How known is TOO known?

I honestly think that it doesn't matter to me what other people do. I like what I like regardless of whether it is cool or trendy or considered uncool and dorky. However, to answer your other questions, I might mutter a bit about it because frankly people doing things for attention annoys me in general. As for the hobby, I could see possible long term negative effects from so many people joining in, but I could also see positive apsects such as items being more readily available to meet the demand.

 

I wouldn't care one way or the other. It wouldn't ruin my enjoyment of the hobby at all. And alot of positive things can come from having something be popular, it could open up a whole new level of BJDs!

Look at hobbies like photography, it's a hobby millions of billions of people all over the world do. But because so many other people do it does it ruin your enjoyment of photography any?

Or because you've been singing and dancing for years, and so have alot of other people, does that mean you're going to stop doing that and go take up crossword puzzles?

You might do that, but you shouldn't if you still enjoy BJDs despite a popularity increase.

Barbie is popular, and I know a few people who still collect them. Ashton Drake dolls are popular, and I know more people then I can count who have them.

:EDIT: As an example, if BJDs became more popular it'd be easier to get them in your own country/state/town! I'd love that, it'd save alot of people hundreds of dollars in shipping. :EDIT:

 

If it makes the dollmaking section at my local hobby shop bigger, makes props and furnishings easier to find, and increases my ability to find patterns without having to go online, I don't think it being "trendy" will bother me that much.

Granted, I think that even if they become well known, most people will balk at buying a doll that costs more than an iPhone.

 

I don't care either way. If they became more of a mainstream thing, it wouldn't bother me at all. I've never been the kind of person to think "I liked it before it was popular" or anything like that. And to honest, it tends to kind of annoy me when people say things like that...or they stop liking something because it's popular. More popularity means more attention and more money for those creating a particular product, which means they have more opportunities to expand and grow. I think that would be a positive outcome for a lot of companies and the people buying from them :3

 

I don't think that would matter to me either way

 

If BJDs were going to become a popular accessory, it would probably be started by Gwen Stefani and her harajuku girls That would be okay to me because, although it would become 'mainstream style', its roots would at least be known, and harajuku style is not for everyone, so it wouldn't become like.. prada or gucci.

It would be pretty awkward for us doll owners who normally carry our dolls while wearing very normal clothes (jeans&t-shirt, for comfort, dollies are work to carry ), as it would be like.. wearing a pearl necklace or lots of diamonds while.. wearing jeans and a t-shirt xD

For me, it would just mean I'd have to step up my fashion while carrying my girl around to give it a completed look sort of thing, but aside from this scenario.. I don't see BJDs becoming mainstream any other way. They're too expensive, too high maintenance, and too complicated for the lay audience, besides their inherent stigmas of "its a doll" and "its creepy". It would take a group that already disagrees with the mainstream to adopt them, therefore they really couldn't become ridiculously popular, at least not enough for me to rethink the hobby.

 

While I love the positive aspects of the idea of BJDs becoming mainstream (easier to find scale-items would be fantastic) I still have a heart-drop moment. The reason behind this is because when I was growing up I did lots of cool things for myself like wear arm warmers and leg warmers, before HotTopic became popular (and I didn't even get mine from HT! I got them as gifts and from San Francisco's Sock Market) and I got made fun of. Almost completely harassed by my school mates that would call me stupid and poke fun of what ever it was I was interested in. Then, the next year, arm warmers/leg warmers became popular and all those kids who made fun of me are now wearing them.


I haven't really gotten over that grudge since it happened so many times in the past.

While I won't become an uber-hermit in the community if it becomes mainstream, I would be wary to be with some new members. I know some may jump on the bandwagon for trend, but stay for real--those are the ones I want to see.




Edit:
A: good/bad for collectors -- ^ above

B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different -- I don't really think they'd lose their "uniqueness" unless someone automatically wants their doll to look EXACTLY (or very similar on purpose) like yours. Other than that they'll still be different and somewhat unique to me. (On comparison to all dolls/hobbies available)

C: make you mutter "I was doing it before it was cool." -- I will say now that "yes" I would probably mutter that at one point in time. But I think I'd try to figure out a way to avoid that sentence. (and maybe twist it in a more positive way)

 

I don't care -- I don't collect BJDs because it makes me "different", or to "freak the mundanes" (which is in the running for my least-favorite phrase EVER). I collect them because I enjoy it. More popularity would just mean more options for me, which could be nice. I don't care if something is cool or not, and if I say I liked/did something before it was cool I am inevitably joking.

I think there have been a couple threads like this before, actually.

