Hanging onto a doll just because it’s ‘hard to come by’

I had two of the same sculpt once. I held onto the second one until I didn't mind selling it. They're yours. They can sit in a cupboard and look pretty and if you don't feel the courage to sell them then don't. I wouldn't feel guilty over it.

I decided to sell my second one when I knew I wouldn't regret it later on. I've read too many stories of people selling their dolls then regretting it, and I didn't want that to happen to me, so I only let go of a doll when I know I'm not going to miss it.

 

Yeah. I have doll I am on the fence about right now, but since Anna Queen doesn't sell the same sculpts for long, it would be really hard to replace it if i change my mind.

So right now the head is in my drawer collecting dust because I can't decide if I wanna buy a new body for a new concept or sell it.

 

Do you know Pokemon figurines? These cute little ones? I had two lugias which were quite rare. I ended up trading one of them when I was a child and I've regretted it ever since. Even though it's been many many years already
So, if you don't feel comfortable selling the sculpt: Don't do it. Don't sell it because you think it's a waste. It's yours and if you like it, that's what matters. Maybe in a year or two you will think differently about it. You can still sell it then. Sell it when you truly believe "I won't miss the sculpt"

 

Rarity doesn't mean anything to me, unless I'm not 100% sure I want to part with the specific doll. If I've lost interest in it, rarity won't make me keep it, but if I'm not totally sure I'm ready to sell, rarity could be a factor in holding onto it, just in case I'm not ready to sell.

This could also just be due to how I collect and decide to keep things or not. I don't like a lot of clutter or collectibles, I prefer to keep just a few things I really enjoy, so if I feel over crowded or like I have too much stuff, I'm quick to sell off stuff that doesn't have sentimental value and isn't useful or being enjoyed at the time.

 

How about purchasing a doll that you've been pining over for-ever!! I guess this would count as one of my grail dolls. I just put a down payment on her....but not sure that I should have due to the current economic atmosphere (corona virus economy decline). But these dolls don't come up for sale very often and when they do, they are in limited quantities. So I did it. I have some guilt, but not a whole lot of guilt.

Pardon if I highjacked the thread. But I think my feelings about the purchase might be similar to the OP about hanging on to those rare finds. I'm afraid if I hadn't hit the purchase button I might never have another opportunity!

 

For me personally, I’ve sold rare dolls before, and never thought twice about it. If their character doesn’t “stick” for me (which is the only reason I’d sell one) then I just can't justify the space and expense to hold onto them. Not when there's another awesome character waiting just around the corner! My only rule (which really helps) is that when I sell a doll, that money must be recycled right back into my collection (and not just used for mundane, everyday life purposes.) For me, that really helps with the “letting go” and enables me to move on more easily.

 

Rarity has never been a factor for me in whether or not I've kept or sold a doll or parts. I tend to not sell dolls very often, but the few that I have I have rehomed quickly after receiving them if plans for them did not set in my mind quickly. I really don't like having much extra floating around if it's not regularly used (hands/heel feet are passable. I'm still agitated by having spare human parts for some of my Soom dolls that I just don't use (they always have the fantasy feet or the like), but they came with those parts anyways at the time.
Similarly, I have no issue removing a company face-up or blushing if I didn't like it or modding a limited part if needed rather than let it sit around unused.

 

Are the dolls different in any way, or are they literally totally alike? Do you have an idea of what you want to do with the other ones?

I feel like your circumstance is unique - if I had a limited doll I'm sure I would be loath to part with it, but if I had more than one of them I would probably sell one to someone who really wanted it or who I knew would take care of it. But I'm not really into having multiples of a sculpt in the first place, plus I have the kind of anxiety that makes one feel guilty over irrational things...

 

Well, I guess some folks have maybe missed the point that the OP is not about selling a rare doll, it is about pondering the sale of two duplicates of that same rare doll? Two duplicate that the OP specifies they "do not need" and that sit untouched in a cupboard.
If that really is the case, yes, I would sell them. Because what is the point? Are they any prettier if one can look at 3 of them at the same time? If that even is a point of consideration, the fact that the doll is rare does not guarantee a rise in value in the future either. It would be different for me if I had plans for, say, triplets, or for making three different versions of one character (or just three different characters, at that). Other than that I would prefer to have the space and the money for other things I would need and use instead.

