Pro's and Con's of Collection Size

Right now I have 5 dolls and 2 heads, so I think I have a medium sized collection.

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)
Since I have dolls of different sizes and ranging from very stylized to very realistic, there's enough variation to keep me interested. And since everyone of them only has one outfit, one wig, one pair of eyes and one pair of shoes, I don't have a lot of extra stuff lying around. I do wish I had another girl though.
The downside of this crew is the space they take up. I don't like the look of resinates everywhere in my house, but right now I don't have room for a cabinet. So even though I 'only' have 5, it sometimes feels like I have over a 100.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Yes. I used to think I wanted to end up with a collection of 10. It seemed like the perfect number where you have quite a substantial collection, without them looking like a plastic blur if you display them in a cabinet. But when my latest doll came home recently, I became a little overwhelmed with the amount of dolls I have. So... at least until I've found some way to display them properly, I won't get any more dolls.

 

To be honest, I am not even sure if my collection is small or large. I've got 15 full on-topic dolls (floating heads/extra faceplates not included), none over MSD-size, so I would say somewhere in the middle range?

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? It is nice having a couple of different characters who can "interact" with each other. I can decide with which doll to play depending on my mood, and have the possibility to sew or search for different styles of clothes; also, I get to paint many face-ups without having to wipe the one I just painted last time ^^ My collection being still not very large, I always find time for all of them, and have no "incomplete" dolls (except for hot-glue-sueding... one or two still would need that, but I just don't like doing it much >.<)
Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Sometimes I think it would be easier to have a smaller collection because of the storage room the dolls need. It would be easier to dress them, too. I prefer my dolls to have more than one outfit they can wear. My dolls can share most wigs and clothes till now, but it will become difficult when my Supergem boy arrives...
At the same time, I would like a larger collection, because I would love to have more diversity in sizes and molds (I really want a Yo-SD sized doll again! They are so cute and small, and still easy to sew for, other than my current Tinies). And I still have lots of character I want to see in doll form.

 

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)
Pros: I only have one doll. He and his stuff are easy to transport, and he gets all my doll attention.

Cons: I only have one doll

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Indeed yes. I have two incoming now, so my collection is about to get %300 larger ahaha. I foresee five dolls to be a good number for me, since that still sounds transportable and whatnot. (And as a young adult figuring out where I want to be in the world, this is important). Plus, I like minis, so four minis and a tiny sound quite manageable. And I probably won't be overwhelmed trying to decorate all of them xD

 

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? I have 6 at the moment

Pro's: I have more dolls to play with. i'f i'm not in the mood for one i can photograph/sew for another. I also like having size choice for when I'm going out and about with them.

Con's: Space! I still live at home and my room is quite small. When i get more dolls I'm going to need to rearrange my room to fit them. I can't take all of them to meets. there's just too many, especially with two 70cm's. This means i have to pick a selection and i'm really bad at that.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
I always planned to have a collection larger than it currently is. I have a lot of original characters and most of them have planned doll forms. It will be a while coming though!

 

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size?
Between me and my mother, we have a comparatively small collection. She has one MSD, and I have 3 SD and 1 tiny, so a total of 5. I've had close to 30-odd dolls pass through my home though, so if I had kept all of them my collection would be pretty big.

Pro's:
- Each doll has a pretty generous collection of clothing. And since 3 of them are in the same size range, they can share wigs, eyes, and accessories amongst themselves. I love collecting doll clothing - it's a bad habit of mine to buy lots of them at one sitting. I don't have to source for like ten different styles, and I don't need to decide which doll gets new pieces and such.
- It's very easy to keep track of each doll, and when it comes to packing them, it takes me less time and effort.

Con's:
- Having a few dolls does limit your options for photoshoots, I suppose?
- Space. The problem with owning a few dolls for me is that because I have so few of them, each doll has a pretty sizeable wardrobe since I tend to order lots of items at one go, and takes up a lot of room. My tiny alone has clothing in the double digits, and I've resorted to vacuum packing them because they were such space hogs. Oddly enough when I had more dolls I had LESS clothing...what happened?!


Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
I used to think I wanted to have like maybe 10 dolls or so. I certainly never planned to stop at one. But eventually when my collection hit close to 15, I started to feel horribly overwhelmed. I sold the majority, and ended up buying again, resulting in the cycle repeating itself. It was a constant stream of incoming and outgoing, until I finally was able to decide and settle on what exactly I wanted. I don't think I'll want any more dolls; I have come to realise that I prefer having a smaller collection that I can focus more on. Too many dolls, and I can't decide what to do.

 

If you had a bigger doll it is hard to travel with it.

 

I have.... One doll right now. Well, he's got two heads, but they're different expressions for the same character so they only really count as one. I owned five other ones, but I sold them all to just keep this one I have.

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size?

Pro's: SPOILED DOLLY! No seriously, it's really great to not have to debate about who deserves a new outfit or wig the most. It's like "Hmm, I think Pepper needs a better wig... Hey, there's $40 right there. Okay, let's go find one!". Same thing with outfits, fantasy parts and shoes, which add up pretty quickly considering my expensive tastes; there's only one doll, and therefore the only one that can wear new clothes. Since he has two expressions there are still a few things that I need to buy double of - eyes and face-ups, for example, but generally all purchases by default are for just one super spoiled doll. I absolutely LOVE being able to devote all of my attention to this one doll without any guilt, pouring oodles of money into making him look just right - which is why I sold all of my other dolls.

Also, storage is absolutely not a problem. My room is really dusty and get sunbathed for about half a day every day (there literally isn't a spot in my room where the sun doesn't hit except under my desk, and in my drawers/closet), so displaying dolls is an absolute no, which means that Pep and all of his belongings have one tidy little drawer dedicated just to himself. There's just enough room in there for him in his box and pillow, and for the numerous big and small boxes that hold his clothes, fantasy parts, props, and general doll maintenance stuff. I also have plenty of money left over to spend on myself, like clothes, shoes, haircuts and eating out, because dolls don't eat it all up.

Con's: It does get a little lonely. Peppermint's character doesn't really restrain me to things too specific, like clothing styles and such, but there are still stuff I'd like to do with a doll that I simply can't with Pep because of his size, and how cutesey/childlike/air-headed he and his character is. I'd love to have some bigger dolls to try different things with - like characters, poses and styles of clothes that just look better on an adult doll (for example, suits - or I also really want to get some really grand, asian/religious/ancient-inspired robes and fantasy outfits).

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now? Well, smaller isn't really a no-go :P. When I first started the hobby I swore I'd only get one, then that quickly evaporated as I started buying more and more, before I sold them all off. I do have a few dolls on the wishlist - two to four big boys, one or two big girls, maybe a couple of MSD's and another tiny. I definitely intend to eventually get them, once I have the space to properly display them, and enough money to be able to spoil them all at once without feeling guilty. I don't think I ever want to get to a huge collection like what some people have. It's absolutely breath-taking and amazing to see, and I love looking at photos with huge groups of dolls, but I feel like it would just get too overwhelming for me. I just wouldn't know what to do with all of those dolls. I'd like to own somewhere in the area of 5-10, with 10 being the absolute maximum I think I'd be able to spread my attention on in a way that would leave me satisfied with all of them. I mean, even with ten dolls, it's still $600+ on urethane eyes alone! D=

 

My collection ranges between 30-40 dolls at any given time.

Pros
I like variety and wanted to see a lot of different companies dolls and compare the sculpts and I've certainly managed to do that. I've held so many companies out there and I do sell my dolls to buy new ones so my collection has constantly fluctuated. Now I look at new releases and I have so much variety in my collection that I'm finding it hard to add something new and original.

Cons
Like most people with a large collection - space. They take up a lot of room. It is expensive to have bought a large collection and while I may have collected it over a number of years, then is a certain amount of guilt in being surrounded by very expensive dolls.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?

I don't want a larger collection, but I'm thinking I could downsize a little without too much guilt. I'm happy with what I have now and don't want to change. At one point I saw a photo posted of a BJD owner's room and it was filled with dolls and mentally I thought I'd love a collection like that, but now I've got one, I'm thinking that I'd rather focus on accessories such as wigs and eyes and clothing for the gang.

