How did you know which one was right?

love at first sight, definitely!... I see the one I love and I know I have to have them!

 

I was determined that I would have Dollmore Adam Amos as my first doll. I stumbled on a website called "Tensiya" and found out about a "Hound", I suddenly changed my mind. (I still want an Amos)

 

I stumbled upon my girl (Dream of Doll: Petsha Elf) by complete accident. I just clicked a link and BAM. Her promo pictures hit me like a freight train. It was love at first sight.

My heart raced, my head started spinning and I knew I was meant to find her that day. Within a week I ordered her without hesitation. I even dreamed about her. It was almost as if destiny was calling me!

The same thing recently happened when I saw Felix Doll Brownie Zeppelin GoGo. He floored me like a heavy sack of potatoes. That face... those ears. Oh! It was instant attraction!

My boy, well... he was a little more subtle. When I first saw Dolkot's Junior Day I liked him very much, but wasn't 100% smitten with him. Then I saw owner pictures... and wow. Dolly love found me again!

My advice - don't settle for a doll you only "like." Find the one that calls to you. It's worth the searching and the waiting! Good luck!

 

I agree with peppermint pocky. As soon as I looked out the company pictures of my doll she seemed to be saying "take me home" and after that resistance was futile. She's now been ordered and I can't wait to have my gorgous girl home.

 

So far it's been love at first sight -- with a screening process. The 3 dolls I currently have, I fell immediately and very hard for them when I first saw them, and the attraction just kept growing the more I looked. Thing is, I looked at many, many other sculpts and was also attracted to more. But my head is harder to convince than my heart, so I have to mull over those "love-at-first-sight" faces until I can convince my rational mind that really, I do love them in every way. I've found that when my head and heart agree, I start making a character to fit that sculpt (that's how my imagination works), and that's how I know that I really want those dolls. So far this has proven reliable -- I my 3 dollies, I don't regret how much I paid for them, and wouldn't trade them for any other!

Truth be told, I've actually got all my love-at-first-sight sculpts (well, I'll be buying the last one soon!). So now... some sculpts that I passed over at first, are actually growing on me. I'm still thinking whether I want to get them, I guess time will tell whether this "growing-on-me" feeling will prove reliable as the "love at first sight" one.

ETA... This is the way I know which one is right. It's different for everyone, and only you can determine how you know that doll is what you want. May take some trial and error but that's the fun (and frustration ) of the hobby!

 

I actually came across Dream Of Doll a couple of years ago and I looked at the dolls and though 'god they're gorgeous'. At that moment I fell hard for the limited Elf Ducan. That was the moment that I unconsciously decided that my first doll was going to be an SD. But I realized that elf Ducan was out of reach since he was an LE. I looked at the other dolls and I actually remember not liking E-an.
Then a couple of months ago I decided to get in the hobby for real and decided to look at DoD's DoTs first and when I saw E-an again I just knew she was the one. I love many other doll sculpts but none take my breath away like she does. hopefully she'll come home to me soon, I think I'll be ready to order her in January!

 

I found the Minifee Shushu, who I really wanted and was saving for - I don't know if it was love at first sight, but she created a character in my head and wouldn't leave. She also brought in two more characters, who turned out to be my first two dolls. With the second one, I'd been looking for the right mini-size sculpt for him... and when I saw Dolkot Day it just clicked. He's much more expressive and gorgeous in person, too; sometimes my heart still skips when I see him he's just SO beautiful.

My FIRST doll, though... I had a character I needed a doll for, but had no strong idea what he looked like. I was browsing the marketplace and saw a Dollzone Mo-2 fullset for sale. He was adorable! My character's not really adorable, so I wasn't sure if he'd work. But he kept calling to me, I just kept checking on the sales thread daily, and looking at owner pictures of other Mos, and finally one night after a couple people had been asking questions on the sales thread that suggested they might buy, I found myself up at 2 am rolling change to see if I could afford him. I took that as a sign, and PM'd the seller the next morning. When he arrived I knew it was absolutely the right choice - he was the right doll, the right character, just exactly right to be my first doll.

If you find yourself coming back to the same one over and over, that's a really good sign. Sometimes it's love at first sight, sometimes it grows.

 

Well, I don't have just one doll but I do have my favorites. Some of them were love/obsession at first sight while others grew on me. I think if it's a mold you can remember long after the website window closes than you have your answer.

