Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

I researched like crazy before I purchased my first doll, and I was prepared for my purchase. I wouldn't feel comfortable purchasing something that expensive without knowledge of how to take care of it.

 

I've got an interesting history with dolls and my forum account. My account is pretty old, but if you look at my posting history, they're mostly all in the last six months. I've done a ton of browsing, looking at galleries of all kinds, but my primary concern was finding faces I really liked.

I hit up the basic care notes, but I didn't scour too deep into aesthetics and modding and faceups because I know I'm no artist. I don't even do my own makeup ever. Since faceups are something I know I wouldn't be doing myself or at least not anytime soon, that's not an area I've delved into.

If I ever decide to do something to my boy, I definitely know where to go to answer my questions, and won't proceed until I've gotten the answers. For example, Wheatley's knot came untied a couple days ago, and I hit up a bunch of videos, and even PM'd someone that owned the same body as his to check a couple details before I re-strung him.

So I would disagree that you need to know everything about these dolls before you take the plunge. But you do need to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, and also being generally aware there is special care involved is a plus. Faceup materials and technique research is helpful if you think you can do it, but I know I can't, so that's an area I haven't really done any research in.

 

You know, I've researched my grail doll very thoroughly and it's helped me find a way I will enjoy her better. But pretty much every single one of my other 11 dolls I have at the moment were "on a whim", and they turned out to be way better then anything I could have planned.

 

I'm still new to all of this and I have a pretty good idea of what doll I'm going to get once I save up. However, I have been asking questions all over in order to make sure that I know quite a bit about my doll before I buy one. All of the typical noob questions like "What keeps their eyes in?" or "What do you mean when you say that the doll is strung?". Buying a doll can be equated to buying a car or any other major purchase. It's a good idea to do your homework so you know exactly what to get. When you don't, you run the risk of getting a bad deal or destroying your doll. It seems a little ridiculous if you've had your doll for a long time,but only bought it because it was pretty and had no other plans for it or knew nothing about it. I know some things you honestly have to learn as you go, but asking certain questions after being an owner for a while seems a bit ridiculous.

 

I sat at the computer for nearly a week straight before buying my first doll lol.

I've worked with a plethora of different mediums throughout my life, so it didn't take me too long to sort through do's and dont's of painting and care taking, but I spent sooo much time looking at different dolls and doll companies before buying, trying to make sure that there wasn't something out there that I wanted more later. Didn't want to spend all this money on a doll and then find one that I wished I had bought instead!

I ended up breaking into my savings and buying 3... 2 EID Iplehouse dolls and one 60cm silicone Lovely Doll. Then later I learned about how well Obitsu dolls posed and I bought one of those to use as a model for my paintings, from Junkyspot... (and a baby Hujoo too while I was at it since she was only $25) and they are the only ones that I have at the moment. Still waiting on the other 3.

Still after all that searching I'm finding new dolls that I didn't find in that full week, but fortunately none that I want more than the dolls I bought and am waiting for

 

Before ordering my first doll, I just made researches about her most basic needs, like how to protect and clean her (and how to take pictures at her scale ).
For make-up, sanding... I knew it will be out of my reach to even in the long time obtain a quality high enough for so expensive dolls : I let this to artists friends I commission.
It's the same thing for cars or motorbikes : you may buy one to drive, but not everybody want or can repair or customize them, there are specialists to do it greatly for people not at ease with these domains.

 

I actually did a couple of years' worth of research. I asked questions and looked up information on dolls, watched/read through so many faceup tutorials, even asked a friend to take her doll's head off just so I'd know how to do it with mine (I was planning to get the same size/brand as the BJD she owned) when I eventually get one.

All of the "research" helped when I got my first BJD. I didn't have to worry about messing up, so I was able to enjoy her better.

 

I'm still saving for my first doll, but even though I'm quite new to the BJD hobby, I'm not new in the doll customizing world. I didn't research too much for my first BJD except the companies, quality, etc. And I'm finally saving for Fenyo from DollZone and if I can maybe Tulip. They will come with face-up, but not having any wouldn't have mattered much since I already have everything I need for face-ups. I practiced on different dolls and on a much smaller scale before, and researched a long time to be sure of which materials and mediums I could use on a BJD as well. I think I'm quite ready to welcome my first girl, but I think I'm going to wait before experimenting with her.

 

I researched thoroughly on my first doll, but the other ones I eventually came to fall with were on a whim save for the Doll Chateau dolls. I researched on them thoroughly as well because they seemed so different from other molds.

