In love with a discontinued sculpt

I've been out of the hobby since around 2010, and even then I was still super new to the hobby. I always thought that the dolls I wanted would be around since they were that popular.

Fast forward the this month and I'm researching dolls again to see who I want to bring home, only to find out that basically my grail doll the Fairyland MNF Shiwoo is no longer available.

Absolutely heartbroken still but I'm trying to find other alternatives and other dolls that I've fallen in love with.

They won't replace the Shiwoo for me but they'll still be something I love equally... hopefully

 

I've been on the hunt for Shiwoos too. Its hands down my favourite doll mold. I have a few different sizes but I'm always looking to add another to the family. But like you when I went to find another one to add to the family it was like they'd all disappeared. I wish Fairyland would re-release the lil imp. Seeing them in the ala cart order form is so frustrating.

That said I have been able to get a couple discontinued Volks FCS doll this year. Both came secondhand from Japan. I never thought I would own a F16 cutie but here she is sitting in the collection.

 

I'm hoping one day i'll be able to find my Shiwoo's, may it be second hand or a re-release, either way I'd be happy.

 

I used to look for my dream doll every day on second hand markets and I if for any reason on day I couldn't go on the Internet, I felt almost sick and thought I would miss a chance to get one.
Then I realised that it was as a drug or a kind of gambling, so I try to forget this doll.
I focus only on new dolls now (even if I'm still feeling a little frustated).

 

Ah yes, this struggle.
I have fallen hard for the Fairyland Minifee Siean and Soom Winnie Ai, but they never seem to be on the secondhand market when i actually have the funds. I've resigned myself to enjoying other's. XD

 

Oh yes. This has happened to me. I'm currently head over heels for Skully by misterminou, which is a rare and discontinued sculpt the double whammy! Two others are Caramlyne by enaibi (not discontinued but very hard to get) and Ceryop by apodoll shop. It can be very frustrating and depressing to love these amazing dolls and have them so far out of reach. The only ways I can cope are by living vicariously through people who are lucky enough to have these dolls, and keeping alive the hope that I may one day own one of my own!

 

I'm looking so hard for a Human ver. Soom Narmer, he was released once in 2016 T_T. I have literally looked EVERYWHERE.

Incase one of you guys find you grails in one of these I will list the places I searched:

DoA Marketplace (obviously)
Instagram under "bjdsale" tag
Flickr
2taobao/Xian Yu secondhand app
Facebook sale groups
Ebay(US/UK,) other korean/japanese auction sites

good luck to you guys!

 

This has happened to me way too many times now but I’m glad the sculpts I really fall in love with are not impossible to get.

 

I’m pretty sure more than half of my wishlist is discontinued dolls. I feel your pain.

 

Hello everyone,

I think I've finally experienced this "falling in love" with a sculpt which many people described
I saw a company photo for a wig (okay, four photos) and instead of wanting the wig, I wanted that girl. It took me really long to find out who it is. And then... I found out it was an event sculpt from ten years ago

What do you do when wanting a doll/sculpt which was only an event or was discontinued? Will you give up before even trying or look for it on second market? If second, do you ever give up? I'm still searching for this specific sculpt, but I wonder how many years it might take until I find it...

Greetings,
Kin'ril

Edit: Sorry for the double post, I searched for a similar thread but didn't find one... Seems like I just overlooked it

 

Honestly, one can never know how lucky one can might be in the end!
I had friends who wanted seemingly impossible to get dolls, extremely old dolls or similar and then when they finally opened up a WTB thread...boom, someone contacted them who happened to stumble upon their thread and decided "why not, I'm not using it anyway". You might sometimes have to accept little flaws or signs of age, but rarely things are completely impossible.

Funny enough, all the big, hard(er) to get one wishes I had all stumbled into my lap.
I got a Heliot head for very cheap on Mandarake back then, I got an Amber head for free through circumstances, and I even got an Akhmel Xiro despite him being Russia only and the artist having long sold out of them (I was lucky she still found replacement parts and they were enough for one additional doll).

