Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

Really, I am an impulse buyer. <_< I admit it. One night, in a weird mood (I can't have a pet at my apartment and I really wanted a cat ) I just ordered my Megi out of the blue and then I ordered the other 2 not too long after because I knew I wouldn't want him to be an only child. I'd been lurking, though, for a LONG time on DoA, as you can see by my join date and I knew a lot about BJD care. I know their limitations and I know basic things about them. Now I've got 2 and am STILL waiting for the Megi I ordred and I absolutely love them. I'm getting into fixing them up now because I realized I don't have to be afraid to mess with them. I wired one last night and today, I'll be hot glue sueding the other. I might be getting a "work doll" from the Marketplace so perhaps I can get good and confident at mods/fixes so I can help fellow owners with their dolls. So, I suppose I, too, was a lucky-ish case...I impulse-bought my dolls but I love them and I never did anything damaging to them.

 

I'm saving for a 1/4 Bobobie Mei, though I plan to get her @ resinsoul.
I'm now scouring the site about restringing, and what to do. I'm going to overlook the face-up pages (for now, at least) since I like the face-up she has, and am not ready to go about it myself.

I went to the site for resinsoul, and they never said she didn't come with a wig, or clothes. That's a disappointment because now I'll have to tell my parents - yet again - that she also will have no hair. Luckily, both clothes and hair are so much cheaper than anything else.

Currently, I'm interested in what sueding the joints means/does; and why people sand down their dolls, and if it seems prudent. If it works to reduce shininess of the resin, I'm game.

Must keep searching!

 

Hmmm i gotta say, I've been researching these things actively for about... sixish-seven months now and still haven't bought one. Been staring at them in envy for longer XD I've finally found the mold I want, but I'm concerned about the amount of time it'll take to make vs how long i'll be in my current apartment. Still, I really can't imagine jumping into this hobby unprepared. Those that do are brave, brave souls.

 

Research all the way. Only occasionally do dolls(or anything else) that I have the "love at first sight" impulse with stick with me. Usually it's the doll that I stumble across and keep thinking of/coming back to look at that I end up deciding on. For instance I fell in love immediately with dream of doll two years ago, but the first doll I loved enough to buy was a Soom Namu. It doesn't help that I'm picky as heck about the entire doll and want everything to be perfect for me which means a lot of hybrids(talk about research). I've been in the doll hobby since I was tiny so if I'm going to re-sell one I want to have bought it with that in mind. These doll's simply don't lend themselves too well to the "investment" type collecting for the most part so I want to be sure I love one before I bring it home.

 

Research for a while, I would say a couple of months. I ended up with dolls I wasnt in love with because admittedly I bought too soon. ~Gus

 

My first doll was very much a no-research kind of affair; I'd heard enough about BJDs and done a minimal amount of googling to know about Volks. Over a summer graduation trip to Japan, I stopped at the Akihabara showroom and ended up walking about with a Kohaku kit, my Shoujiki. I had only the vaguest understanding of BJDs, and certainly hadn't "fallen in love" with the sculpt; I walked in and picked out the basic boy who I liked on spot.

Through Shoujiki, I learned. I learned how to string him, I researched faceup artists here on the board that I liked and sent him off to them. I did a bit of sewing. Shoujiki was pretty much the opposite of how most people buy dolls; I had no character in mind, no sculpt in mind, nothing. I just liked his face in the store.

I absolutely adore him, and have come to love him not just as the boy he is, but also as a souvenir and symbol of a really amazing trip.

 

i knew about bjd's for a while now, but just recently i got to read more about them through tonners dolls (sometimes weird stuff comes out in google). i think it was sometime around january. so now i'm here, reading, looking at pictures and generally learning. i've looked at many pages and figured out which doll i like the most, so i kind of concetrated on that. i'm still away from having the money and (if i order form a page) time till the doll gets here, so i don't feel pressured and i know i'll know more.
i think the issue here is with money. if it was a $20 barbie doll, there's no sweat and fear to do things. but if it's $600-$700, then one should really think about it. and know what you're spending your money on.

