How important is it to you to be "the first owner"?

I don't put to much significance on it but it does feel a lot more special to have a doll made just for you. It gives sort of that luxury feel you get from having someting that is custom made for you. Opening op de box for the very first time.

Secondhand dolls however can have more character. They're not as 'young' anymore which I find can be very fitting for some dolls or characters.

 

It doesn't matter to me at all really. Of course someday I would love to have a Volks FCS to have something 100% made just for me, but really I get a lot of happiness from knowing I'm getting to give a new home to a doll that someone else once loved Plus, a lot of those old, discontinued molds are some of my favorites!

 

It doesn't matter to me at all. I almost exclusively buy dolls second-hand anyways.

 

My fear about buying secondhand is that it won't be as advertised (like be worn or scratched, or faceup chipped) or it'll turn out to be a recast. I've heard so many horror stories, so I only buy from the original creators or trusted resellers like DDE.

 

Although I prefer being the first owner, especially in light of the dangers of accidentally purchasing a recast or the possibility that the doll might have more flaws than the seller's pictures show, I don't mind getting a doll from the secondhand marketplace. I do agree that I love the whole purchasing it fresh from the original company so I know what I'm getting is nice, then waiting for it to arrive, and then the unboxing experience is so much fun. That, and for the most part being the first owner has been cheaper compared to all of my secondhand dolls. But there is also something charming about seeing what a secondhand doll comes with, especially if it was particularly loved beforehand (like a handmade outfit or something else sentimental). Or if it wasn't that well loved beforehand, knowing you are giving it a better homes feels really good. Just depends on the doll really and how much I want it.

 

zero, and i need to stop looking in the 2nd hand market, there are two dolls i'm eyeing, #1 is a super discounted full set i'm afraid to ask questions about (there must be something so wrong with her), and #2 is an overpriced so very dated and yellowed doll that doesn't have a CoA (so thats a big no for me, but would have been perfect for yet another project i want to do).

 

I prefer to be the first owner of a BJD. I don’t want to be wondering about where they were beforehand and what character or traits the previous owner might have projected onto them. That being said, if there is a discontinued sculpt I really want then I would buy it secondhand.

 

I wouldn't mind being a subsequent owner especially if it was some limited time only mold originally that I can't find anywhere, as long as the doll is legit and in good condition. Big plus if it's cheaper than when it was released!

I would treat them as someone new moving into my neighborhood

 

If I can buy then when they were available I probably would be more happy since I’m the first owner. But since most of what I currently want are either discontinued or were limited releases I’d take anything just to have them to be honest.

 

I don't think I care either way, and I'm always happy to find a good deal-- but so far I haven't seen any of the sculpts I want secondhand!

 

Most of my dolls are second hand. I seldom send anyone to a new home, but it does happen.... but it's not likely if it's a doll I've ordered for myself. If I buy one that will be made for me, I usually consider the purchase much, much longer. I'll try to find one (usually) second hand if I make my mind about owning one. My Popodoll Chen is my first BJD and I'll never sell him, I bought him new for myself being completely ignorant, never even seeing a resin doll in person before! I love him so much, I managed to put together a second exact copy of him using the second hand market. So, he is both new and also second hand! My Doll Love YiYi isn't one I could find second hand, so I bought her new. She's in my profile picture and looks just like I did when I was a small child. Two of my other dolls were also sought second hand and ordered new. They are special because they remind me of motherhood.

Every doll I have is special to me in a different way. I like my second hand dolls a lot and enjoy purchasing from other collectors since it helps them and usually me too! Since the community has always been good to me, I have no hesitation from buying from other collectors with good reputations. Some come to me as a random trade, so those are ones I may have never seen before. Others were dolls that interested me and I found second hand with a discounted price compared to new. There are also times I didn't know of a doll until I came across it listed on the second hand market. There are a few I would love to find, since they are no longer available from their company.

They are all special, but the wait and hunt just takes longer and requires more of an investment of time on my part if they are new. So, the dolls themselves are all special, but buying a new one means I had to put forth a bit extra effort to bring it home.

