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Have you ever wanted a popular doll just to 'fit in'?

Jan 11, 2010

    1. I did a search for "popular" and didn't find anything like this.

      So recently I noticed there are a lot of Minifees on the board. I thought 'Ooh maybe I should buy one to join in on the fun!' And it led me to the question, Is that really a valid reason for buying a doll? Not because you particularly admire that sculpt, just because 'everyone else has one!'
      So have you ever though about getting a doll or even gotten a doll based solely on its popularity? And if you do have a popular doll, do you try and make it your own to stand out from the crowd?


      ***I have nothing against MNFs, I was just using them as an example :sweat

      Follow up~

      So it's been a few months and I've actually ordered my first Minifee. I got her mainly because I love the sculpt and it fits my character, but I think there's a part of me that wants to go along with the hype. Oh well!
       
    2. No, I only buy dolls that really move me. Follow your heart, buy what brings you joy, and the rest will fall into place. You'll find out that you and the doll(s) you love fit in just fine as long as you're true to yourself. :)
       
    3. I just buy what I like, too. A lot of 'popular' dolls I think are ugly, or they make me wonder what in the world people see in them, but everyone likes different things. :)
       
    4. Nope. The dolls I buy happen to be popular, but that's not why I'm buying them. I like the sculpt or - in the case of the Minifees you used as an example - their ability to pose. I'll look at owner pictures to get a feel of what a sculpt I'm interested in could look like with default or custom faceups, but ultimately my decision has nothing to do with whether or not 30 other people on DoA have them. ^__^

      In fact, I didn't even realize Shushu was so popular when I fell in love with her. ^_^
       
    5. I can definitely see the appeal of owning a popular sculpt. For example, I really want a bobobie/resin soul Mei. Lots of people own her, and I've seen the sculpt presented in so many ways that it makes me assured that it's very versitile.

      And being that lots of people own her, it means that there are a lot of reference materials out there, and a lot of squee. And I love to share the squee!

      But I already knew I wanted her before I knew how popular she was. I wouldn't let popularity be the only thing to make me get a doll, but in my mind it's generally a sign of good things.
       
    6. I can barely afford to buy the dolls I like. There is no way I'd buy a doll just because everyone had one. That's not to say I don't find some of the innovations that make certain popular dolls appealing. I have learned to take that step back and decide if I really like the doll, or if I like the idea of the doll. Pukis and Minifee fall into this category. They are amazingly contstructed and beautiful dolls, but they just don't fit into my play or doll family. I figure I can live vicariously through everyone elses lovelies in the galleries.
       
    7. Nope. I've looked at a few of the popular sculpts to see what all the fuss is about and some of them just don't attract me at all.

      I would only buy a popular sculpt if it really drew me in. Penelope was like that. I hadn't planned on getting a limited doll like her but hers was a face I could not ignore or forget and I'm glad I didn't.
       
    8. I wouldn't buy a doll just to "fit in." It takes the fun out of a hobby. However...sometimes those at doll-meets can a be a little too encouraging about getting certain dolls (darn you for making me want a MNF!), if that counts at all. :lol:
       
    9. My favourite doll of all time is my Suntan Pado, which is not a very popular sculpt.
      The only "popular" doll I really own is my MNF Shiwoo, but I did not buy him because it's popular. I ran into him ages ago while searching for my first doll and liked him (he was 3rd though, not 1st). Then I discovered how crazy popular a sculpt it was. Doesn't make me love him any more or less though. And he'll always stand out from the others to me, because he's mine <3

      As for buying a doll solely on popularity, well I personally find that a waste. Buy a doll you enjoy, and if it happens to be popular then so be it, but don't do it just to fit in.
       
    10. i have an "not so common" doll. i believe theres maybe only...10 of us on here with the same doll (and only one ive seen thats actually a boy XD) that i have. i adore him and couldnt be more happy.

      i have not bought dolls because they are popular. i have a puki, but i got it because a friend of mine owns one and after playing with hers i fell in love. i knew about them before she did get one, and i even sent her the fairyland website, but i just didnt think id want one that small. surprise ^^;;

      i have learned to really like some of the more popular dolls based on seeing what the possibilities are to do with them and the reviews on their posing abilities, etc... that i do have on my "plan to own someday" list, but some of the dolls on that list are not so popular.
       
    11. I buy dolls I like. Some of them are popular, some of them are not. Fitting in is not a big deal to me.

      I don't know personally of anyone who's bought a Minifee (or any other doll) just to "fit in". That's an awful lot of money just for fitting in. Though I suppose there are lots of people who spend that amount on other things (clothes, purses, jewelry, whatever the hot trend is) to fit in, so it's not unlikely to have happened.

