Rare Doll Guilt

Yeah but... the level of your face-upping or modding skills doesn't determine what doll you're allowed to own. You bought your Soony, so you're her legitimate owner and no one-else. Really, if you'd want to keep her on a shelf, naked and face-upless, till the end of time, it's okay. If you'd rather ship her of to an artist you've commissioned it's okay. She's your doll.

As for your question:
Out of all my dolls, only one is a standard edition. - What can I say? I keep falling for the impossible dolls. - Two of them are still waiting for their own bodies; my Peroth is still a blank had and I've had him since 2007!

Never have I felt guilty for owning them. Each of them took me at least a year to save up for. I spend month after month wading through the marketplaces, searching for that one good deal. Yes, I've met those who tried to make me feel bad for owning a bunch of limiteds. But you know what? I deserve every square inch of that piece of resin and so do you.

Don't let the community (or an individual jealous person) take away your fun. You don't owe them anything.

 

If you really want to give your doll a face-up, you can do it without taking the head off.

Take off her clothing, remove her eyes or cover them with tape or some putty, and spray her head with a couple of light coats of sealer. If some gets on the body, so what? Or, put her in a plastic shopping bag with her head sticking out.

If you are near a proper art store, you can buy chalk pastels and water color pencils by the piece (so, no need to purchase entire sets of chalks or pencils). With pink, brown and black (or whatever colors you want) you can give her some lip color, cheek blush, eye brows and lashes. Since pastels are so light, you can build color slowly over time until you get it dark enough for your taste, and you can use a kneaded eraser to remove color.

You could add one layer of color per day until you are happy at how she looks on your shelf. Just saying, a tiny bit of color may make you feel more comfortable with her.

Or, buy some new elastic to have on hand. Lay your doll on a bed wrapped in a towel, pull a foot out and cut the elastic. That seems scary, but the towel will keep everything contained. Now you will be able to get the head off to send out. Re-stringing the body of the doll isn't that difficult... if your arms are weak, you may not be able to string her tight, but it will be good enough to set her back on a shelf where she is now.

I wouldn't worry about what other people think. I actually like how some dolls look without (or with very minimal) face-ups... they seem more like sculptures that way.

Sell your doll if you want to, not for any guilt-related reasons. If you sell a hard to find doll and then regret it, you may end up going through a lot of work (and maybe $$$) to find another one.

 

If you are doing your own faceup, you don't need to remove the head! Just go ahead and do the same thing... It can be a bit awkward with the body attached, but it's also something to support the head without touching it.

Removing the head is for sending it off for a faceup and saving on the shipping cost.

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Anyway, you should have no guilt for owning a doll and not really playing with it, no matter how rare or costly. It's your doll, do what you want with it. You aren't responsible to anyone else. Maybe you are responsible to the doll--not to abuse it, if you care about it at all. But beyond that... nothing!

I have a ton of rare dolls. So do a lot of people. In fact, most bjds are very small editions and have ooak faceups and can't easily be replaced... so most bjds are rare, even if they are basics.

I don't feel guilt because of rarity. I might feel guilt for any doll that I don't play with enough, but rarity doesn't matter. I have some dolls that are rare because not many people bought them during a limited selling period.. but that was their choice, really (or maybe not a choice if they couldn't afford to at that time, but that's just life), so I figure that the market is limited for that doll and I wanted it enough to allocate the funds... so it doesn't matter if there are only a few of the dolls around and if I play with it a lot or not.

Just enjoy your dolls and don't worry. Or sell them if you wish, and don't worry.

 

Y'know reading this thread also makes me feel less nervous about owning my first resin doll too. Everyone says don't worry about it just enjoy your doll but I can't help but worry a lot sometimes if I'll be able to take care of him right if I'll be critiqued for how I decide to dress him ect. I decided though everyone here's right....It's my doll I am NOT gonna freak out over it. If I wanna cuddle him EVERY day every chance I get then it's my choice if he sits in his set untouched in *gasp* Black clothes for weeks it's my choice...I'm never selling him.

 

My tan BBB Waltz is limited to 25 in the world, my DiM MNM smiling Zack Fair is limited to 10, and I have the ONLY WS one. I have a few others that are limited, rare or discontinued. I don't feel guilty at all for owning them. I paid for them and I purchased them before anyone else grabbed them up, so why SHOULD I feel bad? And since I did buy them, I can do as I please with them. I don't have Nakhtmin (Waltz) in his fullset outfit or default face, and Jayson (Zack Fair) has had his ears pierced. They're my dolls, what I do is my choice.

