Does your price limit keep going higher/lower with each doll?

This is an interesting topic. I had no idea bjd dolls and even off-topic dolls were so expensive. 3 years ago, I would have considered spending $150 for a doll to be outrageously expensive. How times have changed!..

Fast forward and I have dolls which were very expensive, but are strictly collectors items I expect will appreciate over time. I also have a varied and growing collection of bjd's coming in at many different price points. I buy dolls because I like them and not based on price. However, with some, for example my Lati Lea Halloween, I purchased her used as I simply could not justify the new price in my head for a doll this size. On the other hand, I didn't flinch at buying a brand new Doll Chateau Olivia because she is SD sized (my first) and I already owned a DC Bella and thought her quality was excellent for her price point. I do have to make some form of justification in my head for my expenditures. I want to feel like I am making a good purchase.

 

My first doll was a (to me) pricey Blue Fairy MSD girl of over $300 including shipping, completely blank and naked. I'd been looking at various sculpts and companies for months trying to pick the perfect one, because I know I'm indecisive and I REALLY didn't want to regret my purchase because I didn't choose carefully!

And I was happy with her, and kind of spoiled her for a bit since she was my only doll for a while. It seems like lots of people, once they step into the hobby, they do a running start and start buying one after another within months! But I had my one girl for a couple years before I got my second one, a Fantasy Doll tiny. And the decision process for that was almost totally opposite for my first doll!

Little Cece, at a little over $100 blank with shipping, was practically an impulse buy, and I had went out explicitly hunting for a cheap tiny doll without being too picky about its looks. I had a concept in mind for this doll, and yet somehow that made finding a specific face or body less important. I was also picking this doll out to ask for as a gift from my parents for Christmas, so that's a big reason I specifically wanted something more affordable. It only took me a couple weeks of looking at my options (which is comparatively quite short) before committing.

Though I love them both equally, their different price points do somehow make me see them differently. But actually, having such a 'cheap' doll has actually felt refreshing and relaxing in its own way! Like I don't have to worry about being extra careful with her, and like I got a great value (gods, I'm one of those people that can get more joy out of how much 'money they saved' from buying something on sale than the actual thing itself, if you know what I mean XD ) .

But as for my doll wishlist for the future after this? It's a mish-mash of more FDoll tinies to go with Cece along with pricey limiteds like future Soom Faeries I want and a tan Blue Fairy. There are some specific concepts that I feel like I must have, price or limitedness be damned, and then there are some doll concepts that seem fun and relaxing to collect without being fussy about high prices and the perfect face, perfect body, perfect features and resin color and all that.

ali

 

I don't have a price limit, I just look at the face and if I like it I will get it...if I can, that is if not, they will go to my wishlist lol

However, I must admit that I've been admiring the Volks dolls from afar because they are extremely expensive for me but there is one boy I truly like and I'm saving for him...he costs more than anything I have ever bought for myself but the price means nothing when I look at his precious face!

 

I don't really have a limit. I just need to like the sculpt. If I feel like I can afford it at the time, I'll buy it. I like the larger dolls so that automatically makes the amount I pay for each girl several hundred dollars (as in over $600) each.

 

I'm new to the hobby and have definitely been somewhat desensitized to the high prices. I bought my first non-bjd doll about 6 months ago and cringed and felt guilty for paying $65!!! And today I'm looking at the Soom Nappy Choo and thinking.. hmm.. $185 isn't tooooo bad (for a doll the size of my thumb).

That said, I think I've found my limit and it's at a pretty low price point.. $250s. I have young kids and many grown up expenses and it really is just irresponsible for me (given my circumstances) to spend $$$$ on my own luxury hobbies.

 

I think I'm starting to get more comfortable around the $300-350 range. My first doll was around $350 (shipping was part of that). My second doll was around $250. This third doll (without extras, like clothes, wigs...) will be around $350. The DZ Edward head will be $95, but I'm looking to add him to a body that is, at largest, 65cm. Lastly, there's the LaTi Green I'm looking at, which will be around $350/375.

Even $400 is too scary. There's something about that number that just makes it all seem too expensive for me.

 

I like to stay in the 300 or even 400 or less range...I only have MSDs but that is my favorite size...If i were to go for an SD I might raise my expectations on price. I tend to like smaller dolls though. Most of mine where around $200 something, one around $300 somthing XD.

 

My maxed budget with shipping will remain at the 400 range.

Cause with re-stringing kits, shoes, (hey dolls are top heavy), wigs, eyes, pre-order ect it'll add up and considering I plan to stay within MSD/Tiny range it'll be around that...

 

Aisling was $140 and when I bought her I almost couldn't justify paying that much to myself. Next was Fionan, who was $210 and I thought 'okay, well $200 isn't bad, but that's it'. Now I'm debating between a $400 and a $600 doll and thinking 'it's not that ridiculous'. I keep buying cheaper dolls with the money I've saved for the more expensive ones, though, so they might be a ways off yet.

 

I compare prices to my first doll, which was a $600 Crobidoll ^^ So I consider an SD more than $600 to be expensive. That being said, since a YoSD is half scale of SD, $300 is the max. amount I'd be interested in a YoSD

 

I don't exactly have a limit because it gives me another reason to start saving, and have a reason to work harder But I don't think I would go over $5,000. I could use that money to pay rent, other bills, and possibly have money left over to buy necessities.

