Just when we thought 'this' BJD brand is expensive

This hobby is expensive in general so there is no "expensive" or "cheap" dolls for me.

And whatever doll you get there are those little things that add up in the end; a couple of eyes we throw in because they are such a pretty color, those cute shoes that your doll (maybe) needs, that blouse to make your doll look nice for the next meet-up, etc, etc. And so, any doll ≠ cheap.

And in such a expensive hobby I might as well get what I want and go all the way despite any price. Seriously makes my day to have my way (and the money orz *fail*). xDD

 

I never thought I'd be able to afford even a $500 doll, and now here I am with a FCS SD13 that cost me over $1000!

It's easier to buy a less expensive doll and then wind up spending four figures on them over several months because of clothes etc. - dropping that much on just the doll in one go is quite a step to take.

I felt quite ill after first paying for my doll, especially because the wait time for him to be constructed meant that all I had at that point for the money I'd spent were a receipt I couldn't even bring myself to look at and a little plastic membership card for Volks. The only things I've had more expensive than my doll have been my laptop and my student loans! I never regretted it though, and it was worthwhile once the doll arrived.

 

well yeah, my doll is now on the way, but when i first start searching for one my max was something like 300 dollar. but everytime i saw a doll i thought, 'oh well, 100 bugs isn't thát much' and so it went on and on, so now i'm wating for a doll of 550 dollar.. hmm... suspicious XD

 

lol, I seriously wasn't even going to start buying my dolls until next year. I have two second hand dolls, one new doll, and a LE on layaway. One doll has two sets of clothes with shoes already with another on the way, and my new doll has two sets from SADOL being made, not to mention all the little odds and ends I've gotten over the months since I decided to get into this hobby...

Last October.

Yeah, I've sunk about 2k in dolls. I still see dolls and go 'too expensive', but damned if I don't want a SOOM Heliot somewhere down the line. ;o; Spending the money over the course of a few months is much easier on the psyche than all at once.

 

This is how it is in real life

The main reason why marketing works when you put something as $9.99 vs $10.00 LOL Why all of the car makers listed the car as starting at $19,999.00 but it has nothing inside and the fine prints at the end of the nice commercial says "the shown model has the added feature and it is $27,999.00 LOL


People get "turned away" the moment they see the $900.00 so they go buy a doll listed less. But when you have add all of the stuff ti becomes so much more

Soom MD - all blank $765.00. With face up, wig, eyes, outfit added, they are always at $1172.00 without shipping.

often it is important to look at the final figure than just the initial numbers

 

Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to afford one of these dolls. Period. Then I got one and realized that if you just save up or do layaway it's totally possible.

 

What's scary about this hobby is how quickly you get used to their price. At first the idea of spending a couple of hundred on a doll was ludicrous. I have just plunked down over a thousand for a Volks and I didn't even bat an eyelash. I don't even want to tally the shoes, wigs, stands, and yards of fabrics I bought because of this hobby. But hey, some people drink, use drugs, and even gamble their money away. At least our hobby brings some beauty into our lives and that's healthy.

 

YYea I noticed that no matter what you do your doll will always end up being more than it was originally. >>

 

I usually don't look too closely at the cost when I decide to put a certain mold on my wish list (grey skin centaur Chiron, you WILL be mine!!!), but that's more to keep myself from wincing at the sheer cost. Despite that, I still don't put much consideration into the cost once I decide to buy. That's what layaway plans are for, after all. And if all else fails, careful saving of money. If you put enough aside each paycheck, you'll have enough for that doll before you know it!

In my opinion, this hobby is definitely one that constantly tests our patience, whether its saving up for our dolls, or waiting for them to get here. Either way, patience is a virture! >.<

 

Well... YES.

I think that's one of the things that leads to buying more dolls and sometimes more expensive dolls...

I mean, once you get one that is X-hundred dollars, it seems a bit less scary to get another, or get one that is less for a "bargain" or get one that is slightly more since it's "only slightly more"...! And you see other people doing it all the time on DoA, so things like buying expensive dolls start to seem more and more "normal."

I know that my thinking gets twisted a bit. I see some people with a gazillion dolls and start thinking that it's quite money-saving of me to only have TEN! Argh.

I started buying CP (Luts) dolls first... they were regarded as less expensive than Volks at the time (and still are, but now there are even less expensive dolls, so they are no longer the cheapest). And once I was spending 600 or 700 dollars, it didn't seem such a big deal to look at buying a Volks (so, of course, I did). And other dolls that were as expensive... Yikes!

