Meetups and ... theft? (also, other meetup questions)

I've gone to a few big meets and everything was wonderful! NO stealing or damage of any sort. We have a few members with LoTS of dolls (making it impractical to have them on laps) so most dolls end up sitting on the couches and chairs while we sit on the carpet and discuss Dolls, games and ebay.

 

XP Yeah, that happened at one of the Ottawa ones with Hounds standing on a table...x.x not a pretty sight.

 

I'd say I know for sure for myself and would say for most bjd owners I could never steal someelses doll even if i knew i could get away with it. I would feel so guilty about it. Every time i looked at the doll I would feel like the doll would be saying to me. Why did you kidnap me and take me away from my guardian. Plus knowing of the amount of pain i would cause some one who put so much Heart and soul in to their dolls. I have been to a few meet ups. at the very first one i went to i was feeling a little sick I did not know any one their. I suddenly got very ill and had too run out of the room with taking my dolls with me. And with out knowing even one person there 3 doll owners saw i was getting sick and had to leave the room fast. and 3 of them sat down in frount of all my stuff and dolls and keep an eye on them until i got back. they also made sure i was ok. and asked if I needed any thing.(this Was at A-Kon a few years back) I think you will find most People at Meet ups are like this.

 

Eep. XD

I wonder if, at a doll meet, anyone would be offended if a doll owner declined to have her doll participate in a group photo because it just doesn't look, eh, safe? Would people think she's being unbearably snobbish? Too paranoid? A party pooper? XD

 

I don't see anything wrong with it, but my opinion is not others. In the particular doll toppling accident in Ottawa, I hadn't alloud my boy(also a Hound) to be in those pics because of my paranoia. I don't think anyone really had a problem with it.

 

At the last meet I attended, I actually dropped my doll's necklace and wristband without noticing while changing his clothes. Soon after walking away, two different people kindly found me and gave me both items back, which was very honest of them. Also, if I leave my bag in the corner it's never bothered or anything like that. So... so far I've found owners at meets to be very honest. ^^

 

While I haven't been to a BJD only meetup, I've belonged to a number of doll clubs including our fashion doll club where we meet in a Borders cafe. We attact a fair amount of attention but everyone has been very nice. They always ask before touching the dolls &, even if we offer, many won't touch them. We pass our dolls around to each other & nothing has ever gone missing or been stolen. In fact, if the doll IS missing an accessory, everyone scrambles around helping to find it.

That being said, don't leave your doll unattented in a public place. At our club we've all gotten to know each other & so look out for each other's things if someone has to use the restroom or get a snack or browse the books. As long as you know someone is keeping an eye on your things, it should all be ok. And just in case you're wondering, yes, BJDs do make regular appearances at our club. That's where I first got interested in them.

 

My advice is to keep an eye on your stuff, but don't be so paranoid that you miss out on the fun of the meetup. I tend to make sure any "extras", like accessories or extra clothes for the boys, stay in the carrier unless I'm using them right at that moment. Keeping everything in one place makes it a lot easier to watch it.

From the meets I've been to, it seems carriers/bags are mostly piled together or in one area, both to save space and so everyone can keep an eye on them. To be honest, the only time I've ever been worried about anything at a meet, it was when everyone was re-posing their dolls, and we left our digital cameras piled up on the other end of the table. I could see a random person swiping a digicam more than a doll, since most people don't know what these dolls are worth (and I'd rather have them take my camera if they were going to choose, since it cost a lot less! ).

Overall, I think meetups are safe, you just have to use the same sort of caution you do anytime you have something precious or expensive with you. Be alert, and hopefully you won't have any problems. ^^

 

Totally keep an eye on your things. But most doll owners aren't the ones to worry about. It seems everyone watches out for one and other. ^^

 

I always make it a point to know exactly where my dolls are (includes dolls other than bjds) during meets. I've never actually gone to a dedicated bjd meet, although at the last few Blythe meets I've been to, a few of us also brought our resin kids along.

I'd say be cautious, but not paranoid about something getting stolen. Know what you brought with you to the meet, and just make it a point to make a mental check of them when the meet ends, or if someone leaves early. Sometimes when there's a lot of dolls and/or people, honest accidents do happen with accessories/clothes being mixed up; but everyone I've met has been lovely, and if someone accidentally picks up something that's not theirs and brought it home, they're usually the first to contact the group about it to organise a return.

