Is it too expensive?

Even though I've been in this hobby for almost a year, I've noticed that this hobby is expensive, but its expensive how you make it.

There are cheaper alternatives for everything in this hobby, the doll, clothes, wigs, etc., but if you want quality, you have the pay the price or if you want a doll just for your own sake then you can pay for the best or the most reasonable priced.

For me I've (surprisingly) gone mostly on the cheapest route with my dolls and I have yet to spend $300+ on a doll. My first doll was a MSD from Doll-Love and chosen because she was adorable and appealing to me and my second doll a Kay BBdoll that was second hand and was the same price as my first doll, so far I haven't spent more than $50-60 on clothes because I don't make a lot of money and I still love them very much even though I haven't bought stuff with a high price tag yet

Its all how you spend your money I guess lol

 

It's extremely expensive (not to mention possibly a little addictive) to me. Granted you can choose to buy a cheaper doll, keep your collection small, make your own clothes, and do your own face up. Except that I don't do any of those things. I bought my first doll in March of this year and by the end of the year I will have at least 4, maybe even a 5th one. All of which cost about 300$ to 700$ including shipping but not including clothing (all are diferent sizes), wigs, a faceup for one of them, accessories, and furniture. However, like I said it's a choice to spend that kind of money on them. I saved for them and got the ones I wanted (now if only I could just want the cheaper ones, ha!).
To truly answer your question, I think it's both. Even if you go the cheaper way, it's still expensive just not as expensive as if you don't do cheap. Hopefully that made at least a little sense...

 

My entire teenage I've been training and competing in dressage (horse riding)... After that experience dolls cost nothing.
On the other hand, I tend to stick to one image for a doll once I'm happy with it, so I have no cravings for new wigs, eyes or clothes very often. I also have no interest in doll furniture or any additional accerories for dolls whatsoever, which kinda makes me not a good example of a spending collector...

 

It is way too addicting! I really have a hard time controlling my spending, but they really do bring so much joy. I think if you can control yourself it wouldn't be such a problem. It's really hard when you only have a certain time period for preorders. My husband always tells me there's going to be just one more because sure enough another one comes up for preorder or the eBay once in a lifetime custom I just have to have!

 

My oldest doll is almost 8 years old, and back then, he cost me 600 dollar, including sleeping head and shipping. Of course, that doesn't include clothes and eyes and wigs and such, but I'm just talking about the doll and what it cost to get him to me. After 8 years, a rough calculation tells me he cost me about 20 dollar cents a day. Well, that seems like a bargain to me! XD All joking aside though, it is an expensive hobby, but it has given me so much joy and inspiration through the years, it is totally worth it to me. Plus, they are just so beautiful, I don't mind paying for all the love, attention and hard work that went into making them, and the same goes for their eyes, shoes, wigs and everything else I spoil them with.

 

I think that it is an expensive hobby, but so is cycling, golf etc. Instead of having a lot of expensive daily habits, I spend my extra money on dolls. For example, I work out at home and not at a gym; I now own a keurig instead of going to Starbucks all the time; I dye my own hair etc. I think it is easier to cut out other expenses once you are out of school and established. When I was in school, I could not cut out tuition, books, or travel cost.

 

I have to agree with the idea that it is an expensive hobby, but only as expensive as you make it.

Companies charge a fair amount for clothes, wigs, eyes, and of course the dolls themselves. But it's always your choice for what you buy.

I've only just bought my first doll, with a fullset she was only about $200, which I know is less than many people have spent on a single doll. So far I've bought her eyes, shoes, two outfits (one from etsy which was very cheap, and only from Dollmore which was less cheap), and a wig. In some cases, like the outfit I bought from Dollmore, I ordered through a GO to save on shipping, and I didn't order the outfit that I really loved because it was out of my price range and more than I was comfortable spending. I did spend more on her wig than I had originally planned, but I liked the Crobidoll one and knew I would end up getting it at some point. It just happened that I was able to find a GO for Crobidoll before I ordered the wig I liked (but only kinda liked) off of ebay. In that regard, I spent more on the wig, but I spent less because I didn't buy the cheaper wig to only replace it with a more expensive one later on.

And yeah, I went out and bought some stuff for doing face-ups, but I'm always looking for a reason to buy more art supplies. Plus I have a few Monster High dolls lying around that I figured I could practice on, and then sell online to try and make up some of the cost. But again, I didn't go out of my budget, and I used coupons and bought on sale so that I could get nicer supplies.

I do think bjds are an expensive hobby, and I don't doubt that it's a factor in people leaving the hobby. I guess I just see it as only a factor and not the sole reason. If one day I wake up and realize that I'm not enjoying my dolls as much as I did in the past, I probably would consider selling them and their stuff off because they were a fair bit of money. But that would also be because I want my dolls to make people happy. If they're no longer making me happy, why shouldn't they go to a new home and be loved? I've held on to Barbie dolls for years because I liked them, but when I moved states, I had to get rid of some things, and they were just less important than others, so off they went.

 

I agree this is an expensive hobby no matter what type of doll you collect. It's not like the cost is hidden. If I didn't think I could afford it then I wouldn't have started it. My intention was to collect and enhance over time. And I only buy something if I can afford it at the time (as in disposable money not allotted to something else). Hobbies for me are luxuries no matter what the cost. And since I can't afford anything at the moment except for window shopping; that doesn't stop me from enjoying what I have, enjoying the dolls of others, and just learning more in general which I think is the "free" part of the hobby.

