing otherwise he will become a devil I think even considering the fact that I spend my own money on dolls lol. And my mother just says "okay, it's your business" but she thinks they are really beautiful xD

 

My mon is okay for this since before I play the doll I like to collect the figure, I never told her exact price of each doll but since she know my figure price so I guess she already have an ideal for my expensive habit lol.

 

I was pretty terrified to tell my mom about them because of the cost as we are pretty poor and she's very frugal... but after I showed her the way I customize and sew for them (namely my 16cm tinies) she was pretty in love with them generally, since she does like cute little things and likes encouraging my crafting endeavors.

Still, I try not to go into detail about them (she can be a bit blunt about things she thinks are ugly or cute and I don't think she'd aesthetically "like" my green resin alien MSD and I am sensitive!! lol) nor do I go on about how much I spend on them because I think it'd be an awkward topic for me. It's easier to keep it vague!

My partner and roommate on the other hand, are amazing- I got them both into the hobby (while also being careful of my partner's doll phobia, which has improved a lot) so I have people to share my excitement with!

 

I love that your dad jumped in to support you! My SO knows everything about prices. He thinks it's expensive, but I've only bought one doll. My grail doll is nearly 2x the price of my first, but he knows i would buy it in a heartbeat if I ever saw it available.
My mom severely disapproves, but she wants me to buy nice, expensive furniture. I tell her I'm happy with the furniture I have and would rather spend on a doll :P My dad I secretly enlisted to buy a DC 1/6 scale doll from their Taobao, since he has an account and a chinese address to receive it at.

 

My husband knows for the most part. I've told him little white lies before, such as my Volks Williams was acquired through a "partial trade" in which I only paid half of his value for him He would probably faint if he knew how much I really paid. All my other dolls though he knows exactly what I paid. He can't speak on it because he has some expensive hobbies of his own. We both support each other's hobbies pretty well, so I have nothing to worry about with that.

My mom on the other hand...oh boy. She was the one who let me buy my first doll, but she was absolutely appalled that he was around $450. She thought I was insane. She also bought me my DOC Petsha second hand here on DoA, but she was a good price so it wasn't as bad. Now that I'm into more, shall we say, expensive territory, I like to let her believe they're all still $500 and under. She need not know they surpass $1000 at any time! I'm an adult and can make my own choices with my money, but she doesn't buy literally anything, so she would never get it. If she ever comes over and sees how many I have in my doll cabinet now, I think she would still be angry at me even knowing their pretend prices! It still adds up fast...

 

I don't really know how they feel about my choice of hobby. I say it was my choice, but the hobby drew me in at the right time [long story, but my mum was terminally ill and I needed a distraction]. They don't openly start conversations about it with me. My mum will sit and listen when I talk about it sometimes, but I get the feeling that she isn't listening. I will sit and listen to her, when she talks about her jewellery-making hobby/business. Yet, she doesn't really show much interest when I talk about my dolls. Saying that, she likes most of the pictures I post on Instagram, which she follows me on, but she has admitted that she doesn't read all the captions.

My dad; he shows no interest whatsoever. I will sit and listen to him, when he rarely talks about his photography, and I will look at his photos, when he shows them off. But, he will not show an interest in mine. I think he kind of scoffed, when my first doll arrived. I was kind of nervous and said that he was for art reference. I've never drawn him. And, my collection of 'art models' has grown since my first arrived eight years ago. Well, it will be eight in August. Recently, I tried my hand at sewing for them, and the machine is a little loud. My room is above the lounge, and they've heard the machine humming. My dad's never asked to see what I've done.

I don't know. I'm not bothered whether they want to know or not. We have our hobbies that we keep to ourselves. I'm happy with mine. As for the knowledge of costs, my mum has an idea, but I don't think that she knows the true value that it can reach.

 

I was hesitant to tell my partner what a doll costs because I wanted to check the water before buying one. He wasn't even surprised and told me it's my own money so I should go for it ! I might tell my parents too if they ask me straight on. I actually think the dolls are very expensive too, but come on they are so lovely. How can we say no to them?

 

My parent kinda balk on the price, but they're used to me having weird stuff around. They do make jokes about my "creepy room full of dolls" once in a while and make me show them off to visitors while telling them how expensive they are; on the other hand my mom absolutely adores my Volks yosd Alice and even kept her in her room for a while. Other family members have seen my dolls, whether in person or on Instagram, and they don't seem to mind - it helps that a lot of them are artsy folk.

The only time my parents really get upset is when I spend too much money on doll stuff all at once.

 

I feel the same! I explained to my parents about how much they cost in the end at first I was worried about it but they were ok with it. It’s funny my mom even told me to get another doll recently because she thinks they are lovely. The only negative responses have come from non-doll friends who ask why they are so expensive or say that it’s a waste of money. That used to bother me but not so much anymore