 

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)
Pro:
1/6th scale stuff is really easy to find. 1/4th scale is kinda easy thanks to some other 18 inch dolls.
1/6th scale is also very manageable in terms of space.
1/4th also is big enough to allow a lot of detail without being so big as to be inconvenient
1/3rd It's big size gives it a lot of leeway for lots of detail when it comes to clothes and furniture.

Con:
while 1/6th scale stuff is abundant, very little of it is quality and requires a lot of work to make it look nice (in terms of furniture).
1/4th scale tends to push the line a bit at being too big for space. It's still a manageable scale in my opinion though.
1/3rd for me, is much too big. I really love doing rooms for my dolls and with the size of the doll plus the furniture i might be able to have a bedroom but that'd probably be all.
Plus i like my dolls to have at least 1 other in their scale as a companion. I'm not sure i'd be able to accommodate 2.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?

I have thought about getting an SD or two before. But i actually did (oddly enough for this conversation) and decided as pretty as they are, an SD just isn't for me.

Besides that i have most in-between scales. I admittedly haven't invested in the super miniature dolls though.

 

Collection: 18 with 1 coming, plus a floating head, although some are up for sale

Pros: Variety. I have dolls of different sizes from different companies, so that's interesting. I can have a bunch of different looks and keep it fresh, and play with different ones at different times.

Cons: I have more dolls than I have time and money to buy them stuff, give them maintenance like restringing and faceups, and play with them. Plus they don't really look right standing next to each other in most cases, lol. The enormity of my collection and how much I need to buy and do to get it how I want is putting me off from playing with them at all D:

Conclusion: I have been longing for a smaller collection recently and have started taking steps in that direction. Sometimes I feel an "itch" for a new doll and end up buying one even if it isn't the right time, so I hope I can satisfy that in the future by getting stuff for the ones I adore instead! Right now I have four for sale and I think I could sell like five more without much pain, so I've been very much considering it. I can't wait to have a few dolls that I can totally spoil and spend lots of time with! Maybe then I can still buy new dolls, but at a much, much slower rate than I have been.

 

I whant to first start off by saying , I do not know where to include my collection . I have been collecting for 2 years , and I have , as of now , 9 dolls . 3 are SD , 5 MSD and only 1 is YoSD ,
I am going to buy as soon as possible another SD ( for my OC Ruki-decideing between Crobidoll Yeon-ho / Delf El / Ringdoll Kay if your curious) .So By X-mas I`ll have 10.
While I think this is a fairly large collection , I know some members have over 50 dolls .
Still , I`m going to talk from the point view of a fairly large collection.
What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)
Pros: Having more dolls enabels me to have diversity in photos. -Picture taking is very important to me , and I whant my photos to be as diverse as possible ,so having more models helps alot.
You can`t ever be bored . Having a lage crue keeps me busy , having diverse sizez to work whith .
Having all sizes is very practicall in my opinion , because for ex SDs are easyer to sew for , MSDs are easyer to take to a meet , YoSD are allways cute!
Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Yes , actually I have caught myself wishing for both . Sometimes I whish I just had 1 doll , because that way it would get my full attention , and we could be "best friends". -Having several dolls makes me divide my love and time for bjds between them all . -but those are very rare times , as I allways whish for more ,and usually get to atached to sell any .

 

Collection: 3 (2 SD girls, 1 EID boy, and 1 floating head as an alternate for one of the girls)
What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)
Pro: I only have 3, so space isn't too much of an issue. I have enough dolls that I can choose who gets to come out and sit with me.
They're large enough that I can sew for them without having to handsew everything and I can knit some pretty nice stuff for them. (Ren's wearing a cabled sweater and jeans I made him, and Kyoko just got a hoodie.)
With only 3, my family knows who they all are (last year the two I had both had Christmas presents). I can bring them all in one big bag and they will all fit on one seat in the car.

