Going Into Debt For Dolls - are the potential long-term consequences worth it?

Wait till this recession is over and then spend D=. I think BJD collecting is only a hobby one should do when they're well financially. D= Of course people can club me to death for my opinion lol.
Or use it as a "Fake" lure. Be like "Save up for doll, save up for stuff for doll" and when you have the money spend it on necessities lol. That way you have the drive but dont spend it poorly?

Then again, i don't trust using a credit card for everything. Too risky.

 

Not to go too far off topic but I really agree with you here. When I was last in school (racking up loans, taking time off from work in order to attend classes and all that good stuff) I collected vintage postcards too. They averaged maybe 8 to 10 dollars apiece, some less, some more. Once in a while I would splurge on something like vintage jewelry but because my husband was paying all the bills and I wasn't working, I tried not to buy anything real expensive. Likewise when I was out of work for some months I didn't buy things. This is just common sense to me: if you're bringing good money into the house you can probably spend some, but if you're not then you can't.

 

Like most people here I realise that CCs can be a very useful tool if managed correctly and I don't view using a CC as taking on debt per se. I view unmanagable debt as "debt" - money that you borrow and can't afford to repay. I'm really pleased to see that most people on here who talk about using CCs to buy dolls have sensibly planned their repayments or have used them to purchase a doll for internet security reasons and paid off the amount in full. Those are both sensible ways to use CCs.

Personally I would never get into unmanagable debt for any luxury purchase, but I can see how it could happen to others. With 2 week windows of ordering for some LEs there can be enormous pressure to buy what you might feel is your "dream" doll before you lose your chance. We live in a very consumerist society and we are constantly surrounded by advertisements encouraging us to part with our money.

Most people who get into serious amounts of unmanagable debt are denying their reality. A member of my family wracked up enormous amounts of debt by simply refusing to face the reality of their spending. They lived in a fantasy world, never looked at their bank statements or credit card statements and hid their head in the sand until they were on the verge of bankrupcy. Therefore the best advice I can give is be a realist. Always know exactly how much you owe and keep track of it. Know your income and your outgoings and keep a little aside for emergencies. For an expensive hobby like BJDs you should always know you can afford your dolls otherwise you are setting yourself up for heartache and disappointment.

 

I think it'd be ridiculous to put yourself in debt over a doll. Yes, I love them just as much as everyone else but in the end it still is just a doll and living needs to come first, bills need to be paid and you need to have food in the house.

If you work put aside five, ten or twenty dollars a week if you can afford it and save that way but don't spend money you need for rent or something and then worry about becoming homeless. As far as sudden splurging goes, I'm for that. If you have like half of the money you need and you have a paycheck to yourself for whatever the hell you want and a new limited comes out go for it~

But in the end being homeless or suffering financially isn't worth it to me.

 

Like SonnyMaxwell (post 199) I was raised to be careful with money and not waste it. Keeping track of my expenses is very important to me and because of that I've never gone into debt over anything. I don't use a CC, I don't pay on layaway, because it's harder to keep my finances in check if I have these 'invisible payments' everywhere.

In my opinion you should only get yourself a loan when there's absolutely no other way and you have to use it for things like a roof over your head or other necessities.
Getting into debt for a luxury item is foolish and risky business. If I can't afford a doll, I'll save until I do. If that doll is a limited: tough luck, if I don't have the money, I don't have the money.

 

I'm too young to have a credit card, and you can't spend what you don't have on a debit card so in that region, I'm safe from debt.

However, I have and do activly borrow money from friends or family in an emergency, but I always, always, always pay them back in full.

 

I am just looking into getting a credit card, and yes, the major reason is that I want to buy a doll with it.

I am really bad with saving and I never have enough money to just buy a doll-- and there are a few limited dolls I would love to buy and have already missed two chances. My best option so far was layaway-- it's perfect for someone so impatient and bad with saving as me... but taking a doll on layaway makes me pretty anxious-- it's one thing when I am doing layaway with Soom/Iplehouse/etc., but another when I am doing it with a private person. If something happend to the seller (or their morals) during those let's say three months, getting my money back would be almost impossible. So yes, saving just some money and then buying a doll with credit card (so my debt is small enough that I will manage to pay it off before the fees kick in-- with some credit cards it's even 56 days) is the best option for me... And even if there is some emergency and I don't have the money-- I would rather pay some credit card fees than loose all the money I put into layaway as I couldn't pay it off on time.

 

It depends on the financial situations, and I won't risk my real life to a doll dreaming of.
If one day I lost my job and income, my only dream will be making money and I may be thinking of selling some of my dolls to overcome the real life trouble, but if I have spare money, I still buy dolls, make them up and get beautiful clothes for them.

 

No. I don't think it's okay. There's nothing more satisfying than buying a doll with money you've earned yourself (though as gifts they feel nice too!) A doll bought on credit that you end up struggling to pay off will only build resentment between you and your new doll. That's what would happen for me, anyway... it would be hard for me to enjoy something I bought on credit, all the while knowing that it was putting me in debt.

