PREORDERS -VS- INSTOCKS.

Random thoughts:

Much as I love the instant gratification of ordering an in-stock doll and receiving it (usually) within a week, in-stock means you can't customize your order in any way. You're stuck with whatever options the company or dealer thought would sell, and there might be more of them (or fewer) than you would have selected in a pre-order. (This may not apply to Limiteds released with face-up and full-set with no option for additional features.)

Limited Quantity dolls may be produced in small numbers, but the higher the cost the longer it will take for the doll to sell. Storage space and yellowing become issues.

Storage space: Many bjd companies are small, sometimes one or two-person operations. They are unlikely to have a physical store or room to keep assembled dolls in boxes. And the larger the doll, the more physical space is needed to store it.
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Yellowing: Resin changes color over time, red hues faster than others. The color that's left after 6 months might be attractive, but it might also be uneven. If you open a head to insert eyes only to find a darker color inside, the doll has been sitting around for a while.

If bjd companies don't cast their dolls in-house, they need to wait for a casting company to produce the parts, which the bjd company then has to assemble and send out. This is why you get a short order period followed by a long production time. Things can and do back up at the casting house, which delays orders. Heads that need face-ups also delay orders if the artist is not located in-house. Same goes for costumes not produced in-house.

Finally, not all companies take 7 to 10 months to fulfill an order. Some take longer. (I for one would not wait 2 years for any doll, no matter how much I like it.) Many companies deliver within 2 or 3 months. Some make cancelled orders, or dolls with minor defects, available for purchase or auction; these usually are available to ship as soon as payment is made.

 

Another point is money - the companies need to front the money to produce the dolls in the hopes they sell (which is not cheap). And with the incredible broad offering nowadays, there's no guarantee a doll will sell fast enough to recoup expenses fast enough before they might become a problem.

Yes, waiting sucks sometimes (esp if you slide in unaware) but I have complete understanding for everyone who does not offer in stock dolls but rather preorders to "test the market" so to speak - because even if 100 people fawn over a doll you plan to release, only a super small percentage will actually end up buying in most cases.

 

What @vermont chick says is great info.

Personal experience with in stock:
I chose and bought an in stock doll that had sat for ages in a US store,I'd been watching him and was tempted so many times to get him and finally did. He was supposed to be WS but when he arrived he was yellow, evenly yellow but no longer WS. Though I was slightly irritated, the color actually matched other heads I had in my collection so the body found a new home and the head got a different body. Later I asked the store how long the doll had been in stock and the answer was at least 2 years. So in the box and unopened still means yellowing happens and may even rush the process.

 

I prefer the customisation option too. Dealers and companies pretty much never have the exact configuration of doll I want in stock, and I'd rather wait to have it right first time!

I have to admit... in my case, I really don't mind the wait. I swear time just slips away from me uncontrollably. Every time I look up from work, it's like another month has passed. For others, time will drag, but for me there's just never enough of it at any time. It was 2017 yesterday I swear. For that reason, long waits don't actually mean much to me by this point! I threw my oar in for something from DollShe last year, and I'm aware I'm in it for the long haul, and I really don't mind. Since I don't have time to do anything at any time haha, it's not like I'd have time to do anything with it had I been able to just buy it from stock there and then.

(Dolls are very much my lowest priority hobby, and are long-term projects. I don't mind at all if it takes me three years just to get one dressed. If one is still blank after five years; oh well, I am sure that's because I was doing other things that I wouldn't undo. I feel perhaps I am a bit of an outlier in this, it doesn't seem like the norm.)

 

Although the idea of in stock sounds better, I've only bought in stock once - and preordered a few times. I actually prefer the preorders. I get to make my own choices about the dolls - rather than just taking what they have. I also feel like the wait gets me more excited about a doll arriving and makes me appreciate them more - not to mention it gives me time to get everything for them together.

 

For bjds I prefer pre-orders for three reasons. The first is money, it means if a doll comes out I 'absolutely have to have' I do not necessarily need to come up with the cash for it right then and there, I can usually opt in for a layaway option. Second is customization. I usually prefer full sets but often prefer a different resin color than what is in the 'production' photos. It also gives me time to start building a small wardrobe for the new doll before they get to me. Third is more of a 'game' to me, the pre-order period makes me stop to really think if I want the doll enough to wait for it.

 

I buy almost all of my dolls on layaway so I really prefer preorders. I don't mind the wait at all, totally used to it by now. I've only ordered in stock once and it was a limited fullset, if something I wanted to buy was in stock I might go for that option, but I really don't care if it's not available. Like others have said, I also like having the option to choose exactly what I want, and I'd rather not order a doll that's been sitting around yellowing for god knows how long.

 

If I want a doll RIGHT NOW - I'll go check what's available second hand, here or on Mandarake or on Y!A. There's plenty of options. If I want a NEW doll - I'll order from the company and prepare to wait.

 

I've also purchased an in-stock white doll that arrived quite yellowed. Goodness knows how long he was sitting in his box before then since JS only sells in-stock dolls and this guy wasn't/isn't a popular sculpt.

I'm just used to waiting, so it doesn't bother me much.

 

So my method of ordering dolls is- step 1) order a preorder doll. Step 2) wait and wish you had a new doll to play with. 3) buy an in stock or second hand doll. 4) profit from doll received within days. 5) not very in love with the doll that was preordered when it gets home- because you wait so long and then it's just not as perfect as you expected.

This has happened twice now.

I'm glad both are options though. It's more fun to be able to do both.

