Regretting Getting Involved in BJDs?

I've had a lot of fun with this hobby and honestly, if weren't this, it would be something else. I've met some really lovely people through this hobby and as I am a terrible introvert, this has been very good for me because it has forced me out of my usual protective shell, and is also something I can enjoy all alone. As for the money I've spent, my husband's yearly bar bill is way more than I spend on dolls (expensive imported beer mounts up after a while).

 

I do regret it at times probably because I'm a student and my money goes to other important things in my life. I honestly can't bring myself to pick up my dolls anymore because I don't get the same feeling from them anymore like I did about a year ago, but I also can't bring myself to sell them either because of the strong connection I still do feel at times.

 

it really takes ALL my money! it's a very addicting hobby; I always want more, but can't have them. get another one instead and regret my choice.
it IS a bit stressful sometimes and it definetly get my mood down when I fail my doll projects.
and because of all the money it cost, I either have to let go of a doll I really want to buy or the other non-doll thing I wanted :/ (right now I want a new computer and a newer version of photoshop and other graphic programms)

but even with those bad sides, I can't say I REGRET it my dolls are still so much fun for me!
drawing (my other hobby) is more nerve racking and wayyyy frustrating, I think xDD

 

Christabelle 1031: I agree "No regrets".

I have been in this hobby for about six months now and have made some very nice dolly buddies. Most of the people on this forum are pleasant and I think if one has a problem with a certain thread or whatever; just don't read it and move on to another topic; whatever. Life is too short.

I have a family member who is terminally ill and this hobby is definitely a way to escape into a different world and settle my mind. It is worth every penny for me. I try to budget my dolly hobby as much as possible and I have only traded out some of my other hobbies - except for one or two - to build my BJD family; so, very little money out of pocket so far. I am glad I am here too

 

Only when I get my bank statement!

But really, that's all about regretting my own impulse buying. Like someone else said, when you have money and then splurge and then suddenly one of your pets gets sick... it sucks.

 

My only regret in getting involved in Bjds is the fact that I keep finding sculpts that I love and am lusting over. My doll preferences have completely shifted from liking smaller sized immature looking dolls to liking large mature looking ones. It's only been a year since I've been into bjds too. =X That wouldn't be so bad I guess if I didn't get a doll with the intent on making them into a certain character (clothing, wig, eyes, etc) and instead getting them a couple basic things and then giving up on them and moving onto another doll.

Bjds really are like pringles though...I can't get enough! And to think I started out thinking that "oh, I'm only going to get ONE. That's all I need." Pssh! ^-^

 

I regret it sometimes....but mostly I regret impulse buys. I sometimes have difficulty controlling my spending. I have a job, savings, and I am a college student who lives completely independently with no support from my family, but I'm the type that says if everything is paid this month and next, I can spend everything else on stuff I like. Probably not the healthiest attitude. My most recent doll purchase was completely impulse and the company is now having issues and I am regretting getting her more and more everyday, and only want her to get here so I can sell her.

Other regrets? The victim mentality present in so many people in this hobby. It's like they want to be picked on. Also, ignorance. How hard is it to carry on a discussion and use your brain? Some people are rude, plain and simple. All that makes me regret it sometimes. But, I'm in this hobby for myself, not other people. My sister and I get along better now that we have dolls to bond over, and my dolls make me happy. I just try not to let people bug me.

 

I don't have any regrets at all. My only issues are that they are expensive and they take up a lot of room in my little living room! But neither of those things is enough to make me regret getting involved in this hobby. Sure, there are times when I wish I could be as creative and talented as some of the other collectors in the BJD world, but that has never stopped me from enjoying the creativity that I do have and I love all of my dolls.

Interesting thread topic!

