Second hand dolls: Shouldn't they be cheaper than new ones?

Personally, I've sold dolls at a profit and I've sold dolls at a loss -- basically, I look around for the going price and ask for that or best offer (and then take that offer if it's in any way reasonable -- I so, so hate it when people say the price is negotiable and then respond to an offer saying they want the asking price, just say it's firm in that case).
I do understand that dolls may cost more second-hand than they are on the company website when the seller is from Europe -- customs fees are exorbitant here, and usually the price sellers ask is less than what you'd have to pay for the doll plus customs fees if you ordered it new, so for those of us within the EU those prices still make sense.
But yeah, asking way more than a doll is worth just for the privilege of not having to wait for it? That's just ensuring your doll won't sell. If I had a doll that I'd make too much of a loss on at the going price, I'd just do something original with it, give it an interesting blush and face-up or mod it, then see if people are willing to pay more for that. And if not, I just gained a more interesting doll that I might have a rekindled interest in myself.

 

Not in my case I collect Iplehouse dolls, they always sell for higher price or same as the first buyer paid for the company

 

Whilst I understand this is more linked to the marketplace on DOA that makes me wonder why there are so few established resellers that I've found outside of the far east (at least for asian bjd's). Take for example, if someone wanted to sell BJD's as an established reseller in the U.K the up front funds of acquiring a BJD including the 20% sales tax and customs of 4.5% also shipping and handling fees. It makes more sense for there to be a markup of some kind on the original price of the doll otherwise you'd always be operating the business at a loss, which is unsustainable.

I understand that people want to buy the cheapest they can and would go to the manufacturer first to save costs. I've bought at marketplace as well as manufacturer and if I'm going to buy through marketplace I limit my searches to UK only to try and reduce the cost of shipping as well as customs and VAT.

 

Personally it depends on the company for me. If I find a Dollzone or Doll Chateau doll I want for the same or even a little more than it would be from the company, that I can get in a couple weeks vs the nearly 9 months it will take to get one new, I might go for it.

I hate buying from Fairyland, but FL dolls are jacked up a lot on the MP (like, a ridiculous amount) so I go through DDE (yay layaway!!) and don't have to deal directly with FL.

If a company has good service and I've always had a good experience ordering from them I will completely ignore the inflated price on the MP and buy new.

If I'm interested in a doll and I think it's too much, I either point and laugh at it with my friends or ignore it and look elsewhere. If I REALLY want it, I'll pay attention to the sales thread and either offer a lower price (if allowed by seller) or wait it out, until it's lowered to something I'm willing to pay. I've managed both many times.

It's one of those things.....as much as it sucks, no one can regulate the price when someone else is selling something. The seller sets the price and we just have to deal. I've also made profits on a lot of my dolls - not in the last couple years...but back in the day when the market was in a better place? Yep. Lately I've lost hundreds on dolls. But at least they've hopefully moved on to someone who actually wants them.

Pretty much this

If someone has chose the negotiable or OBO options it does bug me if they're not really willing to negotiate (the only time that's ever been the case with me is if I literally just put something up and the first person is offering me less than what I have up....give it a few days please.). Same as when people pick FS/WTT then say NO where Trades are listed.

I've never actually had an issue with this as a buyer. I usually don't make actual offers either, I'll just ask if the seller is willing to go lower, and happily accept or nicely decline (I don't think I've ever declined XD) the new offer. It usually works out. As a seller I have also accepted lots of lower offers on dolls I'm selling -- unless it's really insane. I've had people offer me half to less than half for what I'm selling. Seriously, no, that is not a best offer. I am not that desperate to sell anything. If that's the case I can see why other people may not be accepting every offer tossed their way....

Not quite 8 years...

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...hey-getting-ot-of-hand?highlight=market+price
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...ame-price-as-a-new-one?highlight=market+price

Yeah, that's not true.

 

Haha, me too! Made me laugh

 

As someone who's been in the hobby for almost 10 years, I can say some of this might be a holdover from the old days. There was a time when it didn't matter what doll you were selling, it regularly sold on the MP for close to, or more than it cost new. This was for a variety of reasons.

