Selling Dolls: Why?

I've sold several dolls for several reasons. The first doll I sold was also my first BJD - a hybrid; whilst I wanted to keep the body, the sculpt didn't match the character I had in mind so I ended up reshelling him so sold the body and head. The second I sold was a doll head which originally I got on an impulse buy then decided not to keep because I had no plans and was unable to find a body and matching skintone. The third was a doll which was Iplehouse superhero-size and omg he was just too big and too heavy for me so I decided to sell.

 

I have never sold a doll and I've been here since 2004. But I think I'm in the minority and I can totally understand why people sell dolls. I'd sell some of mine, but I really do love them all and don't have a strong reason... and am too lazy to bother!

But there can be too many dolls to really take care of well. I need to try and make more space and organize them, and this can be difficult (impossible for some with more limited space).

There are some dolls that go better with the others for various reasons... size, style, looks, character... and get more attention. The others are still wonderful, of course. But if time and money and space is limited, I can definitely understand down-sizing for that reason, too.

And maybe I can feel badly that I'm hoarding and don't need to keep some of these dolls that others might enjoy more. But that hasn't moved me to sell so far (since most people can get the dolls they want if they save and try to find them, anyway). But that's a reason, too.

There are lots of practical reasons to sell a doll. I think it's very individual. I can definitely see it when trying to shell a character and you find a sculpt that better does that! But I don't shell characters.

 

I sell dolls for many reasons. Sometimes it's because I no longer feel inspired by the character, sometimes it's because I need funds to purchase other dolls. And sometimes I will sell them if I want money for one of my other hobbies.. orz' It really just depends!

 

For the longest time, I told to myself I would never sell my dolls. And I did... Until last year. My taste has changed drastically since I first started the hobby early 2005. The dolls I bought back then were no longer appealing to me. I still loved each and every one of them but I also felt guilty for keeping them in their boxes all the time and not paying them any attention. So, I started selling them... To this day, I still feel a bit guilty for letting them go, especially my first doll ever which was an Iplehouse Soo Ri, but I'm pretty sure their new owners love them a lot and they get all the attention they deserve.

 

I do not think I could bring myself to sell / put up for adoption any of my dolls. I still have all the dolls I ever adopted. The first several were not BJD. And I purchased my first BJD this past January. It took about 5 years to finally adopt her. I guess that I have bonded with all my dolls and I look at it as a “Till death do us part”. I am currently looking at adopting 2 or 3 more BJD’s in the near future.

 

I'm just now getting some of my first dolls, but I can imagine selling dolls for a few reasons. If I need money to feed the chameleons, I'd do it. They're big eaters, and I'd sooner sell something inanimate than starve a living being (that isn't myself, I can eat ramen noodles if need be.) I would also sell them if they aren't working with my crew. Most of the characters I'm shelling are from a specific universe of novellas/short stories/assorted plots, and ergo need to be in scale with each other (glares at 70 cm Jack for setting the precedent) so if they don't work in scale with Jack, they can't be in that universe, and aren't as likely to stick around. But I'm not nonchalant about purchases that big, so I can only see myself selling when the chameleons need food, and i have no other way to get money.

 

For me it's mostly due to financial issues. If I need money for medicine or kids, I sell what I can and dolls/toys comes first on the sales list in such occasions. Sometimes I think this isn't hobby for anyone, it's more of a luxury so I do appreciate whatever I manege to buy and mostly... whatever I am able to keep as it is not coming easy... That's why I had only one or two episodes when I sold doll because I didn't like her. Most of the times I ponder a lot before purchasing doll or doll accessory... besides... I don't like selling lol.

I do not have my first doll. She was sold because I realized it's not the right size for me... and after that I can't really remember if there were other dolls I didn't like... they all have something enjoyable in their features and I don't regret buying them.

 

I have only sold one doll, and it was my first, a Mini Dollfie Dream. I had several reasons: 1) As my collection grew, she remained my only Dollfie. My other girls are all resin. 2) She was the only MSD doll I had and I learned I prefer bigger dolls. 3) She wasn't getting any attention. I ended up parting her out and using the funds to get a body for one of my floating heads (and that girl, Emi, is very well-loved!).

 

I am actually considering selling my first doll at the moment. Mostly for me I would want to sell to buy a different one, partially because I think I may like MSD better than SD. Also I think I would probably sell her to have money only because I feel I did spend more on her than I really wanted to in hindsight ><

 

First of all, yes, I still have my first doll.

And, reasons for selling the doll ?
Beside money wise, usually I couldn't bond with the dolls.

Mostly because they're an extra head/gift from company.
Or after the head arrived at home, I just realized it's not my type at all.

 

I only have 2 dolls, but for now I don't think I could ever sell them. What deters me is that BJDs generally decrease in value wheen you buy them soooo I feel I might as well keep them forever.

