Self-imposed rules prior to purchases

My primary rule currently would be 1 in= 1 out. It's because I want to keep my collection down to 5. So, if I fell in love with any doll, one of my current crew would have to go. This means, in turn, that the new doll would have to be at least as cool as some of them.

Other rules:
-no other size than SD13 girls (or petite SD boys
-nothing new where I don't see the owner photos
-not beyond $500
-preferably second hand
-breast size not too big (to fit the clothes well)
-must drool over for at least a month or, preferably, a couple months (up to 6, then it's high time i buy it if the above rules are adhered to)

and that's pretty much all I don't keep any OCology, they're just fashion dolls for me

 

My official rule is: no more dolls!!! My collection has grown too large!

Buuuut … my other rules are:

• If it’s a 1/4 scale corgi, get it!
• No dolls over YoSD size.
• Don’t shell OCs! I’m not into that.
• Nothing over $300
• No regular humans (must be a unique resin color or have other non-human features.
• Dream Valley is the only exception to all these rules.

 

Ha ha ha ha ha! Hellooooo, fellow DV addict!

Right now, I'm on a hard break. No, really, I swear.
I have several dolls and bodies coming in for hybrid purposes, and now I'm kinda stuck on my face-ups, because I'm not sure that the head I have is going to stay with the body I have. This is silly, because I'm terrible at face-ups. I need the practice.

I really like the "stick to one company" rule, and for me, that company would probably be Dream Valley. So many companies offer beautiful, realistic sculpts that I love, but I can wait. Then Dream Valley comes out with a 3-foot-tall mantitaur, and I gotta have it.

Pandemic buying has caused my collection to explode too, and I find myself needing to scale back hard. I'm out of space. My dolls have taken over the house. They're everywhere. So I appreciate this question and other folks' rules.

At this point, I'm looking solely to match up heads and bodies - and that means waiting until all of my pre-orders finally arrive.

After that:
Get a Dreaming Doll body with double-jointed knees to replace the single-jointed body I have.
Figure out what to do with any leftovers: floating heads, headless bodies, etc.
Because I hybrid so much, I find that I order dolls in white resin only. If I want them to be a different color, I'll just spray-paint them (with acrylic paints and an airbrush).
And of course - Dream Valley is always the exception. I love them so much.

 

I clearly tend to buy dolls to make my chaotic life seem less chaotic. Searching for serotonine and comfort and so on, oh no. So, in most cases I tell myself that I deserve the doll and the doll would make me feel better. They might not cure real life issues, but they indeed give me extreme comfort and joy! So usually I just set myself a goal: if I still want a certain doll after some time (usually some months), I can buy it.

 

Impulse buying to try and get that boost of serotonin is something I'm definitely guilty of in other hobbies. I find that just browsing and looking at dolls on sites + looking at what other people do with their dolls helps curb my desire to buy a bunch of them? I'm not sure what it is but seeing company photos or owner photos doing such pretty things with their dolls soothes that need to buy and do it myself.

 

I've never impulse bought a doll. I have a compliucated story about dealing with anxiety by online shopping things related to my previous hobby and, when I started with BJDs back in 2013, I was very aware I didn't want that to happen again, so I did my research and I planned some rules to help my stay in the right lane this time:

• No dolls bigger than MSDs - This I learnt was best for me while attending doll meets before I even bought a doll. Seeing different sizes of dolls really helped me figure out where I wanted to start.
• No two dolls from the same company - This one I broke a few years ago and it was totally worth it. I should've scrapped this one from the beginning if I'm honest, as there is only a handful of companies I really like.
• No new doll until the latest one is complete - Complete means a correct face-up, one wig, a pair of eyes and one outfit complete with shoes and accesories.
• No new doll unless I've got a plan for it - As a character-driven collector, I always have to plan a character (personality + background + future story) before I convince myself to purchase a sculpt that I like.

That said, I haven't bought a new doll since 2020 and I have no plans to purchase more in the future. I have 6 dolls in total and I'm very happy with my current resin family. I buy little things for them now and then but, when I look at them, I truly feel like I've achieved what I wanted when I joined this awesome community.

 

You, uh - you mind if I borrow these? Because, um... my collection is a little out of control.

 

No problem (^w^) I'm glad my ideas can be useful for someone else.
It's a hard task to regain control over a collection or even downsize it. I think having some rules might help you to see clearer and decide what you want or don't want, especially when attachment feelings get in the way. I wish you luck!

 

I would seriously reconsider if the doll is a pre-order that takes more than 3 months. This is because during that time frame, I may change my mind or lose inspiration.

