Is it ok to think of BJDs as a form of investment?

I think of my dolls as forms of investment, in way. I don't see why it would be wrong to, especially when they're such expensive items that tend to hold their value. Often times I do base my future doll purchases on how valuable that doll may be at a later date, because I have a hard time with bonding and emergencies may pop up that demand I sell one of my dolls. This happened with me a while back, when I ended up going through with selling a very rare doll in order to afford to attend the concert of my dreams.

I often think we sometimes forget that these dolls are, in the end, just objects that can be sold at any point in time. I'm happy that such a hobby can keep its value because if, in a few years, I find myself not wanting my dolls anymore I know that I won't have wasted thousands of dollars with this en devour. Unlike my beanie baby or manga collections. =P

 

That's how I feel and how I think of them as an investment.

 

I couldn't care less how people choose to think of their own things. I don't regard my dolls as an investment any more than I regard my home as an investment. My home is to live in and keep my stuff in. My dolls are to make me feel good and have fun with. Either one could get destroyed in an instant by some disaster.

I suppose if I needed money I could sell one or the other but I'd rather not. I rely on my own ability to make my way such as by using my skills or my brains. If it came down to selling dolls I would hope it would be for something that was going to be useful to me, such as classes at school. I do know other people who sell off all their possessions periodically and go move to another country or something, and like I said, fine for them, it's not how I am or how I like to live.

I also think if you truly want to invest you should buy stocks or bonds or something that is a lot more reliable with a bigger payoff than dolls (or, in the US market, real estate these days). Seriously, just buy some gold ingots.

 

Dolls, or collectibles of any type, are NOT wise investments. Sure you may be able to sell them & hopefully recoup close to what you paid but the trends in collectibles are so rapid & what's hot today may only bring you pennies on the dollar in a short time. Over the years I've collected I've seen the market shifts for all different sorts of dolls & if your primary reason for buying is to resell later, you're better off putting your money in a coffee can & burying it in the back yard. Sure, there's no profit but at least all your original money will still be there.

Right now BJDs are hot & are basically holding their value, especially the Volks limited editions & event dolls but I've already seen dolls offered for a good price that just sit there. There's a lot of product out there now & with the entry of the less expensive Chinese companies on the scene eventually the market will be flooded & prices will drop, perhaps drastically.

If you're scalping, that's another thing. Sometimes you can make quite a bit buying a special & then turning it over quickly but in general that seems to frowned upon by this community.

In the end the only real reason to buy a doll is because you love it. That way, no matter how the market goes, you'll have something beautiful that gives you joy & you won't worry about future value.

 

Very VERY well said!

Still, it makes it easier, both when signing a mortgage or pressing 'buy' to think that if need arose that you could get back more or less what you paid. (Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed).

 

I would not consider them an investment, as an investment should increase in value over time and with most of these all it takes is the company releasing a new updated body, or improved resin and the value of the older one goes down.

 

I wouldn't consider them an investment, just because BJDs don't really increase in value over time, as others have said. But if they did, I wouldn't have a problem with it.. but I wouldn't do it personally, just because I know I'd get too attached to the dolls! xD

 

of course it's okay to think of your BJD as an investment...!

in a sense, I'd say that they inescapably are investments, as they're something you spend money on that can be resold for money. sure, they may not be particularly good investments--as Gwydion pointed out, they're "hot" right now but the market may not always give such good value for second-hand dolls; it's also hard to make money reselling "used" dolls unless you either manage to net quite a rare one or have some marketable skill such as modding or doing faceups that might increase its value--but then, neither is a car! although most people who buy cars aren't really thinking of them as investments the way they might their portfolio with the bank, the status of cars-as-investments plays a greater or lesser role in many people's choices about the vehicles they buy. similarly, although I think most members of the board don't buy dolls with the express purpose of reselling them, and although there are members who would rather suffer financially than sell all/any of their crew, I think the thought has crossed many people's minds that a doll is...perhaps not an investment, but a liquidateable asset.

