Keeping from buying another doll?

I'm the same way. But for me, rash buying decisions means selling the doll 1+ years later. ~.~ (See Pipos Bao, gorgeous doll but I cant bond with him)

 

When I bought my first bought dolls...yes, that is plural, I bought 2 at the same time. Now, a year and *counts* 5 months later...I've got 11 dolls home. And quite a few more planned. I have also given 2 to my sister, and sold off a body when I got a new one for one of my first 2 girls.

But then...I buy MSD and larger (and some 27cm range ones to be younger siblings and kids to the MSD sized ones) for photo stories, which need lots of characters for the 3 different stories I want to do (all 3 are drastically different, with different characters) my tiny tinies are my 'mod projects', which I want to do in sets of 2, who will also be, in the long run, my doll house dolls once I have the space for, and time to build, doll houses for them.

Also keep in mind that my CURRENT dolls are all from the lower cost end of things, being Bobobie and Resinsoul. There are more expensive ones I want, like a minifee girl, and 2 Iplehouse boys, but I'm waiting on the more expensive dolls until I'm sure I have a safer place to keep them, the space for them, and the money to spend on them. I COULD have 2-3 of the higher range (or where I'm willing to go in higher prices, anyway) instead of the 11 I have home...but I love the ones I have, and even had I started with the pricier dolls, I would own every one of my less pricey ones in the long run anyway.

So yeah...I'm not very good at stopping myself, ESPECIALLY when I have the money in hand to buy a new doll. The last time I had enough for a doll, though, I spent the money on supplies I need to FINISH the ones I have home, instead. That worked well, for me. And now, I'm saving up to by 4 at one time instead of continuing my buying 1 every time I have the money for it. 2 of them I NEED to buy at once, as I'm swapping their heads as soon as they get home, so I want them made as close to the same time as possible, and the other two are a couple that I would feel bad splitting up when I've picked out the molds for both already, just to wait to order one after the other.

 

I try to balance the cost of the doll with whatever else that same amount could buy me.

So if I have $1500 of "fun money", I could afford certain dolls. But before I order that doll, I compare the purchase to all the other things I could do with that - book a holiday somewhere I've never been, do some renovations, buy new appliances, take some courses, buy piles of books or games or clothes for dolls I already have (or clothes for myself) - and then I think about which of those would make me most happy in a year, or five or ten years. Sometimes the doll wins (I have 4 and a couple of floating heads, after all), but most of the time I figure that while the doll might win in the short-term, in ten years I'll probably be happier with one of the other choices.

 

Finally having access to the Elfdoll site, I've found a doll with a sculpt that best suits a character that I have been planning for. I've been looking through many sculpts, listing them in my wishlist then taking them off only to be turned off by how their joints looked or their proportion... Until I saw the Oasisdoll Natalie, I thought "THAT is the one!". Mature womanly face yet still soft and delicate.

If I purchase this doll she'll be my first 60cm sized doll! However... I know for a fact that it will just be a shelf doll. She's tall, gorgeous, and I'd be too afraid to take her out. That's the problem I have with bigger dolls. I LOVE them, but I know for sure she'll forever remain in my room. This pretty much has kept me from buying it at the moment.

 

I think maybe it might be not a bad idea to wait for your first doll to come home, and get to know that doll a little bit. You may find a character in the back of your head that fits perfectly into this new resin shell and want to spend all your moneys on him making him just perfect. And you may find out some other things like "hey I don't really like this size, I think I'd prefer a bigger or smaller doll" or "I really wish I had picked a doll that poses better" and other personal taste stuff like that.

So that's my advice. Spend a little time with your first, it may influence your spending choices. If it doesn't click between the two of you after a while, and you still really want that other doll you've been eyeing, by all means, buy him!

 

Well, as far as I understand, if you can afford it without any undue consequenses, I say why hesitate? You want the doll, you can afford him; buy him.

Unless you try to restrain yourself because of your shopoholic tendencies. In which case you should rather consult a guide or therapist. It's just hard asking on a dollboard full of shopaholic doll-addicts how not to buy a doll. xD

 

I'd suggest waiting until you get your first doll. I got my first doll from a company, than a few weeks later (before she arrived) bought a second doll off the marketplace. The second doll arrived in only two days and while I love her, I wished I had waited to see the one I got from the company. They wound up completely incompatible and I have to sell the one I waited so long for!

Also, the longer you wait, the more dolls you are exposed to. If I had known about Resinsoul before I dropped so much cash on Soom dolls I would have more money to buy even MORE dolls now, instead of sinking ALL my doll funds into a single doll.

 

I know it may sound pretty stupid, but somethings that help me with impulse buys:

When I first see a doll I really want...I back away and make myself wait about a week. Usually in that week I will realize if my want of it was just the initial "oooh new shiny!" reactions to seeing a doll that's new (or new to me anyway) or if I truly do want the doll. It may seem little but this has helped me with several impulse buys that in the following week I realized "what I'm I thinking? What on earth would I do with that doll!?" as they didn't fit characters I've made or any plans I've wanted to accomplish and even in some cases the doll just wasn't "me" if you get what I'm saying? Like something I wouldn't normally like but where it was just new and awesome I was still getting grabby handed on my bank card...then realized later while pretty, it wasn't something I normally like at all.

