Mass discontinuation - How does it make you feel?

I had a similar situation with Loong Soul last month. They discontinued a bunch of their limited dolls on A WEEK'S NOTICE. I had been saving money for a limited Dollmore doll, but that threw my plans out the window. I had half of the cost saved up but I ended up paying in full because the dealer I went with would have taken interest from lay away. Needless to say, my wallet has not yet recovered and my plans to get a face up for my other doll is postponed. Also, I'm scared I might miss out on the Dollmore doll.

I completely understand why they decided to discontinue those dolls. They weren't selling well and had been available for years despite the fact that only a limited quantity would be made. But A WEEK is not enough time to scrape up money!
I understand why dolls get discontinued in a mass, new dolls need to be made and old ones eventually have to be let go. Sometimes they don't sell, sometimes producing times get too long.
But I wish companies would give a longer time for people to react and save up some money, or offer longer lay aways.

As for DC: I'm really bummed to see Christina go. She is the first bjd that really caught my eye. Sadly there is zero chance for me to get her. Sucks.

 

This discontinuation is less stressful than the SoulDoll one was, for me personally. That one actually soured me on trying to scrape together money for the heads I wanted to the point that even when I see one secondhand, I find myself feeling negative about it. One month just wasn't enough time. Having until March to think about whether I want to put one of my wishlist on layaway or take my chances with the secondhand market is a little nicer. Though for those who wanted an Elizabeth, that's a big expense to suddenly have to budget for, since the body is so integral to her design.

I do look forward to seeing what new designs DC might roll out once they have more space. I hope they can live up to all the great sculpts we're losing.

 

This is a very frustrating hobby if you're used to one where you can just go in a store, see what you like, and take it home. First, it's confusing understanding where you should buy from with all the recasts out there. When you do figure out where to order from they are quite often discontinued or not open for ordering. And if they are available, you have to wait month and months to get them. And then of course there's the cost. You have to really, really want a BJD in order to put up with all of that. And if you really really want a BJD, you're going to be even more disappointed when it's not available. Bulk discontinuations with three months notice certainly don't make the hobby any more fun.

 

I'm not angry in any capacity, just confused.

As far as I know, nobody even has owner photos of Blanche. She's only been available for four months. It hit me out of left field to see her on the list.

I wish they'd explain why and not act like Marvel avoiding spoilers about it.

Forty is a crazy amount of sculpts for a company to have, let alone be able to discontinue without losing clout. For all I know, they looked at their lineup and realized that themselves.

I wish it was staggered more. No matter what - this is a lot of dolls. We'd be having a similar conversation about twenty.

As far as personal impact, I was on the fence about getting Stacy, but I'll probably put her head on a 6 month layaway before the end of March. I'll figure out her body later.

 

I've never seen a doll company 'explain' why they're discontinuing sculpts unless they were going on hiatus or closing down.

I honestly doubt DC will come out and say why 40 sculpts are being retired, but I personally think it's because the artist/s left and formed another company.

 

*shows up with Veteran collector status*

I’ve had a lot of plans ruined by companies shutting down with 0 notice or mass discontinuations.

It is understandable because often companies will make a lot of dolls and its not exactly cost or time effective to keep recasting molds for dolls that are not bought often.

At least some companies will warn you now. I know of plenty that just kind of quietly took down lots of dolls. I think it’s good customer service to offer “last call” for sculpts. I like that Souldoll, Bimong/Narin, Dollchateau, Dollzone etc. did this...

 

I don't like out of the blue discontinuations. A week (?!) to a month is not really enough time, and I'd prefer at least 2-3 months notice.

The Souldoll one was annoying mostly due to them having a minimum of 300$ for a layaway. For full dolls, yes, but not for just limited window head orders.

Miracle Doll also did a recent discontinuation that I don't think many noticed. I snagged two heads, but it was strange to me that Baiye was discontinued. I saw more of him than some of their other sculpts.

I haven't had a good look at the DC list, but I might end up with one or two heads.

When I started the hobby there was no layaways, so I find it less stressful these days. There are still dolls I regret missing for one reason or another, but I play the fate game with those. If I'm meant to have them, they'll show up eventually.

 

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Iplehouse -- years ago they wiped out their entire line of dolls with very little notice. People were pissed. I remember a pretty strong petition going around, a lot of people begging and pleading not to discontinue their dolls like Mars, Lion, etc... Iple closed them out anyway and less than year later -- bam, EIDs were released. I haven't heard anyone breathe a word about Lion or Mars since.

That said ... it happens. It will happen and it will continue to happen and it's not bad that it happens. DC likes to do new things and sometimes you have to clear out the old to make way for the new.

 

Dreaming Lion is on my fate list. Soom also did a major overhaul, and I missed out on three. (Romantic Dillui, Asil and Namu)

People should just not give up on hope though. I went on hobby hibernation for 3-4 years and when I came back, I managed to get four other dolls off of my list for great prices.

 

For one, I'm glad to be in a place where I actually see the warning that it's happening. Before I was on here dolls would just disappear and I'd never know why or when it happened. This one scared me because there is one DC doll I really like and probably would've bought a long time ago if I'd had the funds for it. Now I'm trying to not get any more dolls, but if that one appeared on this list... there would be some hard choices to make. He's not on the list, so I still have time to pretend I might decide to add to the collection.

