Regretting Getting Involved in BJDs?

LARP was one of the hobbies I put on hold for the doll hobby. It can be an expensive hobby with props, costumes, events, travelling, etc. although not as expensive as the doll hobby. At least in my case.
Maybe I'll get back to LARPing once I feel it's time to spend more time on other things again and make dolls a secondary hobby. Right now I'm still enjoying this hobby as much as possible.

 

I've never regretted getting into the hobby, it's one of the few things that makes me happy. The only thing that I've regretted was telling certain people.

I had an ex-friend get verbally agressive with me because they were mad that I spent money (my earned money) on a doll when they couldn't pay their rent ( a place that I was not living in and never contributed any money to that household before.) So, I didn't speak to them ever again after that incident.

 

I, myself have never regretted getting into this hobby but I have met some people that get 'bored' of it.

 

I regret being naive. Companies can be very misleading with their pictures, and if you aren't careful, you are going to get something you don't like. Then what do you do? You're out several hundred dollars and of course you can't return it even though it's in perfect new condition and unmodified. Some times I wonder what the big deal would be to return a doll to a company that you don't like, as long as you didn't mess with it. So I regret being naive, and I regret my impulse buys.

 

I don't ever regret getting into this hobby, but I do get cranky about it! I find it the most frustrating, aggravating hobby, and the most rewarding at the same time. I find certain bits of the process of kitting out a doll no fun at all, but when the doll is done, and looks the way I want it to look, it's such a thrill to me. I can do things with dolls I was never able to do with 2D art, which is very satisfying. Some of the online social aspects of the hobby are kind of weird, though. I've never been involved in a hobby before where there's so much scrutiny focused on what other people do.

 

I do, but when I really dissect what I feel, it's more a wish that I could have the space and the time to do what I wanted with my dolls. Treat them better, I guess? I have lots of ideas for them, and not the skill nor the time, nor the space nor money to carry them out.

 

No regrets. It has been, and continues to be, a lot of fun!

 

I don't regret getting into the hobby, all the frustrations it comes with are just part of the experience.
My dolls have been a fantastic source of comfort for me when i truly needed something to put my mind on.
I mainly regret that i don't have enough time or energy nowadays to just spoil them as i'd like...
I have so many half finished or nearly finished projects setting in my "to be continued" bin that i actually feel pretty irritated when i think about how many things need done.

 

I kind of regretted it after I realized how much money I spent on it and my parents made me feel guilty about it. But then I realized that I probably would have spent that money on video games or something either way and they make me happy so that should count for something right?

 

I don't regret getting into the hobby, but sometimes I regret getting into the community. As much as I love my dolls, it does get rather depressing when I see people complaining about the companies they come from, especially about trivial things like 'oh, why don't they offer free seam sanding, they suck' and 'why can't such a big company give me freebies when (insert cheaper company here) always sends extras'. Then I start feeling that I haven't been getting a good deal, and I start wondering why I can't fall for those cheaper dolls. But then I take my dollies out and I look at them and I smile, and I know I don't regret them. I just regret that I let people get to me.

 

My only regret is that I didn't marry a billionare. O_o hahaha, just kidding, that's not true, but, wow, with my wishlist, it sure would have been handy. Hehe.

 

You know, some people always rush to say this whenever the community is challenged on its more unpleasant aspects, and I always have the same reaction - there's no accounting for how much rose-colored glasses can disguise.

Well, I agree, but not perhaps in the way you mean. I think insecurity causes negativity and bullying, because people try to alleviate their feelings of insecurity by proving themselves on the "right" side. It's not the confident, well-loved kids at school who are cruellest to the perceived victims, you know, it's the middle to lower ranks who are terrified of falling... But sometimes I seriously doubt whether it's the kind of culture I should be spending my precious free time on. I stay for the resin (and vinyl) and the sweet, creative people, but I wish this culture was challenged more. I guess the best response is just to be nice to newbies, and remember that the rest are probably just kids!

No. People who attack and mock harmless newbies in an attempt to win some kind of points are bullies. And it is disappointing, and a matter of genuine regret to me, that this is so acceptable in the hobby. It should be better. *pets a newbie*

(I'm a bit confused why you feel that trying to be nice/courteous/reasonable/positive/helpful/friendly in your responses is such a terrible smothering burden - it sounds like normal mature adult interaction to me. Your mileage obvious varies.)

 

There are times, yes..but I love the hobby so I'm not leaving anytime.

The only thing that sucks is the amount of money I spend on them...

 

I love my hobby, i love my dolls, i love the online friends and communities that seem to come along with this strange obsession i've started. I love being able to create resin versions of characters i've seen in my head for so long, i love that i can share this hobby with my fiancee.

