How do you collect?

Well I am still waiting for my first doll to get here, but I definately have been buying to complete him. I plan on buying everything I need to finish his look before I look at buying another doll. I think it would bother me to leave one unfinished and buy another doll.

 

All mine are works in progress. I like to have their eyes and wigs here before they arrive (usually I'm successful with eyes, less so with wigs), but often they'll end up wearing whatever clothing is lying around that no one else wears. Sometimes that ends up being perfect for them, sometimes it's temporary. I do tend to buy things when I see them - I have a good idea who is coming soon usually so I get things ahead of time if I can. I just ordered the wig for the doll I'm planning to buy in the spring with my tax return money, LOL!

But almost none of mine are 100% "finished". They're all dressed in a way that more or less suits their style, but some aren't quite where I want them to be yet. They'll get there eventually. Since I can't really sew, and some of the things I want for my dolls are either completely unavailable or very expensive, I don't wait to complete one before buying another, especially since I usually jump on great marketplace deals for my dolls. As long as they have hair, eyes, clothes and shoes, they're close enough to hang out while I work on the fine tuning. That works well, too, since the shoes I wanted but couldn't find for one doll unexpectedly came with a doll I bought not too long after him!

I'm at the point now of moving from buying dolls to fine tuning outfits on the ones I have. The dolls I have on layaway still need clothes, shoes and hair, but the ones here are all dressed mostly the way I want them. In casual mode, but mostly in-character.

 

I try and have basic stuff for new people, but it doesn't always happen--sometimes it takes awhile to find the right wig or to get the money together to get them more clothes. For the most part, I have enough extra stuff that no one will be bald and naked. A lot of my doll plans center around pre-existing characters, though the order they're in on the list sometimes changes do to finances, or what happens to be available. I suppose I don't have any hard and fast order to things.

 

i'm pretty stupid actually. i bought my first doll. didnt have clothes for a looooong time. then i bought 3 shirts and 2 pants and already bought another doll. the second doll got one pants and one shirt. no shoes of panties.
so yah, i buy dolls, then realize they are nekkid

 

I get my doll then get it a few items then I get the next doll so on and so forth.

There are still a few of my dolls that are waiting for touch ups on face ups and one waiting for a completly new face up. I try not to buy to many clothes or shoes until I complete my collection which I am comming up pretty close to it soon. Then I can buy the little xtras.

 

I don't have doll yet, but I'm thinking of buying a doll, and maybe getting a few items at the same time.

But I'm concidering buying a wig or something before my first, thay way, I'll have to buy it~
(I'm easily distracted, it'll help me focus on my saving, i.e. remember I'm doing it)

Though after I do get my doll, i think I'd wait until I was satisfied with what I had for that doll, before savingto buy another~

 

I'm a bit flighty when I start something new, so I try to stick to fine tuning before I save for a new doll.
Usually though I see something pretty and shiney so I buy it... -_-'
Doesn't matter if it works for anyone, just if I like it.

 

I have several going at once. You order wigs, shoes and the like but they don't arrive at the same time, which has kept me from completing one before moving on to another. Also, I make all their clothes, and I'm likely to arrange the sewing so that I do up a bunch of things needing black thread, for instance, at the same time. (For some reason it really pushes my buttons when I have to switch thread on the machine all the time.) All my gals are works in progress, I guess.

 

I generally buy a doll and a basic set of wigs, clothes, eyes, etc. for that doll first. Then I start saving for the next, if I see a good one, and in the meantime am on the lookout for more clothes for the one before it. This'll go on forever, hopefully. xD

 

When I bought my first doll, I only had enough money for his wig and some boxers. ^^;
I bought three shirts so far, pants, two pairs of eyes, and some shoes.
But the bad thing is, I didn't know he was bigger than normal MSDs.
So now I have three shirts, shoes, and pants that don't fit.
I'll have to use them for the MSD I'm saving up for.
But then I also have to buy new clothes for my current boy. xD

 

What's been happening is that I order the doll along with an outfit at the same time, before, or a bit afterward so they're not naked and then save up for the next one.
As long as my guys have at least one nice outfit that suits them, I'm perfectly content.
I have slowly been adding to their wardrobes when I find something neat in the marketplace (and they recently got a few neat things as gifts in the Halloween swaps) or at meet ups, but otherwise I don't worry so much.

