Keep OR Sell?

Dear CutieKitty, hello. Thanks for posting the answer. I am sorry if I stirred up old memories. It sounds like you worked things out for yourself, though.

I was thinking about your post after I made my comment and thought I would add something. I was reminded of the old adage that people share when one has just broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend (or when one has been the who was left behind): people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

Maybe that is true for dolls also. If it is true, then we have to let the dolls go on so they can continue with the rest of their journey and we can make space for the next doll on the way to us.

You story isn't disappointing. It came to the conclusion that it was meant to reach. And as you noted, there are TONS of dolls out there. Wishing you well.

 

So in 2019 I ended a really long term relationship and all the compromises that came without it to my stories. I had one shared universe (which is tabled right now) and a lot of writing in my universe (which I had for 8 years before she walked into my life. So here’s what happened:

-I started by realizing I didn’t care about a bunch of the characters. I created them for rp I didn’t do anymore. I wasn’t going to do romantic rp with my ex, for obvious reasons. One of them was trying to be the protag in my series. He had to go. He didn’t mean anything. Neither did his lover. Neither did the moth-boy (either of them), the electric salamander guy, the fire girl or anyone else I’m forgetting. I had to purge her out of my series, and the characters who mattered, who I let her write needed to go back to my vision for them. Or a new vision. They had to be mine. It’s like moving out, but with a fictitious universe. The only problem was that I had dolls of some of those characters... Oopsie.

-now, the verse we created, hoooo boy. I’m responsible for some? Of the lore, and a couple characters I care a lot about. Azrael and Lilith were them. Ix and Red too, to a lesser extent. Maybe the siren, maybe? Everyone else was just a roleplay oc. Some of them I even despised after (in those really raw first two weeks) because their characters were so extensively not what I’d have ever wanted, and the rp for them was so one-sided. The doll that best epitomized that was my newly minted f60 erda. I sold him at a huge loss just to get him to a new home sooner. I repurposed or sold all the dolls from that arc, and took the two characters I liked and slid them over to my dnd universe. Liriel is far less bound and restricted in her new verse. No idea why there were so many limits on her power, except so that another character who realistically shouldn’t have had it could. Azrael, I’m working with. I like her. I’ll find her a universe. Ix kinda found a new life in 2 different characters.

-so, what does this have to do with dolls at all? Well, my requirement for a doll to stick around is having a character I care about. All these shifts meant suddenly I had no idea who any of them were. And I still don’t, with some of them, but there are some dolls I like enough to weather it out. My way of knowing who I immediately had to sell was who couldn’t I see as any other character, and who did I just not care about if they weren’t that character. Which dolls did I choose for characters that weren’t sculpts I loved? I’m still sorting. Yesterday was another big flood of repurposing, where I was able to pull together what I was doing with a couple characters.

-my bottom line advice: if the sculpt speaks to you, and you like it and want to do something with it, then hold onto it for now. If the sculpt doesn’t speak to you, but works for a character you like, maybe it’s worth a try. I did that with 4 bodies, and modding makes a huge difference. If the sculpt doesn’t speak to you and there isn’t a character you want to explore, parting with it can get you money for other things that you do care about—either other dolls or other hobbies.

 

I have 9 dolls. 8 boys (full sets) and 1 girl. All Volks except for the girl who is a hybrid. My mom and I love dolls, once bought or accepted as gifts, a doll is never sold. Some were given away as presents. We also never alter the original artwork on the doll’s face although we have wiped off face paint on old vintage dolls. I am retired and getting on in age. I have sold all my non BJDs except for childhood dolls. There is nobody reliable to inherit the dolls. While I am sure relatives will take over vintage dolls (60s, 70s and 80s), I am not sure if they will keep BJDs because these are contemporary dolls.

I will be putting some of my BJDs for sale soon because they’re hard to sell, stressful and takes time. My mom says to sell because there won’t be anyone to take over them once I am gone. I will contact Volks to see if I can return dolls to them should I become unable to care for them and they remain unsold. I will price the dolls fairly largely based on what I paid to acquire them. I am considering whether or not to split the dolls, sell in parts. I think this will depend on the dolls themselves. I cannot imagine selling SD16B Yukinojou in parts but SD17 Reisner has said he wants to be sold in parts. I said to him “NO WAY MAN” but yes, I am sure the doll himself is ok with being sold in parts. If Volks do not take back the unsold dolls at my death, I put in place a will to incinerate everything. I cannot allow the remaining dolls to land in the hands of people who does not know how to handle them. So you can tell that I am mainly concerned with off loading my collection than in boarding new dolls. It’s only being responsible that I start putting some dolls up for sale. I love them all.

Of course, F38 Christian is a charity doll, he will be put up for charity auction when I do fall critically sick. This is the doll’s will, an agreement I made with him before he came home. SD13 Isao Nanjou will be given away to one of my nieces in Hong Kong and Singapore. He wants to stay in the family.

 

Dear stargazer_i, blessings for you. I am hoping that you will find places for your dolls.

 

Hi all!