Con: SDs are big. EIDs are even bigger. I can practically use Ren as a dumbbell - he weighs about 2.5 kilos/6 pounds. I love my dolls and I like having big dolls, but they are heavy enough that I don't casually grab one to bring with me.
With 3, someone always needs a new wig or eyes or clothes. I always feel a little bad when I get/make one doll something because I know the other two are getting left out. Also, for the EID, he is hard to find clothes for, as only one company makes dolls with those dimensions.
The expense is a bit of an issue. It usually takes me 9 months to a year to save up for a doll. My doll collection is the most expensive stuff I have and I'm afraid of damage or loss.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Number-wise, I have plans for at least 2 dolls. I like my crew to be coupled, and I need one more boy. I also want a little doll - probably an anthro - that can travel more easily. Depending on finances I may get more, but I will try to stop at 7 (current 3 + planned 2 + 2 more). I can see the advantages of having large collections - I've seen some and they are stunning - but I feel bad if I "neglect" any of my crew. More than an armful or so is too big for me.
Size-wise, I have thought about it, but any time I handle smaller dolls I'm worried I'm going to break them. I know it's all in my head, but the SD size feels more sturdy to me. Plus, although SD size and above tend to be the most expensive dolls, the time it takes me to save up for one means I have time to make sure I'm getting what I really want, so I don't have buyer's remorse generally. (that, and I'm too broke to impulse buy!)

 

Collection size: 10 full dolls, 3 rolling heads. I would consider this large. D8

Pros:
They look very good just standing around in a group. I don't have to keep re-doing faceups to try out different looks.

Cons:
Everything else. For one, they are expensive. D8 And their clothes are expensive. And they need at least one pair of shoes each. And they take up plenty of space. Especially their boxes. It's nerve-wrecking to set up a group shot when most of the big dolls are average posers at best. They are heavy to lug out, and won't fit more than 2 to a bag. They're consequently hard to hide, because my parents still beleive I only have 3 dolls. 8'D

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?

Oh, I do want more dolls, I think. Maybe. Bodies for the rolling heads, perhaps, but I deal very poorly with MSDs. A headless SD body that I can dress in a white racing suit and give a white full-face helmet to would be pretty wicked as well. Preferably something around 65cm and is the Domuya Flexi-perennial body, because a short Stiggy just won't work, nor will a very buff one. Soom tempts me endlessly with their wonderful fantasy dolls, or, more precisely, wonderful fantasy parts that I need dolls to wear so that I can admire them properly.

For the moment, though, even though I feel that my collection is a little huge for someone without an income, I know I can't bear to sell anyone (except for Fate's body). So I guess the size is currently perfect for me.

 

I only have two dolls at the moment. I am going to be getting more. However an interesting point is that my friends who have large collections are addicted. They fall in love with a doll and must buy one. They are always looking for their next doll. So i suppose it just depends on the person. Money is definetely an issue, but also how many you want until you are satisfied.

 

Collection size: A crapload. Enough to make most people feel much better about their own collection size. However, 75% of them are 10" and under.

Pros:
I have enough variety in my doll family that I can sew for most dolls, especially tinys. No matter what size wig/eyes/outfit I come upon, it will fit *someone*, so items never go to waste. I have many, many models to use as display when I vend at shows, which allows customers to better see if it will fit on their doll. Plus, I enjoy having a large family, it has given me much joy.

Cons:
Well, other than the money invested, which isn't really a major con for me, the main problem is storage space for all their clothing, accessories, etc. The dolls themselves have space, but I keep having to add more and more storage drawers for their stuff. It takes up way more room than they do. I also have similar experiences to Brightfires as far as other people judging me and my "fitness" as an owner based on the size of my collection. My group is just as loved and spoiled.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
Never smaller, but I am always adding new members to the troop.

 

Collection size:
9 full dolls, 2 heads. I consider this a medium size collection.

Pros:
Good variety without being overwhelming, and don't take up too much space. They are more homogenous in size now, so it's easier for them to share outfits.

