Dolls and "diminishing marginal utility"

These are questions I think most BJD owners have asked themselves at least once: 'How many is enough?' and 'Do I still enjoy this hobby as much as I used to?' For me, finally, after many years of telling myself that there must be a limit... and then constantly breaking it (I used to think 10 dolls would be enough - not anymore!)... I've decided it's possible that I may not have a limit at all. Maybe I'll run out of space, or money, for a time... but it always seems like I can find more space, and when I do have the money to spend on fun things, I still like to spend it on dolls! lol.

That being said, I do think it is a different experience now than it was when I got my first doll almost 8 years ago. When I first got into the hobby, everything was new and exciting. I spent hours on the forum, browsing galleries and discussion threads, going to meet-ups in the city, doing photoshoots with the dolls... Now, I spend less time on the forums, rarely go to meets, and only break out the camera on occasion. BUT... when I do spend time with them, think about them, RP their characters, photograph them, change them, pose them, etc... I still enjoy it. And having so many of them, always out and posed around my apartment, I LOVE looking at them and feel a great sense of satisfaction from having them. They're just so beautiful! lol. I still catch myself just staring... a lot. It happens a lot. XD

The actual receiving of dolls has also changed. My first doll (which I had planned to be my only doll) was a wonder. I'd never seen anything like her and had no idea what to expect. She ASTOUNDED me. I'd never even SEEN another BJD in person. I carried her everywhere I went for days... even to work! My second doll just... sort of happened? lol. And I was just as astounded, perhaps because again it was a new experience - now having two, they could pose together and interact with each other... I got to see how I could make each doll different and unique. I started doing photostories, and writing more...

Now-a-days, after 20+ dolls, I know more what to expect, so it is perhaps less 'exciting', and yet somehow each doll is still different and rewarding in their own way. Whether I've bought a doll purely because I think they're beautiful and desired them as is, or because I was curious about a new company or mold, or purchased them with plans on modding them and making them different, or because I thought the mold would suit a character I wanted to shell... I buy for different reasons, and my expectations therefore vary with each one. If I purchase a blank doll, or a doll I intend to mod, of course receiving the initial doll is less exciting, because it's just the -start-, but once the doll is completed, with eyes, wig, faceup, etc... the moment they come together, I feel an intense satisfaction - that's different from excitement, but no less rewarding.

I have contemplated selling dolls, and have sold a few over the years, however most of the time when the urge to purge comes, it's because I haven't done anything with them in a while, and when I actually go around the apartment thinking 'who would I sell?' my most common response is to "re-realize" that I can't bear to part with any. ^^;

I love them, and I love having them... even now, after so many dolls and so many years - that hasn't changed, and I honestly don't think it's diminished, either. It's different, though. It's definitely different.

 

If one equates "enjoyment" simply to novelty and experiencing something for the first time, which is what shopping generally is... yes, I think "diminishing marginal utility" will influence enjoyment strongly. Novelty by definition fades over time. "Familiarity breeds contempt" is not a truism for nothing.

But enjoyment is so much more than novelty! IMHO, enjoyment is more than something happening to me (ie. I'm a passive recipient); I have to actively participate in creating it for myself. After all, isn't it more fun to be doing something than to watch someone else do it?

That said, I'm currently ambivalent about my dolls. For various reasons, they haven't been a priority for the past 1-2 years, even though I have slowly acquired new ones in that time. I currently see them as pretty things to adorn my room, but they don't give me anywhere the same enjoyment as my other hobbies. And the only difference is that I'm actively engaging in my other hobbies, while I'm doing absolutely nothing with my dolls. It's easy for me to blame them (poor things! what have they ever done?) for not giving me enjoyment, and try to find it in buying new things or new dolls (a pretty passive exercise)... but really, I just have to DO something with them -- photography, sewing, face-ups! No matter how lousy I am with all of them.

 

Since I never experienced the whole OMG first doll!11!1!!1 excitement, even when receiving my first doll, I can't say my enjoyment has diminished as I have received more of them. It's always stayed the same for me. My real enjoyment and satisfaction comes from putting together a fully realized character.

I used to spend more time photographing my dolls and setting up more elaborate shoots for them then I do now, but I don't think that has anything to do with me having more of them and entirely more to do with me having less free time now than I did previously thanks to my job. I've also moved on to other hobbies that I want to spend my free time on that I previously did not partake in.

 

Interesting. Probably does diminish, as a result of human nature whatever. But it should equalize or something, I think.

