How long is too long for wait times?

Hmm... My answer varies. I've been in the hobby for a little over a year now so I feel like I can't comment on too much.
I paid for my female grail in full and waited 3.5 months for her to arrive at my door. That was completely fine with me and I really enjoy having her in my collection. My first layaway order took a little over 5 months to get to me. Manufacturing delays affected my order; that was out of my control and I don't have any complaints about the wait. I have done a 6 month layaway for a limited full-set of my male grail only to find out that I wouldn't be receiving him at all. He had already been sold to someone else and I learned this a month after I finished my layaway. That particular experience was extremely disappointing and made me feel like I had wasted so much time for nothing.
I'm a fairly patient person, so I'm not sure if there is a definite length of time that is too much for me yet. I will mention that I'm not very willing to do a longer layaway order if the doll doesn't go into production until all payments are made. That feels a bit too long for me. But when I have a reason to worry, I worry. I do think a long wait can become concerning, especially if communication is lacking. I don't expect instant replies, but I'd rather not wait over a month just to verify that a payment was successfully received and processed. I've already been in that situation and it's fairly unpleasant. Short wait times are always a plus and the general experience of the entire process can really make or break a purchase for me!
I'm currently doing an 8 month layaway for a new doll and I am not too bothered by it. He'll be amazing once he arrives and the wait won't matter after that. I also ordered Dollfie Dream 2B and 9S in October and I don't expect to see them until late next year. Maybe they will be my longest wait? I'm not worried about it.

 

Omh, I have been in the hobby for a few years and I'm a very patience person... The longest waiting time for me was my Soom girl, in the beginning it supposed to be about 4 months and I say "sure, worth for me" but no, 5 months and they said that the artist was doing the face up and the faceplate die hahaha, my girl face just broke up. And then I had to wait again until the face was done and they shipped to me. They give me as a gift a wig, heel feet and a necklace. So it was about 7 months.

 

I was interested in BJD's for a few years, but didn't buy them due to having to pay upfront for something I wouldn't see for a while. 8D;;; But since early August, I ordered four and only two came in (and I bought one that was already in stock). All have been paid in full. I've been waiting for 3-4 months for the last two, but I heard the company I ordered from can take up to 6 months and I have the dolls that I already received to keep me occupied, but I'm starting to lose interest in the ones that haven't arrived, so I may end up having to sell them. :/

 

I feel like anything over three months is frustrating, but manageable. I wouldn’t order from a company that takes six months or longer to complete orders.

 

Almost all of my dolls take at least 6 months. The longest so far was around 7.5 months so I think 6-8 is manageable. I rather it be 3-4 months but seem like I only like scuplts from companies that have a minimum 6 months wait time. So far no disappointment yet; they arrived as expected or beyond my expectations so the wait was worth it. I think a year or more would be too much for me.

 

Depends on the seller and whether or not it’s a limited edition.

 

If I really like this doll, I will wait for a long time, even as long as several years, I will be very willing, when you receive this doll, you will feel very happy and surprised.

 

I start getting antsy at about the four month mark, though I don't think that's too long to wait. I thought I might want a Lati until I found out about the year long wait. I think after about six months I would have lost my enthusiam for the doll and would wish I'd just gotten something else. I almost reach that point at five months.

 

I'm in the 4th month of waiting for my first (not secondhand or instock doll) and I'm getting antsy now, the first 3 months I was fairly chilled out but because I'd been told 3-4 months now I'm getting jittery because I know she should hopefully be arriving soon. When she seemed a long way off I just didn't think about it. I can't imagine I'd like a longer wait because I'm very impatient by nature (why I love the secondhand market or finding things in stock) but having never experienced it I'm not sure.

 

Two years ago I would have said 6 months was too long, now my answer is over 12 months is too long. My DC Queena had taken 6 months to get to me which I think helped 'calm me down' about waiting for dolls. My current pre-orders will not be shipped out until next November and so far I am okay with it.
What helps pass the time is buying outfits for them before they arrive and playing with the dolls I currently have.

 

emmm I think 3~4 months is ok for me. I have waited for 10 months for dollshe's david, oh god, this is really too long.

 

This going to be a weird answer but longer that expected?

If I research that most people are getting their dolls in nine months and get my doll in nine months that's fine. If the website says it takes 2-3 months and get in 3 months perfect.

What I don't like I buy something it says will take 45 business days and then 100 business days later and I haven't hear anything about a delay. And then I just hear rumors of "Well, because of the event they are backlog and it should be soon..."

And just to be clear communication makes a world of difference. If I get an email from the company or reseller that has a reasonable explanation. Cool. Whatevas. But the communication needs to be there.

 

This is why the secondhand market for Lati is strong. lol

I can't imagine waiting a year either! I'm not very good at waiting, and would say three months.

 

My longest wait was 7 or 8 months. I'll never do it again, because once he arrived I had lost all interest in him. I have a doll coming from Luts now and I was very pleasantly surprised by how short their wait times are. I don't think I can wait any longer than 3 months.

 

I feel like, a year’s wait time is so long. I mean I could be dead tomorrow, you know? I waited 5 months for the ultimate sculpt, and I had some ups and downs complaining to my husband that I was impatient to start styling my character. He came in a timely manner (dollshe was merciful) and the day he arrived all the irritation disappeared. The doll was beautiful. I even felt bad for harassing dollshe about the wait time. I think if I can afford it, I will buy another dollshe sculpt knowing the wait can be lengthy, and be ok with it because I at least have one doll companion with me now. It was also touching when I emailed dollshe saying that my impatience was due to loneliness. They replied, “I understand you fully.” I could tell they were doing their best

 

It really helps to know that it will be a year wait going into it, and for the company to be open about any delays (when I ordered my Miku, VolksUSA was quite informative, and when the strikes at the port the Mikus were being shipped to affected the arrival time, they told me about it). The most irritating part about the doll I've been waiting on for a year is first they said August, then they said nothing, but someone else on the forum said they told them December and.... he isn't here yet. Though someone else's doll has apparently shipped so maybe soon? I wish they would email me with updates.

It's also helpful, when family members say "you bought a doll when you're also saving to get kittens?" to reply that oh, you ordered that doll ages ago when you didn't realize saving up to pay a pet deposit was an option in your life.

 

Half a year is long for me, but I'm willing to vait even longer if I really like the doll - it's not like I have a choice in this cause.
3-4 months is preferable.

 

As much as waiting sucks, I think the wait time helps me decide whether I really want that particular doll. After all, even over a year of waiting is shorter than the rest of your life without that doll.

 

I think 7 months was the longest I waited and that was for Ringdoll. I can't imagine waiting a year or longer, that would just kill me.

 

The longest I ever waited was six months for a Soom doll, and it felt like forever because it was my first bjd...but I figured that must be normal, so I was okay with it. Since then, it's never been longer than four months - and for the larger companies I don't believe that it should take much longer than that, with six at the outside max. Dollshe's wait times are absolutely ridiculous, with some people hitting the two year mark. Good grief, give me a break - that is appalling customer service. If you can't keep up with your orders, then hire more people. Iplehouse started to fall behind a few years ago, and that's exactly what they did...they hired more people and immediately sped up production. I can certainly understand a small company with only a single artist struggling to keep up, but when you're in large demand with a lot of people spending their hard-earned money on your product, then start acting like a businessperson instead of a diva.
...[/rant]