 

I did my fair bit of research before I bought my first dolls - I bought 2 SDs and a MSD at the same time. This was late last year and since then I've bougt 3 more SDs and 7 MSDs, 2 of which I've sold.
I can say at this stage that I realize I should have done even more research and aimed more at finding the 'perfect doll' from the very start instead of following this sort of iterative process that has left me with too many dolls and still a couple I'd like to get.
If I hadn't been so anxious I would have ended up with a smaller and even more satisfactory collection.

 

I bought my first doll almost 4 years ago, and I think I was a little too quick in picking the one I want. The main problem at that time was the price, so I picked an msd girl from Luts. I sold her some month later, because it was not the doll I really wanted =(
Then after more carefull research I have found my grail doll - Dia, and I am happy to have her, and could not imagine myself selling her X)
So for me, I think, carefull research was a necessity. Now I research about every doll before I buy, because i love big and rather expencive ones, so I can't afford spending my money on the doll I am not shure about.

 

I have a lot of pets, and when you bring an animal home you can't just plop it on the kitchen counter and say "now what?" (I speak from experience). So over the years I've become fairly good about researching my butt off before buying something/ taking on large responsibilities. I got my Volks doll in the kit that lets you string her yourself- so I learned to string. I had everything prepared. Then again, I'm an excitable person and I'll jump the gun. Like sitting down to do a face up and realizing you don't have any brushes. And having to run to the store a half million times. But I have the KNOWLEDGE, whether I'm fully prepared or not.

(Although I admit I get watercolor and acrylic paint mixed up ridiculously, I'm proud to say I've never tried to put oil paint on a doll. In fact, I don't even keep oil paints in the house for reasons like that XD)

 

I only do a little research - not to much, but at least I want to know the basics of the dolls. Like pro and cons of the body, research the different skin colors, look for owner pics...and then just buy the doll if I fell in love with it.

 

Honey I did my research for a year. These things are expensive! If I'm going to invest that much money on a liability, it's going to be damn great and I'm going to do it right. What others do is their own business xD

 

I did as much research as I could muster when I finally decided to purchase a doll, and I still don't feel it was totally enough. On the other hand, I've seen people on another forum I'm on, just post up a picture of a doll they bought because they liked it, and being afraid of how much movement they have.

 

Before readding a bit I was going to say, I'm pretty impulsive when it comes to getting a doll that I love. that being said, between buying and having the doll in my hands I read everything in the net I can find about them, and how to handle them and every tutorial. That is part of the fun to me.

 

I know that I came very close to just buying the first doll I saw, a Bluefairy Louis, because I thought that he was beautiful. Then I started researching and spread out to see other kinds of dolls. I also realized that the dolls in the site pictures would be very different in real life and that I couldn't buy a doll based solely on the images on the site and that I would have to look into the body and head sculpt. Generally, when I find a sculpt that looks good on the site I go and search for owner pictures to see how other people's dolls look.
Almost two years later, I still haven't gotten a doll because I'm waiting until I'm 100% sure that it's the doll I want.

 

oh my! i always prefer to do a big research as deep of possible, specially if so much money is going to be involved, i don't want to either ruin the doll ill get or regret my decision.

 

I think this comes down to a personality thing.

The OP is describing people who are seeking information on how to look after their dolls appropriately. Whether this is done before or after the doll comes home is likely to be unimportant in the long run and more than anything probably a manifestation of having a "enjoys planning" versus "enjoys winging-it" personality type.

I personally fall somewhere between the two, I enjoy research and planning to a certain degree but I also like winging certain things.

I'm going to order my first doll at the end of the month and I plan to have certain things I know I'll need like magic erasers, I know I'll need the appropriate things to keep wigs and eyes in place and I know that dark clothing and wigs should be gently washed to avoid staining.

I don't think someone who brings home a doll knowing nothing is doing anything wrong, I do think they will find things a bit harder at first because they will be less prepared and organised.

Sometimes people who are very organised and put a lot of effort into being prepared feel superior to those who like to wing everything, but at the end of the day, as long as someone is interested, they will eventually figure it all out, perhaps with a few more trial and error, learn the hard way mistakes, but it's their doll, not yours.

 

Dreya: i think you are right on the "enjoys planning" and "enjoys winging-it" factors never had in mind indeed people do the planning log before they get the doll because they actually enjoy doing the whole research.

i think people that will have the harder part are the ones that cant wait to get the doll and try to make face up by themselves and end making some damage to the doll that can not be fixed. that would be a shame,and well, even if its not your doll sometimes you end developing some type of empathy to others little ones.

i dont think that people that research feel superior, maybe just more confident as they feel they know what they are doing and might be able to avoid some amount of paint and sadness if things go wrong.