"PRETTY please?": the art of obtaining.

Ahaha. X3
My experience went something like this:
-Search for reference pictures on DeviantArt
-Find a picture of a gorgeous looking doll
-Ask the owner how they made it
-Owner sends me to DoA
-I join but I'm still confused for about 3 months
-I finally understand doll vocabulary
-Look for cheap dolls to buy because I had hardly any money
-Buy cheap doll
-Doll arrives but I don't like his sculpt
-Sell doll
-Save up for Volks Irvin @.@
Yep. I still have about 200$ to go to get my dolly.

 

my experince shortened
>8th grade
> sees pretty DOD on Deviant art
> goes to website/falls in love with dollies
> exssesivelly researches
> Joins DOA
> Sees (at the time) Sabriell's Taji a MNF Shiwoo
> me: omghe'ssocutemustHAVE!
>me: MAAA LOOKIT! mom> no
2 years of yearning 10th grade
>sees MNF sleppy vamp head on market place from Jady Lady
> me and at the time BF go into saving spree/me begging for B-day cash
> orders Toko
>James keeps custody
*little while later*
> Visits fairyland website
>sees Ryeon
>sees ala carte option
> dies inside
>graduates high school with flying colours!!
>me: MA LOOKIT! How bout this doll with this hair and these eyes and this and this ect...
>ma: fine you graduated
>me: OMFGILOVEYOU!!!

 

my mom knew i wanted one for awhile, so she bought me my first doll, but now i have to by them with my own money, and thats reasonable lol, now im saving for my next doll, but idk which one to get lol

 

My experience so far has gone rather like this:

-Browsing DeviantArt, spot some gorgeous photography of what I now know to be BJDs.
-Look at the member's FAQ, and find out what the dolls were.
-Commence to browse online for BJDs. Find Volks, and also find prices.
-Am scared out of my then almost fourteen-year old mind by sticker shock, shut off my computer.
-Commence to forget about BJDs for a year and someodd.
-Around my fifteenth birthday as I save for a DSLR camera, suddenly remember the pretty dolls, forgetting the hefty price. Search for BJDs again.
-Find Soom's Mecha Angels. Fall head over heels, and then spy the price tag again. This time, commit to saving enough to buy a less expensive one I love.
-Mention the dolls to my mother, citing use as a photography model as an excuse. "Oh, those are pretty! How much are they?" "...Uhm... about $650..." Am denied right to purchase a BJD except through entirely my own funds.
-Custody of myself is transferred to my father. I show him pictures of the dolls, and when he hears the price, "No way are you buying that. Ever. It's a doll. If you get one, it's leaving here on a Tuesday morning." (Tuesdays are trash days. D8) Cry, pout, and whine.
-Strike a deal with my dad--all A's and I can get a BJD. In the meantime, since I doubt that deal will work out, convince my mother whom I see every other weekend to allow the BJD (When I purchase one) to live with her and visit me when she does.
-Save. Keep trying to convince my father to allow me to buy one without all A's. In the meantime, try to find out which doll I aim to save for.
-See an owner picture of the Angel of Dream Fei. Despite having said that I will never purchase an AoD because their headcaps just annoy me too terribly (OCD.), fall in love with the sculpt, and after seeing that her price is far more feasible than the Mecha Angel's, decide to save for her.
-Begin amassing art supplies and fabric for when I get my doll.
-Keep annoying my father about it. Fail pathetically, but succeed in convincing him that they're lovely and get him to pick his favorite. He picks the Mecha Angel I saw first.

And that's pretty much where I am right now, still saving. I've got /nearly/ (Translation: About three quarters of the way there with a few months left to go.) enough to get my Fei now, so I'm rather excited. It's been a long, hard road so far, but I think the difficulties are probably for the best, since I usually tire of things rather quickly and the trek so far has proven that that won't be the case with this hobby. Anyhow. Hopefully the road isn't too much longer.

 

My husband understands pretty well why I wanted my first doll and what getting her would mean to me, so I didn't have to beg or really have to "sell" him on the idea at all. It was just a matter of looking at our funds and what we could save up and pull together. So after four months of MASSIVE shopping around, my Soulkid Amy has been ordered and should be here in a month or so. Now it's just convincing her that she does need wigs and clothing. Haha.

