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Resisting: easier with character or non-characters?

Dec 5, 2010

    1. Haven't seen something like this specifically, but if there's something the mods think fit a pre-existing thread - or not DoA at all - please feel free to lock, delete, merge, and direct me to one!

      Ok, I have seen some 'stop buying' threads around the DoA forums, but I suddenly wondered if there are certain criteria that you think make it 'easier' to resist buying doll stuff.

      One I thought of was if it was easier to resist buying if you have characters, or if you don't have a character.

      So, what are your thoughts? Which situation, do you think, makes it easier to just say 'no'?

      ------------
      My take:

      Sure, one might first believe that having a character might be easier because you have certain standards for your character's doll. However, that can also depend on how many characters you have in mind - or if you decide to add more down the line.

      Others might feel that not having character dolls might be easier because there are no standards to fit, so you might have more flexibility in what you want; ie, you don't have to have the $800 doll because it fits your character perfectly. But, of course, it's strength is also it's downside. Because there are no limits, there is greater flexibility to get any doll you see and really like.

      And of course, both situations can go from one to the other. Like, you buy a non-character doll when you only have characters; or you buy a doll for a character, when you don't have any.
       
    2. For me, it's easier to resist when I don't have one. When it's for a character there's not only wanting the doll because I like the doll, but because I feel like I need it to help complete the group. It's true that having specific criteria makes it easier to narrow down the list of candidates, and for one of my characters I had to literally wait until someone released a sculpt that would work. However, for most of my characters very usable headsculpts presented themselves which didn't help me hold off any. Having specific characters helps control what I buy and encourages me to be a lot more selective -- that's what's been the real benefit to them. But they don't necessarily help with when to buy.
       
    3. For me having a character or not doesn't affect how much I want to buy a doll. However, since I bought my Volks Williams head I haven't cared for another doll since. Williams was my holy grail doll ever since he was first released and I finally managed to get him a year ago. Even though he and my Peroth still don't have a body, I can't make myself buy one. I'm content for now.

      On the other hand, the fact that this year has gone by so quickly it makes my head spin also helped... I simply haven't had the time to look for a doll - or a doll-body - to buy.
       
    4. I've seen characters been used to justify impulse buys. "Oh, this LE doll is perfect for [insert name]!" Characters often get reshelled in another doll body, which makes them even more suitable to justify a new doll purchase. "This mold didn't work out for [insert name], but that mold might be better."
      I have both characters that were given dolls and dolls that were given characters, and I can't reshell the latter as the character is based on the doll. ;)
      Lack of money is usually making resisting easier for me, although saving up is also easier with a clear target in mind.
       
    5. *points up to Muisje* What she said. That's about where I sit on this also.

      If I like something, character or not, I'll likely want it. Whether I buy it or not has everything to do with my financial situation at that time.

      Sometimes the character inspires the want for the doll, and sometimes the want for the doll inspires the character. I don't think there is a 'right way' on this, but instead that inspiration comes from everywhere and thinking there's a 'one true way' to go about exploring it is needlessly self-limiting.

      There was one doll I bought for a character that, some time later, a better doll came along for. I haven't sold the first one, and have no plan to do so, even though I bought the other that better suited the character. The second doll better suited the character, but the first quickly became something else because it was no less awesome a doll in its own right.

      I can't say one of those situations would make it easier or harder by default. I have characters I'm 'eh' on finding dolls for, and I have seen dolls that make me willing to shove aside characters I've found suitable dolls for and wishlisted in priority. It has more to do with the 'ooh, shiny!' factor on any given doll, as well as other factors -- mostly, limited or not, since I prefer buying at retail if possible, and am not fond of dealing with markups or scouring through ads.
       
    6. I kind of had the same thought after my first "splurge". I said, okay, I need to give myself some "rules", or I'm going to be buying every adorable doll I see because "she looked at me!". So I said, no dolls that aren't "plot-related". It gives me a goal to work towards, and a way to prioritize spending.

      But will I stick with it...?
       
    7. I'm having a lot of trouble seeing this as a debate, even in the rather loose application of the term I see in this forum. There's no way to approach the question with logic! Even if we were taking an evidence-based tack, it depends not just on the person, but on the doll, to the point that I'm sceptical that any conclusion could be reached. For me, it's generally easier to resist dolls who don't have a character in my mind, but I can think of one case where lack of a character completely failed to stop me from bringing a doll home. Also confounding that generalisation, there are a few dolls on my wishlist who I'm comfortable leaving there until X or Y happens years from now because of something to do with their character (for example, I don't want to bring home Njaalkeme until I feel sure the next doll will be her girlfriend...or a particular character doll I want to make won't ever come home until I've got a proper place to display him). I'm sure many people have stories like this, that even taking into account their general tendency it really all comes down to the particular doll and the particular moment when you're trying to resist buying it.
       
    8. It cut both ways for me. When I was trying to do character dolls I was REALLY fussy about exactly what I wanted so it was really easy to determine that most dolls just weren't quite right, but then if I did find a doll that was perfect it was difficult not to buy it even if it was more expensive than I'd like, or was limited and I didn't really have the funds right then, etc.

      Now that I just buy the dolls I like it's harder to talk myself out of it for non-financial reasons, and easier to find dolls I'm willing to buy in the first place, but I only buy dolls when I can really, definitely afford it without impacting anything else.
       
    9. For me, it does seem to work in most cases to say to myself, "But I don't know who he could be." While I have created characters from dolls, by and large I buy dolls for specific characters I already intend to shell. It's not 100% but for me it DOES help create a restriction.

      But that's just me. I'm both a person who does the shelling-of-my-own-characters thing, and a person who needs her choices limited. I don't even look at dolls from outside of the handful of companies I've decided on, because I don't enjoy having a gazillion options all the time. My collection would be even crazier than it already is without limiting myself only to certain characters . . .
       
