Is it possible to collect too fast?

I think that there is a fine line between buying too fast and not. It's difficult when you first start because you see all these things you really want. I know I fell into that. I bought my first doll and before he had arrived I had already gone and gotten another. I was impatient and wanted my doll and I sought the second as a way to tide me over until the one I bought arrived. The second was a regret the moment he arrived and I ended up selling him almost immediately.

Buying multiple dolls can be really easy, what with so many sculpts and companies. Self control and money discipline can become a difficult thing. Three companies might have dolls you absolutely love/want to own. The internet/paypal/credit cards make it easy to put dolls into carts and click and forget until the bill arrives. It becomes even more difficult when companies release all these wonderful dolls one right after another with only a month or two in between. And limited make it hard too. Because you need to get them before they disappear. That can cause panic buying that might bite you in the butt later on.

It's a good idea to keep a budget in mind and not go over it. As stated above, it is way too easy to go over it with this or that.

Also knowing space limitations help. While 50 dolls might be nice, do you have room for them? I know I've got enough room for maybe two more dolls. After that, I'll either have to sell to make room or stop collecting.

 

Since I've been in the hobby for a year now, I'll say yes it is possible. When I first started I was doing a lot of writing and so my characters were defined by the dolls that "chose me." I have my core group and could be complete with them BUT...the problem in my planning is that I didn't leave room for dolls that would be considered "works of art" more so than character driven. I think if I put a little more thought into my collecting, I probably could have left one or two of my characters unshelled in order to leave room for the very special dolls.

 

I noticed there is a strong tendency to buy many dolls your first year in the hobby because you get super excited and then you have to wait.
I find it very interesting to know why I choose certain dolls over others . This being my first year in the hobby I noticed I get a gut feeling about my choices but I'm not sure if the reason is because I am new to the hobby? or because I know deep inside that I will be happy when I finally get this doll? Some people know right away and then change their minds when the doll arrives. Others, live with their choice for a long time in the box, waiting to see if they get back the excitement of getting the doll in the first place.

I have this feeling that the hobby fluctuates between fast and then slow. I am amazed at all the new doll choices and all the new innovative thinking in this hobby. Sometimes it seems to go so fast, even though it takes 3-6 months to finally get the doll, then it's a rush to get it painted, clothed, customized and finished.

I think I should take as much time as I want on my dolls without feeling pressured to finish them fast. Sadly there is a stigma for the "latest , greatest, and fastest " in this hobby. I think if it takes 3-6 months for me to get the doll I should have double the time to customize it at my own pace.

 

I think you should collect at whatever pace makes you happy and you are able to do responsibly. It's not really up to anybody to determine what is right for you except yourself.

Personally, I went at a good pace the first two years (three dolls per year), but then I just....went crazy. I had the extra money so I just started buying every bargain doll I kind of liked or that needed a rescue. I would think about how I could buy the one I really loved for $700, OR I could get three or four cheap dolls for that price, so I kept buying cheap dolls almost monthly. Now, let me note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with inexpensive dolls if that's what you love. I have several who were that I adore. But during this time, I was going for quantity and nothing else. I didn't love them. Within a couple of years, I had almost 40 dolls, but only really loved maybe 5 of them. Every time I looked at them, I'd think of how much money I wasted and what grails or strongly desired dolls I could have had if I hadn't impulse bought so much. So I thinned the collection. Now I have 16 full dolls and a head, and have been in the hobby just over 8 years. I have just a couple more on my wishlist right now, and if I'm lucky, I might have one of those ordered by the end of the year. I think that's pretty ideal for me.

 

