How do you decide which dolls you REALLY want and which you're just infatuate...

With every doll I bought (with the exception of one who is now in a better home), there was this feeling. I guess it could be considered love though that's a bit strong. I could tell it was the doll for me because I truly did adore it. I would return to the site over and over again just to look at it and imagine having it. The one I regretted was one that I merely settled on. It wasn't the one I really felt anything for when I saw it, but it was "close enough". I found out "close enough" doesn't cut it and I'll be saving up my money for the one I initially wanted before I settled.

 

I learned that there's a lot of dolls I like.. and very few I actually want. I'm probably like a lot of people and just look at dolls a good portion of my online time but they're just pretty to look at and I don't feel like I have to own them.

Very rarely do I see one that I 'have' to have.. For sure it happened with my Claus but I think that's an exception because I just immediately fell in love with the sculpt and never had any regrets about ordering him because he was just perfect in every way.

The dolls I liked on a whim and ordered just to fill a space I've ended up selling.. like my Minifee and JDF. With my JDF it was more or less like... well, I want a doll and that one is cute.. I don't really 'want' Claus right now because he has to be very specific and with the JDF, he isn't anyone specific so he can be whatever I want. (I don't know why I thought that... because Claus bloody perfect being a specific character. >w< And I got really bored with the JDF because he lacked the personality I wanted in a sculpt...)

 

I had a plan 2 years ago - this grand scheme of cosplaying. I basically decided I needed to have dolls to cosplay most of the Bleach & Gintama characters (I knew that I could use one sculpt for several of the characters ie Byakuya & Katsura etc). So I started checking out sculpts & refining my lists a good 6 months before ever buying a doll.
I also decided to write a backstory.
So with me its pretty easy now. I am close to finishing the original group I chose (I figure I've now got to make about 8!!! costumes for each LOL) & have added a couple.
I have switched choices several times - for various reasons. One major one - I have been looking at Souldoll Ryucine for quite a while & FINALLY decided he would do better for one of my characters than the other doll I chose.
One way I judge all this - I get excited when I truly feel its the right sculpt. The dolls I've put off buying tend to be ones I'm NOT as excited about (even tho I need SOME doll for that character). I have one doll now that I bought who fits the character ok but who doesn't really make me smile when I look at her - I doubt I'll sell her but I DO keep futzing w/her eyes & wig. She really does GREAT when in costume (I've finished 2 of hers) but not so much when just her OC self.
I may very well end up changing her BODY - that could really be the problem!
Man if I had the space & $$$ to just buy whenever I lusted after a doll I'd probably have 100 by now! Plans are good!

 

I love pretty much all dolls, I really do. I've had a few I thought I would sell but with patience to get the right faceup, eyes, wig etc etc I think any doll can be beautiful and "right for me".
Or so is my most recent train of thought based on current events with my doll family.

So the problem now is to restrict myself, because apparently I'm unable to re-home dolls. So I'll stick to my original plan. Once I fall in love with a doll, wait 2-3 months and if I still want them, then I can start to save for/order them.
Also trying to limit myself to just choosing dolls from Fairyland and PeaksWoods. If I venture out to other companies I may greatly exceed my maximum capacity for dolls XD

 

Without reading all previous responses I think this is a very good question. My answer is:

1. Continuously troll the images of other peoples dolls on this site, flkr and other image sites.
2. Look at every doll companies web site, then look for any negative feedback on this forum and others.
3. Make yourself aware of the weakness with the company whose doll you have fallen in love with. For instance do you like the skin tone, is it too white or pink or does the doll have a lovely face but do the size/shape of the feet annoy you.
4. Buy just one and put every other one you like on a year long wish list because your taste changes over time.

These are good ways to eliminate the ones that you are really only infatuated with.

I realised this after I purchased my first doll and I'm not sure any company has everything that you like but for me my keeper is Supia Rosy. Rosy for face and Supia in general for body. The old body is just so aesthetically pleasing in real life.

 

I have noticed, especially in the past few years, that if I fall in love with a BJD just from its sales pics, and find myself literally catching my breath when I look at it, it is a good indication I will love it in person. If I can't stop looking at it and can't get it out of my mind, I'd better seriously consider buying it, or I will regret letting it go by. When I buy a BJD, I intend to keep it forever. And if I have even a small doubt about whether one will be right for me, I'd better think carefully, because those are the ones I have ended up reselling when they arrive.

Like others who have replied to this thread, I don't have unlimited space for BJDs. I find that I am extremely picky about BJD features that I like, and wouldn't have tons of dolls, even if I could afford them all and had space for them all. And I don't love every one I see. I appreciate many, but love relatively few.

And I have bought BJDs that were limited editions because I liked the fullset concept, but the doll was entirely wrong for me. I felt doubts when I looked at them, bought them anyway, and regretted it. I am very conscious of this now, and try very hard not to do it again.

But to counteract that, I have brought home plenty who have been no regrets whatsoever. Not now, not ever. And I find that for many dolls, I can appreciate just looking at their pictures, especially if they have features in common with dolls I have at home already, and I don't feel the burning need to buy them.

And... more than once I have fallen in love with a doll, loved it and remembered it for several years, and then had the opportunity to finally buy it and bring it home... and have loved it as much as I did when I first saw it!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

To me, most of the time it has been "love at first sight", but also the most of my purchases have been with a lot of previous thinking and had to save for months or even waiting for years to have the funds to get the dolls I want. When it takes a lot of time and effort to get the dolls you want and nothing keeps you from wishing to take them home, then you know "this is the right one!" cause you can't forget about him/her. And thanks to this, I don't regret buying any of my dolls, every one of them is just perfect and was meant to be mine and for the same reason, none of them will leave, EVER!

