Fickle Owners?

I don't see a problem with whatever other people do with their dolls. Sometimes for whatever reason dolls just don't work out, and I don't think anyone should feel guilty for selling one doll, to fund the purchase of another.
Some people have "revolving-door" collections, maybe due to physical space constraints or other (perhaps self-imposed) reasons, they might only be able to own so many at a certain point in time. They buy a doll, enjoy owning it for a bit and then sell it to enjoy another one; the hobby is mostly self funded, and as long as one keeps to a similar size, clothing and accessories can be shared too.

 

Hmmm, yeah, I've sorta noticed that too, but another big reason they seem to do it is because they need the money.

But as far as my feelings go? It's really none of my business, but it is kind of aggravating when you hear them talk about how awesome their dolls are, and then BAM! Three hours later they're on sale for 50% more than they actually cost. One thing I have learned being in this hobby is how indecisive people really are, including myself.

 

If I had to police or judge how other people enjoy the hobby, I'd probably have no time left to eat or breath and certainly no time left to enjoy my own collection. So someone else enjoys the hobby in a way that's different than mine? As long as they are not doing something illegal or damaging, they can do it as much as they like. I don't have to like it and I don't have to make a fuss about it either.

At times I kind of like it when other people repeatedly buy the newest doll releases and limiteds only to sell them upon arrival. It gives me the opportunity to snatch one up after owner pictures have appeared and I had the chance to figure out if I like this new doll enough to buy it.

 

This is the thread for me. During the entire time I've been in this hobby I've owned 30+ dolls. I have three right now. Albeit unplanned, my behavior is a bit absurd. There are a number of reasons my constant doll sales and acquisitions could be seen as 'fickle' by an outside party.. For a time I tried to buy dolls for characters I already had, and they were never quite right, no matter how hard I tried. Other times I needed the money, other times I needed the space. I have a very small amount of space that is my own, so for now I keep my dolls to a minimum out of practicality. I'm also tight on funding, so I have a tendency to 'recycle' money from dolls for new dolls.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy them, however. In general I tend to prefer a project full of potential than a finished piece. Almost all of the dolls I've parted with were painted, modified, dremelled, or otherwise altered by me. I enjoy working on them just as much as I enjoy having them or photographing them... I really can't say I feel guilty. I feel no obligation to my beautiful inanimate objects, and when they no longer bring me joy, it would be a waste to just let them collect dust.

 

It's not shallow at all. You have no idea what their story is. I've seen it happen many a time when people have been waiting for their doll for four months and when it arrives, they just aren't excited about it anymore, or money issues have suddenly come up.
This hobby is all about taste, so I don't see why it would be shallow to sell a doll you don't particularly care for anymore.
I have done this so many times I have lost count. I got a doll, thought I loved it, but in the end didn't spend any time on it, so I sell it to get a doll I will love more. I honestly prefer that over having a ton of dolls standing around I don't do anything with. It's a waste of money as well.
And what do I think about other people doing that? It's none of my business. I don't know their story and it's completely their prerogative to sell their property for whatever reason.
I don't see the point of feeling guilty. A doll has no feelings and it's my property and my money. And if I can make someone else very happy with a doll I don't care about, why shouldn't I do that?
Like Bandersnatch says, some people have a revolving door collection, and I have been that kind of collector for the first three years in this hobby. Some dolls I've kept all a long, but most have moved on and made place for new ones. I needed a challenge and I need dolls that keep me busy.
But I honestly don't see why anyone would concern themselves with the selling habits of other collectors.

 

I don't really worry about what other people do with their dolls...the only time I do think about it is when an owner puts a doll up for sale that I really admire and I wonder how the next owner could possibly improve on the amazing things the current owner has done with it.

I do smile a little when I see owners who have gushed about how amazing their new doll is only to turn around and sell it quite quickly and get another amazing doll...but if that's how they enjoy the hobby, how is that really wrong? The dolls aren't going to get offended themselves and buying and selling dolls is a lot different than being fickle with friends or pets.

