The BJD Crash

I think most people are in the hobby because they want the dolls for keeps. If my doll was suddenly worth nothing tomorrow, I wouldn't feel too bad because I wasn't planning on selling anyway. And as many others have noted, a crash would actually be pretty sweet, because I could easily complete my entire wishlist...even the ones I was only half-serious about getting. ^^

At this point, I got confused because it certainly seems like demand would increase. Wouldn't that bring the prices back up? Even if it did not...there would be many owners looking to dress their new dolls, so wouldn't the market for clothes, wigs, eyes, etc just explode?

I'm bad at economics, I'm confused now. XD

 

I got my dolls because I love how they looked as molds and how I can MAKE them look as my characters. If anything I would be happy if they were less expensive because I could take more risks with them.

 

Honestly, anyone buying BJD's as an investment is in for a shock when they attempt to sell them. There are loads of threads where the subject of whether they hold value NOW has been discussed and it pretty much always comes down to the fact that certain sculpts MAY hold SOME of their value and the odd LE MAY retain some sellability, but 99% of people in the hobby bought their dolls because they liked them and probably wouldn't give a flying fart if tomorrow, they were worth pennies.

It's not something you can really compare to the great historical crashes in various markets because this is a sentimental hobby on the whole and that means the vast majority of owners are in it for the long haul and unlikely to expect back every penny they put into their collections.

What WOULD be interesting to look at should such a thing occur is the general group attitudes to things. Take those with larger collections. If BJD's were all dirt cheap and suddenly everyone, even a beginner collector could afford 20+ dolls, would those people who always sneered at the larger collections before hand suddenly have a change of heart? What about the "cheaper" end manufacturers? With the previously more expensive end suddenly more affordable, would the cheaper companies last in the face of competition on a level price playing field? Perhaps if they weren't worth $3-500, there wouldn't be so much attitude regarding heavy mod work.

I think it's less about how people would feel about their existing collections and more about how they'd deal with future purchases under such circumstances that would really tell you how the hobby would carry on but this is all OT from the starting post, so I'll shush now.

 

I have collected dolls for a VERY long time (yep, I'm old). I have seen some of the dolls I've purchased plummet in value (like a third of what I paid). Of course, at first I kind of wanted to kick myself but then I thought, hey, if I'm still enjoying them or love them who cares? I usually don't buy a doll because I think her value will increase or decrease -- it's the way it makes me feel (happy). So yep, I'd still love them -- no regrets here!

 

I don't like bjds for their monetary value so I wouldn't be turned off from them if that were to happen, if any thing I would be pleased because then it would be easier to get them.

 

I don't really care about the resale value, because I intend to keep my crew, but if the retail prices went dramatically down I'd definitely be annoyed for a while - it wouldn't be nice to see, for example, a doll I'd paid $400 for now on sale for $100.

But I think I'd quickly get over it, and buy more pretties, lmao!

 

Cheaper dolls? That'd be nice. I'd still collect them, but still feel pretty bummed about losing x amount of money. (Even though i have no intentions of selling any of them...)

 

Precisely! You've hit the nail on the head.

 

I don't care about the market value of my dolls. I'm not selling them ever.

But I doubt anything like this will ever happen since the material has a price and even if you could mechanize the complete process, like in a factory line, standard face ups done by robots. BJD's would still be expensive.

 

I'm not in the buy doll and sell doll business so it's really great for me if the price got lesser. I can buy a lot of dolls in that situation but what I am worried about is the quality. If the prices does plunge down, will the doll's quality still be in top shape or would be it go down as well? :3 50-50

 

I don't think it's a matter so much of people reading too much into the comparison of the Tulip Craze to BJD collecting, as it is that the comparison itself is flawed & doesn't make sense. As others have pointed out, there were factors that went into the Tulip Craze & subsequent crash that are simply not present in the BJD market, & are probably not possible to reproduce, even if one wanted to (for whatever bizarre reason that might be).

That said: the value of a doll interests me only insofar as it affects my ability to buy it. If the market "crashed" & the dolls suddenly became much cheaper, I'd be one of the folks rounding out my collection, buying up all the dolls that were suddenly much more affordable.

 

With an Example of my CP Moon, Naraku. Even he has a little Fail, i would always love him, i mean the Doll, because in my eyes the Dolls 'live' and if humans are not perfect, dolls mustn't be perfect too so i would always love all my dolls even they lost here skin colour. So i NEVER ever want sell it, so the Value of my Dolls is EQUAL for me >3 it's only the prize i've paid, not more ^^

*my modded head is back, NOW* O_O YES! *love DHL*

 

This. I got them because I wanted them and they were bought never to be sold again. As re-selling isn't an issue with my dolls, I don't really care if there were a "BJD crash".

 

It wouldn't change my liking of my dolls. I don't really care about my brood's re-sale value because I'm pretty happy with how the group has shaped up. However, I've been in the doll hobby for a while and have seen how the market value of something can change. For the most part when I have sold a BJD doll, I have received at least 70% of what I paid originally which is pretty good comparatively to other hobbies.

 

It definitely wouldn't affect my feelings toward my dolls. ^_^; They have very high sentimental value to me as shells for my characters, so their aftermarket value means very little to me. The problem with that, however, is that if the value of dolls went down severely many doll companies would most likely close.

 

It wouldn't affect my feelings towards dolls at all. I would still collect them, no matter the price.

 

I would still love my dolls. And maybe that would give me a chance to obtain a Suigintou.

 

If BJD's prices crashed and they suddenly became cheap, I'd be a bit put out 'cause of how much I paid for my current dolls, but I'm sure my ensuing dollie shopping spree would more than cheer me up. Like others have said, I'm not in it for their price and I love my dolls regardless.

However -- I would seriously worry for the hobby if that happened. As has been pointed out so eloquently by others earlier in the thread, BJD's are relatively expensive to make and don't have the large profit margin that many other items have. So if prices ever truly did crash, I would be sad 'cause many, many companies would go out of business.

 

If there was a crash, I would still treasure my own dolls... because as far as I'm concerned, a crash in bjd value has already occurred, and my older ones are still here. :\ If it were to drop further across the board, well, I would take the opportunity to snag some cheap limiteds second hand, and then probably stop buying dolls altogether... if there were any new ones left to buy.

I would say, though, that a crash in BJD prices in the primary market is highly unlikely, because they are mostly marketed as luxury goods, possibly even ostentatious goods, where the demand for them will drop if prices drop beyond a certain level, and the cut-off point for when it's more econimical to stop production is probably at still quite a high price. In the secondary market, however, I feel that a crash is already in progress...