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First doll regrets?

May 14, 2010

    1. For the indecisive people out there... I've been agonizing over my first BJD choice for the past week. I've been looking over photos daily trying to figure which will suit my tastes best. I've at least narrowed it down (see sig) but I still can't settle on one choice.

      I'm curious, for those that had a hard time choosing their first BJD, when you did finally settle on a choice and then saw it in person for the first time did you regret your choice? Did you see something new that you didn't notice before in photos or was it better than you expected and all your doubt went away?

      I've noticed that many dolls look completely different depending on pose, angle, hair, clothes, eyes etc. Some of the same sculpt look horrid and other are amazing. I'm not totally confident that I can manage to get all the stars to align and end up with the perfect looking doll like I see in those amazing photos. I worry that in the weeks (months) that I have to wait between hitting that order button and getting it in the mail I'll change my mind again and again with every photo I see. :doh

      What was your experience?
       
    2. It took me a long time, but when I decided to get my Dolkot I was fairly confident. I loved her when I opened her, and bonded to her immediately. Now just a few months later I'm trying to sell her on the marketplace. However, I still don't *regret* getting her. She is gorgeous, and I love her, but she just doesn't fit with my character as well as the Sooms do, so I rerolled her character into a new Soom body and the old one has got to go.

      Like any hobby, there is an introductory period when you will be learning about dolls, sculpts, and resin types. Your indecisiveness will eventually go away, and no matter what your heart will do a pitter-patter when you open it for the first time!

      However, even then you might want to re-home the doll and get a different one. If it helps any, check out the market place to see if there's any interest in the dolls you're trying to chose between. That might lay your fears to rest if you know in the back of your mind you can re-home the doll to close to what you paid for it :)
       
    3. I didnt think twice lol I ordered an LE and I had been watching soom for months until I had the money, the boy was fantastic, and i clicked "buy". I really dont think you will be dissapointed with whoever you get, and its not like you can only have one ever, if you love them im sure you can find a way to save up for the other little ones on your list :) I never had buyers remorse, I just vow to get the other 'to die for' dollies when I have money/energy. Now im really one of those indecisive people from what to eat for lunch to what shoes to wear.. so this is really odd lol but No matter what I think you will be happy :)
       
    4. My first doll was a Lati K Redline boy. I still cherish the memory of first opening the package and the months that I did own him. A while after I sold him, I realized that he was a lot more different than the impressions I had from the company photos. My regret: I felt that I enjoyed the company photos of the doll more than the doll in person.

      Luckily, I live very close to the VolksUSA store and I was already exposed to their amazing dolls through customer appreciation parties and tea parties. I have the fortunate opportunity to see Volks dolls in person, so I know the joy and aesthetic enjoyment that comes with them.

      Many people would recommend that potential buyers look through owner photos as well, and I wholeheartedly agree. Owner photos in the galleries give a much more realistic impression of a company's dolls, and they definitely help you decide if the mold is right for you or not.
       
    5. Well, I wasn't too indescisive. I bought a Delf Lishe with no regrets. And while I don't own that doll anymore I take solace in knowing that I if I ever have the spare dol funds I can buy her again. Infact I fully intend to get another one someday. This time I will get the dreaming head though as it will suit the character better.
       
    6. It's actually owner photos that I was talking about. I pretty much ignore the official product shots since I figure they are set up to look perfect. Besides, you really can get a sense of how wide a sculpts personality range is with owner photos. But even there I tend to find shots that make me shake my head and wonder how that's the same sculpt

      Thanks for the replies all. Keep the stories coming, though, I think they are great to read for anyone else in the same boat. :P

      I find it interesting the so far most that replied sold their first one...
       
    7. I had only see a few dolls prior to my first, and I saw even more dolls that I wanted later. You'll have the opportunity to get the ones you like later. But even seeing dolls I want so badly, I've never regretted my boy. :)

      Unless I was having a one doll family, I chose a doll that I could customize freely so I could experiment with their look. If I chose one with a specific look, I may be back to square one that tried to fit my universal tastes!

