How much is too much for a BJD?

It really depends for me. How much do I want the doll? How big is the doll? Is the doll in any way different than normal to justify the higher price? Is that doll a grail? For example, $1500 is way, wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than I'd be willing to drop on an MSD, but I'd be willing to pay as much for an SD, given it's a shell for one of my main characters that I absolutely need and no other doll will do.

 

I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $700 (base doll, no extras). I might have spent more when accounting for face ups and clothing.

 

I tend to prefer to spend more on my dolls to get the ones that I want. I don't need a limitless number of dolls.

 

I don't think there are any dolls I would pay more than 1200 for, personally. Maybe that amount would go up with my income, but I don't think it would get much higher. I don't think I would even pay that much to replace one of the dolls I already have.

Of course, it also depends on the doll. If I see a stained, yellowed doll on the marketplace I might buy it just to experiment with if it's <100. I have a few dolls that I like but definitely would not have bought if they cost much more than they did. On the other hand, I have a couple dolls that cost me less than I would have been willing to pay.

 

My limit was $700. I do my own faceup so for a while doll (head and body) $700 should do enough for really detailed or well-established SD size dolls. I said “was” because basically my doll family is complete and have no plan or desire to add or switch anymore. (Even though I’m still waiting on one girl body, one iplehouse BID and release of a male body from Nakana.)

 

I don't exactly have a hard limit. I have spent $400, but I've also spent a lot more. However, I know my collection is going to be tiny. 3-5 dolls probably once I figure out exactly what I want. And I don't have any other personal hobbies (I have many creative pursuits but I use them all to earn my living so enjoyment isn't the objective, even though I do enjoy them). So I don't have a problem paying for an expensive doll now, because the price-per-month-rate or whatever I'm using to calculate is going to even out over the years.

This isn't to say I just throw money away. I spend months considering purchases before taking the plunge, I save as much as possible, and provide for my family (my mother, who can't work, lives with me) before anything else.

But I know the value of art (I create it myself) and I am willing to pay more for exactly what I want rather than try to settle for something less expensive and not quite right. Yes, it can seem like a lot of money, but the artists I support are trying to making a living, too, and the world needs beauty. If no one purchased these dolls, they wouldn't be able to make them anymore.

Edited to add: I also should add that I almost exclusively purchase from single-artist-run companies. Not that there is anything wrong with big companies like Fairyland, Ringdoll, etc. but I feel it's a bit more personal when I know that one person is working so hard on creating something lovely!

 

To me the limits depend on the size and the rarity of the doll. And also on my financial situation. Sometimes, I have more funds and the limit gets higher, and when funds are low, my limit is lowering itself, too.

 

I too bonk my head to the 1000 wall (euros, in my case), and the only doll I saw in that price range that I'd like to own is a Volks, but, as I said, the customs will likely up that price to 1250, if not more, so, I'll pass.

But if you're starting this hobby you have to take into account multiple clothes too, shoes, wigs, eyes, a lot of things that will raise the price you're going to pay when you're ordering the first BJD, unless you're satisfied with a fullset.

 

Ordinarily I would say that it would have to be pretty spectacular in the extreme for me to even consider paying anything above $1000. The most I’ve ever paid (am currently paying) is about $1200 for the Dollzone Sawarieda I currently have on layaway. But I consider her to be a very special doll within that ”spectacular” category, owing to the fact that she’s a grail, 100cm, uniquely artistic, very limited, and I chose to get her in a special fantasy resin color. That warranted me extending beyond my usual limit. I intend to use her to create a “grand art statement” in my collection, which will make her a canvas for my own artistic expression, so she is certainly worth a year of layaway sacrifices for me.

So, in reality, I suppose one really needs to assess their limits based on the special circumstances of each individual doll. There are so many factors involved: size, rarity, desire, extras, and must it be paid for entirely up front or can it be budgeted more carefully over the course of a layaway? Am I willing to pay more for exactly what I want rather than try to settle for something less expensive and not quite right? All of these are financial considerations that can affect the price one is willing to pay at any given time.

