Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

I ran into this just today and wanted to cry. I literally got mad about it lol. But a friend of mine just bought herself a sweet little bobobie An boy. He's gorgeous! She got him in white resin bought him a gorgeous blue wig and some very pretty red eyes. When I found out she was getting him I even made him a hoodie to match my boys. But today I took my boy over to meet up with hers and it was as if he was nothing to her. It made me want to cry. She had been so overwhelmed by how lovely my doll was that she wanted one of her own and did an impulse buy. But now she doesn't seem like she's really into it. She seems almost dissapointed in what she got.

For me, I researched for months before I got my weylin and I absolutely love him! I knew exactly what to expect because I was prepared. Now he gets more attention than my family thinks is normal lol. But my point is that research is definitely the way to go! My friends doll isn't getting the love and care he deserves because she didn't get exactly what she was expecting.

 

I am doing the research route. I don't have one yet and specifically joined this site to learn about them before I bought one. I think its the right thing to do when investing in such an expensive hobby. You want to go out and buy a $20 toy that's one thing, but when a purchase is over a couple of hundred dollars I want to make sure I know what I am getting and what is needed to keep it usable. That goes for a $500 doll as much as a $3,000 air conditioning unit or a $20,000 car. It just makes good financial sense. IMO.

 

I'm just quick in everything I do... and am very sure in myself. I decided to buy bjd - and in a three days I bought two. Those three days I spent browsing through photos to chose, but it was all my research.
And THEN, after ordering, I had 2+ month to do all research I like on how to maintain the doll, what to paint it with if i like, how to make wigs (I'm a bit into DIY), what to change eyes with... and all wonderfull stuff that is out here in the web and is usefulll to know.
And I don't love my dolls any less because not spend my valuable (I'm on a piecework payment, so my time REALLY does cost money) time on months or years of research I can do in 2-3 days if get serious minded enough.
And yes, I was very sure in my decision. Nothing would have changed if I meditated on it for half a year. i can do all thinking I like with my dolls around my working desk )))

 

I can understand being somewhat disappointed when someone makes a large uneducated purchase. However, I'm not sure that you can do all the research you need to do on a doll before you buy it. Some things are just going to have to be learned from experience. For instance to use the dog and cat analogy. Dogs have a vein in their nails or claws, which makes cutting them a bit tricky. Now, if you've never owned a dog, you wouldn't necessarily think that there was a difference in a dog's nail and a human's. If my aunt hadn't warned me about that when I got my dog, I would have made that mistake. *but* my aunt was only able to warn me because she made that mistake herself. So whilst I think you should research on a big investment like a BJD, I don't think people necessarily understand that there is a difference between them or another type of doll regardless of price, nor is there enough knowledge to understand how you should research. You know the things you never knew, you never knew kind of thing...


P.S. I know I'm new, and I have no BJD experience, but I do know what it's like to buy/have something expensive and have no idea what to do with it.

 

I think research is best. but i do know people jump fast into things...like a new home...car..stuff like that.
But i don't like to make bad decisions...so i really try to think on what i buy. Stuff like can i afford it? Do i really need it? can i take care if it? (same as with a animal, can you keep it safe,unbroken,& cared for) I'm still researching for my first doll.
Given i can't inpulse buy. Can't spend what you don't have.

 

This might just be me but whenever I want something "new" I do ALL the research; I can't imagine not doing it, though I have nothing against people who are able to just trust that it will all workout, lol. Before I finally made my first purchase I pored over TONS of sites just to learn the basics, and I made sure I got a doll that came with a faceup because I don't know if I'll ever want to do one myself (and if I do I'll just remove the current one), etc. I'm learning more and more every day; What works with wigs, how to mod bodies so they pose better (sueding, etc) how to change out eyes, what's safe for my doll... I'm still learning but I also made sure I KNEW what I was getting;

And also, I have to say, some of the sites are actually really cryptic about what their dolls come with; now that I know where to look, most of the major places actually are pretty good but there's definite gaps where I'd go to a site and they'd have a doll pictured and it really wouldn't say what they came with... So that's the only thing I'll say there in favor of doing research. It's a big purchase, y'know?

BUT then again it is also your money and if you want to take risks with it, that's fine with me also.

Anyway.. I've said my bit.

 

Can I just pop my head in and say that I feel uncomfortable about people bringing up animals as a somehow *comparable* purchase? I agree that it's very important to do research before bringing home a live animal. I very strongly feel that it's a totally different situation when you're talking about an inanimate object that has little or no effect on the safety of living things (as opposed to a car or a baby crib).

Surely there are other expensive things people do or don't put research into before or after buying that we could compare BJDs to?

For example, computers. Also expensive. Also sometimes finicky in terms of what you can and can't do with them. It's similarly important to shop around and find one that meets your needs and desires. To my mind, it seems like a much more fair and accurate comparison than pets.