      You're looking good though. You make considerable choices. I think your doll should reflect all the hard work you've put into them. :)
       
    8. Only a week of thinking? xD Took me months!
      But it might be just me, but I don't live with regrets. Don't see the point. Especially in a hobby that lives on sale and re-sale. I figured, if I don't like it, I'll just sell it again.
      I chose a brand new mold, so there weren't any reference pictures. I took a risk, and was very willing to take it. I still have this doll a year and a half later, while I've sold off many others.
      If you can't decide, and you have to pick only one (otherwise you just get one of the two you really like, and get the other one later), you can make a list of things you'd rather want. Male, female? Is posing important? Things like that.
       
    9. Well, it should also be a comfort that if you buy a doll, get it home and find out you hate it you can sell it for something you really want! I seem to be one of those with a somewhat revolving door. The problem is that awesome new dolls keep coming out!
       
    10. I didn't look for very long before I settled on my Honey Delf girl. I knew I wanted a small customisable doll, I was actually looking at Pullips to start with but in the process I came across yo-size BJDs and when I stumbled across Luts, realised I could afford one, well, I ordered her a couple of weeks later :) I knew very little about BJDs at that point, I mainly wanted a cute doll or two to make clothes for, but she was just so much more beautiful in person than I expected that I have now thrown myself into this hobby whole-heartedly ;) I have no regrets and I will NEVER part with her :D

      I expect the decision must be a lot harder for people who have lurked in the hobby for a while, and have been exposed to the gazillion companies and sculpts available :XD: Best of luck, and I suggest you don't stress too much about small details, or you won't be happy with any doll you buy!! Your signature says you are looking at a Luts doll and I think you should be happy with one. They gave me a great intro to the hobby, and I have since bought a Kid Delf too and both dolls are just gorgeous, were nicely strung out of the box, and Luts are a very professional company to deal with.
       
    11. When in doubt, owners photos 100% :)
       
    12. I'm actually experiencing this with my second doll. I've been procrastinating for a while and keep changing my mind and now I've decided to wait until November before buying or making any sort of decisions. By then I'll have my targeted saving goal and can just go ahead and buy the doll I want straight off the bat.

      With my first doll, (I've only had him five months now) I was initially looking at another sculpt from the same company and changed my mind at the last minute based on the company pictures of what the sculpt's default face up looked like. When he arrived, I was happy initially until I started comparing his face up to the promo pictures and realised they looked nothing at all alike. That made me a little miffed for a while but now ... I can live with it. He looks different depending on the wig style/eyes that I put him in so I think I can make it work. In fact, I've learned to accept him as he is and know that the challenge lies in my own ability to make him look the way I imagine and eventually, I will redo his face up but for now, I am just working on getting rid of his eyelashes without ruining his face up. As much as the eyelashes look lovely, it makes him look too feminie for my taste.

      So that's been my experience so far. I have thought about selling him but I figure, why? I went through two months of being nervous waiting for him and stressing myself out silly that he wouldn't arrive and having a meltdown about spending that much money and really, all it takes is a few different touches and he can eventually look like the doll I envisioned.

      I'm looking at it as a challenge. The gauntlet has been thrown and I find myself feeling a lot better about him these days.

      So even if you do decide on your first doll and you find yourself a little disappointed when he/she arrives, give it a few months, work with what you've got and you might end up pleasantly surprised at how much you'll find enjoyment out of him/her and making those disappointments into successes.

      Good Luck with your decision!
       
      • x 1
    13. I saved myself for True Love. :aheartbea I didn't buy my first doll until I was thoroughly consumed with desire for that particular doll and knew he was the one!

