How known is TOO known?

Popularity would be a bad thing.

Not because the hobby would loose exclusivity, I don't give a toss about that, but because it would encourage the large corporations to jump on the bandwagon. Soon BJD's would be made by Mattel and such companies and sold for $25.99 each in toy stores and that would drive the smaller comapnies out of business. A lot of the style would be lost to westernization too, if that happened.

Sadly, it's the nature of the corporate world, as soon as something small becomes big, the huge companies who don't take risks until it's clearly a commecial viabile come in and eat the small compaines alive. I'd hate to see Dollzone, Iplehouse, everyone, even Soom vanish because Paris Hilton wants a purdy dollie and now hundreds of thousands of screaming fantards want one too so they can be just like her.

 

I don't think this "hobby" or BJD's are as secretive as everyone think it is. At least not here, or in the teenage group. Mostly people 12-17 ( I asked) are aware of these dolls. When I was showing my 12 year old cousin and she already knew. She is into anime big time so she probably ran across this. Most teens these days are into anime, especially now that sci fi and cartoon network are showing them.

More likely people are going to run into pictures and sites of these dolls.

These are expensive! and will be expensive forever. They all have to be made by HAND .I know a lot of people are aware of these but would never buy them or can buy them. So doubt it'll come "mainstream". Knowing is different from joining.

I don't care if I see someone that just got it to be cool. Because they aren't going to know what to do. The doll is going to get damaged and ruined. And that's their loss. That's what they get for not being them selves.

I don't like the idea of "veteran collectors" looking down on some rich kid that got the doll and looking at them as a unacknowledged brat. That's as bad as people looking down on US. BJD collectors. Calling us creepy doll people. We should try hard to inform how hard it is to maintain these dolls. And kids are always a bit immature in the beginning. Don't loose your mind when you see a youth prancing around with 800$ doll. Taking stupid pictures. They'll grow up.

The only problem I see if this ever happened is the companies are going to get overwhelmed and loose a big chunk of quality. And how hard it'll be to see beautiful limited dolls or a doll you want all sharpied up and ruined. (I doubt that. Such an expensive doll I think even a 11 year old would not even want to touch it )

 

Why on Earth do you think so? That theory works with everyday crap but WHY would all over us already paying 500+ for a doll suddenly stop paying that and start paying 25.99 for a mass produced doll? If we wanted a 25.99 mass produced doll we be buying them already! I, for on, am extremely cagey about what I spend my money on, I want quality and craftsmanship, that's why I buy bjds.

This idea has been thrashed to death in an old Mattel thread and the upshot is that bjd collectors buy bjds because they want them not because of the price and any "cheap" companies wouldn't cut into the market enough to damage the bjd companies because the people already dropping 1000s of dollars on SOOM et al will continue to drop that money even if cheap ones do come out.

 

I don't see the popularity as a good thing, at all.
I think that it would bring on hoards of doll noobs looking for 'a cheap doll'. Just so they could get in on the action. It would ruin the base of the hobby. You buy a doll because you love it, not because of the price.
Because of all the noobs there would be more and more people trying to do face-ups on their own with no research done...
Since these dolls appeal to fans of anime, more dolls would be carried around by 'Kawaii!' screaming fangirls.

This is the dark future I picture in my head, if BJDs ever became mainstream.


But on the flip side, maybe one people who loved them would really get into it. Because of the high price more mature people would buy bjd.
It could stay a really nice, collector hobby. Instead of just cool playthings. There would be more of of everything to buy and the hobby would grow!

But really, I don't see bjd popularity as a good thing at all. But if it could be good, I'd be all for it!

 

The only thing I'm really worried about getting BJDs TOO known is I'm not able to go out with them anymore without being afraid someone wants to grab them, because they know they are not really cheap.
I'm already worried sometimes, thinking "Oh my god, maybe someone acutually knows you are carrying 500$ in your arms around DX".

