How do you decide when to sell?

I've been going through the same thoughts and feeling as you lately.
I had 2 Minifees that I got a couple of years back and lovingly waited for 3 months to receive. Once they were home I never really bonded with them as I never had enough time or money to customize them.
Now, after 4 years of them sitting in their boxes, I finally bit the bullet and put them up for sale. I will be reinvesting the money into other BJDs as you said it wouldn't feel right to spend it on something else. So I'm relatively happy I came to the decision to sell, as really I'll just be readjusting my BJD family, without a big loss. So yeah. Sometimes selling is the needed option.

 

I hardly play with my dolls at all. I'm just not into playing (well, I do change their clothes sometimes) or taking pics or writing stories about them. For me, that's no reason to sell them, though. I'm not keeping them in a dark, dust-free environment, either. They're sitting all over my room (only got one in my flat), fully exposed to whatever light might hit them. Sometimes I take them out for doll meets. Sometimes, one of them will get to "watch" TV with me or sit on m desk when I'm writing (fanfics). That's about it. Point is: There's no rules as to what you MUST do with your doll. It's entirely up to you. Personally, I wouldn't sell it unless I really wanted to sell it (or absolutely had to sell it) because, knowing myself, I'd most likely end up regretting it. So I'd say don't sell your doll unless you're absolutely sure you WANT to sell it.

 

RainbowsHaven I think maybe you are enjoying your cheaper dolls more because you are afraid of damaging your bjd if you play with her or enjoy having her around all the time. I am similarly inhibited with my dolls in that I worry about damaging something so expensive, but I do have them all out on display, in a North facing room. The sun only shines directly (ie with actual beams of light on the wall, rather than just daylight) after 8.30pm, throughout June - no other time - so I don't worry about damage. I only dust them off rarely, as I don't play with them - but I do enjoy just sitting and looking at them. Occasionally I'll change their clothes and dust off their wig, blow their faces of any dust, wipe their limbs that aren't covered by clothing, remove their clothes and take them away for a good whacking out of any dust.

I do have too many dolls, and I am poverty stricken at the moment (my son is buying me food) so of course I look at all this money 'locked up' in resin and think it would be sensible to sell some of them. If I can box up a doll and list it on ebay without a pang of regret, then fine - but if I have the SLIGHTEST doubt about selling them, then I know I will regret selling them - and I certainly will never get a chance to own them again. If I'm just not enjoying the doll enough, then I try and take steps to make it more enjoyable again - new wig, new eyes, new clothes, new name - pick it up and handle it more often, etc. So I think you will regret selling your girl, and really should just enjoy her more. If you 'ruin' her for resale, does that really matter when you are going to keep her forever? Chuck out her box - make a commitment to enjoy her company every day, and just relax with her. If you enjoy sewing, she's perfect for that too

 

If I can look at the doll and feel nothing for it and no longer derive any enjoyment from it, then I know its time with me is done. Weight, size, ease of poseability, fragility, proneness to yellowing, etc. would not be reasons enough for me to sell. By hook or by crook, I would find a way to enjoy the doll, even if it was physically challenging to handle and had to stay in its box.

From the fondness with which you describe your girl, it might be early days to re-home her. Regret might creep up on you. Does she still make your heart wrench when you look at her or is it just sentimentality that is holding you back from selling her?

Maybe take her out of her box, dress her up, take some photos and post them at DoA for fun and then see how you feel. I know my suggestion sounds pointless and silly, but I have seen many people change their mind about selling a doll after taking photographs in readiness for selling it.

 

I know it's time to sell when I don't feel any regrets about the idea, or when I look at the doll and, instead of potential, I see dollar signs. I've only ever sold one full doll, an absolutely gorgeous limited doll that I never did anything with and never had a plan for, either. She frustrated me more than gave me joy (I couldn't get her to stay on a shelf, I couldn't decide what to do with her, her magnetic parts wouldn't stay in place, and so on). Because of that, I finally decided she had to go, and I haven't regretted it at all.

When it comes to parts, I sell those when I know I have no use; one head purchased to help a friend get her GO to the full 10, with every intent to sell later on. Another head that came from another GO but was miscast at the wrong size. A body bought for a hybrid that didn't work out, and was a poor resin match to the other floating heads I had for one reason or another. They all departed because they were just taking up space.

On the other hand, I have a floating body and two floating heads hanging out here that do in fact have plans; I need to order up the bodies for the two heads, and the head for the body (because they don't go together!), but they'll all be used, and the heads at least can't easily be replaced if I did sell them, so they won't be going anywhere.

Now, I don't "play" with them as such, I largely keep them out and displayed to enjoy them, and occasionally take them out for photos or to make clothes for them, but that's my personal way of enjoying them. If I have trouble even with that level of "displayed to be seen," then that's generally the first step toward making the choice to sell.

