Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

My friend first showed me BJD's a few months ago,

I didn't know what to really think of them,

Until that is all I thought

I started saving for one 2 or so months ago,

After falling in love with them,

So I've been reading up on all kinds of things, lists of do's & don'ts are lying around my room

I see where your coming from and agree, I still have a long way to go, and a lot more to learn.

 

Oooohhh, 5 point deduction. I'm sorry, you failed. You must give all your dolls to me now and try again later.

 

Once or twice I have bought a tiny on total impulse, but I usually research the heck out of a doll before I buy. I want make sure, as best I can, that I am going to be happy with a doll before I buy it. I also did a ton of research on faceups and bought all of the mats just because I thought I might do one - I still haven't had the confidence to try but I know how and I have the right mats.

I cringe when I see things like "I did my faceup with sharpies - is that a good thing to use?". But I guess some people just are not good at research or don't care about doing research (or looking up anything!)

I would not propose that everyone should be required to do research when buying a doll though I think it is a good idea. I do think people should research the right mats for faceups before doing one.

Carolyn

 

I think there should be a stickied list of warnings about bjds, or common emergencies/mistakes, on every bjd community. I learned a lot and got a lot of help from just reading the emergency!!! section of the painting/customizing board.

When I first learned about bjds, what shocked me was the amount of customization and owner work expected to bring them to their full potential, and/or to protect them from harm. I think the reason why people might buy a doll on impulse and without knowing anything about bjds is because they might assume that the doll comes with its faceup, clothing, etc - as they do in other doll/figure/collecting hobbies. Bjds usually don't come "complete" unless they are fullsets.

But honestly there is no excuse for taking a sharpie to a doll. It's common knowledge and common sense that sharpies are damaging. It says it's permanent right on the pen itself! You wouldn't use a sharpie to embellish a $600 dress, or a $600 computer, or a $600 purse, etc; so it defies logic to use it on something that is not only expensive but by nature small and delicate. I don't think that particular issue comes up very often though.

 

When I first found out about BJDs I thought they were cute, but wouldn't want one. They were too expensive and at the time just dolls to me, but I wanted to look at them since I like things in miniature for some reason. Then I realized they weren't like picking out a Barbie at all and it all depended on the owner to customize it. That was all it took and I couldn't stop thinking about having a doll like that. It was about 6 months from that first image to actually buying my first MSD and I admittedly didn't know much. I knew pretty much only Volks at the time so I found out what the doll was made out of to decide what to paint her face with and that was about the extent of what I knew...I knew they were held together with elastic and needed and S hook in their heads.

I probably would never have done what I did if I had known more about them, but as I was casually looking around since it was a little painful to look and not have, when my parents offered to buy me one for my birthday. I jumped and I knew of a site online that had the very MSD I wanted. Idiot me, they only carried the MSD kits. I convinced myself I could do this and nearly cried when I got her a week later. Her pieces were laid out on the floor and I thought for sure I was gonna do it wrong or break her or who knows what! I nearly turned around and sold her and ran from the hobby, but I stuck it out and thought I should at least try. Her face up was don with coloured pencils until I figured out what I wanted and what materials to do it in.

Looking back I should have done more research because a month after I got Anathema I found DOD and I loved their little minis and I found out they came strung and I could get a face up and everything. I still wouldn't trade my experience for anything because it made every crisis I've encountered with her easier to take. I'm a bit fearless with her at times, but I imagine I would have had a lot less stress if I'd done my research before buying.

 

Word. I don't own a doll yet, and I'm daunted by 1) how much there is to know and 2) how much I'm expected to know before I buy a doll (according to some people). There are tutorials and FAQs, but it's still a ton of information and not always complete, and just because I've read a tutorial doesn't mean I'm up to restringing a doll or doing a faceup.

