Rare or popular: discuss your preference

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular? I think it all depends on whether or not you like the sculpt. Although I suppose there is the appeal of owning something rare and when you can't make up your mind between one that is limited and one that is common, I'd be tempted go for the limited doll as it would be harder to find later. I'm also very into getting elves at the moment, the fact that a lot of them are limited doesn't come into it

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Nope, never. I buy them because I like what they look like, even if a lot of other people aren't

- Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
I'm planning at some point to get an El...so no it isn't an issue at all! I think it's nicer in a way to have a lot of people who share your interest in your sculpt.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
Honestly? Yes, mostly because I find almost all of the CP scults beautiful and want them all dammit! Then again I think a lot of people also click on a gallery thread that features their own doll sculpt.


- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
I'd be very wary about doing so, I'd rather see owner pictures first so I knew Iwasn't making a big mistake. However, if the doll was perfect for a character I had in mind...I'd probably jump right in

 

I personally have a favourite brand of doll (being Dream of Doll) and I'm more likely to read topics about them... but the reason I bought a DOD was not because of popularity or anything like that, I just totally fell in love with them when I first saw them Also DOD was the first company I ever saw with BJD's so that probably has an impact as well

 

I just want dolls I like. n_n Not much else matters, but~

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
--I'll say the fact that a doll is 'rare' would be a plus to me for sure. ^^ I'd rather have the 'only one' than just one of many. Though there are lots of popular sculpts I like too. :3

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
--Nope, I never would~~~ I would only buy a doll if I knew they were the 'right one' for whatever reason I bought them (to be a character or whatever).

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
--Mmmm, yes, I am. But I also check threads with dolls I don't know, or other dolls of course. I don't usually post even when I look. =< I should start doing that though.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
--Yes, I would. I'd probably search and see if I could find some owner pics SOMEWHERE to get a feel for what the doll looked like outside of the company's pictures, but I would definitely buy a doll I hadn't seen if I fell in love with its looks. :3

 

honestly, I just like the dolls that I like. It doesn't really matter to me how rare they are at all, most of the time I'm vaguely aware of a doll's popularity anyway.

 

Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?

Personally, I tend to lean toward the "rare". Not that my Elfdoll boys are 'rare', but rather rarely seen, especially when I first got Red and Wu. I would see folks with these dolls in their profiles or signatures, but they rarely or never posted pictures. Same went for Narae60, or my DZ guys. Unless I'm blinder than a bat and keep missing threads with them in it...

Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?

Ok, buying a doll because you want to popular is very silly. We play with dolls, fer crying out loud!

That being said, I own at least one very popular mold; A MNF Shiwoo (does a Juri06 count too? I dunno!). But I didn't buy him because OMG MNF SHIWOO EVERYONE HAS ONE!!!!11! I bought him because I liked the character that was attached to the doll. Now, you won't ever find me buying an El, because I'm a little sick of seeing that face. He's a nice sculpt, but they ALL look the same to me. And even if the owner attaches a character/personality to said El, they all look the same to me. I'll never own an El because of it, and don't really poke around in threads that feature Els.

So, in a sense, I would shy away from a popular mold. Not because I would be afraid of being called a follower, rather that the similarities would be too much for me. That being said, it is kinda fun to have a MNF Shiwoo and know that other people enjoy the mold as much as I do!

However I would buy still buy a popular mold, especially if said mold looked like a character I had and I knew I could make that doll be a little different than the rest of the horde. Otherwise, natch. It's much more fun to find a rare one, love the heck of out of it, and find that other people think that way too! I get warm fuzzies when someone says they've never seen/rarely seen that mold before and now they really like it!

Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.

Honestly, if it says Elfdoll or Dollzone, I will click into it, more often than not. Why yes, I play favorites, just not with CP! More often than not I will pass over a thread with Lishes, Els, and the new SDF peeps. I like seeing different, I like seeing variety. Lots of folks see that in CP dolls, but I don't. I see it in other companies, where other folks think exactly the way I think about CP. To each their own.

Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?

If said doll had pictures on the store site, and I had the cash. Yes. Cause, again, it goes back to the whole "rare" thing. If I like the sculpt, even if it hadn't been spammed to death here yet, I would buy it.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
I choose dolls if I like the sculpt, I don´t care if it´s rare or not. My first girl, a Angel Region Elly is one of the most unpopular molds, I´ve seen just a few of these in the forums since years ago. I choose her when I didn´t know too much about the hobby, so I wasn´t influenced by her "rarity", and she was the one that made me consider to buy a BJD.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
No, in both cases, as I told before, my most important motivation to buy is if I like that doll. I don´t care what other people think about my dolls or if they like my dolls, or if there are 100000X dolls of the same mold. My dolls are for ME and I buy these for ME, not for other people.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
Yes, I visit galleries mostly if these are about my favorite molds. I also prefer to see dolls from determined companies even if I don´t have plans to buy from them in the future, it´s mostly because I love the style of the sculpts of that company.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
If I like the mold, yes, of course.

