How do you get over a doll you know is "the one", but it's one you'll never own?

In something similar to your case, where the doll is still for sale and not limited (and a reasonable price!), I'd work hard, save up the money and consider putting the doll on layaway if my budget was really tight. It may not sound like much, but putting away an extra 10$ a week, or even a month, all adds up eventually. There's a whole list on how to earn extra doll money, but I'd rather just take extra hours at work and do commissions.

In the case of a doll being long sold out and unavailable, I'd scour the marketplace for one secondhand, or look for a similar mold. Worse case scenario, just accept that I might never get that doll and move on. This hobby has so many dolls these days, there's always another sculpt out there!

 

Save up for it. Even if it's only ten bucks a month. It can be done. If that's the doll you want then that's the doll you should get - cos no other doll will be good enough. It took me five years to save up enough money for my first doll but I finally got there. Also, the recommended thread about how to save up and earn extra doll money is a really good one with many ideas.

The price probably won't get any lower unless there's a sale or an event or something. That's a quite normal price for a doll of that size and quality. It's really easy: Either you really, really want a doll - then you'll be willing to pay what it costs. Or you like a doll but think it's too expensive - then you probably don't want it as badly as you think ... I've seen plenty of dolls where I was "oooooh, nice, wanna!" and then added " ... but not for that price" and that's how I knew I didn't really want them.

 

As the others have said try saving up for the one you love. In the time it takes you to save you will either continue to love him and want him or you may give up and decide you don't want him that much. Either way you will have some money saved up. Doll companies also offer layaway (really useful when it's a limited) and you can pay them off over months.
One way I have got money before is selling something else of mine (another doll or figure) to help me get there.
Just because you can't afford him now never say never as he may be yours one day!

 

Save. Get your posts up, search the marketplace. This doll comes up quite regularly, at good second hand prices.

 

Oh DOD Yu he was my first love too^^

You'll get him one day, believe me. Even if it takes years, have patience and hope.

Are you old enough to work? I used to babysit kids and clean banks/offices during HS (worst job ever for me because the bathrooms were really dirty and the boss was mean XD) but I had a goal in mind and that goal made me want to keep working and withstand any hardship that would come with the job.

And that was only for a camera lol I still have that camera (10 years old) and take all my dolls pictures with it. Don't give up!

 

Just like everyone else said, save up! I was also having this problem with a doll I wanted that was WAY out of my price range. I felt sad and I stalked the doll all the time lol I never thought I'd have her, honestly.

I saved up for months last year and this year I was able to buy her finally and it was great! she is my pride and joy. If you save up a little at a time, I'm sure you'll be able to buy your doll too!

 

Never say never --- it may take a long time, but circumstances change and with patience and determination you may have him someday.

 

If you can save a dollar a day for a year, you can get him, so he's not really that unattainable . Sometimes it just takes patience and a lot of saving up to get a doll. There's a sticky thread about ways to earn & save up for dolls that has a lot of really good tips.

 

Ahh dream of doll. That place lured me in too, though the dolls i loved were $500+ each! I like to make lists of the bjd things id like to get, organizing them by my level of love and by brand while i also send out resumes for a job ^^ I find it helps keep me motivated and allows me to reavaluate which dolls i 'really' want / keep coming back to (for example, i keep finding myself admiring every version of Fairyland's Chloe sculpt, finally relented and put it on the list!)

The time and waiting also helps to show you which dolls you're just infatuated with. I'm just coming off my Doll Chateau frenzy myself (and entering the Fairyland mania hah!)

You could get a retail job at a nearby store (Walmart, Petsmart, etc) or look into getting a flier route, babysitting, pet sitting or dog walking!

 

I keep looking. I've fallen REALLY hard for a few dolls out there, but at the time they were either far out of my price range or LE's. But I saved up anyway, slowly but surely, and I continued to look around. Sometimes it took awhile, and sometimes I would distract myself with a different doll that was easier to obtain instead. Then eventually, weeks or months later, I would find someone new. Someone BETTER than the original sculpt that was far easier to get my hands on and was even more beautiful than the first.

That being said, Dream of Doll Yu is not a Limited Edition. I do believe that if you are this devoted to him, even if it takes a very long time, you will be able to save for him. You might even be able to find him cheaper on the second hand market with a little bit of searching.

