Should you only buy BJD's from well established companies and avoid new ones?

I would buy from whichever company that has the sculpt that I need for the character. Since I'm not very good at recognizing sculpts like many people here, I would just wait a little to see if anyone recognizes the sculpt to see if it's a recast because people usually catch that very quickly. The other thing is being able to pay through Paypal for that buyer protection. After that, I don't see any problems with buying from a new company.

 

I think you should always take a chance (minus the recast part). This is how new businesses grow. And once they grow, they could come to release new molds that are amazing. There's nothing wrong with small companies after all. Heck, volks used to be one... though I can't remember when.

Besides, you shouldn't always rely on other people to tell you if a company is good or not. Sometimes, you should be the one to make that first leap :]

 

Fun question! I have bought dolls from brand new companies and have had great luck. I get them because I love the sculpts. The feedback, or lack thereof, is not a big factor for me. You can get a feel for how reliable a company will be, sometimes. If they answer your emails promptly, and their website is informative, those are good signs.

 

I have to admit, I am more cautious when buying dolls from newer companies. For example, I'd generally use a credit card vs. debit card/paypal balance to pay for the doll because I want to have the option of filing for a chargeback, if the company doesn't deliver as promised. Also, I wouldn't spend a big sum of money with a new company - if I like more than one doll, I'll just get one to try out the quality/customer service; after all, I can always order more later. But, otherwise, I am happy to give newer companies a chance, if I fall in love with one of their dolls.

Besides, being a well-established company doesn't preclude it from messing up, as has happened a number of times in the history of the hobby.

 

Yeah, someone always has to be the first person to trust a new company - It's nerve-wracking to think that it might be you, but it's nice later on to be able to say "Yeah, I supported them back when they were just two people working out of a shed in Warrington."

Supporting the smaller companies - especially the one-artist setups that the smaller hobby sculptors use - is one of the privileges of our art community over a lot of others - How many people can say they bought a Klimt from Klimt himself, or a Warhol from his Factory?

 

I dont think there is anything wrong with buying from a new company, as long as you love their sculpts.
And hopefully their quality is good xD.

Just make sure you keep up with them. Their website, any sort of blog they might have, email.
Good communication is important.

Companies have to start somewhere, two of my girls come from brand new companies :3
and i think they are so well sculpted and adorable.
i like them alot better than other dolls ive had from really well known companies.

 

I have already bought two dolls of a brand new company that had no feedback at all when I first purchased a doll from them. And exactly one month after ordering I held a perfect doll in hands, I couldn't have been happier so I ordered from them again. And at the end of the month I will order from another new company. You have to give them a chance. If they have great sculpts you really want, give them a chance!

 

I've been the one to take the risk! I got my Only-Doll YiFeng when the company was brand new and was in MintonCard's very first order group. There were NO pictures anywhere because nobody owned one yet. I was SO happy with him! He's a great, absolutely gorgeous and definitely worth more than the price.

After all, if nobody takes the risk, new companies would never survive!

However, that being said, I think it's very important to research new companies and ask a lot of questions to be sure they are legit before buying. In the case of Only-Doll, I felt safe because I went through MoC. They don't support recasts and bootlegging, so just the fact that they're a dealer for Only-Doll was a big help. I also knew if anything went wrong with my order or if my doll never arrived, MoC would refund me. Luckily, it was a wonderful experience and I had my doll home in about 2 months.

 

Everyone has to start somewhere. Who knows, a new company today could be the new Iplehouse in a few years.

 

I'm very cautious when it comes to new companies... To date, I've only bought from the more established ones.

 

I bought my DC Hugh when Doll Chateau was very new. I was one of the few people to buy straight from the company, and not from a dealer. I had a great experience, they were very helpful, responded promptly to all my emails, and delivered my order just on time.

...I guess one of the good things about ordering from a new company is that you're very unlikely to get stuck in a backlog of orders as sometimes happens with the big companies.

 

I am somewhat wary of newer companies (not that I've bought from any new ones in a very long time) but that isn't to say you're automatically safe when ordering from more established companies, there's been companies with long standing reputations who'd gone under or just disappeared with people's money in the past so really it pays to be cautious regardless of how established companies are when you're sending them huge chunks of money.

 

You know, I never really thought about 'would it be ok to buy from this new company?'

I think I should be more cautious! even with companies that only sell BJD clothes because I'm like "If I like it, I buy it." no questions asked I'm more wary and hesitant to buy from people though.

I remember that I found Sadol a few years ago in google when I was looking for BJD clothes, I did know nothing about it and never heard of people here in DOA talking about Sadol (that was a long time ago, now everybody knows Sadol!) but as soon as I saw the clothes I fell in love!!! up to this day, Sadol is the BEST place for me to buy BJD clothes. It's expensive but worth it. You'll receive what you paid for and I have yet to see another place with such amazing quality for BJD clothes.

We all were newbies once, so I give all the newbies a chance! research is the key. However, I wouldn't buy a Soom doll on another website that it is not the official Soom website...

 

I've avoided sculpts in the past because they were from new companies with no reviews or owner's pictures. I liked a LE Sweet Gale doll quite a bit, but passed because there was practically no information on the company at that time. I worry that the doll wouldn't look like the promo pics and I'd be stuck with something I didn't want and that I probably couldn't sell easily. However, if a sculpt was extremely unique and limited, I might risk it. I would buy from semi-new companies that have at least a couple of reviews, though.

 

I would buy from any company if they had a doll I liked that fit a character.

Now if the company was new, I would research it a bit, inspect it's online store, inspect it's dolls from the photos. Considering how fast info spreads here on DoA, I'm sure I could sit back for a few days and see what others may think before making my decision.

So really... all that would be affected is how soon I make my purchase when comparing a new company to a well established one. I will buy from sites like DollZone, Luts, or Soom with no hesitation, but a new company...I would wait a bit.

 

If the question was "would I personally?" I'd have to say probably not really. I'd be wary, and I'd definitely need to see some customer reviews first. Then maybe... Depending on what they offer.

As for a general purpose should? Eh, for a newer person in the hobby it may not be a great idea. Otherwise... Well those customer reviews have to come from somewhere. The only way for a company to become well established and well known is for people to give them a chance.

 

If the new compagny posts its news on DoA, with clear pictures and that nobody finds their sculpts too similar to another ones, well, I probably will take the risk.
As already said, every compagny has to start somewhere.

 

I think it's prudent to be wary of newer companies from a money standpoint-- to avoid getting scammed. But I would absolutely buy from a new company if I liked their work.