More $$ Than You Expected?

Well, my doll was $620 USD, orginally. He came with face-up/wig, so that is already a nice bonus. His shipping (he came second-hand) was about $40 bucks. His customs was $80 bucks, so all together, $740 without clothes? I think that's pretty good so far.

Though, I do have an expensive taste for clothes.

 

I like to keep an eye on the currency market when I'm buying, and try to order when the dollar is strong (alas it's been pretty weak as of late.)

I knew before I got into the hobby that it wouldn't be cheap, so rarely is there a price tag that shocks me.

 

I think I've spent more on dolls this year (almost $2000) than I ever thought I would. XD

And they hardly have any clothes.

 

I'm saving up for my first doll, and originally I was considering a Volks FCS, which is essentially $1000... so I decided to go with a $500 Soom doll, which was considerably cheaper.

Well, that's what I *thought* until I added the seam removal, body brushing, and face-up to the cost. And that's not even including a wig, eyes, and clothes. I'll probably have to make the outfit myself (and Organization 13 coat for Axel) unless I find a commissioner, so at least that cost isn't too high...

I just have to keep reminding myself that it'll all be worth it when I get him.

~Anna

 

I was surprised by the customs when I got Tudor XD
I was lucky enough to not have to pay extra for Diya, but it wasn't much fun when I found out I had to pay even more for Tudor (not that I really mind, even though it was a bit, but I was quite broke at that moment D: )

 

Um, well, when I knew my boy was on the way, I bought both a new digital camera to take box-opening pics and a brand-new sewing machine to make clothes. That was a little excessive !

 

I'm saving for my first BJD...
But as I live in Brazil, I have to change the currency to dollars...
Well... Dollar is a little expensive in Brazil *though it used to be even more...*, so what I spend in dollar is almost the double in reais! *kills myself*
I chose Kara Klum as my first BJD, the price is $550, but in Real, I'll spend almost R$1100.... @_@'' And I didn't put the shipping, clothes and acessories into the account yet. No wonder my mom wants to kill me...

 

I'm another one who always uses a currency convertor before buying anything. I'm also not in the US, so I'm dancing along with Sparrow right now, because the Aussie dollar is quite strong and, while it hasn't overtaken the US dollar, it's still cheaper for me to buy things now than it has been for a very long time. Yes, I'm making the most of it, although shipping still makes me go 'ouch!'.

When I got my first dolls, I didn't even think about wigs, outfits, eyes, etc. I was rather surprised to discover how much things cost for these little guys! That hasn't stopped me buying things for them, although I don't buy half of what I'd like to - again, shipping costs have a lot to do with that.

I spend what I can afford on the boys, and while I haven't bought a lot of things, I wouldn't want to add up what I have spent

Course, there was that $300+ customs and brokerage fee for Raidan but that was a one-off, thank god!

 

Ah, yeah. I have a crazy limit for myself, though. I'm only allowed to have $1000 worth of dolls at one time, so if I see a new one I like and I've already hit that limit I have to sell another. It keeps things in check, I think.

 

Definately! Exchange rates, shipping, extra fees from the bank... The price just keeps doubling! Even what seems like a good deal suddenly starts costing me a fortune.

 

Well, not due to exchange rates.. but i didnt realise rinkya's fees were so high xD; after i had bidded on three items.. D; two 8$ things ended up costing me 24$ each or so D; that hurt...

 

LOL!
Oh yeah....
I was suckered in to this due to last years Chirstmas event. I thoguht, hey I can buy a body and get the head for free. Get one wig, comission an outfit, found some eyes for $5.00, spluged a bit on some boots. That's the end of it right?

Now I have several wigs, several more outfits, four pairs of boots, and even scalemail armor!

With the way the US dollar is falling, I am fearful of the doll companies rasing prices... I mean the USD is worth less than Canadas! No offence to Canada, but I remember growing up and seeing dual prices on stuff, and you always needed more Canadian dollars to buy things, so the recent switch is just kind of a system shock.

The falling dollar has already started make me think twice before buying stuff from Europe... and sadly stuff from Britian is almost out of the question... more than double the price. >.<

 

I totally understand that, Tonboko! It's a complete system shock to me to see dollar amounts where Canadian is less. I love it, but it's so weird!

 

Oh definitely!
My first doll, I got without face up to save money. But then had to get him some clothes to come with. And a certain wig. And certain colored eyes.
But what got me between the eyes was the shipping! I wasn't expecting it to be quite so much.
I know better now, and plan accordingly.

 

Every. Single. Time.



One time that really stands out is when I snagged a Juri06 head and the Domuya flexibody when they were half price thinking: I ARE GENIUS. Only 350 dollars total!

Right?

Between clothes, wigs, eyes, buying stuff to tan her, and going to commission an outfit she's cost me as much as a regular SD sized doll now. XD

 

Well, so far, I've bought most of my stuff on eBay (I'm bad that way), so it hasn't been too much more than I expected. Of course, it was still a little more than I thought.

For one thing, the supplies to paint the doll, seal the paint, etc. was quite a bit. I ordered the wig and an outfit when I ordered the doll, so I thought I had that covered. But then I realized that she couldn't just hang out in lingerie the whole time. So I had to buy more clothes.

Then I realized that she needed a friend, so I had to start saving for another doll... and, of course, he'll need all that stuff, too...

 

Yes, it happes. Though I always use the currency converter (heh, 1USD is around 200 HUF so I really need it^_^"), paypal doesn't convert too favourably, but I came to expect that.

What I wasn't expecting was the customs. Oh, I knew there will be some - but come on, $185 for something marked as 'gift'??? My mom had to lend me cash so I could get Ezra out of customs....

Since then I'm always calculating customs into my savings...

With my second doll it was the faceup - with the cost of the supplies I ended up buying getting a doll already painted would have been cheaper. Ah, but I have always wanted to try my hands in it and I can use those paints/brushes for my future faceups, too^____^

 

The exchange rate has been good to us in Australia lately, with the dollar peaking past over USD0.90 a while back, although it's dropped back down a bit now. *sigh*

I'm currently paying off a doll on layaway, so I am prepared for a bit of fluctuation, so have set a few hundred dollars more for price.

Thankfully, he'll come with faceup and eyes already in place, and he can share clothes with my other 2 SD boys, so I won't have too much extra expenses that aren't already calculated in. Phew!

 

I'll have spent more on my Domuya Fin than expected. I thought she would be able to share at least some eyes, wigs, and shoes. She can share a few shoes, but her head is like a mini head. Way too small for eyes and wigs swap.

 

Eyes and wigs proved to be more than I expected, certainly.

I'm easy enough to please with wigs, but do like to have a few different styles.

I like to experiment with eyes though.... I've got a thing for pretty eyes. I buy too many!