If Soom released their monthly dolls as a basic line next year, how would you feel?

The reality is that in this hobby there is quite a long history of companies re-releasing limited sculpts anyway. No sculpt is guaranteed "never to be released in basic" and even if they are - that is subject to change. Soom are entitled to do whatever they please with their sculpts. When they replied they had no plans to re-release Beryl, they probably didn't. For ages now they've been struggling to keep up with the demand for their MDs. It's been a couple of years since her first release so they're hardly racing to repeat her. As for Soom diminishing her market value by reselling her, who knows? There are still a lot of people that want a WS Beryl.

As for the statement that Soom have made a lot of money out of people assuming their dolls were never to be released again, ummm isn't that sort of assuming that everyone buying was a reseller? I have bought their monthly dolls, I currently own Chalco. I bought (ok, and sold) the dolls based on what I wanted at the time. I found I didn't like WS dolls so sold mine, then decided not to keep my grey skin and Vesuvia, because I was too scared to play with them in case of damage. I decided to only buy the NS MDs. Sure, it's great to know they hold their market value and can be worth more, but that isn't the case with all MD dolls. I know there was very little interest in Vesuvia for a long time and her market value went up and down. I didn't buy her because I assumed she would be popular, in fact if I was looking for a doll for resale value, I would have avoided her altogether, because most people hated her at the time. IMO, Soom have done all they could to make their dolls accessible to everyone. While the ordering period was open, they allowed people to order as many of the dolls as they wanted rather than limit them to a set amount of dolls. When Sard and Beryl were first released, Sard sold out in a day or two, after much pleading, Soom offered him again, and again, and again. Really, the limited, exclusive hype was created here and in the marketplace rather than at Soom. They have never stated anywhere "never to be resold in basic" and have always left the option open to re-release them.

As for the comments on Beryl's listing, I'd be surprised if Soom even bother to read them. There's always the same loud-mouthed, ignorant, rude rubbish posted on almost every MD listing. "Not more hooves", "I was wanting this.... instead", "It's ok but not what I'm after, can't you do this?". Personally, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a re-release of Onyx. I loved her face but didn't want either a WS or grey skinned doll so a NS doll would be perfect.

Edit: As for caring about the value of your collection, fair enough, but there are a lot of other factors just as likely to influence the value of your collection. Simply the fact that Soom released numerous dolls with hooved feet ran the risk of decreasing their value. Hooved feet are a lot more common now. How about the hooved feet that other companies release? Should they consider whether it will decrease the value of people's collection before releasing them? The more grey skin dolls they release, the less rare they will be etc. Very few collections hold their value long term. If you're wanting a long term investment, I'd suggest property or shares. Dolls simply don't have a great investment record.

 

This is purely speculation again, but I was pondering, maybe the 'Gem' line, which was available all the time, in sales was paling in comparison to what the MD line was doing and they decided more people were clamouring for the MD's than the Gems...? It would make sense then to satisfy the doll collectors that still want this sculpt and they get to keep their business from going down the pan...surely a win/win situation?

Doll collectors have a right to collect in whatever way they will, they have a right to have an opinion and feeling about what a company is doing, but I would just put it to the people that genuinely feel betrayed....what would you do, if this were your company and (for arguments sake), the longevity of the business were threatened...what would you do to save it?

 

Oh, just to clarify, I meant that LEs create sales because of the timeframe/limited number of them. It's the excitement (desperation, obsession :p) to get something that you can only get that way at normal price that makes a lot of people buy when they do. It doesn't assume that the buyers are resellers at all, because Soom makes zero money off of resold dolls.

I'm less interested in saying what Soom should or shouldn't do, and more interested in explaining the possible reasons for the negative reactions of some owners. That was my only specific point to that, as I neither buy for value nor rarity (though I enjoy owning rarer dolls, most of mine aren't), nor do I care what Soom does in terms of re-releases. Er, I don't want to know what my collection is worth, because that would reveal how much I've spent!

 

- I would love to see all the previous MD's in alternative resin colours...human Euclase in ns, I'd be in heaven!

 

I do understand the disappointment of seeing the value of your collection drop. Like I said, of course you feel a sting when you see your doll being re-released. On the other hand, history of this hobby has proven that most limiteds will still hold value, because the re-release is a different version. Especially in this case I don't see the MD Beryl soon become worthless, because she still has these awesome fantasy parts, a beautiful outfit and gorgeous face-up the other version doesn't have.

Being disappointed, I get, but getting this worked up about it that people respond as though the world has suddenly come to an end, I do not. I belief that this will only hurt your (general) enjoyment of this hobby (and that of others).

