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Mass discontinuation - How does it make you feel?

Jan 18, 2019

    1. Does anyone ever wonder how many doll companies/artists stopped all production before they joined the hobby? My guess is maybe 60? 70? (from the beginning til now) but that might be really conservative. Maybe I should try get an accurate count sometime. I think I could get the right number.

      There are hundreds and hundreds of discontinued sculpts. It's not so much a worrying trend, it's part and parcel.
       
      • x 6
    2. i haven't really been affected by a discontinuation yet, but if i was, i don't think it would really bother me. i'd probably be a little disappointed if i was deadset on a specific sculpt, but i always end up with a ton of alternatives when looking around so it's not like i'd have no options.

      that said, it doesn't seem like companies give a whole lot of notice when discontinuing dolls, and i can only imagine how hard it would suck to find out that a doll you had planned to purchase in say 6 months time was going to be discontinued in only two months.
      i do feel like companies should give way more notice, especially when it's such a large amount of dolls like what doll chateau is doing now. there are of course wonderful dealers like BJDivas that offer longer layaways, but not everyone is comfortable with the idea of a layaway (myself included), i don't feel like they should be forced into one if they can't pay outright for the doll. sure, there's the secondhand market, but there's no guarantee what you want will come up, not to mention the various risks that can come with buying a doll secondhand.

      but those are just my thoughts; i can understand the need to discontinue dolls, but i don't feel like the way its currently being done is very customer-friendly.
       
    3. It somewhat makes me feel sad but I get excited about it as well. Mass discontinuation usually means new sculpts and I love seeing new sculpts :D
       
      • x 1
    4. I'm entering the hobby to a slew of discontinuations. Since I've been in marketing and product management for most of my career, I do understand the need to phase out "older models". It's sad, but I guess I'm already resigned to the fact that I won't be able to own all the dolls that catch my attention?
       
    5. There are two dolls I want from DC and the knack of DZ & DC discontinuing their things en masse certainly scares me. It happened with Souldoll last year and thankfully the only thing I wanted from them was a head so it didn't kill me or my wallet to happen.

      But considering my state of affairs, if DC ever decided to discontinue elf Allan and their newly sculpted Noah at the same time and I haven't gone down on claiming either at that point yet (which might as well happen with how limited my funds are) Allan would take precedence based on character alone. I'd put whatever doll I'm saving for (the other two are basic luts sculpts and luts doesn't discontinue) in the back burner and go for him; not both, although I'd certainly be very sad as he is the first centaur I like enough to dare try owning one again after how cumbersome my last experience with one was (and their discontinuing Elizabeth right now effectively means I will never be able to realize Goshenite as a doll since I cannot afford her and the spider body will go with her which is what I needed in the first place).

      Ultimately there's nothing that can be done about it and it's something I can live with given I don't just have thousands available to spend on dolls at the drop of a hat. It's a matter of prioritizing the most important character/doll, then differing the hobby funds. Worst case scenario a nice long layaway can remedy any budgeting problems I may be having at the time.
       
      • x 1
    6. Ultimately, it's another unattractive aspect of the bjd hobby it seems. That "at a month or two's notice something you wanted might be discontinued and multiple companies may do it at once".
      No wonder it's such a difficult hobby for a lot of people to get into. The cost coupled with that nonsense and the difficulty scraping funds together yeah..

      I'm rather glad it took me 15 years to actually buy my first bjd because I could NOT have handled it at all back then, at all. It already causes massive stress after only 2 years to a point I just think "you know what? I don't want to buy things."
      *shrug* maybe my wallet will thank me. But I find it yet another extremely unappealing element to this particular branch of doll collecting.

      It's a difficult thing to do, striking a balance between a saving plan that's managable and letting go things you can't just afford within a year. I'll get the knack eventually i'm sure.

      I just wish companies would cut it out and stop discontinuing huge quantities of things simultaniously and give more damn time. Not everyone can magic up $300 in 2 months. It's nice a lot of you guys CAN, but not everyone is in such a financially solvent situation so yeah, it's crappy. Longer periods for ordering would remove a LOT of that stress on people for sure.

      I don't quite get WHY companies can't do that. They must know well in advance they're dicontinuing stuff so why a 1 or 2 month notice and not 6? Get it together doll companies, sheesh.
       
      • x 1
    7. Doll companies are typically pretty small and probably have a different work culture than what we're used to.

      To a company, they might think 2 months is fine. There's also the influx of people buying sculpts at the "last call" that will keep them busy for a while, and DC is already known for their long wait times.

      I can see both sides of this. While it sucks that a lot of sculpts that seemed to put DC on the map for their not-so-typical designs, it's going to cause a lot of work for the workers (plus Lunar New Year is fast approaching and sometimes people who have worked for doll companies find jobs elsewhere during the holiday thus leaving vacancies in an already small company).
       
      • x 1
    8. I’m still recovering from Migidoll’s mass discontinuation in recent years. It hurts me every time.
       
      • x 1
    9. I'm sad to see the mass discontinuations with DC, but to be fair I've got most of the sculpts I wanted (and multiples of in one case) from those that are for the chop.

      I appreciate that they have given some notice too as they have discontinued dolls and bodies in the past with no prior warning (the female youth body, baby hillary and jodie to name a few).

      I don't see this as a bad move on their part as they obviously want the chance to move their brand forward which unfortunately involves dropping older sculpts.
       
      • x 1
    10. It's a difficult one. On the one hand, as a collector it sucks. A lot. There were several Souldoll sculpts I would have loved to buy one day but couldn't afford at the time of their mass discontinuation. I'll always regret Gana. :(

      I can also see it from the company's point of view, though. To some extent it's a labour of love for artists and customers both, but at the end of the day it is a business. If they can sell enough of those sculpts to keep themselves afloat and in profit, they're not necessarily going to go out of their way to make sure everyone in the world can get the exact sculpt they love. That's not how markets work.