I try not to bring too much stuff to meets (like I can't honesty see Jun doing 5 wardrobe changes in a 3 hour meet), but for those who like to bring more than a few dolls out, it could be a problem nontheless. I keep everything in ONE bag, so I only have that one bag to look after.

And like others have mentioned, it's usually the non-dolly people that are more likely to see an opportunity and try to pickpocket/snatch something when unnoticed. Dolly folk are good people (most of the time anyway)!

 

These are things I worry about too as a new BJD owner. I don't think I'll let anyone hold my doll for a while. I'm way too over protective.

 

As long as you follow the general rules of common sense, having your doll out at a doll meet is one of the safest places to have it. At every meet I've been to, other doll owners act as extra sets of eyes, keeping an eye on one another's dolls, making sure nothing untoward happens. If anything, we remind each other "oops, you forgot your (whatever)!".

Most of the doll meets I've been to are at people's homes, and there's generally a designated bag area for people to put their bags and boxes. Everyone just leaves everyone else's stuff alone. In generally, doll people are good folks. The bad eggs don't tend to go to in person meets where they might actually have to face others in person .

Marcia.

 

Just re-iterating what everybody else has said - for your first couple of meetups, it's probably a good idea to bring only one doll and have them wearing whatever you bring along. n_n That way, it's much easir to keep an eye on things to prevent them from going missing, either accidentally or stolen.

I've never had any bad experiences at a meet, but like Mamo said (Poor La Salle!), some people don't understand how much they are worth and how much they mean to you. I would add that predominantly, this sort of behaviour generally only happens in schools, because... well, kids are kids at any age in that environment -.-

After a meetup, I usually end up withg a load of Kazzii's stuff, and she ends up with mine; but that's just cus we know what's ours and just tend to grab it all when it's time to move on. We've known each other for four years now, so it's not really something we think about much.

As Sue mentioned earlier, I lent her Fandango for a day XD Hehe, he had a lot of fun, and can look after himself. We travelled as a big group, so it was easy to keep an eye on everybody, and really good to make new friends without the D-man pulling my hair and kicking Scara in the face for a change. XD

I have, however, accidentally ended up with a couple of things belonging to other owners. It is frustrating to arrive home and realise you forgot to hand it back - I mean, it was only a hairclip, and easy to hand back at the next meet but still quite annoying for me. XD (Which reminds me, I still have it... Lord Rosiel, I WILL give it back, I promise XD!!)

Generally at a meetup, we tend to keep our bags in the same place. ^^ If it's a busy area, we tend to keep them under a table or something, but if it's more secluded, we'll leave them in a heap in the corner - when we went to Hyde Park, we found a perfect little cubbyhole next to the table in a cafe where we could leave the bags (... and missmoody's little brother XD Whoops...) while a few of us went off to take photos outside.

We do a lot of wig swaps, so I suppose there is always the possibility that one might end up with somebody else's wig while they have yours, but it's never happened before to my knowledge...

But yeah, generally, everybody will keep an eye on other people's stuff, and if they see anything strange, put a stop to it. Members of the public can be a little threatening sometimes, but a group of dolly people can be like a pack of wolves protecting their young XD!

It will also not be thought of as weird if you just cling onto your doll in your lap for the whole meetup. XD We all have the same anxieties. If you're really worried, take a trusted friend along to help you keep an eye on things

 

At meetups I've attended (and there aren't very many) we've had more issues with other people's children than theft.

Random people will let their children walk up with cheeseburgers, ice cream, candy etc. in their grubby little hands and paw all over our dolls if we don't jump in between them. Then they look at us like we're rude. Granted, they have no idea of the money that goes into these things, but its no excuse for parental negligence.

Things have gone missing a time or two but it usually turns up in a PM as "Oops, I just found an extra pair of shorts in my bag! I think they're yours, let me mail them to you."