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
I don't really consider this to be a problem. Dolls aren't going to be upset about being sold and replaced and if someone is happy doing this and they see it as part of their enjoyment of the hobby I don't see any harm in it. We don't get to see dolls in person before we buy and a person can try on a number of dolls before they find one they like, or they just like the experience of owning a lot of brands over time rather than owning one or two dolls for years. Who knows? As long as it doesn't harm anyone and finances are covered there isn't a problem.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
I traded a doll once and I didn't feel guilty. The doll I traded was lovely, but she just wasn't what I was looking for or interested in, so I traded her for another doll and have been very happy ever since. I think that it's best to not beat yourself up over finding a doll you'll enjoy more than the doll you currently have. This hobby is about having fun, not feeling bad

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
I traded a MiniFee for a Volks Yo. The MiniFee Rheia was supposed to be a girlfriend for my Volks Kurenai, but as soon as she arrived the girls didn't work out. First of all, they didn't have the same aesthetic, they looked so different from each other that they didn't look right in pictures together, and secondly, as much as I loved the engineering of the MNF, I preferred my Volks girl because I'd had her longer and I'd feel more sad at swapping her for an MNF than swapping an MNF for another Volks. I looked and looked and there were no Volks sculpts that suited the character I was looking for and then I saw someone wanted to trade a Yo for an MNF so I thought if I couldn't get my girl a girlfriend, I could get her a little sister!

I felt extremely positive about the trade from the start and it all worked out really well. The girl I traded with got a Rheia pretty much as soon as the new sculpt started shipping (I bought Rheia before there were even owner pictures!) and was delighted and I got a cute little Yo who is the perfect handbag doll

 

It's not shallow at all -- it's a fact of life when you don't have unlimited money and space. Sometimes you have to make choices about what you really really want. But that's not such a bad thing, and if I really don't want a doll anymore I rather would sell it to someone who does and will enjoy it.

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
I don't really feel one way or another -- it's not a big deal. Some people try to limit their numbers by doing one doll in one doll out, in other cases a doll they bought may not be what they wanted so they're selling it (we are buying over the net -- we can't inspect in person), they might have decided to take their collecting in a different direction (been there done that), etc etc etc. There are a million reasons that all make perfect sense as to why a person would sell a doll and then continue to buy more. I can't see how this is a problem. And seeing how many of my guys were purchased second hand, I would not have those dolls if their previous owners hadn't decided to sell.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
No. Thinking about whether or not I should sell some was worse than actually going through with narrowing down my doll family. Once I made up my mind to do it, it was actually a relief, because some of the dolls I had just weren't working for me anymore.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
I wanted to narrow down the number of companies I had dolls from so they would fit together better aesthetically and leave me feeling less overwhelmed.

 

Ahaha this is so me. I've owned tons of dolls, I don't even know if I could name them all by now, I'm sure I'd forget one or two.

I have this problem where I see a doll, fall for it and then when it comes it's just... not what I expected. I also have difficulties owning too many dolls at once. Then there's the sizing issue - I've tried and tried to own yo-sized dolls but they just never seem to work out so I've stopped buying them. Likewise I initially had a big problem with the larger SD's so even though I loved their sculpts I would hate their size. I've also got a terrible habit of impulse-buying without thinking it through properly so often when the doll arrives I know I have to sell it because that was money I really should have used on something else or whatnot. I, uh, never considered that anyone would notice my buying and selling habits enough to think me fickle or anything

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
Doesn't bother me, sometimes dolls just don't work out :3

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
Nope, and I wouldn't start either. Sometimes I feel a little bad when it's a LE that someone else could have bought, but then I remember they still can (since I only ever list dolls at what I paid or less) and all is good

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
Oh gosh, lots of things. Money, family pressure (my family detest my hobby and regularly get on my back about it demanding I sell them), the doll just not looking quite like I expected, the doll being the wrong size, the jointing system (for example I just don't get on with Iples at all, their jointing system makes me cry), the posability, etc etc... I could go on forever, there are just so many reasons X3

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
I don't feel anything, unless it's a doll that I really want; then I'm thrilled and start PMming. What people do with their possessions isn't my business unless it directly affects me or causes harm in the world.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
Say what? I don't even understand the line of reasoning that would attach guilt to buying or selling inanimate possessions that I paid for, free and clear, in the first place.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
Why do you ask? That seems like a very . . . personal . . . question, getting awfully close to "you have to reveal your financial details to me." Since I'm not running for President, I can't imagine why anyone except my stockbroker would be interested in or claim any right to know such private details about my economic activity.

To sum up: I find the line of thinking in this thread (and many similar threads) baffling. What possible right or justification can any of us claim to judge other people's disposal of their own possessions, unless those actions cause harm in the world or affect us directly? There is such a thing as an unhealthy interest in other people's business, and I think judging other people's--strangers' on the Internet, no less--motives for disposing of their own possessions is definitely in the realm of "unhealthy interest."