 

Interesting question! I think it depends on your reasons for getting into the hobby and whether they change or not. My first dolls I bought with little thought to their appearance or appeal to me whatsoever, I just wanted a boy and a girl SD to use as models for sewing. I didn't bond at all, and at first I didn't care... but when I bonded with my third it started to get on my nerves. And the more experience I got and the more I learned about posability and the stringing and the importance of each, the more I wanted better dolls that I could really get into. When I got my fourth doll I was super excited, way more than I had been about my first two. I was even more excited when I did my first box opening with doll after that.

For me, the longer I'm in the hobby, the more possibilities I discover, so it never really gets old. Maybe one day I'll have done everything there is to do and then it will lose some of its excitement, but I don't think that's happening any time soon.

 

As time goes on, perhaps what we enjoy about the hobby isn't the same. When I first opened my first dream doll seven years ago, it was really special. I was a sappy romantic, I saved and saved for her, I bought her brand new as soon as I could, and it was as close to magic as it could have been. That said, I've only ever had even close to the same feeling when I've opened a couple other dolls, but that initial moment isn't the only enjoyable aspect of the hobby. Some dolls I love to photograph. Others, just seeing them on my shelf makes me smile. Sometimes finding them a new teddy bear is better than anything.

I used to have far more dolls and I realized that when I had too many, I looked at the different tasks more like a chore than a hobby. If it feels like upkeep, then I probably won't keep it up. So, I whittled down who stuck around and as a result I still enjoy who's here.

 

I definitely think my enjoyment of them would diminish with the number I had. I have a hard time focusing on too many things at once, so too many dolls and I think I'd eventually start ignoring them all. XD Overwhelmed by things, I tend to ignore them. But every time I pick up one of my two girls I just have so much fun and they still make me happy individually, so maybe I wont have a limit, as long as I remember my dear dollies.

 

Yes, I do think it diminished for me. I know I have too many dolls because I don't know exactly how many I have without stopping to count them. After a while, I got to the point where waiting periods weren't exciting and I wasn't in any rush to open my new doll when it finally arrived. I still thought the dolls were beautiful and I did want them, but the magic was just gone.

The excitement did come back for me though! I went over a year without buying a new doll and parted with a few old dolls. Finally after my long dolly detox I finally bought a new doll again. When she arrived the magic was back! Opening this little Angel Of Dream MSD girl was more magical than opening the last few Soom dolls I had bought before the detox. I even made a box opening post (something I had never done before) and posted pictures on my facebook (another thing I had never done before)!

 

Hmm, I've never really thought of this...I don't think it really applies to dolls, at least not for me. When I bought my very first doll I didn't know anything about anything, and actually I didn't like my doll out of the box. I didn't know white skin would actually be white, and I ordered with no faceup, so it just looked weird to me. Then when I did my first faceup, it was terrible! I did eventually get to like the doll, and that's how I'm still here in the hobby, but I honestly don't remember loving my first couple of dolls as much as I adore the ones at home right now. I think for me, it just depends if I fall in love with the doll or not. And if I'm really honest, I think that my love for the dolls that do 'stay in the family' actually grows with time rather than diminishes. Perhaps because I always get my dolls blank and nude, so when I first open them, they aren't really anything yet, but once I customize them to my liking, that's where the affection comes from.
That being said, I think if I were to spend hours playing with my dolls on a daily basis, then perhaps I might get bored with them.

 

does our enjoyment of our dolls diminish with increasing the amount of them we have?
I think it does to a degree, there is something very special about having just one doll, or a small family of three. They become more of a handful the more you have. But at the same time they aren't any bother at all, the just sit there 'til I'm ready to spend time with one or take photos.

For example, were you happier when you unwrapped your first doll, or your last doll, or does it stay the same?
I don't think the last one could ever feel like the first. Again there's something special about the first doll. I'm no less excited now though in truth.

Even if you just have one doll, were you happier in the first hour you played with it, or the last time you picked it up?
That's hard to answer, as I have 7 (and one on the way) I think as time goes on I move from doll to doll.

I really did enjoy opening my last doll; but then, when I opened my first doll, I was completely awestruck and blown away by his beauty and the smell of resin and even the pillows! I definitely do love all my dolls, but I wonder if it's become less "special", simply because of the quantity I have and the amount of time I play with them. And if so - why?

I think dolls are like guitars, you can have tons of them but they all serve a different purpose. You have you're first, your 'gig' guitar, an acoustic for different sounds. Each means something different, a totally other sounds. That's what dolls are like to me, they all appease a certain part of my mind, it wouldn't be a family if one were missing. I think the more you have something the more you become accustomed to it that's all.
When it's new it's exciting, as time goes on you fall into a routine, 'the wait' the clothe shopping. It becomes like everything else, just another part of your life. I think if the excitement is dwindling, take a break. Wait 'til you find another doll you really fall for rather than just want.

