Doll research *or* Buying too soon?

I'm a fairly impulsive person by nature. I do things most often on gut instinct rather than a planned mode of attack.

For me I saw the dolls at a convention and picked up what I could those three days there and purchased a doll from ebay. I would say I'm a little better at the planning now than I was when I got her. I've had her for about two and a half years and haven't really done anything with her. I'm just now getting around to figuring out all the stuff you can use on them. [primarily learning for my younger sister, she asks questions and I find her answers. She's always been more proactive than me. ]

I don't really think there is a wrong way to do it, so long as you can live with the consequences of your actions than you are good to go in my opinion.

 

I have to say that my first doll was not a BJD but a blythe and I did buy her right away but I DID NOT do anything to her for fear. I understand wanting your girl (or boy) right away but I don't understand trying things on him/her until you know what to. Research has been my friend and I can't stress how important I think it is to read as much and ask questions.

 

It is definitely best to be informed about the hobby before you actually buy a doll - with all the things you mentioned above. I guess for me, though, it really helped that I had a friend who was into BJDs before I was and could talk to me about the various aspects of them when I first decided that I wanted to get a doll. I hadn't done nearly as much research as you had, but I definitely was asking TONS of questions and reading lots of tutorials while I was waiting for the head and body to arrive.

So all in all, I'd say I did a month of questioning and reading up. I think if you're starting out in this hobby alone without other, more "experienced" friends to help, then you should definitely know what you're getting into! But I was fortunate enough to have a friend who already went through all the basic stuff and was able to get me up to speed a lot faster.

 

Doll research is the way forward. I'm currently waiting for my first, but I've got a couple of friends who have them so I've spent the last couple of months floating around them, seeing what it's all about, as it were.
And I'm only spending a hundred and fifty dollars or so. (Well, I say only... It's strange how dolls skew your perspective on money.)

 

...I just thought it was common sense that you don't just draw on your $500 kids with SHARPIES. O___<
But anyway, I suppose maybe I knew a fair deal about them due to my friend getting one before I did (she knew a lot about them) but... seriously. I think people need to know BASICS about BJDs before buying them and subsequently giving them a half-arsed faceup that looks terrible and not caring for it properly. CHILD ABUSE.

-end rant XD

 

I pretty much dive in to anything I get interested in. That's my flaw, but who I am. I am impulsive and act on each and every whim I have. I rarely have regrets about my decisions.
But, since the beginning, I have expanded my collection to 13 dolls with, of course more on the way. I can't stop! They are so beautiful!
I am fascinated with these dolls. The art amazes me and the different looks you can get from just one doll is endless!

 

mm I did research only because I didn't have money to buy a kid at the time. I knew the basics of it (don't touch the face, they're nekked and bald when you get them, sharpies are bad) because I know Nezumi_Mouse and had been around their kids before. I sat around on here lurking for a bit before I found Sid ^^ I still suck at stringing and won't do faceups until I get a practice head (Sid is getting sent out once I get home to get a new face ^^)

but I mean, Its kind of obnoxious how many people post (A) instead of searching because theres 100+ topics on "how to do a faceup" or "sharpies are bad" or get impatient and do things without really checking out if it's gonna kick the crap out of their kid later. ::shrug:: but if they have the money to go out and get a new kid when they mess up then more power to em.

 

I'm with the 'people can do what they want, because it's their money'-thing.. I personally did a ton of research before I got my first doll.. Everything from how to do faceups to restringing.. And the friends I made along the way have been really valuable in what I have learnt.. I believe that people will have to learn eventually in this hobby, about how to maintain their dolls and such.. hehe!

 

I actually didn't realize that I was doing "research". I found out about the dolls almost about two years ago and just enjoyed reading about them every once in a while (but quite often). I still don't know how to do a faceup (or most other things) because I don't have a doll to practice on or even the materials to do anything. But I have a doll being prepared for me and I figure that I'll deal with the whole learning how to do a faceup when I actually need to (I bought her with a faceup). And I'm fully prepared to suck at it as well!! But I figure I'll have time to learn these things. I know a lot of basic things at the moment so it's not like I'm unprepared or anything.

 

I'm a bit of a mix of impulse and research. I'd known about the dolls for almost a year, but I didn't do much beyond oggling photos and the like until I suddenly decided that, yes, I do actually want one of my own. Then I looked at a few different websites and made sure that I understood sizes and makes and the like, and made my order. All real research took place after that, so now I know what's involved in face-ups, restringing, sanding, general care, and all that jazz. I'm almost always like this though - it's either buy first, then freak out and find out everything I possibly can, or decide I want it, research non-stop for two days, then buy.
Then again, I'm really cautious when it comes to doing anything that could possibly damage anything I own, so when it comes to actually trying anything out for myself, I'll probably obsessively look into it until I feel somewhat comfortable about whatever it is I'll be trying to do.

 

When I found BJDs and got this idea to have one myself, I started to research. And what a research it was! When I finally ordered my doll I knew more little things of them than one of my friends who had been to this hobby longer and already had her own doll.
It even wasn't about the price, I just want to explore something before going near. And because I want to face-up myself(it's part of the charm for me) I found out about that too beforehand.