I don't think it's very important to do research before buying a doll (although I think you should research stuff as you go, for example reading about faceups before you try them), and I sometimes feel like those who think it is important in this thread have relied too strongly on saying "well, you wouldn't buy a dog without knowing how to take care of it, would you?"

 

Well I think someone stated it a few pages back that a lot of arguments on researching dolls before owning one comes from believing the doll has a soul. Hence why the person using a pet as a comparison might feel justified. (Although that's not why I used it for my argument, it was just out there, so I brought it back to that analogy)

However:

Irresponsible doll owner = Waste of Money
Irresponsible Pet owner = Tragedy.

p.s. you really don't need to do all that much research for a pet either though. Pets are pretty simple (The standard fair anyway) Food, Water, Potty breaks, bathe, play, and love, the rest is really learn as you go, in face the majority of it is. *but* you sound like a pet owner, so you probably know what I'm talking about.

 

i found an add for the dolls in a magazine, price through me off, (not to mention having a hard time translating the site, when volks didn't have an english page) met tina blakrose at a anime convention a few years later. went to her panel, talked for a good few hours afterwards. went home, hoped on ebay and bought one. , not any research at all. looked for one i liked, that was in my price range. looked it up on the company site.

i was into garage kits before so the doll wasn't a big deal. that's the perception i got going through volks without any info or translation at all. and that's how i dealt with them. even after seeing tina's and her explanations i still saw them as a garage kit for girls. didn't even know about doa before tina or what they were called. hence why i never got on ebay or anything prior looking for them. gotta know what they are first. so i kinda just went from there.

i got my doll and learned from there. mostly through trial and error at first. (two weeks part of my first girls arm broke off changing her clothes took her to the maintence man at work and i said i need some fleshy tone plastic epoxy please.) her face up came off, i re-did it myself with enamel. worked well, didn't stain and gave it some texture. didn't ask anyone either first. but meh that's not for everyone. and most poeple here don't see them as garage kits for girls.

by the time i got on here i already had 2. i got both mine off ebay. and my best freind had her's from junkyspot. i didn't even know what a forum was when i got on here. or before i met tina. let alone think to go look for one on the dolls.

so i see nothing wrong with jumping right in, exspeically if you've got no qualm with trail and error. spending that much on a doll and not knowing how to do somethings doesn't seem like such a crazy thing to me. or crazy to want to do trial and error on. garage kits aren't that cheap either. and i got into those in a similar way, went from gundam kits at the easy level, up to the big advanced ones, then moved to garage kits. now i'm into to bjds and see them as another kind of model kit. didn't do any research for the others either.

 

I'm actually getting an An boy myself- and I know what I'm expecting to get- he's my first doll and the cutest little guy ^^ But I've done as much research as I was able before I ordered him- and now I'm saving up for another and I know that when I get him I'll be ready as well. I love BJDs and my problem is just figuring out which one I want first and which ones can wait 'til later to buy^.^

 

How interesting! I am also getting an An boy, as well as a Lan girl as my first two angels, as I have affectionately named them. I did some basic research before actually purchasing my little ones, just on sizing and availability of wigs and clothing... different brands, face-ups, basics. I do believe that my life with these little ones will be one big learning experience, though. There are many questions I still have about these dolls, and honestly, I have found certain information difficult to grasp. I think that is only because- like any new learning experience- starting from scratch is difficult and does take time. I am taking the next month, my wait for my two new little ones, to prepare them space in my room, prepare with clothing, wig, etc. I am sure there will be a variety of things I will encounter. I did not jump straight in; however, I definitely did not hit the books for months on end prior to adopting my littles. ^.^ Oh, I cannot contain my excitement, really.

 

The thing that really appealed to me about BJDs is how customizable they are, it's like getting a car, I guess. Being new to the hobby myself, I'm definitely making sure I do all the research I can before comitting to buying one (although as it stands, I want a boy and a girl so I can make matching outfits for them! D. I'm even going as far as trying to develop my own method to making things like custom shoes and the like, which not many people on here do.

 

Heheh. Guilty of premature buying X3; (But is it a little different when it's the last one of that mold on the website?)
Though.... I did understand his value, and did nooot want to experiment with him -at- all as far as face-ups and such went. So much so, that I didn't even attempt giving him a faceup until ...well... last June, I'm pretty sure (I bought him September 07 ), and even then, a friend who also had a BJD helped me do it. (And then his current faceup was also given by a friend who had much more experience with such things ^ ^; )
So, I think it's important to research how to take care of a doll...but whether you want to do it before or after getting that doll is...well, debatable. ^ ^; They aren't like pets, so they won't die if you keep them in a closet in their box until you can work up enough knowledge to do something with them.

