Rare or popular: discuss your preference

tough one this! it depends on your view of 'popular'! My first was a Volks nono- poplar? well volks is but there aren't many nono's on here! Certainly not many new nono's. The trend seems to have moved away from anime looking dolls. BUT she drew me in and is totally beautiful and everyone who meets her thinks she is adorable.

I also own souldoll boys and cherishdoll girls, again, not 'popular' dolls.

I hve always disliked luts dolls, something too angular about them for my taste- but recently my husband said he wanted a doll, he first wanted a unoa sist- but they are not easy to get hold of, his next choice, after lots of looking was a luts soony. And you knwo what? I really like her too, whic I was surprised about.

I would steer away from a doll that' everyone has' because- well, everyone has it!, so EL, Lishe etc not for me, even though I can see their beauty- I actually don't like them much.

As for the gallery- pah! only popular dolls get looked at, I have stopped bothering with it and post my pics on uk forums where all pics get looked at as they are smaller.

My two cherishdolls are rare as they are limited, one to 20 and one to 5- it makes me smile as they are so beautiful and pretty much undiscovered in the huge BJD world

Price is not a factor for me, I love my cheapest doll as much as my volks doll and really volks are not that expensive for standard dolls. I just wish I had more money for more dolls full stop

Lets face it, they all have their beauty

 

I don't take popularity of the sculpt in account when I buy my dolls, and I certainly don't buy limiteds for gallery views..it's true that when I just got and posted my Scarface, I got a lot of comments, but they all said 'oh, a Scarface, he's so limited!' and then after a while the 'oh limited!' comments went away, and people were commenting not because they liked Scarface but because they liked Sumiya-what I made of him. To me, that means more than generic comments or views because the doll happens to be rare, you know?

I do admit I look at gallery topics that feature my favorite company(not CP), just because I know I'll probably like those dolls ^^

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
I'll put my hat in the I buy what I like ring.

- 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. That would be like buying the doll so I could get attention from other people rather than buying it for me because I loved it. I realize that the pics I post don't get that much attention, but it doesn't bother me really because I enjoy taking them and sharing them. And again, popular or not popular I'm going to buy what I'm attracted to and what I like.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
No, but if it's a Soom doll I am more likely to click. I can't tell you why. It's probably because they made the doll I first fell in love with.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Sure. I bought a doll even before I became a member of the forum. Of course, DOA is a valuable resource so if I hadn't seen the doll I might ask around about it in case there is something I don't know because I'm a noob, i.e. quality of resin, knockoff issues, etc.

 

I'm in the category of owners who will purchase a doll off from looks alone. When I chose to buy a doll, I wasn't aware of what the doll community was. I just stumbled upon someones doll website and thought they were really pretty. After exploring the internet a little bit, I decided I wanted one and which one I wanted. My decision was completely unbiased, but even after looking around the community I'm still confident with my choice. I think spending $400+ on a doll just because it's special or popular is ridiculous. I want a doll for my own enjoyment, not to impress others. They cost too much money for that. Likewise, I don't see why any one should think that they're a follower, as every one customizes their doll to be different, despite how popular the mold might be. Admittedly, there's a certain thrill to owning a limited, but it's not enough to make me buy a doll just because it's rare.

Although I like CP dolls, I'm more likely to click on a gallery thread because of the title than anything else. >< It's probably not the best way to view the gallery, can't judge a book by it's cover and all that, but it's a habit I have. Other times I'll click on random links, without thinking about what doll it is. I'm not great at remembering which doll is limited or not anyway.

Personally, I decided to buy a certain doll without seeing any owners pictures. But websites can be deceiving, and if I were to buy another doll I think I would check out pictures that people took of theirs first, especially those with different types of wigs, customizations, and face ups. It would be helpful to get different angles of the same doll before spending all that money.

 

I generally tend to be attracted more to sculpts that you don't see around too often. If you look at my family, you'll see that I own the only HD Huey on DoA, one of the two(?) human BC Sisleys and afaik the only Domadoll Sanmaul. Tiffee was rare when I ordered her, and she is still not overly popular.