 

A few days after I discovered ABJD I fervently started to read up on sanding seems, restringing, sueding and modding. All the things that were possible with these dolls were pretty new to me and it interested me to no end. I wasn’t thinking about getting one myself but one or one month later I ordered my first doll. I had two months of waiting ahead of me and I became a little walking encyclopaedia when it concerned resin matches, which clothes from which companies fits which dolls, hybrids, modding and face-up materials.
Sure I did things with my doll that I wouldn’t do now anymore, but that’s part of the learning process. My first doll is still well loved and in good condition.

I’m one of those people who suddenly jumped in and landed on a good spot. I just felt this was the good thing to do and that I had to go for what I really wanted. I realised that a doll was too much money to waste on a “try out” doll that I didn’t truly liked. So after a search of two weeks (my first doll was a gift and my father was sort of pushing me to pick one so he get me a graduation gift) I picked the doll with the features I knew I could love. Even though I went fast, no buyer’s remorse over here. I guess it is because despite going fast, I educated myself about the basics.

I remember reading a thread here on doa when I was still waiting for my first doll. Someone had received her first doll and was really upset, because her doll was broken and faulty. I looked at the posted pictures and thought: “I don’t see anything wrong. I can’t find the cracks she’s talking about. Sure, I see some heavy seam lines, but that’s nothing a bit of sanding paper can’t fix.” I had never seen a doll in person, but I was able to recognise seam lines and knew how to remove them keeping safety in mind.
It turned out that there was nothing wrong with the doll, but the owner didn’t know what seam lines were, that they come standard with each doll due to the production process, and that the company actually offered to remove seam lines for a fee when you buy a new doll. If the owner had done basic research about BJDs, she could have known about seam lines and then she wouldn’t have thought she’d received a faulty doll and had wasted over $600.
Research can prevent a scare like that, so that’s why I'd say research first. It doesn’t need to be months of research, but know what you buy, how it needs to be maintained, what the big no-nos are, and what to expect. You’re still spending several hundreds of dollars and in this hobby that does not always mean you get a completely finished and perfect doll. Know what you buy.

 

I must admit my first doll was a bit of an impulse buy. But I *did* lots of research beforehand, it only went very fast because I can be very single-minded when something grabs my interest and absorb lots of information in a short amount of time.

In retrospect, maybe that wasn't the best thing to do, but I enjoyed my first doll nonetheless ^^

 

I go for research. No matter if it lasts days, weeks or months, but I like seeing lots of pics and visiting very often the official page where the doll is shown. I keep looking and looking at the doll and then I decide to purchase.
It happened that I've changed my mind about a particular mold, and then replaced it with another that fitted better the character I wanted to recreate. That is, my Luts Moon and MD Yuri case. Between all the molds I have considered, they were the best. Maybe that didn't required too much of research, but I am very happy with them.
However, I keep looking for the perfect mold for most of my time. I don't like to buy dolls on whim, because I always try to gather all the information needed about a company or a certain sculpt.
But I can't hide that I was also very disappointed about Dolkot policies and quality, but oh well, I was just prepared to it.

 

I have purchaced to soon AND it will be the last time too... I had the money but when I got him the charater I had in mind fled at the sight of the body sculpt ( not that it isn't a beautiful sculpt) It just didn't fit what I was looking for.... So I ended up spending all that money on a doll that I can't even resell because of the economy... I Soo jumped to fast on that buy. I just hope I'll get a chance to sell him soon so he wont continue collecting dust in my closet.

 

LOL.

Honestly (please don't kill me), the first time I found out about these dolls - I thought the hobby was ridiculously stupid and a waste of money. I thought the doll owners were just as crazy as the prices. LOL.
It took me a month, but I became curious as to why they were worth sooooo much, and did a little research on these little guys. I had to admit that the pictures I saw were GORGEOUS and that was about it. Then, I saw how different the same dolls can look with a little customizing, clothes and make-up. I was apalled. I made up my mind to get one right after seeing a SOOM Beryl on Deviantart and was very impatient to get one so I did VERY LITTLE research on maintenance for the dolls, like the basics. I spent two months researching on WHICH doll to get, instead of the price they came with x___X;; in the end, I went to Volks and placed a $1,050.00 FCS order. My family went crazy on me since I was 19 and 1.) believed I was much too old for dolls and 2.) I was much too young to be spending that much on luxury when the economy is down.

