People trying to talk you out of buying a BJD?

I worried so much before my first doll arrived, it seemed like I paid a ridiculous amount of money (*chuckles at old self thoughts*) for something I wondered if I'd love so much. Some colleagues didn't help though xD but my sister is a big fan of Jim Shore and some Diana collectibles told me to just go for it regardless of the amount paid if it makes me happy, so I did and it did xD

My dad is not so supportive of the idea, he would prefer me buying clothes/bags/new car/travel around, but I hate doing that because lately I've been having unstable weights so I got many clothes and spent 3x the amount I spend on dolls, not a fan of bags and the like, my car is working fine, and I'm claustrophobic xD so I keep telling him I do whatever makes me happy with my money. In the end I try my best to hide dolls when they arrive cus sometimes his arguing makes me hate myself and my dolls' box openings when it's the best thing there is T^T

 

Well, uh, yes and no i suppose.

My mom is more understanding than what my dad was when he was still alive. He never understood why you would use money for stuff you "can't use". You know, clothes and food is touchable and useable, but a doll or whatever you want? Not really something you NEED in life.
Mom just laughs at me now.
"Really, you want an expensive art doll now?"
"Well yeah, they cost about the same as my AngelDragonFigureTeddyDollyThing.."
"That was expensive.."
"Yes it was"
"Go nuts. It's your money. Just, for the love of Whatever, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME!"
.. I am the kind of person who just obsesses about one thing at a time.

 

Mostly just "I don't understand why you want a doll that costs so much money right now". Nothing crazy. Just the fact that it isn't utilitarian, wanting to get one, even though I can afford it right now, is seen as strange or pointless lol. I just want it! Wanted one for over ten years! I'm getting one now that I'm able to!

 

Back when I first got in the hobby my dad said something like 'Why don't you get a boyfriend instead?' That comment has stuck with me to this day. That was before I got in to college so it's been a while. Back then I was still living with my parents so it was hard to hide the dolls. My mom was actually pretty supportive but my dad never really gave me a chance to show him what I liked about collecting dolls. Now I make my own money, I wouldn't let anyone to tell me what to do with it. I work hard and play hard... In my case playing hard means spending a lot of money on dolls.

 

I go through the same thing with my dad, he thinks it's such a waste of money. Whenever he starts complaining about my dolls I just leave the room. My Mom also use to be very skeptical about it when I first started the hobby (especially because of how expensive they were.) I think the most important thing is surrounding yourself with people who support you and your hobby! I also want to add that peoples opinions can change-- as I said before my mom was very skeptical but she now has a doll of her own.

 

I have to say, I am and always have been very snarky, so my reply would have been, "You mean you can buy a boyfriend? Do they come with money-back guarantees? Where's the website where I can buy a boyfriend?"

 

If I'm going to be honest, I don't even tell my parents. My mom isn't particularly keen on me spending so much on them, but my dad buys TONS of models he never even OPENS, so she's pretty lax.
They literally don't find out until the doll is at our doorstep. I don't necessarily tell them everything I order online, and they don't need to know the price. It's my money I'm going to do what I want.
I've got a pretty weird nerd family anyway, who spends about the same amount of money on cosplay too, so they can't complain.

 

Honestly I get the "don't waste your money" talk about all of my hobbies, not just bjds. I work and pay my own bills along with my brother's and occasionally my mom's so it's not like I'm being irresponsible or anything. So I just don't tell my parents about the stuff I buy anymore.
I only really talk about the stuff I buy to my brother and one friend. And I made friends with my mailman, so he just takes all my packages straight to the post office so I can pick them up later.

I get to enjoy my hobbies, I have someone to kind of talk to about them, and no one is yelling at me.
That's a win in my book.

 

It's not an issue anymore, but when I got my first doll I bought her with Christmas gift money given to me by several family members for expressly that purpose. When I excitedly told my best friend at the time about it, she couldn't believe I was wasting money on something so ridiculous - her exact words were "You could use that money for gas!"

My job was paying for my gas. Cthulhu forbid I use what little extra I had for something fun!

