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

Unless the company specifically stated that the mold will not be released again in any form or fashion after it is sold out, I'm fine with it. Very few companies actually make that claim, so my assumption is that the mold will be re-released eventually.

What I would like is for companies to be more transparent by what they mean by "limited". Is it the face-up? The outfit? The resin color? The elf ears? It would be nice to know, but, given that many companies are rather vague in this aspect, it's always safe to assume that at least some part of the package will be for sale again in the future.

I used to collect fashion dolls, and it doesn't surprise me at all that molds get released in special limited editions over and over. Take Tonner and his Tyler Wentworth line - every year we would see Tyler and Sydney re-released with different outfits, hairstyles and face paint. This practice is pretty standard in the doll world.

 

Honestly, call me petty or greedy but if I woke up tomorrow and my SD17 Williams was readily available for purchase in a 'basic' version and I would be incredibly angry. Though I am nearly positive that this will not happen.

It would make the trouble I had to go through get him worthless, and even though I love him because I love his sculpt I still had to work to get him and pay a very steep price markup. I like the knowledge that I own something special as well, something that not everyone has (though there are quite a lot of Williams).

I assume that Volks will re-release him as a limited edition again sometime in the future and that doesn't bother me. I know that Volks does that, and I look forward to seeing what the new edition is like, but if tomorrow he became a readily available sculpt I would be pissed.

I understand that a LE may not be available again in the future and I swallow the bitter pill that lets me acknowledge that there is a great chance that I will not be able to get this doll again in the future. If I really want it that badly it's up to me to hunt for it to the ends of the Earth.

 

I honestly have no negative opinion about the entire matter. In fact, I'd say I'm in favor of rereleasing limited dolls. More people will be able to get them, so more people will be happy. And if you can make more people happy by releasing the doll and make a big profit in the mean time, why not? I imagine the happiness of all the people who can now get what may be their dream doll outweighs the discontent felt by the few who wanted to keep their limited dolls all special or something.

... That's the economic way to think about it, anywhoo.

But in all seriousness, when I see a doll I like, 1) it's often limited, and 2) I don't often care about the clothes or the faceup or anything. I typically just enjoy the face at most, so it really bums me out when there's not just an option to get the face, disregarding all the clothes. If they rerelease just the sculpt a little later, I don't see what's wrong with that. The limited edition people still got a bunch of cool stuff with theirs, and then everyone else gets the way more limited package later on.

I guess I could compare it to video game releases or something. There's the collector's edition which has a bunch of cool stuff, and then the cheaper normal edition with just the game inside and no extras. All the extras are really cool for people who want that, but it would be kind of absurd to only release collector's editions of a game and never a normal edition when a bunch of people probably just want the game and not all the stuff.

 

as for me i don't really agree if they re-releasing the Limited sold out doll as basic again
because it will be pointless to those who bought the doll when their Limited and they got re-releasing again as basic with way cheaper cost

if they really want to re-releasing the Limited as basic they should think about it before they released the limited

 

I am really not a fan of LE, at all.
I am piecing together dolls and characters. This takes time if I want to be thorough.
And if a company releases a limited doll, I don't have much time to save up money, and I would be sad to miss the chance to have a perfect doll for my perfect character.
Personally, I would be relieved if the company then released the doll as a basic. It is still the sculpt I'm after, and if I fell in love with the limited outfit, I can just try and make something similar.

That said, it does bother me a little with limited dolls, I'm not gonna lie. People and companies all do as they want, and there are lots of dolls out there who might just as well suit the characters.
But I have gathered that many collect these and take pride in their limitedness. And companies make good money on this.
Each to their own I guess, but I feel it's kind of a shame NOT to release the doll as a basic.

 

Jerk move. If it was limited, that should mean there should only ever be a few made. That can't make some more and make the price lower! That's really annoying and unfair to the people who bought the doll thinking it was going to be a special sculpt.

Limited edition stuff may seem sillyto some (it does to for me, why not make it special your own way?), but if you bought it limited, it should stay limited.

