Splitting Up Full Sets

i've brought a doll that was a part of a fullset before, not knowing the original owner brought it as a full set. now a couple of months later, she's trying to sell some of the rest of it. i probably would have gotten him from her fullset if she'd let it go that way, but im not willing to get the fullset from her if i have to buy them in bits and pieces, and quite frankly there are still pieces of the fullset she's holding onto, so im not interested in what's on offer now.

 

I’ve only ever had one full set and I sold him with most of the outfit. Since he was going to a friend who didn’t really have a use for the full set, it didn’t really matter that it was incomplete and I kept a few pieces. I think in the future if I ever have another full set, I would still piece it out. Sometimes, I just like certain pieces but not the whole thing.

 

I'm not a full set person. Very rarely do any of the fullsets strike my interest. So if I end up getting one, I just want the doll and will part with the rest most likely. If by some chance there are a couple of pieces that I do happen to like and keep (probably non-resin shoes), I would sell without those. And as a second hand buyer, I would probably prefer to buy just the doll and not the rest. I admire fullsets from afar, but I don't particularly want them in my collection.

 

I tend to hang on to the "extra bits", even if I never use them with the full set doll itself.

With things like fantasy body parts and secondary heads, keeping them is just a matter of completeness. It's nice to have them if, somewhere down the line, I end up selling the doll for some reason... Or they might turn out to be useful for another doll at some point. You never know.

With wigs and outfits, I hang on to them because the odds are good that even if they don't work on the doll they came with, they *WILL* work for some other doll in my collection.

 

I like & try to get the complete full set most the time. I will also try to pick up missing parts if I come across them. If I like a sculpt, I won't stress about it too much, and miss a good deal.

 

I'm not much interested in full-set dolls in general. I could say I have 3 out of 24 dolls, though the one I bought second hand didn't have extra parts or a full-set outfit originally. The limited full-set version Real Puki no longer has the blank sleeping face-plate he came with as I had no use for it and someone had a WTB thread in the Marketplace for it. The sculpt was unlimited at the time, making that piece replaceable.
I have hung onto the resin fantasy legs one of my Soom Fairy dolls came with even though I don't use them since I feel like she'd be incomplete without them if I ever sell her.

As a buyer, I'd want a doll to come with any fantasy resin parts it had originally, but wigs, eyes, and clothes are less important to me.

 

Oh man, so many things to think about! I haven't read anyone else's response since I wanted to give you my thoughts.

I have two full set dolls so far, but I'm expecting another one any day now. I don't plan on having my newest one wear his fullset forever, but I have to admit, I don't like the idea of selling any of it off. With one of my fullsets, I have it in a ziplock baggie, and she does wear it occasionally, usually around the holidays since its mostly maroon/reddish. The other one is also put away, since Edgar is a bat and I love him looking more like one then an anthropomorphic bat, at least for now.

Once I find a doll, I rarely sell it, since I won't buy a doll unless I "fall in love with it."

I don't know what I'm going to do with the incoming fullset, since he's a Jedi and will more than likely wear various robes made to fit him. His fullset will probably end up in a drawer when he's not wearing it. Its a pretty light outfit, so maybe he'll wear it during the summers.

I've bought the clothes parts of a fullset, sometimes not even knowing that it was a fullset until well after its come home. Oh well. There is one that I'd love to find the rest of, but I doubt I will since its a pretty old one. I often put pieces parts of the incomplete ones on a different doll, but not the ones from my one doll that I bought as a fullset. Those I want to keep in as good a shape as possible.

Extra body parts/fantasy parts, I definitely hold onto, because I never know when I want to switch them out. Right now, my IH Luna Tamer girl is simply waiting for me to decide what color eyes to get her feline head, the money to send of her clawed feet and hands off in, and how exactly I want to have her (otherwise) human body striped, since she also has her human parts.

I also have the "completionist" mindset, so I don't think I'll sell any of the incoming doll's stuff, even if it ends up sitting in a drawer for most of the time.

