Leaving the Hobby, Before you have even started?

I became interested in BJD's LONG before I actually purchased one. This is back when I could only find Volks or Unoss and I REALLY loved Unoss who was rare and I was unable to find her.

Then I found luts and fell in love but something kept me from spending the money. I've collected expensive dolls for many years so the cost wasn't the issue really....it was how different they were and all the information about them boggled my mind a bit. But i kept wanting one for the most part. I would have dreams of owning an ARMY of them.....all decked out in super cute clothes and wigs....I'd wake up laughing at myself, thinking how silly to think I'd own a several of them.

Then finally, I made a impulse buy of a Minifee lishe on ebay and when she arrived, I will be honest....I didn't like her (*ducks and hides*) I stuck her in her box for MONTHS and kicked myself for buying her.....but then one day I took her out to sell her and BAM....it was instant LOVE. I don't know how to make sense of it. Now I have several....just like my dreams predicted I would.

So yes....I went in and out of the hobby before actually owning a doll and when my first doll arrived...I almost left the hobby instantly...but these dolls really are special to me.

 

I dunno, that makes sense but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to own the BJD itself. I don't have any of mine yet, they're all on their way/layaway, but I have eyes, wigs, clothes, accessories. When I still wasn't sure whether I would buy one I was making furniture and gathering things for if I would, drawing up patterns for clothes and making plans and stories. I wouldn't know the exact definition of being in a hobby but I'm sure if you invest time on planning for it you're in the hobby already.

 

I'm... not sure. I don't have a doll yet, so I kinda know what you mean.
It was love at first sight with Madeleine, who is meant to be shipped soon, so I don't think I'll ever sell her. Plus she's a pukipuki and will not take up much space on a shelf if she ends up there.
Lewi is more complicated. He should arrive sometime this summer, but I keep falling in and out of love with him. And it's about the same things. I'm slightly confused about him, so I'll have to see what will happen when he arrives.
I have a layaway order for two SD's going on. They were a bit of an impulse buy, because one of them is limited edition and one is limited to 50 worldwide. So I am not sure about them. Once I have finished paying them and have them I'll see how much I like them and how I can cope with their size, since despite liking SD's more than smaller dolls my first dolls are both Tiny.

So I will always have at least one doll, but she might not be active for a while and then be reactivated with a vengeance. It depends on what is going on in my life at the time.

 

Do I want a doll? Oh man I do. Can I afford one? Not really. I've never seen a BJD in real life and the chances of me ever seeing one, until I buy one, are pretty much slim to none. The culture just doesn't exist where I live. And it feels like a hopeless battle of nothing but dreams. College is... expensive. Jobs are.... not helpful. There's no way to catch a break. I could save and save and save, and still I'd not have enough with this or that. I can wait, I know. But it's so difficult. Especially when you do have the money, but know you can't spend it on a doll because of other things. Plus I'm terrified the doll I want will go out of production. And for whatever reason, every time I search through the market place I never find the dolls I"m looking for.

Lack of knowledge, experience and money makes me feel like it would just be better to walk away from the hobby. And I've not even started in on it.

 

Yep... got into BJDs around 2004-ish but the price drove me away. Seven years later and I'm back.

 

Actually I knew BJD around 2 years ago but I was not really intereted because I still have some doll fears lingering in me and I just started buying my first BJD like 3-4 months ago. Well, my story was, I used to have fears but my fear for dolls was overcome simply because I have taken my first step out. Same goes with the decision made to buy my first BJD and if I never tried to take a step out from some stories told by owners about the problems that such expensive dolls could bring, I would have left this hobby before I even started it. Yes, there is an expensive price to pay for this hobby but I think hobby is priceless in a way where the enjoyment of the hobby that you'll get is more than the price that you paid for and I have seen people spending a lot more than I do in the name of hobby and I think, what I'm spending is not too much n___n

 

It was at least one year after finding out about BJDs that I bought one. I only knew about Volks dolls at first and I initially had trouble justifying the cost. I also didn't know about DoA at that time, which is extremely useful for research. Later, I joined DoA and found out about less expensive doll brands like Bobobie. I think I may have "left the hobby" before starting if there weren't less expensive options available. Also, knowing that you can sell dolls later and still get a decent percentage of your money back makes buying a doll less scary.

 

I was pretty interested in the hobby back in 2006 (that's when I joined DoA), but as it was super expensive, and since I rarely have and adequate amount of money, I sort of 'left the hobby' as it were. I still enjoyed looking at other people's dolls, but it was really just a pastime for when there was absolutely nothing else to do. XD;

These days, I've got a better handle on my money, and while I still don't have as much as I like, I'm confident that I can budget and buy expensive things (that I don't really need.) Like piles of comics, and BJDs.
So here I am, back in the hobby. And I STILL don't have a doll to show for it, lol.

 

I left the hobby before I bought my first doll. It wasn't because I was worried about not liking the dolls, it was more-so "My parents won't buy me this $600 Volks doll, (I only knew Volks) and I need to give up and move on to something else." I wasn't prepared to save up $600 dollars - still not - but I think I sort of knew at that time, that it was going to be more of a dream than something that could ever happen. This was back in 2007.

So, I left the hobby for about a year. Then, in late 2008, I found DoA. I got back into the hobby for a year - even started saving for my first doll. Found out said doll would be a lot of work for a first-timer, didn't like it, and I stopped saving, and spent it all.

Finally, it was late spring/early summer of last year that I came back on DoA, started saving, and bought my first doll. Since then, I've been in the hobby, non-stop.

 

My sophomore year in high school my sister's friend showed me bjds on deviantart. She was planning on getting one from DDE, I don't remember which doll. That summer I got a job and save up the money. But as soon as I got the money my sister's friend had gotten her doll and thought they were stupid. All my support went out the window. My family thought I would end up like her. I didn't buy the doll but I keep dreaming. My freshmen year in college I got a lot of money for my birthday. I was out of my parent's house so they couldn't really say anything. So I brought two dolls.

 

I just want to say you are lucky if you're still able to leave the hobby. LOL. I just can't, I'm so deep inside this hobby that I can't see the light on the way out anymore. It's all dark, and it's full of dolls... XD

 

I was just like you, was pretty interested in them until I got to the idea that you could take them apart. Dolls scare me, and at that point, BJDs were no different. I came back about a year ago and then got REALLY into them.

But now the excitement's gone, and I may have truly outgrown them. It's a 50/50 chance I won't ever commit to this hobby.