 

I'm don't like LE at all, but i'd understand why people would be bummed to see their LE re-released as a basic, unless it's a fullset LE with regular blank/set released later, or something.

I'd probably be happy to see a regular, even if I had the LE.
LE just makes things hard to get... ._."
Of course, I'd like something 'special' that made the LE, LE.
but face sculpts and stuff? nah.

 

Like I said in my other posts, I would love it if some dolls were re-released as basic dolls.

However, thinking more about it, they would have to do some things so that the people who bought the LE doll don't feel cheated out of something they thought was special.

The first thing would be to have the LE originally be in a skin tone not otherwise manufactured already. I know some companies don't make a lot of tan dolls at all, but this particular LE might come in tan skin, or even white skin. If they re-release the doll as a standard sculpt, they would have to make the doll available in the same color choices as all the other dolls in that standard line - that means no special tan or WS dolls.

Second, if the doll is a full-set, that full-set shouldn't be available once the doll is released as a standard edition. That means the special outfit the doll came with in 2010, for example, is not available to purchase when the doll is in the standard line. Also, special accessories/wigs/eyes made for the original LE sculpt shouldn't be available for purchase when the doll is re-released as a basic.

I don't think it's fair to people who went out for an LE to later find that they could've gotten most of the doll for a lot less; also, those who aimed to sell the doll because of it being an LE might have a harder time doing so.

I still don't think it's something bad to do - after all, plenty of companies release LE models of sculpts that are already standard issue. I know Dollmore had three of its dolls as LE's because they were part of a small series. Take off the special outfit, and wipe the face up, and it's the same doll they're selling for $200-400 less. To some degree, I see releasing an LE as a standard the reverse of this.

 

I honestly don't like the idea of it being released as a basic or something, it just seems insanely unfair to the people who bought their doll thinking "there won't be many of these!" and then it ends up turning to basic.

I however don't mind when a doll is re-released as limited again. For example, I was able to get my dream boy, Switch Rusi, because he was re-released as a "friend" for their winter set doll. Thus potentially another 50 Rusis could have been put into the market. Not everyone ordered one though, so it's probably less. It's just like Luts re-releasing Breakaway.

 

Well, if it's know that it's standard procedure that a certain company produces limiteds, but will release a blank version as a 'basic' down the line, would it be acceptable to you, then?

Since it's already 'known' that they will do this.

 

I think the attention to the secondary market should be thrown out. The dolls are meant to be owned, not scalped. It's not what the intentions of the doll makers had in mind.

 

I'm also new to the hobby, and just discovering this concept of limited... And I really don't like it. I guess because I came into this hobby by virtue of just liking bjds and not because I see them as investment. For example, I just now found out about the Soom Idealiam Aviatrix LE. I love her look, ADORE her outfit, and want her badly - only to find out she was only obtainable for a short period last year -too bad, so sad. Now, even if I recreate other things, the outfit is just not happening anywhere else. How do I feel? Annoyed more than anything.

Maybe someone can explain it I me, why do so Many bjd companies have limited runs? What's the purpose? With the amount they charge wouldn't it benefit them to have them out as long as possible so people can save up and get them? Is this hobby aimed at affluent people who purchase on impulse? I just don't get it. If it was a rate thing that happened once I a while maybe, but a large part of the bjd catalogs I see online read like a litany of limiters. It's not like these companies make any money on the second hand overinflated market.

 

I guess, when it comes to limited runs of things, there probably are people who can more easily afford it, or who can get that much money together in time. I'll admit, it's hard for me to understand how people can get that much together so quickly (I sure can't), but I usually don't really care. Most LE's aren't something I want to own.

I can tell you one thing, this hobby isn't aimed at the rich. Many of us have our own way of getting the money together, and you just have to find a way that works for your situation. If you have the money, you can buy it. Sure, there are probably people in this hobby who are better off than most, but that's not your typical hobbyist. Most of us have to save our pennies to buy the dolls we want. I saved my left over gas money to buy both of my dolls. It takes a while, but in the end, it was definitely worth it.