 

Haha, I feel lucky.
I found BJDs on dA. Thought they were awesome
About a year later, my friend mentions one. I feel the need to bo important and bodly say, I'm getting one.
I went home and talked to the rents.
Me: "Mummy, this doll is pretty and I have enough money. i did my research"
I then begin to talk about everything I know which takes about 2 hours over dinner.
A week later:
Mummy: "Sure!"
She's on her way now.

 

I love flan :3

Dolls really are expensive though...there were these gigantic stuffed horses at Costco, and they were priced at $67. I thought to myself, "Dang, I could get a whole herd of these things for the cost of one doll..."

I'm old, so I never ask parents. :]

 

I am well past the point of being able to/having to beg my parents for stuff. All of my acquiring will have to be done from my own bank account.

...but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try to beg my mom to help! She actually thinks they're pretty nifty, and the last time I called she went on and on about how I should make and sell doll clothes, so maybe there's hope?

doubtful, lol!

 

Kay~
-pissed at deviant art
-joined mangabullet
-looked through every single club
-found the bjd club
-fell in love with DOD(petsha!)
-decided I would look poor if I got an msd
-took six months to save up and black elf sha came up
-fought with dod
-saw rei's bc lotti
-bought a bambicrony
-recieved a bambicrony after 5 weeks
-recieved doi after 11 weeks(7 days after bc came)

 

I think the first BJD I saw was in someone's signature in another forum (Not doll-related) and I was like "O_o what is that? Are those photomanipulated humans? o_O" (xD)
But unfortunately I missed out on asking the person about it and still had no clue. I eventually figured out that they were some sort of dolls but didn't have a name and went through a whole lot of google-searching until I finally ended up on DOD and later on dA and fell in love.

I didn't feel like begging my parents too much so I waited about 2 years until I finished school and started earning my own money and now I'm waiting for my first to come home x]

 

After one year of discovering the dolls, research and decided to buy my own doll, I saved up some money and bought my doll without my parents knowing...Then I kinda told my mother later after purchasing him. There were a few arguements like how I should be saving the money for college and etc, but finally mother gave up and said " Fine. It looks like it'll be a good hobby. " After purchasing my own doll (my mother just fell in love with him when he finally arrived), it was easier to get my sister's doll for her birthday, and my mother helped me paid half of it. ^^

 

I talked to my mom about it at first, wanting it as an early Christmas present (it was in March 2009)

she said no

so I got him with my own money

she saw him, and wanted him to be the early Christmas present because she doesn't want to think up what to give me on Christmas

So she offered to give me the money for him

but I said no, she got her chance, but now she has to think up of something by her own.

 

>I...actually think I got into them partially because people were making fun of them on 4chan and other places. And also because of an online store selling 1/6 Volks Dollfies made to look like anime characters, which led me to the Volks USA site.
>A lot of browsing around, finding sites that linked to other sites...I have a hard time rembering how I find this stuff. Google?
> Eventually DragonCon rolls around, and I see that there is an Asian BJD panel on the SILK track. Mom agrees to go with me. All she know at this point is that they are dolls, they have something to do with Japan, and they are expensive.
>I go. There are dolls. It is awesome. I mostly hang out in the back of the room and listen to mom ask people questions. She decides that the dolls are adorable, and fawns over a big 70-80cm guy one lady has. And then when we go up to the front, she starts fawning over the fairy and the centaur...it was very cute. She decides I need to get a big guy so she can make clothes for him. People there recomend joining DoA
>On a previous run through the dealers room, mom pointed out a lady who was selling RS/BBB dolls. I drag dad over there. I find Ju. Dad lets me get her because I explain that these are the cheaper ones compared to most other companies, and he is used to me spending lots of money at DragonCon.(That's why I only go every other year...and I thought I wasn't going to spend a lot because I'd be at the panels so much this year...)
>I get home and join DoA. I eventually order patterns from DenverDoll and wig stuff from Volks. Mom and I have started working on her clothes. Yay.
>I'm pretty sure I'll have to get a job and save up for the other ones myself though. Or do really good in school. Or have it be my big birthday and Christmas gift for the year/next few years. (Ju was kinda my Christmas present.) Or get an expensive doll instead of a puppy when I graduate college. Which I am not doing. Because I want a puppy.