 

My wallet would probably commit suicide if Soom starts releasing past MDs as other LE or even Basic line with different skintones. Arghh...*shivers*...! Imagine the yummy-ness of Chrom in WS, Heliot, Amber, Topaz or Cass in NS...I better start organizing a funeral for my wallet....

 

I had this thought I kind of wanted to add to this thread...

Even in the hypothetical situation where Soom were to re-release alternate versions of all of their MDs, I don't imagine I would be detracted from buying MDs at all. A few people made the argument that re-releasing the sculpt causes the doll to decrease in value, but as aforementioned, they are different dolls.

So basically, if Soom releases an incredibly gorgeous MD that I must buy, I shall buy it. If another version of that sculpt is released (not unlike the "Love Me or Die" Beryl), I wouldn't be bothered at all. I think I am kind of the minority that loves the fantasy parts with a burning fiery passion. Even if they were to re-release the same exact sculpt, I still don't think I would be bothered. In the case of Beryl, for instance, those who bought the MD version at launch got to love her for two more years.

I also kind of take issue with the whole, "Soom is an evil mastermind" theory. I really have a hard time believing that Soom is re-releasing limited sculpts for the sole purpose of making MD owners angry. Moreover, I doubt that Soom as a company feels they are doing anything reprehensible at all. What they are doing seems to be completely within their right...and from minimal research, it would seem that Soom never said they wouldn't re-release a given sculpt. There really are a number of companies that do the same thing, and we don't think twice about it. To me, the whole NED Beryl vs. the LMoD Beryl is kind of similar to E.I.D. Jessica basic vs. Jessica Pierrot...there is a limited version of the doll, and a "normal" version of the doll. That is, of course, assuming that LMoD Beryl will not be limited (which seems kind of doubtful).

Oh, I ramble so!

 

I don't feel too put off by the re-release (or supposed re-release... At the time of writing she has no price and for all I know it could just be a one-off/art picture that they decided to do, though I kinda doubt it). I know a lot of people really were wishing that Soom might do an al-a-carte with the fantasy parts and sculpts, and to me, it seems a little sad for them to make an awesome mold and after all the orders of it are filled, it just sits there, or is broken. Granted, it would be nice if they just put a little date in the head to say that they are not the original release.
I would be happy to see them re-release the MD molds so I can see more of what other people do with them. There seem to be a lot of (Mold X, Mold Y, Mold Z, ect ect ect) that I see a long list for in the waiting rooms and only ever seem to see a quarter of them out there. I am a little disappointed that they tried the human version only/human version plus fantasy version with Cass and never did it again, so seeing them re-release in human only would be nice.
But, as I am, I would love to see more of doll (X Y Z, ect) out there to see what people do. Them re-releasing is just beneficial to me in my enjoyment of them.

 

Agreed. I think the irony here is that Soom wouldn't rerelease their dolls if they didn't feel that a large part of their fan base wanted them. Who knows, they might well have been influenced by inquiries they've gotten from customers. Rather than screwing over their fans, it seems to me that they are actually catering to them by giving people a second chance to own some of these sculpts. It's just that a few people want something different, but you can't please everybody all the time.

I think that there is also confusion at times from some folks about what makes an LE an LE -- usually it's not the sculpt, or if it is, it will most likely be released again in a different LE package. That's the way this hobby tends to work -- while there may well be doll companies I'm not thinking of, I can't recall any that really sell one time only sculpts. It feels at times that people have expectations for the hobby that are not based on how the hobby and companies work despite previous evidence to the contrary.

 

I really can't understand why people are getting upset. Okay, I can understand the monetary side of things (anyone who bought a Beryl secondhand would be disappointed with Soom's latest announcement), and the worry attached that the value of the once fully-limited doll that will now be available. But this Beryl has different skin color, a different faceup/body blushing, different wig, and it even looks like she has a bigger chest! She is NOTHING like the first Beryl, with the exception of her head mold and perhaps body type (which is pretty much available on basic dolls, not counting the bigger boobs that original Beryl didn't have anyway ). Therefore, her value will be different from the original Beryl.

Sure your $2,000 doll may drop to $1,500 or $1,000, but that's part of any collectibles market. I always think of Beanie Babies. While they were hot, a dark blue elephant went for at least $2,000-$5,000, while the light blue counterpart went for around retail value. There was a limited number of dark blue elephants, while the light blue one was fairly common, so the value for the original was a lot higher. However, the Beanie Baby fad did subside. I just did a search for the dark blue elephant on eBay and counted 5; average value was around $850-$900 Buy It Now (one person is holding on at @ $3,500 but I doubt they'll have takers). Still not a bad price for a stuffed toy, but the value had at least been halved. I'd also be surprised to see if anyone buys at that price.