After I get my next doll, which will complete my MSD trio, I plan on concentrating a lot more on fine tuning their looks to get exactly what I want. Especially for my only SD boy who really needs a trench coat and a weapon. Or so he's been telling me ... I also need to either get off my butt and make or just buy my newest boy his proper wig before my girl gets home and takes the one he's borrowing

I've never really had anything distract me from my goals. Admittedly, my SD was sorta impulse and set me back but only slightly. Never has a limited edition or newly released doll come before my main gang. Anyone else I feel like I really want is usually not limited and shoved to the end of the line, haha

 

Oh...these are some good questions! Sorry if I take a bit to reply, but these questions are thought provoking.

When it came to acquiring my first doll, I knew I wanted he or she to be completed. I have some artistic talented, but I didn't want to attempt the task of doing face-ups, blushing, etc and potentially ruin something worth $1000. Plus, it didn't seem right to me to start off with something that was incomplete and still costing me minimum $600.

My original plan was to go online and purchase Nobility Doll LIE when he was available on Dollmore.net with default face-up, wig and eyes that I would pick out, and the clothing and shoes I was still up in the air about since that would bring me over the $1000 mark. I loved how he looked in the promo picture so I felt content with the choice. If it wasn't going to be LIE, I would have done the same for any other first doll; get default face-up, eyes, wig, with clothing optional.

Then one day my fiance (then boyfriend) surprised me with a choice between a really nice piece of (possibly significant) jewelry, or a doll from Volks. I chose the doll, of course (the ring came the next year or so XD). I originally wanted to get an MSD because of the cost, but again the prospect of doing a first face-up on something that was about $400 was daunting. That, and I didn't feel a connection with the doll without the face-up. I ended up falling in love with the Kun doll they brought out of storage. Her face-up was slightly different from the other Kuns and she had a trick leg, so I found that endearing. I got her a wig, dress, and shoes that pretty much set me up for life. I think from that point on, it solidified in me that if I were to get another doll, it had to have the face-up, eyes, and wig.

I tried successfully I think for one or two years as being a one doll owner. It helped to focus on getting my girlie new outfits since I liked how she looked with her default eyes and the wig I got her.

As for glitches in my plans, I definitely experienced that. There was another doll I considered for my second doll, but I was trying to be frugal and not spend money. Alas, you know how that goes, so the doll came and went since it was an LE and I regretted it. It wasn't popular either so hounding the marketplace for one was difficult. I though to myself that it was the head sculpt that I loved, so if I got at least an unmodded head with default face-up, I would be content. I ended up buying the head that had a really good face-up on it even though it wasn't default. I realized now that being an owner of a floating head is harder because trying to find the body alone (not default body, but just one in good condition at a reasonable price), was difficult. So even though I am happy I got at least the head of the doll that I wanted, I wouldn't go through buying just a head again. Especially since saving up for the body, eyes, and wig always seems to go to something else. The money's gone to bills, wedding plans, an LE that I fell for, life, etc.

At this point, there is another dollie I want, but I am torn between finishing the floating head or purchasing the other dollie. Finishing the floating head will cost me over $1000 (body, eyes, wig, one set of clothes, and shoes). The other dollie is in new condition, has eyes, wig, ooak face-up, and three or four sets of outfits for under $400. So yeah....hard decision. I might go for the $400 dollie, but I must complete the floating head before any other ones because that's just not right. Ha-ha-ha. My reasoning for that is, if I make any other doll purchases after the initial purchasing of the floating head that would have been the same amount to complete him, I could've just done that. I'm still in the clear for now, but ah...I'm reaching that point. =P

So there's my really long thought process. I hope you found it entertaining! Ha-ha :p

 

I'm haphazard. I do whatever really speaks to me at the moment, but try to stick with a general plan of getting faceups and wigs before buying new dolls. Eyes are an absolute must. Even if they aren't final eyes, the doll needs eyes before I'll buy a new one, or even work on a new one. I don't leave my dolls sitting around naked - I drape bits of cloth and things over them, as I decide exactly how I want to dress them. I like to take my time in making important decisions.

