Grail-related Apathy anyone?

I've had dolls I admired from afar, looked forward to their releases, planned for months to acquire, etc. Never had a doll which I felt a deep seated need to get. By that respect, I've always been grail apathetic. Not sure what it is like to experience a powerful BJD desire before becoming grail ambivalent.

 

I had that for quite some time! As it is, even during 15 years of the hobby I didn't really buy that many dolls or sold them. The ones I sold were mostly because after years I had outgrown their aesthetic, and better dolls had been released to shell their respective characters. Considering what was available when I started VS what was released later, that's no surprise. I just always leaned more towards mature, bigger dolls, and when the most mature thing was a Dollshe Saint you take what you can get

At this point in time I mostly want to really polish the ones I have, and finish some outstanding open slots. Those slots also mostly remained open because nothing got released that ever truly felt right, and I refused to just buy anything to fill it.
I have no grail, and I never really had one. I love the dolls I have and nearly all of my itches are scratched by them. I'm also not the type to just buy a doll because pretty. Too many dolls are pretty for that!

So I'd less call it apathy, and more an intense feeling of being content. Yes, some dolls in the group are not perfect. Yes I'd be sad to lose some of them, but would either rebuy or see it as a chance to maybe reshell/try out something different.
As it is though, I am happy to have them and just do my thing with them

 

I'm in a similar boat. I've had my grails which some have come and gone but I don't feel the same fire to get them like I used to. I've had a super rare doll end up in my possession three times now and I think I'm just happy knowing that even the rarest doll I will eventually find. Maybe that's what quelled that 'grail heartache' I used to have but I think I'm just happy to own and keep a doll at all.

I still pine over dolls and dolls things but I think not really having the funds to get a lot too right now allows me to have a different perspective.

 

I am very new to the hobby so I may not have been involved long enough to truly develop a grail need. But I have never really had a need or longing to own a discontinued sculpt. There have been a few dolls I have seen pictures of that I absolutely loved but when I realized they were discontinued I pretty much just thought oh well what a shame and moved on.

I usually try to find a similar looking sculpt but if I am unable to I usually stop thinking about it after a while. I tell myself there will be other beautiful dolls eventually.

 

I totally lost my obsession with my grail recently I don't think it was maturing in the hobby so to speak. Rather, I found another doll who captured the same feeling as my grail, by the time I had her in my hands I had no more grail lust At this point there are so many dolls to choose from that even if you fall in love with one that's hard to get, you can probably find another one you love just as much, unless your grail is especially unique

 

I collected figures for many years prior to getting into BJDs, and over the many many years of that pursuit, I've actually culled the collection down to the figures I absolutely love and there is no way I would part from them without a fight and they are basically not replaceable to me.

I am pretty confident the same will be the case with BJDs. I've had a couple of Volks dolls for over a decade and they are here for keeps, and the three BJDs I have seem to hold the same status for me now (time will tell of course). That said, I am sure I will buy some BJDs that don't weather the years very well and which I'll gladly sell, but I am sure that there will be some that I won't ever willingly part with.

 

I used to have a lot of "grail fever" when I first joined the hobby, and usually have that on most of the hobbies I partake of
After an extended break due to unforeseen circumstances, I returned to see the companies I really pined for had mostly gone under (RIP Dream of Doll ) and grew disillusioned with the second-hand market over the blatant scalping of everything during the pandemic. Ever since then my grail fever died completely and now I tend to favor dolls I can obtain directly from the seller as opposed to hunting down a discontinued grail and it's made the hobby a lot more chill and enjoyable for me. If I miss a grail, I can search for a similar sculpt later down the road that maybe I'll like more.

 

I've been in the hobby for over a decade now. For some time my focus has been less on aquisition of new dolls and more on what I can do with the ones I have. Polishing their appearances, upgrading the bits that bother me and crafting new clothing and items, all in effort to open up new storytelling possibilities. In that regard my fixation has only grown. When I began the hobby and my drive was just to obtain the dolls, spending $200 on an outfit or accessory item or was absolutely off the table, but now I would happily spend if I found the perfect thing, in service to rendering a more complete image of what is in my head. Even my last two doll purchases were driven by their versatility as 'living' props/secondary characters. I would say I no longer have 'grail' dolls, but dream props and photoshoots to strive toward instead.