So, just give it a try! You'll never know until you try
Even if it takes a bit of time, if you don't try it at all you'll never have a chance.

 

I will definitely not give up yet But I'm also not creating false hope. Maybe I'm lucky - maybe not. Usually I'm not the lucky type of person ^^
You are reaaaaaally lucky though! I'm glad that you found your wishes. How long was your longest wait for one of your wishes?

 

Glorydoll was a company that went under years ago. Louis a sculpt of theirs was my grail all my hobby life. I found two, one I sold the other I'm re-buying now. People will fall out of love with a discontinued sculpt or need cash and sell. And then your opportunity appears! Don't ever stop looking! I check the MP everyday! Put up WTBs and ask around! Your day will come!~

 

Don't give up! Of the 14 dolls I own, three were limited event heads from over a decade ago, two are discontinued (one from about 10 years ago), one has since had the sculpt altered so new versions look different and one has a 1-4 year wait time though not actually discontinued. Most of these were found either in stock with a dealer, secondhand at a fair price or received in trades. Some of them I found by chance without even really searching for them. If you really want the doll, don't give up hope. Once you get market access, look for the doll you want, you may find it. If not, post a Want To Buy, you never know who might have that doll tucked away in a closet, too lazy to list it or unsure if they really want to part with it until they see someone offering money for it.

 

Don't give up. You might find the head some day at an affordable price. That happens to me twice.

The first was with a Dollfie Dream Sasara. I always wanted that doll but it is limited edition. When I discover it the first version was no longer for sale and on the 2nd hand marketplace was so expensive. The second edition I enter Volks lottery and I didn't win. Then people started to sale the 2nd version very expensive too. I almost gave up because there was no way I was going to pay over $1000 for just a head. Well, some months ago I came across with a Sasara head the second version at an affordable price I was willing to pay. So now I have my girl.

The second one is also a Dollfie Dream. It was a standard model at Volks so I was sure she would be there forever. But two years ago all of the sudden Volks discontinued that standard model. They still have the blank head, but I really really like the company face up in DD Yukino 2nd version. So, I started looking for the head everywhere, but it was almost impossible to find. I almost gave up because the ones I found out they were selling the doll for a very high price and that's was just for the head the full doll was worst. So, I continue looking and finally today I was able to buy her. I found a DD Yukino v2 for a very affordable price. So if God permits she will be with me in about two weeks.

So, my advice is don't give up. Continue looking and once you find it the wait will be worth it

 

You never know.

I found this sculpt I fell in love with, too. When I looked into it, it seemed impossible to get, with many other looking for the sculpt and offering a generous amount of money for it.

Well, I found her in a couple of weeks.

Sometimes I feel guilty about that, because I know many people have been looking for years. But at the same time, I did put my work in into searching for someone who is willing to sell.

It doesn't hurt to ask around although some people may take offense when you ask them if a doll is for sale, so just be careful and be as respectful as you can be. Many people will discourage you about asking (because of the reason mentioned) but this is how I got my dream doll. Again, just be respectful, and if they say no, back off.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for the reminder, I actually didn't know that--I'll have to review the rules. In any case I thought I should mention that the sale was made outside of DoA, as it was a person who has stopped the BJD hobby.

 

I'm currently in love with a discontinued outfit (Not sculpt it self but her outfit).

I miss it because I wasn't plan for any 1/3 Dollfie Dream in my group and all other of my doll are 1/4, but my partner bought a 1/3 Dollfie Dream then...

I hope that I could find them somewhere in the market...

 

@idrisfynn I read the advice as "outside doa" anyway Like Instagram maybe, where the last photo of the sculpt was uploaded a year ago. It doesn't make sense to me asking people when there's an official marketplace.

It feels like everyone is so lucky that it doesn't seem impossible to get your grail sculpt anymore o.O I'm getting my hopes up ^^

@xxxsaturnxxx That's a different but yet similar problem. Is it possible to make it yourself or give it to tailor? It might end up more expensive than the original though...