Part of it is that I'm often drawn to face sculpts that aren't conventionally pretty but have a lot of character. Also, the rarety itself does generate interest for me -- when I see a sculpt that seems to be unpopular, a certain "rescue impulse" kicks in, for lack of a better word.

I look at it and wonder why it's so unpopular, and if I could do something with it that I would be happy with... Which means that I've already invested more thought at that point than I would've for a popular sculpt, and thus gotten more involved in the idea of owning one.

Of course, it happens that I see a rare sculpt, mull it over, watch for owner pictures and finally arrive at the conclusion that I could not do anything with it that I'm likely to be happy with, and in that case, I wouldn't buy the doll just because it's rare.

The sculpt itself has to appeal to me, regardless of popularity, but given the choice between two dolls that I both like, one rare, one popular, I'd always go for the less popular one. It feels more thrilling, more challenging to me.

I know that I'm not doing anything extraordinarily special or unique with my dolls, but I keep changing their faceups, eyes, wigs, until something clicks and the character is fully formed. And I personally find that more fun with a less popular sculpt, because with the really popular sculpts, it's hard to do anything that somebody else hasn't already done, and often better than I could at that.

All that said, I also own a CP Ttori, which is a pretty popular sculpt, and I have a few on my wishlist that might or might not prove to be popular, like CP Mill, DIM Shiny and SK Apple.

Though I admittedly wouldn't have considered Ttori if I hadn't seen him on Ebay, apparently rather unwanted, as he had very few bids. Rescue impulse again!

And to be honest, I've thought long and hard before putting Mill on my wishlist, because I forsee that there are going to be loads of Mills on DoA eventually. I tend to get bored with sculpts that you see all the time, like El or Lishe.

Gallery views don't much matter to me. I am a bit disappointed sometimes that I get so few comments, but ultimately, I own my dolls because I like looking at them and having them around, and I take pictures because it's fun to do so. Comments are just a bonus. (And I'm bad at commenting myself, so I have no grounds to complain.)

I have to admit that I only click on gallery threads that feature sculpts I'm interested in, but I don't have just one company that I'm looking for, and among the sculpts I like looking at, there are popular and unpopular ones.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
Rarity or popularity is not the initial deciding factor for me when choosing a bjd. Like most people here, I have to like the sculpt, it has to appeal to me at first or second glance. That said, the ones I like usually end up being limiteds, because as much as I like the dolls themselves, I usually like the clothing just as much or more, and many limited sets come with great outfits. And also, I tend to like things that I don't see too many of, and those are more likely to be the harder to find items. But I also seem to have very plebian tastes as well - new bjds that I like tend to get popular and common once I buy it! Or have been popular all along, like the F16 facemold which came out before I started collecting.....

- 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?
Like I indicated above, I will pass over something that I've seen too much of so yes, in that sense it would be because its too popular (and that I dont care for the sculpt) - but I wouldnt BUY a doll for its gallery view potential.

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

Why did you choose CP for this question, lol. NO, not for a CP doll.....

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

I was collecting for almost a year before finding these forums, so yes, have bought many bjds without seeing them in the forums first. And continue to do so, though nowadays, its before there are ACTUAL collector pics in the forums. You cant help but see company pics here before they actually go on sale!
But back to having common tastes, before DOA, newbie me had tried hard to buy the Shiro and Tsukasa sets off the Volks websites months after they had been sold out! Surely these expensive dolls havent been sold out, they must have made lots of them I thought, who would pay so much for a new doll? Then after finding DOA I saw those flocks of people putting up WTB threads for the 2 boys....

Alex

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
Rarity, but I would buy a popular doll too if I'd be very attracted to it. I mean, I buy dolls I fall in love with and don't care that much whether they're popular or not...
Though, when I have a doll that's popular (not extremely popular like..El), it would be nice to chat with other owners and watch pictures of their dollies, and how 'different' they can be even if it's the same doll. But I'd hesitate to buy an extremely popular doll, El for example... But I really think most about the characters I have in mind, and what suits for them.