 

There's a Soom Mega Gem monthly doll that was released within the last year called The Fox that I was enchanted by. However, there was no way I could afford her, even if I got her blank and basic. She's also a completely different scale to my all mature tiny and puki collection. Oddly for one of Soom's many fantasy dolls, I found the human version more appealing. I considered what the essence was of the look that had enchanted me, and realized Lume's Helena has a similar face, and can be made in lovely dark shades of brown. I will be ordering my tiny fox lady this week, actually. Now if I could just find a way to "shrink" Soom's Ticking Crocodile, I would be be able to get over not being able to get him.

 

I just saved up until I could purchase it. I knew that nothing else could replace the sculpts I was looking at (DS Saint, Soom Amber, Heliot, etc) because I was captivated by their specific and individual aesthetic. I bought some dolls in pieces (like my Heliot, took me 2 years to complete him) when I was in school and wasn't working full-time. Where there's a will, there's a way!

 

I don't intend this in a mean way, but I think you need to stop having such a defeatist attitude about this. This statement that I quoted doesn't seem like you're being very realistic.

It's one thing to say you can't afford the doll now. Most of us have been in that situation.

Saying you can never afford it doesn't seem very logical, though. In three or five or ten years' time you will probably be in a very different situation in your life. You may have a different job and be making more money. If you're able to save even a little bit of money toward the doll, after some time has passed you'll eventually set aside enough. Deciding you can never have it on the basis of right now doesn't make sense, because things change.

So my suggestion would be to stop telling yourself you can never afford it. That seems very short-sighted to me. Instead try telling yourself that you need to be patient for now, but you'll work toward your dream doll and someday you'll attain it.

 

I have a dream doll that is a OOAK Demiurge made for someone else. I plan on saving my pennies and beg them to make me one similar. I just have to have that elf guy doll!!!

 

I never say never, and never give up. There was a time that owning a $50 limited Bratz doll was impossible for me, and now 10 years later, I've spent $600 on a BJD. Times do change, financial situations change, especially once you finish school and/or get a full time job. That's what it took for me. Settling for a cheaper doll never worked for me, I HAD to have Soom Ender and Volks F-16! And guess what? I did it. It took 2 and 4 years, respectively, but it finally happened.

Good news for you? DoD doesn't seem to have a very high secondhand value anymore, and I think there's a pretty good chance of finding one on the MP for cheaper, if you're okay with a secondhand doll or minor imperfections. My sister once got a secondhand DoD for about $125!

 

The first Volks doll I fell in love with was Suiseiseki and she was impossible for me to purchase because she is retired. I did buy a doll that looked a lot like Suiseiseki but it didn't work. Every time I would look at my girl I would think of Suiseiseki. I have changed my dolly plans so I no longer want Suiseiseki. The next girl I wanted that was retired was Soony and I have purchased the Fairyland SD and MNF size heads. I was able to purchase a Volks Lorina through lottery that was so lucky for me because I really love that sculpt.

 

Volks Hewitt...*dreamy sigh* i know the chances of me owning one are very slim but I'm hoping one day they might re-release him...

sent through the forests

 

First of all: never say never. You don't know what your situation will be like in the future! Maybe you'll get that dream job and be able to afford it. Maybe you'll come into a lot of money somehow, or someone will offer to buy you a doll as a present. Or you might be able to save up with time and patience!

As for limited/hard to get grails, well.. I wanted a doll ever since I joined the hobby, pretty much. Loved this thing and deeply desired it... but what I wanted was a limited soom doll whose order period was years before I entered the hobby. What's more, I wanted that head on a male body, not a female body (as it was originally sold). Since it was so expensive and difficult to obtain on a female body, I thought it would be even harder to get on a male body.
Until soom released that sculpt on a male body a few months ago. Now I've placed my order and am waiting for my boy Amber to arrive!

The thing about this hobby is that things change. You change. Events happen and life circumstances change! Dolls I was DESPERATE for when I started, I don't even want anymore. Dolls I thought I could never have are in my possession or coming my way! Be patient and think things through and don't despair.

EDIT: having looked at your other posts, OP, I think this hobby is not the one for you. These are hand cast art dolls, not barbies or american girl dolls. If you're not willing to pay even $20 for a doll, this is not the hobby for you. Perhaps you should look into monster high dolls? They can be really cute for under $20 and come with face ups and clothes and everything. GL!

 

It took 7 years but I finally got one of my grail dolls, so never give up! Limited edition, only released in Japan and it took 7 years for her to appear on the marketplace at a reasonable price. It'll happen, just be patient.