 

In the beginning, I found I purchased dolls based on their popularity (discussion threads) and didn't really think it through in terms of their character. I didn't even do the research to find proper clothes/shoes that fit. After awhile, I realized I was infatuated with other people's dolls and not my own. I've finally narrowed down my dolly family as to who will be staying and leaving (sad but the guilt has subsided).

 

It just clicks inside my brain saying this is the doll for you and so that's how I got my baby! Thora the resinsoul mei yay! So it's really what you feel when your looking and when I saw a box opening for the dolly I have I fell in love at first sight and now I have one of my own!! My precious

 

I learned the hard way how to tell the difference between want and must have! and it was hard because i spent a lot of money just to find out I don't really feel like I must have that certain doll so I ended up selling them . I don't like to sell dolls, I want to keep what I buy so in order to not make the same mistake again, I compare the feelings I had with my first doll since that was the feeling of 'must have ' with my feelings for the new doll and it's worked so far!!

 

There is definitely a difference between dolls I like and dolls I actually plan to get. I see lots of them and think "Oh wow!" and then just move right along. Others are not so easy to simply move past, and for those I have some considerations I like to weigh them against.

1. For one thing, if it's just a head I know it's going to piss me off until I find a body for it, which will take an eternity knowing me.
2. If it's a size smaller than MSD I might as well accept that I will never do anything with it (I recently put my YOSD Tanpopo up for sale because she's been in the box since I moved...which was last July).
3.Most often I'm lured in by companies like Doll Chateau who make interesting, crazy bodies for their dolls. But then I remind myself "Guess what? This doll is not going to fit into any of the clothes you have for your other dolls the same size, and then you'll only have like two outfits for the thing, and then it'll just sit on a shelf." It's just not practical for me to buy a whole wardrobe that only fits one doll. I already did that with my Narae, and I at least know that since I'd like a Minifee someday the clothes will fit it. I bought a Leekeworld Mikhaila awhile back and sold her because she was great and all, but didn't fit into any of the adorable items my Narae wears, and I sure as hell wasn't buying it all over again in another size.
4. Of course, monetary and space considerations are the biggest part. If I was rich and had a huge house maybe I wouldn't be so concerned with the other things I mentioned, but I'm not and I don't, so it must be taken into account.

Like pretty much everyone else here, I had to learn the hard way through some buying and selling what kinds of things drive me nuts about choosing dolls.

 

As a newbie, I'm starting to get the hang of this now. My first doll, a Dikadoll Rena, was love at first sight. She is perfect in every way. There are many dolls I really like, but after seeing so many and finding out about more companies (especially Soom, Fairyland and Peak's Woods), I feel that sometimes I get really "dizzy" - so many options that I really like and I can't decide! Generally this means one thing... that there isn't one that I like enough or well above the others to buy. So in these situations I take a step back and reconsider.

 

I look at all the owner pictures that I can find until I either no longer want the doll or think it's even more gorgeous with the next view. Oddly enough I'm often surprised. However it also means that I don't own or plan to own any dolls that don't have a significant amount of owner pictures. I am getting a better idea of what features turn me off. I loved Iplehouse Asa and Fairyland Chloe the first time I saw them, now I'm like nope, not for me. I still admire their company photos.

 

I'm getting to the point where I might be done for a while. Every time I go to look at dolls something tells me /you don't need this./ And I have to agree. I hate spending a lot of money anyway. It's always been hard for me. If I find a doll I just can't live without, that might change, but until then, I think it's good that I want to improve my current dolls by getting them new things rather than getting a new doll that'll take my attention.

 

I am beginning to think I will always be bad at this! I really love a lot of dolls from a distance, but only a few when I actually have them. I sell a lot as a result

 

For me, I do get this feeling that the doll is "the one"; that is how I distinguish when I actually want to buy the doll apart from an obsession. When I get that feeling, I only have to look at the doll and it's like this instand bond and the felling that doll is mine.

I have not actually bought any doll that was just a temporary obsession since I choose my dolls wisely and make sure that the one I choose I will be able to bond with. However, I do have plenty of dolls on my wish list that I only just like the idea of having rather than really wanting to bond with the doll. At least, for now. Usually once I have character developed for them, that's when the dolls is no longer a short time obsession. So in that sense, I have learned the difference, for me, between a short obsession and long time feeling of "I WILL get that doll."

Continuing from that, I am perfectly fine with the fact that I have dolls on my wishlist that I only like the idea of having them rather than to bond with them. It challenges me to come up with different characters for them . Therefore, I definately don't need to buy every doll I want.

 

I agree, owner pics are so helpful, virtually a "must", if you can find them.

I know what you mean about loving a doll at first sight too. When I first saw Iplehouse Emilia, I thought she was beautiful. It was all about her presentation in her website photos. I can enjoy her pictures, but I knew I would ultimately not be happy with her if she came to live here, because she would not be that character I saw in the photos. And I have seen Iplehouse Jessicas that I have loved in person, but realistically they're not right for me.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I'm beginning to learn the difference as my collection grows and I'm realizing that I need to focus only on the ones I REALLY like, not just on any doll I think is cute and affordable. Previously, I wasn't aware of all the different companies that were out there. So my first few I don't bond as well with as I could have if I'd researched it better. But, as I said, now that I have 9 dolls and a 10th in progress, I've learned how to tell the difference between really liking a doll and being in love with a doll enough that I should buy it.

 

I usually give it a few days or weeks to think it over and see how often the doll pops into my thoughts. Sometimes, I'll actually dream about a doll - and if that happens, I always choose to buy it. It's sort of a superstition I have, that if I dream about something I want, I'm meant to have it.