Secondhand Secrets?

I have absolutely no issues with pre-loved dolls. The MP here has served me very well for getting dolls I wanted within the EU, thus saving me shipping/customs fees, and for avoiding company wait times! All the dolls I have bought have been in the condition described and I'm very happy to have them living with me

 

To be honest, sometimes I forget which of my dollies are second hand. To me they are all my dolls, I hardly care how they came to be. Besides, I tend to bond easier and faster with 2nd hand ones for some reason.
I am a proud to say they are pre-owned. That i took them from people who didn't want them anymore and made them pretty and loved again.

 

It's rather interesting, for me personally, because two of my favorite most loved
ABJDs were bought from eBay & YJ......buuuuut my Unoa was a kit with a painted
FP and my doll from YJ is a Volks Lorina that was only handled/opened for pictures
(or possibly not at all....?) So, what really constitutes secondhand? The fact that it
wasn't bought from the company....or can someone who buys dolls just to resell be
considered something like a doll store, that buys directly in order to have in stock??
When we buy from stores like DDE they often open items up to make sure they are
OK, is that considered "handled"? Based on the definition any doll handled or coming
from another source, or previously used, as in a display doll would fit the SH term.
*shrugs* Sorry if this comes off as a strange comment or thought. In my defense I
am very sick ATM XD

So, I never considered either of them "secondhand", but I suppose others might!! NP
Perhaps that's why I love them the most. Although my first SH doll scared me enough
that I lovingly (not so much) passed her onto my Mom...so it clearly doesn't apply to all.

Oh, so to be more OT for the OP, No, I've never lied nor would I, about a doll being SH.
In this hobby it's often the only way we can get our hands on a doll we fall in love with so
there shouldn't be any shame (or other strange feelings) about that!!

 

I'd say 90% of my dolls are second-hand..it never occured to me anyone would care, especially since a lot of them are limited and I simply didn't have the opportunity or money to get them the first time around. I also prefer owner pictures to factory photos and I like knowing what the quirks are before I buy a doll..and previous owners, at least on DoA, tend to be more honest about the good and the bad than the factory is. In this hobby, being a second owner is not a problem, any more than it is for the antique doll collectors.

 

I personally don't really see why anyone would mind a doll being second hand, unless it's for some obscure elitist reason, but luckily I haven't encountered that yet. Like Fishcake above me, most of my dolls are (or were) second hand.
Sometimes I forget they used to have a 'life' before me so to speak, because that really doesn't matter anymore. And this may be an odd comparison, but I have the same with one of my cats, which is a rescue. he just makes me so happy (just like my dolls) that I sometimes forget his life hasn't always been as jolly as it is now.
Not trying to compare a living being to dolls, but the feeling they give me can be called similar.
I have to say I'm very, very happy I haven't encountered anyone yet who has commented on my dolls being second hand. But then again, I'm happy I haven't encountered much elitism in general.

 

Have you ever told someone that your secondhand doll was new?
Nope. Usually, I am exactly the opposite. If someone asks where I got one of my dolls, my response is usually "She was on the Marketplace/eBay. Isn't she amazing? I'm so lucky I found her." Or him.

I don't think there's any reason for a stigma to be attached to secondhand dolls. There are some truly amazing ones out there, sometimes at great deals. And the customizations on some of them done by a previous owner can be really fantastic. A doll doesn't have to be fresh from the factory to be loved. If that was the case, there's be no Marketplace here at all. Most of my favorites in my collection are rehomed dolls, and they renumber those I have bought straight from the company by 4 or to 1.

 

I'm in complete agreement with Snow...my dolls are my dolls and I really don't care where they came from. I've adopted many of mine right here in the marketplace. When I'm looking for a new sculpt for a character I have planned, I search through all the possible venues. Sometimes I'm not looking for anything specific sculpt-wise...just an appropriate blank canvas...so it's helpful to hit the marketplace to see what might work because the sculpts are so varied there. And I have a very philosophic approach to dolls...sometimes they work out for you, sometimes they don't and you have to sell them. That's perfectly okay because we are just facilitators of their journey, and they will one day wind up where they are truly destined to be. (A romantic notion, but it's what I believe.) So given that, I wouldn't hesitate to adopt something secondhand and be proud of the fact and brag about it to the world.

 

I don't think there's any stigma whatsoever regarding second-hand dolls in this hobby, considering that for a great number of dolls, be they discontinued, limited by time or limited by event/lottery, second-hand IS the only place to get them, and boy do people shell out a lot of money for those!

