Morality of Modification

I mod most of my dolls in some way. But if a doll is limited or out of production, I dont, unless I find one that has already been modded. In those cases if the rare doll is still in nice original condition I feel guilty if I do any permanent mods. Like I know its mine and I can, but, for example I have an old limited CP dreaming head that is in perfect condition, that I wish his eyes were just a little bit more open. I know there are modded ones out there and I know there are people would rather have an unmodded one, so id feel guilty lowering the amount of unmodded ones that exist, even if I don't intend to ever sell it in my lifetime.

 

Yup, agreed. Here's the perspective of someone who will be doing modifications to dolls, knowing that I may sell them later... Personally, I only plan to own three or four dolls at a time, so if I want another one beyond that, one of my completed projects will be sold.

The second doll I'm planning is going to have some fairly decent modification, namely engraving. I'm going to be engraving "seams" on basically every body part in order to make him look more robotic. But I'll be doing this after doing a LOT of practice and I wouldn't consider selling the doll (if ever) until I am completely and utterly satisfied with him and would be proud to present him as a fully customized art piece - at which point, he is the next owner's to do with as they please.

That being said, some modifications don't work out. There's no undo button on something as permanent as resin. You might be able to fix them and make them look good again, but they'll never go back to how they were before. But that's a risk we take. It works or it doesn't, and we love our dolls regardless and we learn from stuff like that. But I don't ever want people to be afraid to modify a doll because of how it would affect the price later. Risks are fully worth it either way.

 

I personally do not believe that "morality" as we understand it can be applied to the idea of permanently modifying bjds. Is it heart-wrenching when someone permanently dyes or carves up an incredibly limited grail sculpt? Of course, but the doll is first and foremost theirs to do with as they please while it is in their possession regardless of if they're going to sell it later. Bjds are, at their basest level, collaborative pieces of art carefully pieced together between sculptors, painters, seamstresses, and more. Stifling that collaborative process by telling someone that they are or would be morally wrong for making permanent changes would be silly, in my opinion.

That said, I do think some people in this hobby need a reality check on their mod work. They are, of course, allowed to modify and sell their dolls at whatever price they see fit, but the reality is that most bjd collectors aren't going to be willing to pay premium for a doll with mod work unless it is exceedingly well done, and even then, most collectors aren't going to be looking to buy a doll with heavy mods. Permanent modifications often decrease the value a doll has on the secondhand market regardless of the rarity of the sculpt, so if you do plan on selling a modded doll, I feel like you must be emotionally prepared to do so at a loss regardless of how emotionally attached you are to your own work.

 

I think if someone wants to mod a doll, regardless if the sculpt is still being produced or not, they should mod it if that's what they want. I would assume anyone who would mod their doll will know that it will lower the value the doll, especially if the mod work is very shoddy. However, even with mods, there are people who are willing to buy a modded head just because of what sculpt it is or they actually like what the mods have done to the sculpt. One of the boys I bought had ear mods that I was willing to keep because I loved the sculpt a lot and didn't care if the ears were modded. I only removed the mod once I realized that they were going to require more maintenance to stay on than it would be to just remove them all together.

 

I understand owning dolls is an expensive hobby but the second I receive a doll, I just assume I’ll never get that money back. I don’t like to worry about resale because that mindset keeps me from enjoying my dolls. For years, I would keep my dolls in their boxes the majority of the time because I was terrified of them yellowing and losing value. I was scared to mod, scared to do my own faceups, scared to really enjoy my collection.
Modding and customization is honestly my favorite part of this hobby. I love making clothes and eyes and wigs and doing painting and modding projects on my dolls. This hobby is all about having fun and being creative.

 

It's interesting. In the grand scheme of things, everything is limited. There is no infinite supply of anything.

Basic dolls get discontinued all the time. There are many posts where people have bemoaned choosing a limited doll over a basic doll and then missed out on the basic doll completely because it went out of production in the meantime.
Time creates decay and things become lost.
We all have limited hobby funds and so what we choose to buy will always have a limit.

For me personally, in this hobby my greatest limiting factor is time. The ability to work on the ideas that burn in me...so I'd honestly rather take the chances I have to do the things that give me greatest joy than miss my opportunity for fear. I purchased my dolls to please myself. I have absolutely modded limited dolls. I don't regret it.

That said, I haven't always been confident when starting such a project. I guess over time, regret has just outweighed the anxiety. And each project that was completed and brought satisfaction makes it easier to start the next. I think it can be hard to trust ourselves. But this is a hobby. And for myself I want it to be a place of joy.

 

I've done permanent mods on two of my dolls, face sculpting on one and bosom reduction on the other. I don't intend to ever sell any of my dolls, but if I did, I would sell those two at reduced price because of the modification.