Teehee, sometimes I feel the same with my Elly due to she is not so common to see . Anyway, I´m not against people who likes to buy rare dolls because thanks to them we have the oportunity to be "spammed" with photos.

 

I'm new to the world of BJD, but I know already that I'll only buy a doll that I've fallen head over heels for, depsite it's popularity or rarity. I'm waiting on my first doll right now (so exciting!). When I started looking for a doll she was one of the first dolls I found, and despite finding other cuter, prettier and less expensive dolls as I carried on my search I was really drawn to her and couldn't really think about buying anything else.

However I'm definitely not immune to the lure of rarity - I'm a cosplayer, and I hardly ever cosplay popular characters but almost exclusivy cosplay very rare and obscure characters.

 

Personally, it doesn't matter to me if a doll is rare or populair. For me, when I want a doll, it's the mold that is the most important. But if my most beloved mold is a populair or a rare one, I would also prefer it to be rare.

And mostly I click gallery threads with molds I like, or Dollzone in general (I'm a fan of Dollzone). But I don't click CP because it's CP. But I do click the CP molds that I like, because I have been looking at eluts.com a lot more than the other companies such as Volks and others.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
==> "Character fit" is the top-most criteria that I use to choose dolls, followed by price (given that its beauty and durability REALLY justifies it). I see rareness and/or popularity as welcomed bonuses, not a necessity.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
==> BJDs are too expensive for me to buy it for other people to enjoy, and I'm most people think the same. =D It'd be a bonus if the sculpt I own will gain me more gallery views because it happens to be popular. But ultimately, I prefer to get views or comments based on my presentation or photography striking some cord in my audience rather than because it's a popular sculpt. What I like doesn't have to please a lot of people, and I'm OK with that.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
==> As I own Lishe and used to be an El owner...YES, I do confess my bias towards CP! XD Some of their sculpts really appeal to me. But besides that, I'm also interested in Elfdoll, Supiadoll, and Dollshe. (Namely, companies of dolls I own or want to own.)

I also like to <strike>stalk</strike> follow dolls owned by certain users who I'm interested in their style of presentation -- whether it be the character, storyline, or photography style, etc. regardless of company.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
==> I see this question from an information perspective rather than a tolerance for doll rarity perspective. Having less owners means less information. Because knowing about the customer service, after-sales service, doll quality/durability before buying the doll is very important to me. I don't want to buy anything this expensive that makes me feel uncertain. In short: Yes...only if the doll is beautiful/durable (in my standards) and I am absolutely sure that it comes from a reliable source. =D

 

Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?

Well, for me, it really doesn't matter. I like what I like.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?

Hmm...interesting question. I really could care less about racking up gallery views. I mean it's nice that people like your doll but that's not why I post pictures. I post pictures because I want to share my dolls with everyone and if people like them yay! If not, eh...whatever. I bought these dolls for my enjoyment. As I said before popularity of a mold does not influence my decision in buying a doll.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.

When I look through the gallery it's usually the title that grabs me, not the featured doll. A clever title always draws me in.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?

Sure. Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised. I have an AoD Mo and before I bought him I had yet to see an owner photo on DoA and the stock photos really didn't do him justice. So I took a chance and ordered him anyway. And after a fantastic face up and the right wig he has quickly become one of my favorite dolls.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
It really doesn't matter to me about being rare or popular. I see a mold I like and I buy it. I just bought an El (admittedly a more rare form of him) but it's still an El. And my next purchase will probably be a Shiwoo, but that is because I like the mold. Who cares if there's a thousand of them? He's cute and when I buy him, he'll be my own character and his own person.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
Same as above - I don't care about popularity or getting more gallery views. I love my kids for being my kids, not because they might get me a lot of comments on a forum. Forgive me if that sounds bitchy.

On the flip side, I was a little hesitant about buying my MNF El because a good friend of mine has an El but she told me to go for it. It just felt weird knowing that I'd have the same type of doll as someone else here because somehow, our local doll group has managed to not duplicate a single mold. At least, not to the best of my knowledge. But her El is the Delf El and mine is a MNF Tan, so that makes it slightly less weird, lol.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
I really don't care about that. I click on gallery threads because the title sounds interesting, or because it's featuring a tan mold (I have a soft spot for tans).

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
I did - I hadn't seen any Tanned Ashas on here when I bought her. Since then, I think I've only seen one other than my Lillith.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
I think having it in the middle...so that I can at least look at owner pics before I decide to buy one- but then again I tend to stay away from popular things (and not just dolls).

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
I don't care about gallery views, or how much people like my dolls. Because *I* love them and that's all that matters.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
I tend to avoid CP threads. My friends have all CP dolls except for one limho mono. (I have a KD and Limho Mono, myself) so I don't really need to look at them online. And I don't have a favorite company either. I'm a very picky person.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
If I found the doll to my liking- though I'd be weary as to why no one else had that doll. (Quality or company wise, you know?)

 

Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?