 

Eeep! I know I just commented but autumnrain reminded me of another moment (or couple, to be honest) where I regretted joining this hobby. But, it was only for a moment so I didn't even think about it. In all honesty, all hobbies, fandoms, etc. that I have been interested in have had the same things in common. For the most part, it's "being the best" that seemed to matter. Like for instance, the Sims 2 (yeah, I know right?). You had to have the prettiest sims or the most interesting looking or both. You had to have the prettiest clothes on them, best skintones, have the most well-written sim stories, best pictures, etc. In fact, when I got into the doll hobby, I noticed how exactly similar the two hobbies are. And, at first, they affected me the same way. In striving to "be the best" right out the gate, I frustrated myself greatly and started immediately regretting ever jumping into such an expensive hobby. Luckily, I calmed myself down and realized whatever other people consider the "best" is, I shouldn't strive for that. That will constantly leave me unhappy and unfulfilled. I want to be MY "best" and, if that's subpar, oh well. I let the whole striving to be the greatest chase me away from actively posting my legacies or sims in the Sims 2 world. Dolls are too expensive, in my opinion, to let myself get frustrated and put it all aside. Even if one day I DO set my dolls aside, I want it to be for a reason I just couldn't avoid rather than anything else.

I hope I explained that all right. I think those were the only times. LOL!

 

I don't have any regrets. I've tried sewing, faceups, and I'm not/never was very good at either of them - but just because I'm not the best at them doesn't mean I'm going to let it ruin a hobby for me. Practice improves things, and I've found I prefer other people to do aesthetics and such for me anyway. I think it's a little silly to let something like "oh, I just can't paint eyelashes perfectly" ruin an entire hobby's worth of enjoyment.

Financially, I don't regret anything either. I'm not an impulse buyer, and I have never bought something (doll or item wise) that I didn't have more than enough money for. If I don't have the money to cover necessities AND hobby, I don't spend it on the hobby. I consider all pros and cons of a purchase beforehand, because I like making sure I'll be satisfied with my purchase after I hit that checkout button.

Also I think there is a strong difference in being disappointed, and actually regretting something. I may be disappointed and upset if a faceup gets an untimely chip in it, but I don't regret being in a hobby just because of it.

 

This has to be the best, most insightful comment I have ever seen.


While I also feel that regret of feeling like a kid in school again, I suppose there is an upside to that. There are times I certainly feel like a 6-year-old playing with my Barbies again, which was a lot of fun.

 

My only regret in this hobby was the standard money issue. Not much of a problem now but it definitely gave me moments of "What was I on when I bought that??" back then. :p

Other than that, this hobby is wonderful. I met a lot of great, quirky (often both lol) people and got to experience talking to people I never would have met if I wasn't in this hobby. The dolls are eye candy and it's so fun to think of concepts and plot photoshoots. And my friend and I are greatly inspired by the former's artwork and the latter's photograhy and it really shows. She draws dolls in paper and I create ideas to inspire into dolls. It's quite amazing and I could never have bought that experience.

So in short, it's was and is fun. Even if I slow down because of schedule or whatnot in the future, I still want to be connected to my interests. It's a part of what makes me me after all.

 

Three years on and no regrets! Life's too short to regret, anyway.

 

Hmmm... I've never regretted, to this day, having gotten involved in this hobby. I'm more the type that usually regrets not having enough money (when I like a certain sculpt and have no money to spend on it), having abandoned the painting classes for lack of time (when I'm frustrated over a faceup I'm doing), having bought a different brand of sewing machine when mine broke (when I'm making a costume and actually forget how the brand new damn thing works ), or having missed a certain sculpt (when I see the wonderful pictures people in here post).

I'm a sort of bossy person, fretting almost about anything that goes against my plans. And I have a quick temper too. But I usually complain about my own fault at things (the fact that I am or am not guilty of them non-withstanding). Of course, five minutes later I've forgotten and I'm trying a different approach. I hate giving up on something, and since I'm the type to hit first, then ask, I can't very well go around regretting things, now, can I?

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

I admit, I don't have many regrets within this hobby at all. Most of my regrets come from impulse buys as well as me constantly regretting buying. I come from a large family with money spread thinly between 6 kids ( me the oldest) as well as my parents, and my mom really does believe that I'm crazy now. I'm a college student who honestly hates many many aspects of my life, and many times during the last year, if I didn't have my dolls I may have lost my mind.