 

it was so easy for me cause I already had a friend with BJDs. So I could see them in real life. Then my best firend do much research on it and we talk about nothin gelse for weeks ^^;.
Then was the day she wrote me that she found a Doll she want. A B&G Ymir. I love him too, but I already decided that I want a girl if I ever buy a BJD. The she gave me the link from the B&G side, saying Ymir got a twin sister...It was love at first sight ^^.
Not long after that I bought my first Doll ^^.
But with face up. I informed me what face up is and how to do it and decided Ran is to precious to do it myself clumsy.
So I say a little information can't hurt. But you have not to be an experr on everything BJD related. If you got one and love it you'll learn about it anyway ^^.

 

I find it irresponsible not to find out as much as you can on these dolls while beginning your hobby. there are those ''we'll see when we get there'' kind of people who want to know what they're talking about before they learn how to talk about it, but it scares me to think that someone who doesn't know about the sensitivity of polyurethane resin may apply something to the doll when they very first get it and ruin it before they knew what they were doing!!!!!!!!! I think it is the doll owners responsibility to know about these beauties. as many threads before have stated, there is more to these dolls than there are to cheap plastic playthings.

 

I did some research before I bought my doll, but I don't think it was what you'd call "extensive." A friend of mine had gotten into the hobby and she did enough research to write a book on the hobby before she'd even bought her first doll. I'm still new to the hobby, but I researched all the basics (how to handle the doll, sueding, changing eyes, wiring, etc.) before I bought my doll. I know I'm not artistic enough to do a faceup myself (I can barely do my OWN makeup), which is why I opted to buy a fullset doll. However, I hadn't actually seen one in real life before I'd opened the box when mine finally arrived. (I'd seen photos on DoA and other websites, though.)

For something as expensive as BJDs, I would hope that someone does at least basic research before getting into the hobby. It's fairly expensive to just jump right in and start buying dolls without knowing anything about them. For $600, you're better off knowing at least how to take care of a doll before you buy it. I don't think it's necessary to know everything there is to know about BJDs (down to how to cast the resin yourself, though that does seem like a fun project), but it's certainly better to know as much as you can before you get into a hobby.

 

I researched almost two years before I ordered my boy, and admittedly, I'm still learning and eager TO learn! ^^ However, although I'd probably be considered still a newb to the whole subject, I did my homework, and I know enough about BJDs to be a responsible mommy when my boy gets home.

But I still have a long way to go! Oh well~~ keeps the hobby fresh and exciting! ^o^

 

Oh, I completely agree. Although we may 'play' with our dolls, they aren't Barbies for God's sake! As with any hobby, its probably a good idea to realize what you're getting yourself into before blindly diving in. :3

 

hmm, i'm somewhere in the middle i guess. i did look around and do some research on the basics before i ordered my first doll. but i also know that i'll have a 2-3 month wait, so that gives me some time to learn even more. honestly, i wasn't interested in doing my own faceup immediately, so i felt like that took alot of pressure off.

 

Hmmm. I have become more impulsive the longer I'm in the hobby. Now I know to get that ltmd doll the moment it becomes available. None yet

I didn't know about DoA when I started... I was too busy between work (32hrs) and college (full time) - don't do what I did, it can kill you.
But I did look around, read the "fine print", asked questions about a mold I kept looking at in a wig ad. I knew about Volks for years, but they didn't speak to me. Dolls in particular did speak to me. Barbies? they made me shudder.
But I was into true artist dolls, and somewhere I realized or found out that one could create an interesting doll with a VOlks. Remember that's all I knew. I looked around, actually looked and then purchased doll magazines (oh, for the love of god) and created a folder on my computer for saving pictures and websites of the dolls I liked.
I also found Obitsu (since I'm into the Japanese doll/model culture I knew about them) and purchased 3 heads. I use one head as a blank canvas for me to try working on. I used chalk pastels: why? Well, my make up is powder based. Common sense. I sent the other heads out: one to a magazine article artist, and other head to a person from my yahoo group. Always meant to get an obitsu body, just never did. Tastes change.
Then I wanted a DOLL. After I found out one doll that I kept returning to look at so I ordered her, an AOD Zi Yuan. In one of those doll magazines I saw an artist's work in face-ups and I knew where my gal would get her face. I joined a yahoo group and somehow, don't remember, I found this place.

I used sculpty to hold eyes, but it dries; tried the plasticine modeling clay (for kids), love it; ordered stuff from a vendor, smells like petroleum so I threw it out; got some stuff with one of my dolls - love it.
When I was looking at fixative, I have very minor art background, I READ the label. Later when I was looking at the Volks site I found MSC. Then I looked for it from my model sources and bought it.
So I guess my common sense and my age kept me from doing something "stupid", but I still buy a doll from a "Want it" mentality then a pro-con list.

Still want to paint a doll in a shinny paint to create a very interesting doll. Also recast an arm in clear resin and light it - that is more experimental than "stupid" or crazy.