Only allowing yourself to buy "cheaper" dolls?

I will preface this by saying I am a complete n00b, that I don't have a doll yet and I am still defining my own wishlist. There are dolls on that list that range from $150 up to $750.

I completely understand getting a less expensive doll first. I probably will start out at the low end of my own list just because I want to be sure I'm going to stick with the hobby. I would hate to get a $700 doll, never bond with it and end up falling out of love with BJDs with such a large amount of money down the drain.

That being said - there is going to be a lot of money spent in this hobby no matter if your doll is a $150 BBB or a $600+ Volks SD. Wigs and shoes and eyes and clothes...they add up, obviously. Not to mention the people who get all the furniture, accessories etc! So I don't think expense, or rather lack of, should dictate a BJD purchase. Because while the doll might be the most significant expense, it's certainly not the only!

I am probably going to end up getting a $200-$300 doll for my first doll because I love those sculpts and I have heard good things about the company. Does this mean I won't get my $750 dream SD some day? Of course not. But I might also get the $150 BBB someday too.

 

Buy what you love! I think you should buy the dolls you simply adore, no matter which company makes them or how much they cost. I happen to like the sculpts of the more expensive dolls, so I buy fewer dolls but I buy the ones I really want and love...all BJD are beautiful, and I think collecting them should be about enjoying your dolls instead of viewing them as status symbols..

 

Being an owner of three tinies from three different companies I have my own opinions of what is fairly priced and what isn't. My first doll was a RS Bao, second AoD Mi Mi, and now my third FL DES and out of the three I love my AoD the best. It took me about 2 yrs to make the decision to pay almost $300 for my FL DES in my book why pay that much when my RS and AoD were so inexpensive and more than half the price. Needless to say she kept calling and she went on layaway with some other items. With everyone's high praises I expected and AWESOME doll, what I got wasn't that. I don't think I will buy another FL doll unless the price is right, don't have a problem with her but how the company handled her. She has seams, couldn't stand right out the box, can't remove her foot and arm, she was thrown around in her box. Sigh but none the less she is mine and as I spend more time playing with her all that will become unimportant.

 

I only allowed myself to buy cheaper dolls in the beginning. I'd never seen a BJD in real life, and the prospect of reselling a doll scared me, so I thought whatever money spent would be gone. Now I don't look at price to the same extent, especially since I no longer worry about reselling. Generally, you'll get back at least 70% of whatever you spent, so the idea of buying more expensive dolls isn't as risky as it might seem. However, I do find that the more expensive a doll is, the more nervous I am about handling him/her.

Also, on the topic of people buying only expensive dolls (which was brought up earlier), I think that with some of the less expensive brands, the bad company photos may scare off potential buyers to the extent that they won't even look at owner's pics. (Note: I know not all lower priced dolls have bad company photos, but generally the pics pale in comparison to the pricier brands.) Also, I've noticed several of the less expensive companies have fewer owner's pics available anyway, which are important to many when choosing a doll.

 

I'm not even sure that I should post, I am still a bit of a noob, but this is such an interesting thread, I feel compelled to at least say that.
I have dipped my toes into the BJD genre, but only after they were "an item" on the HimstedtHeaven forum. My first love is Himmies, and if I had to sell the BJDs to get a rare Himmie, the BJD was gone.
At the same time, I was curious, because I love many dolls, and so I HAD to see what they were like. I am on a budget, retired, so I looked and looked for a BJD I thought I could love and stay on my budget. I got Amy by Island dolls, and ordered Annabella a week or so later.
So much for budgets! I really like Amy, her resin was really nice, but I ended up selling both of them.....I miss them both!
I have bought and sold quite a few, but haven't really found one I love enough recently to take the plunge again.....well, I do have a Ricci who I love, and who is lonely.....
Perhaps everyone has different criteria, person rules to follow.....

 

Oops, double post~

 

I buy dolls because they're cheaper but that doesn't necessarily make them less than any other doll. If you bond well with your doll that you paid less for, you might forget about your "dream" one because you are so content with the doll you already have and you will feel better about the purchase because you spent less on it as well! That's just what I think though haha.

 

I'm one of those stingy people. I'd be happy with only second-hand dolls to go even further (only those cheap ones though of course!). I just can't wrap my head around spending more than $200 on any doll and the cheapy sculpts look just as beautiful to me.

 

Hey there. I'm pretty new, but I've read a couple pages of this thread, and I thought I'd post my opinion.

I do not yet own a BJD, however I hope to own one soon. My first few days of shopping around online I was trying to keep myself within a $200 price range. I looked at a lot of dolls, and many of them were quite nice, but didn't call out to me.

I sat back and thought to myself a little. I have another hobby, one I'm already pretty established at-- I keep betta fish. To keep this brief-- and avoid a long artical about fish keeping; It's kind of expensive to set up a pretty tank. When I first started, I had a pretty ugly tank. Second hand gravel, terrible plastic plants. It was already insanely expensive for me, who had no job at the time. I know in this community it's not a lot, but for me a +$50 setup for one fish was frighteningly expensive.

I can say with 100% certainty that I'd not be keeping bettas if I told myself I'd only have a perfectly aquascaped tank with all the bells and whistles. I never would have gotten into the hobby that way. I can also say that if I stuck to that price range as my interest grew, I'd be extremely dissatisfied right now.