You always take a chance when buying while the market is high, and someone will always profit while someone else will always get burned. That's why you buy what you love, not buy what may or may not be worth more in the future.

 

Oh I relate to that. xD I had hundreds of Beanies and my collection was worth a LOT in the day but now I can't even sell them for $3 a piece, even the ones that used to be worth hundreds. Now they sit in cardboard boxes; I can't even sell my whole lot for $50. It's possible in any hobby for substantial money loss!

 

It's not "wrong" to care about the value of your collection... but it is a collector's hobby. Any hobby that involves collectibles is volatile and risky, if you're in it for the money/market value. There are an awful lot of factors in the "estimated market value" of a doll, only one of which is potential re-releases. I think that's just one of the risks that is involved in any hobby like this. For all any of us know, the whole market for BJDs could tank within a few years and then none of our dolls would be worth anything. (Look at comic books, baseball cards, and any number of other "collectible" hobbies over the past few decades).

Like myrianu said:

I think it's just part and parcel of the whole collectible game, and it's something that should be kept in mind when investing... at any time, for any number of reasons, that value could go down. It may not be pleasant, but that's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

 

Me too, lol. Granted I forbid myself to pay more than $10 a Beanie while I was collecting, but the sheer volume of Beanies I had still gained quite a bit of value as the fad went on.

I did manage to get rid of a good chunk of the collection by giving them away; I donated them to my church at the time. We participated in a project called Operation Christmas Child, which sent a shoebox to each needy child filled with everyday things (toothbrushes, socks, etc.) and small toys, so the Beanies were a perfect fit! I never made anything off my collection, but at least I felt good knowing that they would be loved in a new home


On a seperate note, adding to my previous post:
I think people are getting frustrated in part because they are forgetting that the key principle of collecting is to buy what you love. I never regretted buying any of my Beanies, and I've never regretted buying any of the dolls I've had (even though I got burned once or twice on resale value), because I loved playing with them while I had them and I attribute any money lost to the time I spent enjoying them. Granted a $500-$1,000 loss is a lot harder to swallow, but that's the chance you take. And even in Soom's case, I'm sure there are some secondhand Beryl owners who will still love their dolls no matter what the price, because they worked hard and scoured the marketplace/other sites to find their dream doll.

 

...hmm
This would be very interesting ... this could gain my interest , I'd be happy to order something with an ala carte as you describe it even if I would prefer & order more if they did option parts - heads separate sales.

 

Something I didnt even think of! The possibilities of variant sculpts are endless... Here is definitely hopeing for a human head Amber. I was so close to getting her, but didn't because of the ears. We shall see. It's all still very exciting to me.

 

Lots of companies have had limited versions of standard dolls, or vice versa, and we've all been very pleased about it from what I am able to tell. Judging from the volume of 2nd hand fantasy bits that have been on the market for the last few years, I'm guessing that there's quite an audience for just the human versions of Soom's sculpts (they do, after all, have beautiful faces!). I actually have felt bad for the limiteds that were purchased but stripped of their special parts as though those parts were unimportant.

The limiteds won't cease being limited. They're the same dolls. If someone out there snagged one of these ethereal creatures simply because it was limited rather than because they like the doll itself? I won't be able to ever understand that. *shrug* Different wiring, I guess.

Now the "it cost more on the secondary market" thing -- I understand the irritation factor but keep in mind that Soom had absolutely zero to do with anyone's decision to go that route, any more than Dollshe is the source of the prices on the older Bermanns and Hounds. It was a personal choice made by the purchaser, in the same way that I've been known to drop several hundreds of dollars on a piece of painted plastic from a favorite anime show. Nonsensical to some, but it made sense to me or to you at the time.

My thoughts on it are: take pride in the doll you own. You worked hard for it. Let Soom do what it needs to do to stay afloat in a luxury market in a world-wide recession. It'll all come out in the wash.

And: what Hobbywhelmed said ^.


ETA: a pet peeve. Anyone who is rude enough to go post nastygrams on Soom's doorstep deserves absolutely SQUAT from them, or anyone else. That is strictly my opinion, but I was raised, apparently, on a different planet than some other people. Courtesy, people. Common courtesy.

 

Personally, i like looking a SOOM MDs but....
I got so fed up with people spending so much money, waiting for so long and then being sad because the doll isn't that great and was overly photoshopped in the pictures....so.....i wouldn't care personally...
BUT
I would feel a bit sad (if i had a older MD) if they rereleased them as basics....it wouldn't make my doll "Limited and Special" anymore.