Families knowing the cost of dolls

I remember having to do some research as to why these dolls were so expensive to ease my parents. They were not like "OMG are you serious?!!!!" but more so like "ooooooh myyyyy goodnesss" and said that as long as it's my own money and I keep up with rent and other priorities, they were ok with it.

 

I selected "other" because some of the members of my family know how much they cost and that I want one, some are aware of their cost and that I think they're pretty, but not that I'm planning to purchase one, and some have no clue either way.

 

i got elliot and kezia 9 months after i turned 18 and i still kept them a secret for another 2...

and yes my parent's know how much they are, but they know that i put my priorities first and all that jazz so they're cool with it now...

before it was a deal, mom always yelling that 'i have more important things to worry about, like school books' and the like
and that 'are you always going to do what nicky does'
and 'you only want one 'cause nicky has one'

i actually had to hide my doll money as cash just in case she was watching when i checked my bank account >.<

but she gets it now and it's rekindling an old hobby of hers, sewing ^^
and now that she's seen some and held them and such she's not bothered by them
BUT when ever i bring up new dolls and the price and such
she ALWAYS brings up the fact that i have things i have to worry about FIRST
and i always remind her that i know, and that they were a grad present to myself xp

 

My mom knows how much they cost, and she offered to make it my Birthday/Christmas gift.

Pretty much nobody in my family can let their jaw hit the ground too long when they hear the price, based on some of the expensive hobbies THEY do. After the initial "For a doll?" shock wears off, they've got no room to talk.

 

I have never told my Dad how much I spend on anything, let alone on BJD's.
I honest to god don't think he would survive the shock.

He can go one for hours about how you could buy a bag of fries for 25 cts when he was young and how much I could save if I bring my coffee to work everyday (even though I've told him quite a few times coffee is free at my work).

Come to think of it, I never sat down and told my husband either, but he must know how much they cost because he often comes to look when I am searching the internet and he knows how much i got for the few that sadly did not fit in and I sold. And the beans... yes eating beans for some days in a row must be a clue.

 

All of my siblings and friends know the price of my girls^^
They would never touch them.
My parents on the other hand, i'd never tell them.

 

I don't tell my husband how much I spend on dolls and their things. He knows they are expensive, but if he knew the actual cost he would keel over. That being said--I am lucky to earn a living as an artist so I do have my own money. I also take excellent care of my family. I figure the relaxation I get out of my dolls adds to the general well being of the tribe. I don't spend more then I can afford. Besides, I don't know how much golf clubs and golfing fees cost!

 

I'm 20 and I live with my parents. I'm old enough that they don't harrass me about every tiny detail of my life. When I get a package in the mail, "doll stuff" is an acceptable response. They don't ask, and I don't tell. My dad knows they make me happy, so he just lets it be. But if he found out, he would probably be very upset.

 

My mother knows how much they cost, and she's shocked that I'd want to purchase a doll nonetheless... even if I put money aside specifically for a doll, and have more than enough to pay for the rest (gas, utilities, taxes, etc.), she'll still complain I could use the money to go on vacation rather than buy a doll.

So, basically, I like to keep my things private now. She doesn't do well, understanding some hobbies.

 

I allways say my family how much I spend in a doll, the see it like some kind of madness to spend so much in a doll, but it helps me to control and not to buy a new doll only for impulse.
The bad part is that they tell me a lot of times to sell them

 

I will probably fabricate the price at first (making him about...$500 CHEAPER) just to introduce him so my family doesn't get hooked on how much he cost and moreso on how much he means to me. Eventually I will tell my IMMEDIATE family, but never the other half. They would NEVER understand. (Conventionalists...Feh.)

 

Meh, I've told my friends, family and co-workers and they all had the usual freak out at the cost. I've gotten the usual lecture from my mom the first few times and let it pass me by. Then I calmly let her know that I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, commit crimes, etc, and that it's my money and I'm not hurting anyone. When I decide I want another, she'll grumble about it until I reminder that "every once in a while I do something to make me happy". She also knows I have 6 big dolls and says I can come up if I ever need her sewing machine. Mom actually likes my dolls, she just hates their prices.

Most of my friends like them, my co-workers were afraid to hold Jody when I brought him to work but they thought he was great. My best friend just had me help her order her second luts boy and my cousin got his first bjd last month and wants to get a second girl. He's been asking what the best sites to order from are. Overall, maybe 3-4 people people I see on a normal basis (co-workers) are mildly weirded out everyone else is 100% okay with it. Jody's (my Camine) and Makai's (my best friend's Yder) pictures are even on the company's 'intranet' (only accessible at work) home page!