    10. This is pretty hypothetical for me, since I only have one, but I think it'd be easier for me to not spend much if I stuck only to characters. I'm so incredibly picky that it took me literally years to get my doll WITHOUT a character in mind, and so far I've only seen ONE mold that could be a character (that I'd like to have as a doll) of mine...but only with modding. When I'm spending that much money, I want every feature to be absolutely perfect. I'm also not a big fan of Minimees since their quality seems a touch inconsistent, so...yeah sticking to characters would be incredibly limiting.
       
    11. I find it very difficult to find dolls that fit my main character. The closest being Sard and some of the more realistic females from Iplehouse. There is always something that drives me away. I find that when I do buy dolls they never represent one of my characters. So I find it easier without characters.
       
    12. I'm of the same opinion as Musicalcakes because I'm in the same situation. I only have one doll, but I've being limiting myself to buying the dolls that will be for my characters, because I want to buy the "perfect" model for them. Also, I'm still developing my story, so it's all a little confusing.
      I've seen some dolls that I liked and I have thought for a moment that I'll buy them. But finally I thought more calmly about it, and I decided not to buy them, because I only wanted them for being pretty and in the end, maybe I'll end not taking so many photos with them.
      Anyways, I got inspired since I saw one doll for creating my story, so I won't say no to a pretty doll, because I'll try to find a character for him/her. But I'll have to think carefully if I can give him a character. So for me, it's really limited (Thanks God) to have a character ^^
       
    13. Doesn't really matter to me. I've bought dolls because I wanted them for a certain character and I've bought dolls simply just because I liked how they looked and WANTED them. What restricts my doll-purchases are the two factors:
      - not enough money
      - not enough space

      If I had both, I'd have more dolls. :D
       
    14. I have over 100 original characters that I could doll. So having characters does nothing.
      I've already fallen into the trap of wanting to "complete" a group of characters. (My Elf family.)

      Most of my characters come in pairs or groups and I simply can't have one without the other. For example, my Lucius can not be without his wife, Marron.(She's on layaway). And they have a child and one on the way.

      Likewise, I plan on shelling two brothers, but I've never had a story or RP or comic where they are apart. :(
       
    15. Neither. While I do have certain characters in mind and what sculpts suit them, I can easily create another character for a doll sculpt I really want. Which I've already done quite a bit. What actually keeps me in check, is my finances. When you think about how much an entire family can cost, it puts things into perspective in a way that's difficult to ignore.
       
    16. Not having a character, or even having a character, has never really entered into my plans for dolls. Whether or not I have the money to buy dolls with does, however. If I find myself overly tempted (which is rare) I just remind myself of all the bills we have to pay, and how much it would suck to be homeless, or to go hungry.

      Now, if I had the money, what I'm drawn to varies greatly. Sometimes I impulsively buy floating heads or dolls (is it still impulsive if I planned to use the money for dolls?), and sometimes it's from planning.
       
    17. I don't buy a doll if I don't have the money for it, end of discussion. I don't buy dolls on credit, that just isn't how I work personally. I may beg and plead my hubby to buy it for me as a gift if there happens to be a holiday approaching. I may also consider what I can do to earn the money faster so that I can purchase the doll for myself, but it does not matter how perfectly that doll works for a character, I will not buy if I can't afford it.

      At this point I absolutely do not buy dolls that don't fit characters. They may be pretty but they don't last here. So for me it is very easy to pass up a doll that doesn't fit a character. I have a list in mind of the characters I want to shell and I also sort of have them in order of who I would like to buy first. So if I see a doll available for a character I want to shell and I can afford to buy him, but I'm saving towards another doll I probably won't spend the money. It may be difficult but I would rather buy that doll I am saving towards. It is hard to say no to the perfect mold for a character I really love, but I can be very single minded (hubby calls me stubborn) when I have my eye on something.
       
    18. Having a beloved character in mind definately makes impulse buying easier - which was the case with me twice. The first time I did this I ended up selling the doll not very long afterwards. The second time *points to signiture* will probably be the last since this doll is being custom made exactly to specifications which I will not find anywhere else and I am sculpting a head to not just closely resemble my character but look like her exactly.

      Impulse purchases in this doll hobby for me are also inspired by the rarity and beauty of a doll - like SOOM's centaur, Epidose. I thought about it, did the calculations, I really wanted him. I really wanted to own something so lovely and rare...but thinking about the other things I could do with the same amount of money really put a stop to it.

      Things like: saving for a downpayment on a house, a new laptop for my mom, tuition ect. These things help me more than anything else.

      On the other side of the spectrum I am a stupid sucker for damaged secondhand dolls which I will buy even if I think it's ugly because the deal is just too good to resist and I think about how fun it will be to fix it up. What stops me then? A combination of simple self restraint and the need to finish or sell off my other dolls first.
       
    19. Being that I'm still saving up for buying my first doll, I personally am of the camp who is looking for something very specific. I see gorgeous dolls all over the sites I look through and just as many here on the forums. Despite that, I typically feel no impulse to buy them just because they're beautiful. Having a connection to the sculpt as the character I want to create a physical representation of is pretty much tantamount.

      Ultimately though, like northern_raven above me, that is secondary to the financial issue of it all. I can't see myself ever making an impulse buy for a BJD, I just could not justify it when I have other responsibilities to attend to, be it loan repayments, saving for my upcoming wedding etc. I wouldn't put something on a credit card just because a I want it, in my eyes it's irresponsible. If you don't have money for something, you shouldn't buy it.
       
    20. I have characters, but occasionally buy impulsively when I find a doll that I love. I make up a character for them later. My buying has slowed with the passing of time, fortunately, and there aren't very many that I still want.