 

Addendum: I find it easier to sell a doll/doll head when I know they're going to a "good home". Last month, I ended up selling a doll head I thought I'd keep forever and turn into a full doll. But it was only taking up space, the full doll, realistically, was never going to happen and someone on the Marketplace was looking for that exact head. So I told them I had it and would be willing to sell. Seeing the buyers happy and excited reply made it really easy, in the end, to part with that head. Same with another off-topic doll I traded with a friend for a Minifee head. She really wanted the dress and had no real use for the doll but her mother fell in love with the doll and so I know someone's finally appreciating that doll a lot more than I did.

 

For me personally it would be time to sell once I no longer get any type enjoyment from the doll.

 

I understand what all of you are saying. I have been looking at my Homme Ducan in a different light recently. He is very pretty but...something isn't right about his face for me. I am not sure if it is his closed-ish eyes or facial shape, and I know of a mould which would suit the character I have in mind for him a lot better. It Is so sad when these feelings come but you must do what is right for you and your doll!

 

I just made my first doll sale. It took a lot of thought for me, but the final decision maker ended up being the fact I could never get a name to stick. She was the doll I carried around to the bjd con here, got many comments on how cute she was, etc but in the end *I* didn't care much for her. I had a love/hate with her size and couldn't figure out why I wasn't bonding with her. So I guess what it all comes down to is take your girl out were you can see her and wait a few days to see how you feel. If what you feel is guilt, then maybe it's time to rehome. If you look at her and feel happy to see her but guilty about not playing with her, then it might be time to tell yourself, not all dolls have to be played with. I know it seems like they should with all the bjd stuff around, but sometimes enjoyment can be just looking. ^_^

 

In most cases it's caused by my personal, financial situation. I am aware my dolls aren't living neccesities and when hard times come, I am always ready to sacrifice a doll, knowing how valuable they are on the market. This said, I have had nearly 20 dolls in my career, having 5 in possesion right now. Only few of them were sold due to my loss of interest in a mold. Although I really don't like when this happens, I always keep in mind that this may happen.

 

All of my dolls are OCs, and when I lose interest in their story or character, it's time for them to go. Also, if a sculpt doesn't work for a character, or my tastes change. If I can put the doll in a box in the closet for a month without looking at it or longing for it, it's time. It is important to note that I'm a very hands on collector, so a month in a box for one of my favorites would be impossible for me! I couldn't even go a couple of days. I'm sure this is different for people who normally store their dolls in boxes.

So basically, if I wouldn't miss it, I don't need to keep it.

 

When I just feel there's no connection between me and the doll. Like two dolls I have now, there's no character inspiration, I can't think of a name, and I just overall don't feel a bond. Hopefully someone else can give them what I can't if I sell.

 

For me it really depends... Sometimes I sell because I need to, perhaps I need money, or maybe there's an old limited I've been hunting or even a perfect shell for another character that I've been given the opportunity to purchase. In this case it's usually just bodies that go first rather than entire dolls. But when entire dolls do go it's because, well, perhaps they weren't as perfect as I first thought or even if I love them a lot they just don't fit in their characters. This is why I sold my daydream Lance, one of my three original grail dolls. I still love his face to bits and pieces but the character he was bought for didn't match him, nor did he match any of my other characters, so despite everything I still kept him around hoping that we would eventually click... thing which didn't happen, and so, when I was given the opportunity to purchase a tawny Dia directly from Soom I put him up for sale because, quite frankly, there couldn't be a shell more perfect for Melchior than a tan Dia and I really didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. =/

Some other times it's just to reshell a doll. Perhaps I really love them but I've found one that fits the character better so, since I prefer keeping as true to my characters as possible, will see to sell them on to afford the new doll. And then there's sometimes that I sell to thin my collection because maybe I don't have time or money to invest in everyone and sometimes I just lose interest in a doll and don't find the point in keeping them around. And in the off case... I will sell bodies to buy other bodies because maybe they just don't fit the character that well anymore. It's really frustrating after you've waited so long for a body to come in to have to wait another half year for them to be completed, I swear...

 

Ah that is a tough situation you're in!
I've bought and sold more dolls than I own (16 at the moment?). I can almost always find a reason to like a doll, but I tend to have a harder time justifying keeping it. I believe that inspiration comes in waves, so even if you're not always giving your attention to every doll it is fine. Dolls are things that can wait until you are ready to pick them up again. They're not impatient. ;D But if your enthusiasm over the doll has completely left and you're looking for reasons to keep it, I would kindly suggest to not be so hard on yourself.

Sometimes condensing your collection of things is a way of putting more into what things bring you the most joy. Just like going with your gut feeling when you purchase, go with your gut feeling when you sell. I find that for me, sentimentality at times gets in the way of making decisions that could make me even happier in the long run.