 

I wanted a spare head for my favorite doll, a POPO Doll Chen. The company would not sell just that head because the mold is very old, and they don't like to use it. I was lucky and found a second one for a very REASONABLE price, and shortly later, a second hand body just like my original doll's. I have 2 of my favorite doll because I'd like to enjoy him for the rest of my life. I now have one to always stay at home, and one to go to meetups. I'd like to have a 3rd one, but, the only other head sculpt of the same I've found listed second hand is priced so high, I would prefer to just see if the maker would make me a new, whole doll instead. A third just isn't a high priority right now, since I'd just unstring the whole doll and lock it up in a deposit box anyhow.

If you would be okay only having one doll, then I'd let the others have different homes. However, if it's something that makes you feel more secure to have a duplicate, then, absolutely keep them.

 

It is difficult for me to give up things that I like so if I liked the doll once, I could like her three times. That said, if the doll was just sitting around and I didn't give it any attention, I would consider selling. I might sell just one though and hold on to two. I would give myself a deadline (say one week) and I would decide then if I would keep the doll or sell it.

 

If you're on the fence, don't sell unless you need to. Nothing worse than regretting letting something go...and then wishing that you had it back. I've done that a couple of times, and it really bites. If you don't need the money right now, then you have all the time in the world to mull.

 

I had a girl that was by a company that no longer made sd sized dolls. They were insanely beautiful, especially the full sets and their face ups. When I still had her I was terrified about what I'd do if her face up faded. Sadly, a turn of events forced my hand with her. On one side the anxiety of her care is gone but on the other I do miss her beauty....

 

There's a study they've done where if a researcher asks you, how much you would pay for a mug, people will name a cheap price. But if you give them a mug and ask how much they will sell it for, they choose a much higher number. Human brains are designed to fear loss more than they like gain - you value things you already own disproportionately, it's kind of how we are wired

I mean, I have a big hoarding streak in my personality so I'd say...if your gut is saying keep them, and you don't have a financial need to sell them and you still have the shelf room, keep them.

 

I have kept heads that are hard to get because I've been afraid that if I sold them, I'd never find them again if I changed my mind. I have a drawer full of them. I'm not kidding. It's a big drawer, full of heads I have no intention of using, or selling.
I have learned this from experience. I used to have a MNF Shiwoo, way back in the day on a B-Line body. I went through a phase and sold off all my MNF. A couple years later I decided I wanted one again, but during that time, FL had stopped offering the old sculpts and suddenly a mold that used to be EVERYWHERE was literally no where. I had a WTB up forever, nothing. Finally I got a hold of one and used it happily for a few years and then decided I was done again....only I didn't sell him this time. He's in my head drawer. It's a small head, it takes up very little space and it can live there until I decide I want one again. I did the same with my CP Delf Chiwoo head and sure enough I'm shopping for bodies again.

Basically I agree with @celga If you aren't 100% you're ready to let them go, don't. With something hard-to-get, if you regret it, it's a pain to track them down and possibly pay inflated prices to get them back.

 

What is you gave the other 2 a different face up. That way you still have them but they look a little different. Just a thought.

 

I haven't had this issue with whole dolls, but I have with parts. I wound up with extras of some parts that the company no longer makes, but I had no use for them. I kept telling myself I should keep them because "what if one of them broke?" But ultimately I realized they were just taking up space, and it's not like I couldn't fix a broken piece in the unlikely event that it occurs. So I'll be selling them.

It might be different with entire dolls, though... I guess if I had a character or idea in mind for each one that was different, I'd probably keep them, but if I was keeping them JUST because it was hard to get, I'd probably let it go. After all, it's hard to get, so you could probably give someone else the opportunity to get one, and not take much of a loss (if any).

That said, I do understand the desire to grab stuff that's tough to get a hold of and then keep it. I have to slap my hands away from re-buying all the discontinued sculpts I have when I see them come up secondhand.

 

Honestly I'm just a hoarder because I'm not sure I want to deal with selling things just yet.
I have a few wigs, clothes, and possibly a head I might want to sell but am just holding on to because of this.

As others have said, I wouldn't sell unless I'm 100% sure I want to. I like the idea of hanging onto the heads only since most of my dolls were bought in pieces anyways and generally the heads are more important to me than the body sculpt.

Of course you don't really need three of the same sculpt, but do you want three?
Try styling them all differently so that you can enjoy all three separately rather than keeping them as duplicates of each other.
Also maybe consider why you have three of this sculpt in the first place.

I don't have any duplicate BJD sculpts but I also don't have a favorite sculpt.