Settling.

I've been lucky and haven't had to settle, although there have been one or two elusive dolls that I never was able to find. The really great thing about buying dolls now instead of five years ago is that there are so many to choose from. Lots of older dolls find their way to the marketplace when their owner wants the latest and greatest, so if I were still hunting for a particular doll, I would just watch until one showed up.

 

I have tried to settle for less. I really wanted an AA looking MSD girl. Not a NS sculpt poured in dark resin, but a doll that looked like her ancestors came from Africa. But i could not find any doll that fitted this description and size. Almost got the EID dark girl, but i just dont have the room to go larger. So i settled for one of the regular modes in a nice brown tint. She arrived the day Iple announced Benny, so she went as quick as she came. Now im awaiting my Benny.

 

I'm sort of forced to settle for less because affording more is out of the question right now. There's a ton of dolls out there that I'd love to own, but I don't plan on getting any of them any time soon. In the meantime, I'm pretty content with what I have now.

 

I don't like to settle. Whenever I really, really want something, I'm not satisfied with "something else that isn't really what it was that I wanted in the first place."

There was a doll I really, really wanted. I came up with all kinds of excuses not to buy her: she's too big; I'll have to buy more clothes, eyes, and wigs; the money would be better spent on something else; etc. I bought another, smaller doll that I thought resembled the doll I really, really wanted. And then I got another one that I thought was cute. I figured I'd never get that bigger doll, even though the "wanting" didn't go away.

When an opportunity arose where there was one right in front of me for sale, I couldn't say "no." Now I have that doll, and she's not at all like the other dolls that I thought would be "close enough."

For me, settling isn't worth it. I'd rather keep on the hunt for that elusive "exactly-what-I-wanted," even if it took more time, effort, and money.

 

Sometimes I do, and at other times, I don't. I wouldn't settle for a different doll when I got my Suiseiseki. There is an MSD FCS doll that looks similar, but I really wanted the bigger doll (so worth it!). However, I also wanted a Volks Suigintou, and realistically, I just can't save up for a doll like that. Luckily, I found another doll with a similar look, so I eventually hope to get that instead.


cyberspacegirl: You should try to put in a request to Iplehouse. Who knows, they might like the idea.

 

I tried settling once and I ended up buying the doll I really wanted anyway later on and selling the doll I bought as a substitute. In my opinion settling always leads you to spend more money than you would if you just saved up and bought what you really wanted. I have always been happiest with my collection when I have refused to compromise. Even dolls that I thought I would never own because of rarity and expense I have been able to buy with a combination of sheer luck and a well structured layaway plan!

 

It's what some might call a defeatist view, but yes, I settle.
Most of the time what I realllly want turns out to pass very easily, so I'm grateful I don't spend everywhere and have to sell them when they arrive.
It's nice to dream big, and my dreaming is pretty specific, so I'm very lucky there

 

I almost settled, because my boy was so pricey, I wanted a cheaper boy, but then I thought, I shouldn't settle, I wouldn't be happy if I did.

--EDC

 

I don't settle. All my dolls has to be the one that I want or else I wouldn't be happy in the long term. There is only one specific doll where I am in the process of convincing myself to wait till I start a proper full time job and not as a student. In theory I could look for this doll but I'm not in the financial position or comfort to buy this one doll. It would make me unhappy overall to know I spent so much on the doll. So I balance it with 'how much do I realistically want this' with 'can I justify buying this and be happy?' Otherwise, if I have my heart set on one doll, I'm not going to settle for another. It has to be perfect or its out is my golden rule.

edited due to surreality put it much better than I did:

This summarises it up perfectly. Sometimes waiting you can get one within your budget or find one for sale, sometimes waiting allows you to find a doll you prefer a lot more and much more accessable to you. Neither is settling, you get what you want in the end.

 

No, I don't settle.... To me, it would just be a waste of money on something that doesn't (can't) fulfill the need for which it was purchased.

