Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

I agree with you, Wolfy-kun... It took me almost two years to do all the research and think over if I really wanted to get myself a BJD.... By the time I got one, I was already quite well informed. At least I knew all the basic dos and don'ts!

 

Lucky I'm a quick study, and thank god for this site.. After I bought my first head, I knew almost everything I needed! I can't imagine people not knowing basics though.. All you need is this site's Customisation forum and a ctrl+f search!
It took me way more time personally to choose the actual doll I wanted, than to find out what to use and what not to use.. Most stuff is pretty logical and common sense to be honest..

Seriously, people sharpie their own faces?

I mean, I'm trying to not be PARANOID about breaking my dolls, but still you've gotta have an ounce of "hmm maybe I should test this first".

 

I'm amazed that anyone would jump into this hobby without doing reserch first.

Prior to ordering my first recently, I reserched for 2 years and realised that even just having a single doll without touching on some of the more complex areas of customisation was going to cost alot in time and money;
But then that 2 years gave me chance see that I was prepared to go into this hobby with all its pitfalls and to find a doll that I truly wanted to be my first.

But then having the knowlage in writing is one thing actualy translating it into real life is another.

 

I personally can't even imagine buying something so expensive without researching. However, that's probably just part of my personality since I hardly ever spend money without thinking about it.

I researched dolls for two years or so before purchasing the doll I wanted. I first learned about the dolls, then when I found A doll I wanted, I researched the company I was buying him from and also looked up pictures of the doll taken by other owners. I know that some people are more at ease when making purchases, but I really want to make sure I know what I'm getting myself into when I buy things.

 

I am sure that a lot of the issue (while i'm sure there are those who will beg to differ withj me) has to do with the age of the individual. Based on the initial post I can pretty much tell that the person who originally wrote this is educated and is over the age of 12. That is not to say that someone who is 12 or under wouldn't do any research. Just that they are more likely to buy the doll and make the purchase without having researched the product first. It's just where they are in their lives and development and they are often very excited to get their first doll either through having saved a ton of gift money and allowances or as a present. It's not that the purchase hasn't been thought through merely that the concept that the doll is more than the average doll hasn't quite occured to them untill it's actually there in their lap and they're forced with having to actully do maintenance.

I'm not saying that these things don't happen to doll owners over the age of 12, they probably do. Just that as you get older you tend to become more vested in the purchases that you make. You want more bang for your buck so you spend the time really researching it to make sure its for you because you realize that your money might just be going to the wrong place if you're not careful and so you want to get your moneys worth and protect that investment buy learning all there is about it.

Christal

 

I'm the sort of person who has to plan EVERYTHING out multiple times before I even start saving. I've calculated the cost of what I want over and over and read everything I can find about the hybrid body I need over and over again. For me, someone who's so stingy with money and has little of it I'm really anal retentive about knowing exactly how much I have to spend. The same goes with researching the hobby, I NEVER would have thought I'd want a bjd before knowing how to look after it, or without doing proper company research. (also, I research something obsessively until I know all about it, ahha) I've hemmed and hawed over what doll I want for 6 or so months already and I still don't know which to choose.

People who leap blinding into the hobby via impulse buy (without either researching online or having first hand experience with bjds) seem, frankly, like idiots to me. You don't buy a $600 or so doll if you don't know how to do things with it, how to take care of it, and what it's FOR.

 

I got my first doll from my sister after she moved out and left them behind, I had no idea what they were at first until a friend of mine mentioned she'd seem them around places and that. So i've joined up here to learn more.

I think really that research should be done before you actually buy a doll ... they're so expensive that you dont want to buy one then mess it up by doing something you shouldnt. Or realise that you dont like it.

 

I've now twice seen adults make a fuss over seam lines claiming that their dolls were broken and one of them claimed to be over 40 and with years of doll collecting experience, so there was no way she would have broken the doll and the company had sent her a broken doll. All the dolls had were seam lines and no cracks or damage was on any of the pictures shown.
The other person was baffled the company replied that the seam lines were common and they would have removed the seam lines if the customer had selected the seam line removal service upon placing the order.
Sadly research does not always come with age.