 

Well... I did a lot of research when I first got into the hobby. I knew I wanted something with elf ears, as I'd never had dolls like that before (almost unheard of at the time).
So I bought a doll with elf ears, after much careful research.
...About 140 or so bjd bought and sold and four years later I still haven't found the 'one perfect doll' or whatever.
I've heard some people just buy one doll and are perfectly content forever.
You may fit somewhere between these two extremes.
Research as much as you think you ought to, then make the best decision you can and go from there.

Raven

 

Same here... although my first love was NOT my first doll

My first love was a Volks LE so he came later. (Now I have three of him LOL LOL LOL )

Yes we are equally nuts

 

I haunted DOA and Gigglegeek for weeks trying to pick my first BJD, and after finally ordering her, I second guessed my decision until she arrived. Then I hated the factory face-up and wondered if I should sell her and keep looking. It wasn't until I spent a lot of time re-doing (and re-doing...and re-doing) her faceup that we bonded. I love her now - she's my favorite - but it wasn't love at first sight.

 

I didn't even plan on buying one, I just thought BJD's were amazing and beautiful and who ever had one was extremely lucky. I was wandering the interwebnets trying to find pictures and came across Doll-zone.. I saw the doll and the moment I saw it I knew I was going to have it at least ordered before my birthday. lol Shes the most beautiful BJD ive ever seen and i just cant wait until she gets here T_T.

 

riine are you part of the DZ waiting room?

 

It's a weird combination of both, actually. I saw Iplehouse Jessica first, and I thought she was alright. And then I saw Luna, and it was an instant attraction, to the point that I kept coming back to her webpage over and over over the course of a week before finally relenting and signing up to Iplehouse and then putting her on a wishlist, and then trying out how much it'll cost to ship, and then the next thing I clicked "Check Out". She really grew on me (and there was a weird force at work there guiding my hand).

 

Love at first sight it was for me.
Especially with Dasha, my peakswoods WU Cue. I saw her at Dollheart site in an outfit and I just had to have that doll. I tried looking at other girls, but my attention kept drawn back to her. So I bought her.

 

I was stuck between a Hound (Dollshe), a Sabik (Soom) and an Ark (Unidoll). I had the money saved to be able to buy one. So I kept browsing the company websites and looking at the pics. And also, browsing the net for owner pics of those three. Well, Ark - that sneaky little bugger *gg* - managed to give me the impression he was the least popular of the three dolls, so I decided (kinda out of pity) to get him first. I'm really glad I got Ark. Cos as I kept looking at Hound and Sabik after buying Ark, over time I figured out I really didn't like them all that much, after all. But whenever I'm seeing an Ark up for sale in the Marketplace, I'd love to get him.

I recommend you take a lot of time. Look at pictures of the dolls you're considering to buy. Look at owner pics - there's plenty here on the forum. You'll know it's "the one" when you find it.

 

I knew 'who' I wanted to make. So I asked my friend (who got me into this) what I needed to buy. She recommended a head with the look I wanted and a body that would be easy for a clueless noob to work with. So my first boy is a hybrid and I still love him as much as when I got him nearly two years ago.

 

For me it is love at first sight too. The moment I see the doll I know whether I have a story and personality for them in my head. The first BJD I ever saw was the Volks Yo-SD Chinatsu and from that moment on I knew I had to have SEVERAL Volks dolls... eventually. It took me a few years to actually get around to it though.

My first BJD was a Yo-SD Suzuna and though I love her and think she's super cute I don't think she would have been my first choice had I had my pick of readily available Yo's. What happened was I went into the Volks(Tenshi-no-Sumika) store in LA and they happened to have her available to purchase that day. After wanting a Yo-SD for so long it was too irresistible to pass up. Because she was my 1st BJD though I will always have a special fondness for her.

 

I don't think I ever really know if the doll I'm buying is the right one. In my opinion, no one ever really knows even after they purchase the doll and have it home for months or years. You will always see people saying on the forum how perfect their doll fits a character and how they will never sell it. Then you find them putting the doll up in the marketplace. Love at first sight is possible but that's not always the case. And a doll that grows on you may eventually bore you one day.

I advise TONS of research and browsing. But it's not the end of the world if the doll you pick doesn't turn out to be the right one. Love at first sight or a progressing love, I wish you luck in your search! :]