Playing Vs. Collector Mentality

Good questions! Seeing as how I'm both a "player" & "collector" I suppose that if I bought a very special full-set or one-off where I love everything about the doll just as is, I would keep it as a display piece only as that is what I've always done with dolls I find perfect. Fortunately for play side of me, I haven't yet found that perfect BJD. I have some artist pieces that came nude that I play with & some full-sets that didn't work as a complete package for me so I play with them too.

As for damaged artist pieces decreasing in value, I would have to say yes, that's how it is. If I'm going to buy an artist piece, I want the face-up to be perfect.

Splitting up full-sets, hum... It seems the individual pieces often hold their value even when sold seperately. Of course it's frustrating when you see one you want only to find out that some part of it has already been sold off. Then again, sometimes the only thing you want is basic doll so it's nice to not have to pay for all the extras. I do think that in the long run though a complete set will be worth more than pieces. And I honestly can't see the point of splitting up a one-off. Seeing has how that's the only doll like that, the collector in me takes over & says it must stay together. Not that you can't play with it of course but just to keep all parts of it.

 

I have more of a playing mentality, I think. If I'm going to spend almost £600 on something, I'm not going to let it stand by itself when I can just as easily enjoy myself by actually putting it to use. I've got no real intention to sell any BJDs that I buy on to another person, either, so the risk of damaging them isn't much of a problem to me - and as for collector's value, that's nothing more than a nice little extra to me. In the sense of 'Oh, you're a rare model? That's nice'. It wouldn't stop me playing with them at all, but perhaps I would be a little more careful with them, if only subconsciously.

Of course, just because I'll use my boy, and will possibly take him out with me ever now and then when he arrives, doesn't mean I won't be careful, limited or not...

 

I play with all my dolls; my most expensive if Volks Yukinojo and my most limited is BJDC Austin 2007 Domuya Victor the Puppet Master. I don't wear gloves when I play with my dolls, but I'm not rough with them. I don't want a doll that sits on a shelf, that's why I've gotten rid of all my fashion dolls. I love the play factor of BJDs.

 

I would much rather enjoy something than just stare at it through glass.

 

I like to play with my dolls, and touch them and changes their outfits. Its more than just collecting but I can understand wanting to do that as well.

 

I'm new to the BJD world and I come to it as a long-time Barbie collector. I have over 400! However, as impressive (or excessive!) as that might sound, I get no joy from them because they are 1) in storage due to lack of display space, and 2) the majority are NRFB. During the peak of my Barbie collecting years, I was buying dolls for the potential profit and not really because the doll *spoke* to me. I was not having fun with the hobby anymore, because I would bring home my newest acquisition and straight into storage she went.

With BJDs, I saw the opportunity to have fun with my hobby again. I lurked here for quite some time and saw how much enjoyment you were finding with these lovely dolls. No, they aren't dolls so much as they are beloved companions. This isn't bland, perfect Barbie, staring at me from behind her clear plastic window, but a creature I can handle and cuddle and dress and enjoy. My Heavenlea doesn't want to sit on a shelf and look pretty. She wants to be a part of the action!

 

I would never get a "one-off", not only because of how expensive they are, but because I would end up treating them like collectables. And honestly, I don't want that. Everything I've seen of BJDs... they have spirit. They are beautiful works of art, but they just seem like they are so full of life. And what a boring life it would be locked away in a glass case on a shelf! I wouldn't want to do that to a doll. (Is that weird? oO) Sure, I plan on spending a lot of money on my dolls and have at least 3 very special very specific dolls planned out for myself... but I'd still 'play' with them. After all, that's why I want one. I want to sew for them and make accessories and props for them... and then pose them and take pictures. I would want to hold them and take them outside with me.

I don't see this new hobby of mine as being a collectable hobby. I only want dolls specific to my style, not ones that are rare or valuable. I could care less what anyone else thinks about the value of my doll. I should want to keep them safe and chip free because I care about them, not about their value. I have no plans on selling them in the future. I couldn't sell anything that I cared about. So I could never collect, not really. Because I would have no interest in the items because if I did I wouldn't be able to sell them.

So no, I do not have a collecting mentality at all. I think that you should only buy a BJD if you care about it and will continue to care about it. Oddly enough, I think it's unfair to the doll if you just lock it up and leave it lonely. (Am I crazy or what?)

 

For me, all the joy of owning dolls comes from playing with them. (I consider doing face-ups, taking pictures, making clothes, etc as "playing", too). So it wouldn't make me happy to keep a doll on a shelf or in a case, even if it was a collector's item. I don't own any special fullset or one-off dolls, but I do have some limited sculpts (MNF Elf Shiwoo, Juri 06) and I haven't hesitated to mod them so I'm happier with the doll. It's not so much about monetary value for me as it is about enjoying them. Then again, I don't yet own any of the special limited dolls that are worth as much as my car... If I ever get one, I might be more careful around that one. ^_^

 

i'm definitely more player than collector. Before BJDs i picked up too many action figures, and they didn't stay in their packaging. For myself, i haven't been more careful with my limited dolls or unique faceups than less rare dolls. Gaining new skills in modding and refurbing dolls is part of the fun for me, and if i fail there are many artists with mad skills i could employ. i love all my dolls to death, tote them around and play with them. Once i've taken the financial plunge, i tend to not think about the money spent again! And i have split limited sets to acheive a specific doll concept.

