Re-releasing a limited doll as a basic—your thoughts?

The only annoyance I have with the recent Soom event is that after years of hunting I bought one of the NS 8 Sards from the MP from near to $2000 and it was a truly beautiful day, like a battle hard won. Had I know that Soom were going to re-release NS Sard again I'd have saved my goddamn money.

I'm for re-releases in general, I think it's fab people can get their grail dolly and I don't care about re-sale because my Sard isn't going anywhere! But in this one case...for me...it's been cheapened slightly.

 

I think they are a great idea. It's never nice to see someone miss out on a doll due to maybe having just bought one, or in the midst of a layaway. It's such a shame to see people so sad they will miss out on a doll. To use Claude as an example, most people buying him now what the knight outfit and the extras. Other people might want just the doll himself as basic when they have time to save up for him.

 

Thank all the gods that Iplehouse has the policy they do, otherwise I'd really be missing out. I like the idea of limited fullsets - of special faceups, skin tones, outfits, etc. But to have a whole sculpt only available for a tiny period or a few editions, screams elitist to me & I'll just by pass that. If I wanted to get into the 'oh I've got a rare one time deal' thing I'd be into antiques or something. I'm trying to get dolls that fit into my little dolly world here. That's all. Bless Iplehouse

 

I sometimes like the idea of having the chance to get a limited edition doll. Once the doll is sold out, there will be no others made. However, if a company decides to release the same sculpt as a basic, that would not bother me too much. I would guess there would be no extras with the basic dolls as there would be with a fullset? This gives others the opportunity to buy a doll they loved, but perhaps could not get as a limited edition.

 

I usually thank my lucky stars whenever they do this, but I totally understand the disappointment in those who have actually managed to buy the doll when it was limited. I have a few LEs myself, and seeing new re-releases of them (Hosoo, Judith, etc) just kind of makes me feel like I shouldn't have bothered to worry so much when they first came out. I jumped on both those purchases, and while I saved more money then those buying them this time around, it still kind of made me think that it was all for nothing...

 

I wish companies would do this with older doll releases. There's one Volks MSD that I'd love to own that has been released as both LE and standard edition - unfortunately, it's even difficult to locate on the MP. I forget the sculpt name, though.

 

I think if you (general "you") bought a limited doll either from the company or the MP, then you already had the benefit of having owned the doll for many months or even years before it was re-released. You, other than the people who just bought the newly released basic version or a new limited version, have been able to play with the doll during all the time that these people have been wishing and hoping and longing for the doll. This way, even if you paid more than the regular for it on the MP, you also won something. So the only case in which I would have been upset would probably be if I just bought a limited off the MP a day or two before a new re-release appears.

If it is re-released as a Basic, it is also lacking certain attributes that the Limited had (face-up, clothes, accessories, fantasy parts, elf ears... or, the best thing - a special resin colour). This also makes a Limited more special to me.

Also I don't think that the new habit of the companies to release Limiteds very often will make the newer versions (like the latest Soom MDs) less valuable than the older ones. They are only "cheaper" in the first time, when they are new. It is a bit the same like with oldtimer cars - the more time has passed since the first release, the more value the object gains. I was lucky enough to buy a Limited, and another Limited's head, both from 2010, secondhand just a few months after they were released by the company, and the sellers have been very honest and nice and didn't try any "scalping", so I bought them almost at the original price (one of those is still with me, the other one has gone to live with my sister - no, I haven't sold any of those... I am just not good at selling at all). But now, I have been trying to find a couple of Soom MDs from the year 2010 and discovered that prices for the 2010 ones are almost as high as the 2008 ones by now - very, very high. That is why I gave up trying to buy it on the MP and will wait for a re-release. Which shows that I am rather fond of re-releases, no matter if as Basic or as new Limited version.

 

I like that Iplehouse's LEDs are made available as basics later on. I haven't even gotten my *first* doll yet, but when I saw Bibiane for a while there my plans went out the window and I was thinking about putting her on layaway as soon as I could. Once I'd looked her over for a while, though, I realised it was the outfit that attracted me rather than the doll herself, and I couldn't justify spending that much money on a whim when I didn't even really want the whole package.

I collect other dolls and have gotten bits and pieces of limited editions from eBay and the like, often at stupidly inflated prices from someone who originally bought it for the soul purpose of reselling the doll and outfit separately. I like to have things because I *like* them, not because they're rare. The only collectables that stay mint at my place are the ones I don't care for too much. And even though I spend so damn much on dolls and toys I am pretty useless at saving, and am highly unlikely to be able to get the funds at short notice for a limited.

I only discovered Dollfairyland and Soom a few months ago and was so disappointed to find that so many sculpts were sold out and seemingly unlikely to be re-released. I'd much rather be able to buy a basic, standard-edition doll in the same sculpt at my own leisure, rather than freak out and buy an LE just because it *is* an LE and I *might* regret it later if I don't.

 

i can see how it would please people who missed out on a particular doll because it was limited, i know i would love to get my hands on a few previous limited runs.

but it would seriously piss me off if i purposely bought a doll because i knew it was a limited model and they decided later on to release it as a standard model, thus it makes the initial release labeled as LE just a con to get people to buy them.

 

The only thing about re-releasing a limited as a basic that bugs me is if someone sees your limited and assumes that they're the basic version. Or, as we're talking Iple, assumes that your limited was got through the CDS since you can get the CDS version in the resin and faceup exactly like the limited's. >.< -sigh- It's a petty little thing, imo, to be annoyed by but it still irritates me. That said, I would be incredibly estatic if they changed their minds and decided to make Lahela, Claude, Erzulie, and Barahan basics or CDS only!

