How known is TOO known?

A: good/bad for collectors
Well, it would be nice if some people would stop freaking out by the fact that I bought a doll...

B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different
Not really, not everyone will be able to afford them still :/

C: make you mutter "I was doing it before it was cool."
Probably, if everyone suddenly starts liking BJD it'll get more annoying, immature people interested. They'll annoy me.. Maybe I'm weird but if too many like one thing it sort of ruins it. Like vampires. They were awesome, then they exploded into the world and became sparkly.. u__u'

 

If we're being totally honest, I like to think of myself as one of the horde of people ruining things for people who liked things "before they were cool". Getting my unhip low-class newbie plebe germs all over stuff. Liking popular things unironically. Etc. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. =3

 

Alright, lets see, I love having something unique and original that sets me apart from my different groups of friends. I have hipster friends, anime friends, drama geek friends, and doll friends, and when I say friend, for the most part, I mean people I regularly socialize with on a communal level. Especially the doll friends. I have 3-4 doll friends all of whom are a litttllle more obsessed than me, and I talk to them occasionally. But out of the people I talk to and think about often; like on a daily basis; only my BEST friend owns a doll. And that's nice, it gives us something that the others don't have (lol, that sounds creepy)
I wouldn't want it to suddenly skyrocket. It's nice to see people at anime conventions who have dolls and talk to them, because we can connect and want to talk, rather than me trying to talk to random people out in the world. (if that makes sense) It also gives us something that other people who don't share our hobbies don't talk about to talk about.
For collectors, I can see it being bad. The dolls could loose their value, start having solely machine based clothing, wigs, eyes... I couldn't see it being an art form any more. I mean, sure, you could find the cutest little skirt available at your local Target, but some of the soul'd be gone. ; n ;

 

I guess it wouldn't bother me too much as things would probably be easier to find, more attainable. But on the other hand I'd be afraid of their perceived value of non-collectors to be diminished to something like a commonplace toy. As it is I think the people around me only understand their value because they're so foreign and still a bit of a rarity.
I treasure the fact that most of this hobby is still based on handmade craft and goods. as NoirOnigiri said, I think abjd going mainstream would cause them to loose a bit of their soul. At least for me. ^^;

I've already started to see jointing become part of the standard vinyl doll. I can only hope that these dolls strive to maintain their contrast from Asian aesthetic bjd rather than aiming to become their cheaper counterparts.

 

For me there is no such thing as "too known." I'm not so selfish that I want to keep things I'm excited about or love all for myself or a few people that are somehow more worthy than others. Dolls are still considered children's things, so unless it is a well respected celebrity or child/teen with the doll I don't see it being anything more than a curiosity. Like if one of the Obama girls were toting an Iple Benny, for example, I can see that making a bit of a stir. I don't know that it would do much more than that (but I bet FOX would have a field day over the expense).

A: good/bad for collectors
I think it would be good if it meant more options for clothing, shoes, and accessories. Other than that it depends on the type of collector and the type of dolls they collect. My preference is for order period limited dolls. I doubt the dolls being more known in my area is going to prevent me from getting a limited I like.

B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different
No. They're still odd.

C: make you mutter "I was doing it before it was cool."
No becuase that'd be silly of me and more than a little presumptive. I got into these dolls last year but there are people who've been in it years before that. If anyone should be able to say that it's them!

 

I would like it if this hobby did not reach mainstream. I like the idea that many people don't know about it so that when you pull out a doll, people are interested instead of, "Oh, it's just another one of those dolls". Plus I feel like people will then think serious doll owners as just following the trend rather than being unique and artistic people.

It would be nice if you could get more dolls, clothes, and accessories but I feel like there wouldn't be much more in the way of variety. This raises the chance of owners having similar dolls and so suddenly your doll doesn't look so unique anymore.

I love it the way it is right now; I hope it doesn't change anytime soon.