      I don't entirely get the rationale for dropping lots of sculpts all at once, and it seems like it should be possible to give more notice than companies typically do. But the companies have a lot of info that I don't about how their business works, so I'm not going to tell them they're doing it wrong. I guess ultimately I can live with it because there are SO many dolls I want, more than I could ever afford, that if one becomes unavailable I just shift another to the top of the wishlist - I'd already accepted that I can't have all the dolls I want. If you're the kind of person who utterly sets their heart on one doll, makes big plans and saves hard for it then I can see it could e heartbreaking.
       
      • x 2
    11. Considering how many dolls are discontinued I don't know that several at once feels any different from single discontinuations. I felt a little wistful when Iplehouse discontinued all of their original YIDs but it didn't make me buy any of them in the lead-up (although to be fair I already owned my favourite so it might have been different if I hadn't).

      It's when a company goes away entirely that it strikes me a little differently. I always wish I'd bought more than one doll from Angelheim before they vanished.
       
      • x 1
    12. Ha! In the case of my order for Jodie, even the sales rep wasn't aware he was discontinued until I'd already paid and she'd confirmed the order!

      I think there are a lot of reasons to discontinue a doll, or a line of dolls. It could have to do with an arrangement with the sculptor, or a wish to go in a different direction aesthetically. Or just wanting to cut down on the number of moulds lying around if you have a small workshop.
      I think in a lot of cases the lack of communication is more irritating than the mass discontinuation itself. Sales reps do not always know whether a doll is permanently discontinued or will be back later. (5SD discontinued 90 percent of their tinies a few years ago, but a lot of them are back now.)
       
    13. Mass discontinuations are unfortunate and can be jarring, and I sympathize with anyone who has felt the sting of their doll plans taking a sudden nose dive. Most people don't have the funds to drop on several very expensive luxury items at once, and it may not be feasible or even advisable to use credit cards to cover the cost either.

      But please, if you find yourself in this boat, do not give up hope. If a doll you want will be discontinued and there's no way you can make it work for you before production halts, consider buying secondhand when the funds become available to you. It may not be easy, and it may take a while to find what you're looking for, but persevere. You can always post a WTB thread here or scour other reputable secondhand markets to help you.

      I don't mean to be flippant in making this suggestion, but to raise a little optimism. I personally own 45 dolls - 41 of which have been discontinued - and the vast majority of them have been purchased secondhand after the original artist(s) stopped producing them. Some of them I was able to find easily, and some took agonizing literal years of hunting. If you know you want a particular sculpt and none else will do, my advice is: don't settle, search. Nothing is impossible!
       
      • x 4
    14. If I don't buy a doll before it's discontinued, it's usually because there was something else I wanted more. Life is full of choices.
       
      • x 7
    15. I collect mostly mature tinies, and most dolls that fit that category are either limited or have been discontinued. It helped that when Lume stopped making their tiny line, they did it in phases. I managed to get the funds for three of them, because it was in two phases.
      It would be kinder to the customers if more companies did it that way, discontinuing a smaller number of sculpts at a time. Or just giving people more warning. They might also sell more dolls in the long run, too. It's frustrating when they do it suddenly or with a huge number.
       
    16. Im really bummed, but also sort of happy? It was the push I needed to finally buy a few I knew I needed. I dont have any bjd yet other than some small obitsu and MH stuff. So with the 15% off and the time they gave me to decide I finally have a layaway of items Ive dreamed of for ages.

      I have a feeling if it werent for the discontinuation I would have procrastinated.

      I really appreciate the time frame they gave, the discount, and the option that many of the bodies besides the spider Elizabeth will still be around. So I can buy some heads now and then order a body later on.

      If the bodies were going too it would be much harder for me to decide, as well as other people Im sure.

      So its sad to see them go, but it makes room for new items and pushes slow pokes like me to invest finally. Dc is by far my favorite and I am so ready to get some of these babes in my hands.

      I do agree with Leo Phoenix above me, phases would be awesome. There are so many retiring. Im lucky it was during tax refund season or there was no way I could put the money down for so many.
       
    17. There were so many DC sculpts that were discontinued that I would've liked to own someday. I limited myself to the one I had planned on getting, just the head, no body. I just can't afford much in terms of dolls right now, after a significant change in work a couple years ago. But I'm glad I heard about it ahead of time, unlike with Souldoll and a couple other brands.
       
    18. First time I saw that DC discontinues lots of sculpt I was shocked. Then I was happy, because they keep my 2 favourite dolls. But it's still sad. They had lots of nice doll like Sexta or Mephistoteles I just like to look at. It was worse with Soul Doll, they discontinued my favourite vito boy, Jin... :atremblin I wanted Jin's head but I only find out that they discontinued that lots of sculpt, when I searching for Jin's neck measurements. I really feel sorry for every discontinued sculpt with personality.

      It's understandable that like Iple said, they can't handle those lots of sculpts in the basic line. Or the artist who made the sculpts is leave the company. At least they are still in the business, not like some other companies, we miss.
       
    19. Dollzone is doing another discontinuation. I'm just glad there's only one doll I want out of this round. :eusa_sile
       
    20. I just saw it on Alice's Collections. There is one doll I definitely one and 2 I was still on the fence about. I'm just annoyed they've gave us less than a month, going to have to pull some strings I'm still paying off the layaway from the Doll Chateau discontinuation. I'm just going to buy the head of the one I definitely want. I suppose I'm grateful for it for making me make decisions about some dolls - my wallet isn't as grafeul though haha
       
      #100 TheSecretRoman, Apr 5, 2019
      Last edited: Apr 5, 2019