 

i knew how to do a full faceup and all the materials before owning any of my dolls ^^; needless to say, did ALOT of research

ive got to admit, it does somewhat shock me when you get people who have owned a doll a while but are asking whether to use a sharpie or not - c'mon man, its a permanent marker. but, you know, its their doll, their circumstances - perhaps it was bought for them? had the money sooner than they expected? didnt even realise they were cusomisable? whatever! some people simply do not have as much art experience as others. i KNOW permanent means permanent - i can also accept others are not as artisically aware as me.

to be honest, im happy they ask! rather than doing it without saying anything. my personal opinion is its good to do research before making such a huge invesment, but if people dont want to, its like - their loss if they make a mistake, y'know ^^; makes me sad cause its so easy to find this info on DoA or elsewhere

its not like i expect people to know this etrance exam or something - just BASIC stuff, like about yellowing, what to put on them and what not - s'all really. but as weirdnessmagnet has said, its ALOT of info and can be daunting. to me, a few hours of browsing before spending $400 is nothing. but some people just arent as bothered

 

I think part of the issue is the rise in more affordable dolls, and a cut in waiting times. I remember when I first started in the hobby (two years ago, thats nothing for some folk!) where the waiting time of at least a month was pretty average and 500 USD for an SD was the lower end of the price range!

Back then you had more time to browse and paw and learn after you had bought the doll (I know I did a bit of research, but not nearly as much as others) before I bought my first doll, and then I did more in anticipation of my doll arriving! Now there is MANY more dolls avaliable almost immediatly through the secondhand marketplace and even on ebay. Waiting times are cut so people browse less.

I don't think it's a bad thing that people can leap into the hobby without research, plus if someone *does* take a sharpie to their doll then that's their own fault for not doing the research. They've ruined their expensive doll. A steep learning curve certainly.

 

I have actually met some customers who didn't know practically anything on BJDs (except they are cute/ beautiful) when I was working for Dollzone and B&G. There is a sudden BJD boom in Singapore and I sometimes get quite annoyed as personally, I have waited a year and more before purchasing a BJD. But these aforementioned people who annoy me, don't do research on basic care etcetera and simply purchase a BJD and then start asking 8234924982 questions [Of course questions such as, "how do i do a faceup" is certainly ok.]. Most of these questions can be found if they did a simple google search or just merely joining DoA!

During the time before purchasing my first boy, I've done quite a bit of research and planned my finances properly. I do not comprehend how some people just rush into getting a doll without knowing a thing about it except which company it is from. It saddens me to think of how the doll would be treated at home if it was not taken proper care of.

 

I did research on them for over a year before I bought my first doll, and I still felt like a newbie when I got her. I`m still happy that I havent done one mishap with ordering or anything yet. We`ll see how well I do, now that I am trying for SD instead of MSD.

 

I have to agree on doing research. I don't actually own a doll yet as I've only just in the past month or so been able to secure funds for it (Hooray for the ability to make parents feel guilty about ignoring you ) but I have been doing reseach for upwards of a year now, not all the time but now and then to keep on track so I won't do something stupid with my first doll.
I think it's important to be versed on the dos and dont's of taking care of a BJD before ou actually have one.
And if you're like me (On an income that bearly leaves enough for food and water so you are getting your doll as a gift) I also think it's good to spend a lot of time researching for the best deal...
Which I must go and continue doing now

 

I think it depends on the owner.
However, with the price and the "bjd owner must know", doing research before buying would be better for bjd owners.
Otherwise, we have no clue how to take care of it, where to buy wig, clothes, yellow resin, dirt, etc.

Also, buying and then using the "waiting time", which usually 2 months for new doll first hand, to do some reseach is still ok too. hmmm at least for me. ^ ^

 

However, it is not uncommon to label things in sharpie, or in other permanent pens or markers if you believe that theres a possibility that they might end up in someone elses hands by mistake. While you might not label a desktop computer, you might do it to a laptop by writing something on it, or physically carving something into it so there is proof that it is yours should it be lost or stolen, and i've heard at least once case where someone wrote their name in the headcap of their dolls.


And a thought, since someone said something about how the car analagy might not be th ebest. The companies and molds are all like maks and models: no one actually knows them all, and its okay to ask. But, you're also not going to buy a car without knowing how to drive it, first. Doesnt mean you have to know every single thing about it (c'mon. we all have buttons and gadgets in our cars we have no idea what their purpose is) but we all know that like, taking aknife to the seats is bad, or that fixing a scratch with whiteout is just plain silly. While its not exactly the same, its kinda like knowing that you shouldnt like, i dunno. give your doll a bath by actually submerging the entire, put-together, doll, then let them dry without take them apart or something. Or like horror stories how people use sculpy for eyeputty and it melts the eyes.


