Selling dolls to buy new ones?

I'm quite fickle with my dolls so I do this all the time - Not intentionally, as I am always convinced my new doll is THE BEST I've ever owned and I will love it forever! But then as time goes on, sometimes I just lose the spark for that doll, and sometimes even start to dislike it and it grates on me to look at them. So I pack them up and give it a break for a while to see if I miss them, or how I feel when I get them out again. Often I love them more after a break and a restyle like this. If I just am not feeling it though, even after a break and restyle, I see it as 'dead money' - I could use it to buy a doll I really am crazy about, rather than struggling with a doll I just barely tolerate. It makes no sense to do that, financially or otherwise - as a hobby should bring you pleasure, that's what it's for. However if I'm not really after a specific new doll, I don't rush to sell, or I might regret it later - I just keep them boxed up and forget about them till I need the money for something or someone else. If they're not already boxed up, then you are not ready to sell them - so I would always advise doing this first. You may find that the doll you are selling is actually very similar to the new doll you want, just too familiar - in which case restyling your original doll makes more sense financially.

 

I certainly don't see anything wrong with it. Once you buy a doll, it's yours to do what you want with. Selling to raise funds for another doll definitely is a sensible option. Selling a doll you're not happy with makes sense, too.

Personally, I haven't been able to do it. I only purchase dolls for my "core" characters in my doll story. Once I've selected just the right doll, scraped together funds for it, bought/commissioned clothes, found the right eyes, etc, etc, etc, it's here to stay. My time and efforts outweigh any money I could gain from a sale. But that's just me. I've been lucky so far not to experience buyer's regret. At least, not over dolls! Wigs, on the other hand. . .

 

I haven't and I wouldn't do it either.
I would either wait and save or scratch somewhere else for money.

 

I have sold and traded a lot of dolls in the past.

Moneys definitely the biggest factor, after I did a little impulse buying at the beginning, I told myself if I wanted a new doll I had to sell an old one first. It is quite hard, because I have always sold/traded at a loss, but it's not too big a factor for me because I enjoy the dolls I get in a trade and usually my loss is about $50 which I can save up easier. But it's definitely something you should keep in mind!
I've not regretted selling a doll yet because the ones I sold are all "replaceable" as in their sculpts aren't discontinued etc. However, even if they were discontinued, someone somewhere in the world has to own one, so there is always a chance to reverse regrets if you find you're missing an old doll just too much!

I would go for it, because new dolls are always super exciting! And there's a nice new face in your home who will need you to spoil and dress them up!

 

If you don't absolutely love the doll, go right ahead and trade him or her out for something you do love. Why keep one you're only so-so about?

 

I do this, quite frequently. In my 6 years in the hobby, I think I've owned probably well over 100 different head sculpts (I tend to just buy a new head and reuse bodies more often than not), but usually only have about 30 at any given time. I have a few that I'm really attached to and can't really even think about selling, but the rest fluctuate a lot and just depend on what stories and characters hold my attention at the current time. I do feel a little bad that so many come and go, often in a matter of months, but at the same time, it keeps me busy and interested. I don't have the time or money or space to keep adding to the collection without ever letting one go. I think about dolls I bought several years ago that I wouldn't have any interest in at all now and would probably be left in a box or on a shelf for months or years at a time without so much as a glance. I'd rather focus on what I love than force what I don't.

 

I think it's completely sensible to sell older dolls and then acquire a new one. For me I find my aesthetics change over time, so that a doll I bought for a character five years ago may not work for that character today. (For example: An anime style sculpt to a more realistic style sculpt.) Only you yourself know when it is time for a doll to move on from your collection.

 

I'm with MacaronTea in that my taste in doll aesthetics changes, so my dolls will change also. I've gone through so many, but I only want to keep a certain amount (one that my wallet won't cry too much over). As I change, so do my dolls. Sometimes I'll get a doll because I love how it looks, then a new sculpt comes out that fits the role of that doll personality even better. I sell the first and get the second.

We change, so our dolls can change, too.

 

I'm new to bjds, but have done this with off topic dolls in the past, but not dolls that I thought I might miss. Sometimes I think a doll is perfect for me, but when I get them, I can't "bond". I try changing their style, but if that doesn't work, off they go to someone who will really appreciate them! I'm actually about to photograph and try to sell a dozen or so OT dolls to hopefully help fund a new resin doll.