I think so. I bought four dolls in the span of a few months, and I've only been happy with about two of them (one of them is still not here, and the other I have sold). At the time of this post, I've only been in the hobby for about 8 months. I've only been disappointed horribly by one doll, and that experience has made me wary of ever buying from the company again and from making any more rash purchases. That doll is currently sitting dissembled in a box and I'm going to use it as dye and mod projects.
The thing you have to keep in mind when making purchases is how long you are willing to wait and if the sculpt is worth it. During my first doll, I got cold feet and I didn't bond with her AT ALL. I thought I was horrible for thinking that, so I decided to keep her for a few months. When nothing seemed to click with her, I finally decided to sell and I'm honestly....relieved?
On the other hand, I bought a doll from the marketplace, she arrived fairly quickly and I FELL IN LOVE. It was amazing. I literally stared at her and just whispered "I am in love oh my god.". She was a doll I had loved from pictures at first sight, so it was really great to know I had the same feeling holding her in my hands.
I've got another one coming around August (it's a DC event doll, won't mention which one since it's off-topic), but it's such a lovely sculpt and I've heard great things about DC so I'm not worried as much.
I just recently bought a new one from Luts and it's on a pre-order right now, but I did a little more planning and a little more thinking about this purchase than I have the others, and having actually HANDLED a doll from this company during a doll meet made it a little easier for me. Not to mention I am attracted to pretty much ALL of what Luts offers. I'm thinking about getting this baby a mate, and have been looking at secondhands for my first male doll, but I'll have to get a feel for this girl first (and not drain my bank account lmao).

So to answer the question, yes, I think you can collect too fast. I think it is possible to get overly excited about something new and think "I must have this. If I don't now I won't be able to later." Unless it's some super rare doll or something, there is more than likely chances that in the future someone will sell theirs; someone who didn't bond with the sculpt. If you still feel the same about the doll at that time, then that is the moment that you should consider adding to the collection. There isn't anything wrong with collecting fast though! Some people are able to bond with their dolls easily; some aren't. Buying that first doll definitely gets that adrenaline rushing though, I know exactly how it feels!

 

My enthusiasm comes in waves, in part because of my fluctuating living situaction over the past 5-6 years I've been in the hobby. In times when I really cannot afford nor work on the dolls, I've forgotten they exist. The other day I had to move all my things again so they are in storage until I can bring them to my dolly friends house a state away for foster. I won't even work on them much until November and certainly won't buy anymore after going nuts this year with buying dolls. The reality for me is having to put the hobby down renews my enthusiasm because as soon as I pick it back up in realise all the work I've gotta do on them and the gears shift into high. If I may, though, pamper your first doll. Spend hours looking at both prices and noses, go ogling the sculpt, looking for examples of it without painting on deviantart, Tumblr, etc. Spend your hours figuring out an outfit that works with her measurements. Learn about how they are strung and really use that first doll to learn as much as you can. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself with your doll plans or invest in faceup supplies. One of the first things I did was done a mask and shave down a certain dolls toenails which looked far too long. Don't be afraid to set out to become the next guru, the next master modder in the making who tells people "sure I can restring your doll." Just a single doll can teach you tons about the hobby. I also just recommend sticking to the same scale for a second because it's super fun when you see your two dolls next to one another and theye look cute together. It was really awesome seeing that for the first time.

 

I've been in love with BJDs (Pullips first to be exact) for more than 7 years ago. Back then I didn't know how to buy stuff online and couldn't really afford buying one with a month's wages (because saving up for something ridiculously expensive was a no no- I save money just in case, but would have never thought of spending it in one go like that xD)

When I got my first doll last year (15/6/15) I was already waiting for another one from Iplehouse which I had to get through a third party. Before my second arrived I put an order out for the third since I was building up my OC empire.
Slightly more than a year later I own a bunch (a big bunch) of BJDs and have 2 bodies on the way, others still in custom (I hope), 1 doll project on the way, and 1 yosd doll on the way.

I do feel bad for spending so much money rather than investing, so I thought I won't get any other doll until I invest in my studies/languages/body/activities/skills. Currently I got two yosds (one being on the way) after achieving two different things and it feels so much better that way xD

 

I collected too fast; I should now have 15 dolls because I kept jumping at every sculpt I thought I liked. I've sold most of them because in the end I had no character for them or they didn't fit in with my crew or I couldn't bond and now I only have 6. I actually bought other dolls and didn't buy my grail until 1-2 years into the hobby because there was no layaway option for him. But now I've finally got him, I've toned down

 

MK looks at own very lengthy doll list and at nearly flat wallet and replies. "OH yeah."

3 1/2 years and I have a couple dozen? Most of which are big dolls. Most of them didn't cost the earth. I'm not sitting here collecting Iplehouse dolls direct from them here. But still I've spent a lot more than I meant to when I got into this. I hate, hate, hate selling dolls, but I have recently begun to think that maybe when it comes to resin dolls I need to buckle down and thin out the herd a bit. I've been treating them like my 12 and 16" fashion dolls and they're just a lot more work. I don't even have a third of them faced up yet. To be fair I've been dealing with illness and death and moving, and well, LIFE. It's been a rough 3 years.

