Stick To What You Know?

I have dolls from a lot of different companies. I also buy dolls to represent my characters, so having a larger pool of dolls to choose from increases the likelihood I'll find a sculpt that works for a particular person. This has caused me to end up with some dolls that I might not have otherwise bought, and it's true that my doll family is less unified in a visual way. However, it's been neat to get to experience so many companies first hand, and storyline rather than look becomes the unifying theme. I figure that they're more like real people this way -- all different, though I've intentionally gotten some siblings heads from the same company to help give them more of a family resemblance.

As I have been getting closer to having all my characters in doll form (or at least the ones that are getting bodies), I have started gravitating more towards just a few favorite companies. I have a lot of dolls, and I'm at the point where I don't want to add too many more, so now is the time to add any favorites while there's room.

 

Well, out of my list of 34 (will be 35 once CustomHouse delievers the next one), I have compiled the companies. Now this count is separating the bodies and heads, of course.

You can tell I don't care much for loyalty, but I do have some favorites! :3

CP Kid Delf - 2
Luts Kid Delf - 3
Luts Event - 2
DoC - 3
MNF - 6
Cherishdoll - 2
DollZone - 3
B&G - 2
BlueFairy - 2
CustomHouse - 4 (1 more on the way)
MythDoll - 1
Leeke - 2
AngelStreet - 2
RosenLied - 1
AoD - 1
Volks - 3

I love Fairyland, Luts, and CustomHouse, despite CH's shotty customer service. I do tend to rescue alot though, so a majority of these are from the marketplace.

Two of the Volks, however, are online purchase and they have the best customer service I've seen. Very friendly and fast.

I started with Luts, because that's what I was introduced to the hobby with. I will always love Kid Delf the best. Old and new. :3

 

I have just started collecting this year. I have purchased 10 dolls so far and was apprehensive at first doing my first internet purchase as these dolls cost alot of money.
I usually email the company that is new to me first and find out how long they take to make the doll and approximate shipping time after the order. I have found that certain companies are QUICK! and the products are wonderful.
I have also found that I will hesitate to purchase from a certain company because I don't agree with their "turn over" time and lame excuses on why my $800 doll is not shipped. ( I won't mention company names)
I tend to buy from companies that have the products and dolls that I love with good customer service.
I hesitate and usually wont buy from a company because they send excuses.
It's all trial and error for me.

 

I feel myself drawn to order from the company again, but I tend to buy dolls for my OC's and they never seem to sit right with some sculpts over others of a new company. I'm still rather new to the hobby so I'm also looking at a lot of companies to begin with to get to know all of them (as there's a lot out there I don't know yet). So I keep looking up dolls I see mentioned and that I haven't come across the company yet and so I end up finding a doll in the new companies I come across that will fit my character's better than perspective sculpts from companies I know.

 

I'm not faithful to companies in the least (haha) While I will admit, I love Iplehouse, I look at other companies too. I really like Dream of Doll. I like Elfdoll. I really like Fairyland too. Even Doll In Mind has crossed my path before. While I've heard good transactions with Iple, I will give any other doll company the benefit of the doubt.

 

I bought and sold a few dolls. And I don't think I have ever had more than two from one company. I guess certain things lure me in from multiple companies. Though, I do tend to stick to companies like SOOM and others I like when browsing for dolls.

 

I like to explore companies. I haven't found a company that I like everything about. There's always certain heads I don't like, and oftentimes I don't like the body at all. I usually find myself making hybrids in my head while browsing.

 

I'm really nervous to actually buy from a company where the doll is not in stock. My first doll i got from Jspot and it was nice not waiting for her months and months. My next doll is going to be a SoulDoll Lester and i know even if i get him from a dealer it's a preorder >_<

 

Research is the answer to branching out from the one doll company you use. I started with Souldoll and stuck with them but I really liked Limho so I did alot of research, asked around this forum, looked at pictures, face ups etc until I felt confident to go for one. The thign is you already take a leap of faith buying your first doll from one company so its just another leap across.
I think seeing other dolls at meets is very useful. Sometimes owning the doll will clarify things; its either for you or its not...sell it on, swop it etc.
As soon as I took the leap from Souldoll to Limhwa I took another leap elsewhere, it gets easier. I have found I have stuck with Soom for a long time, and dolls I have had from other companies havent worked out as well, except in the last year I got my first Elfdoll...Im glad I took the leap as I love Elfdoll now as well.
I do however seem to stick to Dollmore for clothes and the marketplace. I dont order clothes and wigs from a company unless dolls are coming from there as well through friends.

 

I'm very pick about the feel of a doll, and after being somewhat disappointed with my DOD A&D, I've been wary to branch out from my CP comfort zone. I know that I like their feel, so it's easier for me to buy from them rather than branch out to a company that I have no idea what the bodies are like in reality. At this point, I prefer to see the doll that I want in person before I take the plunge, just so I won't be disappointed.