When I'm planning to buy a new doll, as much as I can, I purchase the eyes, wig, shoes and anything else I want for them before hand, or at the same time, so I always factor those expenses when I'm saving. It's amazing how fully dressed LEs aren't necessarily more expensive than putting together a fully outfitted doll myself.

claywimmin, I'm with you on the switching sewing machine thread, especially the bobbin. So, I keep grey in the bobbin unless I'm sewing black or white, because then I don't have to switch very often.

 

I buy a doll then make sure I buy wig, eyes, and atleast one outfit before the doll arrives. From there on its a work in progess.

 

I tend to go in binges. If I have the money I'll sometimes find myself buying several dolls. Then at another time it'll be clothes or shoes or hats or wigs or purses or eyes or different types of accessories. I'll get fixated on one thing & buy a bunch of them then move on to something else. And fabric & trims, I'm always buying those, most of the time with no real plan as to what they'll get used for.

I don't really buy things with any one particular doll in mind as I like to change things around quite a bit & since I stick to basically the same sizes, my dolls can share almost everything. Occassionally I'll hit on a combo of wig, eyes & clothing & leave the doll in it for a long time but eventually at least the wig & clothes, if not the eyes, get changed. My characters don't neccesarily have set looks. Some may stick to a certain type of clothing but others are real chameleons.

 

Umm.. well let's see.. Generally I order my dolls without faceups (except my limited tinies.. those come with their defaults), because the faceup is part of the bonding process for me. Usually I have their wigs and eyes on hand for the box opening, because those are the two key elements for me to see my characters in the sculpts (Though the eyes are far more important than the hair.)

After that, I generally do their faces..

Their clothes come as I find them, but I like doing big orders from places. Most (nearly all) of my clothes come from Dollmore, and I buy items for different boys when I put an order in, so it'll be pants for one, a shirt for another.. a random object that I don't know who will wear it but I'll buy it anyway.. And there's a lot of sharing going on, save for a couple of items (Like J's black tanktop.. No one gets that but him.)

I don't really count clothes toward 'finished'. When I get their eyes, hair, faceup and mods done (and worked out any kinks with the body like sanding or stringing), that's when the doll is 'finished'. And thus far, I've only managed it with one of my five.

 

i save slowly for a basic doll. i make most of my stuff-like wigs, clothes,jewellery and shoes sometimes. i only have one but i'm no amature at handling them. i do faceups myself and body blushing. i am a PRO and i comission my friends and do favors for people and their dolls. i also mod dolls for people.

 

In terms of buying dolls I have a wish list, and work towards saving for and buying them. Limiteds are known to get in the way though, I have a couple of sculpts I've been planning to buy for almost three years now! XD
When I get a sculpt I like to have their wig and eyes ready for them when they arrive if possible, and I'll do any mods that need to be done and get the faceup done soon after that. I have a lot of dolls so they can usually share clothes to begin with, but I like to get or make at least one outfit for them before I start working towards the next doll. While I'm saving for a new doll I will often buy shoes/clothes/wigs for the rest of my crew as things pop up. I try to sew for them as much as possible, so I'll go in moods as to who I'm sewing for.

 

Usually I don't buy wigs and eyes before I have ordered the doll. Except for a few dollwigs at this moment.

When I ordered Yasha, I wanted him to have long white hair, so I ordered a long white wig. But when the wig arrived, it wasn't really white but more creamy white. And I also decided that I wanted a short wig for him instead.

But the long creamy white wig would be perfect for a doll on my wishlist. And that doll has a twinsister which needs the same wig in black. So I ordered that one before it would be out of stock or not sold anymore.
And then I saw a wig on the second hand market which I totally adore, and which would also fit an other doll on my wishlist.

So now I have 3 wigs, but it might take 1 or 2 years before I will order the doll who will be wearing them.

But usually when I order the doll, I look around for wigs, eyes and sometimes shoes. Wigs and eyes have priority for me, so I always try to get those arrived before the doll arrives.
And shoes have a lower priority, so that might take a few months before I buy the shoes for my newest dolls.