 

I think it stinks when dolls are discontinued because this hobby is already expensive at times and so when a doll leaves the market at a standard price they will become rare and often makes their price inflate. So unfortunately these dolls could go for a few hundred more depending on the sculpt and demand as well as condition of a doll. In some ways it’s nice to have a special sculpt that’s not common or easy to get anymore but I’ve been in the place of someone wanting a sculpt no longer for sale by company and I think that’s worse. A doll can be special even if it’s super popular (ex. Mnf Chloe). However from a producer stand point if it costs them more than the profit from production of so few dolls then I get why they are doing it.

 

i think i'm of the same opinion as most here. I understand there are reasons for discontinuing dolls but mass discontinuations are problematic. I would also like to see it done with either more time on the heads up, a longer ordering period or being phased out over a longer period of time. It's a little better with companies actually giving warning and dealers offering layaways etc but still not great.

The recent Loongsoul discontinuation and only allowing a week to order caught me out as there was one that I had been saving for but hadn't saved enough to buy at that time. It was the same with Souldoll as I didn't have to money at the time for the couple of heads I wanted from them. If there has been a bit more time on it I might have managed it However, I don't tend to over-invest in dolls and I've learnt that there will always be another doll I like so while it's disappointing, it's a bit easier for me to let it go.

Though the speculation about the DC mass discontinuation due to artist/s leaving makes me wonder if there was a similar reason for Souldoll's mass discontinuation? Souldoll's one was quite surprising because they retired almost all of their MSD line and a good chunk of the rest, even though some of the sculpts had only been out for a relatively short period of time. It was kinda odd!

 

I empathize with all who are scrambling to get the funds for a doll that they expected to be around for a long time, and I hope that everyone manages to snag their wishlist with layaway...but truthfully, I don't see this as much different than pining for a limited doll that will only be available for a month or less - or worse, be one of only 10 - 30 worldwide. In ten years of collecting, I've missed out on my fair share that I just couldn't justify the funds for at the time. Some I managed to acquire later, some I did not. Either way, it was always a huge disappointment at the time, but it's the nature of the beast, and the artists' prerogative. I can pout at my own empty wallet, but I can't fault them for the choices that they have every right to make - or for the decision making process about which I have no knowledge. One of the great things about this hobby, though, is that there is always something new and beautiful and surprising waiting around the bend, which makes it a lot easier to deal with the ones that got away...

 

I understand wanting to freshen up the website and move on to new sculpts over time. I really do. But I desperately wish there was a way they could keep the old sculpts and add new ones! Sadly I fear it is simply not cost effective. I very badly wanted Doll Chateau Matthew. I even dreamed about him! But I cannot afford him before he is discontinued, so now I fear he is not in the cards for me ever. The second hand market really sucks too. Sigh. In the end, I am only a little angry, because I understand BJD companies cannot hang on to old sculpts forever, on the off chance one person may want it later. I just firmly believe we, the buyers, deserve much more notice then the companies give us! These are expensive dolls, and many of us cannot, in a week or a month, suddenly come up with the funds to buy a doll that is, out of nowhere, going away forever.

 

I'm really glad that I go through dealers that offer really good layaway terms.

Isabel has been a dream of mine but without layaway, I wouldn't be able to get her.

 

It’s very disheartening to see a doll you’ve loved for a long time slip past your finger tips. My grail from Ringdoll was discontinued without warning the day before I was going to place an order for her!

 

There have only been a few discontinuations that I recall actually catching my attention, as @Praesagium mentioned, the older YID line for Iple was a surprise to me. Fairyland not bringing back the older sculpts in the mini or 60cm is even more surprising especially after some of the fuss that went on between them and Luts about sculpt ownership (iirc). My guess is it probably comes down to storage space and upkeep of older molds.

My main solution is I really don't keep a firm wishlist and I really don't look for dolls until I've got funds and the interest in hunting one down. So very few discontinuations have given me any more than a shrug and a hope that folks with those dolls will post pictures.

 

I get it, but I HATE it! It still- even after years in this hobby, kinda makes me mad. Usually it means somehow scraping the money together for X thing in a total panic. Sometimes you just have to let it go. Sometimes- if you had all those years to buy it and never did- was it really a priority anyway?

This last Doll Chateau purge is hitting hard. I need a B-07 body and I don't think it's being discontinued. I have been eyeballing the Elizabeth body since she was released but never bought one- so do I NEED her? OR just want her.... The K-11 body, I love but was going to use for a hybrid- and the hybrid still has a couple other options that I can't decide on. So I'm not sure what to do.

It's better when companies give you some lead time. Discontinuing a ton of dolls with no warning feels really unfair.

 

Luckily the only body that is being discontinued is Elizabeth's. The K-11 body will still be available after this passes (as the body is still used for other sculpts in that size).

I remember Dikadoll giving maybe a month when discontinuing quite a few of there dolls back near the end of 2017. 2 were on my list so I quickly put the 2 heads on order (but i was lucky that I had just gotten a hefty overtime check).

 

I think mass discontinuations suck for collectors no matter the hobby. Hobbies are almost always expensive and people put a lot of love and care into them so when things they’re saving up for suddenly disappear a lot of hearts break.

I feel for anyone affected by this and hope you can either scrape up the money in time or find reasonably priced secondhands at some point.