 

I don't think my enjoyment of my dolls have diminished with increasing the amount of them. I am just not as 'addicted' as I was, and I have a more relaxed attitude towards the hobby than before.
At the moment, I really enjoy playing with my last doll. I was totally awestruck when she arrived. She was really special. In fact, I am enjoying another side of the hobby that didn't matter to me with the first dolls I bought. Before, it was more about buying clothes and accessories, seeing how they interacted with each other and taking pictures and thinking how cute they are. Now, I am more and more into creating my SDs' personalities and making the clothes which reflect these.

I did think after my 6th doll that it was enough. I still bought some more and am perfectly happy with these additions as they have opened another side of the hobby which is more intellectual and leads me to improve on basic skills or learn new skills.

I have realised that if I wanted to enjoy the hobby, I needed to handle my dolls. Everytime I feel moody about them, I pick them up and then the magic is back again.

 

These are interesting questions!

does our enjoyment of our dolls diminish with increasing the amount of them we have?



I think that's probably true which is why I try to be very careful when choosing a new doll. It can be hard because sometimes, I just want everything. I have to really think about it like imagine getting the doll, imagine what place its going to take in my doll family and I even think about where I'm going to keep it.



For example, were you happier when you unwrapped your first doll, or your last doll, or does it stay the same?


Hmmm... I was ecstatic when I unwrapped my 3rd doll. I mean, I was completely over the moon which included skipping around the room and practically crying with joy. Dolls before and after that were still exciting and made me happy, but that experience hasn't been repeated... yet.



Even if you just have one doll, were you happier in the first hour you played with it, or the last time you picked it up?


I don't see my dolls every day. I keep them stored in a chest. But I'm certainly happy to see them every time I do. They're little heart stealers.

 

I'm happy every time I see any of mine, or pick them up and play with them. Even the ones who don't get much time in front of the camera make my heart sing when I look at them. Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

I think that the idea of "diminishing marginal utility" only works if you accept that you are comparing like, and therefore additive things. For example, bjd1 + bjd2 + bjd3 = 3 bjds v. one volks sd, one minifee, one other bjd. The latter example isn't really additive in the same way as the first, as the bjds aren't thought of as the same (you can't say you have 3 volks because you only have one).

This is why I try to get bjds with a very definite purpose in mind that separates them from my others. For example, I have a smaller doll (one which I already admired and whose sculpt I love) for traveling, and interact with her in a different way from the others due to her size. I have a more "ordinary" girl (in this universe) whose character is less defined for sort of messing around with (sewing ridiculous clothes, etc.). I made the mistake in another hobby of buying comparative and additive dolls and figures, and I think in that case, you are right, they served the same purpose so it was less exciting when I got a new one. So far, I have managed to avoid that in this hobby.

 

It's definitely an interesting question, but I really don't think it's a one-size-fits-all answer. There are indeed people who hit a certain number and can't enjoy their dolls anymore, so they start selling, and there's others who find enjoyment in a larger group of dolls.

For me, personally, I enjoy having the larger group, because of all the options I get for posing characters together, and for a variety of looks as well. (I finally have some girls who will wear girly-girl things, which I've wanted to make for ages!) But I can likewise see how the scale of my collection could be intimidating, as well--even to me. My collection's broken into five groups, which keeps the size of each group down, and that perception has let me handle a larger collection... but again, for someone else, they may be fine with the single huge collection, or may not be able to handle more than one group who doesn't "go together."

To address one of the questions more specifically:

were you happier when you unwrapped your first doll, or your last doll, or does it stay the same?
To be completely honest, I wasn't all that thrilled with my first doll! I wasn't expecting to really get into the hobby, really didn't know what I was up to, and wasn't overly thrilled with how he looked on arrival.* The dolls that have come recently have been fun, though that's often proportionate to how prepared I am for them--the ones who have a wig and eyes, or some clothes, ready and waiting for them are more exciting than the ones who have nothing, because they're more ready to become the character I'm waiting for.

I don't do box openings anymore, unless I'm opening something that's less frequently seen, though I generally take pictures along the way in case of damages. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the actual process any less. And likewise, I enjoy the process of bringing that doll from "blank resin shell" to "this is the character I wanted," and that hasn't diminished at all with the increased number of them. So for me, I'd say that there's no "diminishing marginal utility" in my collection as its grown.



* I do still have him, and do love him now!

 

I definitely have trouble bonding with dolls when I have too many of them--BJD or no! It's one reason why I'm downsizing my non-BJDs.

 

For me, I only plan on buying 4 or 5 maybe. I received my first BJD yesterday and was awestruck as well. I was so excited! I had waited a month and opened the box right up! I will more than likely buy more than 4 or 5 (good lord), so I plan to be just as excited as I was with my first box opening