If BJD's were to become the 'next big thing'...

as a to-be collector, I think that getting the dolls cheaply would be a headache, basically because of QC. After all, resin dust is an irritant and all, and having kids mess around with MSC....*shudders*

As with all fads, hobbyists come and go, so I'd just do my thing- but I prolly wouldn't bring my doll out, it would be worrying if she were stolen. THAT would be worrying.

 

I would probably get annoyed because of all the people who are buying them because they're "in". If BJDs came less expensive than that just sort of takes the fun out of it, you spend all your time saving your money to buy a new doll and if they became cheap it would be rather pointless. That's just how I see it, I hate things that become way too popular. But I highly doubt I'd ever hate BJDs, I would just worry way to much about my dolls getting stolen!

 

Hmmm. Interesting conundrum really. This sort of issue has impacted other areas of my life and in the end all you can do is sigh and let it go. You cannot stop people from chasing the latest trends whether it is getting tattoos, reading certain books, or in this case it would be buying BJDs. Trends pass, that is their nature. The one advantage to those of us who were into them first which might make up for all the aggravation would be getting all the BJD stuff cheap once it was remaindered as the fad died. Just a thought. All we would have to do is stick it out and we could happily fade back into the obscurity we now enjoy.

 

The only way I see BJD's becoming wildly popular is if they start making them cheaper, and goodness knows that they couldn't be the same quality, so I really wouldn't care. Plus it might be more fun to find more people interested in them, but I doubt that they would last very long in the limelight because they are such a expensive hobby to maintain (at least not in the US with the way the economy is).

 

But if BJD's and their collecting was to become the 'next big thing', and everybody had them and participated in huge meetups, and everytime you went out you saw them around. What would you do?
The more the merrier. I'm not into dolls to be obscure and exclusive. I like the dolls I like and that's all there is to it. Whatever everyone else wants to do is their business. But more people would make for more choice in meetups and items and dolls and clothes and conventions... so I wouldn't think it would be a bad thing at all.

Would you continue to buy, or would they lose their charm?
As I said, I buy dolls I like, not because other people are buying them or not buying them. Their charm has nothing to do with that, to my mind.

Would the newfound availability be a turn off?
BJDs seem infinitely more available compared to the days when there were only a few kits sold in Japan. Having to deal with someone in Japan and to assemble and sand and paint dolls and find clothes and wigs on my own did not appeal at all. I didn't buy until whole dolls were staring to become available. I've continued to buy when the first English language webstores appeared. As I said, it seems to me that the "newfound availability" has already happened (there are two different BJD stores in the L.A. area where one can buy dolls--how much more easy can it be?). So far, it's made things more easy and more tempting, so I don't see how it could be a turn-off.

The challenge to have better dolls within your social group?
??? I'm not into trying to out-do people. Sometimes I SEEM to do that (I have One-Off and Limiteds, etc., and tons of fancy outfits), but really, it's because I just LIKE that. I don't do it to try and challenge anyone or have "better" dolls!!!! (That seems more than a little silly, personally!!!)

Would the 'specialness' and 'fun' be ruined?
My dolls are special to me--period. What other people do or have or think has nothing to do with it. So, no, the 'specialness' and 'fun' would not be ruined or even affected at all.

Or would it be the opposite? Funner, something you could share with your friends and family, something that is eaiser to attain?
This.

 

There are popularized, mass produced and widely collected, expensive dolls in the US already. The Magic Attic Dolls, as well as their uglier counterpart--the American Girl dolls are just a couple of examples. Not cheap dolls by any standard, though not as expensive as some BJD's. And everyone knows what one looks like. Tons of money goes into them from collectors of a wide age and often their furniture is more expensive than it's BJD counterparts. So expensive doll collecting is already a big thing in the US, it would only take being able to produce enough dolls at one time to make mass distributing possible and ABJD's would be the next huge thing.

The reason they're expensive is less the cost of making them in resins and other materials and more in the difficulty of the casting process which prohibits fast paced production. So if BLD's went mass production, the first thing that would happen is they would switch from manual cast resin to rotocast vinyl. Now, this would not lessen the beauty of the dolls at all. There are, these days, several kinds of new vinyls created for the doll industry that are amazing to look at and even more amazing to feel. And they are sturdier and less subject to the vagaries of UV yellowing than resin. And not all vinyl is soft. Some doll vinyls produce very rigid parts, so the whole "rubber feel" isn't an issue either.

