Poll: How picky are you???

With the exception of off-topics dolls, all my bjd are characters that I want to shell. I love looking at beautiful dolls, but if they don't match at least one of my characters (or a favorite video game character) then I don't buy them. Otherwise I'd be swimming in dolls.

 

I have a “master list” of dolls to be saving for, but I am always shopping and can easily get derailed by someone adorable for a good price!

 

When it comes to purchasing dolls, how picky are you about what doll you purchase?
I'm really, really picky. My dolls are characters first, so I keep scrolling through official websites and searching for that perfect face sculpt before making a decision. The process can take months by itself and even if the only sculpt that fits I find is discontinued / limited, I won't be discouraged and think about finding something else but will add it to the list of sculpts I need to haunt for.
An added difficulty level to the process happens when that sculpt comes with a body shape that doesn't fit the character, so then I'll have to find the perfect one to make an hybrid. I use an excel spreadsheet where I type in the measurements comparing different bodies that may fit to the head's original body to make sure it will fit. In that document I also keep the measurements of my other dolls that are supposed to be in the same scale / story line so I ensure the doll will look right next to the others.

Did you get more or less picky about buying the longer you have been in the hobby?
Of course, the more I knew about dolls (the vast amount of different sculpts that exist) and also about myself (my doll budget, my own tastes and ideas on where I wanted my collection to go), I became more picky.

 

I follow BJD news so I'm constantly encountering new dolls, and because many new dolls are preorder-type, I'm vulnerable to FOMO buying. I used to think I was quite head-oriented and deliberate about it, but when I studied my buying patterns, I'm actually quite led-by-the-heart. I can easily impulse-buy dolls (and have!) in the heat of the moment if I don't put some boundaries around myself.

So I impose pickiness on myself. It kicks in when my brain catches up with my heart, and reminds me of what truly satisfies me in the long-term, which is to have a doll collection that's harmonious, coherent, and has variety but is also not huge (my collection is in single digits currently, and I want to keep it this way). As the crew has grown, I've gotten more picky because every new doll has to fit in with the others, while also being distinctive and able to hold their own. I imagine that every prospective new doll has to go through an interview, where the interview panel is me + my entire crew. The panel gets more rigorous the more dolls come home, the hiring criteria bar of entry gets raised My own dolls help me decide whether to buy a new one.

I don't remember much about my newbie days, but back then I was compelled to be picky because I was new to the hobby and didn't really know what I wanted in my doll collection, and I had less disposable income. So I think I was a lot more deliberate/head-oriented in wishlisting and ranking dolls (which helped me figure out what I wanted), and took months to decide what to buy. Nowadays, I'm more confident of what I want from my collection, but I have more disposable income and am more vulnerable to the preorder FOMO cycle. I'm probably just as picky now as before, but for different reasons.

 

I window shop almost every single day and constantly check the secondhand market to see what's out there, but I usually do plan my purchases for a few weeks, sometimes months or even years. Impulse buys happen, but usually just if the price is very low, or it's something very rare that I've liked for awhile and never thought I could actually own,

 

I have a constant list of concepts and I'll sometimes buy them and sometimes don't, it's entirely up to my whims

 

I’ve been in this hobby a long time, yet from the very beginning I focused my collection entirely on character. I loved window-shopping for beautiful dolls…I always found it to be fun, relaxing, and a great way to learn. However I simply never allowed myself to buy without a specific character in mind, which naturally limited my purchases. So I’d say this method made me very picky indeed…I would wait until I literally “recognized” my character in a sculpt (and in fact I spent an entire decade looking for one character, and eight years in search of another.) But this is not to say I didn’t wind up with a large collection anyway. It turned out I absolutely loved creating characters!

 

I'm extremely picky nowadays. I have a list of old sculpts I'm looking for (mostly CP Delfs) and I search the secondhand market most days hoping I'll come across one that I can afford.

I've even become picky about which delfs I want in my collection. It used to be a case of "I'll take any I can find!" because they don't come up for sale very often, but now I'm only looking for type 1s, and only the particular sculpts I really want.

And lets not even get started on how picky I am about faceups...