I think priorities should be in order. Right now I don't HAVE a job (I just moved back to Florida), and instead of putting any money I have towards a doll fund... I'm using that savings to buy food. That's just how it has to be until I can find something.

 

I'm going through an awful period with money and I am seriously having to look at what I can sell to get through this financial strain. Obviously, my first port of call is my BJD collection. I have over £2000 worth of stuff just sitting here, not just counting dolls, and even though it hurts, I am going to have to be brave and consider that I didn't get into this hobby to get into debt...and if I can use this hobby to help me get out of debt that's good too.

My financial situation isn't linked to dolls, but I am going to have to use my dolls as the solution in the face of potential awful debt. It isn't dire yet, but it could be. I don't think people need to know in my sales posts exactly why I need to sell parts of my collection, that's a personal issue, and I won't be using it to shift sales, but I think that to be cynical about every cat that needs an operation or every bad car bill that needs to be paid is a bit cruel. Everyone has things that come out of the blue and hit them sideways from time to time. No one can plan for a disaster to hit you on all sides, all you can do is prepare for one situation and hope that it comes by itself.

I do have a job and regular hours, I have good money coming in, but this year I have to start paying back my student loans and clearing that as well as having savings means more to me than having a lot of dolls, I'm afraid.

 

This is a fact I am always reassured by, since it's more like collecting art than, say, buying a brand new car which depreciates as soon as you drive it off the forecourt.

However I also know I would never re-sell anyway, so maybe I just use that as a justification for the high price!

As with anything else, over indulging in whatever your vice happens to be is probably a bad thing. But life *is* for enjoying and I can think of worse hobbies than this! Compromising your own or your families' security is where you really need to take stock of what you are doing.

 

While this is true, selling a BJD is not usually a quick business unless you're selling an uber-limited doll with a known following. While second-hand dolls can command the same sort of prices as a first-hand doll, a lot of dolls remain on the marketplace for some time.

 

Seconding what Jescissa said. Proper savings can be accessed immediately when there is an economic pinch. A doll can take you months to sell, by which point it may be too late.

That said, I agree that knowing your doll is unlikely to significantly depreciate makes it psychologically easier to swallow the cost! I just make sure it's a cost I can afford to keep tied up for a long time to come, since there's no guarantee I can get it back quickly.

 

I don't have to pay bills or everyday expenses (my mom does...), but I still wouldn't go crazy and go in debt for a doll. I think its irresponsible to do that - buying on credit when you have absolutely NO way of paying it back, is akin to stealing in my opinion..... Because if you can't pay them back you just cheated the credit card company. Thats bad right?

 

Exactly. I've got to prep some of my dolls for sale a) because the money would be awesome in this economic climate and b) I made an agreement with my parents to put savings before hobbies during this recession. I know that it won't be something I can do quickly to raise cash, but it's a slow burn thing that will yield money someday.

In any event it is always easier to buy a doll than to sell one.

Well, even if they can't get the money back right away, the credit companies will get it back eventually and you'll have a bad credit mark against you. It's just not worth it.

 

This is another reason why i dont have a credit card, because i know if i had one, id be in BIg trouble.
Im a spender, i can say that, but im going to save up for my doll, im not going to put it on 'credit' theres no way id do that.

 

I don't understand this logic. If you are capable of putting away enough money for credit card payements, why aren't you capable of putting the same amount away in a separate account of money box to save? Or to put it another way - if you are so incapable of saving money, what on earth makes you so sure you could pay off a credit card at the same rate?

 

I'm not speaking for persiasecretary, but for me it would be about enforcement. If you put a doll on a credit card and can't keep up with the payments, the company will get you to pay somehow. Plus, as Jessica already mentioned, you have the threat of a bad mark on your credit history. There's actually a punishment.

It takes a strong will to keep physical cash in your pocket. Somebody with $20 in their hand might think "OK, I should put this into savings. But there's a CD I want and some doll clothes I really liked and...". There's no real punishment for spending the $20 on a CD. Just the thought that you should've put the money in savings.

 

As Ostrich said, it's about enforcement. As I say, I am bad with saving, I would probably use the money for something else half the way. As I mentioned, layaway is a great option for me (and I paid off my two layaways with no problems, I know what I can afford and what I cannot), but it's less secure than paying with cc - if there are problems, no way to open paypal dispute after 2 months. Please belive that I know whatever I am able to pay off credit card or not. For me it's is the same as with layaway, just more secure and I get a doll right away.

 

Well, I am currently in a debt situation, but not because of dolls :p Because I have the tendency to impulse buy anything I see ^^ Maxed out credit card ftw? But I don't think it is a good thing to buy dolls when you need to pay bills or whatever, because that is just silly... unless it is a limited, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon (and you could still find it in the second hand market eventually,ie; I keep seeing Peroths in there (though I have yet to snag one :P)