Like others I also think about things I could be doing with the money and if it's logical I spend it on a doll or something else but everyone is different and has different issues with that. Like for me...making sure I get my house mortgage payed for the month and do some renovations to the house - those are bigger issues than buying a new doll that I'm not 100% sure if I'll actually like or not.

 

Simply avoiding the marketplace here at DOA, eBay and actual store sites helps me avoid buying anything. I look for conversation and crafty tips when I am in the mind to stay out of procurement trouble!

I do agree you should wait for that 1st doll to come and play with it and learn what you do and do not like in BJDs. I think buying a 2nd doll in your situation would be rather hasty.

 

I was much like you when I first joined the hobby two years ago. I had lots of money and dived in face first. I went out and bought two very expensive dolls right away (like two days between purchases), blowing about $1,500 on both of them, then another $1,000 on clothes/shoes/wigs. Now two years later, both dolls are gone, resold at several hundred dollar losses and I am currently without a doll at all. Not to mention the other huuuuge loss on the clothes/wigs/shoes.

Take it from someone who's been there - Wait until your first doll gets there before buying more. I bought two MSDs thinking they'd be the perfect size for me. Only to find trying to style them in the type of style I like was next to impossible and honestly quite frustrating and not at all fun, I wasted a lot of time and money for nothing. I hope you don't end up doing the same~

As for how I stop from buying more dolls. I've realized two is plenty for me, the two themselves are a handful! I'd rather spend the money on getting them more clothes/shoes/wigs/eyes than on more dolls to try and clothe. Plus there's the 'up keep fees', which people who have never owned a doll don't realize until later. The money for the eye putty, elastic string, magic erasers, wig shampoos, wig stoppers/headcaps, things like that. Those things can add up to $70+ in no time.

 

Being poor/broke is a great (albeit sad) preventative.

 

I've found that continuously changing the looks of the dolls you already own can stave off the want for new dolls. I usually go looking at new ones when I get bored of the three I have. Different eyes, wigs, clothes or face-up really bring back the novel feeling your doll had when it was new. Granted, it's not the best money-saving technique, but you probably won't be spending as much as you would if you bought a new doll entirely, especially if you sew and do face ups yourself. c:

 

right now, i'm in transistion with job switching. but, i do have a buget with everything (i try). so, come christmas i might get my first msd!

 

If you have a hot button set for DoA, have it jump you to the Galleries, and not the forums--you can get a "pretty doll" fix right away, for free Also tell yourself you'll just wait a week to buy anything, and in the meantime you'll make plans for the faceup and clothes of the incoming doll, and some little props--pick a small thing like a chair to make, and when you would be on the Internet, glue together a little cardboard chair or go out to thrift stores or jumble sales to see what you can find for chairs, little plates, any little items your new guy will need, and decide how you want to do the first photoshoot, and make whatever things you need for that. Mostly fill up your normal Internet time with being outside or making things

 

I ended up giving my family a xmas/b-day list which included the doll I want next on it (as well as money for him). Both events happen in December, but my family usually requires a the list a few months ahead of time if I intend to get anything from Asia (even though most companies I want things from send stuff faster than Amazon!). I decided to give them the list a few months early this year (around June. How silly am I? XD) and now, knowing I have money for the doll I want, I keep myself from buying it by thinking "but what would I do if I buy him and someone in my family does too? What would I do with an extra doll?" (Since I feel bad about selling dolls when I'm still so new to the hobby. XD) Try setting a date that you'll wait until before you buy the doll, and see if you make it.

I also agree with EbonyFeather. Sometimes spending a little bit of money on new clothes or a new wig/eyes/faceup can take away that 'hunger' for a little while. Maybe, instead of buying the doll, you could window shop (what would the internet term for that be? Favorite? Wish list?) several items for the doll that you would want to buy after you get the doll. You can kind of feel like you're shopping for a doll you own even though you haven't bought her/him yet~

 

Rikka Mika has a really good point, one that's only recently come home to me. At one point I had 7 dolls and it was just too many for me to cope with when they don't all have shoes, wigs, wig caps, etc... It's easy to buy a load of wigs and then find they all look good on just one doll - then you have to by more completely different style wigs for your other dolls. Eyes, all eyes don't look good in all dolls even if they are the right size, the list of things you wind up buying for just one doll is endless and there is always an amount of trial and error. It all adds up.

If it was me (speaking with that wonderful 20/20 hindsight) I'd wait until your doll gets home then you will have plenty of money to buy all the bits you want and get him just the way you imagine him looking. Just because he was random (I've never splashed that much cash on something random!) doesn't mean he won't be perfect for you in the end