 

I have definitely gotten more expensive dolls as I have been in the hobby longer. My upper limit is really a moving target. My current most expensive is $1500 for Dollmore's Mystery Dell who is quite a hunk of resin! I currently don't go above $1000 for a nude 60-70cm doll. My upper limit goes lower for smaller dolls. I have a harder time with $500 for 1/4 scale dolls.

I can't imagine starting the hobby with a $900 doll. My first doll was a $300-something fullset and I was wondering if I was being a little crazy at the time.

But overall it really depends on how I love a sculpt. Like sometimes I stare at a doll and it's like "I love you, but it's not a $500 kind of love" or like "I like you but just as pictures" (do you ever become a fan of someone else's doll. xD I don't need to buy one, I just want to see what they're doing with theirs).

I almost never feel like $150+ for 1/12 scale resin dolls is "worth it" but I do enjoy the size for figures in the cheaper off-topic PVC/vinyl ranges. Something about the tiny size makes me more paranoid about losing and breaking them and it's not as stressful when it's a doll I only spent $25-$50 on. I could never buy a Micro-BJD even if it was the perfect sculpt that hits all my buttons. I feel like it would disappear if I sneeze!

 

I think my personal limit is around $600, but I only buy doll that are 1/6 or 1/4. For 1/6 dolls, i don't know that I would spend more than $300 or so? It's such a tough call sometimes, and it definitely keeps me from buying any full set dolls since those usually come in much higher. I did recently tally up how much I had spent on dolls overall, which did not feel good and may have me lowering my limit now though...

I have been wanting to buy more cloths/wigs/etc but I feel like with that I have a hard time spending more than $50-$100 which can be tough to stay under.

 

It depends on a lot of factors, as others have said (is it limited or not? is it new or second-hand? comes with fullset/face-up?)
All in all, 500$ is kind of the max amount for me (excluding shipping) and that is taking into account that I don't buy anything bigger than MSDs. I understand SDs are more expensive as the bigger the chunk of resin, the bigger the dollar sign.
I think my most expensive doll is something along 450$ so I have never reached that limit yet.

 

For just a basic doll, $600 is usually my limit, though I have gone over a little bit to get that perfect doll for a favorite character. I prefer to keep it under $500 when I can. I do my own faceups and buy character specific clothing, so company faceups and full sets don’t appeal to me and I wouldn’t pay extra for one.

 

I think it all depends in how much are you loving/wanting a doll. If you really want a doll you can always save up for her/him. Even if there are sometimes insane prices out there (for example a Volks limited doll) like, let's say $2000-$5000. Of course this is way too much but if you really want the doll, I guess most of the collectors are going to get it at some point.
The most expensive doll I have seen in the market place was a one off Volks Shinku who was about 950.000 Yen...
Personally I would not ever have bought a doll over $2000, but I broke my own rules buying my Volks Suiseiseki, who was over that price, because I really wanted her, and after searching a very long time and dreaming about her I finally bought her, and I do not regret it a bit

 

When I first started I couldn't ever imagine myself paying more than $300 for a doll. I was so naive then.

Nowadays, it just sort of depends. I paid about $500 for the two I currently own. One of them is super hard to find and the other is a Volks MDD. I saved a bit of money on the Volks by only buying a body from the manufacturer and the head off of DOA. I looked at a few of the full dolls but most of them were either a) not my taste or b)in the $700 and up range. To me that's such a steep curve for usually just the base body.

But if we're talking accessories?

I tend to spend more on the clothing/wigs/shoes than I do the dolls sometimes. This is more a self-inflicted curse, as I can take any doll and easily spend another $200-$300 on it through extras alone. I just like having a specific idea and rolling with it.

I do have a limit. Personally, in total overall, I'd not do more than $1000. Not all at once. It's usually over the course of a couple of years. But there is a definite hard no once I start getting to triple digits.

 

I only buy 1/3 dolls, and I recently discovered my hard upper limit, which is USD $1000. I recently ordered an artist doll (blank full doll) for about that price. The sculptor is known for making bodies with outstanding joint engineering that still look beautiful, and I really liked one of the head sculpts. And should I end up not wanting the doll anymore, I'm reasonably confident I can recoup almost all my money since 1/3-sized dolls from this sculptor seem quite uncommon on the secondhand market.

