Taking dolls into thrift stores

I personally have never had a problem with that. If you're worried, all you have to do is find someone who works there as soon as you get in and show them you are bringing the doll in. Any time I take mine when I go to antique stores, the workers are always really interested to see them. Hope this helps.

 

Ooh, interesting. I love going to thrift stores to look for props and clothing for my boys and I also suck at judging scale. I have it in my head but always smack myself for not bringing a tape measure with me. Watching this thread for others ideas

 

I took my girl with me to a few different stores, to size for stuff. (And because I wanted to take her with me.) No one said anything about her, but I did get looks from people at chain stores. The fabric store people loved her though :/

All in all, didn't have a any problems taking her thrifting or to bigger stores.

 

I've been concerned about this too, which is probably why I haven't done it yet. I'm glad there has been good experiences

 

I've never been accused of theft, and I have taken my dolls to many stores and flea markets. As others have said, show an employee when you first arrive. Also, if you have a phone on you, keep some pictures of the doll on your phone. No one is going to accuse you of theft when you have photos of the doll obviously taken before you entered the store.

Do be aware that some people are jerks and may make rude comments or stare. I don't get them often but I have. Most reactions are good.

 

Just walk up to an employee first to tell then you are bringing in your own doll for the size. I have worked in a store and as long as you told us right away, there was no problem at all ^^

 

If you don't mind me asking, what types of rude comments did you get?

 

The worst was a lady cutting fabric for me at Hancocks. She asked what kind of doll I was sewing for, so I pulled my SD boy out of the bag and she immediately replied 'oh my goodness, he sure is an ugly thing!' I was stunned and angry. She did apologize and said she didn't mean ugly, just that most dolls she knew were beautiful girls or cute babies. Then went on to say how ugly his wig was. >.>

That one was the absolute worst out of 8 years in the hobby and frequently taking dolls out. Most commonly, if anyone says anything rude it's either comments about 'Chuckie' or asking why I have a doll with me. A couple of times, people have spoken to me as if I'm a small child, asking if the doll is my 'baby' or supposed to look like me. Still, those are pretty rare and most people either don't say anything or are curious. The best was when I took Parker to an art festival and got told by a (non bjd) doll artist that he was the most beautiful doll they'd ever seen!

 

If you're afraid of ugly comments, just keep the conversation short ^^ Besides, you're just mentioning to them you're bringing him/her with you with a purpose. It's not that you're starting a complete conversation about the hobby

 

Wow, that's crazy!! To outright say he's ugly is horrifying. Thinking it is one thing, but really...

 

She knew she'd insulted you, sort of apologized, and then immediately did it again! I know a lot of people think all dolls should be beautiful girls or cute babies", but that's no excuse for her behavior.

 

I thought it was very rude, as the doll was a nice sculpt with a professional faceup, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yes, people should keep their negative opinions to themselves, and they generally do, but there are always the few who are downright insulting, whether they do it intentionally to be cruel or just simply don't think first about the fact that they're calling someone's artwork ugly.

Anyway, back to the original topic, I think most places will be understanding. It would be in their best interest, since telling you not to bring the doll in or being rude about it means they probably will not get your business. Most thrift shop employees understand that being polite to customers will bring in more money and repeat business.

 

I was at a party one time and showed one of my friends a picture of my dolls and then this girl comes up and sees the picture and the first thing she says is "Wow they are creepy, so gross, I'm gonna have nightmares tonight". It really bothered me because my dolls are none of her business :/

 

If I were you, I would have made it my goal to give her the most horrific doll inspired nightmares. I did this with my fiance when he thought they were creepy. I'd send him creepy sculpts (big smiles, spiders, etc) that were just blank or closeups of eyeless dolls. But that's just me being spiteful lol.

I thought of this thread just a little while ago when I went into Joanns to look for some flowers. How do all of you carry your doll into the store? A bag? Loose?

 

Personally I never take my dolls out if its not in their carrier, DD are way o big to be kept in hands all the time, what do you usually do?

 

I haven't taken my doll to a thrift store but I have walked around town and into other stores with a doll in my arm and another in my bag (These are usually 65cm and over). If I'm in a small store, I'll usually ask an employee if I can take photos in the store and most of the time they say yes. There's this one candy store that I like to take pictures in and usually I'll buy something after so I get cool pictures and the store gets some business. I think I would still use the same etiquette at a thrift store. I would tell the employees that I brought a doll with me to check for measurements. Also having a few pictures of your doll on your phone helps just in case.

I have gotten some weird stares especially when my friend and I went into a starbucks because we buy drinks so we could get change to pay to get out of the parking lot. I've also gotten some negative comments, mainly when I'm carrying Mel, my Miracle Doll Vic, since he has sharp teeth. They usually say he's creepy, scary, gross, ugly, etc., but I usually get pretty positive comments when I have them with me. I often get "wow she's pretty" and I say thank you even though all of my dolls are boys, but I accept the compliment and leave it at that.

 

I'd be more concerned about kids with grabby, grubby hands, or pickpockets making a grab for the doll in order to steal your purse while you were protecting the doll. I just take a tape measure with me, with my doll's measurements marked on it (height, height to neck, shoe length, waist, waist to neck, waist to feet, head circumference; I use a different ink color for each).

 

My doll doesn't have a carrier But she's also never been outside of the house. There's been multiple times I wish I had her with me, but I usually shop during my lunch break at work or after work, so she's never around.

This is a good idea, too. If it's cheap enough, I usually get it and see how it fits. If it doesn't work out well, I'll use it another way or give it to family for other crafts.