Noobs and people just buying a doll because they are "oh so pretty" and not because of "loving" are already in the hobby. They'll always be, and I'm sure Mattel and co. won't starting selling Dolls like our BJDs. BJDs are way more for us than just collecting dolls, we are actually working with them, customize them and not only collecting them because for...the sake of collecting D: And the age range of most of the BJD collectors is way higher than the age of an ordinary girl loving dolls, such girls (or sometimes boys too) aren't even interested in putting so many effort in a Doll.
There are cheaper and easier possibilities.

 

I may be wrong, but I feel that BJD are already known. Of course not everyone will know about them. not everybody know about celebrities or about fashion either, even if they are really popular. But I think that they are popular enough to be easy to find if you do a bit of research or browse the web. I know this forum and another one I go to are overwhelmed by new people wanting to know more about them. So yeah.... with all the variety in BJD type and price and everything, I feel that we are in the middle of a "fad" already.

Also there's a lot of generalisation, not everyone is into customisation, story-telling, my-doll-has-a-soul, photography or collecting. and this hobby is already full of those "horrible" people you are describing, careless, fangirl/boy, cheap, etc. and there is nothing wrong with that. I can still love my dolls and I'm sure you still appreciate yours

 

Mattel can make their version of abjds if they want, but as they wouldn't have anything in common with out dolls, be OT, and not reach a high level of popularity among bjd collectors I don't see how it could possible influence this hobby. Dolls with ball joints have been around for ever--abjds though, have their own unique style and the community expects a certain level of quality that you don't get from a $30 doll. The short version of this is it wouldn't be an abjd.

The only way it would be commercially viable on that level is to mass produce, which can't be done with the materials our dolls are made out of and the way they are engineered. While abjds are more well known and popular among other doll collectors and hobbies that have overlap (like anime/manga), people like Paris Hilton are not going to start walking around with a doll on their arm--by most mainstream society that's not actually considered cool

Your concerns get brought up from time to time by other concerned abjd citizens, but the chances of them happening are slim to none.

 

I was painting the most extreme circumstance, like as a mass pure mainstream popularity fad, rather then subculture popularity, (Like emo is now, and babygoth was when i was a teen- still exceptionally popular and catered to by most of the the conglomerates, but not THE mainstream) If it hit the subculture- or if you want to be picky, anticulture, then really, all the better, more money for the companies, and that gives them more scope for new ideas.
But it hit the big consumer nerve, and every trashy mag reader had to have one, then the corporates would move in to cash in.

In cases like that, the smaller sector remains the same- I can't imagine anyone here would buy a factory made doll. there might be a little interest in shoes and the occasional piece of clothing or furniture, but I doubt it would go far.

But you forget, the small companies wouldn't go out of business. They would be bought out and perhaps they'd trade under the same name, like Warner Bros. and Hannah Barabara, names people are comfortable with, but are just a brand, rather then being a seperate entity. Perhaps they'd be dissolved. But I seriously doubt if dolls hit pure mainstream any large company would sit back an allow a tiny company sell several hundred dollars per doll.

It's all a pipe dream anyway, no matter who carries one around, the hobby is too intensive and just too unusual for the main stream circit without serious effort to promote them, which no large company would take a risk on.

 

And if the small companies don't want to be bought out? There have always been different price ranges when it comes to dolls--and especially since there is a difference between abjds and ball jointed dolls in general there's no reason to even compare price points. It's really apples and grapefruits -- even if some giant corporation decided to put out dolls with ball joints it would be a hobby separate from our own most likely catering to a completely different demographic for the simple reason that abjds cannot be produced in a way that allows for the low prices and huge volume of sales that a big corporation would need.

 

I don't want everyone to know! It's our secret hobby! >_<

 

I think that BJDs are popular in their way. I think it's hard to realize how many people there are out here that own and/or want one. The Ball-Jointed Doll world has everything it needs to be a popular, thriving hobby, but it is the reason for purchasing one that makes it not as crazy as say, Barbie.