 

Here's my story...

Attempt 1: Me: "MOM!!! PRETTY DOLL! I WANT IT!" Mom: "NO. It's f&$#(@& $600!! " Me:
Attempt 2: Me: "Mom, I've done a lot of research on this, and I think I've found the least expensive one on the market that is still high quality" (I found a different doll that I loved even more, and he is a lot less expensive...) Mom: "Well, it's still a lot of money, sooo.... no." Me: *annoyed*
Attempt 3: Me: "Mom!! You know how I want to be a fashion designer right? Well I can make doll clothes for my college application portfolio!!" Mom: "Can't you just make real people clothes?" Me: "... But doll clothes would be more portable!" Mom: "Just take pictures of the real people clothes" Me: "..."
Attempt 4: Concoct a scheme to get my friends to "buy" me a doll for christmas, when really I would give them $20 payments over the course of a few months so my mom doesn't except anything and then have them "surprise" me with my doll at a arty I throw..... This plan is scraped because if my mom ever found out she would 1: Throw out my doll and 2: Throw me out
Attempt 5 (current attempt): "Mom, if I sell doll clothes on forums (like here on DoA!! ) can I use the profits to buy myself a doll??" Mom: "... We'll see......."

Let's hope I can raise enough money!!! *crosses fingers and gets sewing!*

 

I wish my parents would buy for me! But then again, they have funded all my musical needs (and food, shelter, etc.) XD but nah, I have to save every cent except for shipping, by myself.

 

Way past the age of asking for things from my parents (kicked that habit around 15 years old), but it never would have worked even if I tried. I think the most expensive thing I ever got for Christmas or my birthday or anything was about $50.00, and that was the sole present. Not that it bothered me. My family's never really been about presents, and there are more important things - like paying the bills. :P

Now that I'm old and have a job and live on my own and whatnot, however, my struggle to obtain a doll has become a budget battle.

 

I found out about these dolls when I was in Jr.High and I'm in my Early 20's now. I never once asked my parents or thought to ask my parents to spend that kind of money on me. To me $100 would have been HUGE, heck I feel bad when my mom buys me coffee. For that reason I left the idea alone until my adult years when work became an average part of my life. I invested in other hobbies but got tired of them and realized I could have bought a few BJDs with all the money! So I sold off my old hobby stuff that I still had and bought my first doll. I think I'm alot more grateful for her because I bought her with my own hard earned money. I just ordered my second doll and I earned him with my sales money too. It's a very satisfying feeling. I say save up, and if they see you're serious about it and your parents can afford it, your chance of victory will be higher.

 

Why do you think most of my dolls have fallen angel/demon names, I have to give something back ;D.

I ask my parents for a cheaper doll, dad is the one I have to really get approval of, my mom likes them too. I tell them that the one I am after is cheaper because comes with clothing etc than buying new. I can't use puppy dog eyes I'm too old for that, but I can explain why its a good present for me :3. (Though most of mine have been brought by myself, only Kira, Mao, Aubrey and Kaoru's head have been gifts). My mom brought Asagi but she loves him just as much I believe x3.

I'm turning it on its head though. I'm buying my mom a puki for her birthday/xmas present (both close together), as she is a sucker for tinies.

 

My parents have always been against all dolls, not just BJDs. But I scored really well in my finals and obtained the highest score so far in four years of high school, and my dad agreed to get me a tiny who I could never afford to get if not for him, since she's a Soom limited. He's paying everything for her, and I'm so happy!

 

Mine's basically sending my mother emails with links to the doll I want from Custom House. Also told her that a friend of mine is willing to go halfsies with my mom since it was the BOGOF event this past October. At first, mom says, "no," but then I start using the usual logic of "I can use it for drawing/practicing anatomy" and "I can make clothes for him!" And I showered her with love (I would give it to her anyway, but it makes the process easier) and told her that she can make it my birthday and Christmas present (which is the same day for me. )

She said okay and now my friend and I are awaiting our dolls with baited breath.