How Picky Are You As A Collector?

I like a lot of dolls I see but not enough to want to buy them. So far through all the dolls I've seen on Alice's and other sites there's probably only 3 or 4 that have stayed in my mind and I frequently check the pages of to buy one day. You could also save up for the doll that you're really interested or start a layaway if it's possible on the website it's listed on. That's what I'm doing for my first doll since it would have been way out of my price range otherwise.

 

Oh boy, am I a picky collector. Yeah, I am. There are dolls I am absolutely in love with, that I refuse to buy for various reasons. For example, one of them has a lower lip that is just a smidge too big. I adore every picture I see, I always think "I want that doll" but when I look at her blank I just can't do it because her bottom lip is a smidge too big for what I want.

 

You could always try to sand it down some? I'd be too scared to do that though since the face is the centerpiece of a doll

 

I'm usually either way too picky or not at all.

If I have a character in mind and can visualize how they should look, I'm not giving up until I find that *perfect* doll to shell them. Then I might go through 5 wigs before finding The One. Same with eyes.

Yet other times, it's simply "Oooh pretty doll at a great price!" or I get a cool trade offer I hadn't really looked at before. Then I just buy whatever I like and build a character around them.

I am super picky on clothes, though. I usually want very specific styles of clothing and I require a certain level of quality too. It's so hard because I'm currently only buying within my country due to international shipping being a mess right now and it's SO hard because finding the right style that's good quality and fits my dolls from a reputable seller is next to impossible! I have money to burn and nowhere to send it. (and trust, me I've looked at every US dealer, etsy shop, ebay seller and secondhand market multiple times and not found what I want because I'm just SO picky!)

 

I used to want so many dolls it was overwhelming! I've been in this hobby over ten years and I'm finding I'm becoming more picky or not as feverish over every doll I see. Which is really saving my wallet tbh lol. But when I do want a doll I'm basically obsessed over it! QAQ

 

I'm incredibly picky, usually I have a character in mind and will be really thorough when searching for the right doll. I'm definitely not an impressive buyer. If I'm looking for a particular doll I will save up and not pay any attention to other dolls for sale. I will browse but won't buy
But I recently stumbled upon a doll I had not planned on buying and I was so drawn to him I had to have him. Not sure how things will pan out when he arrives but I'm really excited, fingers crossed he will be home in the next week.

 

I'm picky with normal, human-like sculpts but am a sucker for anthros and fantasy sculpts. Regardless, I like to do my research before purchasing anything. Lately, I've been into exaggerated body types but also value posing. Finding a nice balance is key.

 

I'm picky when it comes to the companies i prefer but not at all picky when it comes to doll condition. I'll buy an old beat up doll at the drop of a hat but only if its from a company i'm really into lol. I also no longer collect msds so it'd have to be an amazing doll to make me break that rule.

When I first joined the hobby I was basically interested in any doll i could afford but ten years in i'm way more discerning and very few of my early dolls are still with me.

 

I actually have grown pickier the longer I have been in this hobby. It’s like the more sculpts and artists I’m exposed to the pickier I get on what I’ll actually pay for haha. I still admire plenty of dolls and maybe if I had more disposable income I would buy a “lukewarm” doll. I think the best example is my original “grail” doll came back up for sale on Soom and I realized my tastes had shifted and didn’t buy her.

 

I'm fairly picky, after 13+ years in the hobby I just NOW have started buying girl dolls. Then I have branched out to Cerberus Project girls and.that's.all.

My tastes haven't changed much, which is terrible considering that the hobby has changed dramatically. So I find myself longing for the dolls that I would have purchased YEARS ago had I been financially equipped to. However, with that being said; I also happen to be terrible at impulse purchasing. I have recently gotten rid of dolls that I will not be keeping forever due to impulse purchasing, so I'm trying really hard to get better with that.

 

I think I am pretty picky because I can look at so many dolls and say they are pretty or cute and that's it. I don't pull the trigger and buy them. For example, I would love to own a Luts or Fairyland doll but none have called out to me. Or I love how Volks Oscar or Andre looks but then their second hand prices discourage me and I know I'm not that huge a fan of Rose of Versailles.

I already own more dolls than I ever thought I would. (Back in 2007-2008 I never thought I would own one of these dolls and now I have 14 with 3 more on the way at some point. Technically 4 on the way if I ever get a body for my floating head haha. Wait I forgot the animal dolls, I have 3 of those.)

I find I tend to use a criteria. Is it an elf? No, then we're not getting it. By limiting myself to elf eared sculpts, I narrow the buying field. Does it have vampire fangs? Yes, then we're skipping it. I'm not making vampires. Are the elf ears pointy like Lord of the Rings/Legend of Zelda? No, then forget it. I don't want droopy ear elves.

If they meet that criteria, then I have to inspect the face sculpt. With or without a face up, if it doesn't call to me, then we pass it by. It's helped that I tend to be looking for shells for characters but it's not always the case. Some of my dolls were impluse buys - mostly my smaller dolls. My larger or more expensive dolls I have to consider for a few days. I might take nearly their entire order period to commit to buying them. So far I have not regretted any of my purchases. I regret more with clothes/shoes/eyes/wigs. But those I think I can trade or sell.

I never thought I would buy a non-elf doll but there was a FCS Volks whose face up just spoke to me and now I will own a Volks doll which has been a long time goal but I am so picky that their hundreds of sculpts never appealed to me. I have a list of sculpts I like but when I see them for resale, I often back away because of the face ups. I know those can be wiped but I find face ups as a good way of indicating how a doll can or will look. I also admit that I am not that great at discerning molds without a face up. They start to look the same to me when they're not painted.

