Selling a Doll for the First time

I didn’t bond well with my first doll, B&G Nailo Elf LE, a 60 cm. i still have him, i havent been able to give him up yet since he was a gift from my mom anyways though lol. I have 5 dolls now and one extra floating head. I love my second and third dolls, RD Raven and IH Rexy, 70 and 60 cm respectively. My fourth doll, DZ Yuu (70 cm), I really bought because he was a deal in a thrift shop and I want to experiment on him with customizing and eventually resell, but I haven’t bonded with him at all yet since the first thing I did was wipe and disassemble him to be restrung and cleaned. He’s naked in pieces in a box. My fifth, DnD Noel, who I bought entirely to resell when i found her in the thrift shop with the other, took me by complete surprise. She’s a small MSD at 43 cm, and I never expected to like her size. I bonded with her instantly and I’m not giving her up now. I absolutely adore the MSD size and want more immediately but my wallet says no. It’s actually made me consider selling my bigs to buy more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m not going to, but I think about it sometimes

 

My first doll, Amir, is still with me and will be turning 11 in July! I am his first owner, if that tells you how long he's been around (I bought him from a dealer, in stock, in April 2008). I bonded very strongly with him for a long time, but he's MSD and I've discovered I much prefer SD, and I don't care much for his aesthetic anymore (he's an Angel of Dream, and while they're excellent dolls, especially in their price range, they just aren't my style anymore.) I have no regrets about choosing him as my first BJD, and I doubt I'll ever sell him because the years of sentimental value is much higher than his current secondhand value ever could be, but he sits in my sewing room in a display case, not in the doll room in the dioramas with the SD crew. It's a very different kind of love I have for him compared to the others.

Advice on selling: Put him away for a few months, see if you miss him or have any urge to take him back out. If so, you're not ready to sell him. If you don't miss him at all, it might be time. Hybrids can be sold as a full doll, but I'd recommend an option to split--hybrids are a very personal thing, and what one person sees as the perfect hybrid, someone else might think is not a good match at all, especially if the hybrid was created to fit a certain character idea that doesn't fit their ideas. Try not to feel too guilty--I know we put a lot of emotion into saving up, choosing a doll, waiting for it to arrive, building a character around it, really turning it into our idea of this beautiful, unique little person, but in the end, it really is an inanimate object who isn't going to feel hurt or rejected by being sold. There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling a doll, even your first, if the love isn't there. Think of it like this, if you still feel bad: you're sending the doll to someone excited to have it, and in turn, you're getting money to buy something you enjoy more. The hobby should be fun, enjoy it to the fullest!

 

I’ve not had that problem really, but my oldest is only 3 and since then there’s been more impulse buys so things may change...

 

My first doll was a MSD. I was really happy the day I bought him and I couldn't wait for him to come home. And when he arrived, the very first time I saw him, I realize that MSD dolls were too small for me and I just couldn't bond with him. I felt extremely guilty too because I was so excited when I bought him. I kept him for a month and then decided to be honest with myself and put him on sale. Think about it a little more if you need, but sometimes we know deep in our heart what we truly want. So if you decide to sell him, don't feel guilty. I adore dolls but I do know that they're objects (though I have deep feeling for my dolls) and if I know there's nothing I can do to be happy with one of them, I prefer selling them. This way, I'll have an opportunity to find my real beloved doll and the doll will have a new opportunity to be loved by another person. Good luck!

 

My first doll was my BF Jasmine and she was ALSO the first doll where I was like ''I don't want to keep this one'' honestly. It was disappointing because I'd been researching BJDs for years and she was the only one that was still being manufactured by the time I got to the point where I could afford a resin (and I wanted my first to be brand new/direct from the company). Sadly it was just not the right choice, I didn't like the Neo body much at all and as I started getting more dolls, I realized I preferred older dolls with single joints, maybe a little yellowing. The moment I got my first old girl (an AR Ren with stock faceup, body blushing and yellowing- discontinued in like 2010 IIRC) I latched onto her immediately; I still feel joy when I look at her, yellowing and all. I decided to stop getting brand new dolls because I wasn't attaching to them like that, and sold off all of my brand new ones. I think new resin is just...not my thing? Which is strange because with vinyl dolls, I always want them mint. But yellowed resin and single joints just have something about them for me, an eery, haunting kind of beauty, and I feel a pull to them that I never did with my brand new girls.


It was a little scary to start selling them off but I feel a LOT better when they're gone, with people that will love them. I'm thankful for the experience of getting a brand new doll, direct from the company, if only because it helped me realize that I prefer dolls with history and flaws.

 

I did bond very well with my first doll, a DD Snow Miku. When I got her I was immediately amazed by her beautiful face and the easy poseability of her body. She's been with me for only half a year but I still adore her and would never even think about selling her!
Unfortunately I don't bond very well with my third doll (head), she's a SQlab Ryoko and somehow she's not as cute as I imagined her to be. But time will tell if I will keep her with me since I'm still waiting on her body to arrive at my place. Until then she's sitting on a shelf next to my other two dolls...

