How did you console yourself after your first major doll purchase?

I did not regret it at all.

At the time, I was unemployed (hahahaha!) and living in Japan. I thought I may need to leave the country if I were unable to locate a new job, so I finally just went to Tenshi no Sato to buy my first Volks BJD - a MSD F20 in January of 2008. My thinking was that if I were to leave Japan I would regret not getting the doll more than I would spending the money. (Sidenote: One must live in Japan to do the FCS service so if I had left the country I would never have had that opportunity again). In the end, I found a new job and it was all good.

I remember getting my first doll and loving everything about her even though she was not so cute (in hindsight, lol). With a custom face-up a couple years later she was much improved and still has that face-up to this day. She is still beautiful to me and is now twelve years old. Never have I regretted adopting her even though in financial terms she is pretty close to worthless on the secondary market. To me, though, she is one of the most beautiful dolls in the world and always will be.

 

I have a bit of a habit. Whenever I feel I've spent a lot of money, whether it be 2000$ in university fees, 150$ on a shopping day, or 500$ on doll stuff, I sing "Spending All My Time" by Japanese pop trio Perfume, but with the lyrics swapped.

"Spending all, spending, spending all my cash. Just buying stuff, just buying stuff forever"

It's very catchy, but doesn't decrease the spenders guilt one bit!

 

I sometimes get 'spending guilt' after purchases, but for BJDs, I think the wait helps that subside a little bit - makes it seem like less of an impulse instant gratification kind of purchase. Also, because BJDs don't really decrease in value that much, you can always sell it and recoup most of your money.

 

I can't say that I felt guilty or somehow bad after purchasing dolls (maybe it's because I've only got as little as two), but certainly there was this very feeling "What have I spent for? Did I really need it that much?" But this feeling usually just goes away on its own. After all, when the dolls finally arrive I always look at them with admiration and finally feel that it was worth it.

 

I personally plan everything out before a doll purchase so that I don't regret spending the cash. It is a fun hobby after all, and I find it worth every penny.

 

Yeeeeeah I can't say my coping mechanism was the best. I freaked out for a week, lost sleep, lost weight etc. I just got that first purchase and even though I'm over the moon, there is still that underlying WHAT HAVE I DONE Feeling that puts a damper on things.

On the plus side though, they're here and I think I would have done exactly the same thing that I did when I bought them because they're beautiful and I now have dolls to work on whilst I save up for my next big purchases.

 

I plan almost all of my dolls and I takes a very long time for me to buy them to make sure I truly want them. I almost never feel guilty about buying the dolls I want. They make me happy and they are almost like an investment. If I don't end up liking them I can always sell them. Don't over complicare your life over a hobby that is made to be fun and refreshing

 

I find that I end up actually spending more or nearly as much on the little toys and dolls. $10 here, $20 there, a little more for a “rare” one...etc...it all ends up adding up. And then you have a pile of cheap toys that are fun at the time of purchase but aren’t quality toys and most won’t hold their value over time. Some break easily and just aren’t good quality. Add to the fact that many are blind box toys nowadays and you have usually 2 or 3 (or more) duplicates that money was wasted on. So although I still like some of the mass produced toys at times, I’m finding that I would rather spend on one quality doll than so many little cheap ones. Plus I would rather deal with a company that cares about their workers, products, and their customers rather than a company that mass produces and throws anything out there quickly just to make a sale.

So basically if I think back, I feel more regret because I’ve spent so much on mass produced toys and dolls before I found quality dolls from quality companies to purchase.

 

Around this time last year I was looking at purchasing my first doll. I had the money, but the wait put me off. When the topic came up over what I wanted this year, my mind went back to BJDs and with some searching I found a Legit Little Snow in Tan for 275. Love the face up, love the skin tone, and she was my first introduction to the hobby.

I asked my partner if could purchase her because we still had the money, she encouraged me to, and I did at 9:30 that night. I stayed up for hours holding my pillow and refreshing the page and wondering if I did the right thing.
She hasn't shipped just yet but I remind myself that I had the money in savings for that reason and I had thought about her for over a year and got just as excited when seeing her after all that time. It wasn't just an impulse buy. She truly came at the perfect time ❤️ That is how I reassure myself.

 

I have worried about it before. I think it was because I felt a bit disappointed in a full-set doll that I had gotten at one time, a $600 purchase. The CoA was missing and the dealer refused to do anything about it, because they gave me a receipt and that was 'good enough' The wig just never looked right, and the colouring of clothing seemed off from the pictures. This made me a bit nervous about other large purchases. I've panicked over my larger purchases ever since.