But I do have too many, and likely I will never get to doing them all up the way I envisioned. I'm working literally 3 jobs just to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head. I've got home repairs to do. I barely have time to enjoy the dolls I do have out and displayed let alone do any face ups or whatever. I have feed backs that I haven't done and should have a while back. I have dolls that aren't dressed yet that I actually have clothes for now. I find it so hard to give up dolls that the idea of selling the ones I have is very hard for me. I need to but I just don't know that I can. I really love the BJD's I have.They were picked very carefully most of the time. A couple were impulse buys but those were dolls I really fell for. I didn't just buy them to buy any doll.

I have (counts...) 26 BJD's and 3 floating heads I don't really know what to do with, not counting the 2 resin fashion BJD's that are recent acquisitions and that are semi-off topic and that I don't consider part of the BJD collection really so much as part of my 16" fashion doll collection. That's a LOT of BJD's. I have so much more in terms of my other dolls. I admittedly have a huge doll collection over all. I am a diehard collector and have been for over half my life now. Collecting BJD's that's been a totally different experience than collecting most of my other dolls. I have done a few repaints, badly most of them, but overall with most of my dolls the most I ever have to do with them is change out their clothes once in a while, dust their cases. I maybe do a photo shoot with them if I am feeling ambitious. Swap out a body if it goes yellow. Make a new costume if the spirit moves me. That's not something I do all the time though. With the BJD's I've got to sew most all of their stuff to be able to afford them. I have to mess with major chemicals to get them faced up which can be difficult for me as I am allergic to a lot. I do wear protection but still it's chemicals.

These dolls they are not just work they're WORK. My health is iffy sometimes and there's the work thing, as in I have to work a lot now. Sometimes I think I just bit off more than I can chew with these. I'm not ready yet and I don't have the time to list dolls now anyway, but come Fall I may just thin out. I need to think hard about which dolls to keep though. It's not an easy decision for me. A few of them no way I'd sell. Those are the easy ones but the rest? I just don't know. For now I have put a moratorium on buying any more new BJD dolls. The two resin fashion BJD's they killed my resin doll budget for the rest of the year at least. I've been a naughty girl all year pretty much. I need to stop and pay off all those bills now.At least a few of the resin dolls or maybe some other stuff might have to go to pay the credit cards back down but what will go when that's something I have yet to decide fully. There are a lot of doll related things and not doll related things that I'd likely try to sell before the BJD's. So I probably won't be getting rid of any till Fall, but at least a few will likely go. I'm running out of cabinet space and that's despite the fact that my new house has a ton of them to adapt to showing off the dolls.

There is a difference between having a large collection of dolls and maintaining them and hoarding too many. I have joked on here about being an unrepentant doll hoarder but till I started collecting BJD's I never really felt I was at that point. I'm just not doing enough with them to warrant having this many and I do know that. I either need to get them done in the next year or so and properly displayed or I need to let some go and concentrate on finishing the ones I can. I wish I had tons of money that I could afford to hire people to face them all up for me, but I've looked into that. It's not do-able. I'm just not real comfortable besides with sending my dolls out. I want to do them myself, but getting the time is very hard. I've been off DOA a lot lately. This is why. I am swamped with work. Home, making a living, I just don't have much time for fun doll fun lately. Even when I get a new doll it just ends up in the nearest closet stored because I don't have time to de-box and time or space to display them all yet. It's not that I don't want it or love it. I'm so busy working and doing household repairs, unpacking et all that I don't have time to play. I spent most of the Winter and Spring really sick so I am way behind on a lot of stuff, even not doll related stuff. Some days I wish they were 48 hours long instead of 24...

 

It all depends on what you can afford, what you have the space for, and if this interferes with RL family or friends. Also, the longer you collect and as the total climbs it can make a difference. Trust me. I know! LOL

 

I don't see anything wrong since you can afford it )
Right now the only thing stopping me from getting my 2nd doll is because I am trying to wait for any promo from the company.

 

If I could I would buy all my grail dolls and there are quite some on that list! so I dont think you can collect too fast just as long as you have the money and spend it wisely!

