Second hand dollies- tracing their 'Geneology"

I've been thinking about this topic for a while, and I've got contradicting thoughts on it.

At first, I was all "I don't really care" or "I could care less about who it was owned by, as long as I like it". Seeing it before, not nude or anything, would make it harder for me to reset their character into one I already have.

But now... I would be fascinated to see the doll and what galleries it has been in, where it has been, pictures of it somewhere, etc. I'd love to see where this doll has been.

Now if I sold a doll, I would always click on the buyer's gallery threads to see the doll and what they've done with it. I think that would just be fun! If not painful.

 

Id look to see pictures of what they used to look like, but itd be a completely new doll for me.

Now for dolls ive sold to others, i tried to look for pictures to see what they look like now but couldnt find any xD.

 

I would ask If I wanted to know something, or lurk the forums

But I wouldn't care who the doll was before, I would make him/her my own. But surely it could be fun to see who he/her was before, like looking at different face ups/wigs on the same mould.

 

I've never gone back to see who my dolls were when they were with their previous owners. Once they came to me, they became brand-new characters and who they were doesn't matter to me in the least.

Fresh house, fresh start.

 

I always search through to find old posts with pictures of my dolls before I had them. I kinda feel like a stalker for it, sometimes, but I love knowing.... Even if I take the doll's character in a completely different direction, I like seeing where they were and what they did before.... And sometimes, not always, you can see what the effect of their previous life had on their personality. I love doing research and seeing old pictures..... It's part of what makes buying secondhand so fun for me.

 

I've got 4 second-hand dolls now - I bought them because I wanted that sculpt & it was cheaper/quicker to get them from a person on DoA marketplace (& another site) than new. So I really don't think of them having another life so to speak. If I saw pics of them from before, it would be like seeing another doll for me. I am kind of indifferent, I guess.
Now I might check out the doll's history BEFORE I bought it - because that could be informative (conditions, provenance, etc). But I believe all of mine only had one owner before me so not much to research.

 

I've got a bunch of second-hand dolls, and I'd at least love to know a) when they were manufactured and b) how many previous owners they've had.. But I guess I don't want to know enough to actually look in to it.. heh.

 

I've never bought a second-hand doll, but if I ever do, I'd certainly look into its past! I'm very research-oriented and tend to research all of my purchases quite extensively - I'm sure that second-hand dolls would be no exception!

 

I honestly didn't read this whole thread, so I'm sure there has to be another story just like mine, but i'm going to share it anyway XD

this past summer I found my dream doll and was determined to buy it. I'd fallen in love with volks heath, but only one particular volks heath that I saw while browsing deviantArt. The others I saw didn't match up to what I was planning.

So I just poked the marketplace idly and actually found a heath head with a really nice face up, then very quickly snatched it up XD

Though I generally do back track an research all of my dolls, when I actually found my heaths history I wasn't even really looking for that!

I had gone to look up heath's in the gallery again, ended up searching the comissionable artist portfolio, an ended up finding my head... low an behold, the head I was buying was the same heath that made me fall in love with the mold to begin with.

I probably squee'd loud enough that they heard me in china. He was such an unobtainable dream doll in ever sense of the word because he was someone else's doll, and as far as I knew, the original owner still had him.

So I definitely back track ;u; it's fun, and you may find out things you've never known!

I also had a tatiana that was purchased in Australia, sold to a girl in Wisconsin, then to me, then I sol her back to someone in wisconsin (someone different), and then she sold the doll to someone in canada. I thought THAT was a crazy adventure for that doll XD

 

I just brought a second hand doll and without noticing i managed to find pictures of him on DoA which explained his backstory and his character. My character I have in mind for him is so different to his past one, so he will most definatley be "forgetting" his past and becoming someone new, some character I created. Which is quite ironic really as his character suffers from severe memory loss and cant remember anything from his old life. So I guess its kind of fitting :L

However my other doll Harper was also second hand (why are all my SD boys second hand? Haha!) he is a different character (the previous owner said he was a zombie of some sorts) But she wiped him down, so he was a blank canvas for my character. Which I liked, a new start, a new character Haha!