Seam lines are part of the basic knowledge of how these dolls are made and there are plenty of tutorials and descriptions on how to safely remove them. I think it's part of basic research to obtain this knowledge so a new doll owner does not end up being upset by thinking his or her $XXX doll is broken.

Another example: If you don't know how to restring your Dollshe DSAM35 with 35 separate parts is not half as bad as not knowing what is normal (it really does have that many parts) and what is not (someone on this forum got a DSAM35 with a misshaped part so the doll couldn't sit or stand. She got a replacement part after notifying the company).

 

Looking at the title of this thread "Doll research *or* Buying too soon?" - it's kind of like 'Spiderman: Threat or Menace', isn't it? There isn't any real option for divergence, there...

Yet, I did not research my first doll. I avoided typical n00b pitfalls based on previous knowledge from other realms. Anyone who knows a bit about art and collectibles should understand that you don't leave a doll in direct sunlight, or use oil or solvent-based products on it. If you have any understanding of scale modeling or ceramic or metal casting, you know the score regarding seam lines. Research isn't the only way of obtaining knowledge: common sense and thinking things through for yourself is also extraordinarily useful. I think sometimes people involved in the hobby don't realize that the techniques and materials we deal with have uses and relevance in other pursuits.

Of course, my Pipos Baha didn't need a wig, or even clothes, (and I already knew how to sew and improvise patterns perfectly well) and I still hate to cover his sweet wee pattypaws with shoes, so there were a lot of things I didn't really need to know...I learned about them on subsequent dolls, when I began to have questions I couldn't be sure of on my own and felt the need to research.

I still haven't bothered to restring him, although that's on the future 'to-do' list - his posing is pretty good, but I suspect it could be improved some. In retrospect, I didn't really even know he was an ABJD! It was only later I twigged in that my neveR was a cousin of the lovely dolls I had seen on tenshi_no_korin's website, lol.

To be honest, if I had done the amount of research many people recommend? as opposed to using my own knowledge and thinking for myself - I might have been discouraged and have decided against buying my first doll, and would have missed out on the many rewards of this hobby. That's how the arc of my 'learning curve' progresses - I need a little hands-on before I crack the operating manual and get into the details. One size does not fit all, and ymmv!

 

I have been 'researching' for a year and a half now and all i have is a head! by researching i mean saving! I dont want to buy a cheap obitsu body, but want a proper resin body fitting for my souldoll head! I have done lots of investigation into the keeping of, and maintaining of my doll, and I agree that many people rush into these things - more money than sense

 

I feel a bit like an idiot on this thread as the extent of my knowledge is learnt first hand from other doll owners IRL and me asking the odd question about them. Plus, the owners I know have different degrees of how they care for their dolls; all are careful, but a couple have what other owners think of as bad doll care habits.

I originally was only interested in dolls from an aesthetics point of view - they're pretty, I love their customability and the range of individuality and perceived emotions they have; appealing to me because a lot of my planned dolls are based of characters I created thus are personal. Only in the past few months have I started looking at things like eye and wig sizes, the price ranges and differences and even more recently the idea of modding and face-ups (brought on particularly by one of my slightly more complicated dolls).

Even though research is all well and good, I will say first hand experience is the best way to get a feel for them, personally. Then you get an idea of what sizes fit you and your lifestyle as well as your budget, and whether they are for you or not.

 

I have to say, I usually do A LOT of research before I buy something, no matter what it is. But I kinda jumped into BJDs....

I was "collecting" (well that's a little exaggerated, I own four now) Blythes for a little over a year when I got my Lati Yellow Lami this summer. For the whole blythe thing I did a lot of research and I guess that's how I came across other dolls like BJDs (it's all flickr's fault xD BLAME FLICKR ). I fell in love with Latis but I never thought I'd own one. Then I saw a Lea and Laches at a Blythe meet and became completely obsessed. I typed "lati adoption" into the flickr search, sorted pics after date and found a gorgous little Lami. I was the first one to fm the seller and the next day she was mine.....