I think the only time I'd feel bad would be if I got the doll, not really wanting it, and it was preventing someone from owning their dream. I received a Bobobie horned Nissa (LE50) as a gift, but never cared for him, so I ended up selling him to somebody that really wanted him.

 

Maybe you can find another doll owner in your area to help you remove your Soony's head? Or like someone else suggested, cut the string and restring her (though maybe she's gotten looser over time?).

I have one limited doll... I kinda want to change her face up but I'm worried I'll "ruin" her. Or that my face up won't be good enough. She's the only doll I've bought that came with a face up, I've painted all my other dolls myself.
And when I think about a rare doll that I want, I kinda shrink away from the idea sometimes, like, someone else deserves the doll more, 'cause I'm just going to make it into an OC or repaint it or something XP
I know it's silly to feel that way, though.

 

Most of my dolls are rare. The Unidolls because Unidoll doesn't exist anymore. The Minimees cos - well, Minimees ARE rare. Dito the MNF breakaway scar head, arm and chestpiece. Are there people out there who'd really, REALLY want those dolls and do more with them than me? Probably. Does that make me feel guilty to own them? Nope. Why would I? I shelled out a lot of money for buying them, which I had to earn, first, which was a lot of work. I deserve them just as much as anyone else - even though I'm not doing much with them and basically, just have them sitting around in my room.

 

Nope-- it's never ever happened to me. I have always loved my LEs and rarities, whether I'm photographing them or taking them out to meetups... or whether I'm leaving them sitting on the shelf in the same outfit for years because they're just so gorgeous the way they are & I love to look at them every day.

Dolls aren't community property. If you want to sell the doll, sell it because you honestly don't want it anymore. Don't sell it because you feel you've failed to live up to somebody else's idea of how you're supposed to play with your toys.

 

Beau~barbare: What!?! You mean that no one likes him? That is such a cute boy! I absolutely adore his ears!

I don't think there is any reason to feel guilty about owning your doll. It is sad that you are unable to get her head off for a faceup. I hope you find a way to customize her so you will love her again! But if you were lucky enough to buy her, and if you don't want to sell her, then don't. She is completely yours to do what ever you want with. ^^ Don't worry, sweetie!

 

I've felt guilty for the horrible mod I did on my VE Chloe...I've gotten better since then but there is still a lot I need to do to fix him. I still love him though and do a lot with him. Just channel your guilt into passion to "fix" your doll and make her how you envision.

 

I have had doll guilt, though usually it is down to cost. I sold the doll and regret it but I wouldn't buy it back. I think...

 

I don't own any really rare dollies because i haven't really fallen for any of them. As far as you not being able to get the head off, if you go to meets I'm sure there is someone willing to help with that. At least where i live people are very helpful for stuff like that. Don't be a shamed of it.

I tend to feel guilt when ever I buy a doll with loans and bills to pay it can be tight. This last one doesn't seem to bug me however. I did sell off most of my dolls because it. The only guilt I had is thinking of selling a doll I bought from a friend. ;w;

 

Guilt? Nnnnnnnope. I'm afraid not. My Crobi DD Lance, and even more my Crobi Yujin are pretty rare dolls (first one was available for limited quantity, the other for an extremely limited time that caused him be even fewer in numbers than the white version that was limited to 40 dolls). Same goes for my Switch Seoha who I -gasp- modded! xP I just love my dolls, I bought them because they were suiting to my characters, they're mine and I can customize them however I want and play with them however I want. It's nobody's business what I do with them as long as I'm happy.

 

Awwww!

You really shouldn't feel bad at all. I'm sorry it's giving you so much stress. There's nothing for me to add that hasn't already be said, but in all seriousness don't ever feel guilty. There's no reason to at all.

 

Hmmm...sometimes, I do feel guilty. Because there are some sculpts I know I'll never find (or if they pop up, they'll either disappear immediately or be in a ridiculously ridiculous price) and I really really want...when I think someone might have these kind of feelings for dolls I own, it makes me feel a little guilty. I still really love my dolls though, so I'm not going to give them up just because of that.
I think, as long as you want to keep her, even without playing with her or anything, just looking at her, there's no reason why you should conside selling her, just because other people might want her.