I do like the idea of branching out and sampling other companies though, even if the majority of my dolls are CP. I'm not wary at ALL when it comes to getting clothes/wigs, though. I've ordered from multiple companies and have been satisfied with their items.

 

When I first started the hobby, I wanted stylized dolls from so many different companies. As time went on, I gravitated towards realistic sculpts. Now, the majority of my family will come from Iplehouse whom I've already bought from a few times.

However, I have a Dikadoll head that will go on a Spiritdoll body. I want twins from Bluefairy. I had 3 dolls from SOOM, but now I'm down to one. I'd love to get an Idealian eventually as well. For the most part, I am sticking with companies I've already dealt with because I like the sculpts and quality. If another company offered me Iple realism, I would branch out more.

 

hmm...I think I am semi stuck in the Resinsoul groove only because they offer so many choices in resin color and sculpts and they are coming out with new improved sculpts as well. Most of my characters I want to have a similar look/size so it works for me. I do have a 60cm Obitsu which was my first doll, she is wonderful in her own way, but by far I love my BBB/RS gang.

Although that being said I just received my first AOD the other day from here on the MP, Rao sculpt and I have to say I love her! I decided to get her for several reasons 1. I had plans to dye a doll and figure experimenting on a second hand one would be perfect 2. I wanted this character to be slightly taller than the others (Rao/AOD is 44cm where RS is 42-43cm)...well my plans to dye her went out the window as soon as I opened the box, I thought she was perfect the way she was so I'm this will be my first human girl..(besides my Obitsu) I'll work her into the rest in some way. So now I have my eye on another AOD girl to dye as I originally planned and I want to get one of the boy sculpts as well since I want a taller boy in the mix.

So I'm stepping outside my box with RS, but I will definitely be going back to RS very frequently as their customer service is fabulous and their sculpts are beautifully crafted.

 

In the begining, totally. I had three dolls from the same company before I started branching out. It's much better to shop around. It gets you used to buying overseas and makes you more confident in what you do.

 

I love exploring around! my doll's things come from at least 5 or 6 different sites ( and she's a dollfie dream, too!)

 

I've had a little of everything. No, not literally EVERYTHING because there are so many; but a good cross-section of companies. I do tend to like slightly more stylized dolls than ultra-realistic ones. Why? Not a clue.

I started out with a number of Dollzone dolls, which I still love, and I'll use them as an example. Their sculpting style changed at some point in a direction I didn't care for, and their resin felt different (thinner?). Oh yes, and their tan got orange as opposed to the lovely tan of my old old tan Megi. That really ooked me horribly, sad to say. Recently, though, I re-acquired a Mo (the big one) and find him really nice, so we'll see. And the Cosmo I ignored for a year (poor boy, he's in a GOOD home now!) had a beautiful tan color.

Another company that I loved desperately (still do) was Unidoll, whose early French resin dolls were just so wonderful. And then they went in a direction that had me going WHAT are they THINKING?

It seems to happen with a lot of companies; they change, lose or gain a chief sculptor or decide to alter formulations or faceup styles or something... and there's no point in buying what you don't like. And your tastes can change.

It also makes no sense to buy from a company that is going to give you lousy service. I have three distributors on this side of the ponds I prefer to shop with because they are all excellent to work with; and then there's Iplehouse that I go to directly because they're not carried anywhere here.

 

I tend to only order new dolls from Resinsoul... I just really love dealing with them and they usually ship out in under a month so it's pretty much what I stick to if I'm buying from the company. I will buy other brands of dolls from dealers or off the MP, but overall the only real doll company I order from is Resinsoul. I'll probably order from Notdoll in the future. Companies have to have a really great reputation, good communication, and not very long wait times for me to want to buy from them directly.

 

At the beginning every doll I wanted came from a different company, but now I'm looking at two more Blue Fairy dolls and maybe a couple of others. I love Blue Fairy's sculpts and the resin quality. I love their white skin, it has to be my favorite white skin in existence. They also have excellent service and I know what I'm getting. This doesn't mean I don't want to purchase from other companies, but Blue Fairy keeps me coming back.

I also used to like volks doll and now I only really like 2 or 3 sculpts and don't even know if I'll try to acquire one of them.

 

I particularly like ResinSoul/BBB dolls, however that doesn't mean that I would just limit myself to buying from them. I love looking at the dolls that other companies make and have purchased a few dolls from other companies, however I keep on finding myself drawn to the way RS/BBB dolls look and feel.

 

The only benefit in sticking with one company is ease of interchanging clothes and parts...other than that, I always go with what I like! I like to look for different companies and scan the news section here because I love looking at new clothes and dolls. I have my favorites, but I wouldn't stick to them only.

The opposite IS true for me though... If i get burned by a company, I avoid them for GOOD. This hobby is too big to give poor customer service my repeat business

 

i like to try out new things, i dont want all my dolls to look the same, so i try to order from a different company everytime and find out about other bodies and stuff~