Only allowing yourself to buy "cheaper" dolls?

I think this is very okay to do. I myself cannot afford an expensive doll, so I look at the cheaper ones I know I will be happy with. :3 (The first doll I get I want to be something simple and cheap until I get the hang of this, and know what is what.)

 

The first two dolls I bought are expensive, but since then I have been going for the cheaper dolls, because,
1. I do find them more affordable, but still in the kind of style I want.
2. Because my original two dolls are still my favs. and I don't want any to 'overtake' them in popularity or price.
3. Every doll I have bought since my frist two are to compliment my original ones, let them have more friends, extend the world I am creating for them, so why drive myself into debt if I am not the these other dolls are for?

 

I would allow myself to buy more expensive dolls, but up till now I was always attracted to the "cheaper" ones, which were (certainly in the beginning) still quite expensive for me.
I only buy dolls because I like the way they look and apply to me, not for the prize, it's just something that happens to happen xD
Maybe I would buy a more expensive one in the future, all depending on wether I like the doll whitout any doubts.

 

I prefer tiny dolls, which usually happen to be relatively inexpensive, which is good because I'm an unemployed teenager. It would be irresponsible of me to invest so much money on a more expensive doll in my situation, especially since I'd just be mooching off my parents.

 

The real problem with going for the cheaper 'second best' option is that it never works. You keep wanting the first option you fell in love with, and it ends being even more expensive, because you will end buying that one at the first chance you have to. When I started in the hobby, 5 years ago, I desperatedly wanted an Elf El. He was out of stock and reching very high prices in the second hand market... I thought I could do well with a less expensive regular El. In the end, I purchased both, and sold my regular El. So, if you want a certain doll, wait and save for it. It's cheaper, I swear >_<

 

Dolls are so expensive I don't really blame people for getting cheaper dolls just to enjoy the hobby. It took me 6 months to save up for a doll once and I'm an adult with a job, it must be really hard for the youngsters in this hobby.

 

But miniatures are the 'gateway drug' to tinies.
Valerie

 

I don't think people should settle because they have to. Just be patient and get the dolls you want.

The dolls I want cost about $450 and $375 total. However, if I can find them cheaper somewhere before hand, so much the better, and it would leave more money to get them wigs and clothes and the like.

If you come across a doll you absolutely want, then don't settle unless you can find one of about the same quality somewhere cheaper.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with it, per se. I've heard in knitting and other hobbies to always go for the best materials you can afford, and I think it can apply here to. I mean, if you are 100% in LOVE and devoted to getting the expensive beauty, there's always saving up. But sometimes that option just doesn't beat finding a reasonably priced doll that you like a lot and could see yourself bonding with. Besides, the pre-ownership lusting for a doll is never a garuntee which one will end up being more loved.

 

if u love them, even if they r cheap, u shoukd get them.

 

It's frustrating when someone gets into a mentality that just because something is cheaper, it's a better value.

Granted, if someone loves a doll and it's cheaper, it's fine. Heck, I love MSD's and I've put off getting any larger dolls because of how much I love the smaller (and less expensive in comparison to SD's) dolls.

Now what I am referring to is an attitude that is pretty much the same as being a snob with wealth, but in reverse. The sort of attitude that *some* have that only something that is cheaper is better and that anyone who buys something more expensive is stupid and wasteful of their money.

That is not a very appealing attitude at all because in a way it shows spite for something that might indeed be better.

 

It's also frustrating to have this assumption projected on one because of a love for less-costly dolls. There's lots of expensive dolls that just aren't worth it to me, and that's that; there's also a lot of less-expensive dolls that don't rock my boat, either.

If another person finds it good value, that's fine for them, but if the 'x-factor' that makes the more-expensive doll worthwhile to them is totally lost on me...
well, what then?
I hate feeling like I have to apologize for loving a doll because it has the 'wrong' brand name or price point - whether it's in the stratosphere or bargain-basement.

 

Tigerbaby, I don't think Leenah meant that everyone liking cheaper dolls are automatically like that, but that some are and that it is the same thing as the people who wave around with money and claim that when it is expensive it's automatically better.

I didn't read her post as an attack on people preferring cheaper dolls but more as an observation that people from both sides (if there is such a thing) can act snobby like that and that this attitude isn't very helpful to anyone.
If this is what she meant to say, then I agree with her. It isn't helpful and needlessly makes the gap between different sides bigger.