      Minifees (and Pukis, and Littlefees...) are popular for a reason, though. The sculpts balance the thin line between too anime and too realistic, the Minifees are mature minis (choices are somewhat limited if you need your minis to be adults), and the sculpting and engineering (and therefore posing) of their bodies totally outclass anything else I've seen. I love all my other dolls, don't get me wrong, but the Minifees are just so amazing! I think most of the people who have Minifees have them because they love the sculpts and the poseability and versatility - combined with the fact that the company speaks good English and is easy to buy from.
       
    12. Do not buy a doll just because you think it is popular.... It will not serve you nor the doll if that was the only reason. You are better off without the doll.

      Only buy it if you REALLY like it
       
    13. Nope, can't say that I have. All my dolls have been purchased based on my own tastes, not the theory of imagined popularity.

      When it comes to dolls, go with what you love, not with what you think others might like. :)
       
    14. I think that if and when someone buys an expencive doll just to 'fit in' because of it's popularity, makes me wonder that how low self-esteem one can really have? ( I don't mean this in a insultive way, sorry for my poor english but I don't know how else to say this out )

      I would never buy a doll just to 'fit in' in some group. The doll hobby is so expencive, that even thinking buying something you don't find appealling to yourself, seems wrong to me.
      I say what others have said, go with the dolls that you REALLY like, would they be popular or not. Only that way you can really enjoy your hobby and your dolls the best :3
       
    15. Eh, if someone thinks that "because it's popular" is a valid reason, then I guess that for them personally it is. I, however, don't; I find it just as silly as buying anything else just to fit in. I have an El, which is probably one of the single most popular molds in the hobby, but I didn't get him because he was popular. (To tell the truth, I never really understood the ZOMGLOVE! for the sculpt. :sweat) I got him becasue I was looking through the marketplace and he latched onto my brain and wouldn't let go until I brought him home. I honestly don't even think about trying to make him different or stand out, I just think about making him, well, *him*. He's not the only WS cybergoth El out there, but he is the only one who looks exactly the way he does, which makes him stand out to me.
      If you're buying a doll just to fit in and don't particularly like it, it's going to show. This hobby is not about fitting in and it's not about collecting the dolls that everyone else likes, it is about collecting the ones *you* like. If those things coincide, fine. If not, why waste your money?
       
    16. No. Just like others have said: I buy just dolls what I like. I have just one doll and I'm waiting 3 dolls and I think that only one is very popular (SOOM's Ai). Dolls are expensive so it's good that I almost have money for those dolls what I love.
      It's much more fun to buy wigs and stuff for doll that you like. It's fun to make it pretty or handsome. :D (Well, I think it is) I would never want to use money something that I don't like. x__x Never!
       
    17. I've noticed the same with MNFs. I wondered why they were so popular, so I looked them up...

      ...frankly, I dislike all their sculpts.

      I wouldn't spend so much money on a doll JUST to fit in. Ever. In fact, I'd rather spend more money on the least popular dolls that have a strange appeal to them, to NOT fit in!
       
    18. Nope, I wouldn't buy a doll because its 'popular' or I feel 'left out' from a group. I do WANT a minifee, but that's because the head sculpt is right for a character. I base my boys on how well they match the characters they'll become. A minifee just happened to have the right head. Its not even a particularly popular head! XD I don't see a lot of them floating around.

      I once bought something to 'fit in' and found myself rather unhappy with the item in question, and ended up giving it to a friend for her birthday because she wanted it, so I figured out years and years ago that 'fitting in' doesn't make me happy.
       
    19. I seem to latch onto dolls that aren't so popular, myself. I'll hunt through the galleries to find pictures of what other people have done with the same sculpts and there are very few to look at. It makes me sad, because I love the sculpts very much.

      I've noticed that a lot of the sculpts that are very popular I don't care for at all. So there must be some aesthetic that appeals to a large number of people that I don't share?
       
    20. i'm very logic about this...i don't want to waste my money for just getting fit in (^.^)''''' .I mean, how if i don't like it, doesn't suit me? then, i must do another effort to sell it?...
      i guess we have each 'thread' for doll we have....so, why not going there?

      Yes, i see MNF lately has been quite often on the 'top'...but that's ok...I took a look of MNF not because the thread here but because adorable doll in a flickr...and that's all...the owner knows how to work with the sculpt so the doll is pretty...but i'm new in BJD...I just wonder, if i purchased it blank, sooo, what am i going to do with it? cause basically, i don't like the sculpt...

      I purchased bluberry head lately not because she's popular among AE but i just thought, the sculpt is good...i don't like the company face up, though...but i have a little bit imagination what am I going to 'do' with her...the character, especially...

      just waste your money on your dreamed doll (^.<)...
      if you are comfy with the doll, you love the doll...you'll dress him/her up with full of love...and others can 'feel' the love and also love your doll...don't bother about getting fit in or not...

      oh, and the mnf in flickr i was talking about...i enjoy seeing her but to own one...wait a minute...perhaps, i'd like to choose another instead at same amount of money (^.<)...
      besides rather than seeing an owner with popular doll, i'd like seeing an owner with their dearest doll...if the doll is popular, nah,that's their bonus...