How did you know which one was right?

With each doll it was different--for me at least.

Winnie and Andrea (Both DIM Dolls) I bought because I really, REALLY wanted them from the moment I first laid eyes on them on the company websites. Andrea was so tall and handsome (and looks so much like Cloud Strife). And Winny was so round cheeked and pretty... It was like having a baby!

I bought them used because I had bought a couple of rescue dolls used already and loved the idea of giving the dolls a new home as much as I loved the idea of having them to begin with.

So now I buy almost all my dolls used, as a result. The other dolls in my collection happened when I saw them and either felt sorry for them (My Ami was a bit abused and was a failed mod by someone so she had to be refurbished) or just was smacked with a bit of love at first sight (as was the case with my Ren and others). I saw them and just loved the personality of the sculpts.

I still have a list of even more dolls I want just because I have adored the company pictures of them and plan to collect them one day. But, that being said, I know I'm not immune to seeing something (someone?) unplanned that calls out to me from the used market.

 

I didn't really know which doll would be "right" for me. There were some I liked a lot, and I sort of figured out which I liked best from all of those, mostly based on the face.

When I bought my second doll, she seemed especially right, and I feel that she's what I was really looking for in a "first doll," since the character was more childlike. Still, neither of them are that initial character I had in mind, and I like both of them a lot.

 

For me it was love at first sight. I was looking at dolls and one just caught my eye, I immediately knew that that was the doll I wanted.

 

I haven't purchased my first doll yet, but I know which mold I want. I used to wonder the same thing - how would I know which I would want to purchase as my first? Even after browsing the various websites and looking at hundreds upon hundreds of photos very closely, I didn't know. But then by happenstance I saw an image on the doll-maker's site of one and jumped back in quite the delighted shock. With a different outfit and longer wig, it would be completely identical to the main character of my main story! I knew instantly that it would HAVE to be the first one I bought.

So.... yeah. That's my story. I hope to order it within a few months, whenever I can get my parents to approve *o* Cuz.... I have the money for it XP Good luck finding your first, though!!! ^_____^

 

Love at first sight! I was walking the floor of the San Diego Comic-Con a little over a month ago on preview night, seeing if there were any BJD sellers because of the meet advertised on Sunday in the Con's events schedule, when I came across such a stall. I recall thinking that the dolls on display were pretty, but not quite what I was looking for, when, while talking with the stall owner, she pulled out a doll among many in a box, and the moment I saw her, I knew I HAD to have her, as she was exactly what I wanted from my first doll! If I didn't come home with her, I was going to be a sad Keeper, and my husband would KNOW it, which is probably why he found a way for me to get her. hehe.

Looking back at what I wrote, I'm realizing that it may not have been wholly love at first sight. I knew what I wanted from my first doll, and I wasn't going to buy a doll that didn't fit those terms. But at the same time, I really didn't expect to find a doll to be exactly, down to every last detail, what I was looking for at the Con. More, the moment I saw her, the bond was almost instant. I really YEARNED for her, and dreamed about her that night. At least, for the small amount of time I could sleep. I was so excited about the fact that I would be able to purchase her the next day that I didn't get much in the way of sleep. I really WANTED her!

It's okay if you really don't have anything in particular in mind. Just keep browsing the company sites until you finally find a doll that really speaks to you. Try the galleries on this site, too, as it can sometimes be the case that company pictures don't always capture the doll as well as they should, and a sculpt you had passed over on the company site might be the sculpt that captures your imagination when you see a really well-taken picture of it in one of the galleries (or even a well-told story about that doll when viewing the photostories). Keep looking! You'll find what you're looking for, eventually!