But now that I've spent almost 1k on a doll, I really, really don't want to do it again. I made a serious exception here for this sculptor. My upper limits are much lower - around USD $600-700 for a blank full doll is where I start finding more reasons to not buy, than reasons to buy.

I'm the same... I enjoy looking at a lot of dolls, but don't love them enough for that price, sometimes any price. On the other hand, I'm willing to stretch my spending limit for dolls I love enough to want to bring home. How much stretch depends on how much I want them. It's pretty subjective all around.

 

I feel like my limit would be $2k USD, especially if it's a full set SD.

 

I think it depends. For layaways, I think it's okay for my personal preference to be about $4000. Although I feel really uncomfortable/guilty about it, but it usually adds up to that much if I add outfits, face ups, accessories, etc. I try not to exceed though $2000. If it's full payment $700 to $1500. If it's a head only then I only would want to spend about $100 to $250.

For resell bjds I'm not so sure. I haven't bought second hand so far therefore I'm uncertain how much I would be willing to pay for it. I did want a lottery doll that I was planning to look for and hoped it would be resold for $4000, and I would only consider buying it if there was layaway. However, it was a lot harder to find and no one was contacting me about reselling it. In the end, i talked to a few people on instagram and found out it was reselling for way more than I expected about $8000 to $10,000+. I was really surprised.

Edit:

Forgot to mention why my prices are so high is because I tend to collect large dolls. Also for me to really spend that much it has to be a really special doll I absolutely want and not sort of want. I recently wanted an outfit for my doll, but it was an auction. I didn't feel comfortable with auctions so skipped even though I waited a few years for this outfit. Anyway I assumed the auction price would sell for like $5000 and was surprised it sold for over $7000. If I did join the bid i probably would only bid like $1000 knowing I would lose. It was fun though to keep up to date on the outfit and auction. It is a beautiful outfit. It seems auctions make people spend more money.

 

For me it really depends on the sculpt or what's offered. It's a hard question to answer because if I saw something I've been dying to find and a seller can work with me, it might change a bit. Also depends on what kind of layaway is offered and if it can be accommodated, because I'm sorry, bills will always be more important. I won't usually spend over $1000, however I have considered the really big dolls that are $2000, but only certain sculpts. Most of my collection I haven't spent more than $800 (new) on and varies greatly, even for certain limited dolls since I usually don't buy new and miss the sales periods.

If it is a Soom Fullset, it depends on that sculpt.
I won't pay a lot for a nude doll with Faceup and eyes from a company, especially since several sell for cheaper than they were bought at (I watched a grail nude Soom sell for $450 & I had just missed it, another with it's fantasy set sell for $800).
I love them all but won't buy them all either. The sculpts from different companies I mean.

Give me a Fullset with everything from a set I desire in a BJD from a company and I may consider paying a bit more than usual. Otherwise I'll buy clothing and the doll separate because it's usually cheaper or I only truly want one or the other.

I don't see myself ever going above a certain mark though. I'm usually pretty picky on price.

Edit:
I forgot to note that's mainly SD+ sizes. I definitely will not pay that much for an MSD or smaller no matter how much I love it. For an MSD or smaller price drops.

Heads themselves will vary. I've never spent over $250 for a head and it has to be one I would like or want. Then again it also depends on the head. I'd really rather not pay full doll prices for a head only, no matter how rare. I will consider it a possibility if it's a sculpt I'm hunting down though. Even then I won't go above certain prices.

 

@Forever We Are Young : Auctions are the devil in disguise. XD People feel competitive in such settings and some get addicted to the chase. I saw some people ruining themselves buying stuff they don't need or even like but because they want the feeling of "winning". It's weirdly interesting to witness.


I think we talked a lot about the hard limit per doll, but it may be worth pointing that this limit may change depending on how many dolls you want. After all, you spend as much money if you buy 5 dolls at 1000 USD each than 10 at 500 USD each. That's a big difference in the limit per doll, yet you spend the same amount money in the end. I am a planner, so I don't see myself having more than 5 dolls. Of course never say never and all that, but I have four and already feel the strain to stop.

Heck, if you only aim at one outfit per doll, you may even spend less for the 5 dolls at 1000 USD per doll!