I was lucky enough to get a Morningstar Dolls Fransisca in peach on first drop that I planned to turn into my mini me. I've only made her one outfit so far and she doesn't have a faceup, but I ADORE her. Only now.... Morningstar is working on a curvy 1:3! I feel like that would be easier to carry around/keep track of for twinning at events, and I have been on the look out for my first, likely only because of space,1:3 doll. I thought I'd like to reshell my mini me, but I'm so torn! I love my Fransisca and ideally would keep both dolls, but I don't really have spare funds right now. I thought maybe if I can snag the new doll I could sell my current one to help cover costs, but when I started to discuss it with someone looking to buy one my heart kind of... sank. This doll has been helping me love myself again so... Help!! Any advice appreciated.

 

Before selling your doll since you like her so much, look for other things to sell. Things you don't need anymore or things that you really don't pay attention to. Most people have little thing scattered out around the house.

There is an advice thread on how to earn money for dolls: here you go

Edit: I agree layaway is a great option. You don't have to put all down at once.

 

Start saving money and in case Morningstar do layaways, use it at your advantage so you will pay the doll little by little. Never sell something you are deeply attached to, because you will deeply regret it in the end.

 

I say think about it for a few months, so you are really sure you can part from your Fransisca.

 

Please think good about this big selling step. I once sold one of my dolls and I regret it!
Be sure that you really want that doll! Maybe there is another way to get the money together. If she is not limited you can just buy the 1/3 girl later.
I have rn 2 layaways, I need to buy my dolls like this because it's hard rn to save money because it's pretty much ongoing in my life rn. Ask the company if this is okay, maybe you can purchase her within 4-6 months.

I wish you the best and think carefully about giving away your doll, I can tell you one thing. You'll miss her a lot and you will think every day that the money that you got for her was not even quite worth it.

 

You wrote "ideally I would like to keep the two dolls". As long as you think this, I think there is no way you won't regret selling the first to acquire the second.

In my humble opinion, it is best to lose the chance to get something you never had than to lose something you already posess. Less regret that way.

If I understand, the second doll is "in the works", so you still have time before it sells. Is it a limited edition?

You could:
-looking at other things to sell
-earn/save money for the second doll
-ask for a layaway
-resign yourself not to get the second doll immediately and take your chance at the second hand market

 

I wouldn’t recommend giving up a doll you love. I would put the new doll on your wish list and just start saving. It’s really not unusual to wait years before getting your next doll and I’ve learned to kind of... enjoy the wait. It’s always good to have something to look forward to.

 

For me, I seldom sell a doll because I am very careful when buying a doll. I have months or even a year to consider whether or not to buy a doll (except for a limited number of dolls, of course) and then I really like it. So generally, the dolls I buy are very fond of and seldom sold. When I want to sell him, I may not like all his different makeup, no matter what style he wears, and then I will choose to sell.

 

So, talking from the other side of the big purge. As the purge slows, I’m amazed at what I’ve gotten to do with my collection. I have sold more than half my collection. And used the funds from 7 dolls to fund 2 I didn’t think I’d ever be able to afford. The changing of my collection really reinvigorated me, my writing, my love of this hobby and a bunch of other stuff. I am obviously an extreme case. My ex, who I talk about here was very harmful in ways I’m still learning and this was progress away, which made it better.

 

Oof... Honestly, I think you're right. I guess I'm my head I was viewing it as a "duplicate" since I'm reshelling, but really I can just make Fransisca a new character. It's not... technically... limited, but Morningstar is super tiny and does small releases. To get Fransisca I woke up at 4 am, fought through 12 site crashes, and they sold out in 12 minutes. There's been 2 more releases of her since and they've all gone like that.

I have a tiny sewing business and a waiting list for customs that I haven't been working on because of my chronic pain (with the shut down I haven't been able to get my spine injections so I'm having a tough time), so maybe I can try to buckle down and get more of those out to raise funds?? Part of it, I'm sure, is that I have money anxiety. I don't like buying myself things, so this hobby can be a little stress inducing for me. Every time I fall in love with a sculpt my hubby has had to gently convince me that it's okay to buy something just to bring myself joy. (He's wonderful like that!)

 

@Manic Mushroom : I am sorry to hear about your chronic pain, I hope you can get your medications soon. If I were you, I would try to raise the money, without stressing too much about it, stopping if it gets too painful, etc. (Health should always come first!) If you have enough money when the new doll is going to be sold, it is meant to be. If not, it was not meant to be and you can always use the money for another purpose, whether it is another doll or other things. And if there is one thing I observed, it is that new sculpts come out all the time, so there is always something else to yearn for. And there is always the second hand market, so you never know! Best wishes to you.

 

Thank you so much, and to everyone that helped me think it over. It really helped be see how much I would regret selling her. Fingers crossed I can save up about and snag the new doll when she's ready!

 

I’ve sold several girls in the past and I always end up buying them again I learned my lesson to keep them if I’m thinking of re buying them

 

It’s easier to let go for an unlimited doll. No regret, I can rebuying it. But if it’s a limited and rare one, it becomes complicated.