 

B & C, because bjds are special to me and everyone I know doesn't hold this special place. I don't want anyone else, much less the majority of populations (noting the ones with worst personalities), to have it, flaunt it, or whatever else to completely destory this.
Mostly since there are very few companies compared to other industries, there can only be so many variations (joints, face and body sculpts), and since they won't lose too much value to become widely available, a lot of people would talk endlessly about this. If something is special, keep it that way. Common is a terrible terrible thing to me, and for bjds to become the next best thing to everyone is a nightmare. Take holister for example (where I live) everyone wears the SAME DAMN SHIRT AND HOODIES..everywhere I go there's always someone with it.

sure, getting one for cheaper and being easier to shop for doll assories and such it nice.
But it is really a good thing for bjds to be on the same level as a t-shirt? as pepsi? as the veggies in a grocery shop?
I may be the kind to hoard, but I stand my place to hold bjds as something rare and separate from the general public.

 

I don't think I'd notice or care, really. I just do what I do and I don't really pay that much attention to what others do. I don't follow pop culture media at all, so I doubt I'd know if some celeb had one, and if one did I'd be surprised if I could identify the person. ^^;;

Increasing the popularity would for me only mean increasing their value, so I think it'd be fine by me!


Raven

*edited to add* And if it made them go OUT of style that much faster then I'd be happier still, as it'd mean I could afford MORE DOLLS! Win/Win! XD

 

I think with all hobbies the more 'obscure' it is the more it seems personal and special.

 

I'd consider it a good thing. We'd get a larger variety of dolls in the US to buy, and more people to share the experience with. The people who are just there for the trend would disappear eventually, leaving only those who are serious about the hobby.

 

I just enjoy doll's allways have, I really have no intrest in what other people think or do.
If it's popular or unpopular*shrug* doesn't matteras long as I'm enjoying myself.

 

I like the way you think.


Oh I think we've already hit that point to some degree; at least I'll bet if you talked to the people who were collecting them 10 years ago you might hear that opinion. I mean it is seriously easy to get a doll in pretty much any flavor now...

When I started collecting anime stuff, way back, it was Juuuuust before it hit the Huge Time here in the U.S. Part of the excitement of, say, going to Anime Expo was getting to scout out the neato little anime doo-dads that you couldn't get anywhere else. Now all I have to do is look on ebay, you know? And I suspect it's a bit like that for the old-time doll collectors.

At least we haven't hit "ubiquitous" status yet. THAT's nice.

 

There are good and bad possibilities there.

1. Wait times would probably start to get ridiculously out of hand with increased order volume. (And some are painful enough right now.)

2. When the fad ends? Any company that has significantly had to expand to account for extra volume might end up facing real problems when the boom ends.

3. Accessory items could be easier to find if more companies begin making supporting products.

4. Fighting for small editions would become... unpleasant(er).

5. More collectors could also mean more -creative- collectors making beautiful objects for us to either admire or buy or... well, just more talented people could be drawn in.

6. More clueless people could very easily be drawn in. While not everyone who is drawn in by a trend is in this category, there would, sadly, probably be more of these than the folks mentioned in #5.

7. Selling anything on eBay after the boom went bust would be difficult if the trend-followers who grew bored flood the market to fund the next trend purchases, which could sting if one is having to sell something for what it's worth (or possibly even original retail).

There are a lot of other potential issues, but those leap out as especially interesting or problematic. I don't tend to worry about perception issues, since there's little to do about them, for better or worse.

 

I'm actually expecting someone like Paris Hilton to do that (carry around BJDs) any minute, instead of her pocket dogs.

But, I would go with option "C," and make Tshirts that said that.

 

I don't think that BJDs will ever really be mainstream in the sense of "oh, everybody has one of those!" My logic on this is along a couple lines:

1. When you get right down to it, collectible dolls (of any type) have never been particularly trendy. Even looking at the CPK or beanie baby fads, they weren't designed as collectibles when they became popular; they were children's toys. It'd be like everyone suddenly buying Tonner dolls. Sure, it's in the realms of possibility, but most people just aren't going to be interested unless something changes dramatically.

2. Price. This one connects to point one, a bit. Look at how much criticism most of us get when non-dolly people find out how much BJDs cost. I can't see many people going out and buying one, even if there was wide-spread awareness of what they are.

That said, if it was to somehow happen, I wouldn't particularly care. Trends and fads come and go all the time. I didn't stop listening to Evanescence when they made it big, I didn't change how I dressed when goths and punks were suddenly replaced by emos and scene kids, and I don't think I'd be affected if BJDs were suddenly everywhere.

 

I don't think it really matters. I don't like or dislike things because of what other people like/dislike. It really has no bearing on my interests and what I do.

I tend to agree with Daeliriel, however, and think while they have become more widely known, I don't think you'd ever really classify them as mainstream. They're too expensive, and while doll collecting is a common hobby, it and dolls tend to have some stigmas attached.