have you ever been disappointed?

Sometimes, I suppose, it's better to follow your heart (splurging on a doll) than to go with your head (buying the budget alternative).

Yesterday, I received a DF-A 62cm body for a Hejiu head. It took almost 1.5 months to reach me after shipping via EMS. I don't know if that's tainted my reception of him, now he's all put together (save for a face-up and proper styling). But I've had blank dolls before, where I've gone: "yes, hello you". My feelings towards this boy are just: "oh, you, go... over there and I'll... deal with you another time".

There are parts I like about him. He's a nice colour (DF-A's light tan), his face looks lovely, and his 62cm is a nice size. But there are more 'negatives'; his fingers look ridiculously long [as does his neck, bloody giraffe boy], he's a pain to dress as he flops about like a fish, his proportions aren't quite like other dolls I've had [so he looks squat alongside them], and I'm just feeling "meh" about him in general. I don't love him, but I don't out-and-out hate him.

And, after opening his body yesterday and trying to give him a chance, I went looking at one of the earliest sculpts I'd picked out for the character, a Loong Soul Alkaid, like "why didn't I just put up the money for you, instead, and eat cup noodles for a month or two?" That was the only factor keeping me from getting the LS boy; the $545 price-tag. I saved $125 buying the Hejiu head and the 62cm body in light tan, but I feel I might have been better following my heart and going with Alkaid. Now I have this other doll that I don't want to throw more money at trying to style him, but I've got to give him a chance. Right?

 

Hello I am so sorry you are not feeling him as much Sadly this has happened to me too for a doll which I will be selling probably soon. Honestly the feeling never got better for me. You have listed a lot of negative pointers, and imo I would not invest more into him - if you aren’t feeling him. Rather let go of it, and order something that has the WOW effect for you. But that’s just my personal opinion and what I would do. If you aren’t feeling like spending money on him, then you don’t have to give him a chance. He may find the perfect home - and therefore you could find your perfect match

 

Give him a few days and you might find you feel different. If not, you could sell him on and save for the doll that you really do want.

 

As has been already said, try to give it a try (maybe a different wig, eyes and general theme than you'd planned) and if it doesn't work, resell and put the money to save up for the other doll.

I had that within the first few years in the hobby that when I tried to 'save' on dolls and buy the cheaper equivalents, I always regretted that. There are some dolls I had to sell (because of moving or general downsizing) but I still remember heartily those which I bought when 100% sure about the purchase.

I persuaded myself that these dolls are all expensive anyway (imo overpriced, actually) and if I am to spend some high sums on something I only want for fun, then I have to make sure that it is fun. Buying the cheaper option is never fully fun.

Also, on the side note, I often fear for the buyer's remorse. But recently I got myself a doll I'd been drooling over for months if not a year (and a body I'd wanted since its release several years ago) and while I did put an artificial limit on my purchase, I'm happy and so looking forward to receiving it now.

So sometimes, we have to let go of the self-imposed limits which, in fact, don't change the situation too much. I mean, you'd have only spent a little over 100 bucks more, and I'll have only one doll extra (that won't take extra space since it'll share the clothes with the rest).

Now, don't be sad if you decide it's a doll to be sold. We've nearly all been there at some point. You live and learn, so don't beat yourself over this one Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

I never understood this feeling until recently. When you like the doll a lot but they just don’t work with the character or the proportions of your others it is disappointing.

 

Such situations occur sometimes, unfortunately. I had such an experience with my first doll (he was chosen in accordance with my student budget) that was eclipsed by the new dolls (the ones I really desired to buy).

I was also feeling "meh" about him but I did try to fix it. Luckily, changing his appearance (new face-up, wig, and new clothes style) helped me bring him back in line. I'd suggest you do the same: try changing him and there will be a chance he'll get into your heart.

If it does not work for you, you can always able to sell him and obtain the doll you'll love a bit later.

As for the question "what's better: following your heart or head", I will always choose the first option. I think it's better to save money for a longer time and get the doll you really want. Either purchase the thing that you'll be fond of or purchase nothing at all. For me purchasing something that is cheaper but does not fit you is just a waste of money, time, and good vibes.

 

This, exactly!
It’s happened to me too, but I learned from that mistake and never let it happen to me a second time. I learned to be more patient and go for what I really want rather than to settle. Lets face it, these dolls are expensive no matter what, and I am on a tight budget. After that experience, a doll has to really “wow” me to get any of my hard-earned money. My collection is very character driven, but I’ve searched for an entire decade before finding the perfect doll to suit a specific character. Patience and determination is key. When this happened to me, I opened the box, took her out, and realized immediately she wasn’t “the one”. So I sold her immediately and never looked back. I think it happens to most of us at some point or another in this hobby…it’s a learning thing. It’s best to just move on to what you really want in my humble opinion. This hobby is all about the joy after all…and if you’re not feeling it, well, you just aren’t.

 

This has happened to me a few times, where a doll arrived and I just wasn't feeling it. Sometimes the "meh" impression stayed, and I ended up selling the doll; other times, putting it away for a week or a month and then revisiting it allowed me to see it with fresh eyes. For me a lack of excitement is definitely related to a longer wait; if I'm already disappointed in how long the doll is taking to get to me, I associate negative feelings with the doll before it even arrives.

In my opinion, you've already waited some time for this doll, and it might help to put it away for a little while and give the initial bad taste in your mouth some time to pass. If you revisit the doll later and still feel the same way, you'll know you genuinely don't like the doll.

