If you could have a do over in this hobby what would it be?

I would do the opposite. I wish I had done more research and asked questions as well as had gone to a couple of meet ups before I bought my first bjd.

 

If I were back in time, there's not really much I could've done differently to get the dolls I ended up missing out on. Back then money was tighter. So something I did have control over that I could've changed: I would've restrung my second doll sooner. He ended up with a stress fracture in his arm from being strung too tightly for a long time.

 

Mine would be to make a list of dolls, wigs, eyes, clothes etc. that I want to have, plan my spending on a calendar for the two years to come and STICK TO IT.

 

I would have kept many of my dolls. I would have kept my Limhwa half elf, Lillycat Ellana, DOT Shall, I would have also bought the tender Shall I always dreamed of and Lillycat Lyse, I would have kept my Oasis doll Chic girl Jessie. I would not have bought some other dolls.

 

Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? There are dolls I missed that I wish I hadn't debated so much over, and there are dolls I stupidly bought based on faceups that the company did not reproduce well at all. There are dolls I sold that I miss terribly, and will not ever have again in their original incarnation. It's a learning experience!

 

I would not have ordered Dollshe Aramis from bjdivas, or at all. It’s been almost 18 months, and absolutely no word.

 

My third doll should have been my first. She's double jointed and came with clothes, face-up, and a wig. I sold my second several years ago and would like to rehome my first, who is still blank.

 

Oh that's not BJDivas, that's just how Dollshe runs these days.

I don't know if I would do anything related to dolls differently. Maybe go to more shows a lot sooner.

 

Ah, Dollshe. Curse them for having the worst customer service ever, but oh, such beautiful dolls...

 

I'm happy with what I have... BUT...

Not buy some of my LE's for the ridiculously inflated prices that I did. Some of them I could never recoup the cost after the company re-released. I should have just bided my time.

 

There are a few dolls I've sold that I wish I still had that are now either too rare or expensive to find now. One in particular I sold I've had a want to buy thread for years now and no offers. When it was new it was an unpopular sculpt so not many are around and the people that have it aren't willing to let go of it. Selling that head is my 1 big regret

 

Hmm...that is such a tough question.
I mostly like the ones I have, and a lot of the ones I bought back then and sold by now...well, they were the best choice I had back then for the character in mind The available dolls have changed greatly since I entered the hobby 13 years ago. I did the best with what was available. I don't really regret any of my purchases, at that point of the time they felt just right, and the ones I sold I am also pretty content about. My blunders/list of regret is overall very small. Happens when you don't buy left and right.

If I could go back in time, I would probably tell myself to ease off on taking commissions. Yeah the money was nice, but it was a serious weight on my shoulders and the reason why my own collection was pretty much on hiatus for ten years
That's the biggest mistake I think I made, putting in more effort into the enjoyment others can have with the hobby (i.e. me painting their stuff) over my own enjoyment (painting my own dolls). If I even would have just forced myself to paint one head of mine after every third commission, things would have already been better.

Doll-wise, hm. I honestly wish they would have made the fashion sized dolls waaaaaaay earlier, and they were as normal and popular as any of the other sizes. Because that would be the biggest change for me, going for the fashion dolls.
Alas, that universe doesn't exist, so even going back in time wouldn't help there

 

This right here, except for me it was planning meetups and modding forums. I spent way too long trying to make sure everyone else had a good time, and you can never make everyone happy, so it just led to a lot of heartache. I’m a lot happier doing my own thing for my own enjoyment.

 

I woulda gotten that clothing I was looking at instead of hesitating.

 

I would have gone to NY Dolpa. I was a teenager and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere but home or school, plus my parents *hated* dolls, but it seemed so magical and I'm sorry I didn't get to experience it. It would have been a light in a grim time. Next year in Kyoto, maybe...

I would have asked my uncle and grandmother to chip in for a doll so I could have gotten Souldoll Eckstine or Dollshe Afghan before they were discontinued. I never told either of them about BJDs because I was afraid of being judged, but in retrospect, they were both gentle and crafty people and probably would have wanted me to enjoy them.

 

I'd be a lot more selective about what I buy. I've wasted SO much money on dolls I don't love, clothes and shoes of terrible quality and wigs that don't look right. If I could have back all the money I wasted on those things, I could buy several new dolls and pay a good chunk on my house mortgage. That really depresses me. I think I'd require myself to roleplay a doll for six months and feel connected to shell them, and only buy the best stuff for them so I wouldn't be disappointed by low quality stuff. My dolls would be the best they could be and I'd probably be able to keep a cohesive crew and not a huge money sink.

 

If I had to do anything over I would not have gotten offended by some rude doll hobbiest making derogatory comments on my first bjd, being from a "certain company" and feeling like she wasn't worthy of being at my very first doll show with me. I loved her sweet face then and still do to this day. I learned so much by owning her and participating in doll conventions, but that experience really bothered me until I learned it was their problem and not my doll. It was not a recast or anything, it was a legit doll company just not one highly favored by this particular individual. I was new to the hobby and had no idea that I would encounter snobbery. What a waste of my time to get so worried that I had somehow done something wrong. Live and learn.

 

I wish I kept going to sewing classes before hancock shut down. I wish I had gotten a dollfie dream earlier than I did. That's it.

 

If I could do anything over, I wouldn’t have sold my Volks Megu because at the time I needed tuition money. Being my first doll she was special, and back then I couldn’t even imagine that Volks would discontinue the four sisters. Sigh...