My gut-instinct is actually the one who's in charge when I shop. And you utterly cannot fool your gut. You can try for awhile, but your gut always has the last word, and it knows what you really want. Like, you know how kids can always tell when you've secretly bought a new goldfish to replace the one that died while they were at summer-camp? If I bought something as a pale substitute for another thing, my gut would KNOW. It would not be amused at my attempts to trick it.

I did once buy a SchoolHead B when I thought I'd never find myself a Tsukasa, because the face had a similar quality & I thought that might fill the need. But, no, that doll just immediately became a different character instead. My gut said to me, "OK, yes, very cute, and I'll keep him, but he's still not a Tsukasa, so keep shopping." So I waited & saved & stalked eBay until I did find an actual Tsukasa, and THAT filled the need for a Tsukasa. I have learnt my lesson: Buying only what you really want saves time & money.

 

In some cases, yes. Others, definitely not. Sometimes "settling" has worked better for me. For instance, my friend has a Beryl and I've always admired her. I'm not into mature girl dolls, but I just love her face. However, her face is even still a bit mature for me too. I love her features, but I don't know if I'd end up appreciating her. However, I recently happened upon a head that was much cheaper and reminds me very much of Beryl, but is very stylized. It turns out this whole thing works pretty well for me so far.

But for the most part, if I love a doll enough to buy it, there is no substitute. In the end, my Beryl look alike head may only work for me because Beryl was never really a doll I planned to get, I just kind of admired her from afar. I haven't bonded with this head yet really, not to say that I won't of course, but that could also be part of it. For me, only the die hard, love-of-my-life, I-can't-live-without-you kind of dolls are the ones I've bought and ended up keeping. They're the ones I've had for months, even years, and could never imagine selling, the ones I still love to this day. My School C, Rose, Yugiri, Sard... there could never be substitutes for these ones, just to name a few right off the top of my head. In most instances, I've found it much more worthwhile to wait for the real thing.

 

I don't settle -- I wait. I waited several years to spot 'the doll' that would be worth dropping an enormous sum of money on to get my first after finding out about the hobby; waiting is something I've grown accustomed to. (Which is handy since wait times can be evil unto themselves.)

 

When it comes to my actual BJDs I don't feel I've ever settled. I am extremely picky when it comes to knowing when a doll works for me, yet it's difficult for me to pinpoint just what exactly it is about each sculpt that holds the magic so finding any sort of replacement for it is pretty much impossible. When I was having issues with ordering from Glorydoll for my Mitsuki, I strongly considered finding someone else to replace him. Yet despite hours of searching I didn't find a single sculpt that I felt came even close to representing his unique look. So I waited it out, searched the marketplace, jumped through the hoops the company desired of me, and eventually brought my boy home. Completely and totally worth it.

Sometimes, opting for something cheaper does not automatically settling either. Another example was when I fell in love with Volks Yugiri and felt he was perfect for another character for mine. However, although twice I had opportunities to purchase his head, I always hesitated, even with money in hand after my days of searching. As much as I loved his sculpt, whenever I looked at it that spark of magic only swayed me for a few minutes and never felt long lasting. So I perused a few more sculpts and rekindled my old love affair with DiM sculpts unil it hit me that my longtime favorite Bellosse would make a wonderful boy! Only 1/5th the price of Yugiri I was instantly smitten with the idea and could find absolutely no fault with her as I did Yugiri (eyes just a tiny bit too big...I think that was it). To some going the route of the cheaper, non-LE head is automatically settling. For me, it was realizing what I actually wanted.

For outfits, as I very rarely want LE fullset outfits, I don't feel I've ever settled either. I'm extremely picking in choosing what my guys wear and I'll gladly wait for as long as I need to fully save up to commission them each something truly unique that suits them.

I feel that right now the one area I'll gladly settle on in their eyes. All of them are currently wearing cheapy $6 acrylics and I'm perfectly okay with that. Since I have definite plans to get them all some nice glass or urethane eyes in the future it may not be seen as settling, but as these plans aren't for quite some time I do view it as so.