 

Wait... You can't buy expensive items because all the pain and suffering in the world??? The people in your class are idiots. By their flawed logic, if you didn't buy a doll then the world would be a better place, which is just wrong. No one's pain and suffering would be cured if you didn't buy a doll. Tell them they all can donate hundreds of dollars to charity each and you won't buy the doll and maybe something will happen, but they WON'T DO IT. They will spend it on coffee and movies and clothes and computers and phones and other things they SAY they NEED, but really don't need any more than you need a doll.

Plus--that won't end pain and suffering in the world. It takes a LOT more time and effort and change than throwing money at a problem.

Also... I make my living through making art. What if everyone in the world never bought any art? Do those idiots not know that art is important? Just as a human being? And do they not understand that some of that pain and suffering could be helped by giving jobs to people--and some of those jobs can be art-related??? There are tons of people who make their living through working for doll companies. And people who support their incomes through making dolls and clothes and doing faceups. They shouldn't look down on that. It's important.

 

where do you buy the dolls?

 

That's a good one. If only boyfriends were as low maintenance as dolls are. He probably thought I'd never get a boyfriend when I can have gorgeous looking chunks of resin which never talks back, irritates me or gets jealous. And I can just put them on a shelf when I'm done for the day.

 

Thankfully my loved ones so far aren't talking me out of buying a doll (my fiance was even encouraging me to get one before our expenses start backing up), but maybe that's because I haven't told many of them about my hobby. At least I'm getting funds from my own pocket.

 

Haha, this reminds of when my own mom gave me the same story. She still hasn't seen how happy they made me, but I am working on treating myself better, and dolls are my way of starting to do what I want, rather than how other people want me to live.

 

I still really want to go through with my order, yet now I feel like I shouldn't and should instead listen to my mum to avoid any more arguments. Even if I had already triple checked my finances to make sure I wouldn't be short.[/QUOTE]
YES, I was going to do a 3 doll layaway but missed the killer sell they were on because I hesitated being talked to by friends about the money issue and just coming out of a horrible financial situation beyond my control. I intend to contact the doll store owner s soon as I get my months bills taken care to finalize the layaway of one

 

Oddly enough, that's something I've never had to deal with. My friends might call me weird and laugh about some things, and my family might shake their head or wonder "why would you do that?" when it comes to a lot of things, but never once have they tried to stop me or say "you shouldn't have done/bought that." Even if my family and friends think I've gone off my rocker, they've never actually tried to stop me from doing/buying the things that make me happy. Unless it was dangerous. ...Then it was either "don't do that." or "Totally do it!" and I'd be the one saying "Nope!" even if i wanted to do it.

I digress. I guess it's because I pay my own bills and I rarely (to them) ever want anything for myself, so when they see me expressing a desire to have something they're quick to accept it, even if they think it's odd themselves. I guess they're of the opinion that you need to enjoy life as long as you've taken care of what needs to be done first. It probably helps that I'm cheap as hell so they don't worry about me spending more than I have.

 

After my fourth doll everyone in my family told me I have to stop "wasting money" on them. Yea now I have seven of them. I don't really appreciate when my family puts down my hobbies just because of the cost. I understand that I shouldn't spend like crazy but at the same time I don't want to just stop enjoying my hobbies and that requires money...

 

yeh, I had comments like I needed to sell the dolls ... what for? Once they're bought, they don't cost that much, especially if I sew for them. They are handled every day which means that I'll lose money anyway. Weirdly, I get comments like these from people who don't have that much difficulties in earning a living. They certainly don't skip their trips to far away countries. I calculated this morning that the money an acquaintance of mine spent flying to her destination and back would cover the cost of 2 middle-range SDs.
So, why should I feel guilty? I have never reproached her her choices.

 

I have actually never experienced anyone trying to talk me out of buying a doll. The closest to it that I have come is my mom saying 'as long as it is your own money you spend then I don' care.'

I have however experienced someone calling me disgusting and gross and stuff like that because I collect dolls. It only happened once but it did not stop me from expanding my collection

 

Nothing worse than a few comments about how creepy they are from friends, thankfully. My mom is amazingly supportive and patient about my weird interests, and she's happy to look at the pictures I find on DoA. I have the good sense not to tell my extended family about it. They're pretty racist and I don't need the lecture on how because my little baby elf was made in Korea it's an inferior piece of merchandise and it'll break. e_e