I did my research as I got her, so I know almost everything I needed to know to keep her in shape. I know that some dolls have a different mixture of resin, so there could be different maintenance for every company.

I can't spend months of doing research because of my impatience. Once I realize I want something - I NEED IT AT THAT MOMENT. So waiting the three months almost killed me.

But, I DO suggest that researching is best before purchasing - at least the basics.

I am now a crazy doll owner XD

 

I spent around a year learning everything I could (general knowledge wise) about these dolls and looking at different moulds and companies before I bought my first doll. I learned what all the terminology meant, I read up on products safe for use, I looked at reviews of sellers and I've talked to so many owners about their dolls. I finally felt confident enough to purchase a doll, I placed the order, and suddenly realized that I didn't know how to restring her. I looked everywhere, but for the life of me, I couldn't find any super-specific info on restringing a Bobobie doll. I learned the wrong way to hot glue suede a doll yesterday, and she also doesn't have many clothes because I can't figure out how to drape her and get it to come out the right size.

So I guess what I'm getting at here is that I definately think that you should do your research before buying, but also expect to learn tons more when you finally get your doll.

 

Some dolls just make you want to have them right away. Other dolls make you want them the more you look at them. Everybody has their own pace on deciding on which dolls to get.

 

I didn't do any research... I'd been into Pullips for about a year. Then saw lots of photos of Lati Yellows and just fell in love... saw one for adoption and got one. I'm still pretty clueless but as I'm not planning to do a faceup or anything scary like that on her I guess I'm ok!

I've joined DOA to learn about the different BJD's out there - for the longest time I thought Lati was pretty much the only ones out there!

 

i have searched for months..and search in almost every homepage of doll companies~
and finally i found my first boy!! despite it costs much time but i can find my boy ~it's worth

 

Research never hurts, but sometimes diving in is the only way some of us will ever get around to taking the plunge.

I didn't do my research on my first doll, I had a few un/pleasant surprises with him when he got here (he's a skinny lil' bugger ), but he was what I wanted and I still don't regret him at all and wouldn't get rid of him for the world.

Sometimes, research helps, but sometimes it can induce paranoia in first time buyers. My friend freaked when she found out that dolls do tend to yellow, and because people tend to talk about yellowing like its the plague: She thought they turned to butter a week after coming home

 

When I first got into BJD's, I knew there was something a bit weird about how people would post pics of the same doll with different, extravagant faceups. XD
When I found out you could remove the makeup and redo it, that day I had to know basic caring for the doll before I even considered saving for one.
I think it's better to have basic understanding of the doll's needs before you get one, leave things like clothing and whatnot for later.
The dolls are too expensive to buy and not know what to do witht hem and how to care for them. X3

 

I read everything I could about BJDs, and tried to get a look at every single doll that I might possibly be interested in before buying my first (took about a month).

But that's me.

I'm sure others do things differently. I might roll my eyes if they then complain about resin being not as they expected or posing difficult or using sharpies and staining them... but that's their business, I figure. And most will NOT be having such problems... they'll research what they need to know AFTER they get their dolls and figure out what they want to do with them. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

I'd just like to know a bit more about something if I'm going to drop hundreds of dollars...

 

I first ran into BJDs months ago via deviantArt photographers and fell in love with them instantly, without knowing much beforehand. As my love for those BJDs grew, I slowly began to look through the world of BJD, but never really started to research until recently. I've found great companies, ones that I would've never known about if I never forced myself to research. I spend time now looking at face-up and restringing tutorials, looking at other BJDs as well.

And besides, I wouldn't really be able to impulse buy in the first place, I usually don't have $500+ on me all the time, and I knew well enough that my parents wouldn't give me money without knowing what it was for, when I barely had a clue about it myself.