One was that there were fewer companies, so there was less overall competition. Buyers had less to choose from.

There were also just fewer dolls overall. Frequently the doll you were selling would be the only one of that sculpt on the MP.

Another is that there were very few US or EU dealers. No Volks USA, no Mint on Card. If you wanted a doll from Japan, you used a shopping service. If you wanted a doll from Korea, you dealt with:

• exchange rates (which included your credit card company hitting you with an extra fee)
• weird dodgy shopping cart systems (they did not take PayPal)
• weeks, even months, of no communication, then the doll just suddenly showing up (to add to the hilarity, sometimes you'd get the e-mail with your tracking number AFTER the doll arrived)
• and oh god, if there was a broken finger or something, a nightmare of a time getting through the language barrier to get it fixed (companies usually had just one person on staff who could kinda sorta speak a little bit of English)

In that environment, buying secondhand for only a little bit more was usually worth it!

And while recasts did exist, they were quite rare, and usually not of a quality that could be passed off as legit, so buying secondhand didn't put you at as much risk of being scammed (though it did still happen occasionally).

You also have a lot more companies that are resculpting their bodies to keep up with innovations, like double joints. Then you're left with an older style body that people don't want, especially when any new purchases from the company automatically include the new "better" body for the same price.

So yes, when I see a thread where someone is trying to get $700 for the butter yellow Limhwa I can buy from Junkyspot now for $500 and have in my hands in two days, I laugh at the seller's optimism. Are they actually trying to scam people? I don't think so. But they don't have a realistic understanding of the current market either.

There's also the issue where people attach an "emotional tax" to the doll because it is worth more to them personally. Yes, it has the awesome face up your friend did that you love. Guess what? Most buyers don't care, and they're not paying a premium for it just because it means something to you.

 

If I can get back 75% of what I paid for a doll, I'm happy. Not counting shipping, I would never expect a buyer to cover the shipping fee of a doll from the company to me!

When I'm shopping on the MP, unless I'm looking for a limited, discontinued or very rare doll, I'm not going to pay more than the new price. The only benefit I can see in this is getting it faster---but if I have to save up for an extra month to afford the secondhand doll, it's really not faster!

 

I personally feel like basic dolls should be the new buy price on the site, plus the shipping cost to get it to the buyer, if in good condition, and less if they are damaged. I consider excessive "tattooing" damage since people usually don't bother to seal them correctly and they stain.

I've seen people mark up to reimburse themselves for the tattoos or face-up. I'm not really sure about that. I guess it's okay. If you state exactly how much each tattoo and face-up costs so the buyer can see where the high price is coming from. Again, personally, I cut my losses on things like face-ups, I don't expect buyers to reimburse me for a service I wanted.

My biggest pet peeve is people who mark up their dolls excessively so that you have the rights to keep and use their character. This is nonsense to me. The doll won't be your same character if it goes to a new owner, even if they say it's the same, a different person is gonna change things. There's no reason for it unless a person went and copyrighted the actual look of the doll or character, which you can do, but it's expensive and unreasonable.

 

I don't begrudge anyone trying to sell their doll for what they feel it is worth, but saying that I don't think most actually sell. I could be wrong, but if I see a doll anywhere near the new price and it has lost a finger and been glued back on, has a chip in a noticeable area, yellowed, or was made more than 3 yrs ago and is only 20 bucks less than a brand new one, well.... I pass.

Now if the doll is like new, made in the last 2 years and its available now at close to its original price + domestic shipping I can deal with that depending on the doll. Paypal fees=no. Custom fees=No.

Face ups don't really matter to me either way. I only really like one professional face up artist and honestly prefer doing my own faceups. Really dark black tattoos on a body in a noticeable area is not something I am really wanting to take a chance on either or ear piercings. I just don't care for that. I'd want a big chunk off to buy a doll with any of those things done to it. Am I the only one who sees a broken finger and it about kills me? I know hands aren't that expensive, but it still just gets to me.