 

Manami,
The Seattle area doll meetups are really nice. I always feel totally safe and welcomed. Being rather shy with new people this was a welcome relief. The trunk shows are held at Dolls & Friends in Bellevue.
http://dollsandfriends.com/

Here are some photos from Nov. meetup.
http://club.dollsandfriends.com/thumbnails.php?album=10

It is fun to be surrounded by BJDs and lots of other kinds of dolls too. Other meetups are often at a bubble tea restaurant, occasionally at the Seattle Arboretum, and once we had a great one at the very amazing doll museum in Bellevue.
The first one I went to I brought Pippin (SwD Rengamaru). Lots of people wanted to see a Yo-SD in person. That felt fine to me so I handed him off to the folks sitting around in the back of the store. Then I got VERY excited to see all the great JPOP wigs in person and I was a Grace groupie for quite a while. After a time someone brought my little Pippin back to me. Only then did it occur to me that maybe I should have kept a closer eye on the little guy *grin*
People stash their bags and carriers in some spare corner and get out cameras and just have fun. It is exciting to see the dolls in real life. You can feel how heavy they are and see how well they pose, see the differences in the resin. Kathy has many BJDs in the store and last summer I succumbed and came home with little Serendipity Cumi. Such happiness!!! We have met some wonderful folks and I wish I wasn't such a driving ninny so we could go more often. This group meets usually every month. I live in Olympia so it is about a 2 hour drive for us to come up.
I shouldn't complain - some folks come from much farther than Olympia.

I haven't heard when the next meetup is happening, but hopefully we will meet you there.
Take Care,
Sheri

 

I've been to a number of meetups and never had any problems. If you are in a public place, naturally you want to keep an eye on your dolls and stuff, but I've never felt that my dolls were unsafe.

 

hm always something to be worried about, however since each doll is unique it's pretty easy to pick out who's taken what. Most owners have their own sense of taste so it's unlikely you'll find two owners who have all the same dolls that all look alike. Generally I put something very unique on mine so they're easily identifyable. Most doll owners are pretty ok especially at meets that are in private spaces or areas out from the public. Like most have said you're more likely to deal with outsiders being cruddy than other doll owners.

Typically though if there are any problems it tends to be with members who aren't a part of the regular dolly community. Maybe someone who has one but doesn't interact with the local crowd.

Be sure to know where your stuff is and not let it get spread too thin. When in bigger groups with more people you don't know well you should be more careful. Make sure you have a couple of people who you trust who can keep track of your dolls/things for you when you're not present (washroom breaks etc) and don't take more than you think you can keep track of. If I go to a meet no more than 5-6 of my guys come with me and all their stuff staying in a tupperware bin (that conveniently fits all my dolls in there too) unless I'm actively using it or selling it.

 

Okay, I'm from Houston, so maybe it's just big city paranoia XD but OKAY ANYTHING CAN BE STOLEN. I also worked ata police station for four years. Some lady can walk by and think 'hey, my daughter might like that.' Some doll owner might think 'I don't have the money for those boots...she can get more.' Treat your doll/case like you would a purse- if it's important to you, just be careful with it. n.n As long as you keep your eyes open, you'll be fine.

 

I dunno, little Nakitama, for a while there at the meet in NYC when you ran off with Fairfax (my Juri) -- I"M TEASING!! I absolutely trust everyone at every meetup I've ever been to. In fact when I was NOT paying attention, I was eye shopping, my friends very kindly looked after my dolls and made sure they were safe. I wasn't worried for one second. I DO try to keep my eyes open for Juniper not from a theft standpoint but just b/c she's so teeny, I don't want her to fall off a lap and have somebody not notice.

To echo what everyone else said about breakage though - yeah. I've seen people leave dolls standing and there have been some mad grabs when they've started to fall, so, anybody is welcome to play with my dolls, but I try to sort of hang around just to make sure they don't leave them standing.

*I* have never had anything stolen, but about a year ago there was a very sad occurence here at a meetup in CA somewhere where somebody tried to take a bunch of stuff that was for sale. So it can happen, I hope it doesn't, but I don't attend meetups with the assumption that I have to be a cop and watch my stuff. I bring stuff for sale, it's all labeled, and I am comfortable trusting my fellow doll owners that they aren't going to steal anything and I just leave it for people to pick through.