 

I get tired of a mold of a doll so I decide to sell it

 

I've sold a few dolls over the years, mainly because I like to keep my collection so that I'm 100% over the moon with every doll, and if there are doubts about one of them, I start thinking of selling them. Usually, I try some things first, like changing their look or even their character, and then if that doesn't work out, I put them away for a while and see if I miss them. If not, then I put them up for sale. The reason was usually because I didn't like the sculpt as much as I thought I would, or because it didn't fit with my other dolls, or something very specific, I sold one doll because he was too big and heavy for me, and one because I just couldn't get used to his posing and it annoyed me every time I picked him up. I don't mind selling dolls, I like to keep my collection streamlined, and I put a lot of thought into it before I put them up for sale, so I tend not to regret it.

 

Mainly I sell dolls that I don't do anything with. The ones that stand there untouched apart from getting re-dressed occasionally (usually when the other's are being re-dressed for some vent or occasion).

I've learned that tinies of around 6-8 inches mostly aren't for me as they invariably fall into this category. There have been a couple of others who just didn't move me enough to play with them much but, on the whole, once a doll joins the family tit's here for years (it takes a while to figure out the ones I don't play with and (usually) longer for me to get around to moving them on (this applies to BJDs and off-topic dolls as well).

Teddy

 

Usually once my aesthetic changes most of my crew will move on. It sounds a bit harsh, but all of my dolls need to have generally the same aesthetics or it looks awkward to me. So right now I'm mostly into realistic minis, but I've been giving that a bit of lee-way lately.

I don't mind cycling through though. I'm not generally trying to make a profit off of my dolls, so I'll sell them at reasonable prices for someone else who really wants them to enjoy and then save up for my next purchase. No sense in keeping something if its not my taste anymore.

 

I have yet to sell any dolls. I'm too busy trying to finish getting all the dolls I need for my stories. I never keep dolls locked away in boxes, mind. They all sit out in their little diorama spaces & I fiddle with them off and on, changing clothes, doing photo shoots (those stories!), decorating their spaces for holidays, etc. I have over 30 SDs, plus minis & tinies (the kids) but doesn't phase me.
I do have floating heads that stay hidden away while I'm saving $$$ to buy them bodies LOL Some of them will also probably stay locked away most of the time as they are heads shelling ghosts, or ancestors, etc.
I can see myself selling or trading bodies much easier than trading the heads, because those head sculpts to me represent the characters and I've yet to be disappointed in one (although I DID switch two, but that's another story LOL)
I probably won't sell my dolls until I have to due to age or illness (or both)!

 

Most of the time, I sell dolls when I figure out that they are not working for my doll family, either I don't like the sculpt or that doll isn't interesting to me anymore.
I have a lot of floating heads, So I try to buy bodies/heads that can easily be hybrid.

 

Lack of bonding. I am considering selling one, but that would leave another head without a body (the body is a little too yellow, it goes much better with the head I didn't bond with, but I'm making due with the body until another body arrives). I will probably sell the head with the yellowed body as they are a good match, but it will be after the other body arrives.

The first brand new doll that arrived, I had started feeling like I wasn't bonding with her. But I realized a huge part of it was her faceup. It was too mature for her. So I've wiped her and she has a slot for a November faceup.

 

I'm going to put two of my dolls up for sale soon. I don't have much interest in their characters or stories anymore, and I don't have any other characters I can/want to turn them into. Also because there's another doll I'm saving up for.
I've also sold another one to my sister's friend for the same reason. I never developed a story for her, never bonded with her, ended up really disliking her body (she's a Bobobie Ariel if that helps), and always left her in her box.
Hopefully I'll never have to sell my dolls for financial reasons. I'd have to be borderline homeless before I'd sell them for money.

 

When I decided to sell my BJDs, it was because I was taking a break from the hobby and after a while I decided to sell them so they would go to owners who could appreciate them since they were just hidden in the closet after I moved. After taking them out and looking at them, I decided I just didn't have the money and time to focus on BJDs as well as another hobby that I was into at the time. I had to give one of them up and it ended up being my BJDs.

Recently, I wanted to get back into the hobby even though I don't have any more BJDs but I didn't regret selling my dolls. One of the reasons is because my tastes have changed since years ago and even if I didn't sell my dolls, I think they would have eventually went to a better home. I still adore the sculpt but right now I really just want to concentrate on mini sized dolls.

I personally have never received a doll that I didn't like however I understand some people do go through it. I think one of the reasons why they don't sell it right away is maybe they are hoping they will grow to like them or eventually have a character/story that might work for that doll and rather than selling it they just put it in the back of their mind. Other times it might be because they received a head/body from an event and never had the chance to sell it either from putting it off or as previously mentioned.

When I decided to leave the hobby years ago and sold my dolls, I still really loved my dolls. If I never really liked them I would have never purchased them in the first place. I have other expensive hobbies that the money could go to rather than halfheartedly purchasing something that I won't like. I truly really liked them and to now, they are still my favorite sculpt. However, at the time I had no time for my dolls anymore and I was also getting into another expensive hobby. I didn't want to split my hobby into two and only give half the effort to both so in the end I gave up my BJD hobby since I thought my dolls would go to a more attentive home since I put them away for a while during my break. I don't regret selling them but I still love them and the time I spent with them.