I don't think there is morality involved in artistic expression. True, I modded my dolls to suit me, but they now express how I think they should look.

I have friends in the hobby that do major modding. I love looking at the artistic creations they come up with. It just amazes me what individuals can do with their creativity when modding a doll.

 

Modding isn't at all a case of morality/immorality and if someone tried to tell me I shouldn't mod my dolls because, someone might not want a modded one in the future? Bye. I paid for it, I do what I want. It's entirely true that mods can change pricing, but that isn't a basis for being moral or immoral and it shouldn't stop someone from modding a doll.

That said, there are some doll heads I constantly see offered as modified where I wish some heads survived unmodded, but they're very hard to find. Nanuri 2007, Breakaway, Woosoo, and Shiwoo Elf all come to mind. I absolutely adore all of those sculpts and I own two mods simply because they are easier to find. I would happily take unmodded ones too, but it's difficult to track down.

It's better as some have suggested to just not buy dolls you are already considering selling! Allow yourself to buy dolls you love without immediately considering selling, they are for your enjoyment first and foremost, everyone else is just a bonus!

 

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I preserve my dolls' unmodded condition just as a preference thing! I'm sure in the future I will buy a doll specifically for a mod. 'Sell what you wanna sell' thing for me. I just scroll if it isn't for me ynow!

edit: spelling

 

I buy and customize my dolls for me, not a theoretical future person that may buy the doll from me in the future. If I decide to try and sell my dolls in the future, it's up to potential buyers if they want to buy it or not.

 

I believe that this hobby is based around customization and as such, it's perfectly fine to mod your own dolls, regardless of price, rarity or anything else. You paid for your doll, and you have no obligation to "reserve" it for anybody else.

The downside is that it can make it hard or even impossible to find unaltered rare heads. I've had this issue once with wanting a head with only 2-3 known to have existed at all, and the only one I was able to trace at all had been modded. Never did find the other(s). It was really disappointing, but I can't fault the owner for making their own doll truly theirs.

 

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I think in the end it's completely up to the owner what they want to do with their doll. Even if they do get in over their head with the mods or otherwise no longer want the modded doll, there are plenty of people out there willing to buy modded dolls, especially since they tend to be priced cheaper. Restorative mods are always an option, and personally in my case I love my modded boy possibly even more, he's unique and fixing the previous owner's attempts really helped me bond with the doll.

 

Generally I agree with what others have said, that if you buy a doll, you have every right to change it however you want, even if you end up selling it. That being said their was a time I saw a limited fantasy creature made by Doll Chateau on the DoA Marketplace, who's face had been added to so much it looked nothing like the original sculpt. Reversing the mods would be very difficult, if not impossible. I like the original sculpt a lot, and felt quite annoyed that someone would completely bury in under additive mods only to sell it. Of course they likely found a buyer who liked it more with the mods they did, but it still bothered me.

 

I'm a modder, and also a bit of a revolving door collector--never sold a modded doll (except once I sold a dyed doll)--I guess I get more out of dolls I can mod. Are mods okay, absolutely--you mod an LE 1 doll I like, and I might feel a twinge, but hey, I can mod it back if ever you sell it, and LE 1 sculpts aren't a thing I see happen much anyway. No modding is truly permanent, because in theory, there's always the ability to mod something back to what it used to look like. If I hack a torso in half and cut a keyhole into it, you can fill the hole and stick the torso back together. If I dye a doll red, you can use W/N, acetone, or isopropyl to remove as much dye as possible. you can spray paint it back to its original colour if the dye doesn't come off perfect. If I sand off all a doll's face, you can emulate the original features in miliput. Some of that's hard to do, but I'm sure out there there's someone who could do it. Theoretically, with time, skill, and determination, you can unmod anything I can mod.

If you check out my Vidania project, I cut 7cm off a body, shortened the lags, widened the torso, reduced the chest--it's debatable if she's still considered OT in the resin soul thread, probably--she doesn't look anything like she used to. If ever I sold her, she'd be terribly difficult to revert, and the original body is cheap enough that it would be a whole lot of work to save not a lot of money. I don't think I ought to borrow your word, to rein in the project so someone could revert her, because odds are, if they wanted the original, they'd get it, or something that looks like it. And if she was the only resinsoul 60cm body in the world, someone could make her back into that body if they resculpted and sanded, which would be theirs to do if I sold her.

If I don't keep a modded doll, and I list them with their mods, the buyer is either purchasing a project to revert, or they're purchasing my mods as part of the doll--No one would buy my Loongsoul 73cm paladin girl mod (not for sale, don't worry, this isn't an ad) to have a Loongsoul male body, for instance--the mods are a part of the product, and people can choose if they want them, want an unmodded version, or want to revert them, but I've bought dolls because of mods done to them before, so it happens. In her case in particular, I can't buy a different sculpt--what I want doesn't exist, and so the art to her is that I created what I wanted out of this sort of lack in the market. Bodies like Vidania's that I'm modding do exist on the market--I just felt like creating her rather than buying, and she's short enough that I only had about 3 bodies to choose from in her height anyway (AoD, Zaoll, DT Elf).

