How do you know you’ve found “The One”?

Most dolls I've bought I have found by searching by certain criteria (size, scale, gender, style etc.) and I've just kept looking until I saw a doll that fit the criteria and stood out from the rest. I've never really looked generally for dolls to buy, it's been more of a: I'd like a little sister for this doll I have, what could work? All right, any of those I really like? What about the body, any known posing issues and if so am I ok with them? Is the prize ok for what I get? ... and so on. Evetually there tend to be a doll that I keep coming back to and after a while I just know.
I very rarely make instant decisions on what dolls to buy.

Do you have trouble finding any doll you really want or is it that there are too many that you want?

 

It usually takes me a while to settle on a doll; but usually if I come across it & my heart jumps into my throat, I know it's what I want.

I wait as long as I can, look up more pictures, and if I'm excited to see it every time- I go for it.

Plus, with the mindset of; I can always sell if I don't end up liking it. It hasn't been too difficult to make choices. It can be daunting though, especially if they're limited sculpts.

 

There are two scenarios that make me actually buy a doll and not just get excited about one
1. When I realize that I want a certain character to join my doll family. As soon as I figure out the main details on personality and appearance I search for a doll that suits the image in my head by certain criterias. When I find the one that I know would show the character well, it's settled.
2. When I see an image of a doll and it just clicks: I desperately want it. If this desire does not leave me within a month or so, I take the deal and welcome the doll.
I have 6 dolls atm and 3 of them were bought on the first scenario and 3 more got into my house on the second one (yayyyy, a balance!)

 

Maybe the qestion is not so much wich doll is "the one", then, but wich one you want first.
It's very hard to stay with just one doll forever, the "I only ment to get one" is a running gag in this hobby by now.

The good news is that you have time. Sure some dolls are only available for short periods of time and sometimes you do have to make quick decisions, but over all this hobby is a slow moving beast. Take things in your own time. If you miss out on a doll, well the second hand market does exist and if that fails, well, there is always another pretty doll out there. The dolls themselves don't care and the hobby, while constantly changing, won't go anywhere any time soon either.
When it's time to buy, you'll likely know.

 

Through developing a character, doing some research on the options, and shopping around—that's my usual method for figuring out "The One". I personally don't much care for rash decision making when bringing a new resin member into the crew, as I've been burned in the past by making those decisions without first thinking over them.

It's always good to take some time to weigh the options, research the candidates on your list, and narrow them down by what appeals most to you, and what best fits all the criteria you're looking for. Sometimes that one who grabs your heart and soul at first will become less desirable once you look further into the company they're from, what others have done with their own versions of that said doll, or even what they look like outside company photos. A lot of the time companies Photoshop their promos to make them more appealing, and the official doll you'll receive might very well differ greatly from initial expectations (see some more elaborate Doll Chateau releases in their promos vs owner pictures for a great example of this).

Best thing I can say is: don't jump in without inspecting what's in the pool first. You might come across a true gem, but there might also be some piranhas swimming in there instead

 

Yeah, company promos can often be like Sirens of Greek myth: they sound/look enticing, but they're not always what they seem

 

I am constantly fussing over choices when it comes to anything. Constantly. I think it was like, two months from when I decided I wanted a doll to actually trying to purchase one because I wanted to make sure it was the one. Once I found the doll that made my heart yearn for it, I did a few more weeks of just looking at stuff about him to make extra sure he was the doll for me. I found a couple of unboxing videos, which was quite lucky, and a few non-promotional images of him including him just being unboxed. I only ended up wanting him even more, so I figured that was a good sign and went ahead and purchased him! And the fact I still keep looking up images of him tells me I very likely made the right choice!

 

I am very much a ditherer when it comes to making purchases. I have to reeeally want something for at least a few weeks before I'll commit to buy it, whether its dolls or clothing or whatever else. And even then at the last minute, as I'm clicking the buy button I'll still have doubts sometimes. Or I'll go back to things I thought I'd moved on from and reconsider.

