How long do you wait before hitting the 'Buy' button...?

Hm...I used to be impulsive earlier in the hobby but thankfully I didn't have the funds to splash out on all those dolls that tickled my fancy. I've recently restarted my collection and now I'm very mindful about what I'm trying to achieve with a particular doll.

 

I’m a bit of an impulse buyer but since dolls are so expensive I really have been thinking hard about my purchase. My first doll and the doll I currently have on preorder are both limited so I felt like I needed to jump on that. My third doll I pondered over for a few days before actually purchasing him. Unfortunately with clothes and wigs and accessories, I think, hey! That’s not that expensive and throw money into the void.

 

I waited a week for a limited doll and it ended up selling out, usually I try to wait around a month to make sure I really love the sculpt thing else catches my eye. Although after having the doll sell out on me I'm terrified of waiting as I'm looking to buy soon. I still always wanna make sure I'm buying the best doll for me since I can't just throw around that much money on a daily basis.

 

When I first started I was really impulsive and ended up buying a couple of dolls I didn't love as much as I'd first thought so now I try to leave them in the cart, or just their page open, for at least a month or two and if I still look at them and love them, I go for it! I've found that I didn't want quite a few dolls THAT much this way x) saved me a lot of money and time!

 

It depends really.
- If we're talking about a non-limited doll, I usually wait at least half-a-year to make sure I'm not just impulse buying. I never do layaways so saving for the doll gives me time to think if it is really a purchase a want to make.
- If it is a limited doll or a company that works by pre-orders, I may not risk to loose the chance to purchase if I have the money (I don't do layaways even if a limited doll depends on it, just my personal rule).

 

I made my first impulse dolly purchase today; a MNF Eva head from another collector - and Denver Doll happened to have just the body I was looking for in stock, it felt like fate! Both the head and the body were shipped today. If the wig and clothes I have laying around look good on her, I will have a complete doll in a couple of weeks. And I just saw her yesterday, immediately knew who her character was, slept on it and made the purchases today.

Funny thing is, it took me five years to save up for my first doll (I got into this hobby very young) and then a year to decide on the sculpt. Maybe because aside from the size I had no idea what I was looking for back then, there were just too many beautiful dolls to choose from! Now I have a story built around the dolls I already have and I want all of my new dolls to fit in. I can only appreciate pretty dolls without thinking I need to buy all of them, you know, there needs to be that special connection.

I don't see myself making more impulse purchases as extreme as this one, unless it's a Limited doll. I pay more attention to LEs than basic dolls, because I'm afraid of missing out on something that would be difficult to get later.

 

From aprox. month (uncommonly short wait for me) to several years. I'm postponing buing Twigling Kahlo head for like...four years (I think). The problem is, the head isn't exactly what I need for character I want to shell. I would need blend of three diferent sculpts plus one off topic sculpture to get the exact look.
I'm slow to buy, but the result is, I'm always very happy with my purchase. But discontinuations are absolute nightmare for me

 

It depends on if I have the money for one, like I got my Kid Delf Kiwi on impulse when I was buying a Tiny Delf body, but I've had my eye on a Doll Zone Antu for over a month because I haven't been able to save up the money

 

I was a bit hasty when I first joined the hobby as my tastes weren't fully developed. Some of my earlier male sculpts no longer appeal to me, so they have either become a practice head or are sitting around with no plan in sight (oops). Luckily, I really like all two of my girls! I definitely put more thought into my wish list and purchases nowadays. I still know a must-buy sculpt when I see one, but I try to dwell on dolls for a month or so because a sculpt could easily be removed from my wish list after the initial excitement. A limited doll that just grabs my attention will obviously be considered in a shorter amount of time.

 

It takes me foreverrrr, I need to start listening to my instincts more ;o; I see a doll I like and hesitate and calculate etc etc..