Cons:
None! I'm perfectly content with this size collection.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?
NO!! I don't want any more than the number that I have now! It's one doll in, one doll out for me! At one time I had 20 dolls, and it literally made me feel ill to look at them. They became a constant source of stress looming in the corner of my room: This one needed a faceup, that one needed new clothes, this one needed a better wig, etc. I couldn't enjoy my favorite dolls because the others all needed so much work, money, and effort. I sold half of them, and I couldn't be more glad that I did! I honestly can't think of any pros to a larger collection(for me).

 

What exactly ARE the pro's and con's of having a collection your size? (small or large)

I have fourteen dolls now (counting an incoming one but no extra heads), three of which are going te be put up for sale somewhere in the future (already stripped of names and possessions...), so for me the number is more like 11.

Pro's

-I love owning the sculpts I longed for, to see them in person and getting familiar with all their specific qualities and little quirks. No matter how much pictures you have seen, it never really prepares you for the real thing of actually holding the doll in your hands. I love all the differences in company resins and styles. I love 'getting' time and time again just why people (including myself) are so crazy about these dolls.

-While I don't talk to or walk around with my dolls I very much love to shell characters in dollform. Their personalities, backstories and the elaborate worlds they inhabit are a big part of what makes this such a great hobby I think.

-I have 6 slim mini's who can all share clothes and shoes and (to some extend) wigs and eyes and it is awesome! My first five dolls where all over the place sizewise and dressing them was downright frustrating. I love well-dressed dolls, to the point that for me there is little use in spending so much time and money on these resins without an accompanying awesome wardrobe. But such a wardrobe is very expensive in itself. Having six slim mini girls means I can pretty much buy what I like, someone will wear it sometime.

-Having six beauties to wear my growing collection of pretty dollclothes .



(Other Pro's are more related to me being happy with the hobby itself, not specifically the number of dolls that I have.)


Cons

-Not 11 , but 14 is a little overwhelming for me. I guess that's why I feel the need to sell three of them. But I don't know if that is more related to number or to not having bonded with them. Overall I don't feel like I have 'many' dolls (ofcourse this is relative) but I guess that's because they are grouped: I have 1 SD who I love but who's fate is somewhat unsure as well, my 'core' group of 6 slim Mini's, and 4 Tinies who occupy another world alltogether.
Also, Tinies and Minies do tend to be less overwhelming then SD's I think. Even if you do not look at the money an SD just feels like 'more doll' (quantitatively speaking) then a Mini, and especially a Tiny.

-It is a lot of money. But since I'm pretty sure I'm hooked for life that is also very relative. If there was anything else I would like to spend it on, I could and I would. But there really isn't. Dolls just make me happy.



Have you ever caught yourself thinking you'd rather have a collection in a size smaller or larger than what you have now?

Yes, that's why I will sell those three. At the same time I am positive more will follow, and that once they are here that number (14, or maybe more) will not feel as overwhelming as it does now.
At this point I have a psychological limit of 14 though (14 being too much), but I don't know if that is a 'hard' limit or something that overtime will stretch along with a growing, and loved, collection.

 

I have three dolls, and three more planned that I'll get within a year, so I'm going to answer with 6 dolls in mind.

Pros:
Variety is always a bit issue with me, I make the clothes for my dolls so I want to be able to create a bunch of different styles rather than just sticking to a couple. Interaction is important to me too, between my 4 minis I have two couples and a brother and sister, and I like the idea of my dolls having stories. All my minis will be able to share clothes as well which is a plus.

Cons:
Having more than one or two dolls is a fast money sink if you're not careful. While my dolls can share clothes and wigs, they likely won't much, especially wigs, as all of them are fairly set in their character and will actually probably require more individually. I can make clothes, do faceups, and even make the odd wig, but I'm stuck paying for most shoes and eyes.

On a personal note:
I can't imagine having more than 10-12 dolls, 4 minis will likely be enough for me, though I might get one more (and a matching tiny as those two characters are inseparable) and after that I'll likely have only tinies.
When I entered the hobby I was actually planning on having a huge hoard! I've calmed down from the initial rush of a new hobby. Having a small group that I can spend more attention on individual characters with my limited time makes more sense to me.

 

Collection size: Large
Pros: I turned the darkest hallway into a world of magic and play.
Cons: Money. They always need new things.