 

Do you/have you ever sold a doll for the sole purpose of buying a different one you want?

I have not, but I can understand it, and I think this is very common.

If you haven't, would you ever consider it?

I would consider it, but so far, I haven't had to make such a choice. But it's not a bad thing to do. I think I have too many dolls now--I have never sold one since I started in 2004, so I should let some go to other owners, but I'm just too attached! But it is always possible that I will think differently in the future... Not MUCH differently, but it would probably be good to sell some before buying more and drowning in resin.

 

I have a couple I've bought who were meant for a specific purpose but didn't pan out as planned. I currently have them but have been thinking for a long time now about selling; there are loads of other dolls I love and would rather have at this point. I've kept them for this long wondering if I couldn't maybe play around with their style and character a bit, but that involves sinking yet more money into a sculpt that I'm either not sold on or has become redundant. Why not put that money towards another doll I'd rather have instead? It only makes sense.

 

If you feel like this is the right choice for you, then I say go for it! But make sure that you really can part with the doll you're wanting to sell before you do it. I usually like to box them up and put them away for a few weeks to see if I miss them or not.
I guess maybe because I don't buy dolls to suit characters I'm not as specifically attached to them as others might be. It might make it easier for me to part with the ones I don't feel so much love for anymore.
Or maybe I feel like there's only so much I can do with a doll, and after a few years I've done all I can with it and it's time to move on.
I have sold dolls to buy new ones, I feel no guilt over it and I'll probably continue to into the future

 

Do you/have you ever sold a doll for the sole purpose of buying a different one you want?

No. However, I noticed that after I sell a doll, I get an urge to buy a new one! I just sold one a few weeks ago, and thought "Oh, my Paypal isn't empty anymore - I could go get a new doll!". I resisted the urge this time, but last year I sold the only doll I had listed for sale at the time. I don't know why exactly, but that set off a round of buying that resulted in me ordering several new dolls. I've read about how some drug addicts manage to resist their drug of choice, then suddenly start using again and end up overdosing. I don't like to compare buying dolls to using drugs, but that's what I think about whenever I buy multiple dolls after a long period of not buying dolls.

If you haven't, would you ever consider it?

No. Simply because most dolls I want are either limited or on the MP, and I know that by the time I sold the old doll, the doll I want would no longer be available. I've had some dolls sell within a few weeks, but it's a rare occurrence.

 

I have never sold any of my doll.. well I think it only because I dont have a lot of money probelms.

but I have a frined who used to sell her doll for the new doll..

I can understand the purpose of that, but I dont think I will do it in the furture.

 

Yes I have sold dolls for money for other dolls. I sold my off topic dolls (all of them in fact) and two bjds that I never really bonded with or liked that much. I bought them early on and as my tastes developed (and got more expensive unfortunately!) they no longer appealed to me. I don't miss them and the money helped pay off two that are very important to me. I'm happy also that someone else is enjoying them when I was neglecting them.

 

Yes, I have sold about 5 dolls now and can`t say I miss them. I am currently mulling over selling a doll I have fallen out of love with.

 

Oh yes ... I've done it many times with OT dolls. In fact, now I'm selling most of my 16" fashion dolls to fund BJDs. Taste changes over time and if you are no longer in love with a doll (or maybe never were but just got swept up in a buying frenzy for some limited edition ), I think it is perfectly fine to sell it. It might be someone else's grail doll, so it will find its way to a home where it will be played with and cherished.

 

I've never done it, but I only have one doll so far whom I love very much, so it would be hard for me haha. My grail-doll (well, at least so far, maybe I find other dolls that I like more when I've found more companies) is a Dollmore Ballet Kid Doll, but I really couldn't sell my Mei just to get one of those. No way. Love her too much. If I do have a lot of dolls in the future tho, I could probably sell one to get another one, if I felt ok with selling that particular doll. Otherwise, I'd say no.

 

I haven't sold a doll so that I could purchase a new one. I'm still a new collector but most of my collection is part of my canon group so I can't imagine letting one of them go. And I'm in the process of building out a second group that doesn't have the level of background detail as my first - so we'll see if I'm more/less attached to them and could consider selling one of them in exchange for a new one.

It's always takes me off guard a little bit when I hear of people selling a doll for a new one - but I understand why for financial/space/aesthetic reasons. At the moment I don't need to consider this as my first option but I do feel like I have too many dolls or rather more dolls than I wanted to own - so I ask myself this question quite often.