 

It happens for sure. It's a bummer when it does because it feels like money and time wasted... but unfortunately because we rarely can see the product in person before purchase we run the risk of feeling underwhelmed when the doll doesn't quite live up to expectations in real life.

Last year around this time I purchased a Gem of Doll Alphonse because I fell in love with his promo pics, but immediately upon opening him up I realized that he just wasn't quite what I expected. Didn't love him... didn't hate him, but when you're spending $300-800 on a single doll it's important to really enjoy it. So I sold his head off immediately so I could spend that money on things I was going to really love and appreciate.

So best advice is to maybe tinker with him and see if he can become something different than you planned for, OR if you're sure you just don't like him put him up for sale and use the sale money to begin saving for the doll you really want.

 

I don’t think time or money to change him up will change anything if the doll doesn’t fit the character or collection.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, advice, personal experiences.

I did fall in love with Hejiu and the face sculpt. It's seeing him on the body that's spoiled it. The thing is, he's a light tan, so I'd have to get a real close match or find a body from a company that offers resin matching, if I decide to hybridise the head with another body.

But there'll always be the LS boy I would love to have as the character. I've put the offending doll in box prison for a while. He might become a different character, if he ever fits in at all. But I'm going to look at saving for the LS boy, if I can. I've a few other things I ought to be saving for first.

 

I'v gotten dolls that I've been a bit "meh" on, but it really did (in a few cases) just take finding the right wig or clothes, eyes, face-up, to go "AHA!" However, I'm not shelling characters. I will say that yes, trying to find a "second best" doesn't always work. If budget is an issue, look for a dealer who offers layaway. If nothing else, you can still sell the doll that isn't working and make back at least dome of the money. And I know it's hard not to look at it as a waste, but you tried! It might have worked out!

 

Sometimes a new member of the gang just doesn't work out... That's the nature of the beast, I think.

The good thing is that you can always move a non-starter on, and put those funds towards The Other Option.

 

Well if you do decide to sell him you might end up selling him to someone that really truly likes him and has the perfect project in mind just for him. And then you will have your money from the sale to save for the doll that you also truly want.

 

I recently had it happen to me, though this was a doll I had actually done a lot of research on and thought she'd be great. It was down to Iplehouse Lahela on the nYID body, or Impldoll Alisa. The Iplehouse was going to cost more than twice what the Impldoll did, and after researching everything, I actually thought the Impldoll was the better choice regardless. I waited 6 months for her, and when she arrived, I knew as soon as I opened the box she wouldn't work. Her proportions were way off from my other dolls--very small head, but too tiny to look right with the others in her story. She was HUGE next to her best friend, both in height and thickness. Her "brown" skin was more like a slightly brown tinted normal skin. I tried to make it work anyway, and on her own she was a very pretty doll, but she just could not work at all for the character or with the other dolls. It was so upsetting and disappointing, I ended up scrapping her storyline entirely and trading her. (There were other factors, but this was the last straw.) I'm not sure if things would have worked out if I had gotten the Iplehouse girl instead.

 

I've felt that disappointment and underwhelm with dolls before, but it often does help to try to make them work. I sit down and do faceups and make clothes and wigs for the ones that underwhelm me especially. Taking the time to even just dress them up in a couple different looks can help A Lot.
But if you dont warm to them, there is absolutely nothing wrong with turning around and selling the doll to try again! Despite my trying, there's a lot of dolls I've sold that just havent worked for one reason or another. Absolutely nothing wrong with passing them on to someone who will enjoy them.

 

Aw, that's the worst! It's really hard to know if you ought to invest more time to make things work or cut your losses and go for something else, but hopefully you'll warm up to him. If you try to change his look a little and it still doesn't work out, at least you'll be able to move on to the next doll without any regrets.

 

There have been several things that I have been disappointed over. One time I had someone custom make me an outfit. I sent photos of exactly what I was looking for but the end result wasn't even close. I didn't want to be rude or make them feel bad so I just thanked them but gave the outfit away. This person had a lot of cute clothing they made, but I guess this outfit was not something they were particularly good at. I just figured if they could make an amazing replica of a trench coat that a flannel button down shirt and a pair of cargo pants would come out amazing as well. I was wrong. So now I won't ever order custom clothes. If I can't find what I am looking for already made I will do without.
Another time I had a face up artist do a few face ups for me. I gave her examples of the style I liked (from their own work) and colors of what I wanted but both came out nothing like how I wanted. I realized after the fact when re-looking at all their work they seem to only have one color palette. The faces looked good, they just weren't what I really wanted and the colors were not even close.
No one else seemed to care for the faceups either as I took a big loss when I sold the dolls.
I feel like a lot of this hobby is trial and error, I wish it wasn't such an expensive trial and error though

 

Yes absolutely. Most recently I ordered what appeared to be a jawdroppingly beautiful set of blue eyes for my newest doll and they did not look like the pics. I spent more money on those eyes than I ever thought I would on eyes and I was crushed when I saw them. I've also been disappointed in two different doll bodies: Resinsoul Mi's body which was super kicky and a giant pain in the butt to pose, it's a beautiful body but I just didn't have the patience for it. Similarly, the body of my newest doll DC Dennis, while it is gorgeous and I wouldn't sell him for anything his body is also quite annoying to work with, despite the body being new and me not even having had him for six months he feels like he is quite loosely strung except for his fingers which I have to assume are very tight as every time I leave him sit for a bit I come back and he looks like he broke every finger they are all different directions and look quite disturbing lol. I wasn't expecting that. That being said I still think he is absolutely gorgeous and I love him regardless, I'm just trying to work with him and get used to it.