 

I must admit, as I peruse through the marketplace I often see a doll and think wow you are going to be up for
a while.

 

This is the reason that I haven't bought many dolls second hand. If the doll is still available from the company I'd rather buy new if the second hand asking price is the same or close to new retail. Then I also don't have to worry about potential drama of sellers scamming me etc.

If the doll is a limited I also tend not to buy second hand as they're usually more than I'm comfortable paying XD

I have purchased two full dolls and one body second hand. The dolls were really good deals for a limited and a discontinued so there was no chance of getting them new. I felt very lucky to find them

When I see peoplle asking ridiculous prices for non-limited dolls I usually just laugh and keep scrolling past!

 

Basically that's what a lot of people do. They add in that extra 30 bucks or so they had to pay for shipping because they don't want to lose any of the money they spent on the doll which I never thought was a fair shake...

Then you have the people selling the tan minifees for 300$++ than they were paid for. I asked one seller if I could buy hers for the original price and she's like "You're paying for not having to wait the three months to get it" Soooo now I am waiting the three months and not paying the ridiculous seller fee xD

 

I've been out of the hobby for a few years other than the occasional lurking once every 6 months. I was quite surprised to see how many companies emerged and the general stagnation of the MP. I feel like I have had to re-educate myself on the MP and my expectations for my transactions. A lot has changed in less than 4 years. I have resigned myself to selling or trading under what I think the value of my dolls are in order to move them faster. I've been watching the MP and things don't seem to budge but I figure I can have some limited success if I set the price at a reasonable point. I wouldn't ever sell a basic doll for more than I paid but I'm not sure what I would do about a limited or discontinued sculpt.

I do shy away from people that sell things I can readily buy for less, but that's the wallet talking.

 

Interesting to know that some people will buy an overpriced, second-hand doll just to bypass the wait, but when that wait can be up to six months, I guess I don't blame them. o___O

My philosophy is that a second-hand doll should be cheaper on principle because it's already been used. That's why anyone considers buying second-hand in the first place (apart from snatching up retired limiteds). It's the same principle for buying a car or books or games or nearly anything else. But after subtracting from the original retail price, I will ask that shipping be covered, though the price of shipping depends on where the doll is going unless I buy a box for a flat rate at my post office. But since the buyer always pays for shipping when ordering from anywhere, that makes sense to me. For Paypal prices, I've heard that the considerate thing to do is to calculate that into your original asking price so that you as the seller can eat that charge, and you don't have to bug the buyer about it in that case. Though admittedly, I'm kind of a little hazy on how that works. But I think the seller should foot that bill if it comes to it.

All that done, I end up really selling a doll for little over the retail price, but then it's like the buyer gets free shipping. If you ultimately lose money on a doll, well, you made that commitment when you bought it. It should be all right to at least get maybe 75-80% of that back. If you don't break even, oh well. Trying to make a profit off of these dolls by buying and re-selling seems shady and unnecessary to me. And that can really screw up a local market.

 

I most definitely agree with this. I was looking at a head, and I looked up the doll, to find that they were selling the head for $10 less than the full basic doll!

 

If a doll is limited and super popular with a demand greater than supply, it will sell for more. That's how the market works. I used to have a big problem with this, but it's understandable for non-scalpers to price a doll at market price.

And then there are scalpers who purposely buy dolls to sell at mega high prices.

And then there are people who get their friends in on lotteries to help them secure a doll and then sell the extra for a bit more.

In addition, some people aren't aware of the market price of a doll and sell it for more than it's worth (mostly see this on DOA)

I can only speak from my knowledge of DDs since the majority are limited and probably 97% of the limited DDs sell for equal or higher MSRP.

I don't agree with comparing the value of dolls depreciating the same way as a car does though. Does a doll yellow? Yes. Does that affect the functionality of the doll? Not really. I can play with my dolls but do they all of a sudden just drop it value? No. My used Momo head looks *exactly* like a new Momo head, so why would that all of a sudden be means for dropping the price if I, hypothetically, sold her.