I know I haven't been in the hobby long, but one things that's always really irked me and made me regret getting into the hobby really are some of the people involved, not local people in my meet-up group( they're awesome), but it seems like some people on forums such as this one can be rather harsh to anyone who doesn't like what they like. I suppose it's due to the semi-anonymity of the internet though. I mean, a member of my meet-up group owns a unoa, a line that frankly I've never really cared for much, and in fact a few face plates actually scare me. I even told her that I didn't care for unoas in person, and was there a huge drama-filled bit of friction in the group? Not at all. Granted, I wasn't all " dude unoas are scary", as some forum goers can come off in threads,but I did express my uneasiness around certain faceplates. What happened? She and I merely had a chat about what lines we liked or didn't like and why. No drama, no hurt feelings, just friendly discussion.

Also, I feel like quickly mentioning, I was recently at an anime convention when a local con goer walked by with a gorgeous Dollfie Dream in his arms. Naturally, I stopped him for a picture, and he even let me hold her. We talked about dolls and anime, and he agreed to try to attend a meeting with our meet-up group and I brought up doll forums in general. He said he never did doll forums because he hated being looked down upon because his dolls ( all four of them) are vinyl, and on top of that Doll Dream ( though one is an original DD1 body, which is strung.) I could see how some owners may dislike the very anime styled faces, but I found it a bit saddening to think that really a lot of people in the internet doll community can be quite harsh to those who don't fit their ideal of "what a good doll owner should do/be." The entire experience almost made me regret being part of an online doll community.

I mean, we're a niche hobby anyway, so why should we but so upset that other doll owners don't like the same dolls that we like? Shouldn't we just be thrilled to find that we aren't the only people who obsess over/buy for/enjoy these dolls? I know this forum seems really really huge ( in doll terms it's gigantic!) but in the grand scheme of the world, doll owners are a very very tiny fraction and the chances that two doll owners would meet when just walking about on the street without venues like conventions or meet-ups and even forums like these are extremely small. I think some doll owners take the idea of having friends with dolls for granted on this forum, which could in turn lead to some of the "peer pressure" in the community. Sorry if I rambled, just my thoughts.

 

You know, I really don't see it like this. I only see a slightly whiny community afraid that "they" are out to get them. Who "they" are is never clear, but apparently - according to this fear - there are some very 'mean' people in our hobby, who's sole purpose in life is making others feel miserable about themselves.

Perhaps I lack the skills to recognize drama, perhaps I am not as sensitive (though I know for sure that this is hogwash - I'm probably one of the most sensitive and insecure persons in my city), but I don't see bullying in this community. I only see negligible nastiness.
I DO see kittens, rainbows and sugarcoated comments on people's posts, a huge list of disclaimers when some OP opens a new thread - apparently again because he/ she's afraid of doing something wrong.

I do see a lot of insecurity. But I'm convinced that it is not the negativity that causes this insecurity, but rather the opposite. By sugarcoating everything, hardly giving positive criticism, not saying anything if you don't have anything nice to say, never telling anyone she's acting like an idiot (unless of course in a very indirect way with again plenty of disclaimers and "I'm sorry for thinking this way")... you create an environment where even the most softspoken "I don't like this" will sound like the most rude and blunt curse ever uttered.

DoA is meant as a safe, childfriendly place, yes, but I doubt the moderaters meant the above when creating this environment... but here we are now. Instead of helping newbies grow up into secure members of our community, we smother them. And anyone unwilling to act the same way is considered a bully.

Anyway, this is how I see it. I might be completely wrong, but this community, the way I describe it is exactly why I sometimes regret getting involved in BJD's. I feel confined. I feel like every word I say has to be checked again and again, because someone, somewhere could give into the idea to feel offended, because he/she can NOt because there is reason to. I'm getting tired of the witch hunts and paranoia. Lucky for me, there's a very nice Dutch community I can go to.

 

What I regret about the hobby is:
-It's expensive and I've sacrificed other hobbies that I did enjoy (comic book collecting for example). I can't have it all or to be more precise, I can't pay for it all at the same time.
-It's time consuming and leaves less time for other hobbies. I can combine other hobbies in this hobby like painting and sewing, but it's been a while since I made something for myself or made a painting. I feel I'm getting rusty even when my face-up skills are improving.

 

Not really, no. But I don't seem to be into it as much as most people here. It's just kind of a "secondary hobby", meaning it's not my most important one. My most important hobby is live-roleplaying and if you're really into it (as I am), then it doesn't leave all too much time for other stuff cos you're always either coming from a larp or about to go to a larp and so on. So I don't have too much time for the doll-hobby anyways ...