 

I prefer to have "first hand" dolls, mainly because I respect "second hand" dolls' own history and believe they have their own characters which they share with the previous owners.

for me, I 'd think it's easier to shape the character of my dolls if they had no previous owners...
Of course if there is a collection which I particularly like, I will reach out to try to get a pre-owned doll, subject to good condition of the doll itself, and source ( i do not want to bet worried about transaction security for example).

 

Less important than getting a doll that I both like and can afford, but not by much. As much as I'd prefer to only have new dolls, I'm happy to "settle" for a pre-owned doll, if it fits the idea I have in my head. Or to buy a pre-owned body for an extra head, since the face is where all the personality of a doll tends to be.

If the doll is "custom bait," as they say in vinyl-doll-world, then that just means I need to give it extra TLC to make it look fresh and almost-new again. (I may even invest in little UV light strips to try the peroxide de-yellowing trick, if the doll's in bad enough condition.)

 

I'm getting my first doll in a couple of months and she will be pre-owned. I like the idea of a new doll, but I want an MSD and Volks don't seem to make them now.

 

I would love to be the first owner of any doll but the way my bank account is set up... but something about getting a doll brand new is so satisfying to me. All of my dolly’s are secondhand but I would LOVE to be able to own at least one brand new straight from the site doll. I think the only thing I don’t like is the wait time but I’m also super kind of impatient Lol

 

There may come a time when I can afford a new doll, but that time is not now.

I've bought two dolls, both secondhand off Facebook. Luckily those companies aren't recast, so I didn't have to worry about that, but I was definitely weary.

My first doll was sold by a minor, a person who didn't really know how to send a doll, so it was a bit rough and a miracle that the doll arrived without injury, but otherwise the seller was incredibly great and honest.

My second purchase, more recent, was a wonderful experience and I ended up getting an incredible deal on my beloved RS Li.

I will 100 percent keep buying secondhand, but I do dream of owning a fancy new doll someday, even if that's just a new Resinsoul. My heart is with junk BJDs though, and I will keep buying them like they're free. XD

 

For me it's very important to be the first owner, and all the dolls I own I've purchased directly from the company except for DollZone, because they don't sell to foreign customers directly. I only ever purchased two DIM Minimee head sculpts pre-owned from people on here (DoA), because they were extreme instances where the sculpts were made in very limited numbers and I wasn't able to joint the group orders at the time they were made. Otherwise, I wouldn't purchase second market at all (with the exception of OT figures/dolls, that come sealed in one form or another). I am a germaphobe, and I have read (in the past) very disturbing things people do to the dolls/toys they sell, if they are not happy with the prices they sold the toy/doll for. So, I rather avoid purchasing BJD second hand like the plague ever since, but I don't really want to anyway. I rather purchase directly from the company if the doll is still being made, more so now that the hobby has a dark, depressing side (counterfeits).

 

I don't care.
I have both first hand and second hand dolls, and the way I bound with them has nothing to do with their origine.
But if I could, I would buy all my dolls new in order to support the companies/makers/doll artists.

 

Most of the time it's not really important to me. I buy secondhand pretty often, I guess. A lot of times I'll go that route for a good price, or a unique faceup, or maybe the doll is just screaming "adopt me" XD But I do also buy new when I know what I want, have the funds, and it's not around on the secondhand market at that time.

However, in retrospect, there is a group among my collection that were all bought firsthand and I'm not sure I could see getting those characters' dolls any other way. I have three Iplehouse JIDs I bought direct from the company to shell some of my oldest and most beloved characters, and with how many options are/were available, I just don't think the magic combination would ever have come up secondhand. Along with different body styles, thigh joint options, skin colors... they also had different styles of faceup, and there were specific default faceups that were perfect for the characters. So it all would've had to fall into alignment, and I've never seen the exact combinations of what I ordered crop up secondhand. So I do feel like these are special cases where they had to be made just for me.