- 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 would only buy a popular doll if I would really like it, I wouldn't think about how many gallery views it'd gain because of it's popularity. I'd rather NOT buy a doll because of it's popularity, since I'd like to have a rare doll rather than a one that almost everyone else seems to have...

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
Er, not for CP... that's not my favourite company. Honestly, I'm not reading photostories / watching pictures because of popularity or favourite company, really.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Yeah. If I really fall for some doll, and want to buy it, I buy it (after many bloody years of saving money lol) and don't care if it's popular or not, and if I can find it on forums or not... It would be nice to see some owner pics, though it'd be also nice to be "the only owner of this doll in DOA" or something... XD

Uhm so yeah, after reading my answers, it's easy to understand that... I don't care about anything, huh? Nah, I do care, I don't like to have a doll that's too popular and I sometimes get tired of too popular dolls in galleries and such, but in the end, the thing I care about the most when planning doll shopping, is the doll itself, not it's popularity/rarity.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
None.. I buy what I like. I don't care if it's popular or not. I have to love the mold and the body to buy doll. I have to love the doll.. not it's popularity.

- 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 rarely post anything so no. I'm very happy for every comment I get and I appreciate them all but I don't care how much of them I get.
And I wouldn't choose to leave doll I love behind just couse it's popular. I have Unoa after all. She's extremely popular but it doesn't bother me.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
Yes and no. I view galleries with molds I like and some of them happen to be CP.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
See on forums meens I've seen it but elsewhere or I haven't seen owner photos?
To buy a doll I have to be 100&#37; sure if that's the one. So I guess I would have very hard time decideing on it if I haven't seen any owner photos. I don't really care where I see those owner photos as long as they exist.

 

I buy what I like, popular or not.


I am more inclined to click a gallery post if it has cat girls or cat boys.
Or if it has a doll like I have and I am curious how they have theirs look.


I wouldn't have to see a doll on DOA first, my search began before coming here. It does help to see user pics though if they are on DOA.

 

It doesn't matter to me whether a doll is rare or an open edition. The doll itself has to appeal to me. There have been limited editions that have made me drop my jaw, and regular line dolls that still make me pause and look, no matter how often I have seen the same sculpt interpreted in different ways.

The only thing that makes me not want a doll, is that I identify it too closely to it's owner.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
I don't care about rare or popular. In fact, I seem to be becoming a champion for underdogs. I have a Dollfie Dream and an Obitsu. I regularly discuss them on DOA and and belong to Yahoo groups devoted to them. It's not that I find them better than other dolls, I just feel that owners of less popular dolls need to talk up their 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?
When I bought my El, I was confused that some people wouldn't buy El, even though they find him gorgeous, just because he is too popular. Mine gives me joy whenever I see him.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
My only 2 resin dolls are CP dolls, but I judge gallery threads by plotline, clothing and photography skills. All these dolls are so unique and lovely, I enjoy them regardless of their makers.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Yes, I bought Yder before I saw any owners photos. He just reached out and grabbed me!
Susan

 

There are pros and cons to buying a doll that is rare. On the one hand, rare and limited dolls are very desirable. On the other hand, replacing a damaged one would be difficult. I admit that the rarity of a doll can be attractive to me. I wouldn't buy a doll that I didn't initially find appealing, but if the doll looks good to me the fact that it was rare would make me want one even more. In all honesty I have become a little vain about the dolls I choose. As far as gallery views go....I don't. I rarely post in the gallery and I rarely look at the gallery. I don't know why. The few times I have commented in the gallery was either because it was a friends post or something in the title caught my eye (for example the last comment I left in the gallery was a doll cosplayed as a character from Togainu no Chi which is a rare Japanese rpg that I played a while ago). I don't really have a favourite mould or company as such (even though most of my dolls are CP), so I don't really go looking for pictures specific dolls unless I plan to buy one and want comparison shots. I would definitely buy a doll if I thought that no one else had one, as long as I liked it. I have never actually found a doll I like that no one else has though.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
Honestly, I just have to really like the doll. When I got my first doll, I hadn't seen very many DIM Belitas at all. But now I also have some CP dolls and a DOD girl, too... which are quite popular. There is an appeal to having "the only one" or something unique, but in the end I really would just rather have a doll I love, no matter how many other people have them. =P