 

I am starting to be more picky over time but in my first couple of years I was still finding my style. I now stick with what I know I like and occasionally try out something new.

 

I'm another one of those "been in this long enough to have gone through phases" people.

In the early days I had a wishlist and bought as I had the money in order to fit characters. But then over time I realized from going through dozens of dolls that there were facial features or body construction details that didn't suit me so now I window shop all the time but I'm very picky since I have experienced so much that doesn't work for me and I try not to make the same mistake twice.

I love looking at other people's art though. Even if I don't want to buy (or re-buy) something I will never get tired of looking at what other people are doing with their dolls.

And I have still been (er, am) victim of the odd impulse buy or two even with all that being said. If I can get myself to slow down and think then the picky details will talk me out of it. But sometimes I have to try something new (a new size, a new company, a new resin color) to learn my lesson.

 

Having the character first before buying the doll is what keeps my collection from ballooning out of control (even if I have more than enough moolah). The consequence of this practice is that it had made me *extremely* picky since I want the dorrie to match my character, even going as far as the hybrid/frankendoll route if it cannot be achieved with a full set .

 

I know exactly what I want. I have a wishlist. Unfortunately, some dolls are no longer available. Limited dolls are a pain...

 

I only buy second hand or in stock so I always have to keep an eye out! Planning is near impossible- I'll keep an eye out for certain dolls I've seen and really like, but mostly I just have to wait and have a look around. Not really much room to be picky unfortunately, but I do know not to buy less detailed sculpts. I'd originally thought I'd like that level of freedom, but in truth I prefer the sculpt to have personality then add to that even more.

 

A bit of a mixture- I window shop regularly, but I'm always waiting for the next set of Volks releases (or the next Online FCS period or the webstore holiday one-offs near Christmas) so I don't end up buying anything. There are a few dolls that I would consider buying immediately if they came up secondhand for a good price, but I haven't seen any lately. Some of the dolls in my current collection were impulse buys as the result of window shopping, though.

 

I'm extremely picky because all my dolls are characters from the novels I write and not every character gets a resin shell (which my wallet is wildly thankful for). But... that's also not to say that I haven't made some impulse purchases without knowing who someone is before they come home to me because I have. Out of my current 83 full dolls only 3 were unknown characters at the time of purchase. I also only collect mature males and I'm not really hung up on size although 50-ish cm is my current favourite and I don't want to go bigger than the 72cm boys I have (ideally I don't want any new dolls taller than 70cm at the most as that's a lot of doll to me).

I will generally spend months looking for the sculpt that is a certain character. And even when I find it, sometimes I'll spend further time figuring out if I really want to bring home a resin version of that character since I know I'll then need to begin the hunt for their partner (I cannot have unpaired dolls in-house), which can be another long and potentially frustrating search.

I have zero brand loyalty as the only thing that's important to me is if the sculpt (and body style) works for the character. I'm strongly drawn to the weird/odd and anything fantasy/interesting colours always gets my attention. I also have a major weakness for old school sculpts. I will frequently browse marketplaces because you never know what someone may decide to post one day and the pre-loved market is where probably half of my collection has come from. I don't care about fullsets as I'd be customizing the doll into my character so I'm not picky in that regard. I am, however, extremely picky about face-ups.

 

I really love making lists of desired dolls, clothes, wigs, eyes, etc! I can't really buy dolls whenever I want so I can feel pretty upset about about not being able to get a doll at times and making a list and planning doll outfits and other stuff brings me some satisfaction even if I can't have a doll I want at the time!

 

I have gone through phases myself.
When I started at the hobbie I used to buy more impulsively, but that made me get many dolls I wouldn't bound with.
After that, it happened to me that I would save a lot for a doll, but when I was about to purchase it, I would see another one I liked more and got that second one.
And then, after a lot of "failed" purchases, I became extremely picky.
I have never planned a character, so I guide myself by what I like and what I don't.
At this moment, most of the dolls I want are old molds that I left pass or that I owned and sold for different reasons, so they are not so easy to find. That keeps me controlled against impulsive buying

 

I'm super picky, I have to be! Dolls are so expensive! I have criteria such as how well I could display them, how well they'd go with other dolls, price, and whether I have/could easily get something like the doll.