 

If there's a LE doll that I really want but missed out on, then I'm glad to find it on the secondhand market - but if it's a current doll, then I want it freshly poured, not purchased 'in stock'. Resin has, by its very nature, a shelf life...and I want the best years of that life to be spent with me, not in a box in a back room somewhere. Plus, there's something really special about opening a doll that you have been waiting months for, and finding out that it was worth every minute of anticipation. (Conversely, finding out that it wasn't is not a lot of fun - but that's a different topic altogether!)

 

I'm not good with waiting, but that's why I don't order from companies very much. (Like out of my 20+ crew only 4 were bought straight from the company) However, if the dealer has bodies in stock and they haven't been there too long, I'll get them. I have so many floating heads I don't mind a bit of color difference.

 

So, I have experience with doing both.

I bought my Resinsoul Bei and Resinsoul Summer Yo-SD's from the company, with custom orders. My Bei comes on the Zi body and my Summer is on the Xu body, versus being a centaur doll, both with company faceups. Bei was in tan skin at that, so she was actually a little pricier than my Summer. But, I had Bei on layaway whereas Summer I ordered all at once.

My Bei, I believe was finished right before my final layaway payment as she arrived two weeks after I finished the payment, wheras my SUmmer I ordered right before Chinese New Year so it took a few months for him to come home near the middle of March.

They were both long waits but definitely worth it.

Now... I ordered my Bobobie Isabella from a dealer. They have a bunch of BBB and RS sculpts in stock all the time, specifically the smaller dolls. Isabella had been in stock for a looong time, I actually don't think they ever ran out of her. So I have no idea how old my Isabella was, when I got her. She was however, still paper white when I got her out of the box. So I imagine she wasn't there long. She however became more creamy in color in the following months and after a few years she's still very pale but she's a creamy pale white versus NS like my RS SUmmer who's her fraternal twin. I ordered my doll on December 26th 2014 and received her on December 31st, so it was almost instant gratification.

I don't regret either and I do plan to do it again sometime in the future, since the dealer I usually use still has a lot of BBB/RS tinies left and I'm quite fond of their aesthetic.

Honestly, the only reason I hesitate with going with dealers more often is because of customization and because, regardless I'm still gonna pay 20 bucks for shipping.

 

Great topic! I’m actually a bit impatient myself, and although I do both (order a customized doll and buy in-stock ones), I prefer in-stock. When I say that, I don’t mean have it shipped...the in-stock ones, I buy from conventions and Dolk in Tokyo or FaithZ in HK. I’m fortunate to have a few chances to travel in a year, and I’ve bought some dollies and doll parts this way. I’ve never had issues with yellowing, as I am able to see the doll in person beforehand, and as a bonus, I’m also able to inspect the faceup too.

My first doll, I ordered from Alice’s ss a full set, and I wasn’t too happy with the company faceup (in fairness, he’s in tan!). From there, I just try to squeeze in visits to doll stores when I can.

Dolk displays dolls left from Dollism exhibits and you’re able to drop by in person to buy them and take them home ASAP. For my Kylin, I paid for him during the Ringdoll meet and he was displayed in Wonder Festival before I could take him home...exhibits like these happen across the globe, so it’s also a fun way to take home a doll, and a souvenir at the same time.

 

I prefer to order in stock/secondhand when I can, but not if it means settling for options I don’t want. I don’t mind reasonable wait times, but I feel like anything over 6 months is a little ridiculous and unacceptable.

 

That is an excellent point about limited quantity dolls. I wonder why they don’t do it like that!

I generally prefer in stock items, too. (Funny I should see this topic now, because I just impulse bought a doll the other day.) The upside is definitely getting your thing real fast, but I can see a few pros to getting preorders. For starters, it gives you plenty of time to gather things for the doll, and you could also use that time for a layaway to even out the financial damage. It’s also just special to me when a doll is produced specially for me. It’s oddly sweet.

If I know I want a doll from a certain company, but I don’t really care which sculpt, I’ll definitely go for an in stock doll from them. Otherwise I have a much harder time choosing or even deciding to buy anything at all.

 

I'll take in-stock over a pre-order any day. Maybe I've just been lucky with not getting a super old doll from a dealer (or just better resin batches), but pre-orders do not go well for me if they go past the 2-3 months. 6 months especially, literally half a year, plans can change way too easily in that kind of time frame.

Does this mean that I may be restricted from specific dolls I might like? Yes. Is it also a better choice for me that involves less stress over all? Also yes.

Those of you who can stick through long pre-orders have my utmost respect. Seriously, I really admire that!

 

I vastly prefer pre-orders! Typically, it seems that you get more purchase/payment options with a pre-order, and you're more likely to be able to get the doll that you want with the features you want. Yes, in-stock can be wonderful... so long as you have all of the money in hand, and the doll is already exactly what you wanted. If either of those variables aren't 100% for you, it's not really an improvement over waiting for what you actually want. At least, it's not for me.

Waiting is traditionally part of the process in this hobby, and I don't really get frustrated with it. Instant gratification is marvelous when it comes to dessert and test results, but in my personal experience, it also undercuts some of the emotional investment. I enjoy having the time to prepare for a doll, and it has made it easier for me to embrace a disciplined approach to collecting. Something that I sorely needed to encourage in myself!

 

I didn't even realize that there would be a yellowing problem and now I'm kind of worried because I purchased an in-stock body for a head I preordered. The skin is supposed to be similar to the head I purchased, as I found through research but I'm scared. I really don't mind yellowing on an in-stock doll as long as it as even, so In-stock is good for my instant gratification impulse buying self.