 

Love at first sight for me as well..~
A while ago (maybe back in '03? Could have been earlier or later. I'm terrible when it comes to the passing of time) I saw CP Delf Shine and thought that was the one for me. Totally fell in love with him. Thought he was just amazing. Or so I THOUGHT xD;
I knew right away he wasn't for me when I came into some money and my mom gave me the option of buying him or a keitai and I chose the keitai without even batting an eyelash. But then I felt bad and when I looked at him again there was no "connection". I started looking at other dolls then. I happened to stumble across Crobidolls and saw a few of their sculpts that I adored. But still nothing. Then BAM!! Yeon-ho. Oh my god it was absolutely love at first sight. I just KNEW that he was the doll for me. Even if I couldn't get any other doll it didn't matter to me cause he was the one~

You'll know when you find the right doll for you. I wouldn't settle on just getting one for the sake of getting one. Definitely take your time to look at company photos, DOA gallaries , the database here ,as well as sites like dA and other forums where people post photos of their dolls. I know thats what I did and I found out about CP Shiwoo and now I have my second doll that I will be getting next year. It's funny because to me, the company photos don't do it any kind of justice but after seeing what people here did with theirs, I knew he would be a lovely doll to have around for my Yeon-ho ^^

But yes~
Love at first sight and keep looking and you will find one that speaks to you^^
Just give it time~

 

Yes, I believe that's a good indication. When you find yourself doing a lot of extra things to be able to afford it! But from my experience, bounding with your doll is something I never know 100% in advance. At first I felt really bad when it first happened that I had to sell one of my dolls. I felt guilty in any kind of way. Because, I had payed for that doll, and wanted it with all my heart! It's a difficult question, and I have no answer to why, but I don't feel that guilt anymore if something like that should happen. I think it's a part of what I feel about bjd's being "persons". I'm not too good at explaining my feelings like this, but I hope you get an idea of what I'm trying to say:-)

 

I try not to window shop with things that will be a large lump cost such as a doll so if I'm out looking for a doll I always first decide what I want out of the doll. I try to get an idea in my head for what its going to be. Is it an OC? if so I've got a good baseline to start from. Am I going for a specific look? I'll ask myself questions like that to make sure I know what I'm going to go for so that when I find the right doll I'm always satisfied.

 

The major is love at first sight, then consider quality, brand.

 

All my three dolls and a few others that i'm planning to get were love at first sight. however there are also a few in my wish list that kind of grew on me after some time (aka after i kept checking back the website lol). as there are many dolls that will wow me on first sight, to prevent impulse purchases, i usually wait a few days to let the desire "fade" and to see if i will still like, and want, the doll as much. sometimes it does (fade), but sometimes, even after weeks or months, i still find myself liking the doll, keep going back to the company's webby to see him, then there is no more reason to resist bringing him home lol (provided i can afford him) XD

This happened to my LW Patrick. He was a limited so I didn't have much time to "think things through". But when his pictures were first released, I knew instantly I was gonna get him home. The thing was I didn't have enough funds to buy the full set, so thank god you could just buy his head. I actually camp overnight just to buy him immediately when he went on sale. So now I'm just waiting for a chance to get him his body lolz.

 

For me, I was just kinda' browsing the first doll site I've ever heard of, which was from a friend who owns a doll she named Flo, a Kara Klum youth from Dollmore.
So, as you could assume, he's from dollmore. Lol.
I've repeated this story a few times, but not really in much detail. To start off short, I'm a pretty big fan of the character Kuja from FFIX. Like, a retarded fan, or whatever. Favorite game character ever.
And I saw this thumbnail, of this one doll, and it just clicked.
And I clicked the picture, and I just fell in love with him. He was perfect to me, even though some of my friends think he's not as pretty as other dolls. If you know anything about FFIX, the characters are kind of goofy looking in style. But I don't care. I love how he looks.
However, I do recommend that if you want a doll that you find on a site, ALWAYS try to find, or ask for, IRL user pictures first of people who have personal experience with the dolls. Non photoshopped pictures.
Because like 90% of the pictures on doll sites aren't just good lighting. They're shooped or some crap like that. Which brings up the point that-
I was also afraid to get him at first, because I was scared to death to get a doll without looking at what they looked like irl, so I went under the picture requests and (even though he's an extremely rare doll for people to buy), got a few pictures within about a day. Which is amazing.
If you ever wanted a doll that was even REMOTELY more popular than he was, finding pictures will be a breeze.
The best thing to do is look up the model of the doll with the brand name in google or deviantart and see if you could find pictures first. Doll people are absolutely rampant on Deviantart.
Hope this helps!
Edit: I have an example here. Like today I wanted to do more research on what I may want for my second doll, Chiron human from Souldoll, because he looks identical to one of my characters, Xalvox- all he needs is some purple markings and more dark around his eyes.
He's kind of popular, so I went on Deviantart and searched for chiron souldoll and got TONS of good, solid, unphotoshopped pictures. Even pictures where someone removed the faceup and made him look more blank, which really helped as well.
You also wanna probably know what the doll looks like blank, and avoid just getting a doll because they have a pretty wig, or pretty eyes, or a pretty faceup, because all three of those things are changeable, you know?
Sorry for the ramble, you probably know half of this, but just tossing that out.