Ryu

 

I haven't bought a full set yet but am considering one. I doubt I would consider splitting the set up personally or even selling the doll and set onwards. That is because I have a terrible track record of organizing to sell stuff I no longer use though.

 

While part of me would love to hang onto full set parts that I'm not using, the other part acknowledges that it's probably better to sell them (also, y'know, extra money is always cool). I know I've got a healthy appreciation for the people that sell their pieces! For example, I've been chasing down Hwayu's full set, and I definitely wouldn't have gotten as far as I did if people weren't willing to sell their extra bits and bobs. I've literally bought every piece (except the shoes, still on the hunt for those...) separately.

 

I would find it really difficult to bring myself to sell off parts of a fullset but thankfully I have never come across a fullset doll that I loved but did not need/want parts of it. The only thing that has put me in a similar predicament would be the default wig of my DearSD Una, I am not a fan of the style or color and doubt I will ever use it but prefer to keep it "just in case" as I felt the same way about her eyes but did eventually find a good use for them.

On the other hand, I am eternally grateful to collectors who do piece out and sell parts of their fullsets as there are many outfits from fullset dolls (and even pieces of outfit sets) that I adore and would not have if not for these types of collectors.

*EDIT: I have actually found myself to be in this situation recently
Volks Ian.
I have realized that I do really love her and would love to bring her home but as I am vegan I cannot bring myself to buy her fullset as she comes with a silk kimono.
I feel as I morally cannot pay money for the kimono nor accept it as a gift as it's made from animal material but also feel similarly awkward/uncomfortable about selling/making money off selling off the kimono for the same reason. Throwing it away is not an option as it's a total waste of both money and the animal material (let alone that it's a rare piece of art in itself) and I also feel like it's not possible to find someone willing to split her as she is so rare.
I understand and respect the mindset of sellers/owners not wanting to split her but still wish there was someway to resolve this

 

I haven't bought any full sets and not planning to anytime in the future. If I ever do and decide to sell them, I would at the most only split it by selling the clothes separate from the doll and doll parts. I couldn't see myself selling everything in pieces just because I could.

 

I don' buy a doll with the intention of selling it on and 99.9% of fullsets contain bits I'm not interested in so they'd go straight into my sales -and-swaps box. Also there's a high chance I'd need to alter details on some of the full-set clothing to make it right for the look I'm after so it wouldn't remain it's original form any way.

Teddy

 

I can definitely understand and appreciate the completionist collector's mindset; it's normally how I'm wired, too, especially as someone diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

BJDs are another story for me. For me, my biggest draw to these dolls over others has always been their customizability. Whatever vision I have, there's a very likely chance that, with enough time and patience, I can turn that mental image into reality. If I have any interest in a full set, it's almost never the complete package that matters, but specific elements I can't get anywhere else.

For instance, I have the original Soom MD Amber from 2009, specifically to portray a morose forest witch. I wanted her fantasy arms and hands, the antlers, and tail, as well as her adorable deer ears, but I had no interest in the hooved legs/feet because it would limit clothing options severely. The original wig was too long and pale for what I had in mind, nor were the eyes, and while I loved the style of the dress, it definitely wasn't the right color.

The one I was able to locate wasn't complete or perfect by any means, especially not with the (thankfully repaired) crack on the rear of her head. The original outfit and faceup were long gone. While I had all the fantasy parts and a few spares to go with, I only needed about half of them to assemble the girl I pictured. Still have the wig somewhere, and I believe the eyes, too, but glittery acrylics are pretty bleh so who knows if I got rid of them or not.

Do I miss any of this? Not at all. The custom faceup/blushing, Leekeworld wig, Eyeco metallic eyes, and SartoriaJ outfit plus whatever accessories I've scrounged up suit my vision far better. I'm sure that makes some collectors cringe a little, but I'd like to think we have room for both in this hobby.

 

I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to doll clothes, wigs, and eyes, mostly because I'm of the mentality that just because it doesn't work for this doll now, doesn't mean I won't have a doll in the future that it works for. For that reason, if I get a fullset with any pieces that I'm not planning on using immediately, they tend to just go into storage for later.