ETA: Just for the heck of it, let's get really, really traditional here (yea, even Mosaic). If any guilt should be floating around, shouldn't it be guilt for the sins of coveting one's neighbor's ox, ass, or BJD, and of bearing false witness against one's neighbor--in the forms of trying to pass public judgment on, and thus assume control over, other people's private actions?

(Boy howdy, that was fun. Next up: an Althusserian analysis of this whole public-shaming/prurient-interest phenomenon as a form of Ideological State Apparatus. )

 

Why would anyone feel guilty for this? I really don't understand this line of thinking! It's not as if the doll is a child or a pet. It's not going to MIND being sold; in fact, people should feel good about selling dolls because they're giving people the opportunity to buy a doll they really want for cheaper, or if it's completely unavailable, they'll get to own it!

 

It's also important to remember that not everyone sees their dolls as the precious embodiment of their original characters. Some people's dolls are just dolls, some people just collect because they think they like the way a doll looks.

Dolls are not my children, I have a real live human one. They are not my bestest BFFs or my significant other. I have human BFFs and a human husband. Dolls are my toys. I certainly like them, but I also like my laptop and my stand-up mixer, and I can't imagine anyone making a thread about "Isn't it shallow when you upgrade to a new computer?"

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?

I feel happy. It means that seller is going to get a doll they will hopefully like and the buyer is also going to get a doll they want, a doll that for whatever reason they couldn't get when it was first available.


If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?

Nope, I've never felt guilty at all and I've done it a lot.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?

I'm one of those people the OP would probably consider "fickle". I have owned a lot of dolls since I started collecting in 2002 and have sold many of them off to fund other doll purchases or other luxury real life purchases. I have also sold dolls I have only just received. With LE dolls, a buyer often just has the company's photos to go by and the doll received is not always exactly what you hoped.

I've sold dolls to buy other dolls when various sizes have not worked for me, when the LE make up I paid extra for was just not what I wanted, to buy a super fancy baby stroller, to pay for vacations, because I had personal issues with a company, to buy non BJD luxury dolls for my toddler, to buy other LE dolls I'm hoping to like more, because the dolls are just sitting in boxes and I have less doll time than I use to.

I don't feel guilty.

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?

I don't care at all, they should do what they like.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?

I am not sure, I guess I feel guilty because I know I am fickle.... but at the same time, how am I meant to choose a doll when I cannot have them with me and experience them. Also my tastes have evolved as I got into the hobby, dolls I thought of as 'awful' when I started are becoming my favourites... I don't think there is anything wrong with it. I would love to buy one and keep it forever like some of my friends do... but I guess I just haven't found 'that' doll yet.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?

As above... I do sell to buy another, but only if I am not happy with the doll I am selling. I always get really excited before a doll comes home and know everything that is awesome about it, but then just because I get hyped up doesn't mean it ends up working out... I have really liked all the dolls I have owned, but I think that without spending heaps of money on clothing for them I have yet to find one I can stick with.

Actually that is the other reason, if I buy and sell dolls I end up experiencing styles and dolls and I have a lot of fun creating characters, but when I sell to buy a new one I end up at the same economic point, and can actually afford it. Usually I grow bored of the doll unless I spend a lot of money buying it new clothes etc. but I can't really afford that.

I am fickle though....

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?

I don't care what other people do with their dolls. If they sell one and buy another, I just assume that they had their own reasons, which do not concern me.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?

No. I have felt regret once, when I sold one and later changed my mind about her and wished I had kept her, but never guilt.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?

Once in a while, I've bought a doll that I haven't seen in person and when it arrived, I discovered something about it that disappointed me. A couple of times, I bought white skin dolls that were too white for my taste, so I sold them and bought the normal skin versions. I've also bought dolls and when they arrived, I didn't like the proportions of the head and body, so I sold them. Photographs and the descriptions of dolls on doll websites are not always accurate, I've found, and even owner photos do not always accurately show how a doll looks in person. I've bought several wonderful dolls from members here who decided for whatever reason to let them move on. I think that's a good thing; the original owner gets most of their money back and the new owner gets a doll they want. The perfect solution to a problem.