 

It is most important to make sure that the purchases are sound and not impulse buys ^___^ But I don't think that there is a specific length of time that determines if you are collecting too quickly. It's also nice to enjoy the dolls in your collection first before making another purchase. ^__^ That way you are happy with how your collection is going.

 

I'm starting to wonder that myself :S

I've been interested for YEARS but only got my first recently....

Now I own 2 with 2 on layaway XD

 

I think it depends on the person and the time they have.
For me I collected a lot when I was younger or pre-college, and even in college I added a few here and there and I had the time and space to maintain, work on them, photograph them.
Now I only work with a select few in my collection. I think I was young and got excited, I still adore the hobby but I have much less time than I used to and cannot handle the amount I have. Which I am working on re-homing a large amount of them now but I definitely feel like a hoarder.
My dolls story also fell apart with the doll flood gates opened. I have a lot of drifters that don't fit into the story and my original plan was to have this one nice story that I could photograph and fallow and now I just have these random dolls that don't fit anywhere.
I double think any doll choices I make these days.

 

Really, I would say it depends on the person, for example I feel like I would become overwhelmed if I purchased too many at once and amassed a huge collection in a short amount of time. But others may be happy to quickly increase the size of their collection

 

I personally think that there is something such as buying too quickly for me. I have been in the hobby for a little over ten-eleven years now and at the start I bought two dolls. these two dolls I had for a long time (I was under 18 and collecting money for these two dolls was hard enough, all I could do was dream about other dolls)

At that time I was willing to buy almost any doll I fell for but it was not before the Breakaway Bloody Valentine appeared that I once more purchased a doll. After that I ended up selling my bloody valentine because I found that I could not bond with him at all. He was the doll I always wanted but I just couldn't see him fit in with the others. This was the first time it happened and since then I did not purchase another doll before 2012.

In 2012 I was now older than 18, had a steady income and was insane with buying dolls.. I bought a total of seven dolls in one half year and just like before I felt like i had made a serious mistake. This time I did not sell my dolls, however I have not bought one since.

That others are capable of buying a large amount of dolls, I think that is fine, I just find that for me, buying more than one a year, maybe one every second year, is absolutely more than enough. if i buy too many i lose interest in them or end up with only half a story for them.

 

Yes. It's not just a money issue, either. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes you need to slow down in order to savor the experience of the hobby, rather than blindly acquiring.

Even if I had a limitless hobby budget with which to purchase literally every single doll that caught my eye, I don't know that it would make me happier. I don't think there would be any point or pleasure in it. It wouldn't be much of a hobby any more, just a pile of stuff.

And whether or not we have limited budgets, certainly every one of us has limited time. I like to do all my dolls' faceups myself. I have learned how to make doll wigs and hope to make wigs for most of my dolls myself too. I am trying to learn to sew as well. And I would like to learn to take better photographs of dolls. I also work full time and have a social life and hobbies outside of the bjd hobby. So, if I constantly bought dolls I'd either not be able to assemble most of them or I'd slave away devoting all my free time to the effort, and either way it would make the hobby stressful and unsatisfying to me.

I think though it may sometimes feel like bitter austerity to discipline oneself from buying more, there's actually a great luxury in taking it slow and dividing your attentions upon fewer dolls.

Also, keep in mind that if you are just starting the hobby you may not have a very clear idea about what you want and like, what your style is, so that's another incentive to tread cautiously and not go overboard buying at first. Personally, I've sold all of my first doll collection. I'm very glad that because I had been collecting pretty slowly there were not a lot of dolls in that collection, and so it was relatively quick and unstressful to resell and restart.

 

I always tell my kids at work to enjoy those checks while they can because there will be a time that you will have to support your parents. So don't feel bad about splurging while you can.

 

Yes, I was one of those people who collected too fast. I waited a while to get into the hobby, and then when I did, my life situation was such that I could afford to (low mortgage, car paid off, low cost of living). I shopped smart and got some very good (legit!) 2nd hand deals, often from people leaving the hobby or moving to different types of dolls. Things really slowed down after we moved (higher cost of living, less time to devote to the hobby, health issues). I don't really regret it. I'm a collector by nature, and also, the doll aesthetic changed and I prefer the older (single-jointed) dolls. So I agree with some of those above: if it is what you really want, splurge while you can, just be sure to enjoy them.