Impulse buying a bjd, any regrets?

Many of my dolls were impulse dolls. They were very beautiful sculpts and I rushed to buy them without giving much thought. But looking at my collection, I can honestly say I do feel many regrets. But not just with my impulse dolls.

Distant Memory Sunho caught my eye long before I joined the hobby. He was my one and only grail doll and I loved his sculpt. I would look at his photos for hours and dream about owning him. And after 2 years, I finally got my hands on him (probably spending a bit more than he was actually worth).
I won't say I completely regret him. He is still a very gorgeous doll. He was even one of the dolls that I had admired for years, as the owner had decided to let him go. But I didn't actually know when I bought him, that he was based off a real person, and I don't really like the idea now. Especially as I became a fan, and didn't want people to think I was so obsessed that I had bought a doll of him just because I liked him.

And now that I have been in the hobby for almost 2 years, I now want to focus on dolls that are inspired by characters I have created. But that means I have now wasted so much time and money on dolls that I bought simply because they were pretty, not because they had a story I wanted to tell. I would gladly swap out many of my dolls for Loongsoul and Ringdolls, but at the same time, selling a doll isn't that easy.
Maybe one day I will clear out my collection, but at this moment, I can only be strict with whether a doll is one I want or need.

 

I made a few impulse buys as of late and there is only one I really regret since I have no idea what to do with it. All my other impulse buys are still me sitting on them for at least a few days so I can think of ideas for them, but I have no idea what to do with this one. I guess it's a good mannequin and drawing model.

 

Has happened on a few occasions. In the past, it would always end up with me selling the doll, but in the last 4-5 years I've only ever felt this crazy impulse when I come across a doll I've been planning to get (see: a character I wanted to shell) and I just happen across the PERFECT one.

Occasionally the impulse purchase even pays off! One of the heads in my collection was a limited sale for a week, when I came across him he still had 4-5 days left to go but, for whatever reason, I was possessed by this GNAWING urgency to purchase him before bed. So I put in the order at, like, 3.30am before falling asleep. And surprise, I wake up the next days to the news that the artist decided to stop the sale early because he proved too popular and too many orders were made.

All in all no regrets... not even for those who got sold, but it is what it is!

 

The most recent purchase, a second-hand Myou from Mandarake, she's not even here yet, nor do I even know exactly who she is... but there is no regrets. I already have a wig waiting for her, and possibly some eyes from Mandarake, as well... not to mention a complete outfit coming to Alicebjd! The girl is going to be spoiled!

Just waiting for a name to strike me as hers.

 

How impulsive counts as impulse? Because I dithered for three days over my most recent purchase and she was the doll I've really wanted for a year.

 

Yes, I really really regret getting an artist doll (Soleil and an additional Ciel faceplate, both in sand) from Teeny Tinker's latest preorder, because I ordered her on layaway I had time to really think about it and it turns out I love her doll pictures, but the style of the doll doesn't fit in with what I prefer to see in my dolls.
I have now been trying to sell my preorder spot on IG and FB, but it's difficult as noone has the money for it So I may have to cancel my order and just take the first payment as a loss.

 

When I first came into the hobby, I bought a lot of dolls SD size. I think it was love at first sight, but after a while I realized that it was hard for me. For example, their weight created more inconvenience in traveling.
All this dolls was a disappointment and a waste of money. So, later I turned my attention to minifee girls.

 

I have a really hard time not impulse buying dolls that fit in with my collection (mostly horned/antlered centaurs)... So far no regrets, but I struggle with the feeling that I will only have one chance to get them since often fantasy body types are limited editions or tend to get discontinued. The Dream Valley Dean Giraffe version was an impulse buy, last in stock at DDE from an event, and it ended up steering the rest of my collection so that definitely worked out!

I will say I have regretted a few dolls i did NOT buy, whatever that means as far as impulsivity goes...

I do have to be careful looking at new dolls and events for a few companies, mostly Dream Valley, because I definitely have poor control when it comes to their sculpts

 

I kinda impulse bought my Telesthesia-Xun Jian as there was a sale on Acbjd, he is now my second sd doll and I didn't think about how the head proportions would look with my girl (Sio2-Taolu).
After waiting 8 months for him to come home it didn't work.. Thankfully my friend helped me finding another sculpt that I would like and work better!

 

My least favorite doll is my Dollfie Dream DCOORD. I was trying the "two birds, one scone" thing. I like the DCOORD school uniforms, and I wanted to get a DDP, so I asked a proxy to pick one up for me. But the DDPs are kinda hard to come by, so I just had to accept whatever sculpt they could find (and it still took them several trips to get her). She's a nice doll, but I will stick to a little less randomness for the face from now on. I'll probably just get a new head for her at some point.

 

I struggle not to do this so bad... If a doll is larger company doll that is normally available I am less tempted because I know I can wait and think on it and they will still be available. But artist dolls/smaller company dolls/rare second hand dolls that I don't know when they'll come back tempt me a lot Like when a pre-order opens for a small artist and I know there won't be another for... a year? Maybe more? Maybe they'll never do another run? I am likely to impulse buy.