From what I hear, most of the high price comes from materials and production costs. I'm sure if the materials or the process cost less, so would the price of most dolls.

 

I've never bought a Limited Edition doll but if I did and it was later rereleased, I'd feel cheated. The whole point of any "Limited" sale is that there are only X amount of this item, get it now or you miss out. That's why in any field, something listed Limited costs more than the regular item.

If a company wants to make a sculpt available again in the future (an awful lot of man/woman hours and money goes into making each sculpt, so I can see why they would want to) then they need to be clear when they do a Limited Edition, exactly what feature is "Limited". Is this the only time they will make this sculpt available in grey skin or whatever. It has to have a feature about it that will never be available again, and as so many dolls are available full set and also basic, I think that has to be more than a pretty costume or wig!

If they release a full-set as Limited and then reissue the sculpt then only the outfit was limited, they need to be upfront about these things. That's my opinion anyway.

 

I don't care much about Limiteds at all. I'm not into collecting. It might be just my ignorance about the skintones or the special parts I would have loved to have on my dolls that makes me uninterested though. But I do feel for the owners of the original release. Some people will probably be unreasonably emotional, but it is for them a real betrayal.

Looking at the facts, it depends really on the difference between the LE and the CDS. I won't be pissed off if a special resin color is sold along with the usual. It just means that I can spend less on the doll I want. Same goes with the LE with special parts sold alongside the basic with the usual arms and legs. They do list options where you won't get the special parts after all. As for the clothes, it would be nice to have them around for at least 2-3 months longer or till the CDS is put up for sale.

It would turn me off if they resold the "whole" doll as a basic a few months after the LE period. I don't care if they took off the face-up and clothes. If it has the special parts and trimmings, the present owners will be miffed.

There are some instances though that people would LOVE to have a doll re-released. Some are so special and wonderful that the present owners want to have others have the joy of owning one. I would prefer them to still be sold at a limited time though as to not oversaturate.

 

I think it's good because people have chance to buy their dream doll if they missed before.

 

Not everyone who buys LE dolls sees the hobby as an 'investment'. Most of my collection is Soom LEs, and I couldn't care less if they were all rereleased tomorrow (I'd actually be glad, since there are plenty more parts and heads I want to buy). I love Soom LEs because they look incredible, not because they might be worth more because they're limited

Well, in fairness, saying the outfit is 'just not happening' is jumping the gun a bit. Almost all things do eventually cycle through to the secondary market, and they aren't always over-priced. Often you'll see one or two massively overpriced things that sit in the market for (literally) years, and then the same item pop up for a much more reasonable price, only to sell quite quickly. So don't judge the secondary market prices only by the stuff priced so high it isn't selling

Other things that can help you find the item for a reasonable price are to create a 'Want to Buy' thread in the marketplace, and to advertise in your signature/profile that you are searching for the outfit. This way, if someone is considering selling, they might see your post/signature/profile before putting up a thread, and contact you directly to discuss the outfit.

Missing out on LE dolls (or outfits) is a horrible feeling, but in this hobby it is something you need to manage. If you really love that outfit, it will be possible to get it, it just won't be as easy as it would have been buying it directly from Soom. And in fairness to Soom, they're a doll company, not a clothing company - even their non-LE clothing often sells out, simply because they run out of the materials it was made of, or have their seamstresses designing and sewing new outfits, not remaking old designs.

1 - wouldn't it benefit them to have them out as long as possible so people can save up and get them?
Not necessarily. Using Soom as an example, they almost certainly fund their new sculpts with the money they earn from their old sculpts. If they had to wait six months for X number of dolls to sell, they wouldn't be able to pay their artist to sculpt a new doll until after a six month wait. By labelling a doll as LE, they get many more sales in a short period of time, and so can create a new doll much quicker.