- 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?
Neither way, actually.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
Not due to popularity, but I am inclined to view gallery threads of dolls with the same sculpt as one I own. The same with any of my favorite sculpts... but they're so varied. Some of my fave sculpts are pretty popular (Shall, for example) and some are not (like HappyDoll Dorothy). So I do play favorites, but not because of popularity.

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
Definitely. I am considering a Domuya Sophie (if I can save in time for the Domuya sale) but I can't find a single pic of her online yet. >_< I'm also planning on ordering a Fantasy Doll Nina, though I haven't seen owner pics yet. Though I try to find owner/gallery pics on DOA before buying... I'll still buy the doll if I like it. =)

 

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

Neither, really. While sharing pictures is a lot of fun, I collect dolls first and foremost for my own enjoyment, not in order to please others.

So... I wouldn´t hold off buying a doll that I like simply because it´s popular or not universally well-liked; and I wouldn´t buy a doll just for the same reasons either. I guess I´m another one in the ranks of those who buy what they like.

With dolls in that price range, you´ve really got to be self confident enough to know what you like and follow through with it, regardless of what others may think about them. This hobby is too expensive to follow fads, really.

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?

Neither. Of course it is nice to get many views and positive comments on gallery posts, but I already own some dolls that I know aren´t everybody´s cup of tea (Obitsu), and being aware of that doesn´t take away any of my enjoyment of, or fondness for them.

As for the the second question - I guess there´s a reason why popular dolls are popular: they simply appeal to a lot of people, for various reasons. There´s nothing wrong with being one of those who like them.

I think holding off on a doll that you really like because you don´t want to be seen as a follower of a current trend is as wrong as following a trend that you don´t really like in order to be more popular/get more gallery views.

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

Not really. When a certain doll catches my interest, I do go through the galleries and check out threads featuring that particular doll, so I sometimes am more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a particular doll.

But I don´t generally prefer CP or any other company to the rest out there.

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

Hmm... difficult.

Owner pictures are important to me in making a decision on whether a doll I´m interested in is one I actually want to buy, and companies´ promotional pictures in general often don´t represent a doll correctly (especially when they use prototypes for the shoots and the actual doll turns out to have significant differences). For that reason, I do prefer it when I can see as many owner pictures as possible before making my decision.

When it comes to the popularity question, and the reason for the lack of pictures is because the doll isn´t very popular... as said above, that´s something I don´t really care about as long as I like a doll.

I would hesitate to buy a doll sight unseen or on the grounds of manufacturers´ promotion pictures alone, but I would buy a doll that is not very popular.

 

Interesting questions!

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
~~~~~~~Neither. I buy what grabs me whether it's popular or rare. I have alot of Dollshe boys which are pretty popular on the forums. I also have an equal number of DM Model girls, which on this forum are not so very popular. I buy what I personally like, period.~~~~~~~

- 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?
~~~~~~See above answer. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I buy what grabs me, and if others enjoy my dolls that's great, if they don't, oh well!~~~~~~~~~~~~~

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
~~~~I would replace CP with Dollshe and say that yes, I DO tend to click on threads that feature Dollshe boys, simply because I am a fan of the sculpts, and also have alot of friends who like them as well.~~~~~~~~~~~

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
~~~~~~~It's possible, but owner pics usually help me decide if I want a doll or not, and DoA's galleries are the best place on earth to see owner pics.~~~~~

 

Interesting subject! I was pondering this the other day so I think I shal participate, my doll family has grown quite a bit. On the note of "popular" dolls, I don't really care about the popularity of them. I have to like the doll If I dont like it, I'm certainly not going to buy it. Though I did hop on the CP dreaming El band wagon.

