owning the not so popular molds

I'm starting to feel a certain apathy towards the super popular dolls. Like El or something - I am so over El. And when I was looking at Iplehouse's girls for my Khomal I didn't want to get Jessica because she's so popular. It's not so much that I don't like the sculpt (except El, he's really not to my taste), I'd just rather have a doll that's unique in his/her own right without having to rely on bandwagons.

That said I'm planning for a Luts Bory who's one of the more popular KDFs, but he's just so sweet and heartsqueezingly adorable that I can't not get him! And I have a Miho, but I wouldn't call him wildly popular.

 

There are soooooo many dolls out there and not all dolls will be popular by most standards, often due to the simple fact of how many choices we have. Dolls like EL have been around a really long time so it makes sense there are more people who own him.

I think most people buy what they love, plain and simple. I don't consider DIM Flora to be a popular sculpt but she is my absolute favorite! As a matter of fact, I'm currently waiting for 8 more people to say they want her so DIM will do a special order. It might be a long time considering her lack of popularity but I remain hopeful that "someday" we'll have enough people to warrent the run.

I see your point about not sharing the less than popular sculpts and feeling like people don't care to see them. But the same thing happens with REALLY popular sculpts too. Unoa's, El's, LIshe, may not get many views in the gallery because some people are tired of seeing them. So it really works both ways.

 

I own an unpopular mold, but no one has ever said to me (or implied) that unpopular = crap - yet. But I like seeing 'unpopular' molds because, like others said, it does add diversity. Maybe an unpopular sculpt just hasn't had the ability to get the attention and adoration it deserved - possibly due to bad company photos, or just a lack of ownership.

A face-up can really show off a head, and can drastically influence one's opinion of it. For example, my doll is a DM Kid Flocke, and there aren't many owner pics of them; everyone who sees mine loves her. Recently, Dollmore came out with some kind of special edition skater dolls (one happening to be a Flocke) with drastically different face-ups. A lot of people have kind of changed their opinions a little after.

I think the reason why molds are unpopular is because the popular ones simply outweigh them in owner pics, and stuff like that. If you have 50 different pics of a... Kid Delf, and only one or two of a Volks MSD, I think people are going to be swayed to buy the doll with more photos that show lots of variations, rather than one with only one or two variations. Even I have a hard time really liking a blank head because...well... it's a blank head. I once saw a blank Flocke head, for example, and it looked so different than how my doll looked. I guess some people aren't comfortable buying blank heads, sometimes?

 

I actually prefer the word "uncommon" and also usually prefer them than the common ones. My reasons are that I wanted to show how beautiful that sculpt is to everyone. {no matter how I suck at it} And it would be "like" a stereotype if everyone or close to 100% have a D.O.I. Luke. {nonetheless I really, really like him} Another thing is that I am basing my dollie purchases on my own and anime/manga/gaming/book characters, so if an uncommon mold suits him/her the best, why not? Although I must admit that it sometimes get to me that I have a least liked sculpt. Despite, I just shrug it off and think of why I like the sculpt instead. It makes things easier and better. I mean, why did I buy the sculpt in the first place when I that it's uncommon or if I didn't know, what made me buy it? :3

 

I have a range of dolls both popular and obscure. My love for them isn't any different, though I have to admit I don't tend to see many comments in my pictures. It is a little discouraging sometimes, but it doesn't stop me from posting them.

 

Don't be discouraged by that, Tanu-chan! I have such a limited amount of time to spend here and I never get through all of the gallery photos, much less have time to comment on all the ones I like and I'm sure many others are the same.

 

I think the love an owner gives to their own beloved doll, that may be unpopular, may bring a new light onto that doll and make people look at it differently. And if not, who cares?
It's like you are seeing the charisma most people is missing

 

I do love both the popular molds and the not so popular molds. For example, I own a Soom Sard who a lot of people love but I also have an Elfdoll Tasha who is very uncommon.