Well, to cut a long story short: I didn't feel the need to do a lot of research on BJDs for two reasons:

1. I'd never thought I would own one
2. I knew some of the basic vocabulary (face up, mold, custom, sanding etc.) from Blythes, so I thought I'd be fine

Anyway, When I signed up here on Doa, I finally realised what I was getting myself into. It's fun though - very interesting. I still don't know many BJD companies (which is a good thing since I can't afford another one very soon) but looking at pictures and learning new vocabulary is a very cool thing to do (this is such a nice place to do so, too!).

 

I'm the kind of person that researches a lot before I do anything, so I did a LOT of research before I bought my first bjd just a few weeks ago.

The first time I saw bjd dolls was at a convention a few months ago, and from that time on, I was very interested in getting one. But before I went out and spent hundreds of dollars, I wanted to make sure this was something I wanted to invest my money and time into.

A local anime convention had a bjd meetup, and I peeked in to see what it was all about. A few nice people there told me about this website, and from then on, I've been on here for hours at a time! It's really helped me out a lot, because not even 5 minutes from taking my new doll out of the box, I went to tighten the strings, and the string came loose... and the doll literally fell apart in my hands! If I hadn't researched this enough, I would have really freaked out. But instead, I remembered what I read online, and restrung her with no problem!
I think its better to look into something at least a little bit to know what you are getting yourself into, this way you will be prepared. = )

 

yes it is an interesting hobby to get into when you know nothing much about it ...especially with the costs involved ..

 

I bought a few 'wannabees' before plunging in and buying a true bjd. I'm learning as I go, and this forum has been worth several years' research, believe me. But I'm waaay too impatient to wait years before buying. At my age, there are not all that many years out there to wait!

 

I have recently ordered a Narae doll after a year of pondering. It is important to do research and comparisons with other dolls as there are so many to choose from. That way you can manage your expectations and invest in the 'right' doll.

 

I've been trying to figure out how to best go about this for a while now. I've known about this hobby for about two years, one of my college friends was talking about them and I just happened to like them. I looked at some dolls at Dragon*Con, and I knew I was hooked.

One issue I know needs to be addressed is that I have no artistic skill whatsoever. I'm just not that kind of person. I write, I shop, I play video games. I don't draw, paint, etc. I've tried. I just am not a visual person when it comes to creative things. I won't be able to do my own faceups. Lucky for me, I have friends who are artists.

For my first doll, I think my plan is to pay for the default face up, but if that face up proves to be inadequate, I'll pay a friend to give it a shot and give her the necessary paint (following much research, I want to be very careful with my doll).

I'll be able to dress the doll myself, I'm a great shopper and very good at picking colors. As for storage issues and the like, I think I'll be able to figure it out. I have a nice spot on my bookshelf planned.

 

I've always wanted a bjd since high school. There was a lot of pondering to do since there's such a high cost involved. Fast forward about 4 years and I've finally gotten one. He's a Mars model from Iplehouse. I feel like the long wait was good in the sense that it made me be sure that I really wanted to get into this hobby. I feel like someone people can be hasty about it and get one of the dolls without much thought only to find that it isn't what they thought it would be. Or if they just got it out of the spur of the moment.

 

I admit, the first SD i bought before I started on here and fully understood exactly what I wanted. I always admitred BJD but never went fully indepth into it.
Getting him turned out to be a headache and a half thanks to a unprofessional Ebay seller and I find his shoulder joints really limit his ability to move. I adore his face but since then I've gotten a good handfull of dolls that I love so much more.
I wish I had taken the time to figure out what I wanted before I got him Ah well, he's going to be reworked into a friend's OC and given away from Christmas if everything works out.