 

I bought a MDD from a FB Group. She was tan, had elf ears and Mochi-Ashi legs. There was an insane amount of interest in her. I just had to decide there and then.

I do still have her. She's totally adorable and I've fixed a few of the problems the seller listed.

 

I dont really struggle with impulse buying because I can’t afford it at all ;^_^) i simply don’t make enough money.. but, I’m extremely picky with anything I purchase to begin with. I will mull over something for weeks even if I think I really want it.. In regards to dolls, I try to take a lot of time thinking about character and their role in relation to me/my life.. However, I do find myself adding lots of cute dolly clothes to my cart and gazing at it longingly! I want my dolls to have a wardrobe as expansive as mine someday

 

Funny enough, the ones I've bought on impulse are the ones I regret the least. I think it's because if I immediately get them, it's because I connected immediately and didn't have to think about whether or not I wanted them, and then I'm excited when they get here. The ones I have to think about more before committing to haven't been ones I connect to when they get here. (Maybe I just have to think longer about those in the future?)

 

I have impulse bought so many dolls… it’s really a terrible habit. I buy most of my dolls secondhand, so I feel that pressure of “well if I don’t jump on it right now, someone else will!” I do end up regretting it a lot of the time, because even though I then sell them, I always lose at least some money, whether it’s because there’s no way to recoup original shipping costs, or because I have to reduce prices to get a sale (I hate sitting on a doll for sale for more than a couple of months). If I deliberate for more than 1-2 weeks, it usually works out. Deliberating for a week or less usually does not work. I’ve only kept about a third of the dolls I bought or traded for that quickly, and even then I still have mixed feelings about some of the ones I kept.

 

I bought an EID Lahela from an Iplehouse auction back in 2021, right before I dipped out of the hobby. But now today, I decided to come back here and immediately I got ideas for what to do with her, as well as a Dollshe Saint I've had even longer that has been sitting in his box (I changed my mind about my original plans for him)

 

I impulse bought my zuzu delf mati when I had only been planning on buying one other doll (her price on mandarake couldn't be beat!)
When I finally got to hold her in my hands... I honestly think I loved her a little bit more than the doll I had actually thought ahead about! Her pictures did her little justice compared to reality, and required a lot less maintenance than the other to boot.
It's best not to get into the habit of tacking on an extra hundred or so dollars to an already pricey order, but life is short

 

I'm not sure I would ever impulse buy a doll. I tend to over-think and mull over it too much actually lol! I have only just bought my first doll, finished paying the layaway about 2 weeks ago and now I'm waiting. I had been leaning toward Supia doll and saw they had a sale on and that's what made me make the decision. Even though I thought long and hard about it I did make the decision faster than I would have normally because of the sale.

I actually "accidentally" placed the order. I went to mock place the order because I wanted to see the total price and how the layaway would work. I picked everything I would want and went through the checkout process. I pressed the buy button at the bottom thinking it would take me to a final page of putting in a payment method. To my shock it took me to a "Order Placed" page. I panicked but then calmed myself down as I realised it was what I wanted anyway so just go with it Plus I'm not sure I would have ever felt "ready" anyway.

I have no regrets, I'm super excited to receive my doll . I just have a small fear that she won't be as special as I'm hoping she is.

 

My first BJD, Laika (in my icon, too!) was bought as a head on impulse in a sense. I wanted a DollZone mini head and I really liked Annie but someone in my family mentioned that she looked kind of frowny. At the same time I had seen a DZ Shoyo boy hybrid owned by someone else and wanted one like that. I was in a hurry to get a BJD and I had enough funds for a head without faceup. I went for Shoyo with a lot less deliberation than I probably should have, but lo and behold, I've had her for ~12 years and I'm still very happy with her- I think the advice to go for a cute smiling doll was probably good advice, as while I still love DZ Annie and would love to find her fullset someday, having a frowning doll as my first doll- especially just as a head- would have been a bit of a downer to be honest. Laika just looked so happy to be home though! And the personality of her sculpt is so great. I remember literally dancing around the room holding her, since I thought she looked so pretty.

On the other hand, I joined the relatively recent pre-order for Frappzilla's Dandelion Moons via layaway, and it was a sort of impulsive because it was my first time realizing that I actually could get an expensive artist doll through the "magic" of layaway. Unfortunately, the long wait and having to spend the required amount each month was kind of tedious, and even though I still love the Delphini head sculpt and color, I didn't really consider some other things I don't like as much such as her tiny hands compared to her body, and other things were more obvious once she made it home. I think there are things about her I like, but given all the circumstances she's been sitting in a box for most of the time since I got her, and I'm honestly not sure if I'll keep her, since I have other dolls in mind I'd prefer to have the money for, who I have much more specific plans for than "oh a little fae creature, she looks pretty". Certainly I would not have spent the full amount of money at a single time. So be careful of layways as a "convenience" for getting cute dolls- it can lead to impulsive purchases that might not be what you really want. And I have nothing against the doll or doll maker of course, she just probably isn't for me and I've learned my lesson about layaways for pre-order dolls.

 

No regrets yet, as I'm still waiting for them to come... but I'm a little scared, I will not like them when they come