 

The one that caught your eyes and your mind that make you think about and still in love everytime you look at or the one that you can think of the name and character clearly when you take a look. (that's my cases ^^)

 

I fall head-over-heels for basically anything I become attached to.

It's how I felt about my first doll, which I still believe is the prettiest doll ever. I've since sold her, but I don't regret buying her at all--she was so lovely.

It's why I purchased my second doll. I liked the MSD size but none of their faces interested me, and then I saw her face in pictures. That was it--soon she was on her way.

It's the reason I came home from an event with another doll, despite promising myself and my husband that I wouldn't buy one. They opened the box to let me see her, and that was it. I absolutely could not resist.

The more I debate something, the more I can talk myself out of it. If I'm not sure that I want the doll, I don't want the doll. I'm glad I'm so simple! XD

 

I figured out which I wanted simply from browsing on a website.

People would post Dollfies all the time and I'd be always reading and looking at the pictures. Then over time you just develop an affinity to one of them and decide, "That's the one I want".

 

It was hard for me to pick one in particular. I've always wanted one of my characters but none really spoke to me "this is him". Until I found Yuu from DollZone. He just had that face. That look. It was captivating and he said "Buy me suckah".
A year passed and I ignored him. I finally put my first payment down this month. 3 more payments to go!

 

It was love at first sight for me! I was just browsing around, happened to see him, and knew I had to get him! I waited for a couple of months to make sure I wouldn't change my mind, and looked at some owner photos too.

He should get to me today or tomorrow and I'm so excited!

 

Well, I've seen bjds before I got into the hobby, I thought they were cute and nothing else. It was only when I saw this sculpt that I really got into the hobby, spent sleepness nights researching (do I like what's in the company picture or would I still love her if she had different face-up, wig/cost/adopt?) so I guess it's love at first sight? I'm still iffy though. I've seen some owner pictures and she doesn't strike me with the same force as the company picture...

 

I have to agree with the "love at first sight" notion. I've seen and admired a few BJD's I've seen from websites, user photos, etc..., but when I was looking for clothes for another doll type and I saw a drop-dead gorgeous doll that I couldn't forget. I did research and she's on her way! I hope I like her just as much in person as in all the lovely photos I've seen!

 

There are A LOT of BJD companies, thus a lot of dolls. I didn't look at every one of them. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't have Emma, but when I decided to buy her, I don't really know if something 'clicked' inside me.

I had a couple of Dollmore's dolls as potentials (as Emma is a DM Kid Flocke), but Emma had all the qualifications I needed - the company was well-known, and users said good things about them, she was a realistic goal to save for, and I liked her. Also, the user pics were not far off from the company pics, which was a good sign. I'd seen DM Pado on the Dollmore site and the sculpt looked nicer than the user pics on DoA.

And even now, I first wanted to get a RS Mei, but I hear they tend to run slim, and they're sort of hard to deal with. However, they have a separate Mei head available, so I'm interested in that - and seeing what companies can match RS or BBB resin colors.

 

Definitely love at first sight. Although originally the first doll I fell in love with was different, I wasn't thinking of actually getting a bjd for myself when I first saw them.

Then several weeks ago my friend showed me the Little Monica Audrey that she stumbled upon and Mattie has been stuck in me head ever since! I can't stop thinking about him, and I know he'll be my first soon enough. (I do have enough money to buy him, but I would like to wait a couple of weeks until after my birthday and NYAF/NYComiCon both pass so I can see how my finances are then. I'm taking all sorts of actions to save money right now so hopefully I'll have a net gain when I go to order him.)