But I agree with you that it ís frustrating to have people projecting ideas on you and that you have to keep defending your choices because of prejudice you encounter. It's tiring. And I'm not even sure if defending yourself helps, because sometimes it seems people hardly change their minds no matter what you say.

 

I agree, and what is also unfortunate is it is interesting to try and understand what it is that 'draws' an individual to one doll or another, but discussion can so readily get bogged down when people feel (or are made to feel, or mebbe feel they are being made to feel...) defensive regarding their tastes (or lack-therof - I gotta admit, sometimes the things that attract me have me going 'wtf'?) or the amount of money or time (the two are really often equivalent) they are willing to commit.

 

I like both VERY expensive dolls, and then dolls that are under three hundred. I'm willing to save up and buy the 'cheaper' dolls first - because I can reach their goal first! However, if you really want an expensive doll, and you can't find it in the second hand, or you just don't want second hand, then my advise would be to save, don't settle.

I've had the 'just settle' experience with other things in life, not dolls, and I've been very disappointed. My household was a 'settle' household and it never sat well with me. Now that I'm an adult and on my own I would rather wait and save, work over time when it's available, and get what I really want.

 

Personally, I believe that as long as you’re passionate and happy about your purchase, it shouldn’t matter about price. Whether your dream doll is ~$100 or ~$900 it doesn’t really matter. Some people definitely have price restrictions and it can lead to looking for cheaper dolls, but as long as the doll you purchase is something you want, it shouldn’t matter at all. There is nothing wrong with buying a cheaper doll.

 

I'm going to venture an unpopular opinion and say that there is a limit to what I will spend on a doll regardless of how much I like it.

I really don't see a problem with setting a budget and sticking to it. There is an upper limit to what I am willing to sink into my hobby. And for me it's not a matter of if I can't afford it now, I can just save and afford it later. It's a matter of there is a limit to how much I will spend on a doll. Any doll. No matter how much I like it. Not that I don't think some dolls are justified in their large price tags, but rather I don't think that I want to spend over a certain amount on a doll, no matter how gradually I saved for it. I have X amount that I will pay for a doll because I have a lot of other things I want to spend money on. Not necessities, not my bills, but things that take precedence over this hobby.

Does this make me a less dedicated collector than the person willing to scrimp and save to get that Berman that they have always dreamed of? Almost certainly. But that level of dedication is not something I aspire to, nor is it something that I feel I need to get a great deal of enjoyment out of the hobby. There is a lot of talk about passion in this hobby and a certain implication that if you love a doll enough you will make sacrifices to own it. I'm not willing to make sacrifices. I like dolls, but not enough to put off buying other things that I want for them, and I just don't feel like that should be a requirement to enjoy the hobby.

And the simple fact is that there are dolls that I like quite a bit that are well within what I am willing to spend. If there weren't, I wouldn't be in this hobby in the first place. I don't feel like I am somehow settling for less. I am getting dolls I like. It isn't a case of "well I like that doll, but it's too expensive so I'll get this cheeper one that I like a little less instead." It's a case of, "I like that doll, but it's too expensive. I like this other doll, and it is in my price range. Score!"

That said, I'm totally unconcerned about how others choose to manage their finances. What the hobby is worth to you is a decision that only you can make and which no one really has the right to judge you on (unless you are using food money to feed a resin addiction, in which case an intervention might be needed ).

 

At first I thought it's stupid to buy expensive dolls because there are a lot of cheap ones, too. I ended up buying AOD Zi Yuan and now, only a year later, I'm selling her away. This is because I never bounded with her, she wasn't the right doll for me at all. Now I'm waiting for AiL Elijah head and I'm very exited, I really love the mold. I have another SD-sized boy too, but that Elijah head is a dream come true.

After all, you always can buy hybrid dolls, ita ends up much cheaper.

 

Realistically, I could only afford the cheaper dolls when I bought my 2 MSDs.
After a while I felt very bored with both of them, but then I started buying them new wigs/eyes/clothes and after many failed faceup attempts I became more confident and competant with faceups, and now I've made my dolls look exactly how I'd wanted them to look from the beginning!
I think it worked out better that way for me...

I do like quite a few of the "expensive" dolls, though not as much as the 2 I own already... I think it's better (though a little harder XD) to buy a doll on the basis of what it "could" look like rather than what it does look like, and work on it youself turning it into a perfect doll for you.
I feel the doll is then worth the money I paid, and the time I spent on it.

 

I need to purchase a doll from Junkyspot. they are everything i want in a doll company.

I need to purchase a boy from Junkyspot. >.> But my heart cries for a Soon!