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Others Handling Your Dolls

Sep 7, 2018

    1. For the most part, I'm very happy to let people hold my dolls. I bring him along to conventions, and although I was quite nervous at first, I actually really like letting interested strangers hold him. A lot of people have never seen a BJD in person before, and it's fun to watch them figure out how heavy they are and how the joints work. Sometimes they'll straighten out his clothes as if he were a child. They're almost always way more careful with him than than I would be. I always ask them beforehand not to touch his face. When I get home, I wash him gently with water to get off any residual oils.

      As a caveat, I only let people hold him if they already know what BJDs are since, I figure they'll know how delicate he is. (Plus, people who don't know about BJDs wouldn't want to hold him anyway.) Also, I've been attending conventions for more than a decade, so I think I have a pretty good eye for who will or won't handle another person's possessions with care.

      I've only one remotely negative experience. Once, a friend was having a lot of fun carrying him around and didn't want to relinquish him, so I had to chase him through a crowd and demand my doll back. D: It wasn't malicious -- he just doesn't have the best sense. Everything turned out okay, but I was really worried because his magnetic wingpiece pops off sometimes, and a bit frustrated with my friend. Still, the good definitely outweighs the bad.
       
    2. I'm a little leery of people handling my dolls in public; I'm okay with it if it's at a doll meet or something, where people know what they're doing, but you never know what kind of ick is on random people's hands. :sweat I wouldn't really worry to much about them being dropped or anything, it's mostly just things like dirty/oily hands and whatnot. I'm okay with friends and stuff touching them though! I sometimes have to ask for help when I'm restringing anyway.

      I don't mind showing my dolls off though! Showing people what they're made of and how the joints work and everything, and letting them test the weight if they want. But not a lot of messing with posing and stuff, especially when it comes to the heads. I'm pretty protective of my doll's faceups; they were expensive and are just perfect! *_* I know it would take a lot of messy hands to really damage a faceup, but I'm not willing to take chances!
       
    3. Family: Maybe, depends on the family member
      Friends: Yes, my friends are aware of their value and know to be careful
      Doll Meetups: Of course! My local group is close and I trust them with my dolls
      Strangers: NEVER
       
    4. I'd only let people handle my dolls if they knew what they meant to me/their worth. Typically if you say "this doll cost $500" they're going to be put off and not want to break/ruin it, so they won't touch it haha
       
      • x 2
    5. It depends on the person for me. I'm usually fine with people handling my dolls as long as they're careful of their faces.

      Even amongst my doll-collecting friends, I know of a few of them who give no regard to faceups and just put their hands and fingers on doll faces to position their heads or to tug on wigs! I get so stressed out when that happens and I've probably yelled at some of them before... *_*
       
    6. I usually don`t mind if friends want to hold my dolls.
      I am very cautious with people at conventions. Some doll of mine is usually standing at my booth and looking cute, but some people don`t know any boundaries.
      Last convention, a young woman touched momo right in the face. She was very excited about her, but I am very cautious when someone touches her face (I can`t restore her face up).
      Now, my dolls are standing in a non reachable distance for visitors.
       
    7. I'm not a big fan of other people touching my dolls. I don't have any hobby friends living near me, nor any close knit community nearby that might have lessened my feelings about people touching them. Look, but don't touch.
       
    8. I don't particularly enjoy others handling my dolls since I'm always afraid that they might unintentionally damage their face up. My boyfriend though handles them very carefully, sometimes he even helps me restringing one of my dolls:D
      I've never been to a doll meet but I think that I'd have little problems letting a fellow collector handle them.
       
    9. I let people handle my dolls, but honestly most people are afraid of breaking them that they won't hold them *_*
       
      • x 1
    10. Totally ok with ppl holding them but highly supervised. If I get bad vibes then ofc not
       
    11. im starting to notice i'm more relaxed with others holding my dolls than most bjd owners. if its another bjd owner i am more than fine with it, if its a non bjd owner i watch them but i find non bjd owners tend to be overcautious, from my experience anyway.
       
