Selling dolls you can't buy again

As someone who has done this more than once I had to sell due to arthritis in hands. It was always for the best as I am not someone who can just look at a doll. For some it is money for real life, for others it's health care for themselves, family member or pet. It's never easy and it's always after making sure no other option was there.

 

I often think about that. My collection isn't what I would consider HUGE (17 full dolls, but ten of those are under 30cm and the four smallest can all fit together in the palm of one hand) and I'm not in immediate danger of running out of space, but their cabinet is definitely getting a little crowded... but out of my whole collection I think only 4 full dolls and 1 head are readily available right now if I wanted to replace them. So if I do get to the point where I need to start rotating out older dolls to make room for new ones, I'm not sure what I'll do.

 

My collection has been almost entirely second hand old dolls, and those just get older and harder to find. Or on the rare occasion I bought one new, seems like eventually they are discontinued and I choose a lot of unpopular models!
It's painful trying to make decisions both for your current self and all possible future selves, impossible. There are some dolls I let go of who I'm very sad about and I wish I had done things differently.
I wish I had something more encouraging to say but sometimes the hobby is just an act of letting go and dealing with your grief. Embracing what happy accidents you do have (I've occasionally gotten back one I thought I'd never be able to) and remembering that there should theoretically be new opportunities to find sculpts you like out there, new or old.

I do act very carefully if the parts would be very hard or impossible to find again, and I weigh it based on my emotions for the particular doll sculpt or character as well. Sometimes I hoard things a few more years and come around to be glad I did, sometimes I sell them after years of deliberating and immediately regret it! such is life.

Good luck if you're going through that deliberation

 

Yes, I have sold many dolls that couldn't be super feasibly repurchased (too rare, very specific, one-off etc). The rarity definitely crossed my mind when I made the decisions, however if I no longer felt as attached to them, I figured why not let any other collector enjoy them! Usually, it was because I was shifting my collection focus and knew another collector would photograph / dress or "play" with it more.
I didn't end up regretting many of the dolls I sold. There are only a few smaller artist dolls that I wish I would've kept (not resin BJD).
If you are holding on just because of the rarity . . . and not because you find the doll appealing or fulfilling, then selling to find another doll you are more taken with, seems like a good idea.

 

I have sold a few dolls but always end up regretting it. It might not be right away but inevitably I'll see one of their pictures and say to myself why do you do that?

 

This..is something I've been thinking about a lot in recent years. I used to be much more free with buying and selling, and didn't think about how hard it would be to get something back if I regretted letting it go. Now though, as most of my dolls are no longer available to buy easily, I find myself being extra careful about who I think should go. I sold one recently that is a somewhat rare event head, but I know she'll be more loved in her new home and I can find another doll to fill the gap and be happy, as she didn't quite fit the role I wanted her for here.

I'd like to believe things like this will always work out, but I have had regrets in the past. I'll always regret selling my IP Louis, and my MNF Ruth, as you just never see those on the market anymore. I miss their sweet faces and more so the characters attached to them. (my Louis mostly...) However, every doll that leaves makes way for a new opportunity and a new doll to come in who might bring even more joy. (I do also really enjoy hunting for the perfect doll!)

If I felt that I couldn't sell or rehome any doll that was discontinued...I wouldn't be able to sell 70% or more of my dolls. So yes, it's something I consider, but it's not the only thing, and it's not something I'm overly strict about. In general though, I'm not quick to let a doll go.

 

I've sold multiple dolls, and most I'm glad to let go on to their new home. But there's one I think I may regret forever. She was an Angell-Studio Kana head (which I can get again) on a 1st gen B&G body (good luck with that one!) She was thick and curvy, with the sweetest face. I loved that doll! But, in a moment of severe depression, I decided I was done with the hobby and someone had been pining for her, so I sold her.

But that said, letting her go did open up the way for others to come in. New, fresh faces that fit the characters I have now. So while I will always have that pang of regret every time I think about her, I can't say it was a mistake... if that makes sense?

When it comes to optional parts, I generally sell those immediately since all my dolls are 100% human. If the parts are, say, human hands, then I choose which pair I prefer and sell the others.

 

I have sold many dolls I can't easily rebuy. Or ever rebuy. In some cases, I have regretted it, in others, I really don't? No severe regrets, though. But now that it's harder to get dolls with all the unknown tariffs mess, I am a little more cautious. Like I'm keeping my huge collection of Migidoll heads since they're my favorite company and some are nearly impossible to get again. I'm also holding on to a few bodies I love that I'd regret selling. Like FDoll and Luts, every time I sell one, I end up regretting it when I inevitably want one in the future!

