If you could go back in time to when you first started with bjds...

What would you tell your past self about your journey through this hobby?
It's been 'not fun' more often than it's been fun. I spent way more money initially than I should have. I bought dolls I wished I hadn't bought and joined social communities I wish I hadn't touched with the proverbial ten-foot pole.
What would you warn your past self about?
I would warn my 'past self' to stay clear of this hobby at all costs. Seriously. I mean that. But, if 'past self' insisted on joining the hobby anyway, I'd say steer clear of every online community except DoA.
What would you tell your past self to make absolutely sure to do?
Make absolutely sure to avoid temptation. Run as far and as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

 

Don't order your first doll through a US dealer! It takes longer and costs more, there is literally no benefit for you.

You don't like dolls smaller than MSD

And while I don't regret any dolls I've owned I wish Id stopped collecting mostly minifee sooner. And god damn stop buying doll chateau dolls, they're gorgeous but they're not for you.

 

Hahaha I was about to say the same about the Juri 08!! I can't believe how much they're going for!

 

I would tell myself to buy those dolls that I wanted to buy, but that I missed because I thought I could always get one on the second hand market at a later date.
I would also tell myself not to buy the dolls, wigs, shoes and clothes that I never really liked all that much.
As @Ara said, a lot of the stuff I bought back in the day were "the best option" at the time. I would tell myself to be patient, wait at least six years and then the kind of clothes and shoes I want will actually be made...

 

Don't sell anything! You think you want to sell that to get a different doll? No! Box it up and sit on it for 6 months to a year and then reevaluate. I sold my Rheia, my first minifee, and I painfully regret it. None of the other Rheias seem to have the same feel to them.

Above all, have patience. Measure time in years in this hobby. Take years to save. Take years to decide. Take years to finish a character. It's worth it in the end.

 

The BJD hobby is my metaphorical "Hotel California" - I can check out (in fact I did 'check out' emotionally and mentally from a lot of social aspects of the hobby a long time ago) but I can never leave. I don't feel like I'm "going forward with BJDs" at all, to be honest, and I'd love nothing better than to offload about 2/3 of my current ones and just enjoy a few special ones on my own. Believe me, so many times I've just wanted to cut my losses and run. I honestly have no idea why I'm still here. I do like dolls - I've always been a doll collector and have several other types besides BJD - so I guess that's it.

 

Things I would tell myself:

- Don't sell off Seimei. You'll just end up missing the lanky goof and buying another Hound to replace him in a few years.

- Don't sell off Shakti until you're good and ready to. If you do it too soon, just because someone says they want her, she'll end up eBayed a couple of weeks later and resold to an owner who'll treat her very badly, and that'll make you sad for years.

- Buy that pointy-eared grumpus of an Ark, even though you have no idea what you'll do with him. You'll regret not doing that when you had the chance. Also, that Celestyn. You'll be into tall, gangly odd-balls later on and he would have made an excellent Bird-of-Paradise.

- Don't do the "shared world" roleplay thing. Just don't. Keep the friends... They were good people and a heck of a lot of fun to run around with... But in the end, three's a crowd and you know you're too possessive of your own characters to successfully collaborate in that way in the first place. You'll end up resenting everything you've made and coming damn near to selling the dolls as a result. That's not a Good Thing. You love Jen and Kes and always will.

- "Collector" isn't a naughty word. Don't deny being one. You don't have to oh-so-carefully sidestep the whole 'bonding' and 'dolls have souls' issue or that 'but they're our BABIES!' business for years just because you suspect you'd catch hell from some segments of the community otherwise. Just admit up-front that you find the whole thing ridiculous and that you consider your dolls toys. You'll find out that you're not alone in feeling that way.

- It's easier NOT to buy a doll in the first place than it is to try and sell one later on, so it's wiser not to go overboard. Yes, it's fun having a large collection... and yes, there's no way you're going to end up with a SMALL crew... I know that as well as you do... but seriously. You shouldn't have ended up with half as many as you have. It's silly.

- And yes, you're going to end up with a bunch of Volks sculpts. Stop with the denial. CP isn't the only game in town.

 

-DO NOT impulse buy any doll, you will regret it.

-Don't be over-confident in sewing and faceup skills. Listen to people with experience and stop being so determined to do it MY WAY!! There are preferred ways for a reason.

-it's worth it to save longer to get what you want. Don't settle.

-that long silver wig looks terrible on Amir. So do those cheap crappy eyes. He deserves better.

-research first! Your second doll is not unfinished, you just don't know what anime style or single joints means.

-Look past US dealers. They can be wonderful but you're limiting yourself entirely too much by refusing to look elsewhere.

-restringing is not that bad. It's pretty easy. Don't spend two years with floppy dolls because you're scared.

 

What would you tell your past self about your journey through this hobby?
Be patient and don't rush into things. Good things come to those who wait...

What would you warn your past self about?
Don't buy any blank dolls. You don't have the patience or skill to do your own face ups the way you envision them.
Trust your gut feelings on sales or trades

What would you tell your past self to make absolutely sure to do? Don't impulse buy. Sometimes it hard to sell certain dolls that you end up not liking.

