How limited are the limited dolls?

Well, I do tend to believe what I read in this situation. If it is quantity limited I believe it and if it is time limited I know that they do stop taking orders on or approximately around the end date. I think the thing is just that this hobby is in some ways gigantic but also very niche. Even if nowadays there are many more hobbyists than there used to be there are also only so many people and so much money for doll buying. I've seen quantity limited dolls from Dollmore appear to be available for an extremely long time before selling out, some other companies I can think of too. (These are just examples) I am sure limited dolls are a marketing scheme to appeal to collectors in order to boost sales, however I'm also confident enough that the quantities really are limited in one fashion or another, that it's not dishonest.

 

I think the limited number is truthful, but indeed it's an extremely niche hobby that is not very affordable, either. There are lots and lots of new limited releases every year but it's rare that a big number of collectors can afford getting all of them (or see them fitting for their collection). People have very different preferences and finances, many prefer more easily available standard dolls for their own customisation, or prefer different kind of sizing or price range etc. Plus there are so many dolls to choose from these days it's just hard to keep track - companies' actual popularity varies a lot!

Companies usually offer such limited quantities of special fullset dolls because it takes a lot of time to produce all the pieces and they need to cap it somewhere to ensure quality work that doesn't have insane waiting times. It's usually just a couple of people in those teams, and things like special resin tones are more work to cast and finish. Making special wigs, eyes, clothes, faceups is a lot of time-consuming work, too. Everything just takes lots of care and handicraft and dollmakers need to be mindful of how much they can actually offer while often producing their standard orders as well - it's less of a sales trick than just a capacity issue I think.

But in any case - it's still very special to have a doll that is one of just 20! People just need more time with expensive purchases than, idk, Labubu drops

 

A long while back I had read that there were 1000 copies each of the Volks Rozen Maiden dolls. Suiseiseki and Souseiseki are the same sculpt so there are twice and many of them out there. This is based on the original release, not any one-offs later released.

I believe that number is truthful. Volks is a very popular brand and it’s not hard to find pictures of any of these dolls, even nearly 20 years after their release. It’s especially not hard to find these second hand — they are expensive, but they do turn up with a lot of regularity.

In contrast, with a lot of smaller companies, even a lot of their basic sculpts will have such small numbers produced, even if they have been available for a long time. Their limited dolls have even fewer numbers. It’s quite easy for me to believe that 20-30 dolls of a limited sort exist, and that often enough they won’t sell out super fast.

 

I bought a doll that was limited and it took forever for the company to close the sale and then months later they sold the same doll with a different outfit and face up.

My conclusion is it was the doll option with outfit and certain face up that made her limited. Although, they never mentioned that.

Also, It was a new sculpt, I’m assuming the company didn’t realize how well the doll would actually sell.

 

@Chiory Sometimes they have some stock after the sale is over and they will make an "exception". That's how I got my own limited doll.
But I have asked in the past and got no as a reply (from the same company I got that fullset from as well). There are companies who have a more predatory approach to limited sales, because yes they do put pressure on the buyer and give a boost to impulse purchases.

 

i have a Souldoll that was time-limited, and i absolutely believe that he really was time-limited. and also not very popular, judging by the amount of owner pics i have ever seen of him anywhere!

the only company i have ever seen use "limited" or "will be discontinued" dishonestly as a trick to boost sales and get orders is Dollshe, who had such a pervasive pattern of general dishonesty/scamming with the bjd community that he's been banned from this forum. as for any other company, i believe limited means limited. if a doll turns out to be super popular, some companies seem to opt for another limited re-release later-- or they make the sculpt available as a regular option but without the limited fullset, like Iplehouse does with some of their limited sculpts that later end up available as a basic doll in the Doll Choice menu.