Anyway, I think it's good to be picky in this hobby because otherwise you will spend a lot of money that you can't make back. You don't have to buy to shell original characters, a lot of mine are from the Tolkien world and I certainly don't own that! Buy what you like - quality over quantity!

 

I have a large wishlist... But I only spend money on what I'll know I'll end up regretting if I miss it.

 

I love art in general particularly classical, and grew up playing video games and watching anime from an early age. I have broad range of things I find aesthetically pleasing, so I can appreciate most facial sculpts regardless of genre, or style. Although, when I first learned about BJD, there wasn't a broad range of aesthetics or styles. I stopped collecting when I realized that bodies were pretty much staying as they always were, with really tiny torsos, that seem out of scale with super hyper long spider legs. I am not picky about facial aesthetics, but I am picky about head to body ratio, and sadly, most heads tend to be either too big for my taste, in relation to the rest of the doll's body. Or, they have super tiny torsos that seem like they belong to a smaller scale doll, than the length for the legs suggest.

I'm only interested in collecting smaller scales now, so I am tempted by a smaller doll, which seems to have slightly more balanced length of leg in relation to the torso, but another of my pet peeves is neck widths. I like more realistic neck widths, even on my hyper stylized dolls, unless they have Pullip sized heads on fashion doll bodies. I haven't purchased any new dolls (or floating heads) in more than ten years, just because proportions are not to my liking. Which is kind of great, if I am honest (I get to hoard OT anime figures instead). DX

 

I didn't think I was picky but as I started buying dolls, my dislike of certain things became more and more apparent. Examples: dislike of dolls with molded hair, open mouths, won't buy pair dolls(even if I only dislike 1. I'm sensitive and feel "bad" for separating them), closed eyes, head ration (too small of a head), weird body proportions, etc. They're just against my preference though I understand the aesthetic.

 

Hm, maybe. Almost all of my dolls are modeled after movie or TV characters. I find standard sculpts which fit the bill for me, and go from there. I am willing to save up for them over several years, or hunt them down second-hand. On the other hand, there are severyl sculpts who I think "he is handsome" (yes, exclusively male dolls), but I just do not know what to do with him. So he does not make it (prime examples: Iplehouse Claude or DollShe David). I have seen several of these nicely put together in different styles, and I am happy to look at these and admire them. But I have intentions of getting them for myself.

A valuable skill in the doll hobby, I think. Being able to admire things from afar, but not wanting it for yourself. Admittedly, sometimes it is the other way round. I see a sculpt, and do not get it out of my head. A name is found, a story or a character starts to build. I had this happen with my first Impldoll Nicolas. He is no merchandise character, he is very own personality. I think, he is my most unique doll. But I thought about one and a half years whether I really want him.

I am forced to be picky, because these 70 cm guys take each up a ton of space in my cabinet. Now there is space for more. And strangely, I have no urgent desire for more.

 

I'm picky by choice. Because initially, I'm extremely easy to please with a new doll I see - my goblin brain goes "oooh, I want the shiny" - and only later do I notice the flaws. So I have a set of rules for myself that I have to follow with doll purchases. If a doll doesn't fit within the rules, even if I like it, I won't buy it, so I guess that makes me picky

 

There are a lot of dolls that I see and my brain fixates on, and I have to try like hell to resist impulse buying.
I usually ask myself if I can imagine one of my characters as them, or if the sculpt would fit into my collection or fill a niche and if not I'll put the idea away.

There's an exception to that though if I can't stop thinking about the doll or if every time I see it I want it just as badly. If it's like an impulse thing usually every time I see it it'll get more and more meh feeling, but if I really genuinely like it I'll get all heart eyes at it repeatedly.

 

I see lots (and buy Far Too Many) dolls I like Mostly I fall for the head sculpt. Getting age-appropriate bodies (especially for the girls )is sometimes difficult. Most of my SD sized dolls are children, not adults, many of them aren't even teens, and finding non-shapely-non-mature bodies with flat chests for them is difficult. I find it just plain creepy to see child-like faces on big-boobed bodies.

I am also VERY picky about their face-ups (natural looking - nothing that looks like make-up, no heavy eyeliner, no "chocolate-drops" in the corners of the mouth, no "chevron" eyebrows, neutral positioned eyebrows rather than slanted/expressive ones... etc.)..

Cothing and shoes is another pickiness for me. The majority of my SD size BJDs are members of one big extended family of Victorian children (all siblings, half-siblings, and cousins), and it's hard to get clothing that looks right for them, especially the boys, without making it myself, or commissioning it to be made (and that's a potential minefield of disasters, as I've learned).

Many of the "Victorian" style outfits on the market for BJD are "Anime" Victorian - so details of style (and materials) look glaringly wrong to me. Dresses that are too short in the skirt or encrusted in plastic-looking synthetic lace, or obviously made of synthetic fibres (I'm a fabric snob so I'm picky about fibre content too). The wrong style of sleeves, or neckline, or bodice. Boys trousers that are too low-waisted, waistcoats that aren't long enough, britches that end too far above the knee instead of below the knee... etc.

Finding shoes that look right for the period is difficult too. Victorian style boots are common but often have heels of the wrong style (stilettos!), too, high, and soles that are too chunky and thick to look anything but modern.

Then there's the matter of wigs. For the boys and younger girls it's not too bad, but for the older girls, the options in up-do, or semi-up-do wig styles (that look period rather than modern) are sparse, and the ones that look natural rather than like wigs along the front hairline are fewer still.

Basically, I'm doomed.

Teddy

 

Same here! I was less picky with clothes before, but now my mind set kind of changed regarding to doll's outfits. I want a specific style and material, and I would rather buy only a few but relatively expenisve ones for the craftmanship than a lot but regular outfits.
If the material's not right then I'm not ok with it at all lol