 

This is roughly my exact process. For limited, I put it off until the last second to see if I really want to pull the trigger. For nonlimited, I can go months and months. There are occasionally small wisps it regret, but nothing major. For example, sometimes I wish I had pulled the trigger on Doll Zone Neruga. But then I shrug and I’m like eh, whatever. My inbound Clockwork Faery Moriko, though, I knew I had to have. I even dreamed of her until the preorder date. So I made sure to save the money for layaway and the second preorder opened, I was a hound on a juicy meat slab so to speak (and hopefully I can order a second in a different color sometime in the future!) So yeah, if it’s something I feel that strongly about I am all over it. Otherwise, I’m just eh... and usually it’s mostly eh. Id like to have it, but I don’t NEED it if I don’t have it kind of thing. If any of that makes sense.

 

About a day before actually biting the bullet

 

I can be both patient and impatient. It depends on a few things for me.

If real life and finances are tight, I might spend awhile looking at dolls and deciding what to get and save up for. I'll think about it and look at a few dolls in the size/price range that I am looking at to suit what I want. Then after deciding on the doll, I'll order it.

Or, I am doing pretty good at the moment financially, there is this awesome event sale, one of the dolls I looked at and really liked, but passed over for the above doll, is now on sale! I am going to hit that buy button!

 

For my first doll purchases, I literally jumped at the chance because of an affordable price. Now, that I am more sure of what I want (and not persuaded by price tags), I literally wait months. I won't purchase until I have all the funds in-hand. Before, I ran up the credit card...thankfully, I live to tell the cautionary tale of this LOL I don't recommend it at ALL.

I know there are layaway options out there, but I honestly fear something dreadful will happen during the layaway process and then I can't make a payment; all is lost. So I rather just wait it out until I have all the funds. (That could take anywhere from a couple month's of saving to half a year or more, depending on what it is).

 

I've waited as long as several weeks, and as short as less than 24 hours. I can't afford to buy any doll at the drop of a hat, so it partly depends on whether or not I already had the money set aside for a doll, but when I find the doll that's right for me, I know it in my heart that it is, and feel no reason to hold off unless it's for financial reasons.

 

It really depends for me. Anything non-limited I'll take my sweet time making the purchase. But I have already made the choice, probably within few days, and just put it off for months. So far for anything second hand I have exactly 0 impulse control and bought it the moment I saw it was for sale. Then for limited sculpts I think about it for about 1-2 weeks, AKA how long it is until my next paycheck and if I still really love and want it I'll make the purchase.

Fortunately, while I love to look at many sculpts I'm pretty picky about what I actually want to own since space is so limited.

 

I try to be very patient since these are big purchases. For dolls that have unlimited releases, I can wait months, unless I find a really good deal for something on my wishlist. Then, I might decide to get it within a few days or a week. Limited releases are much harder to hold back on, but I still wait. If it’s something I love from head to toe, I would probably get it, but other than that I would wait till the last minute to see if I really want it. I don’t like the pressure of limited event dolls since it almost forces you to be impulsive. If I regret it, I’ll just hunt for it in the aftermarket hoping for a reasonable price.

 

I am quite impulsive at times. I try not to be but sometimes it has helped me to get the dolls I want at the right time since I wasn’t hesitant and went straight for it.

For me I know if I truly want a doll and that’s how I feel it isn’t an impulse. If that makes sense.

On the other hand I have so many clothes wigs and eyes I have bought on impulse and lots of hoarded fabric and other oddments. The one thing I wish I bought more impulsively was shoes lol

 

Sculpts I admire about to be discontinued seems to be my cue to buy.

 

When I first started the hobby I would buy any sculpt I fell in love with. I never took time to decide if that is what I really wanted, or research other sculpts so I had been left with a few dolls that just didn't do it for me when they got here. Now I take a longer time to buy. I research and make sure the price is justified/ I'll be happy with this one when they come in. Though I always fall in love with limited dolls so I don't have as much time as I would like to decide.