I LOVE Luts, have mostly dolls from their company, my cyber bohemian shiwoo is Limited, but he's still a Shiwoo, and is very popular. These are the dolls that I first saw when I was introduced to BJDs. So I have a special love for them, I didnt get them because they were "popular." I got them because I love them.

As far as rarity goes, I'm a sucker for anything that's limited edition, or hard to find, I lust after things that are high in price because I really enjoy the "Saving and waiting" and the earning part of getting a new BJD.

Ive been working hard for my After school Shirou Tachibana, but he will be worth every penny. [almost there!]. I wil pay top dollar for rare dolls, IF I LIKE THEM FIRST. =3.
-The night mare doll / Naitomeadoll

 

Rare.
What is rare? I personally don't care whether 10,000 other people have the same doll. If the sculpt is good it will be popular and i am more than happy to own the same doll as everybody else.

Boring - people that won't buy a doll unless there has been less than 1 made in the whole wide world and you have to purchase it at full moon with the sun in aquarius (but not on the cusp with gemini) and have to sacrifice a chicken to the Great God Creditus to buy one.

If you want to be an individual do something yourself, don't rely on a 'rare' sculpt. Sew clothes, take interesting photographs. DO something different. I have seen some 'rare' sculpts that look like poo just because the owner bought the doll to be different but simply do not have the foresight to develop any artistic ideas.

Buy what you like and be damned, that is what i say

 

I am not one who really cares what store it comes from, or how many people have it. If i like the doll, i like it. If i dont, i dont. It has nothing to do with how popular it is or how rare it is.

 

- Which is more appealing when buying a doll: that it's rare or that it's popular?
I'll go for rare, I'd always have a slight preference for a rare doll, as opposed to one I've seen countless time, but it's just a preference, I wouldn't ever stoping from buying a doll I love and thats very popular, or by a rare doll just for the rarity of 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?
I myself tend to click on doll that are a little more rare in the gallery, I've often skiped El posts in the gallery cause I'm afrai they might be boring, althought I have to admit, I've seen so many and I'm still sometimes impress by how person can create a totally original character out of such a popular doll, thats the beauty of this hobby I think! But again, I wouldn't stop myself from getting a doll just because i don't want to be seen as a follower, we are not in fourt grade.

- Are you more likely to click gallery threads because they feature a CP doll? Be honest! Nothing wrong with having a favourite company.
On the contrary, as I said, i tend to not click cp dolls treat (expect Cp kids, i do love thos elittle ones) Cause Cp is far from buying my favourite company, pretty as their doll maybe. But I'll admit when I have little time, I tend to click on the volks only Nothing wrong with having a favourite company

- Would you buy a doll that you had not seen on the forums?
I'm not sure about this one, since I've neer haved the opportunity, but I think that seeing owner pics is always an important part of the process, when trying to know if a doll is the one


I guess what I said must have been said hundreds of time in this tread, because we all now it dosn't matter that much, after all it's all about loving a doll and thats it, I'll be very sad if someone came to think their doll was less special just because it's very popular

 

I like both rare and popular dolls. Though a lot of the rare/limited dolls are popular, like Luts Breakaway or one-offs. However, I've seen a lot of rare and popular dolls that I don't like, so it's easy for me to not spend an exorbitant amount to buy them. It's the ones that I like that always kill my account.

I don't buy dolls because they appeal to other people. I'm the one spending the money, so at the least I should be the one who enjoys him. This reasoning goes for being seen as a follower. Who cares!?!? If you like the doll you should try to buy one and you shouldn't be held back by someone elses' opinion.

I am more likely to click on gallery threads featuring my favorite molds. This is because they are my favorite! I lvoe certain molds and generally plan on buying them later, but in the mean time I like to look through the gallery and dream of owning them. I really like Luts dolls and have more of them, but there are a lot of volks molds I like to.

I would buy a doll that I haven't seen on the forum. I like having a doll that's rare, but I would want to know that it's not a copy of another doll company.

Doll collecting should be a hobby that you enjoy, not something you do becuase it's popular.