 

It certainly wouldn't make me love my doll any less or be any less likely to get more, but I have to admit that a small, selfish, part of me wishes that they would never become at all main stream. I like being a part of a unique, group of people who cherish these dolls. It's like my own, small but powerful and amazing secret and that is something I really don't want to loose.

It kind of happened that way for me with American Girl. When I was little I was one of the only people who even knew what they were and it was an amazing secret. Now I walk around the Mall of America and there are little girls everywhere dragging them along by their legs. It doesn't make them love them any less but that special feeling of being one of the few would be gone.

 

I wouldn't really care, except two things usually happen in a market when something suddenly becomes higher in demand;

1. The price might go down as they're in higher demand and being bought more often, which is good for us,

2. The quality might go down. Which blows. When you go from having to finish one in a week to needing to finish 15 in a week, you may rush things, higher more sculptors who may not be that skilled, et cetera.

 

This is like when Twilight became super popular. I first started reading Twilight as a junior in high school - no one else (that I knew of) in my school had any idea what book it was, and there were no sequels at that time. It was my little thing, and I really loved the book.

Cut to around 3 years since then, and the movie comes out; the fandom for this book explodes. People take things too far, and people feel that you're an idiot if you've ever read the series. I feel bad because I know that people will look at me with a skeptical eye should I tell people how much I loved the book, regardless of the fact that I read it before there were any others, nor a movie deal.

Should the hobby gain Twilight status (which, like I said, I doubt will happen) it would ruin the hobby for me, because I will be judged a lot more than I probably am now. I'd end up feeling ashamed, and unable to prove that "No, I've been in the hobby before it caught on!"

 

Question: Would you like to see BJD be more well-known, or would popularity ruin collecting?

I don't care. What other people do is their business. I'm in here because I like bjds---period. I'm used to being into things that few others care about. Or being into things a ton of people care about. More people mean more stuff available that I might like and more people to talk about it with--but that's about it.

The issue: Say there was a story or news report done on BJDs (hypathetical) that reached world audiences, rocketing them into popularity. Maybe a celebrity starts carrying one around or something. Suddenly, BJDs are everywhere and everyone has one; basically, it's trendy. Would you consider that to be:

A: good/bad for collectors
B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different
C: make you mutter "I was doing it before it was cool."
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A and C

 

A: good/bad for collectors

I can't say for everyone, but I would be disgusted. A BJD isn't something you buy to be cool. It's not something you buy and say "Look what I have!" and have it just to have it.

B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different

All BJD are unique in themselves, and there's always those people who don't reall customize, all the way to people who are extreme modders. I don't think they would lose that customizeable "it can be different than everone elses" appeal.

C: make you mutter "I was doing it before it was cool."

I would say that, but I wouldn't really mean it. BJD's have always been cool to me and lots of other people. I wouldn't enjo them being incredibly popular, though.


Who knows though? it could be a good thing if it happened. People would try to make more iconic, unique looking dolls, and a lot of supplies and stores selling them would become more plentiful.

 

i will like them no matter what, but honestly i feel like it's too big of a thing already. i am easily overwhelmed, and like quiet little hobbies to be involved in. to me, there are already too many companies, too many websites, just too much. but i'm weird. i would hate for it to get even bigger. however, one plus would be that people wouldn't think you were a freak for carrying around a doll if everyone else was doing it. lol. i really can't imagine it ever getting to that stage though. thank god.

 

I hate when something special becomes something that someone only has for the popularity or because it's what's in style...I would rather them Love them and get them or hate them and not get them...how many times do people buy something they hate just to impress others? I see it all the time and I wonder why they would do such a thing. I found out about dollfies about 5 years ago and recently meet a friend and found out she had one when she asked me about them i told her "I've seen them, always admired them, can't afford them, i want one, how do i get one." If it comes down to them being the "norm" where will be the fun in that...asking others "Oh you like them, why?" and for them to say " i don't know" well..that's heart breaking! but a fad is a fad and it 'fad'es away..so eventually if the case did arise that they were well known the bulk of the people truly not interested would fall out and the true lovers would keep going. I like people to ask me questions about them and show me that they think they are fascinating...you know..showing someone something new is thrilling! It would make me a bit uneasy for someone to come up to me all the time and know what is going on when i'm caring around my doll...i don't mind the occasional 'oh hey, i've seen those' that's not what worries me. BJD just wouldn't be the same with a mass majority of people knowing what they are.