 

I currently own (or have in the works) 25+ dolls and have sold almost that many. I do not feel guilty at all. If I start a sales thread and am feeling guilty or scared or worried, I delete it before I even post it. I don't sell a doll until I'm absolutely positive that's what I want to do. And by that point, the old character has either been upgraded or scrapped. So there's no point in holding on to my doll when some other person could be enjoying it instead of letting sit around and gather dust. If anything, I feel MORE guilty about letting a doll sit around untouched than passing him on to a new owner. It's wasteful, and besides, that COULD be somebody's grail doll!

I've let dolls go for all kinds of reasons - upgrading (almost ALL of my MSDs have been upgraded to SD), retired/scrapped character, not connecting or the doll just not being what I expected. For example, I've been impatiently excited over my 5star Tumnus for FIVE MONHS...counting down the days...he got here yesterday and I was so disappointed at what I saw (teeny hands, head doesn't match the body) that I considered selling the body the second I saw it. I've since decided to try and make it work, but sometimes, if the doll is not at all like you wanted, it just HAS to go.

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
I'm super-fine with it if it's a doll I really want to buy! Selling a doll to get another is both good budgeting and good collection management.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
Nope. A couple times I've slapped my forehead and temporarily regretted it, but I don't feel at all guilty. A few times, my "meh" doll I'm selling has been someone else's "ZOMG!!" doll, and then I feel great about it!

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
Lack of space, lack of money, just wanted another doll MORE. This hobby has so many new dolls coming out all the time that it's impossible to predict what I will or won't want in a year or so, so I like to keep some flexibility in my choices.

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
Like I know how it is, I do the same thing myself.

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
Not at all. I'm freeing up my doll to a better home, and making someone happy that the doll they wanted is available!

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
Many reasons! Mainly, these dolls are too expensive to keep around if I'm not 100% gaga over the moon about them in most every way. Recently though, I went through a move. My dolls are very tied up in "place" for me (their environment), and when that changed I felt they were no longer comfortable with me, so I rehomed almost all of them. If anyone holds that against me, I'm sorry, but it's their own problem!

Raven

 

How do you guys feel when you see a seller sell away their doll just to get another one?
I feel its non of my business and that it doesn't matter what they do with there dolls is up to them

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?
I wouldn't say guilty, but regretful. regretful it didn't work out, that maybe I should have kept the doll. but I've never felt guilty.

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?
I've never let one go for another, but I've let them go to buy other things or because I needed money or something happened. that being said, I have a non bjd right now that I'm considering selling her to pay for a bjd, i like this doll but I like the bjd more. if I could find away to keep her and have the bjd I would do so, but I can't so I'll let her go so I can have something I'll like more.

 

This exactly!

If you've done this, have you ever felt like...guilty at all?

I completely agree with what Jescissa said previously about this hobby being about having fun and not feeling bad. As far as I'm concerned, there's no room for guilt in this hobby...it's all about creativity and enjoyment!

What are your own personal reasons for letting one go for another?

Whenever I've sold a doll, it's always been about focusing and refining my collection. Some of the reasons for that were: realizing SDs were too big for what I wanted to do and downsizing to MSD size and smaller; doll character outgrew their existing shell (a tiny realpuki grew into a MSD); after two years, I couldnt get any persona to stick to a particular doll so I sold her out of sheer frustration; reshelling a child character into a sculpt that looked more childlike; combining two character elements into a single doll. As you can see, my reasons are quite varied, but by rethinking and refinining my collection when necessary, I've managed to create a collection I adore and am very proud of. To me, this is just part of the hobby.

 

hmm... I think one of the issues here (the entire debate forum) is that some people see dolls as... dolls- plastic things that cost money, while others see them as practically living or at least more than things. Two people with these differing views cannot understand how the other does things relating to the hobby.

To make sure I stay on topic:
I kind of like that people do this with Soom dolls since it means I have a chance at them even after they are sold out XD I do not feel much about it, really. If we want to get complex, perhaps some people who do this have a problem with being satisfied with what they have and must always get new things because they lack something within. . . or perhaps they are just people who found a new doll they like better than their old one. It boils down to being none of my business... unless it is one of those Soom dolls I want another chance to buy.

I have sold dolls and parts to buy ones I wanted more. There is one doll I sold that I sometimes miss, not because of guilt but because I did like many things about that doll, just not enough to keep it. If I successfully sell what I want, and it allows me to buy what I want, I feel good about it.

My personal reasons for selling one doll to buy another is that I do not really want the doll I have (maybe it is not what I expected, or I changed my mind about something), and I do want the doll I am buying.