It is odd with my latest and most expensive purchase to date, I have felt no worry whatsoever. It was a my one and only ultimate grail doll crossing my path for the first time since I originally saw it 6-7 years ago, and it had been off the market for 10 long years, finally re-released. I showed it to my family they were very supportive even if it cost me 1k from my savings. I feel so calm about this purchase that it is a whole new experience for me. I keep waiting for the panic, but there is none. I'm not even worried that I wont like him once he gets home. I think because I waited so long for a chance to get this doll, I will just be happy to finally own him. When I hit the purchase button and waited for my bank on the phone to confirm this odd calmness washed over me. It's so weird.

 

I'm not rich by any means, but I don't waste money on smoking/alcohol/partying/drugs/etc. Like many others here, I meticulously plan out which doll(s) I want for specific characters of mine and bust my butt earning those funds. I'm fully planted at camp "I'll only buy if I can afford it" as well. There was a long period of time (about nine years) where I couldn't afford any new bjd purchases, so I simply lurked (read: stalked) DOA, doll sites and Etsy. This was the first year in a long time that I could afford a bjd... so naturally, I bought a full doll, a body, two heads, a bunch of clothes and I'll be on the hunt for another body for that second head soon.

I enjoy buying secondhand and hybriding, so that often lowers costs. The full doll I bought this year (a Rap1993 Danni V2) is my most expensive doll but I just love her so much that regret doesn't even enter the picture. My bjd double as art/animation models as well, so even if others consider it "frivolous" their argument will flop.

Tl;dr - Don't feel bad about getting a bjd when you can afford it, and don't be afraid to play hardball against naysayers. Life's too short to let others dictate how you spend YOUR money.

 

When I first started I justified the $350 I spent on my first brand new BJD from DDE as less then the silicone babies I bought for 3 years before and all I did was take photos of their cute outfits. Now I have to justify paying $600 for a 27cm doll created by an artist and bought on second hand market as I will have it in 30 days or less and it's a unique doll I will take story photos and photo shoots in adorable outfits. Sometimes I feel I am just spending money to do a fashion shoot, but they are also not easy to dress. But this hobby has me one way or another until I leave this mortal plain.

 

Honestly, I've never felt any sort of guilt or distress over my hobby buying.

As a teen, I'd scrimp and save every spare dollar to be able to make my doll purchases. Sure, it meant I passed up a lot of going out with my friends and buying fast food for lunch, but this hobby was something I was actively working toward and planning for. If I wasn't, that money still would've gotten spent on fun frivolity, it just would've happened in smaller doses over time as opposed to one lump sum after a year or more of hardcore saving.

Nowadays, most of my hobby purchases are either funded by selling of older dolls/doll parts or are special treats afforded through careful budgeting, which also allows me to avoid the guilt. My husband and I have agreed that any money I make from doll sales can be recycled back into the hobby however I see fit. When I'm purchasing using new funds, it's because we've budgeted our fun money out of our tax returns or income. I figure that if my husband can purchase a $500 Lego set with that money, I can buy doll stuff!

 

Well just think of how long you saved for this doll how many days then divide the price of the doll with the amount of days to find how much was per day most times is less than smoking or a fancy latte and a night drink out

 

Hm... Well, even though I didn't feel even a bit bad about my first doll (this was possibly a spite driven confidence ) I do usually feel bad about money I spend, even if it's not that much, because I have had a lot of financial insecurity for many years.
I believe in letting myself have indulgence within reason. Until it hurts you more than it helps you, it's ok to do things that make you feel happy and excited. It's usually an investment in your quality of life and mental wellbeing as long as you can balance with other stuff too. I think one can take pride in putting their happiness first sometimes, even in imperfect situations.
Sometimes I buy something I really shouldn't at the time, (a doll, head, wigs, etc) but I just try to balance it out and know I'm doing the best I can. I can use the opportunity to practice other thrifty goals if I made a big purchase already: like avoid indulging in other impulses and instead daydream about the doll arrival and my ideas for them.
I've been so poor basically forever that there is really never a time when I should buy anything fun at all, but I can't live on only sadness and savings, I need some fun too.

 

Its interesting because my latest doll purchase I forced myself to make because I couldn't stop panicking. I wanted the doll, had the money, but I was too anxious to commit (until I forced myself to buy it). The panic instantly subsided and I felt no regret...So I felt a little silly afterwards. At the end of the day I loved that sculpt and people spend money on "useless things" all the time. (Although if something makes you happy I wouldn't call it useless...)