How much is too much for a BJD?

It's funny, I had no limits (besides what was in the bank account) when I was younger, but now I can't seem to bring myself to pay anything over $400 (for a blank, bare doll. I'm more comfortable spending more on top of the $400 for the styling). Whenever I think of spending more than that, I'm always like "or I could be putting that in investments..." Ah, being an adult is boring, lol.

 

Never say never but I believe l can’t be tempted to spend over a 1000 for a blank doll. Including shipping, spare hands, feet, etc.

 

I won't pay more than $800USD for just the base doll (so head + body -- the bare minimum to get me started). Most of my dolls fall well below that threshold, though, and only start inching into those kinds of numbers due to the bells and whistles (faceups, wigs, eyes, clothes, shoes, not to mention shipping for it all!). I will also add that my limit is based on SD and larger scale. I respect the hustle of small artists and the beautiful things they make, but you cannot convince me that an eyeless, wigless MSD or YoSD-scale doll should be priced the same as a Volks DD collab project fullset.

I'm at the point in my collection to where I know what I like, but I don't have to purchase every single thing I like. In the early days, it's easy for the prices to creep up on you. Once you have an established taste and a core group of dolls*, it's a lot easier to pass up things you like but you know won't gel well with what you've already got going on. It's the curation of quality versus acquisition of quantity mentality.

*Obligatory disclaimer: this does not apply to "revolving door"-type collectors who enjoy the buying/selling aspect of the hobby or otherwise keep their collection small and rotating. Your mileage may vary.

 

I haven't set a limit because everytime I did, suddenly there was a doll that made me cross it

 

I always remind myself of this when I see a doll I like. The price for a blank doll seems low until you realize the cost of customisation & accessories.

Me too! It's easy to find cheap, old Volks MSD on second hand sites, which has set my expectations around $150 ~ $200 per doll.

I would feel uncomfortable spending much more than that on a single doll, to be honest; $600 is probably my hard limit but I don't think I'll ever come close to it

 

Good question. Up to $1200 is my current personal comfort zone, and that’s with layaway.

As for bjds in general, though? As long as the price is commensurate with the work and detail going into it, I can easily accept an intricate doll (fullset) costing thousands.

 

Whew, hard to say. I mean dolls costing 1000+ are often very much worth it, but I personally wouldn’t spend that much because at this price point, I could get so many things that would be way more sensible .. no matter how much time, love, and effort went into that doll, I would never be able to justify it.

Currently my cap is 300-ish dollars for a blank doll, because that’s the amount I can comfortably spend in one go. I’m not a fan of fullsets and prefer to do clothes/wigs/faceups either myself or commission someone to get the look I want.

However, I would be willing to spend a bit more if it was a doll I am really, really in love with - Harucasting or Black Cherry come to mind! But I’d probably only buy those secondhand, because of customs and shipping.

 

I think around $1000 USD, ish, is where I would draw the line. I haven't spent more than that on a doll before, and I don't have plans to. Howeeever, there are some dolls on my wishlist that might go above that. I'm not at the point that I'm actively searching for them, though, so I haven't had to make those hard decisions yet...

It also depends on a lot of factors like the quality, rarity, and size of the doll, whether it's blank or customized, and how high on my wishlist it is. For example, I've spent well over "retail" price on a doll because she is hard to find (Summerbird Viola) and was a grail for me. But I think in general I would hesitate if a doll's price was over $1k... it would have to be super special.

 

I've hit $1,000 on a doll and I didn't buy any other doll for over a year. That feels like too much but I'm still happy with my purchase so its ok.

 

So, with the caveat that I love huge dolls... when dolls start to hit the $3,000 USD mark, I wince. Painfully. But also, dolls I like that tend to cost $3,000 are four feet tall, and that is a LOT of resin. And weight. And shipping.

PashaPasha full sets are gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. Intricately detailed. So I understand the price, but I just can't pay it. When dolls move into the $5,000 to $10,000 category - that's car money to me. This is a hobby. I can't drive to work on a doll.

Having said that, should someone come out with another six-foot-tall doll? Well.

 

I'm not in a good financial place to spend $1000+ on a doll. The most expensive one I've bought thus far was around $600-650, so that's my current limit.

 

It so depends for me, for a complete doll I love so much, I can easily spend 2,000-3,000 dollars, but with dolls I am less set on I usually have a cutoff at 500-600, it depends on a bunch of factors for me!

 

I dont think I have a definite number limit, but I will absolutely not buy a doll for any price that I know is being sold for a ridiculous amount over the original price just because it's limited, preorders are opened rarely, the company doesn't make dolls anymore, etc, no matter how much i want it. I just dont agree with that practice. I am that way with any secondhand purchases though, not just dolls.

 

I think 1k is the highest price I generally find to be "fair", but I personally don't like spending over ~550. And since they're so expensive, I have to really like the doll. DZ Ying Long tempts me to break that limit, though.