There's also economy of casting - if you can get 60 of the same doll cast all at once, that's much, much more time and cost efficient than casting 5 of that doll, 6 of another, and so on. By setting up their business so most of the time they are only casting 1 doll sculpt at a time, they are saving a lot of money.

Not to mention Soom offer layaway options - from 3-5 months. Many people who buy Soom dolls don't need to 'save up' to get them, not because they are rich, but because they do a layaway and 'save up' as they pay for it.

2 - Is this hobby aimed at affluent people who purchase on impulse?
Well, considering every company does things differently, I think it's hard to talk about who 'the hobby' is aimed at.

Just talking about Soom, it's targeting people who can afford to buy dolls (whether through saving up, through committing to layaways, or just by having the money to spare), and people who 'know what they like'. After a while, buying LE dolls no longer feels like an 'impulse' buy, because you get a sense of what you like - when I first started buying Soom LEs, I would agonise over whether they were really what I wanted, or whether I was just buying them because I was afraid to miss out on them. After spending 2011 skipping most of the LE dolls because they weren't my style, I don't worry about that any more

I also feel I should point out that Soom, as a company, absolutely bend over backwards to re-release dolls people want without pissing off original owners. First they started running 'Post MD Events' - at the end of the year, they would run a lottery for dolls people had ordered but cancelled. These often included default eyes, wigs, and outfits. They would announce these events early, so people would have time to save up or plan their budget. They also produce 'Special Order' dolls, which are limited to a certain number of dolls per batch, but which aren't limited by batch. These are the LE sculpts in 'human form' - no fantasy ears or fantasy parts, and only in human skintones (no grey or violet or black or etc). And just this year they have also done three 'Free Choice Events', where people could mix and match past LE dolls heads and bodies. As someone who'd given up hope on ever owning the earlier LEs, I'm now bringing home 6 of the past LE dolls I was sure I'd never own.

Of course, this is all from their more well-known line, The Gem. Idealian is a much newer line, with a much smaller fan base. So Soom probably haven't seen enough demand yet to be setting up re-releases for Idealian dolls yet. But if the line does take off and become popular, there's always the chance they might - I was always certain I had missed my chance to get a Soom Beryl or a Soom Sard (two of the earliest Monthly Dolls), but they were included in the recent Free Choice Events, so I have both of them coming home now.

 

Heh heh - this is actually rather a timely topic for me, what with Iplehouse's recent about face in regards to their Elemental Guardians series. As someone who purchased Claude as a limited only to see him pop up in the Custom Doll System, I have mixed feelings about the whole situation.

Now, I don't begrudge anyone a chance to get their dream doll. In the case of Claude, I'm super happy for those who missed him the first time around and get another go at him! I'm also thrilled that more people will get to enjoy a sculpt that I love so much. And I don't particularly feel that my doll is any less special for not being 'limited'.

What DOES bother me is that I purchased the doll with the understanding that I only had a very limited time to do so. This means that money I had earmarked for other dolls, clothes and accessories (some of them limiteds in their own right) went for Claude. If I had known he was going to be released in the CDS eventually, I would have held off on getting him right away, and I wouldn't have missed out on those other limited items I wanted.

Now yes, to be fair, I was prepared to give up those things in return for having Claude, so I shouldn't complain too much... But still, it does seem a bit unfair. >_<

 

I'd be over the freaking moon overjoyed. I was in utter LOVE with the Volks Rozen Maiden dolls and I swear a little piece of me died whenever I saw one being customized past recognition so if they rereleased it as a permanant basic.....

I would die happy.

 

sharnofshade describes the LE market very well. Everyone who is confused as to why BJD companies do limited runs should read her post.

Given the track record of most BJD companies, I expect LEs to be re-released in some form or another eventually. Iplehouse Elemental Guardians is another example of this - the company was adamant that EGs will never be released as basics. Yet, here we are, with all the EG sculpts rolled out as part of CDS.

I do wish that companies would be more transparent with their plans for LEs, but, these days I just assume that everything will be released again and I haven't been disappointed yet.