But no, I dont feel the need to research, if I do then I feel I may change the character I had in mind to suit their old past

 

My first BJD was a Bambicrony Ciao Bella I found on Ebay. This was before I even knew anything about brand names. I just thought here was my chance to buy a cute doll for cheap. It was advertised on the auction as being a Roko sculpt, and dated approximately 2009. The seller was the second owner of the doll. She never received a box or papers for the doll, so she couldn't specify everything other than the condition of the doll and her name. But it seemed every time I saw either a stock photo or personal photo of people owning Rokos, I never found one that looked like mine in face and lip shape. However, every time I saw the Kumi sculpt, I thought this looked more like my doll. I recently put a thread up here after looking through the Bambicrony picture data base, looking for an extra pair of eyes to confirm what I thought to be true. When my suspicions were confirmed, I was able to make the corrections to her profile. I have found DoA a treasure trove of good information, and I thank the webmaster(s) for putting this site together!

 

Of course I'm curious, I tried to find pictures of my Johnny, but didn't ask anything about what he's been. I think I'm the third owner.

Still, in this reality he's my son and been that since he was born for 16 years ago (and I wasn't 10 then, was I?) and the doll's former personalities don't affect our life.

 

I like to know all I can about my dolls. I'm not sure why... I figure it might come in handy some day, or maybe I just like knowing things and am naturally curious.

I have bought a number of dolls from the DoA marketplace. Most of them have been new-ish with default faceups, so I haven't had to know much. I'm a bit wary of bothering the seller too much because it might be insensitive--as in they have to sell the doll and find things a bit painful. I'll ask some questions that I really should know about the doll, but I don't get into detail about how the former owner treated or thought of their doll--although I wouldn't mind knowing.

I've found out things on my own, by looking through old posts and checking the databases--but not obsessively (usually I just check when I post my own photos in those).

I try and keep track of all the information I can get on my dolls and I am pretty satisfied that I know enough about all of them. But I'm sure if I buy an older doll with multiple past owners that most of the history will probably be lost...

 

I just recentlly bought a second hand doll (my first) and where as I Like to think of her as Canadian because that's where she priviouslly lived, my plan/ideas for her may be entirely diffrent that the prievious owner's. I wouldn't want to feel hindered by that.

Though it would be cool to see if she had been something extream before, like mega goth or a fairy or something. lol

 

I really like the idea of the passport. I think I will make one for my current doll on sale with her arrival date and information.

 

Most dolls which I bought second hand all came without a face-up and were ones that the owners had never bonded with, so there aren't a lot of pictures out there I'd imagine. I do have a tiny that came with a factory face-up and had a former life as a girl. But since the character for that doll was already firmly established in my head for a long while, I never bothered about his past life. He'll soon get a new face-up and be entirely himself. ^^

That being said, I do search for dolls that I sold. I find it fascinating to find out what the owners have done with the dolls that are no longer in my possession and how they have changed.

 

I find out as much as I can before I actually buy the doll, but up to a point. I like to have a general idea of where the doll has been, who owned it, and what it's been through. I like to know it's worth it, mostly; especially if there's damage or wear-and-tear. I've bought mostly secondhand dolls, and I like being able to give them a new home, a "new start".

 

I prefer my dolls to be second hand. Buying a doll brand new just feels way to sterile to me. When purchased the used the doll is loaded full of personality. Granted they won't have the same personality as they had with their last owner, but I like the quirks that come with dolls.

 

When I've bought second-hand, I typically like to start fresh and let the doll's look & personality develop on its own, without worrying about what the doll may have been like under the previous owner (or owners).

That said, two of my dolls have come with past history & a look simply because I bought them from a friend and I knew what look and personalities she had attached to them. She has encouraged me to make them into my own, though. I find it more difficult with dolls where I know their history, but they are slowly developing in a new direction.

 

I don't see why it would have to be one or the other. Yes, I'd love to know everything about any of my doll's past lives in other homes. That's fascinating stuff. And, I totally think you can know a doll's past and give it a fresh start. That must be one of the neater aspects of getting to be a doll. And, this is a really neat question, Arkady!