But i do have one regret. I went to a doll meet once. I was treated like a second class citizen along with my fiancee being treated as if he was a freak of nature. He doesn't always get the best responses from people as he is disabled, wheelchair bound and different, But he is social, friendly, has his own dolls and overall an amazing person to be near. But instead of being approached, welcomed, even greeted, we were completely shunned by the local doll community. No hellos, nothing, I even had told the forum community that we would be going to the meet and it would be our first! This isn't the first time i've told this story but it's one that everyone should hear.

Shortly after this meeting a flame-war against us was started for stating our opinions on the forums about a move/merger that we honestly apposed with personal reasons, citing two horrible experiences (Con and website related) with the person the move was related to. Because our opinions differed from the group en mass, we were flamed off the boards.

In the end, all of this has caused me to become what i call a "Closet hobbiest" Be aware of situations like this, I really want to go to doll meets again, but never in Phoenix.

 

I'm very sorry that happened to you and your fiancé, dragonslayerssdd.

 

We've had our share of nasty fandom stories. There is a dark side to every single fandom out there, expecially if you get too deel (Like conventions, they can and will eat you alive and destroy your career)

 

I'm very sorry to hear about that dragonslayerssdd. I always hate hearing about discrimination in whatever form it may be. I bet you two are lovely people and it's wonderful that you two can enjoy such a great hobby together.
As for me, I don't think I've gotten the full gist of what it's like to be in this hobby. I personally still don't own a doll yet. But I do pride myself in knowing that I'm not going to spend insane amounts of money on my resin kids. I knew that getting into this hobby was going to be expensive. I think that's about the only regret I have so far, falling so hard for wanting one of these dolls. I thought about it long and hard, and I knew I that if I was going to get a BJD it would have to be a fairly affordable one. I've never visited the Volks, Soom, or "higher end" BJD sellers websites because the temptation is too great. Although I do follow some threads here and a doll blog, have seen quite a lot of the dolls by these doll makers, and I'm actually happy to announce that those dolls don't appeal to me. That's not to say that they aren't beautiful. Don't get me wrong. They're STUNNING, but the price-tag makes them much, much, much less appealing to me... If anything, this hobby has taught my self-control. It's actually kind of amazing. :P
I guess I still am somewhat of a newbie. I've been lurking around this forum for about a year now, and I agree with certain things Silk and autumnrain have said respectively. I've seen many a time when 'newbies' are smothered and not given constructive criticism. And I do agree that sometimes, if you don't smother them, you may come off as rude or insensitive. But I personally do believe in constructive criticism, so I try to do a little bit of both when giving a critique... That in itself is rare, though. Like autumnrain said, it definitely does feel like being in highschool all over again sometimes, and I HATED highschool. Just look at my post count. I'm a newbie because I lurk and the only reason I lurk is because I am somewhat afraid to come out from my hiding place, if you will, due to some of the things I've seen going on around these boards. I've seen the way some more active members have acted towards newbies when they ask a question. Some of them seem almost irritated to answer the question. It's almost disappointing even, to see that someone you learn to admire be so cold towards someone else that started in the same position as they did.

 

The only thing that I sometimes regret is spending so much money on my dolls that I could have spent on different things, just like many other people. Since nobody's forcing me to do that though, the whole regretting usually doesn't last long and I just work on my priorities once more.
Overall this is still that one hobby I enjoy most.

 

That's the thing. I'm not rushing to say it, I really don't see it. And belief me, I've seen more than enough situations where you could pinpoint a bully, even if they were very secretive about it. Of all communities I'm part of - and that includes the 'real life' ones - this community is the nicest by far.

Yes, people can sometimes be a bit snippy when they're dealing with a newbie asking questions, but I don't see this as deliberately bullying - or bullying at all - but more as a response to yet another 'one of those' questions. Newbies tend to ask what has been asked a thousand times before and even though they don't know it, the replier does and especially when it's about a touchy subject, I can understand the, not very courteous, response. Don't think it's right, but I understand, just as I know how the newb must feel when being directed so bluntly.

No. It does not obviously vary. Being reasonable, nice, helpful etc isn't being smothering. I think it is- well... nice, if you're nice. The problem I have with this community is that we tend to overdo it a bit. That we can't give constructive criticism and that we are a bit paranoid about other people's motives. We, for example, tend to read things into words that aren't there: "see, I KNEW you hated me, 'cause here you are, commenting on my extremely well-written opinion!!1!"

Just like you feel we can't talk about the nasty sides of this hobby, I feel like we can't talk about the awfully nicy-nice side of it. But in the end, I think they are two sides of the same coin.

 

THIS.

The dollery has brought me friendship, craft, art, funtimes, great times, life experiences, memories, on and on and on. AND...of course, the hobby has brought these amazing dolls into my home! Yeah, there can be negative aspects but I have never understood this viewpoint wherein this negativity is the overwhelming way of defining the hobby. I. Don't. Get. It.