That said, i have sometimes forgone buying a doll i liked which was a one off set or an unique paint when i know i'd want to alter it down the road. It just seems respectful to the designer and other collectors to leave it for someone who only wants that doll in that form. So i guess i respect the collector end of the hobby as well.

 

That's exactly why I'll never buy a limited doll I prefer to have a doll I can touch and change and costumize without feeling guilty, that's the part of the hobby I like.

People are of course free to do whatever they like with their limited dolls, but personaly, if I had one and if it was incredible expensive, I woulnd't feel right changing it, so why have one if I can't have fun with it?

 

I don't 'play' with dolls in the true sense of the word, but I don't keep my dolls locked away in a display cabinet or anything. Most of the time they sit on the shelf, but I do like to pick them up and admire their beauty, re-dress them and just sit them next to me - their main purpose, I admit, is modelling for my photography.

 

That's exactly why I'll never buy a limited doll (uh... hopefully...) because I don't see the point in buying something I'd be too scared to touch.

 

I agree with those who said that nothing is forever... including my dolls XD
I love to play with them, taking photos of them, customize them... I mean, that's why I bought them! I'd never feel the same love for my dolls if they had spent all their time protected on a shelf instead of sitting of my desktop :P

 

I can't see the point of collecting. Collecting to me equals dust. I like to enjoy myself with my dolls, live a little fairytale magic in miniature not shove them in a cabinet or keep them in a box.
Play, have fun life is short

 

I have dolls which cost me a lot of money, and still- I play with them. I am not even super-careful about it- I just feel that if I spent so much money on the doll, then I better enjoy it! I don't really mind about the monetary value, because: a.) The dolls I keep and play with are the ones I don't plan on selling in the near future unless something goes terribly wrong, and b.) Because even when I do end up selling a doll, I mainly care about it going to a good home. I don't really look to make a profit out of it- just to get back a sum close to the one I originally paid for the doll. Of course that if the original faceup got damaged- I'll just charge less than what I paid for it, within the boundaries of what I know it's supposed to be worth faceup-less from browsing the selling boards/ DoA etc.
I also feel that even if the faceup got damaged, I can always put some extra money into sending the doll to an artist who'll give it a fresh new one. I'm not one of those people who think that different is essentially worse, even if the original faceup was amazing. I am not scared of changes and am not afraid of damage as long as I know I'll be willing to spend the money required to fix it. It's sort of like asking whether you'll avoid riding a bike forever, because riding them means you might fall and break your nose. Things happen, they aren't always pleasant and pretty, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy myself and live- and that includes playing with my dolls and making the most of them, even if that means taking a bit of a risk. Life is all about taking risks, isn't it?...

 

I haven't ordered my boy yet, but I will be a player. I'd change his hair and eyes, and hold him, because there is no point in putting him on a shelf, or worse, in a glass case! I think that dolls like this are meant to be touched and played with. I have barbies that are still MIB, and I don't like them, simply because I've never held them or touched them. To me, they're nothing more than a valuable box.

I have no intention of ever getting an LE, simply because I don't want it. I would much rather pick my own wigs and eyes, and if I was really picky, faceup. And besides, there is probably someone else out there who wants the LE just the way they are, so why should I get one when all I'd do is change it?

 

Actually, one of the reasons my first doll was a one-off (heh heh, not going to explain) was because I wanted a doll who was "done" and I could shelf and just enjoy her as a piece of art. Took me about a month to change her clothes, about six months to buy additional wigs, and a year to change her eyes. Eventually I started "playing" with her, but I am just not into photography or anything so, really, all my girsl do is change clothes every month or so... I do worry about damaging her makeup, which is part of the reason. Sure, Volks will fix it, but for $400. LOL. I'll just be careful.

 

I've never bought one of my dolls because they were a limited or their faceups were done by someone that's well known. I've always bought them because I loved their mold and how they looked, even more so when I get them home and can customize them so they're more unique and 'mine'.

I play with my dolls. I dress and undress them, take pictures of them and sometimes take them places with me when my other doll-owning friends do. The way we feel is that...if we didn't play with our dolls then we can't justify how much money we've spent on them. We'd feel like it wasn't worth the money if all they're going to do is collect dust on a shelf. Probably twenty years from now, I'll still play with my dolls. XD

 

I'm both a collector and a player. I own an gomidoll Iru and have a Peroth head on the way. And though they both were perfect for a character I had in mind for them, I'd lie if the fact that these dolls were limited or harder to come by wasn't a reason for me to buy them. If there was another head of a standard doll that was also perfect for that character, I still would have bought the limited one. It's part of the fun for me to search for a sculpt.

That said I'm not a collector that only lets her dolls sit on a shelf, behind glass and try to keep just as perfect as the first day it was created. I like to play with them. I mean, what's the point in buying them if you're to afraid to do anything with them? So it doesn't matter how difficult it will be to find the same head again if something went wrong with it. I take them to meetups (well, intend to as soon as my peroth comes home and both he and my Iru have a body) and play with them as much as any other doll.
I am very carefull with my lishe tan, but that has to do with her dark colours and the horrorstories you hear about that.