How many dolls are sold every year?

Most of the companies I have dealt with have been really nice and helpful, though I'm sure some are just in a hurry and not as friendly. I bet if someone started going around the various Q&A boards, asking roughly how many dolls they sell in a year as part of a poll we're conducting, we would get a lot of answers ^_^

 

I've no idea how you'd find out, because you can't ask a company if you don't know it exists - and I also no real idea why you'd want to limit it to Americans, even if you were only interested in the Western market.

I've often wondered about asking companies about their most popular dolls in same-language vs international markets, because I'm curious if popularity is different - if, for example, the overwhelming popularity of Luts Bory and ResinSoul Mei on DoA is actually reflected in the Korean and Chinese markets or if different ones are more popular.

 

i dont know....but i dont think bbb is very popular in asian market.

 

Do you have any reason to say that?

 

Yes, theyaren't. I go on lots of chinese and korean forums, and have never seen anyone with a bbb. For the cheaper end dolls, AOD and DZ seem somewhat popular, especially in the chinese community, yes, but not bbb

 

Wow, this is a really good question and I've wondered the same thing to myself. After reading some of your reasoning, I think it's safe to assume the number of bjds produced a year is between 50-100,000. . . which is a big gap in estimate, but that is just my guess

 

I dont think companies would release that kind of information..

 

BJDs? Probably not as many as you think.

More Barbies are probably sold in a day than BJDs in a year. It's just a matter of numbers. There are not that many bjd-owners (check out the number of DoA members and maybe cut that down to less than half that are really active members, then you have to think about the average number of dolls people buy in a year... yeah, some buy a lot, but others go for years without buying.

 

I think April keeps them all in business... lol

 

I agree... also barbies are dolls that are mass made... bjd are (hopefully) art type dolls with more time and care put into them... and April's not that big of an owner lol ... at least 2 of my local area's members stopped counting at 50!... But she does know her stuff pretty well..

And since I am the type of person to do so I asked Iple if possible, if they could give us their average number of dolls sold in a year ^^. Pick a company you are curious about and give it a try... the most they can do is say 'we can't tell you' ^^.

And a note about the order numbers that you go by ... won't work... you can not tell if an order was for a doll or just other stuff. I myself have 'placed' 8 orders with IH, one was mucked up and had to be canceled and redone (hence a new order adding a number to the list so to speak). and only 3 of the 8 had dolls. I'd be willing to bet more orders DO NOT have doll than do. So that number will likely be very deceptive ^^.

 

I'd probably side with the "less than you think" crew. Buying a bid isn't exactly like buying toothpaste - the toothpaste runs out; you need to buy more. Your bjd doesn't run out...

I'm going to guess also that the average collector has less than 10 dolls (not heads but full dolls) and buys 2 dolls or fewer per year. I know many people buy more than 2 but many also buy none. Even if the hobby is much more vibrant in other parts of the world - I just don't think even there; the majority of collectors are buying more than 2 dolls every year. The doll still has to appeal enough to want to drop $$$-$$$$ on a doll.

Plus I think there are fewer collectors that can afford to buy more than one or want more than one.

So...
Cost prohibitive + niche + number of options + personal for many collectors + occasional limited sale periods a few times a year + picky collectors = not as many sold as one might think.

I would be surprised if even the most popular company sold more than 10 during a non event day, while the lesser known companies may go weeks without a sale.

 

I would say about 100,000 a year...but that would just be for all the companies and DOA, not including other forums and meet ups....