Only allowing yourself to buy "cheaper" dolls?

There isn't any problem with buying a cheap doll. I think the problem would be if you are ONLY buying the doll because it's cheap. I strongly feel if you are going to buy a doll, get the one you want. What's the point of getting a doll that you don't really want just because it's cheaper?

 

hah...hahaha...Guilty!
As someone who paid $300 including shipping for her first doll, finding myself looking at paying like $450 + shipping (not to mention cost of wig, clothes, shoes...) for a minifee and going "that's not too bad..." I had to smack myself. Granted, it's nowhere near as bad as a lot of dolls, but it's a lot on my budget and with the market as it is.

 

from an artist's point of view, a good artist can slap a face up on a clunker of a doll and grow so feircely attatched to it that she or he will gladly claim that doll is worth every 'cheap' penny EVER MADE...like everyone else said...it's all a matter of personal tastes...i love the animal dolls, so most of mine stay in the 'cheaper' range....good for me. i like small, lovely, and ahhhh thankfully under 500 XDDDD...jesus. if you told me i'd ever say that and MEAN it i'd laugh you out of town 8 [

P.S

no matter what, i think that the humble Pukipuki, at 130 basic set, is one of the -best- dolls i own. i can't put him down. he's just so -fun-.

 

It's really interesting to see how things change... I first posted in this debate about one year ago. In my original posts I was very pro-hybridization for various reasons, cost being the biggie. I still love my hybrids and plan on a few more, but it's for different reasons now. A year ago I was willing to compromise a little in aesthetics to save money. I still think that's a very valid choice, and I still adore my CP/Fdoll hybrid boy. However, my personal tastes and choices have changed.

I can't say that price doesn't matter to me now, because it still does. But the idea of a price limit is much more vague now. Instead of "I won't spend that much", it's "is the doll really worth that much to me?" Sometimes it is, which is the case of my two more expensive dolls. (Though they were both bought on layaway so it seemed less painful for my wallet at the time. ) Other times, I'm perfectly happy with a less expensive option, such as that CP/Fdoll hybrid. The lanky, slouchy body is just perfect for him, and the fact that it was a bargain is a huge bonus.

Priorities do change over time, and my priority now is getting exactly what I want for my dolls. Whether it's expensive or not, I want to be completely happy with the finished product.

So... I can really see where people are coming from on both sides of the debate. Though, personally I still don't see anything bad with either choice... staying within a dolly budget or splurging on the perfect doll. Live and let live, I think.

 

Amen to this. This is what I tell my husband, a collector of guns. Do NOT buy it unless it is EXACTLY what you want. Every time he tries to go for the cheapest option he gets something he doesn't want. He doesn't understand why I don't buy dolls sometimes, and I say, "There is nothing I really want." I am not going to buy a Minifee Shiwoo just because it's there. I don't like it.

Fortunately though, as I stated before, I seem to be attracted to the cheaper dolls.

 

I love my $148 dollar Bobobie Sprite. Of course, she's my first doll, and I'll probably eventually buy more expensive ones, but I believe that price doesn't really matter. I've looked at $450 dollar BJDs and thought, "....My sprite's cuter than that."

Also, I can't imagine spending more than 250 on a doll right now. I have loans to pay off, but I love this hobby.

I think it just comes down to what you like, no matter what the price tag.


I mean, I have no problem with people buying expensive dolls. What bugs me, though, is people buying expensive dolls they can't AFFORD.

 

People buy houses they can't afford. The news is full of how well that turned out. Not really surprising that people buy dolls they can't afford either. Both are a shame, and it's sad.

My only doll at the moment is a B&G Rin, and on the price scale, he's "cheap." He doesn't feel cheap to me, and I don't mean that in just a physical way. I earned that money to pay for him and his accessories, and the effort I went through to get him makes me appreciate having him. No amount of monetary value can equate the emotional investment I've placed on this doll.

It's kind of like this:

Lindy owns a ragged teddy bear. That bear has been with her since she was a child, it's her friend, her confidant, and it's seen her through good times and bad. It was never an expensive toy to begin with and now it's careworn and old, but she doesn't care because of what that bear means to her.

Kelly comes along and sees Lindy's bear. "LOLOLOL, I have a Stieff bear! It's better than yours because I paid more for mine! Your bear is crap!"

That's kind of what I've been seeing around here, where money > all, instead of whatever emotional connection a person has with her doll.

Yes, I could have probably just as easily bought a Luts or a DoD doll if I delayed a bit longer and thus saved up more cash to plunk down, but I didn't want to. Rin's sculpt is what appealed to me, and his relatively low price was an added bonus.

 

Yes, I could have probably just as easily bought a Luts or a DoD doll if I delayed a bit longer and thus saved up more cash to plunk down, but I didn't want to. Rin's sculpt is what appealed to me, and his relatively low price was an added bonus.

Yep. That's my take on it entirely. I'd looked at many dolls from many sites and the Hubby was ready for me to quote him a price in the $800 range. But, the sculpt that screamed at me was AoD's Chi. I bought him because I was so drawn to him that I kept going back to the site nearly every day to look at him (and was what prompted the Hubby to ask me how much this little obsession was going to cost). That the doll was a very reasonable price was a happy bonus as far as I'm concerned.

 

Do you really think that this is an apt comparison? I have to confess that I don't know anyone on the forum who has had their BJD since they were a small child and the doll has seen them through thick and thin.