Cheaper production, lower price, sturdier product, increased availability. Win all the way around, in my book.

But then I don't collect BJD's because they are expensive. Or made of resin. And I don't collect them because it's a small hobby niche that isn't popularized. I don't fancy myself one of the "cool kids into something few others are in the know about". I don't worry about the elitism of the artform, or the concept that the doll means more because I had to save and work for it more than I would have had to with other kinds of dolls.

I collect BJD's because they are beautiful and artistic. They allow me the freedom to create a doll character that is unique to me within an aesthetic that appeals to me. Which a mass produced doll could do just as easily as a small studio created doll.

And considering the wide amount of modification artforms that have sprung up around Barbies and Tylers and vinyl baby dolls...it's not like folks aren't already doing custom jobs on mass produced dolls. ABJD's could open that up even wider on a cultural level.

I'd be all for it.

 

I think I'd still be into the doll hobby...but when people join in just because they can/'fit in with the crowd' and it becomes about the money *always with the money * it'll ruin the fun for me personally. It could be fun, I guess, so long as people were getting into the hobby for the love of it~

 

It's more "all about the money" now--what with there being more and more specialized limiteds or difficult to attain dolls out there. With mass production, people who can't afford this hobby right now, but who would LOVE the dolls, would finally get a chance to play.

 

I think that it will lose it charm a bit. I would like to have more people it it but I don't want BJD's to turn into something like barbie. You get it and for the first month or so you adore them then the next thing you know, you can find BDJ's in the garbage or parts laying in the street.
If that happens I would gather up the discarded doll and doll's part and create my own unique doll with the parts that I found. I will be Frankenstein and my dolls my own creation. .....But I don't think that will happen. BDJ's is expensive and know one will throw away a doll that expensive

 

My friend sort of shares an idea for my interest in BJDs like her interest in some other hobbies: When it goes mainstream, it's going to loose the sort of charm and ideals it has.

In my opinion, these dolls are art. They're pricey and made in such a way that if a mass-producing factory tried to emulate them so they were easy on the wallet and sacrifice some of the personal process to do so, I'd probably cry. Permanent faceups and unabilities to restring are on my mind. There's a sort of feel when I hold someone's doll and I know how expensive it is and what sort of artistry turned out from it from both the sculptor and the owner... It's a lot different than having an expensive Limited Edition American doll and picking her up by her arms and throwing her in the pool. It's happened. I've seen it.

I was with a non-doll friend Christmas shopping, and I got a little upset turning into the barbie aisle and seeing those new dolls they have... I think they're called Liv girls. They look a lot like oversize barbie heads on a Dollfie Dream body, and come with interchangeable wigs that can be purchased separately. Overreaction in the store? Yes. Friend thinking my point was silly? Nope.

I really do like the fact that the hobby is small-scale and not so popular. I do like being the one weird girl in my neighborhood/school with a freaky Japanese doll. I wouldn't mind more people coming into the hobby, but the day that'll break my heart is when I find every small girl has a BJD laying sprawled on their bedroom floor. ^_^U

 

Well, that's a mixed bag IMO...on one hand, if it became a more popular hobby, it certainly would make going out in public with you dolls less obscure and would get your fewer weird looks....also the meetups would be a bit larger and it would be easier to get your hands on the doll things that you wanted...however, on the other hand, it might just overly explode and die off like Tickle Me Elmo and Beanie Babies did...at this point, I think BJDs and anime are in the same category together: they are popular enough with people that you have a fan-base (i.e these forums), but not SO popular that its a stupid fad like Hannah Montana or anything else that will fade out in a few years...would we all be into BJDs (and anime fro that fact, if you are an anime fan) if everyone you passed on the street was an obvious fan? Maybe, maybe not. I think that hobbies like collecting BJDs and anime are specal to us because they DO make us a tiny bit obscure compared to the rest of the world, and we LIKE THAT! xD

So, I guess I'd say, I like the BJD world the way it is now!