So basically, feel free. Mod any doll, sell modded dolls, or don't sell modded dolls. Mod them a little (like elf ears) or mod them beyond recognition. I view them as a canvas, and I view modded dolls as just something still collectable or desirable when selling--maybe not for the same price, or to the same number of people, but it isn't desecrated with modding, such that people would only want to restore it, or that people would not want it in any way, for any reason.

I can't read my own tone right now, so I also want to make sure you're aware I don't at all take offence to the question, and I just wanted to explore the subject kind of in-depth. Enjoy your modded doll (and now I'm curious what heavy mods you intend?

 

i personally am very strict with what i buy so if i get something it is extremely likely here it would be its forever home, about modding people have the right to do what they want with an object they bought, in my opinion if anything a modded doll is more spcial beacuse it is ooak, if people dont like the modded doll they dont buy it plain and simple

 

I would say any modifications applied to a doll is a personal decision, as long as one specifies the modded condition when resell the doll. Yes I've seen people modded a romantic head into an open eye head, and sold the head stating that it is the open eye version. For me this might be the only scenario that is considered as 'inappropriate'.
However when it comes to cosmetic modifications, like changing the details of eyes/nose/chin, I do hesitate. It is more like a challenge I placed for myself. Given that I am pretty selective on a doll's sculpt when making the order, I consider the doll's current condition as something I've already accepted. For anything that I am not so happy with, I prefer to modify it through make up, lighting or wig. It may sound complicated, but I enjoy the process.
The only doll I modified was a practice head with a super long and masculine chin. I don't have a lot of choices when it comes to practice heads, and that chin was so against my aesthetics that it frustrated me whenever I tried to do make up on it. So, with a craft knife and a few pieces of sandpapers, everything is good again.

 

I think that whatever you want to do with your dolls is fine as long as it brings you joy. Whether you do the modding yourself or are sending it out to an artist that is trying to achieve your dream doll is up to you as this is again making this hobby enjoyable for yourself. There are some really awesome collections of heavily modded dolls that I've seen here from fellow owners that are just awesome ranging from lolly cute/pretty to gore/scar/gothic/highly artistic. Just expect that if you do resell it, it won't be at original market value.

Of the people that I've admired their heavily modded dolly collection, I've rarely ever seen them sell their dolls. I'm kind of apt to believe it's because they had taken so much time to mod their dolls to as close to their idealized image of that doll that it would be hard for them to sell it. And if they do, it's to someone that has appreciated their dolls for a long time or has similar aesthetics or also can mod dolls beautifully themselves.

There are quite a few heavily modded dolls that I've watched over the years that remain on the Marketplace for a long while (and their prices drop quite significantly too) until maybe someone that is really good at modding/salvaging dolls purchases them as personal projects or the seller gives up selling them. If it is a super rare sculpt/doll, there's always a chance that someone will buy it even when it is heavily modded, especially if it is their Grail doll.

For example, I have personally bought a modded head of a Grail doll that I really loved the look of as the artist that had modded it did an excellent job with its modifications (so slight sanding and mature face-up). At the time, that particular sculpt (unmodded and modded) were highly desirable/rare and the artist recognizable/popular so the market for it made it worth paying more than mint condition prices. In my 14+ years of being in this hobby, I tend to only buy mint condition, default face-ups, no mods, original full set dolls hopefully either straight from the company or from first owners if I do buy from the secondhand marketplace. I pay anywhere from original factory prices to secondhand marketplace prices that range from dirt cheap to more than twice the original price. If I see modded dolls, even super limited edition dolls that are my grail dolls, I either wait until they are less than the cost of a mint doll or offer appropriately for the condition the doll is in (most likely less than half the original cost). It was just in this one rare instance, my desire for this one exact modded sculpt superseded my usual buying habits.

Another positive modding/selling example, my friend has sold a modded head to someone that just fell in love with how it looked and I'm pretty sure it fit a certain character that the person had in her mind. If memory serves correctly, it was a female sculpt/head that she made into a boy/man with scarring (removable) and I forget if she made it back into a girl or left it manly/scarred. That price was less than market value of a mint head as it was a more common head/sculpt and my friend was not a professional face-up artist/modder.

So, yeah, just do what you want because it's your choice. Sure, there is always a chance of "Oh gawd...what did this newbie do to this doll?!...," but honestly, if it is what you want with your doll then just do it.