ETA: btw, I got Benny because I loved her, not because I wanted to feel "special" for getting a limited doll. I loved the four I mentioned but I didn't have the means to get them.

 

I understand why companies have limited dolls, and I understand too why sometimes they put them for sale then again, and I don't think it's a bad thing.
If you want to buy a doll on the first place because it's going to be super rare and limite I think you're doing it wrong looking through Soom or Iplehouse xD
Anyway, that's not the point. I think the owners who bought one doll of the first row of true limited ones shouldn't really feel bad or as the companies lied at them. If customers wanted the doll is not strange the company gave it to them for sweet money. And the owners of the limited ver. 1 doll will still have the full one, while the others will probably be buying a basic edition; and if the whole doll is released again, probably it'll keep on being limited... so I don't think it makes such a great difference.
And selling again limited dolls may be a great oppotunity for people interested in a certain mold. I think a second chance is not a bad thing.

 

For me the idea isn't fair to those people who bought the limited dolls. They bought them probably at a much higher price thinking only a select few would get to own them. I see how many people think it would be okay after a long time for the older sculpts because it wouldn't come with everything in the limited set and would probably have a different faceup but I don't agree.

 

But the main difference with the NS release is that you can only buy the NS hooves on the NS8 Sards. I had bought one of the original WS Sards and I was disappointed when they re-released him in NS because I would much rather have been able to get a NS version instead of a WS but I shrugged it off because I figure it is part of this hobby. No doll appears to be truly limited. Some of the Volks perhaps, but they have rereleased Madoka, Olivia and other dolls that were supposedly limited. Now, I just feel happy for the people who missed out and are able to get their longed for dolls again.

 

To me, these dolls are still limited. Even though Madoka, Williams etc have had some few re-releases, each edition in itself is limited, with a different outfit and face-up. Even the headsculpt is limited; if you'd want any of these dolls, you can't just go to the website and get him, you'll have to wait until Volks decides to release another edition of him/her.

I think that's why they're called 'limited editions' and not just 'limited'. It's not the doll that's limited per se, it's the edition... although in the case of Volks most LE headsculpts are not readily available.

 

This is steering the conversation a bit, but what about the Little Alice / Little Lorina / White Rabbit? As I understand they have been released multiple times in the exact same fullset. Is the Volks limited edition different for the Yo-SD? (Just asking for curiosity.)

On the topic itself, I'm in the boat of 'limited-edition-is-a-limited-release-of-a-particural-skincolor/outfit/face-up'. I have no strong opinion on companies rereleasing their limited editions again as different editions or standard editions.

 

I don't have a problem with it myself. I've had several very limited dolls (1 of 10 original PW Tan Goldies)etc, and was just as happy when she was released again. I'd be delighted for other collectors if they rereleased the Iplehouse Guardians in Real skin. Does it make the value of mine go down? Yeah, probably somewhat. But I love my dolls so much, and it seems sad to me that someone who joined the hobby far later than I did would miss out on a chance to buy a Iplehouse Lahela at an affordable price. (And that's assuming that one could be found for sale secondhand). The changing value does in no way affect the way I feel about my dolls.

Shara - to answer your question somewhat: All Volks dolls that are not released as standards are limited. They are only released at certain times to certain markets. Often times, another release does not in any way lower the value. (YO-Sd Alice/Lorina, for example). Because the doll releases are usually small (and Volks rarely reveals numbers) and usually take a bit of luck to obtain, the Volks dolls will always be considered limited.

 

I think it is O.K. to re-release a previously limited doll in a slightly different version, such as different resin colour or different size. Some of the prices being asked for limited edition dolls are many times more than the original purchase price and this I do not approve of. If each release of a particular doll is slightly different it can be seen as a limited edition doll, Kaye Wiggs does this with her BJDs very successfully and I think it works well. And I think re-releasing a doll as a basic version can be seen as a different version, though I do understand how people who brought the original full-set version may not see their doll as being so special any more.

 

I think it all comes down to honesty. I have two limited editions, one is a LE of 100 mold in all colors, and the other is a mold of which there are 100 in a special color.

Both came nude, no face up, just the doll. So if the company later re-released those dolls (for the 2nd in the limited color) I would be pissed. I was deliberately lied to by being told there would be only 100 of that doll released. It's a matter of principal. I just plain do NOT like being lied to. It would honestly keep me from ever ordering from that company again.

How would I be able to make an informed purchasing decision about buying a LE doll if later they can just change the terms under which I bought a doll? That said it seems most companies are pretty honest and acknowledge when it is only part of a fullset that is actually limited.

 

having come here from a different collectibles market (where i was the maker/seller) i think the problem does not revolve around whether more people wanted the collectible item - in this case the doll - then could get it but rather the use of the term. if we called an item a "limited edition" then we had to specify just how it was limited. ie a certain # made, made only for a certain time period, only a certain # in that color/size, etc. after that if you wanted to make more it had to differ from the original in an easily recognizable way, ie size, color, materials used. to re-release a clone was considered dishonest and fraudulent (morally and legally)

so if the company said that the fullset was limited and then re-released it as a basic, or in a different skin color, that would be ok. but if they said the sculpt itself was limited, then re-releasing that sculpt would be plain wrong, no matter how many people wish it to be so. it's a matter of what is legal marketing or not.

 

I'm with you. I don't own a BJD yet, but I think that the whole limited thing is just a way of companies sucking people dry by offering a full-set doll for insanely high prices. I do understand that fullsets should cost more, and that's fine. But to pay 1k+ for a doll that may be re-released as a basic that may or may not cost half the price sucks. I actually refuse to click on limited dolls just for that reason.