 

My main criteria is that the sculpt matches the character I have in mind. Sometimes there will be multiple good choices for a particular character, so if one doesn't work out, I can grab another one on the list. Other characters are harder to find sculpts for, and those I tend to wait on. I would be lying if I said money never came into consideration -- there is a limit to what I can spend, but there are also a lot of choices available now, and I've gotten lucky with good deals a few times on the market place. Sometimes it just takes a bit of patience. As long as I feel like I'm not sacrificing the look of the character by going to a different sculpt, things will work out. If I get a doll that isn't a good fit for the character just because it was less money or easier to get, I know I would end up being disappointed.

 

I give up, but I don't settle.
I came to the conclusion a long time ago, that I don't care enough to afford limiteds. Especially not when I prefer dolls to embody characters I've already created.
But that doesn't mean that the dolls I do buy, I like less. I don't think I settle, by not buying limiteds.

 

I agree with many of the above posters that settling is often a waste of money. I do find it interesting that the sculpts that will jump out at me for OCs often don't look perfectly or even that much like them, but somehow capture some of their essence instead. And I have some who came home without charas in place, but just loved them too much not to succumb, and I suppose they've knocked back others on the priority list, which is maybe a kind of settling.

But in the long run, getting what you want the first time is going to be the cheapest. It's no savings at all to buy something you don't really want. That's not just for dolls, in other parts of life I've often found the same principle applies.

 

Well, yes, I suppose I would "settle" sometimes -- honestly, I love Volks Suigintou to bits and she'd be perfect for my character, but I am not about to shell out $2000+ for her! But there are tons of BJD molds, so choosing something less expensive doesn't have to be settling. It's all well and good to say that people should just save up and get what they really want. But sometimes, it is just a matter of being realistic, especially for those with very low budgets or that happen to fall for a super expensive doll. Of course, I don't think its a good idea to buy a doll you don't love! But there are soooo many BJD's out there that I think most people can find one that they love that is in their price range.

As it happens, I decided on another, waaaay cheaper doll that I love just as much as Suigintou, and while she is different, she fits the character just as well. ^^

I use this strategy too! ^_~
If the doll I want is out of reach financially, or if I simply can't find the one that will fit just right . . . then I sit back and wait until one is released. There is a particular boy character I've been wanting to shell, but can't seem to find the right doll. But rather than settle for an almost-right one (and there are many!), I am just waiting.

 

^This. I waited three years before I found a Volks Williams in the marketplace that was within my budget. All my dolls have required patience from my part and this waiting helps me not to jump on every offer that I'm given. Just because a doll is rare doesn't mean you can't get a good deal.

 

I'm in this camp too. Yes, I've settled. My first doll was a BBB Sprite because she was all I could afford at the time. And I still love her. Because I have limited dolly funds, I've also settled by buying dolls I can buy on six-month layaway or buying dolls I need to fix up myself. I wanted a Galena, so I bought her head in a split, then haunted the Marketplace till I found a body I could afford. The body had been dyed so I spent two hours a night for two weeks sanding it back to CW. Now I've got my Galena. I find that I can bond with almost any doll I've brought home and done work on. I really loved the Everpurple Iris when she came out, but she was gone before I could do anything about it. But I have a head now and I've got a Loongsoul body for her on layaway. She'll be complete in November, if the match is good.

I don't think I would have stayed with the hobby if I hadn't bought my Sprite initially. Too much of an instant gratification junkie here. I couldn't have haunted the forum for two years while I saved up for some super expensive grail doll, though I know there are people who have done that and I am in awe of their discipline. Now that I've got a good sized doll family, I probably could do that, since I have plenty to play with while I'm waiting. But I still blanch at some of the upper end prices and I would have to want a doll desperately with every fiber of my being to pay $1000 for it. I have just as much fun working to make my cheap crew look as good as I possibly can. It's a challenge.