      When I found him, I wasn't "shopping around" to buy a doll just for the sake of owning a doll.... I wasn't even in the market for a Mini-sized doll, because I knew I wanted to start collecting the big Volks SD13 Tokyo Boys (it was 2005 and those guys were already hard to find!). But then little SDC Arashi came out & blindsided me, as sort of a surprise. I bought him as a sort of "warmup" doll, thinking that Minis were somehow easier or lesser (duh!).... but Rowan sort of ended up as my Alpha Male, and has been my right-hand man ever since. ^^

      So... I would just say "be sure what you want". As soon as you're positive, you just KNOW it. Everything else follows from that! When your gut & your heart & your brain are all in agreement, you feel no uncertainty and there are no regrets.
       
    14. This is me... XD I've known about BJDs and their various companies for a couple years. I just never really committed to getting one.
       
    15. I think mine was getting into the hobby at all xD. So much money has been spent!

      Seriously though I don't have many regrets, only for dolls I never ended up getting.
       
    16. I wasn't really shopping for a doll when I found my first... I just clicked a link a friend sent me out of curiosity, and ended up face-to-monitor with the sculpt that I would, about a week later, end up ordering as my first. Had Mino not sent me that link to Luts, and had I never seen a Shiwoo, I doubt I'd have ever ended up with dolls at all.

      There was never any waffling between sculpts for me. I knew which one I wanted the minute I saw him... It was just a question of rather or not I thought throwing that kind of money at a glorified toy would turn out to be worth it.

      Four-and-change years later, I still have that first doll (and his unexpected Dreaming twin-) and he's still one of my favorites. I've never regretted Harumatsu, and I doubt I ever will. ^_^
       
    17. My very first experience of BJDs at all was buying a second/third hand Lishe head on Ebay just out of curiosity a few years back. I was stunned by how beautiful that face is when you have it in your hands, a totally beautiful sculpt and just before Christmas I finally bought a brand new Lishe from Luts and the body is awesome. You won't regret either of your choices, Luts were lovely to deal with too, very friendly and helpful ;)

      Just one word of warning, that first Lishe head was the tip of the resin iceberg for me (and I know many others on this forum) it never seems to stop at ONE doll!

      Edit: just adding those elusive letters and words that I forgot to type the first time!
       
    18. Daniel Falls is right to recommend you to look at owner photos. I didn't know about DoA when I bought my first doll, and only went by the photos at the seller's site. I never had a moment's doubt that I liked her a lot....right up until I opened the box. On the doll site she was looking up, and really looked nice. In real life, she looks like she is going to bite you.

      Once I got on DoA I started looking at owner photos, and haven't had the same bad experience again. I've bought 9 dolls since then, and bonded with every one of them when I opened their boxes. As for my first doll, I still have her. I found that different eyes and wig did wonders for her. I'm going to try a new faceup soon, as it might bring out better features for her. I actually like her a lot now; my husband laughs at me and says it's because I felt so bad about giving all my other dolls lots of attention, and she didn't get any.

      I also found, by my own experience, that it's better to look at the head sculpt of the doll WITHOUT a faceup. It gives you a better idea of how the doll will really look.
       
    19. This is very sound advice! The great thing about these dolls is that you can go on tweaking them forever. I loved my girl out of the box but after a few months I'm still adding little bits to her outfit and trying different eyes and she has had 3 wig changes... ;) If you're attracted to a sculpt and have some general ideas of what you want to do, with a bit of patience and effort I think you'll eventually end up with a doll you love to bits. But if you fixate too much on default pics or a particular user's pics you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.
       
    20. Oh, also, another thing that I remembered is the resin quality and color of the dolls. Product photos of Lati K made their faceups seem so much more vibrant and lush, but the factory faceup that I received was too light/pale for me. The resin was also very pale for "normal skin" for my tastes. They were pretty new at the time, and I don't recall if I looked for owner photos. I think it was one of the contributing factors that did lead me to sell him. My dolls are all from one company now, but I understand that some companies like Luts do have widely inconsistent resin color.

      Also, I think it's understandable that people who post in a "first doll regrets" thread will probably have regretted the purchase and sold the doll. I hope you the best in finalizing which doll you want! Soony and Lishe are gorgeous molds.