 

My 1st one came & went. My second boy, David Kunnci is the love of my life. My 3rd an Iplehouse HID I got 2nd hand is another of my favorites.... I’ve gotten many other boys, many stayed & many went away. I believe I have 2 more that need to go away!

 

I had a fairly similar experience, my first doll was a Minifee and I didn’t bond with her at all. There were definitely a variety of factors that led to not being able to bond but I think size was one of the biggest. Overall I had a kinda bad experience with her so I sold her pretty quickly and got an SD, and now I’ve had 2 SDs and they’re definitely the size for me! I’m always a teeny bit jealous when people describe their bond with their first doll lol

 

My first doll was a Resinsoul Mei and it was love at first sight. I fell in love with her sculpt, and when she finally arrived she became my little girl. It's been almost four years now since I got her and I still feel a burst of love and joy whenever I look at her or hold her. Our bond has not gotten any weaker over the years. I must have been insanely lucky judging by this thread!

 

I didn't bond with my first doll, which is Snow from Dollzone. The reasons were pretty complex, I didn't like how yellow the white skin will become, how un-postable he is, and etc.... So I just decided to let go of him, since it will be worse for me just left him in his official box, and not play with him. Fortunately, his new owner has other dolls he would play with.

 

I love all my dolls, except my third doll... It's a souldoll limited doll. The posebility is not good, and I found the head bit too small for the body. All in all not fell in love with him...

There were some moments I wanted to sell him, but I was too lazy to do so. Then I thought just leave him as it is, and maybe one day in the future I will change my mind... who knows...

 

I am always drawn to the bigger dolls so much more than the smaller ones. Even though they do take up a lot of space. I have two dolls so far. A 1/3 sd and a tiny! I love them both so much, but I've had a problem with my 1/3 girl's body ability to pose since I got her. Because of that it has been harder and harder to bond with her. That hurts me because I love the head so much! I finally decided to sell the body and I'm going to buy her a new one. I feel confidant that I will bond with her much more when her new body arrives!

 

Just wanted to chime in: A wonderful advice on selling... I'm in a similar position as OP, and I think I will absolutely try this! Putting the doll away and monitoring how I feel about them "missing" is probably the best way to go around it if one's being indecisive...

Thank you for a great word of advice, and I hope it works out for the OP as well!!

 

Glad to help!

And it might not even take a few months to decide. Sometimes putting the doll away for a week is long enough for me to realize my collection looks much better without it and feel a sense of relief from clutter. Other times, even undressing it and putting it in the box is enough to make me feel too sad to even consider selling it. It’s really all about making yourself seriously think about how you feel without that doll. It’s hard to think about it when the doll is still dressed and hanging out with the rest of the crew!

Good luck on making your choice.

 

I didn't bond with my first, and haven't bonded with other dolls since, it's a tricky thing.
One way I have found of dealing with whether or not I want to keep a doll is what I call "the insurance dilemma"
Pretend for a moment said doll is destroyed somehow, you get funds from your insurance company to buy a new one.
Insurance fine print aside, do you buy the same sculpt again, or something different?
Mulling that one over usually helps me work out whether it's the sculpt I love, or if it's just something I'm keeping out of some sense of guilt or duty.

 

I think that if you see your doll's potential as something that might benefit a future doll idea/project, such as selling them, then it's probably about time to let it go. I agree with one comment to put the doll away for quite some time though, if you still feel guilty about the thought. It's probably going to help you fully decide whether you'd still want to keep in touch or not.

In my experience, the first doll that i've had, I thought I will keep him. I already decided that i'm not going to sell him ever but as the waiting months pass, the doll has not yet arrived to me but I already feel like there's something wrong about the shell of the doll with the character I have in mind, it did not click with me. So by the time it arrived, I no longer want to do any business with it as i've found a better shell for the character. Guilt never occurred to me but a lesson to strengthen my research more and a lot of assuring mindset about a doll.

 

That's a way to look at it I never thought of @lioness . Some of my current dolls I feel conflicted about whether or not I want to keep them.

I seem to fall out of love as much as not bonding with them. I sold my second one on to a new home when I realized the things about her that drove me crazy weren't worth what I liked about her. Two I bought second hand impulsively didn't work for me, and have gone on to new owners.

 

I'm lucky enough to have a chance to hold many dolls of my friend before joined this hobbies. So I have no problem with the size I already choose. The pre-order still scare me though. Even the same 1/3, 1/4 doll could have many style of aesthetics... what if they could not share wigs, eyes or photo together at all due to too difference in aesthetic?

I never sold my dolls yet. (Still new to the hobbie), but will not hesitate to do if I think that their job are done with me. I'll put they on sell if so.