Then again, we have countless people who buy high-end computers and have no idea how to work them at all, who will spend 5000 for a computer to do nothing but play solitaire and email, so its understandable that people will jump into anything without knowing whats going on or how to provide basic care for what they're buying.


also, i do think people should at least do enouh research to know that most dolls do not come with clothing or wigs, and should be coherent enough to read the pages when it explicitly says so below or above the pictures.

 

Most of my 'research' was more in being careful in buying a doll I knew I'd still be in love with years later, and wouldn't be regretting buying another sculpt (as I was looking to fit a character). After a LOT of looking, I first liked Elfdoll's Wu, but held onto his page for about two months - then I found Mars and was smitten, but still managed to wait a (painful!) month before finally deciding to purchase.

Whenever I even think about doing something to him, though, I always look it up first. I never really assume anything. And I have a friend who's more familiar with BJDs - so I always tend to ask her, too.

I did some research, such as basically what NOT to do (leave in the sunlight, wash, etc...) but I frankly didn't do a whole lot of research into modifications and such, and faceups. I knew I'd be able to find such information when the time comes.

 

I first heard abiut Dollfies years ago, and did lots of research before I bought my own BJD. But I love researching stuff. To me it's all part of the fun! But I have a friend who I introduced BJDs to way before I ever got one. About a week after I showed her the website *BAM* she bought a Dollshe Saint. So she would ask me for advice, and now I'm getting her to help me with a face up. Different strokes for different folks, you know? IMO if you drop a few hundred dollers or more on anything, then procede to ruin it because you really know nothing about its care, tough. As someone else said, a steep learning curve, indeed.

 

I agree and disagree. If someone sees a doll through some other source, and has no contact with this place, then its quite likely they will not have any idea on what a face-up is. People familiar with model-building know that resin model kits can be painted with all kinds of stuff, stuff a veteran doller would know were bad.

I recently got an Orientdoll boy. I've been in the hobby a long time, but I had never seen one in person. I always wanted one, kept waiting to see one in person, so finally I just jumped in and bought one without making up any sort of size mockup to see if he wouldfit in my MSD clothes. (He mostly does. I'll have to change the snaps on the wrists and the waist.)

The best way for many many people to learn is by doing. So I think its totally fine for people to blunder their way through the lessons of doll owning if that's how they learn things best.

Some people read the manual when they get something new. Some people just jump on in. I don't think its a matter of right and wrong so much as just a difference in personality.

 

Once I decided on which doll I really wanted, and which way would be best to get her, I researched like a mad thing. XD I really, really didn't want to mess anything up-- and still don't-- probably because she would be my first doll, bought with my first $600 from my first job, and it took forever to save up that much in my doll fund. If I screwed something up, I'd feel like an idiot.

But that's just me. I've been known to worry excessively about other things, too. ^^ I really don't have much of an opinion when it comes to what other people do with their dolls-- if it's what they like, they (usually) have no reason not to do it.

However, when it comes to ordering, it probably would be a good idea to read up a bit on things, to avoid confusion when the doll gets there. Things like different sizes/terms, face-ups/wigs (whether or not it comes with one, etc), stuff like that. =)

 

I probably don't count in this debate, because I have a degree in library science--research is hard-wired into me! I always exhaust every resource I can get my hands on, non-fiction, to novels to graphics to video to personal conversations, before I actually DO anything. Well, it's fun for me . I am constitutionally unable to understand people who don't read the manual before plunging in--why would you not want to know how to do it right, and where's the fun in failure? There's a stall at the Mall of America that sells live hermit crabs; I know people buy them on a whim and the poor things die within the month from utter neglect (they're very particular little critters, especially when it comes to temperature). A doll isn't a living creature that can suffer, of course, but I'd think that when you're dealing in something that costs $200 up to $2,000+, you would want to know as much about taking care of it as you possibly can.

 

I didn't get to buy all products before i bought Kieran and the research i did was on good and bad manufacturers, different sculps and molds, eyes, wigs rather than 'how to take care of your doll'. My university course has many art modules so i had most of the material for face up etc, so i didn't bother.
After i bought him THEN i went on researching on what to do and not to do with him and got what i needed before he arrived.

I still go looking for information when i need. I never looked for unstringing and restringing info but i did it anyway... so you CAN learn as you do it. One thing i learned from DoA is that dollfies are not made of glass and you can experiment a bit with them ^_^

One of my friends decided she would get one, but i worry cos she knows nothing about the dolls, only what i told her randomly. I believe basic care should be known before your doll arrive.