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

I think of the doll I have recently purchased as a form of investment, but not in the way you might think.

a large chunk of why I have dived in to this hobby, is because I hope to find local and online friends through it. I have been living in tampa for almost 3 years now, and havent really made any new friends.

On the other side Ive recently learned how to sew, and I really want to make pretty doll clothes, and BJD's are just the PRETTIEST dolls ever ^_^

 

I think it´s easier (and less scarry)to think about BJDs as an investment, because IF.... SOMEDAY.... WHO KNOWS..... SOMETHING HAPPEN..... BLABLA.... you know you can sell the dolls ._.''

 

anything that buy buy and that is not used up or a toss away type item is an Investment. In our case our dolls tend to hold value or go up a bit..

 

Well, they are objects, so they could and should be used as forms of investment. People make clothes and wigs and do faceups to make money off of these dolls, so, to me, selling them is no different

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with treating dolls like traditional collectibles - keeping them in the box, only buying the LEs etc. But a collectible isn't really the same as an investment - unless you're thinking of a risky investment like the stock market, I guess. The doll's only worth what someone's willing to pay you for it, in the end, regardless of how much it originally cost.

 

Hmm... I think that someone who thinks of dolls as a form of investment, and buys them as such, sometimes may be really disappointed. Yeah, most Volks limiteds will gain value, but still-- there is no telling if the doll will be easy to sell. I've seen many Volks limiteds for not such bad prices sitting in the Market Place for months. Currently many people seem to buy SOOM MDs, because they "can always resell it later for much more"... I bet many people think "damn, over 2000$ for Sard and Beryl... why didn't I buy them then?"... but with so many Topaz's popping out in the Market Place (bonding trouble plague), there was no way to hit such prices as with Sard and Beryl-- I think some of the sellers (those who bought their dolls only to make the huge profit) could be disappointed with such investments. Personally, I could consider buying every Volks limited, every Soom MD, and then decide whatever I like it and want to keep/don't like it enough and will make monies out of it, but I simply cannot afford it, I also don't want to waste my time on buying dolls I am not sure I like and I am not sure I would manage to resell (fast?).

 

I am a bit new here and don't know how long it takes for people to loose interest in a thread, but I would like to offer a bit of wisdom.
I have collected dolls for 40 plus years, starting in my childhood. My mom and grandmas chose most of my dolls at first. They believed my Madame Alexander, celebrity, and effanbee dolls would always hold their value. They tanked, mostly due to eBay. Fortunately, I realized in adulthood, that these were not really my collection, but belonged to my mom and grandmas. I sold many before it really got bad. The problems with Barbie can point back to Mattel’s greed. As an example, this year they brought out reproduction dolls with the same clothes that they produced a few years ago. They have brought out many versions of the same super heroes and on and on.
One can never predict what will happen in the market place. So the morals of the story: Follow the golden rule of investing and never spend more that you can afford to loose.. Follow the golden rule of collecting and only buy what you love.

 

I see my doll as an investment in a bit of a different way. I am going to use her as a model for the clothing and accessories that I am going to try to sell. I also prefer to drape rather than draft for a pattern that small so without a body to put my hands on I have no product to sell. I'm curious about how long its going to take her to pay for herself.

 

I have to admit, a big part of what let me buy my first doll (a limited) is knowing that if, for whatever reason, we don't bond, I'll be able to, at the very least, recoup my costs.

I'm involved in a lot of hobbies, and almost all of them run at a loss. If I buy a box of Warhammer stuff, for example, I won't be able to sell them for the original price unless I never take them out of there boxes. Just using them as intended (even if I don't paint them, but only assemble them to play with), I'm automatically losing about 50% of their value.

Or my old collection of My Little Ponies, which are (with a few minor exceptions) largely completely valueless, because everyone and their mother grabbed handfuls of them to keep MIB for resale, after seeing how much the originals from the 80s go for.

I don't think I'd feel comfortable buying dolls the way I'd buy stocks, though - looking for what I can get cheaper from the retailer and then sell for two or three times the price. To me, that's too close to scalping or flipping, and, especially with limited dolls, it would make me pretty uncomfortable, personally.

So it's a bit of an odd line for me. I think it's okay to buy, safe in the knowledge that, should you have to sell, you'll break even or turn a profit, but I don't think it's okay to buy only to sell immediately for a profit. To me, acting as a flipper means you are basically turning other people in this community into cash cows for yourself - you are setting yourself up as an 'unnecessary' step between the retailer and the person who actually wants the doll, pretty much.