I think that it really is a case of you will get what you pay for...emotionally as much as anything. I would never settle for a less expensive doll that didn't have a sculpt I was absolutely crazy over, head and body. I would rather not have any doll at all, if that was all I could afford. I want my doll to stand. I want my doll's resin to hold up. I would never tell someone what she should buy for herself, but I will always be one of the voices encouraging a new member to save up longer for the doll that she really wants, rather than just 'settling' for something that is cheap and easy to get. I view dolls as art objects as well as playthings; I want my art to be as high as possible. It may make me snobby, but I'm never going to apologize for my tastes.

 

O RLY? It was allegory, and not a literal comparison. And would you tell these folks their dolls don't matter as much because they're not Volks or some other high-end doll, or would you respect what the doll means to them rather than how much it is literally worth?

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248051

 

I didn't say that I would say their dolls didn't mean something. Please read closely. Your allegory was presented as comparison; the detail of having had something a very long time gave it a different context. Buying something new and becoming attached is very different from having had an object for a long time. This is what I had issue with. I'm talking about someone who would settle on a cheaper doll when this same person really wants one that is higher quality (and I'm sure people will argue with me that lower priced dolls are just as high quality, but it has not been this way in my years in the hobby).

 

Fair enough. I haven't been around long enough to judge resin quality, but I don't find that relevant. Strictly IMHO.

But I do agree with you people settle for less when they want something else, and it's not just about dolls either.

 

When I started in this hobby, I purchased dolls that I wasn't particularly fond of but I just wanted to have dolls. That was a major mistake that I regret deeply. Now this hobby is to me like an art collection, I tread each one of my dolls as a sculpture and when I shop for one, I want to find just the right mold, at a quality that I want, which almost always comes with a high price tag. I don't condone people that shop for BJDs as if they were toys and buy them mostly "to have one," but that is not what I personally perceive this hobby to be all about. To settle on a cheaper doll just to have one turned out to be a major waste of money to me. ~Gus

 

I totally agree! Just find the doll that you want the most and make it yours! That way you will have no regrets and the doll won't feel rejected either.

 

Personally i can understand why people would keep themselve to cheaper dolls. I mean its a very very expenisve hobby but a great hobby to have, with a wide varitie of people in it allowing for you to meet new peopel and become more diverse and have fun making things pretty, and there are options out there for those who want to be in the hoby but cant put thousands of dollars into it. It allows for a broader range of people to be able to be in the hobby. Personally i fear breaking a 600-1000 dollar doll that doing things with one would be very hard for me. Thought that didnt keep me from buying my dream doll when i could. After spending what i did on my unoa i dont believe i will be spendign that much again. I love valentine my bobobie weylin. he goes everywhere and he has been broken and i dont worry much about it. Its a big comfort to me knowing tha ti got him first and learned what could be handled and what could not.

 

I think you should get what you will be happy with. My first doll was an Asleep Eidolon and was pretty much a starter doll for me. He has his imperfections here and there, and has yellowed a bit, but I wouldn't trade him for any other doll, he's just too close to me now. So I guess what I'm saying is get the doll you fall in love with, if it's on the cheaper side, awesome! But if it's not, start to wisely save up for them.

 

I think people should save up their money and buy from a company they are most comfortable with. I don't think I could buy anything from over seas as the shipping is expensive and it will take a long time to get the doll. (Some people can't have their finances tied up that long). Which limits what they can and can't buy. So, they buy from local dealers, and those local dealers may not stock the doll they want.

So, for a beginner I think it's best to save up and look at the dolls from places you can buy from locally since you won't get the shipping money back (and I've seen it's from $45 to over $100 for overseas to the US).

As for buying cheap dolls to buy a cheap doll, I would compare cheap dolls like Bobobie and Fantasy Doll, then if possible go up to the next bracket of price until your up into about the $500s ..that's about the upper end of the "cheap" dolls and even then I think that's a bit expensive. Then after all that research find out which sculpts you really take a fancy to and eliminate companies who sculpts you didn't like at all. Then finally find the most you really want to spend and eliminate everything higher. Then with the choices left pick from them. So you can be satisfied that your getting what you want and that you don't have to refinance your house to do it.

 

I think you should buy the doll you'd love the most, no matter the price. Because it's your own money, and you decide for yourself. I'd be pissed if someone shotted me out from the community because they didn't think my dolls where expensive enough...thats snobbery. oO"
But you should be sure the materials used for making the cheap doll isn't toxic, that would be bad. ^^"

 

i think that if you buy the doll because you like 'em,then there is no problem.but if you buy a doll just because "its cheap",then i think thats wrong.personally,i like the BBB molds.not because they're cheap or im too lazy to save-up,but because i think their dolls have character to them

 

I'll admit that price has been a huge factor in the choosing of my first doll. If I could have had any doll I chose, then I probably would have chosen a bigger boy or MNF Shushu. Frankly, though, that is almost entirely because I discovered these dolls first. I love the Bobobie Mei mold, and if I hadn't been motivated by price then I wouldn't have shopped around nearly so much, and it would have been a long time before I discovered Mei. So for me, living on a budget was a blessing!

I'm also very excited that getting a doll earlier was a possibility for me. Making doll clothing is one of the few ways that I get to earn income towards my dolls, but without a model that's really not possible. Not only am I getting a beautiful doll, but she'll be able to help me earn money towards future dolls, be they "expensive" or not. I think that everyone should look at the advantages of owning "cheap" dolls- they're beautiful, and what's wrong with saving money?