I think in a way dolls with probably be the same way. I don't see anything wrong with starting small, in terms of price. for some people, a $200 doll is expensive. For some people a 'cheap' doll might even be the most expensive thing they've ever purchased-- and that's before even thinking about clothes or makeup or ANYTHING. If someone can find a 'cheap' doll that they want to start with, that's alright in my book. Where it stops being alright is when they limit themselves from what they really want.

There's a difference between wanting, say, a steak, and settling for a burger instead. There's a problem when you're so hungry for steak that you eat enough burgers to cover the cost of one, and are still staring.

Edit: Anyway I missed finishing a thought. I'm going for a more 'expensive' doll than I hoped for originally. I'm doing so because I made myself step back and consider what I really wanted, without looking at price at all. Because I know eventually I'll want more, and regret that I started 'cheaper', and see the doll as wasted money.

 

The first dolls I fell in love with were from Fairyland, and my first purchase was a Littlefee Luna. I sometimes think maybe I would have been better off buying less expensive dolls to start off with because now I feel a little like I have been spoilt for other dolls. I have on layaway my first non Fairyland doll atm, a 5stardoll Tong Tong... I chose her because I just simply adore her face, and I'm thinking that will make up for any possible shortcomings bodywise (compared to fairyland dolls). Finger crossed

 

Each to their own and everyone is different, but I tend to go for the dolls that I like the look of, rather than because they are less than other dolls. Sometimes the satisfaction of having saved up for one of the more expensive ones, and the anticipation make all the sacrifices worth it, but I can be just as enamoured with one that costs a fraction of the price.

 

I'm beginning to understand why people have floating heads. Floating heads are a lot cheaper than buying a full doll - especially if the full doll is $600+. While it doesn't make the doll instantly cheaper, it does cut cost, at least for a little while. I'm hoping to begin saving for a floating head from AS all to keep costs temporarily down.

I'm taking a leap I never thought I'd want to take, to be honest.

 

Eh...... Sometimes I found people tend to believe expensive dolls have better quality and look better , I found it ok to see those people only buy volks if they have enough money. But after all, it all come down to whether u really like it or not. I always look at the price at the same time as I look at the doll. I just can't spend up to thousands on a doll when I know they originally only cost hundreds . People selling over priced dolls just make me feel like I am fooled. So no matter how much I like those mold , like Milwa and William, I won't buy them when the price tag is high up. On the other hand, I won't buy a doll just because the price is low . Well, reasonable is the key word for me

 

I think my opinion on this has kinda changed with time :/ sometimes it's true that you only allow yourself to get lower priced dolls because you don't feel ready to invest in a very expensive doll, and I've realized that in the three years I've started actually searching for and purchasing dolls. Cost efficient yet beautiful quality, plus fitting/making a character was what I looked for. I've wanted Souldoll Yoni-P practically since she was released last year, and the fact that I'm so willing to save up on a more expensive doll with more expensive items shows that I'm now taking the hobby even more seriously, instead of looking at any other doll and thinking 'I'll buy because they're pretty. I'll figure out what I'll do with them once I get them'. But no! I feel it is kind of like a relationship you can't enter until you are emotionally prepared and secure that this is the right choice. During the time it takes for me to save up for a doll I want, I can decide then whether or not I really should get them. Many have been deleted from my wishlist because I feel 'unattached' to them.

 

What did it matter, cheap or expensive doll??? If you love this doll, so she is the best!!! But I do not understand people who just want to buy the BJD - that was on the shelf and buy cheap куклу. better not to buy...

 

My advice to anyone settling for a cheaper doll over the one you want; don't.

Save for the one you want. You'll still end up having them years later.

 

I personally think it's alright I mean it's your choice? If you're satisfied with what you get then that's all that matters. Sure that expensive one might be awesome, but if you think the cheaper one is just as awesome then yeah go for it. I feel like I do this when I'm choosing outfits for my Doll. It's like yeah there's an awesome outfit I want, but there's also cheap outfits that I'm good with having as well. I usually restrict myself from getting those highly expensive outfits because it's like it'd be awesome to have but at the same time not really want to pay for that much. (Even though I may have enough to pay for it anywhom)

But for me personally I'm interested in DD's (which are highly expensive. Dx) and I'm getting one that's expensive right off the bat just so I can be satisfied for like a while. I don't know if I'll be getting another one but at least I'm good. :]

 

I adore fairyland dolls, but I got my girl, an island doll Amy, first because I was new to the hobby. I figured she is cheap and simply adorable. So I got her first and am saving up for a minifee

 

Im a new doll collector and im only 14 (turning 15 on the 31st of august WOOT!) i have a part time job and all, but i am in a tight spot right now because of the economy, well my parents are. I think im abit jaded when it comes to money but i have always tried to find the bargan price. I look at obitsu and bobobie. Obitsu has UNBELIVABLE deals on their dolls for the small scale and same with Bobobie for larg scale. I like the other dolls but do i really want to shovle out 600$ for a 40cm doll? i dunno thats me. I dont have a doll yet but im 137$ closer to my goal of 273$ to get my Bobobie Long 70cm :3 cant WAIT! (uhhh, also im abit new to DoA could maybe someone private message me about how this whole thing works? id like to have someone to help me out ^^

 

Sometimes BJDs can be so expensive, price ranges given for starters on the internet are somewhere between $500 to $1500. And some people really love BJDs but can't cough up with this kind of money go for cheaper dolls (not many people can, including me).Can't be helped. Cheaper dolls does not mean it is of inferior quality. So if you are passionate, why not? It is your money anyway. Besides, there always seemed so many things to buy with so little money.