Problem is, now I'm trying to sell her, not a lot of people are interested as she isn't very popular! So the unpopulars are great until you don't want to keep them anymore ^^'

 

I've always loved owning things that aren't as popular, it makes it feel all the more special to me and there are even times where popularity of an item makes it seem less appealing to me (I'm weird, I know XD ).

Right now I have my very first BJD and I was thrilled to find that the company I ordered from was either not as popular, or just not as known about as most of the popular companies; however the 'mold' of doll that I chose seems to be the more popular pick, but it doesn't bother me as much because the versatility of the head is surprising when considering different faceups

 

if you love your dolls, that's all that really matters. popular molds or not, if they nake you happy, that's all there is!

 

I myself have a doll that was so unpopular that it was discontinued. I didn't like him at first and just got it as a practice head, I fell in love with it and now have 2, and if I could find more, I would get more. When they have bodies I will post pics of them everywhere and take them everywhere (so I can have even more pics to share) They are not popular but I love them very much.
There are some sculpts where I cant imagine anyone would like, but some do, and I think it is a wonderful thing actually, and think they should spam their dolls as much as the popular dolls.

 

I have an unpopular doll, an AOD Chi but I've made mine so different from others that people don't even know that he's a chi, lol.

 

I am surprised Tasha is unpopular. She's pretty!

 

I have several unpopular molds. Does that stop me from posting them, nope. I'm hopeful someone will enjoy them. But people tend to want to look at dolls they like or own. See what others are doing with the same doll. However people will rarely search out those common molds when they can go into the gallery and find them on the first page. Those rare dolls they will do a search for, expecially if they are thinking of buying it. And so post those rare doll for others if not for yourself. I have one doll, that I am the only one on DOA who has him, or atleast who has posted pictures of him. Yet people like him alot when I do, and I wonder then why no one else got him when he was out.

 

When I look through the gallery I'm always looking for dolls I haven't seen a million times before! I'm also looking for dolls that I want to buy or just like. And that tends to be things that are harder to find.

 

At first I found it a little difficult owning an unpopular mold. Not like people went after me or anything for my decision or personally made me feel bad for it. But, I am a very sensitive (ok, OVERLY sensitive) person and I let little things get to me, really TINY things that should never stop anyone from questioning a doll purchase, especially if it's not directly aimed at anyone specifically.

Now that I have him, though, it feels silly that I let anything get to me in the first place. :-D I'm starting not to mind having a mold that's not quite as popular as the others. I guess I don't mind the lack of pic comments I get or not seeing his mold around much or even anything bad people have to say ABOUT his mold. He's my first doll, he's fantastic, and I love him. He doesn't have to win popularity contests. :-D

Though, I put money down on a Dikadoll Lola and I've only seen one other person who has her and in normal skin. I'm getting her in tan skin and it's frustrating that I don't exactly know what she'll look like. I have to admit, a popular mold DOES have the advantage of being around often for references of all the different looks it can have. *nods* Plus, if I don't like her, selling her would probably be impossible. :-/

 

You should follow your heart when it comes to BJDs. Like any sort of art, you need to love it, or why own it? I have talked in other threads about BJDs as future valuable antiques. If BJD do appreciate in value over the next hundred years, then the odd molds are likely to be scarce and there fore more valuable as an antique.

Maybe I have watched too many episodes of Antiques Road Show, but I think that having odd balls in your collection is a good idea.

 

I know Happydoll Dorothy isn't a particularly popular mold, after all, Happydoll even went out of business, so I got her just in the nick of time! I just don't post many pictures because I'm constantly unhappy with her faceup. I need to just save up some money and commission someone instead of doing it over and over myself and hating it each time.

 

Don't be offended, as long as you love your dolls nothing else matters. On the other hand it's funny but I didn't realize so many people had an AoD Zi Yuan but I still love her, popularity doesn't matter.

 

If you love a doll, get it. I usually order my dolls very soon after the mold comes out so I don't know if it will be popular or not. I really don't take that into account. Sometimes they end up being popular, sometimes they don't. I still love them just the same no matter what.