I'd find it less bothersome if it happened on ebay or other non-community sites, but I must admit that I tend to avoid flippers/scalpers on forums like this. It just seems to be in rather bad taste, for someone to talk to me as a friend in one thread, and then try to use me to make a quick buck in another.

I hope this makes sense/isn't too inflammatory - it's 4am here, so I'm a bit sleepy. Chances are, if anyone is offended by this, I really didn't mean for them to be. Please just assume that I worded my points poorly, rather than that I intentionally tried to offend anyone

 

I suppose you could think of them as an investment because most of them have an excellent selling value, but I usually don't buy anything that I don't want to keep for the long haul. ^_~

 

I usually buy my dolls because I plan on keeping them. But I have bought limited that I thought would work for character, but when I saw their face in person it didn't look like I thought it would.

 

One reason I was a bit slow to start with this hobby (BJDs) is that so much of it has to be bought sight unseen. It is difficult for me not to touch a big non-returnable purchase, before I buy. So it is a good idea to network with friends to explore what you might want and feel like you can sell at your cost, or at least not much of a loss. The key here is not to wait twenty years to resale, if you don’t bond. You would be truly surprised to see how little some art dolls go for twenty years after they were introduced. Many Barbies are ridiculous. I can get some dolls that ran $100 new ten years ago for around $12.00 now. This is locally, at estate sales and such. Still I can only sell them for around $30 (and less on eBay.) I have a few I bought new and made money, but not many. I just want to offer you some of my experience. These dolls are a big outlay, and you can't expect them to always return your money. It's a hobby, so enjoy it. Again, buy what you love (or at least think you will love...)

 

I try not to look at my dolls as little packages of money. I prefer to have my finances in proper order so that in the case something unexpected happens and I need money, I can use money from my savings account instead of selling my collectables. (I collect more than BJDs.)
If I sell part of my collection, I’d want to sell because the item does not interest me any more and is taking up space. If it’s going to move to storage most likely never to be used again, it may as well be sold.
Having to sell my collection due to being in a financial tight spot is harsh. I hope I never be in a position like that.

I don’t buy dolls as an investment. I have a bad sense of business and I’ve watched the doll market for a few years now. It looks like that these days it’s harder to get retail price for a doll at the secondary market. Exchange rates fluctuate, cheaper companies have emerged, and a lot of doll companies have reduced the prices of their dolls.
The doll market is fickle to a certain degree. I have bought several limiteds directly of the company and none of them became very popular. Some of them are pretty rare, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get retail price for them. It’s a good thing I love them and don’t want to sell.

Some mentioned before some Soom MDs became very popular while others did not. You can predict to a certain degree which LE will be hot and have a price that sky rockets, but it will always be a guess and popularity may not always stay the same. People may move to the next hot must-have doll or companies may re-release a doll. Little more than a year ago a head of the first Breakaway release had a resell value close to $500, but that dropped when Luts released the second Breakaway edition in 2008. A breakaway ’08 head could be sold close to $300 soon after Luts started to ship the dolls, but after Fairyland announced another Breakaway release that price dropped too.

I think the best way of making money by selling dolls is by selling them quickly while they’re hot. If you wait a year or even a few months, who knows what will happen.

Exactly. It doesn't feel nice to be someone else's cash cow and thus I'd rather not use people the same way.

When I buy dolls I don't look at which ones are "safe" to buy in case I don't like it and want to sell it for a decent price. I buy the doll I love so the chances of not liking it are small and I don't have to sell. In case I do want to sell and don't get retail price, that's my loss, but it's one I was willing to take when I bought the doll.

I don't see dolls as an investment, but I do like it when I see people buy a doll, give it a nice face-up, search for the right wig, make an outfit and then sell it as a full set. Not because they are making money by selling dolls, but because they poured their creativity into a doll, had fun, and then make some money. They do take risks, though. There's no way to predict if their full set will be liked and sold close to a price that reflects the amount of work that went into it.

 

I think they are a decent investment...

Normally you get about as much money out of them as you put into them, if not more. I have seen numerous people leave the hobby and get several thousands of dollars back out of it... It seems like a good idea to me.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with buying a doll to sell. Many face up artists paint a head just for sale, for example.

However, flipping - that is, jumping on limiteds and reselling immediately after - is kind of low. It happens in all collecting hobbies, though.

