Keep OR Sell?

This has always worked for me... line the ones you want to sell up in a row and as a friend or family member which one should go. If your immediate thought is ‘no! Not that one!’ Then they still have a place in your heart. If you’re nonplussed then they should go. Hope that helps haha.

 

Background info:
I have a friend who used to be in the hobby, and while she kept most of her dolls she had a blank Christmas doll she never dressed up, did a face up, nothing. Completely blank. This was about 7ish years ago she got him. She gifted him to me earlier this year, as she was moving and realized she wasn't attached and was never going to put anything together for him. She's also a bit older and can't do face ups herself, she would need to commission one. So that may have been a contributing factor.
Now, I never liked the company photos of the doll and having the doll I also haven't felt any connection. I keep meaning to try giving him a face up and a wig and everything to see him I like him if I make him my own. But I just haven't
I feel kinda bad just keeping him on a shelf without giving him love, but I also feel like I haven't given him an honest shot.
When do you know it's time to part with a doll?
And just for so it's out there, it wouldn't bother her at all if I sold the doll. She probably would have sold it herself, but she has a lot of health problems and didn't want to have to put everything into the process of selling him. There's no sentimental value in him for her

 

I think the sentimental value is more in the fact that he was a gift that you received rather than anything else. If you really don’t feel like making the doll your own, then it’s always a good idea to sell.

I know it’s time to part with a doll if I have no doubt in my mind. If there’s any doubt that I might regret it then I will keep them.

 

Just sell it, I say. You don't even like the sculpt to begin with, so why would you waste money on this doll?

 

You could possibly use him for faceup practice, but if your friend won't be hurt, selling /gifting /moving the doll to a loving home is fine.

 

If you don't feel attached maybe now is the time to let him go, he may bring lots of joy to someone else
You could always get her a small gift after selling, if you want to.
Best of luck

 

Sell him and use the money to buy a doll you really want instead. Problem solved!

 

I know it's time to part with a doll if I distinctly feel they are not mine. For me, it's slightly different from not bonding; it feels as though I borrowed the doll and it's time to return it to the rightful owner - only I'm the rightful owner, haha.

In your case, I like the idea of selling the doll and using the money to buy a doll you know you really want. You mentioned your friend won't mind if you sell, but I'm sure she'd be honored to know that she technically paid for a doll you really want

 

Meh, if you don't want it then it's kind of sad to keep it when someone else might consider it a dream doll. Personally, I'd either pay it forward by gifting it to someone who loves it, or sell it and send the profits to the original owner. I'd feel really weird selling a gift and then keeping the money, especially if the owner had given it to me because she was too ill to sell it herself. Or maybe that's just me.

 

For me, if the question is even asked more than once, it’s time to sell. Far too many interesting dolls out there to have funds tied up in one that does not bring you joy.

Hmm... may have just answered a question about some lingering background dissatisfaction with one of my own dolls...

 

If I feel no bond with the doll or desire to work on him or her, it’s time to go. I like to roleplay mine and if I don’t want to work on the character any longer, I put them away in a closet and see if I kind of miss them. If not or I feel like there’s another one I would like better, I decide to sell or trade.

 

I know it's time for a doll to move on after I've given them a faceup. If I don't pick the doll up at least once a month I move it along.
I'd rather sell than waste money on a doll I'm not playing with, but to each their own.

 

I'm currently going through this debate at the moment. I've been through this many times with both fashion dolls and some of my other interests/collectables (such as tarot cards). After convincing myself that I should jump in and take the first oppertunity I had, I didn't do the full extent of my research....now after paying the layaway I don't even know if I still want them. I know I can find and customize something more perfect to my tastes. I guess when they finally arrive in the mail I'll be able to make the descision.

 

If you have doubts about letting go which one, I think it is best to keep it
Why not sell some accessories
I mean the thing with BJDs is that once you missed it it is very hard to buy it back
I wouldn’t let go unless I am quite certain
But even so, there are couple times I regretted selling it after some time. I guess I haven’t been thoughtful enough. And now I can never buy it back

 

Well as the title says and you might notice my little “obsessed with dust of dolls” under my name, I’m debating if I should let go of some of them and I wondered how others decide? I would say it’s even harder to make the choice when you know it’s super unlikely you’d ever be able to acquire them again. Maybe play with them a bit and see how you feel? At the moment besides my incoming doll I’m debating reducing my collection of four to one and maybe just collect msds. However I own dust of dolls doom girls and I know it was so luckily of me to to get them and I love them but I keep thinking about how I want other things now like some clothes for myself and the fact I need to move. How do you guys part with dolls? Does them being limited in quantity/rare make it harder for you to make the choice? If this is a thread already I apologize I couldn’t find something too similar.

 

I’ve never chosen to let any of mine go, but I know some of the most common advice is to put them away for a few weeks or months, then see how you feel. If you miss them, if you’re relieved, etc. Then make your choice.

 

Some people would just leave their dolls for a few weeks and then decide. Another suggestion is to change the doll's faceup and clothes because maybe you just get too used to the faceup and the style and grew bored of it.

 

First choice of action for me is to change them up. If that doesn’t make me happy, I put them away. Sometimes, I don’t want to part but I don’t want to play with them necessarily. My Villitunes Mimichu is definitely one of those cases. I wanted her for so long but have no immediate need/desire to play with her, so she’s been sitting in a box for a while. But I still don’t want to part with her, it’s just much easier to keep her out of harm’s way by keeping her in storage. I think that’s also a valid option a lot of people don’t consider! It’s okay to store them away for a while and sleep on it. For months even, if you want! Just don’t forget about them

 

I decide it's time to sell a doll when I realize it no longer makes me happy. The dolls I've chosen to keep permanently, I smile just looking at them, and I enjoy playing with them, making things for them, or just setting them up to display. Those are the ways I enjoy the hobby, and if I don't want to do that with one of my dolls, then it's probably time to send them to someone who will.

Whatever you do to enjoy the hobby, try to figure out if you still feel excited or happy to do that with this doll. If you don't want to mess with it and it's just sort of "taking up space", then it might be time. You're already weighing the things you want vs the things you have, so if the things you could buy with that money are more important to you than the enjoyment of the doll, it might be time.

I'm currently considering whether or not to sell one of my own, and this is how I've been deciding. I definitely need the money right now, and I don't really play with her at all, or want to do anything with her. She's pretty, and she's no longer available, and I paid a lot for her... but if she's only taking up space, I'm not sure I want to keep her.

Edit: to be clear, I'm not saying you have to actually do anything with the doll. Maybe you enjoy it just by having it around, which is perfectly valid. It's only when you no longer enjoy that when you might consider selling.

 

I think you put it very eloquently @BlackSheep ! Everyone enjoys the hobby in their own way. Personally, I just like to admire my dolls on display and occasionally dress them up.

In my opinion though, I think for discontinued dolls you should think especially hard. Simply because if you regret it, you may never get them back for more obscure sculpts— even a replacement of the same model might be hard to find, at the very least.

As Marie Kondo says though, “‘Does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it.” Joy can mean a lot. It can mean admiring your dolls from their display, it can mean changing their looks frequently, it can mean photography/photo stories. But as long as it brings you some bit of joy, it’s important to remind yourself that burnout doesn’t mean you’ve stopped loving them either! (It can, but often times, I’ve found it doesn’t actually haha.)