      • x 1
    12. for the most part i am fine with it but i get worried about my fantasy dolls and their small parts
       
    13. I dont mind it. I have never had a problem. Of course if some stranger just came up and snatched them it would be different. But they are really not as fragile as some people think. Not quite what you asked but my 3 yr old son likes my dolls and i let him play with them when he asks. Actually in 12 years the only time ive had a broken doll was one time a doll arrived with a broken hand
       
      #153 whooganana, Feb 29, 2020
      Last edited: Mar 4, 2020
      • x 1
    14. sorry, I will say never in a thousand years. maybe only very very close friends will allow to touch them.
       
    15. If they ask permission and I front load them/inform them ahead of time what they can and cannot do with my dolls (don't touch the face, don't twist the arms/legs, etc), I'm fine with others handling my doll. However, I keep close and swoop in if I need to. When I first started the hobby, I remember showing my Marie/first doll to my best friend that was also interested in the hobby but didn't have a doll yet. Although she never touched the face, I was rather dismayed when she started contorting the doll into different positions and twisting the limbs round and round. After that encounter, my doll just didn't seem right. At the time, the Volks USA physical store still existed, so I had one of the people there take a look at my doll. They also noted that something was wrong so like after over an hour of waiting and purchasing I think new string (I don't remember if I had to buy new parts too but I think I might have), they returned my doll. She was damaged from the twisting that my friend did and it's made me realize that even though she handled the doll gently enough, it still got broken on the inside.

      Honestly, now that I have young nieces, I'm kind of contemplating getting a doll or two from another company that I wouldn't mind getting knocked about and played with by them since I do want to share the love of the hobby with them without having to freak out if something happens to those dolls. It is fun to share the hobby in a more unconstrained way with people you trust, but I think it's also nice sharing it with strangers that are simply curious about the hobby anyways.



       
    16. The only time I’ve met other BJD collectors, one person brought their dolls but I was having some eye problems and I kept wiping my eyes (forgot a napkin, so embarrassing) so I didn’t dare touch their dolls. Wasn’t about to be rude like that! If I ever go to another meet I will remember napkins just in case my eyes decide they want to tear up like I’m sobbing my eyes out again. :roll:

      I would maybe let someone I trust hold my doll if I was right next to them. But I don’t think I would let just anyone grab her and handle her without me right there anxiously ready to snatch her away! I’d let collectors touch her no problem. Especially if they could show me how to safely take her apart and put her back together, I’m still far too scared to do it alone lol
       
    17. So I don't have my own BJD yet but I don't think I could let strangers touch or hold them. If something would happen then they can just walk away and forget about it, and you're left with the damage yourself! However I would be okay with friends or family holding them. If they damage my doll I would be very sad but I like being able to share my hobbies.
       
    18. It's not just about the risk of damage. I also collect soft toys, and I have to say I always feel quite weird and almost a little violated when other people pick them up. It feels rude. I suppose this is the way children relate to their soft toys but *shrug*, I invest a lot of emotions into these imaginary people and creatures, and it feels bizzarely invasive. If you have seen/read His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, then I 100% get this "someone else is touching my daemon" shudder. Or someone slapping your butt in the pub. A "why are you in my personal space?" vibe.
       
    19. Personally, I have only let people touch or hold my dolls if I know they will be careful and are aware of the value. I do usually try to be careful about making sure hands are clean and things like that. I think letting someone who is new to the hobby or unfamiliar interact with my dolls is good because they can see if they like them, but I try to keep an eye out for damages and stains.
       
    20. I have one doll that is a hujoo coojoo and I am planning on getting a dollzone Tit for my b-day! Today I went to a manga class and I brought my doll along with me. Most of the students there handled my doll nicely, but there was one guy that twisted her head around multiple times and I was worried that the elastic would break. :o:shudder:frownyblush::( Fortunately (or unfortunately) he went up to one of the teachers and showed her the head twisting thing. The teacher told me she had bjds too and I was so happy!:whee::love:XD::)