 

I have a few self-imposed rules and it's cool to see that other people do the same, or have different rules!

- I only collest minis and tinies and I check that they have similar proportions to each other. (This rule I recently broke with an impulse purchase, so my newest doll looks odd next to the rest of my crew. )
- Try to have a plan for the doll's look (clothes, eyes, wig, faceup).
- Try to figure out what makes this doll special to me (in terms of character and appearance). If I'm not inspired, I shouldn't buy it.

 

I've only been in the hobby for about a year, so I'm still trying to figure out my rule set.

- Only 1/3 girls
- But no girls over 60cm (there's some really pretty 65/66cm girls out there, but I just can't)
- I have to sell some stuff (doesn't have to be doll related) when I want a new doll or make a bigger clothing purchase
- I have to have at least a name OR a character idea for any new doll

I currently have no strict rules on how many dolls I "get" to own. I originally only wanted two, but somehow ended up ordering two more and now I'm eyeing a fifth one. I think five girls is a good number, though! One more doll can't hurt, right?

 

My rules are roughly:

- I need to like the blank doll
- I need to have an idea for her (yes I collect only female dolls), even if it changes afterwards
- no WS anymore

 

• I need to love the doll, specifically the doll itself with its sculpting and so on rather than the possible character I'm either planning to shell or a new character that's popped into my head upon seeing the doll.

• I need to be able to come up with a fairly detailed character for the doll in terms of looks at least. Doesn't matter whether I'm sure I'd want to go for the look, the important thing is that the doll can inspire at least 1 character/style because I've found that if it can inspire 1, then it can inspire multiple.

• I need to wait at minimum 2 weeks before ordering, though typically I'll wait at least a month to see whether I'm still as interested. Granted this rule is usually upheld by my wallet as well, but I've stuck to it even if money hasn't been an issue, just generally then I'll only wait the minimum time or a week longer. Only exception is when a doll is limited or available for order for less than 2 weeks, then I'm even stricter with the first 2 rules, and will look at the doll multiple times a day every day to that way sort of get the feeling on whether it's the fleeting kind of love or not. However, if I only have like 4 days to decide, I'll just straight up decide not to order, because it would be just too uncertain and stressful overall.

 

My self imposed rule is that I only buy dolls that are on sale or limited (or both lol). I'm kind of a cheep-skate, in the sense that I try to pinch pennies and save money wherever I can, so doing this helps save me money (and the regret of knowing I could've saved money if I had just waited a little longer, haha). There are exceptions to this, of course, for dolls that just never get discounted, but for the most part I'm able to apply this rule.

 

I'm strictly a large (1/3) doll collector and am usually pretty good at self-control, but there's one category that always tempts me badly: tiny pet- and animal-type sculpts. Since they're less expensive than 1/3 dolls, I know I can impulse-buy and end up with a hoard of tiny pets. Which will be nice to have, but I don't have an endless pot of cash or infinite space in my home, and I'm more emotionally invested in my 1/3 dolls and would prefer to spend on them instead. I've also tried and failed to get into smaller doll sizes (and eventually sold those dolls), so I know tinies just don't work for me.

So I've banned myself permanently from ever dropping money on tiny pet dolls. I can look all I want, but absolutely no buying!

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For 1/3 dolls, my rules are...

* Has to be in the 57-65cm range. I might go a bit taller, but 70cm is the hard limit.

* Attractiveness is not enough, the head sculpt must also give me a character. I've tried and failed to shell existing/old characters in doll-form (also sold those dolls in the end), so now I take the opposite tack: look at head sculpts and see if they generate characters in my mind. If a new sculpt does that, and I keep thinking about the character and start to flesh the personality/backstory out... then it's likely a keeper that I won't regret buying.

* I like my dolls to look harmonious together, so the new sculpt has to fit with the vibe and style of my existing crew - which is semi-realistic youthful, but also a bit stylized. There's no rational criteria for this, I just have to have a good feeling about the sculpt and think it'll look good with my crew!

* I then put the sculpt on my wishlist and let it sit. It needs to stand the test of time, even beyond limited edition preorder windows. If I keep liking the sculpt, and its character keeps on staying in my mind, AND I'm willing to pay secondhand market prices for it (or be motivated to keep looking for it, if it's hard to find)... chances are it'll be a keeper I won't regret buying.

So far these rules seem to work for me.

 

My rules are pretty simple:

• Don't buy a doll until the previous doll arrives.
• Wait for an event or sale if the doll is over $200.
• No naked dolls. Budget with doll accessories in mind.