Barbie is a doll that is made for all ages. I had them growing up, and I still have collectibles (as I'm sure quite a few of you have). Despite the race, or name of the doll, the faces and molds were all relatively the same.

The BJDs, however, are definitely not made for little ones. I believe the youngest individual I've met that owned one was 15. Fifteen is old enough to know that these dolls are responsibilities. There are so many molds for these dolls as well. Ironically, I think their individuality keeps them safe from being crazy popular.

I mean, when I wanted Mermaid Barbie, I didn't want the only one. I wanted one like the little girl had on the television!

We want BJDs to create our own dolls, not to replicate someone elses.

So, since I think this hobby is, in its way, popular, I have to say it's good, because as someone who has only met one a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to know about them if they were secret.

 

It's pure spec, as I was painting worst case scenarios.

Almost anyone can be bought for the right price. If not, company shares, should they have any, buying out the companies that provide the supplies and jacking the price up... there's a myriad of ways to buy a company form a competitor, willing or not

You dont actually KNOW they can't be made on mass scale. They're NOT, but that doesn't mean they can't be, should the company have the means and money to work out how to do it. As I'm not a technition in either the manufacturing or polymer industry, I can't say how. if nothing else, sweatshop workers demand a low price, and mixing mediums brings cost down.

Though i will point out in your favour, the three comic scripts sitting on my review bench are all pretty dystopian, so I've been immersed in study about the worst parts of consumerism for the past half a year at least. Tends to jade your perspective pretty throughly.

 

i always feel like this is a trick question, like asking myself almost ten years ago: hey, what would i do if dir en grey got really popular in the states... and then it happened, of course, and i wanted to flail and destroy everybody who likes them because they're a hot trend, or whatever. i don't appreciate people taking my hobbies as trends and running with them and treating them like... well, trends - but if there are people who are genuinely interested, more power to them!

 

I sort of have mixed feelings about this... Mainly because when I first started getting into anime it was at the tail end of the period where not many people knew about it, so I've literally been able to watch it grow and become as popular as it is today.
However, I find that I'm rather sore about how popular it is. I absolutely abhor having to deal with screaming fangirls... Especially the squealing 12 year old pre-teen kind who think that all anime is Death Note and probably don't even REALLY understand the show to begin with. @.@

With that in mind, I guess I'm not afraid to say that I would rather NOT BJDS become well known. I can only imagine the fangirls the hobby might breed... As it is, we only have a few of the younger 'my mommy bought me a $900 dollie that I treat like a barbie because I'm 10 LULZ!' members of the community now, but I still see them around often enough for it to drive me nuts. ( And please, that's not a rip on younger members... Just the ones that beg and plead for dolls then throw them at crack their dolls, break their eyes, use acetone on their dolls, and generally just treat them terribly. @.@)
It's hard for me to imagine myself being happy if the forum was filled with those types of members, or, worse yet... "Converted" prepubescent anime fans:
"OMG KAWAII NEKO CHAN DOLLIE AT SOOM DESU DESU DESU KAWAIII!!!"

...
Oh dear.

Regardless, I definitely think there is a line that I do not want to cross there... My HOPE is that because the dolls are so expensive, the hobby will never grow to be super large. For example, I recently had a friend inquiring about ABJDS, but after hours of searching she finally asked me where she could get a 'blank doll' (just a body with eyes and a head) for less than $100. @.@ Since she was looking for a larger doll, I (nicely) told her that that was absurd. After a bit more explaining she was sufficiently disgusted enough with the prices to be put off the hobby for at least quite a while.

 

Another downside I can see would be the growing popularity of pirated dolls because of their are cheap.
This is already beginning to happen in China where there are at least several major manufaturers producing recasted dolls. One even specifically claim to target limited versions.
I've seen people supporting recast dolls because they are cheaper while claiming those owning legitimate dolls stupid, spoiled and when rejected, accused the legitimate doll owners for being arrogant and elitist.