I would say 'rare' to a certain extent. You see, dolls like, say, Migidolls, are popular, but there aren't a lot (yet). Hence they're 'rare'. Having said that, I originally didn't mind Luts dolls, but after seeing them so often I began to get desensitised to the mold and couldn't appreciate it properly anymore.

Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?

No, I don't buy dolls for gallery views. And it doesn't occur to me that a mold will attract gallery views until after I've bought it. Would I not buy a doll because it's popular?I don't know. There hasn't been a 'popular' mold I've truly loved yet.

Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.

No. I think CPs are... pretty but not my cup of tea. I am biased towards Customhouse though. Any Customhouse thread, I am there! And F-16s!

Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?

Yes. I buy a doll if I like the look on the main site. I sometimes am turned off a doll by owner pics, but I almost always base opinions off professional photos.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular? Neither to me really, it's more dependant on my personal taste.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Not at all.

- Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
No, I buy these for what I like, I dont tend to think what other people would think of me from what dolls I choose to buy.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
No, actually, even though I dont own a doll by either yet, Souldoll or Dolkot are probably my favourites if I had to choose. But no, I like to go by the image's name.


- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Yes.

 

Hi everyone!! I don't visit the debate section often, but I thought these questions were interesting, so I'll take a crack at them!

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?: Hmmm, tough one. Most of the dolls I like are either limited or only available through FCS, so I guess you could say I like rare dolls best. But as long as I think a doll is beautiful, I'd buy it whether it was limited or not.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?: I've only recently started posting pictures of my girls, and it feels wonderful to hear people say they are beautiful! But I think it is more important that I think they are beautiful. If I bought them just to please others, it would be like buying a doll for them instead of myself.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company: LOL, yes, I must admit that I am 90% more likely to look at gallery threads that contain Volks dolls. I love Volks, and I love their dolls, so I guess I'm a bit biased. There are exceptions, of course.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?: DoA is usually where I first learn about new dolls! But if I discovered a doll I really liked without hearing about it elsewhere, I think I'd still add it to my wishlist.

I hope my answers helped!

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular? - Honestly, I could care less. xD I buy dolls because they match my characters, not because they're rare or popular.

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower? No and no. xD I'm not concerned enough with Gallery views to spend hundreds of dollars on them. And honestly, I could care less if people think I'm a follower - because I know I'm not!

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company. Nope! Honestly, I click gallery posts because of interesting titles. xD

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums? Maybe. Sometimes I like to see pictures of a doll other than the ones on the company's site to see if it would match a character with a different wig/faceup/ect, and if I can't be sure, I might move on.

 

Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
Neither. All the dolls I want/am saving for at the moment are just dolls that I really like. Most of them are pretty popular here on DoA, but I really don't care.

Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
Eh, I really don't care.

Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
If I see a thread with one of the dolls I would like to buy in it, I am more likely to click on it. But most of the time I hang out in the Photostory forum and read as many of them as I can >.<


Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Maybe, but I would have to really love the doll a lot (if it was a fairly unheard of company). I would just be worried about the company's reliability, and I like to see owner pictures. If it was a reliable company, though, sure!

 

I don't consciously buy a doll because of its popularity or lack thereof but I probably am more likely to buy a popular doll because it's more likely I'll notice it and get attracted by owner photos.

Let's see, I'd say in terms of popularity mine are...
KD Karon- moderate
KD Kamyu- moderate
CP Ani- popular
DZ Megi- moderate
DC SaFi- unusual
PD Baha- popular
RD Lucy- moderate
FL Piki- popular
DDA Tiny Near- somewhat unusual

Others probably have different perceptions, though.

 

I guess it's more or less personal preference ^w^ When I see a doll, I look at the sculpt or how well it would suit the character I have in mind, nevermind if it's rare, popular or what have you.

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
Neither But in lieu of the question, I suppose that I'd much rather buy a popular or 'standard' issue doll because should I decide to sell and buy him again or buy parts for him, there'll be plenty to go around :3

- Would you ever buy a more popular doll knowing that it could get you more gallery views? Conversely, would you ever choose not to buy a doll because you believe it is too popular and you are afraid to be seen as a follower?
Ahaha... well, I think I'd rather aim for more gallery views if people thought my photos actually looked GOOD. I've seen some pretty bad photos with the more popular molds >_> So yeah, I'll more than likely leave a comment on a gallery thread if it's got nice photos and a well-kept doll (regardless of mold/company).

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
I think I'll more than likely click on a link that had BlueFairy dolls or Unoa's ^w^ But really, I look at all threads and judge on the pics posted, not neccessarily the doll ^w^

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
I think at best I would be curious and do a little bit of research on it, ask the owners of the doll how they get it, how well it poses, etc. Buy it? Maybe, if I find a character for it to fit. Otherwise, no

 

I have both two somewhat uncommon dolls (DoC Wi and DK Kiss), two quite popular and a VERY popular on his way (why hello there El).

I buy the doll I like. That suits the character. That's all I really think about when I do it.