Mostly it's just that I've never found any kind of formula or method as to how to end up making only the '"right" purchases. For example, my first bjd was a fullset that had just been released, no owner photos existed yet or anything, but I just fell in love with him from the promo images alone and ordered him almost immediately. Luckily he ended up being exactly what I wanted and I adore him. But that's definitely not going to be the case for every doll, so I have to balance things out with my usual dithering(and research!).

I very much agree with what was said by another user about taking your time in this hobby and I think it's good to not let FOMO dictate your purchases /or/ worry too much about getting it right the first time. Learning what works for you/what you really like takes time and a lot of trial-and-error in anything.

 

Hmm... Well, my first doll simply took my breathe away. He was gorgeous and I needed him, even if he later gave me a heart attack once I realized how BIG he was going to be. It's one thing to look at a set of numbers and THINK you know what you're getting into, and another thing entirely when a friend hands you a measuring tape to see exactly how big 62cm is...

Anyways. Doll two happened because I got a little caught up in the whole 'shelling' aspect and hunted and searched for a mold that fit the character I wanted. I am VERY satisfied with my choice, but without having such a specific reason in mind I would probably not have looked twice at the doll.

3 and 4 were specifically gathered to match with 1 and 2. So again, they had very specific goals to lead the way and while I am VERY satisfied, none of them have quite managed to give me that "oh my god they're perfect and I need them!" feeling the first did.

 

For my first doll, I knew because I just fell instantly in love when him at first sight. Doing more research, seeing owner photos just made it so much more clear that he was The One. I even kept searching after finding him and asking advice on where to start, but nothing anyone suggested even came close to the feelings I had for him. It's been 14 years, and I have no regrets, even though he's not a doll that fits my current tastes.

Now that I've had more time in the hobby, I usually create a character first, then shop for a doll that matches how they should look. I know it's the one when I feel that the sculpt fits my character, or at least the most important features are there, since it's pretty rare to find a sculpt perfect for a character.

 

For me, I initially saw the doll and he stood out to me, and then no matter how many other dolls I looked at, I always thought “they’re nice, but they’re just not him” and since I felt that way for a long time, I figured he was the one

 

It depends on the ideas i have in my mind for the character I want to make. I have one doll on order right now that has been, in my mind, perfect for the character and I was mostly waffling about getting him because of the price. Another character I'm having a very hard time choosing because I haven't really found one that i think would be perfect for him, so i keep finding ones that I think could work, especially when some of the promo pics or the clothes/ accessories in a full set would suit. It gets very tempting xD It's also just really tempting to get some because they're cute, but I've decided I'm only allowed to do that for full set dolls, after having my first doll sit around blank with no plan for how to customize her for well over a year.

 

I know I found the one when I keep going back to their pictures and I can’t stop thinking about them. I force myself to wait a day or two and think about where they fit in my collection and sometimes I realize I just want a new doll or it’s a good deal but not “the one.”

 

Personally, regardless if I have some idea of what I'm looking for or no idea whatsoever, I know I've found "the one" when I become fixated; it's basically falling in love with the doll at first sight. When, no matter how much I search for other dolls which may also be a good fit for a character (in which I have an idea of what I want), I can't stop coming back to that *one* doll. I could be searching for a short while or a long while before finding it, but once a doll stands out, my heart just knows!

 

I buy only fullsets so I know exactly what I like and I what I do not . I do not like to customise my dolls by my own . So I choose carefully which dolls I want to have them as fullsets and I am happy . My favorite is the fantasy style . As minifee Lucywen , minifee Sia , minifee Dina and minifee Carol

 

With me it's a case of try and see - if they don't "bond" with me they move on and if they do they stay.

Teddy

 

If I see a doll and can't shake the doll from my mind and keep going back to the doll, I get it! I can always sell later but I have only had that happen a few times and when I did sell a few of those times, I regretted it. A few of those times it was a relief!