 

Good thing IMO.
--It would help drop some of these other rediculous prices including clothes and parts.
--there would be more demand but at the same time more seller competition. That would get nicer dolls cheaper.
--why should we be so cliquish about it. If it's a good thing who cares if a lot of other people enjoy it too. I also enjoyed anime and manga when it wasn't popular. I was annoyed for a fleeting moment when it became popular. But really, I don't really care except that I can be more open about it and its easier to find online in english.

 

As toshirodragon and Taco pointed out, BJDs as we know them (strung, cast in resin for the most part) are inherently unable to be mass-produced. The manufacturing process for a resin BJD is labor-intensive and tricky.

There will never be mass-produced elastic-strung, resin BJDs. And there will always be a niche of collectors that prefer that type of doll no matter what is available for a cheaper price.

That being said, there is the possibility of a mass-produced doll that has a similar structure to a BJD, probably a vinyl doll a bit more like an Obitsu or Dollfie Dream. But... the mass-produced aspect will appeal to an entirely different demographic.

There is a similar thread about the potential implications fof mass-produced BJD-like dolls here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=261316

This is a legitimate concern, and one that worries me as well. As BJDs have grown in popularity, it seems that bootlegs are becoming even more common. What's worse, bootlegs are getting better... I remember one of the older companies that produced recasts made them in an awful material that was closer to plaster than resin. They were easily distinguishable from the real thing. Nowadays, it seems to be getting more difficult to tell the recasts apart from the authentic dolls and that frightens me.

 

Actually, they really can't be. Resin is not the easiest material to work with, and you also have a lot of assembly that can't be mechanized. It's possible to mass produce a doll that would have some abjd like characteristics, but the resin dolls on topic for this forum really don't lend themselves to mass production. The company wanting to do the mass producing would have to make some major changes in terms of the material and design in order for that to be feasible, and when you start adding in those kinds of changes you end up losing the interest of a lot of abjd fans since the dolls would become something different. If you do some searches on this forum, there are threads that go into how bjds are made. There are very real limits as to how quick and cheap it is to actually create a decent quality abjd.

That is definitely a concern. What worries me most about it is that new people who buy stuff on ebay but who know little about abjds will accidentally buy a recast by accident not realizing that you have to be careful when you buy in venues like that that aren't well policed.

 

No negative aspects for me personally in popularization of BJDs. I make clothes and shoes by myself, I paint their faces, I make wigs etc. I already made my Lazule unique, his look in XVIII century costume is too far away from the promo Soom did (this was a prank from my side, actually).
I work on my second doll, i-Doll Byul currently, modding her face.
So I do not see how my hobby and my dolls can be mainstream I do not plan to buy bootlegs too because I want high quality product.

Advantages are listed above, nothing to add.
Well, creative person can turn any hobby, even the most mainstream one, into the unique thing.

 

It could be good or bad. Like a double edged sword. Like a few others have said, it could make things easier to buy them in countries around the world that are paying custom charges right now. The companies would be getting more customers and everyone would be happy. Of course there will be the ones that just buy one to have one, they could turn a new leaf over and really love the hobby, or sell it to someone who really loves collecting BJDs.

Now on the other hand, it could go extremely bad and major companies start to mass produce them, using cheaper material to make the bodies and then calling it an Asian Ball Jointed Doll. Or this doesn't happen, people that want them don't want to spend the money to get them, so they start getting "grabby" hands and might possibly put current doll owner's dolls in jeopardy. There's also the chance that people start buying the bootleg or the cheapest dolls that they can find.

I can't say for sure if they will gain more popularity through media but slowly it is spreading. The best way for a new "it thing" to spread about is by mouth. Like gossiping, but no one is getting talked bad about in this case, only good and about dolls. I could careless if others start to hop in. I was fascinated by them thanks to seeing my friend's in person. I haven't collected any dolls before, just models like Gundam and Zoids build-able models. I wouldn't stop collecting things for Chris or saving for a new doll just because a bunch of others started to at the same time.