I cherish my dolls and every time I see them I feel happy, but it's more seeing progress compiled in one place than an overwhelming affection for that particular sculpt - I fully recognize another doll might fill the same role. They are, in the end, are just another medium for skillbuilding and imaginative expression for me. They scratch an itch that writing alone can't quite gratify and that feeling is the true 'grail' I'm after.

 

It's interesting but my experience is the opposite of many here. I've been in the hobby for over 15 years, and for the very intense first decade, never really had grails that I was searching for. My goal has always been to shell my characters, and some of them went through 2-3 reincarnations, which made me realize how my conception of specific molds as shells doesn't always work out no matter how much I think it's perfect from photos alone. That said, some of the dolls in my possession are so incredibly important and irreplaceable to me, so it's almost as if I already have my true grails with me.

What is different is how much I'm pining over for old CP Delfs, and that many of those older molds are the grails I'm chasing after now. Back then I took their availability for granted and now am trying to find them before so many older dolls vanish

 

My grails are often discontinued sculpts and I made peace with myself with the fact that I might not be able to afford them, or not be willing to pay the high prices in the secondary market. I can always enjoy vieweing them in other people's collection. Hurray for social media!! Sometimes, I find that when one is least looking for something, that very ultra-rare unicorn pops up.

 

I haven't been collecting for very long (since 2021), but I haven't run into any dolls where I've been like "ooh, I MUST have it!" Maybe it's because I'm still discovering all there is out there? But I think I'm just kind of over that "have to have it" mentality. I dealt with it a lot when I was heavily into figure collecting and several of the ones I really wanted just weren't a possibility for me, so that hobby was a good teacher ;') lol

And for me, there's so many new and beautiful dolls coming out that it's hard for me to consider just one as the "ultimate grail." I don't think I'd know how to choose.

 

Much the same here. I've been collecting for over a decade too, and I do nut burn with enthusiasm like when I started. Maybe it's because I've pretty much got my hands on my grails, or just because I'm happy with my collection. I'm still looking for some things, but more in order to complete some of my characters.
Last time I really fall in love with a mold, I coundn't afford it at the time the doll was released. It was two or three years ago? She is currently in preorder again, but the flame has faded

 

I can relate to the emotion, as after many years in the hobby I feel much the same...but my reason is that my grail is still my grail, but I have it. So to me, there is just no desire to change grails. Hehe. He is it, and shall always be, and he's mine.

So yeah. I'm at peace with that.

Also, I think there is something to be said in that after all these years I understand my tastes so it's easier for me to realize what I can let go and what I can't pass up off the bat, thus resulting in less that "got away" as it were. And that feels very lucky.

 

Slowly building my collection. But since I'm only into big SDs, I rarely get an obsession. The ones I loved in the beginning are still the ones I love now. I think I'm 5 years into the hobby. Anddd I never really had a grail. Every purchase was kind of apur of the moment thing. I had funds, checked out which dolls i wanted.... or limited release in an aesthetic I really wanted (looking at you Granado with your buff vampire). I still love all my dolls. maybe it's good not to have a grail xD

 

I am in that place happy with what I have and not obsessed much for any sculpt I consider my "grail" doll the first Aletheia notdoll I got this on my avatar which was also my 1st bjd and that is

 

Anyone else experiencing that sort of positive, peace-bringing indifference towards collecting and grails?

This is exactly how I've been feeling. I'm in this hobby since 2005 but I was never that active online, but I was obsessed with dolls. I must say, now I have other interests and I want to be a minimalist too. I have so much stuff and 90% belongs to dolls. Dolls are beautiful but this is a luxury hobby. I feel like I should use my $ wisely (finally) and not spend it on dolls. It's not guilt what I have, it's more like indifference to something that doesn't really matter in life. So I'm like you, I decided to not buy more dolls and just be content with what I have. I might sell some when I gain access to the marketplace.

 

I don't think I ever had an actual unobtainable grail. If something was unavailable, I just moved on. If I saw it again later, great. I've been really happy with my collection lately. It feels good.

 

I have never had an intense need to have any certain doll sculpted, maybe owning a certain brand of doll, but not precisely one doll I think to be a grail. I understand the premise and I never judge anyone who does have grail dolls but it has never been a thing I have experienced myself.

 

My two grails were the old Delf Soony and Loongsoul Wei Huo Hu. I got him a couple years ago, and I have F60 Soony '14, so at this point I do feel apathetic towards grails in general. Does a doll stay your grail even once you own them? I guess they do, and I'll always love both of those dolls best in my collection, but I don't really feel motivation to have any other grails.