 

yess exactly! haha. :]
the first time I saw BJDs it was on Luts and the price kind of made me die a little inside because at the time I was 13 and spending more than like $12 was a LOT of money! xD But now I'm older and had income and I can afford more...

Luckily for me though I'm into smaller dolls and MSD so my total before shipping for all the dolls I want I think was only around $1000? So... yeah spending that much on ONE doll would still be really hard for me.

 

Some dolls, especially limiteds, can look pretty pricey at first glance but I've found that the company price is usually not that bad, when you consider what you're getting (and this includes companies like Soom and Volks, which are generally considered two of the more expensive doll brands). If you are buying a doll which includes a limited fullset outfit, wig, shoes, eyes, and faceup... of course it will cost more than a similar nude, blank doll! If you are buying a doll which includes an extra head/faceplate, extra hand sets, or a bunch of fantasy parts in resin... well it only makes sense that you're paying for all of those parts too!

I realized that the Peaks Woods girl I bought on sale didn't really work out to be all that much cheaper than the retail price of the Kurumi I balked at entering the lottery for, once I added up the cost of a quality outfit, shoes, wig, eyes, faceup, and shipping for all of these from various shops (and to/from the faceup artist)... of course secondary prices are a bit of a different matter, but in terms of company prices there's not always a huge difference. The biggest differences are often more related to the difference in the economies of different countries (for example, Japanese dolls are going to be more expensive than Chinese dolls in general, but Japanese dolls from various companies will be closer in price to each other and Chinese dolls from various companies will be closer in price to each other).

 

I love Volks dolls, but also love posability, so I was both thrilled and horrified by the release of the SDGr. They cost even MORE than a normal Volks fullset LE! And I consider those expensive to begin with, so I vowed to ignore all SDGr releases. But then Okita was released, and it was love at first sight. And after I thought of how much money I'd spent on Soom tinies and stuff for them, suddenly SDGr prices didn't seem that bad. And since I sold two of my Soom tinies, I could buy Okita.

The thing with these dolls is that the potential cost of their stuff is the same no matter how much the doll itself costs! That's the only reason I have been so good about resisting "bargain" dolls that I very much would like to have but that aren't high priority. Sure, I could get an adorable pair of CH Little Juniors for only $260, but then I'd "have" to spend far more than that on their stuff! So having fewer, more expensive dolls can actually be kinda just as economical as having more less expensive ones. xD

 

haha that's so true! I used to think 'these people are crazy for spending so much on dolls and doll clothes that cost more than their own clothes'. Now I see an outfit costing more than my own clothes and I go 'wow what a steal!" *adds to shopping cart* (it seriously is cheap by doll clothes standards)

 

It's so easy to get used to the prices. When I saw them first 5 years ago, BJDs were way out of my price range. I only started buying last year and I thought I wouldn't be able to get a Luts doll for at least a few years but bought my SDF boy about 5 months after the first. -_-

We make ourselves believe that things are cheap or affordable. I love how I've convinced myself that $600 for a LE fullset is 'cheap', so I'm going for it, hah... There are other hobbies that are just as expensive or more, cars, purses, ect. I have a scarf that's the price of most MSDs. (yeah, I think I may sell it for another doll o_0) You're right, it is absolutely not the worst way to be spending money. ^^

 

The first doll I ever wanted was at Otakon...at I think $400(maybe more) When i got home I was determined to buy a doll...then I stared at the price tags...$500-$600...and blank?? HECKS NO! Then a few months later I started thinking about those beautiful dolls...hmm wonder what's out now, maybe I'll check em out. Try out ebay...WHOA a mini for $200 I can gather that together. A few months later...SOOM Chrom...it swallowed my paychecks for 3 months(and I did a split with blank parts) I managed to spend about $600 on him, I took all the firelord parts and body, his human parts were sold off...now I'm buying a secondhand soom mecha angel corvi for around $700 and I plan to purchase a souldoll chantel for $700...suddenly that $400 doll for otakon isn't such a bad deal...and she came with a nighty, faceup and a wig..

 

Yeah okay... Definitely don't find it odd that I think "Oh it's only..." When I remember freaking out at the price of my first doll which was a $350.00 full set MSD. I think it's the nature of the hobby, once you see what is consider inexpensive, it turns your entire world around. I honestly don't think Volks LE fullsets are all that expensive, at least not now. I remember thinking I could never afford a Volks MSD, but when I think of the money I spent on doll accessories and clothes that I ultimately don't use I'm like I could have bought one. ._. Then I think I'm such a dork.