 

i totally agree with this. i fully accept that at some point my girls may not be worth much at all; but i dont care because thats not why i bought them

 

It helped me buying my first one.
I wasn't sure if I would Stay interested in him.
So I was happy he was a limited so I could sell him If I lost interest and not losing a lot of money.

But I wouldn't buy them and resell them just to make money.
Maybe I would do it if I would customize them or do their face up and then resell them.
But then I would have added something of myself to them.

 

Of course it's fine to think of a doll as an investment.... but I think it takes a lot of the fun out of the hobby if you buy dolls only as investments and keep them in their boxes, untouched and unplayed-with.

Scalping is a bit different... but on the other hand without scalpers lots of us would never, ever have the chance to get many dolls. So I can't say that it's totally terrible.

 

There's nothing wrong with seeing them as an investment. However, they don't really make great investments. Values will fluctuate over time and it's hard to predict which might become more valuable. Its much safer to buy the doll you like because you like it and not to worry too much about secondary market value.

I personally would not want to sell my dolls--I have a lot of things that I would get rid of first if I needed the money. I would have to be in one heck of an emergency to part with my guys and girls.

 

I didnt buy mine for an investment. I have been scraping for money sometimes and never once has selling my dolls crossed my mind... >.<

 

I don't think of my dolls as "investments", but I do realize that if it's needed, I could sell one or two and get enough money to fix whatever went wrong. it just so happens that two of my dolls are worth quite a bit right now, but that wasn't even a reason that was taken into consideration when I bought either of them. not only that, but their "high" value is very temporary. no one knows what may happen tomorrow, if their respective companies make them easier to obtain or if I drop one and its nose falls off. either way, they'd be worth no where near what they are now.

basically, if you want an investment, buy stocks. they're still risky, but what investment isn't? these dolls aren't solid investments in any way, shape, or form, and there are better investments that could be made.

 

Mmmmmm......very, very dangerous thought - that the dolls are "investments." There is a financial difference between an "investment" that holds its value and one that increases in value. Ninety percent of the dolls we see daily on this board are never going to increase in value and most will probably not retain the value paid for them originally. Currently, a small - SMALL - handful of the dolls are capable of turning a profit - from tidy to enormous! And that's pretty exciting for the dollery - but it's a direct result of the dollery itself, not factors outside the hobby. Thus the value of every single doll depends upon those who value it - dolls are not commodities.

The fact that dolls can hold their value IS an important one, however, and is one of the ways that many of us have traded up to Dream Dolls. I certainly hope that this holds true for some long time to come....but it's impossible to predict.

 

I don't think of my dolls as "investments", just a hobby.

However, one of the things I DO like about this hobby is that since a lot of the dolls you wind up ordering based on photo's and never having seen them in person, it's a really really neat thing to always know in the back of your mind that if when the doll arrives it isn't everything you hoped it would be, (or like me you are frustrated because you can't get one of them to pose at all...) then you have a way to get your money back by selling it second hand on the wonderful marketplace here on DoA. (ack, sorry... run on sentence)

I think it's one of the things that makes this hobby great. If the marketplace wasn't a good way to sell second hand dolls I would have been MUCH more hesitant about buying any of my dolls in the first place. I'd have waited until I could see each and every one in-person... and that might never have happened, so I might not have even bought my first one yet.

Again, to re-iterate... no I don't think of them as an investment, but YES I do love the fact that they hold their value and I can always resell them for some or all of what I paid. Especially since they are such an expensive item, and you have to buy most sight-unseen.

 

Perhaps in the fairly short term (1-3 years). After that perhaps they are too far out of style, too technically far behind, or just plain yellowed.

Raven

 

No one out for serious investment would "invest" in a doll or other collectible item.

I think saying they are an investment is primarily a way for people to justify spending the amount of money on them that they do, both to themselves and others.

 

haha, there's a fair bit of truth to that!
I'm just thinking of a co-worker who likes to tell me about his star wars figures and how much they cost...but, you know, they'll be worth a lot someday. you're right, Lizzard, it does seem less like a plan from the beginning and more like an after-the-fact rationalisation. "I love this really expensive doll, and I'm going to buy it despite cultural expectations...but you know, I can always sell it for around the same amount, so it's like...an investment!"