Anything else?
Stick to collecting one size. Right now i have a lot of different sizes and its hard because not many can share clothes etc...

 

I would tell myself:

-Don't let other people influence you. Don't buy that doll just because it's popular/ all the cool people have one. I chalk this one up to me being youngish at the time, and I wish someone would have said it to me back then.

-Buy clothes/eyes/wigs BEFORE getting a doll. I remember when I got my first dolls I really didn't have many decent accessories for them and I think it harmed my initial enjoyment. I was always in such a rush back then.

-Don't be afraid to customize. Get a new faceup done, suede/ restring dolls that don't pose well. No sense in being unhappy with something but unwilling to change it.

 

I don't feel I can advise you what to do. We're all different and living in different situations. But my advice to me would have been to wait. I purchased my first doll within 3 months of finding out about the hobby. While it was fun and I learned a lot, I find that the characters I waited longer to develop and find perfect sculpts for are much more fulfilling. I sold some of my first dolls. And now I've boxed more up and will wait a year to see if they're going too. But what a waste when I could have devoted that time, energy, money and creativity into the more developed dolls. Out of my 7 dolls and 2 heads, Im only inspired by 3 of them. But maybe that's wishful thinking. You can't start with perfection. Maybe my precious 3 were only obtained because I had to figure out what didn't work first.

Excellent thread! I'm loving everyone's introspective thoughts.

 

I always think it's worth to wait a bit before starting a new hobby, no matter what.
You will, most likely, start something very big as soon as you purchase your first doll.
Most of your funds will go to your new hobby, you will get to know new people, gain knowledge and experience, spend time browsing around.
I've been in the hobby since 2008 and while I'm not "omg dolls!!1" anymore as much as in the beginning I can't deny how much of my life this hobby has consumed and continues to do so.
And compared to others I'm still pretty mellow!

And yes, thinking in years makes sense.
You do a lot of waiting, and at the same time lose a feeling for how long things have truly been ago.
It's not a hobby you just start and stop being interested in next month.
We make big investments, and sometimes spend money on not so perfect choices because we see no other choice or can't wait anymore.
It's sometimes worth looking a little longer, saving a little longer, waiting a little longer.

In short: take your sweet time.
Do lots of research, think how you want to approach the hobby (full on customizing and only DIY, just a happy collector, quietly collecting dolls, being more of a social type etc.), look at many dolls before you buy your first.
The hobby won't go anywhere in the next weeks or months, no need to feel rushed

 

I'd tell myself not to get that Iplehouse Akando and get that Unidoll Jace instead. Because that's the one doll I'd really, really LOVE to have (so I'd have all three of the original Raurencio boys, Jace, Feanor and Ark). Also because Iplehouse came out with so many other great (and even better) sculpts AFTER Akando. And also because for Captain Morgan Bartholomew I guess I'd actually prefer a Granado guy ... *sigh*

 

I would space out my purchases more. I'm very happy with the dolls I have, and I don't regret any of them, but I bought several very quickly and it's meant I haven't had chance to make the things I want for them all. In hindsight I'd probably have been better buying one, then making things, then buying.

But everyone does at least have hair, eyes, one outfit, and somewhere to sit, so now I just need to work out what I intend to make for each and get to it.

 

If I could go back in time, I'll tell myself to not get the first and second doll. The YOSD and tiny don't fit into my doll family at all. I don't remember the last time I took them out of their box. Every time I do a family photo, I forget they even existed, let along include them. It's usually my mum asking me, "where's your girl?" when I show her my most recent family photo that I realize I forgot about them but they're not important enough for me to reshoot the picture. I do believe that I've wasted money on them, I could have gotten another doll or something that would fit into the family.

I would tell myself not to get normal eyes and just go for the small iris. I no longer even use normal iris eyes.

I would tell myself not to go crazy with the wig-buying. Instead of buying a wig for my future doll, I should have waited until I actually have the doll in hand before getting wigs.

 

If I could go back, I would have gotten a DC Queena as my first doll. I was totally enamored and spent all my time thinking about her character, but I wanted a cheaper doll to start with in case I lost interest. Two years have passed, and while I still want her I no longer have the money! It would have saved me a lot of grief if I had gone for the sculpt I was in love with instead of just kind of into.

I do also wish that I had spent more money on clothing instead of saving up immediately for my next doll. In my head I saw a doll as more "worth the price" than a bunch of clothing, but that just resulted in too many under dressed dolls.

 

What would you tell your past self about your journey through this hobby?
Relax, everything gets solved within time, I don't know why, but that's the mystery of it.
What would you warn your past self about?
Choose more wisely your first, not settle with the "best quality/price option" and don't get too mad over the characters you design if they do not fit. And please, risk a little more, learn more, don't stick to what is easy.
What would you tell your past self to make absolutely sure to do?
Please, stay tuned into Dearmine so we can get that limited we now love but can't afford.

 

Beware! Once you open this door, there is no going back! This is a very dangerous addiction for my piggy bank! But well worth it in terms of owning such wonderful dolls.