I apply the same concept to clothes and other dolly stuff. But if I really want it I will hard for it.

 

My limit is $1000 at most for a doll. Luckily I've never had to reach it yet! XP I have noticed the prices of my dolls going up a bit with each new one though. XD;

 

I had my first couple of dolls given to me as presents, so I had an inkling of how much they cost, but I have only purchased one of my dolls, and I spent less than $140 brand new, with shipping. I am looking at a new doll, I seem to keep getting attracted to the next size down, too, that is close to $500. But in it's defense, it comes with a face up, eyes, wig, clothes and a case, so I figure it worth the money.

 

Sadly higher ._.; My first doll was about $700.... Then $800.... Then I went lower for a few. But my last 3 were $1200, $1000, and $2000 >_> And all the ones on my wishlist are probably going to get me up to that range.

However I will say that I don't regret any of them, they were all worth it in their own ways

 

I guess I would say higher, because if you can justify spending hundreds of dollars on a single doll you badly want one time, then you're more likely to do it again! Also, the more I explore doll sites and forums, the more dolls I find out about. And then I realize that some of the most beautiful ones are limited editions, most no longer produced, so tracking down a doll no longer in production can be costly.

 

Interesting topic. Hm, I think for me it fluctuates. Depends not just on the doll, but also whether I have the money. I'm still a student, so usually I take very long to save up for 1 doll, which was why I tried to keep within 500USD for a doll (I only have SDs). But I got a part time job recently during the holidays, and suddenly, with the spending power, I feel like I can afford more expensive bodies, or heads etc. For me, the price limit is more on bodies, than on heads. I will buy a head if I like it, as long as it's not ridiculously overpriced in view of the market price/2nd hand market price (of course, I need to have the money lol). But for bodies, I used to prefer nice looking but cheaper bodies, and recently started to think, hmm 800USD for a SDGR body isn't THAT much. Hahaha. I didn't buy it, but I think my limit for dolls has gotten higher recently...

For my full dolls, these are the prices, lol. It's a seesaw trend...

454usd > 390+usd > 600+usd > 572+usd

 

my first girl is more on the expensive side and my next doll (either her twin or her YoSD self) is definately going to end up quite a bit more expensive than she was
just keeps going up for me......

 

mine has actually gone down somewhat... this Christmas I plan to buy the last full sd for my story(and possibly sd head) so from here on out I will focus on msd and tinies. my sds have cost upwards of $900 but my mental cap on msd and tinies is no more than 400 so it will be easy to finish off my wishlist soon I hope. I also have lots of bodies to buy but I try to stay really cheap on those... most plans are for resinsoul that are less than 200. so the longer I stay in the hobby the less expensive my dolls become

 

Do you ever feel that after your first inexpensive even second hand knock down priced doll, that you start looking at dolls of higher prices? Since you get used to the feeling that it may not be so bad once you have spent the money?
Well, my first two dolls were not really cheap... The first one probably cost me about $650 without shipping, eyes, wig, etc. The second was a standard Dollshe Husky (right before they sold out), so that one was not super expensive but not cheap either.
However, I have done this with clothes. I was very uneasy buying a set that cost more than $50 when I first started and never bought brands like Dollheart or Sadol or had things custom made. All of the clothes I have gotten lately (this year) have been sets ranging from $50 - $250, and I can see myself spending even more than that soon. I think it all started after I ordered a Fer. When I got that, I thought it was insanely expensive. Now, the price of a Fer is probably the average of what I spend on an outfit.


If your first doll was pretty expensive, do you start looking inherently for dolls of more reasonable prices?
Not really. I have gotten some much, much cheaper dolls since my first one, but I would not say I inherently went looking for them. If I am getting a secondhand doll, I try to make sure I get the best deal.

Or do you just go back and forth with each purchase? Buy one expensive, one reasonable, then one expensive?
Yes... sort of. The dolls that fall into the catagory of what I like vary in price, so sometimes I buy cheap ones and sometimes I don't. I do sort of do this with clothing, though. I try not to buy several $100+ sets in a row. Usually this works out because I will often get an outfit for one doll one month and an outfit for a different doll the next, so I can alternate between fancy dolls and less fancy ones.

 

Most of my dolls are of the SD size, so they're pretty much all in that $500-$600 price range.

I got my first MSD head second hand, and got him a body. Needless to say, much more cost-effective, and I do hope to get at least one more MSD in the future.

I have some pretty hard self-imposed limits, though. I'll be honest in saying that I really can't see myself paying in full for one of those gorgeous 1000+$ dolls. And, since I don't use layaway, it's unlikely I will wind up with one, unless I decide to Frankenstein one up from miscellaneous parts grabbed from here and there on the MP. This is why VOLKS Masamune Fullset will be forever one of my Grails; a shiny goal, but more than likely unachievable. XD;

I do have hopes that some of my less-expensive Grails will become buyable, though(through either re-release or by finding one heck of an MP deal). And by "Less Expensive" I mean "closer to standard ~60cm pricing".

Iplehouse Mari is probably the most I've spent on one doll all at once, and even then I didn't order all of the options; I omitted the wig, I only went with one outfit and one pair of boots, I omitted weapons, etc.

If anything, Mari being the exception, I've recently taken to buying blank dolls and attempting their faceups, myself. Which does help take that end product cost down some. Even more for me, since I'm prone to buying the dolls nude, also(again, Mari being the exception). XD;