 

I fell out of love with my boys around 2012 or so and tried to sell all of them except my Iplehouse Louis, because he's realskin and 100% irreplacable. I would have probably been able to buy back a Migidoll Ryu and maaaaybe a DOD BES, but it would have been difficult. I'm so glad I had the foresight never to list my Louis because I've been looking for another head for years now and I don't think this doll has been sold since 2015. And now I have competition?! May everyone clean out their closet for us, @Akai Okami

When I fell back in love with my boys a few years ago, I realized how much I would have regretted it. I almost sold the dolls that meant the world to me as a teen and are back up in my most precious possessions again. For this reason, I won't sell my other dolls I'm not currently in love with. I don't have that many extra, but I also am much less willing to change my collection than I was when everything was available all the time.

 

I have sold such dolls in the past. The main reason for selling was that I had no more attachment to them. I thought about how hard it'd be to buy them again, but I'm not a nostalgic or sentimental personality, and at the time I didn't want to hold on to things I didn't enjoy anymore. So it was easy to let them go. I don't miss those dolls - I now have new ones to enjoy.

So far, in all the cases where I sold dolls, I've had the luxury of controlling the decision-making, ie. my attachment faded, I didn't want them anymore. The story would be extremely different if I wasn't in control - running out of space, desperately needed money, etc. Deciding who gets sold would be agony, and if I could, I'd absolutely prioritize the sales both in terms of attachment and how easy it'd be to re-buy. This is going to be hard: I'm very attached to all of my current collection, and most are not readily available because of limited order or discontinuations (and in one case, the sculptor is retiring and no longer making BJDs). I hope I never have to make this kind of agonizing decision, but knowing myself, I can move on from such a loss and find new dolls to enjoy. ...Maybe. Currently, this sort of loss feels big enough that I might leave the hobby for a while.

I have a few dolls at home whose bodies are discontinued and irreplaceable. Maybe it's weird to say this, but I see this as something to steward: I'm basically their "caregiver" for the rest of their time with me. It's my duty to make sure they're maintained and in good condition, and if any part breaks, to figure out how to repair, because there's no more exact replacements to be had.

I can re-body a doll shortly after it arrives home, but the longer a doll stays with me, the harder it is to substitute bodies. A couple of my irreplaceable dolls are old and single-jointed, and it'd be tricky to colour match to their yellowed resin. I have thought about re-bodying them (with double-jointed bodies from the same company), or hybriding newer hands to give them different hand poses. But BJD bodies are just as important to me as heads, I was deliberate in getting these bodies for these dolls. So I'll just live with their single-jointedness - which hasn't been hard at all, I love these dolls a lot as they are.

 

I don't regret ever getting rid of dolls I can't buy again. That said, I've only given them away because I wasn't bonding with them. I don't have many dolls, because of space limitations, so I have to be very selective. Due to this, it's easy to tell myself I only have my dream dolls because I was able to let go of dolls I liked less. It also helps that I'm able to gift any unwanted dolls to my sister, who has a moderate interest in the hobby. I get to see her experience the joy of having a doll I didn't get along with myself. That's a good enough reason for me to have no regrets.

 

I haven't really owned any rare dolls. Minifee juri08 is the only one and I know I probably can't rebuy her I don't mind. One deep regret is losing this one modded Shushu head due to a series of unfortunate events. But then again I think my taste in dolls have changed a lot over the years. I think I now have the dolls I know I'll love until I die

 

I sold a Minifee Kyle head and I regretted it a bit. It was not rare at that time. I really wanted a MNF Miyu head instead of him, and I didn’t have any idea about how to style him, so I sold it.


I wish Fairyland still had the old heads (Kyle, Seorin, etc.) with the tan skin option.

 

I was unbelievably stupid and sold off my Pukipuki Cupid with DaisyDayes faun legs which I had custom dyed. Lovely buyer nothing wrong with their end, but oh how I regret it. They have not been on the forum in over a decade, so no chance of ever seeing where he ended up, either.

 

I've only ever sold one doll, and I definitely can't get him again, but I sold him because I didn't feel as strong a connection to him and wanted him to have a better home. So I don't really regret it. But I'm friends with his new owner, so that probably helps since I can still check in on him, so to speak.

There are dolls I currently have that I can't see myself ever selling, in part because they would be difficult if not impossible to get again, but if I lost my connection to them like that, maybe I would?

As for upgrading parts, I would absolutely do that, but probably keep the old parts handy. For replacement, if I couldn't source a new identical part I'd do my best to replace it with something similar/fitting, and if I had the old/broken part, hold on to it. I wouldn't be too broken up about not being able to replace a part at all. I'd see it as a restoration project, and I also see my doll collection as "living" in a sense--I want them to look their best, even if that means replacing parts.

 

I've sold a coveted doll before and he was definitely the last thing I sold when I was in a bad financial rut. Thankfully, that was years ago and things are different now, but it made me happy being able to talk to the buyer and hear how excited they were that they'd found a doll they were wanting for awhile. I don't regret the sale, but I'd probably still have him if it weren't for the circumstances of the time.