Sure the other way is to research after some problem occurs or for other reason, but that isn't suitable for me.
For some people it may be :3

 

This is about right where I am, actually

I don't see anything at all wrong with asking questions. Mostly because I'm one of those people I didn't ever plan on having to change my dolls' faces or that their faces that came from the factory would be less than anything I wanted. I didn't think I could do face-ups, thus I never really put into learning how to do so. I figured that you sent dolls off if you want work done.

(I'm now learning how to paint and repair my own dolls because I'm paranoid of sending my dolls ANYWHERE through the mail once they're home. And I'm enjoying learning about it.)

Also, sometimes we don't plan on damage. We know how to prevent most of it, but not 100% of it, and we might not be able to send our doll off to someone that can fix it for us if it breaks and we're forced to do it ourselves or live with the damage.

It doesn't make us bad people to not want to learn how to rebuild the engine, add a sub-woofer, and/or change our own oil before we get the car. All some people want to do is "make it go" and when it doesn't "go" they take it to the shop so that when its done it will "go" again. =/

You also have those of us that want to learn more because of a discovered need for things. There's nothing wrong with learning on the go either. I learned that I liked messing around with face ups and mods after Shin's faceup faded and I didn't get quite what I wanted from the person I sent him to and when I realized how badly Cammy's body was damaged. I learned from a friend how to take care of her.

There really aren't any premature buyers, imho, just people who jump without looking.

What I mean is, someone who uses the sharpie, oil paints and pastels for a faceup before asking if it's okay to use them at all.

Also, we're ready to buy our dolls when we're ready. Because it is a large decision to decide to purchase a doll. No matter how inexpensive they may be from factory, they do cost a lot more than a Barbie out of Wal-Mart, because of clothing and accessories. They take chunks of varying sizes out of wallets.

It'd be silly to drop a wad on a whim, because just reselling would make you take a loss unless it happened to be a popular limited, and I'd like to think most of us kind of know that. . . I'm not talking about people who impulse buy because they've got the money, btw. There's nothing wrong with buyers and resellers that go through lots of dolls before deciding which ones to keep home. (I'm more than sure I'd do it if I had the funding ;_

Impulse doll buyers that go through 2-3 dolls every month probably have it planned out somewhat. They at least make sure everything will be alright after they send off that money to make the next purchase. They know they're not buying a doll with their rent money.

I suppose ready to buy (in my mind) is when you're financially secure enough to go through with the purchase, you know? To me, it doesn't matter how you care for your doll, because it's yours, and you can always learn on the go.

((ETA: HOLY CRAP, this was longer than I thought ))

 

I did decent research on how to take care of them and how delicate they are, but stuff like doing faceups i honestly dont care about. I do not and dont ever tend to want to do my own. I do learn new stuff from some of my doll friends but i went into the hobby okay-ly knowledged

 

I think what some people said earlier was correct. In the end, it is just a doll. If you can't afford it, DON'T BUY IT. It's really simple. If you care about it, you do the research and you take care of it. Otherwise, do whatever you want if you don't care... It would seem kind of hard to believe that someone wouldn't care though since they spent around one grand for a doll. However, everyone to theirself. No one should tell anyone how to treat their doll, unless they are hurting someone else. However, I have been doing research about BJDs for about half a year now and I still don't have a doll. If I get one, I wouldn't expect her until late August.

 

I sort of fell into this whole thing and once I got a look at exactly what went into them and how much customization there is possible, I just started absorbing info, and wanted more, so now I know more than I care to.. but I'm sure it will benefit me in the future.

 

I'm doing lots of research, spending a lot of time on the forums - it helps that it is taking time to order things, organize finances, and get everything together. I think I'll have half a clue by the time I actually have all the parts for a doll in my possession (or at least enough of a clue not to do permanent damage). It might be different if I had just got online and ordered a complete doll as soon as I decided I liked them, but I think it is too expensive and too complicated to do that.

 

I first saw DJB 1½ years before I ordered my first. I read about the dolls on different webpages. But without my friends (whom had/has had dolls) I would have made an impulse buy. My first doll was a fullset. I was not comfortable enough to do a face-up of my own, and I wanted to make sure she also had an outfit.
If I had bought the first doll I'd seen I would probably have regretted it. Doing my research I found out I wanted a girl. My friends nearly all had boys and I was close to buying 3 or more boys.

 

Likewise. I'm still learning a lot before I pick which doll to buy first. I know I would love to get one but I want to make sure I pick one I'll really love. But, I'm also a bit of a nerd; I love researching and learning about various things, so it just makes sense for me to.

 

I am totally different from you all, I am way too impulsive and passionate, when I love a doll, I must have her/him. Of course there were times when I bought a doll I thought I would love and when she arrived it wasn't what I expected (not a BJD though). If I think too much I don't buy anything.

 

i began researching before taking the eventful plunge into the bjd world. though it did help that my first doll came to me used with clothes-n-such included. my first doll helped me learn what to do and what not to do while re-stringing her. when i did eventually save up enough money to buy the doll i had wanted through prior research, the research was well worth it. researching different makeup styles for faceups helped out tremendously when the time came to doing a faceup.