I prefer to buy new, but that's only because I feel a bit safer knowing that I can deal with the company directly if there's a defect or an unfortunate accident during shipping, whereas with a second-hand doll this would be a bit more tricky to figure out. I've bought a few heads second-hand (one of which I then traded for another second-hand head), but to be honest I don't even know when that would come up in conversation. And besides, so many people in this hobby treat their dolls with absolute care and respect that I don't even think they differ much from what they looked like straight from the company. I know some people buy second-hand dolls to restore, and I think a lot of them are very proud of a successful restoration and usually like to show it off. I've NEVER heard anything negative regarding second-hand dolls in my entire four years in the hobby (and in fact have heard a lot of encouragement of "browsing the marketplace" for newcomers), so I really don't think it's an issue.

 

Have you ever told someone that your secondhand doll was new?

yep my first boy was 2nd hand, i love him and i always think that 2nd hand is always a good way to save money , i also have one tha i am its only owner and i am proud off both

If so, why did you tell them it was new when it was not?

i tell them if they ask, it doesnt matter weather new or 2nd hand as long as they are in great condition and u love them

Did you ever tell them that you didn't get your doll new?
if it isnt new i wouldnt say it was, its a bit discitful

 

I bought my doll new but would not have a problem with buying a seconhand one or telling people. I don'tsee the problem

 

I probably address a doll as "new" even if i got her from mp, because she is new to me.
But I have no problem telling people one and a halve of my two dolls are secondhand. (His head is from company but body is from mp)
Because one, they don't care, two, I don't care, and three, so what.

Even if the doll is secondhand, more than often, it is still just as attractive.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to say my doll(s) are used or secondhand. I don't see a problem with a second-hand doll, really. Most of my dolls are second-hand, and I'm totally okay with that. Some dolls you can't buy from the companies anymore, so most of those are second-hand. Plus, it's always nice to give a used doll a new home

 

I really don't mention whether my dolls are "new" or "secondhand". The dolls are mine and I don't think it really matters. However I do like getting my dolls "new" because I prefer having full control over my things. OCD at its best.

 

I don't generally mention whether a doll is used or new when introducing her to others, since one of the interesting things about the dolls hobby is that the value of the doll (financial or emotional) is not tied to whether someone is the first owner. It's tied directly to the doll itself.

If someone asks how a girl was acquired, I might have an interesting story-of-the-hunt for them though! Whether that was secondhand, or through a limited edition website battle.

 

My first doll ( still to Arrive) is a second hand unoa lusis. She is my dream doll, as a newbie the idea of getting the kit in the next pre order waiting/stringing/ faceuping scared the life out of me. So the fact that that's all been done is fab. I'm very proud of my purchase and she will always be adopted to me never "nd hand. xx

 

Have you ever told someone that your secondhand doll was new?
No.

Did you ever tell them that you didn't get your doll new?
Yes. Sometimes I may mention it if I think it is relevant to what we are talking about, if I am very pleased about getting a discontinued doll or a doll for a large discount secondhand, or if they ask me from where I bought the doll.

 

I prefer to buy my dolls second hand. I like the fact that they have been loved before getting to me.

 

Nearly all of my dolls are second hand... I spend more time in the DoA MP than on all the bjd websites combined. Except maybe Dollmore. And Dollstown. But otherwise, I'm almost always browsing for dolls here. I have no problems with that though, because whatever comes through the door is most emphatically mine. That's it- no do-overs, no need to lie or worry, it's mine. I honestly don't even think about it anymore, especially since so many dolls have quite a long career of being bought and sold.

All of my resin horde will be sold when I don't want them anymore as well (except for Cass and maybe Maika who will always be special). Thus, every new doll I own will then become a second hand one. And ever second hand doll will add house number 3- etc. etc. It's no big deal really.

To answer your questions though- no one ever asks me about my dolls who knows anything about them. If someone actually did, and asked whether they were new or not, I'd explain that some were bought direct and some weren't.

 

If I was selling a doll that was bought secondhand, then I would tell people that it was secondhand. I would be a little displeased(and that's putting it nicely) if someone sold me a doll they marked as brand new, and then it came to me yellow as a banana and covered in resin cracks. I don't particulalry like surprises myself, so I try to be honest with people about these things.

I don't know why somebody wouldn't buy a doll just because it was second hand anyways. I would have no problems 'adopting' someone's resin baby if I happen to love the doll.

 

All my girls except one are second hand dolls. I believe they are just as good as a new doll and there is nothing wrong with it. If someone happens to ask about how I got my dolls, then I'll be glad to share that information with them. But if they don't ask, I don't think it really matters where or how you got your dolls or if they are new or not.