Settling.

It depends greatly on the doll and also the character the doll is meant to be.

Settling in the sense that I find a better suited skulpt - I thought Dollshe Afghan would be just perfect for one of my characters, Melanthe, but almost immediately after that they were discontinued, and haven't been seen since, not even in the marketplace (that, or I have managed to miss them when they were on the marketplace). I almost gave up on that, until I found a skulpt, some years later, that would fit the character even better. She's sitting at the customs at the moment, so I haven't seen her in IRL yet, but when I do, I really hope she will fit the character as perfectly as I think she will.

Settling in the sense that I settle for the non-limited version - This has happened a couple of times. I wanted Adrien to be Angel Region's Glow In The Dark, propably one of the rarest dolls besides some uniques, since all these years I have been in the hobby not one has been seen for sale second hand. The skulpt, however, is almost identical to their Diana, GITD has half closed eyes where Diana's are open, that's the only difference. So I bought a Diana instead, and I do believe I'm much happier with Diana's more natural look for Adrien, than I would have been with GITD. Same thing has happened with some of Luts' limiteds that are on my wishlist, like Sinclair Mill (I'm getting Mill instead) and Pluto (I'm getting Blanchet instead).

Waiting - My Count Verre Breakaway is twice as dear to me than he would be because it was such a trouble getting him. I had him in the shopping basket, but couldn't check out fast enough, and he was sold out. In about 20 seconds flat. I waited. And finally someone sold the parts that I really really needed of him (his normal head, his body, eyes and wig), and I jumped the opportunity and got him

Giving up - This I have to do occasionally, when a skulpt that I have chosen for a character is no longer available at all. Then I'm giving up on making the character of mine into a doll alltogether. Occasionally some eventually pop up in the marketplace or I find an even better suited skulpt (like with Melanthe, who got an even better skulpt instead), but usually when I give up, I don't have high hopes. But then again, one never knows what might pop up round the corner, so never say never

 

If I'm unable to get that one dream doll, I will get another doll that I want. There are plenty dolls that I like and getting another doll that I like is much better than settling for a doll that I don't really want, but sort of looks like the "grail doll". A substitute would always remind me of the fact it's not what I really wanted.

 

I usually don't settle, but prefer to plan and save up longer.
I made that mistake once or twice when I got into the hobby and that's the exact same reason why I'm changing so much about my small resin - group right now. They tend to bore me when they're not exactly what I envisioned them to be. Luckily, it's only one doll I have to replace entirely, the rest is just minor stuff.
I'm sure it would have been worse though, if I'd stepped into the 'OMG! Need - doll - now!!' - trap, when I thought about getting a doll for the first time, a few years ago. Back then I had no clue about the fairly wide range of companies, and the only one I had easy access to was DZ. (Nothing against them, I just discovered they're style is not for me.)
I'm sure if I had actually gotten my first doll(s) from them, before finding out about whatelse is out there, there would be a lot more to replace right now.

That's why I take my time and save up longer for a bjd that's a little harder to get or more expensive, if I have to. No substitutes, since I know I'm gonna get tired of them eventually.

 

I'm here, too. Patience helps, but there is a huge 'ooh, shiny!' factor in this hobby. Waiting is often enough filled with a lot of other wonderful things that may even be better than the thing that originally caught my fancy. The creativity in this hobby seriously blows my mind, and though a huge amount of it comes from the collectors, the companies seem to be coming out with more and more amazing innovations and interesting ideas all the time.

Maybe I have just never seen a 'I have to have that or the world is going to end' doll yet. There are some I want to have very much, but that's a pretty big group.

 

If what I want isn't avaliable or attainable there's nothing I can do about it so instead of being upset I analyze. What is it about this doll or item that I love so much? Once I identify those attributes it's down to a matter of hunting and time. I haven't looked at all the doll companies out there yet so there's a good chance that I'll find what I seek elsewhere or that company will release something else. For example, I saw Ashanti when researching dark tan/AA dolls and I fell in love. Found Iplehouse and was sad for a bit that she was unavaliable. Iplehouse released Benny and I was able to get her. I don't think I settled for Benny at all! In fact, it took me a while to get used to her size so Ashanti probably would have terrified me. Now that I've gotten to see an EID woman up close, and IH has started a custom doll system, I can save up for an Ashanti. She won't be dark, but that's just fine.

 

I neither give up or settle. Since there always seem to be lots of standard dolls that I love, missing a certain limited isn't a problem & I don't feel that buying another doll I love is settling. I do continue to hold out hope for those special dolls though & as fortune would have it, a couple of my "grail" dolls have shown up when I finally had the cash to buy them.