 

I know I think of mine as an investment of sorts. I think of them as a monetary investment in that they will hold their value. I invest time into them so they can keep their value monetarily. I think they're an investment in ones living space too - I know that my doll is a BEAUTIFUL decoration and it makes me happy to see her. It's like owning a piece of art because it's VERY unlikely that any two dolls are exactly alike. I know it's still sort of surreal to see her there because she is so exquisitely beautiful. I think of all possible hobbies, this one is a good investment. I know that the THOUSANDS of dollars my aunt invested in Beanie Babies equaled nothing once all was said and done. She gave me tons of Beanies when they were at peak value and now they're all in an attic gathering dust because I don't care much for them and they're worth nothing. Stupid things...I even bought a tag protector for each one!

However:
Even though I do think of these as investments, I don't handle them super carefully. I figure they are a monetary investment, but I also have them for fun. If I treat them as carefully as a delicate antique, then I won't have much fun. Basically, I strike the balance between being carefully and genuinely enjoying my doll investment.

 

I just checked on Barbie #1 1959, wow, she sells on ebay for US$7500+. One auction had her at US$5000++ with 8 bids. Consider the fact that Mattel is still in business and periodically reproduces the 1960s dolls, this price is amazing. The last time I heard rumours of Barbie selling at a price higher than this was a Christies auction and am not even sure if it's truth or rumour. I can believe it if it's a French antique bisque Jumeau, but a 12" Barbie selling at that price......I need to see it with my very own eyes. 1959 Barbie #1 is 50 years old. Correct me if I'm wrong but records say that she was neither rare nor popular when first released.

I seriously don't see dolls as investment, never sold one in my whole life. Our old dolls have not made us rich. The 2 oldest dolls in my family are 48-50 years old but they sure don't sell like Barbie #1. Otheriwse.......I will sell them and enter Volks lottery for Ryoya and Ami.

I giggled real hard when I first heard of people treating dolls as investment but seeing Barbie sell like this makes me think again. My boss's sister have the 1959 Barbie mint in box!

OK, back to my impression of ABJDs. I think these are lovely contemporary dolls whose long term value and quality has not been tested with time. The popular vintage dolls are most valuable when mint in box, with original cloths, hair, company logo or markings on their bodies and original facial makeup.

I'm amazed at the old thread discussing about BJD owners acting like Elites. It's a strange discussion or debate because BJDs are not the most expensive dolls on earth. It's also true that collectors of other types of dolls can also be very "snobbish" or elitist depending on how you define that term.

 

I sort of agree with what stargazer_i said about the "timelessness" of these ABJDs we have here not being true-and-tested. How long has since Volks started doing the SDs? Ten years? Eleven? I heard they began in the late 1990s. It's too soon to tell whether, someday, the ones that are around today will become vintage collectible classics worth thousands of dollars. And, even then, it'll probably just be that really popular companies that ever hit that status -- Volks, CP, etc.. But that's a long time away, and most of our dolls will probably have yellowed by then! So will that "classic" status of Barbie ever be reached? No one knows.

I don't think of them as an "investment." I think of them as a "smart buy." By "investment", I usually think of something that will eventually give me a big profit (doubling or triplying it's price.) But a "smart buy" is something that won't devalue as soon as it's out of it's box. If you don't like it and decide to sell it, you recoup your costs, but a profit isn't guaranteed. See the difference? ;]

 

Well said...​

 

I'm not going to buy dolls because I consider them an investment. On the contrary, I think they're actually somewhat of an indulgence.

Do I feel a little better knowing that I can maybe resell a doll and get back most of the money I spent. Yeah, maybe. But I have absolutely no intention of ever selling a doll I buy, unless it's because I end up not bonding and therefore not liking the doll at all. Selling a doll because of some crisis that I need money for would be absolute last-measure. I think that if it got to that point, then I'd be trying to sell other things too, not just my dolls.

At this point, I think I'll always be interested in BJDs, or at least, if I ever lose interest, I think that I'll still love the dolls I have at that point too much to sell, and simply keep them for the sentimental value. I don't consider dolls to be an investment, but maybe more along the lines of an heirloom. Like your grandmother's china. It's pretty, possibly cost a lot of money when it was purchased, makes you happy, and could possibly make you money if you sell it, but you don't really want to, unless absolutely necessary and you have no other choice. I don't have kids yet, but I consider BJDs something that I could possibly share with them and pass down.