 

Truthfully, though, if it were super mainstream, I doubt I'd stay in it. I get bored with things if I seem them everywhere. Part of the appeal of BJD for me is that I don't see them outside of my house and my computer. It makes them much more interesting.

Though, it would be nice if props and clothing were suddenly easier to find. .....or at least one of my friends had an interest.......

 

I honestly doubt this will ever become mainstream. Most people don't like dolls, it's that simple. It's not like the iPhone or something, which is practical and doesn't stare at you at night.
Even if this hobby became more popular, there's no way that will last long. People don't want to spend a lot of money on something they don't like, not even to be popular. And the people that do will get bored with dolls quickly, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Things like Warhammer are pretty mainstream and most people have heard of it one way or another (at least a lot more than BJD's) and you don't see people that have no interest in it blowing their money on it.

 

Been a barbie collector as well I think there is always an aspect some care about more than others.
For example, I mostly only collect barbies from the 60s and 70s, if I start naming molds most people won't understand what I'm talking about... though barbie is a very well known brand. (I bet many would swear mine aren't even barbies )
That to say that even if something is really popular people would keep focusing only on one aspect of it.

There also is the fact that a casual buyer can't afford a bjd, obitsu's may become popular though (some barbies already have a full set of joints) since they're cheaper.
But most since they arent really collector would find boring having to customize them.

Personally it wouldn't matter to me if BJD's became popular, because each doll its unique in its own way.
I already know people who collect them only to show others they can keep a expensive hobby, it wouldn't be much different.

 

B: make BJDs lose their uniqueness for being different
My internal translator reads this as "make me, a BJD collector, lose what makes me a special person." If collecting BJDs is what makes a person special, well, that's a problem right there.

 

It would be terrible!

I mean, seriously. Imagine ALL the people who have said, "I hate those!" "That is soo creepy," "Why would you pay so much for that?!" All of the sudden owning a BJD, and acting like the never said those things? That would drive me nuts!...Especially if parents were buying them for little kids as toys to just throw around... *shiver*

A (Bad for collectors), B, and C, are all true for me...

Though, we probably won't have to worry. The price alone helps keep us a small community! xD

 

Since many people have listed positive and negative results of BJDs becoming popular/mainstream, I'm not going to rehash all those. For me personally, though, while it would be a little less interesting to have everyone owning BJDs (because it would take out some of the thrill of discovery you get when you encounter something special hidden among a small portion of the population), it wouldn't affect my enjoyment of the dolls I already have. Also, since all my dolls are second hand, I wouldn't really be concerned about the market; I also plan to make all my dolls' clothes, although I do buy their shoes. So in many ways, I would be less affected by fluctuations in market, wait times, etc.

 

XD I love this answer.

Yeah, I'm usually one of those uncool people, too. I apparently lack the right connections and never hear about things early on; I often stumble into things after they've gained enough popularity that I can actually hear of them. In other cases, I have managed to find certain things early on and seen them gain more popularity later - and I am perfectly fine with that.

Having more people like the same thing as I like doesn't ruin anything for me, because I don't like things just to be different. I enjoy the thing for itself; if there are more people to enjoy it with me, then so the better!

For me, increased popularity of BJDs would be a great thing. For one thing, a larger market would mean more artists coming into the business, and a greater selection of products available. Granted, it might also mean more competition for limited items, but that's a fair sacrifice.

More importantly, if we were in a hypothetical situation in which BJDs were sufficiently mainstream that everyone knew about them, I would probably feel less strange about taking my dolls out in public locations for photoshoots. Admittedly, I don't see that kind of situation really happening.