 

I only got interested in these things because my friend bought one and had a picture of her doll in her school binder. I saw it and fell in love. I went onto DoD that night, (because she was getting a DoD E-an) and I just couldn't stop looking at them. I showed my mom them and she freaked saying that I was never EVER going to get one, no matter what I did.
So, I looked at every single BJD website I could find, trying to find a cheaper solution to my problem. Sadly, I had to resort to ebay.
I'm only 14, so getting $300 was a pretty difficult task. I sold a whole basement full of old toys on ebay and got exactly $300 for them, so I had enough. I had to use mom's credit card to buy him, though and the whole time we were purchasing him she was swearing and saying what a waste of money it was.
But the box came just the other day. I sent her pics on my phone of me opening the box, and when I got him out, I started crying because I was so happy. The next day I spent hours posing him, making him clothes, and placing him comfortably around the house. I thouroughly wash my hands before I tough him every time, because he's the most precious thing in the world to me.
Now that she sees how much I love him, she's happy for me and understands why I wanted it so much. She seems to be more concerned about his safety on a shelf than I am!

 

This has come up a few times at home. My mother is aware of ABJD ~ although she seems to believe they're the Asian version of vintage Barbies ~ but not of their costs.

Until recently.

She and I do eBay auctions and came across someone selling dolls for around $700 and she hit the roof. "Is that how much they cost!? And you're getting one? How much is she? Etc..." Granted, the doll I'm getting is with my own income, none of which she attributed to. I feel it's really none of her business to be honest as she owns plenty of things that I suspect were costly but I've never asked the value of. So it's a little hypocritical I think. But whatevs.

I told her that my doll isn't as costly as those. Which is the truth, I've orderd a KDF with extras totally $422 and those she came across were Volks dolls. Although I don't think the price difference is enough to assauge her if she were to find out the doll's actual cost. Thankfully, I have my own bank account and a P. O. Box for which my bank statement is delivered to. !

Now on to the topic of my friends. The non-dollie ones doesn't seem, most of them - not all, to get why they're so costly. They enjoyed the doll I showed them and find it adorable that I have a doll hobby. One friend did hit the roof about the price but has since come to understand that it's what I want and that it's the same logic for why he splurges on cameras and lenses totaling into the thousands. So whatevs.

My dollie friends, not many of those around here, get the rhymes and reasons why it's so costly. Though some still think my purchase was extravagant - those are usually collectors of pukipukis or fashion dolls - especially for a first time venture. But whatevs.

It's all a matter of opinion.

 

Being an adult myself I feel I have no reason to be ashamed of an expensive indulgence.
It is true that it is hard to understand at first but they are respectful enough not to say anything unreasonibly rude. It helps that the family knows I am an artist and figure it's just another eccentric quirk.

 

My Dad knows, purely because for a couple of them I've had to borrow his credit card to pay (and that involved me handing him the money over at the time xD). I don't think he's realised just how much I've spent in total (including clothes/wigs/eyes etc.).
Tbh, I paid for my incoming SD through paypal, so when I mentioned ordering a new one (and him grumping at me) I may have shaved a couple of hundred off the finial price...

I've always paid for my dolls myself, so while he doesn't like me spending this much on them, there's not much he can do about it. I don't really spend money on much else anyways.

 

I am upfront with everyone in my family about my addiction to BJD's...that being said, the are also supportive of me. I am not saying that they like them, they just appreciate the fact that I do, and I am very fortunate for that! I think if you are buying responsibly, and like everything else, NOT going "overboard" then you have nothing to hide...have fun people!!!

 

Usually, no one asks, but if they do I tell them.

 

They ask, I skit around the question. My mother and father are aware, but none of my older siblings know what I spend my money on, and for good reason. Everytime I get something new they go on and on about how spoiled I am, which I'm aware of, but I also work for a lot of my stuff, which being old and out of the house, they don't know. My father isn't too happy that I want to spend so much on a doll, and keeps going on about how I don't play with my American Girl doll anymore [I played with the thing until I was 13, how long until you just get to old for them] and keeps saying that these dolls aren't worth it, but meh mommy doesn't really care as long as I'm not asking for extra money aside from holiday and birthday money and allowance xD.

 

I usually don't mention, and no one in my family really cares, I suppose.