 

Like a lot of others have said, it's expensive to an extent, but also as expensive as you make it. I'm a teenager and I've yet to get a job, so I depend on my allowance and birthday/holiday money for my dolls. But I save all of it. My first doll was a gift, but she was also at the lower end of the price scale, which is where I tend to be. Only one or two of the dolls I'm seriously planning to get are over $300. I've spent probably the cost of a second doll on clothing, eyes, and wigs for my complete girl and floating head, but it's okay because I'm not the best at sewing yet. But I do things to make it work--I buy secondhand and I put dolls and items on layaway so I can more easily afford them.

 

I don't understand how someone who already has dolls and stuff for their dolls can just up and quit and sell everything "because it's too expensive". You already have your dolls and such. If you keep buying stuff, yeah it's going to cost more and more. Stop buying stuff and viola! It will stop being expensive! You don't -have- to keep buying stuff to stay in the hobby.

I think what that little ramble boils down to is what a lot of others have said. It's as expensive as you make it.

But I just got started and I've only been buying stuff when I get random chances, so what do I know haha

 

It's no more expensive than other hobbies are.

Every time my husband buys a new suit to wear to his fraternal order meetings, it's $800+. He spends more on suits than I do on dolls, so we're used to expensive hobbies around here. At least I can sell off the dolls if I decide I'm bored with one. $500+ for a doll doesn't phase me in the slightest as long as I have some extra cash burning a hole in my pocketbook.

If someone is going to complain it's too expensive, it's probably not a good hobby for that person to be involved with.

 

Both pretty much, but you can make it a lot less expensive, if you learn to sew and such
I have a low income and most of the money goes on living costs, so I understand if someone gives up on saving on dolls.
But why would you sell the already existing dolls because the ones you don't have costs so much? or maybe it's the money they want but can't use on clothing? Weh. I'm so glad I learned to make my own :3 It's just so easy to use your own worn out clothes and leftover pieces of your cosplay on doll clothing~

 

i do think the hobby is going to be expensive no matter how many corners you try to cut
but i dont like making it solely about money either
when you start thinking about the price and only the price then it becomes more like a job than hobby and thats no fun at all!~

 

I guess in the end, it depends on how people see it. It is all a matter of perspectives like how much one is willing to spend on a given amount of time. If I am going to spend a certain amount after a long time, it does not make as much of a difference in terms of amount if I spent little by little in a shorter interval of time. I would probably be spending about the same amount if not more in that short while because accumulative spending is much more challenging to track maybe.

But, when I already have the perfect set-up for my doll, I do not think I will keep on buying as much. Hope my opinion helps you.

 

This hobby IS expensive and I'm not the one making it so! No way around it BJD cost some serious $$$, even the so called "inexpensive" ones. LOL That being said there are ways to cut corners. Make your own clothes, wigs and such. Trade for stuff. Buy dolls from the companies that are considered low end not high end or buy used. Even doing that I still spent a lot more than I would have just collecting Barbies for the same amount of time, no doubt about it! I don't regret it though. I love my BJD's and I like making their stuff but I don't kid myself that this kind of doll collecting is ever cheap. There is nothing cheap about collecting $125 (and up) hunks of resin...:P

 

Of course it's expensive...but to me it gives more value to my dolls... i mean, i'm someone who love buying expensive things. Like clothes.. or anything. I'm the kind of person who thinks that things are better when expensive. I know it's not always true. But i know that if i bought a cheap doll, i would not consider her like something so precious

 

I never dreamt I'd spend this much on 'just a hobby' so yes it is way more expensive than what we are accustomed to spending on hobbies, or ornaments or toys. Having said that, if I could just content myself with 2 or 3 dolls, it would be quite a cheap hobby for the amount of pleasure it gives back. I guess if you are always wanting to see another character embodied in resin, or always wanting new clothes for them, or are a perfectionist or elitist in your tastes, it's going to cost you - But that is a personal choice, so it might be an expensive hobby for some, and just an average one for another, and even quite economical for someone who enjoys sewing for just one, adored doll!

 

This hobby can be expensive, but if your willing to stick to a budget and save up you can have the doll you want.

However the rest is as expensive as you make it, because it can become a bit of an obsession collecting the clothes, shoes, accessories. If you can sew really well enough to make your own clothes then you have it made

I made the mistake of buying a lot of clothes before I had a doll, & others that I liked.. but once they arrived I just felt like my girls did not connect with them so I went through my clothes and ended up with enough funds to add another MSD sized girl to my dolly family

It was like going into battle on Volk's site.. trying to checkout my cart with everything still in it.

I've gone through my clothes again and I'm letting go of a lot of outfits that I love.. but did not really fit any of my girl's personalities.. some stuff I know others are dying to get their hands on.

Why hold on to stuff that I don't use when I could get a Bambicrony girl

 

It's depends of the person, for example for me is expensive because I'm studying but I don't have a job.

 

It is expensive, yes, but ultimately everyone has some kind of "expensive hobby," so it's always important to keep it in perspective as that. And while it's expensive, it's only as expensive as you make it.

If you want to have a dozen fancy wigs for each doll, and a selection of fancy high-end eyes, and lots of elaborate and pricey outfits? That's totally fine, it's your right! But at the same time, you need to recognize that you've chosen an expensive way to enjoy the hobby.

If you want to make your own fur wigs and sock clothes? That's totally fine, it's your right! And no one should belittle you for choosing a less expensive way to enjoy the hobby.

Personally, though, I think most people tend to fall between those extremes; a small number of dolls, with one or two wigs for each, and a handful of outfits (whether handmade, purchased, or otherwise). One needs to find that balance, between too much and too little, to be happy with any expensive hobby; I suspect it's more difficulty in finding that balance than the true expense that causes people to react that the hobby has become "too expensive" and they need to sell everything and quit. You don't need to continuously buy new things and spend money--you can stop at any time and simply enjoy what you have, finding your balance in your current point.