 

On one side I'd like the fact that there would be more people to talk to locally about it, but of course, it would loose its novelty and sense of individualism. Companies would more than likely mass produce, ruin the fun of having a one-of-a-kind pratical child only-mine sort of doll.

I don't think it will be the Next Big Thing simply because it does not appeal to TONS of people.

 

I think it would be soooo awesome if BJDs were just popular enough that I could drive maybe an hour away to a larger city and go inside a REAL STORE for BJDs...but not so popular that the store would be packed heh...If they were more popular, there would be more US based stores, and shipping would be cheaper...also, it would probably be easier to find different styles for different sizes of dolls, since companies would try to cater to the wider public.

But like someone else said, if I saw a picture of Paris Hilton holding a BJD, I'd probably be a bit ashamed to be in the hobby....I'd still love my dolls just as much, I just probably wouldn't be so willing to post pictures of them and show them off. I would freak if I posted a picture of my doll on my Facebook and someone commented "ohmigod, it's just like the one Paris Hilton has!"

 

Like anything else that gets popular, I'd find it annoying.

The only real "Anime/Manga" shop we have in Quebec City may end up having Pullips soon, and while they are not "Real" BJDs, I would not really like seeing the hobby getting taken over by even younger people and ending up like how popular anime series have. People will look down on those who are in the "real" hobby becasue they will not be informed and whatever they see in those Anime/manga stores is not exaclty the best information they could get....

I feel like an alien when I know more then others on something and people dont want to listen to what I have to say because they think they know more because the TV, or a Seller told them something else D=
Thats what is happening right now, I dont want it to happen to my other hobbies D=

I wish it could get popular enough to have some a store only on BJDs close to my city though..... I'd always be there * 3*

 

I will automatically hate something that gets popular,
I dont know why, but im like that,

but if BJDs do get popular one day, then maybe i'd still love them..

 

I know a lot of people who do that and I find it really sad D=

If you really dont like what is popular why not just not tell people you like it ?
I do that most of the time... or I just say I like it and dont go deeper into it as it gets into pretty mean conversations xP

 

I really wouldn't care either way - like anything I enjoy I enjoy it because I find it fun not because it's "exclusive" or "popular" and deciding not to like something any more just because it's become a fad is... a bit silly? I dunno.

If collecting BJDs became "the next big thing" and they were available more widely and cheaply then I would have no issues with that, because my wallet would love it

I'm not so stuck up as to think that this hobby is only good because it's small, or so elitist as to refuse to be a part of it once it's popular.

 

I really like how small the hobby is. I would be sad if it became a huge thing but I would still love it. The problem with it becoming larger is problems with knock-off dolls and more people being awrae of the value which could lead to a stolen doll market and whatnot...

 

I would be disappointed. Half the pleasure of anyone's hobby is it being their own, not everybody elses!

Don't get me wrong though, I wouldn't stop collecting. I would just get more personal about it. I would only attend meets with very close friends, for the fear of so many people stealing my/others dolls.

Instead of meets in the zoo or a local park, I would pick more obscure places with maybe even more photo opportunities. An 18th century graveyard, beautiful local river, or my own house. I like hosting...FRENCH ORDERVE TIME! Cooking.

 

It is already becoming the next big thing, and yes, it kind of bothers me. Guess I'm just being an elitist about this, but I do wish to keep my BJD -hobby within a small circle. It'd be like a secret club or something. Somehow special. (I had the same thing with cosplay.)
But when every second person knows about BJDs or has some, I can't but suspect some of their motives. If they're collecting them just because everyone else does it too. I'm especially suspicious about younger hobbyists, but I guess that's just me being jealous. (I got my first doll at the age of 22, so my parents've never put a penny in this hobby.)

But in the end there's nothing I can do about, and sure it's just fun to meet new fellow BJD-people. On the bright side this hobby getting more popular, it gets known to those who wouldn't have heard about it other vice, and who really learn to love it among us 'old beards'.
Afterall, it's a free world. I definately wouldn't like my own dolls any less. And those who don't really like the hobby will fall off at some point and continue to the next big thing. It's quite pitiful in the end, but maybe even those will some day find the thing of their own they're ready to stick to.