The BJD Crash

I think legal standard mass production of vinyl BJDs in countries with cheap labour will substantially bring down the prices of BJDs.

Cartier, Dior, Gucci, LV, etc have not crashed. The target market and purpose of consumption are different from mass market products. Quality and prestige.

I believe there is a place for dolls of different price range. There will be a price crash if all the BJD companies reduce prices substantially or owners dump their dolls cheaply on the market place. I will still love my dolls even if they do not hold their value. I have never sold a doll.

 

Most people seem to be saying that if there is a price crash they will be buying up those cheap dolls like there is no tomorrow? I thought I would feel this way too, but in watching Ebay (UK) this summer I have seen countless rare, limited or once prized dolls fail to sell at rock bottom prices or only get bids at all when people list them at ridiculous starting prices such as 99p! Non of them were dolls I wanted but I did wonder why no-one was bidding, could it just be that everyone is running out of ready cash at the same time? We all imagine that we will go crazy and buy loads of sculpts at reduced prices but surely we are all feeling the pinch of world wide recession and job uncertainty which is why these dolls are being offered at such low prices by their owners in the first place?

Why was I watching the secondary market, well I recently made my first big buying mistake and bought a brand new doll that I just can't take to at all. I have put her on the MP and ebay at full price then at a decent reduced price and no takers. I've decided to do a head transplant now as I just don't need the money enough at the moment to swallow a HUGE price drop just to get a sale. All my other dolls I adore and I honestly don't care if their resale value sinks to pennies because I never want to part with them. They aren't going anywhere but this "mistake" doll has certainly made me very wary of buying any more because the resale market simply is no longer there if I make another mistake!

I worry that longer term plummeting resale prices might also make other people slow down their buying and then smaller companies I love might wind up closing because of poor sales. That would upset me far more than my own dolls losing value.

 

I would still love to collect them. I really like the look of these dolls!!! In fact, if the prices went down I could buy even more!

 

I'd have to agree with people who say they'd buy even more! With the tulip auctions, the prices were driven up by people who bought bulbs to have rare bulbs to sell. This would only happen with BJDs if people were trying to profit from re-selling dolls, rather than loving them and playing with them. I think, for the most part, BJD owners love their dolls for what they are and would like to see prices come down.

 

I might enjoy them even more!

I wouldn't have to feel so guilty knowing how much money I have in resin alone sitting in boxes/shelves in my bedroom every time I saw them. This doesn't necessarily mean I'd buy like crazy... just the dolls on my wishlist .

 

I didn't buy my dolls as investments, and don't have any intention of reselling them, so I don't think I would be affected. But I would hate to see the price drop drastically (don't hit me!) because the high cost of buying each doll is the only thing keeping me from having 1000 and being buried alive in resin. So, is it pertains to my own livingspace, I would suffer greatly!

 

Everything would stay the same ^_^.

My dolls are not a number value with a dollar sign. They are my dolls and as long as we get along and nobody wants to move out of my room, they'll be staying with me, regardless of how much they're worth.

 

Good question! I have two dream dolls, and I just received one of them... But I love the mold so I don't really want to collect them (what I was doing with vynil dolls, trying to found something similar to the two dream dolls). Consequently, I don't think it could change my point of vue : I prefer having these two even it's more expensive for now, just because there are the only ones.
Now, I'm a human so I could fall for some just for fun ^^

 

It wouldn't bother me a bit even if my dolls have zero value. I buy them, keep them and love them not because of their monetary value, but rather, because I really love them.

 

A true doll collector does not collect for value. Its great when a doll you love becomes very valuable but doesn't make me love the doll any more than when I purchased the doll I had to have. If there was a crash i would still collect if I could afford to and the doll company's would stay in business.

 

stargazer sums up my thoughts perfectly.

 

I don't know about the UK, but I check the MP here all the time and my experience is rather the opposite. About six months ago, you could find some decent bargains on the MP, but not lately. Lately it's been chock full of dolls that are 2-4 years old, yellowed evenly or unevenly, with broken fingers and other problems, whose owners want full new price. There's a lot of new resin out there, and as has been said on the thread, peoples' fun money has dried up so they're making up for it any way they can. But because there's a lot of new resin out there, I think the BJD crash has come already in resale prices and folks just won't believe it.

 

Although I choose my dolls based on traits that I believe resemble my characters' I do try to keep in mind how much the doll(more specifically a head in my case) costs and what it's possible resale value is. This is because I am very picky about my dolls and even though I want to say that I could care less about money and more about the resin its still unsettling to loose a lot in a resale simply because it "didn't work out" or "it wasnt him." Sometimes I have doubts if I'm even suited for such an expensive hobby as this. ^^; I cant really afford to make the wrong choice or loose money on what much of my friends and family would consider "toys."

Although from a sentimental viewpoint I couldnt and wouldnt be interested in selling the ones I've decided upon. I'd like to think I would take the opportunnity of a cheaper market to buy more dolls, but if it got that bad I still doubt a lot of people would have the money to buy. That probably would go for me as well.
I think this is already very apparent with the slump I've seen already. A lot are selling relatively cheap but not a whole lot are being bought.

 

I'd still be interested in them, I don't have them because they're expensive. I have them because I like them.

 

Yes! I could actually afford more too

I never buy because they are costly or an investment, I just really love the aesthetics and the customisational aspect.

 

lol If BJD's came down a couple hundred dollars I'd be one happy collector. I'd have more then two dolls.
I made a list of Pro's & Con's about the hobby yesterday (To try and show my mom I'm serious about it), two con's were the price.
But yeah, I don't buy the dolls because they're expensive. I buy them because I love them

 

I don't plan on reselling my dolls, unless a new sculpt comes out that that's better for one of my already shelled characters. If there was a crash, I'd be happy to see doll prices go down. Nonetheless, it won't change whether or not I will continue to finish my doll family. My dolls are for personal enjoyment. Not an investment.

 

Are you kidding?

There are many resin dolls that are running lower in price than Volks Dollfie Dream and Obitsu large scale dolls. Bobobie, Resinsoul, etc. etc. You can get away with a Bobobie for less than $100. I put together a Mini Dollfie Dream custom doll for about $300. And if you are talking licensed Dollfie Dreams...fuhgettaboutit! They are put out at a premium and only go upward once the limited edition is done rolling out and they start showing up on Yahoo! Japan.

Obitsu is only a little less expensive, and really do require a certain amount of DIY spirit unless you buy a fullset from Parabox. And even when you get those, they are awfully close to Volks DD "image character" prices.

Vinyl is NOT going to be the way to a mass-market priced doll. Vinyl has a specific look and feel that resin doesn't have. It's like comparing grapefruit to oranges. They are a different flavor. Resin has a specific look and feel that vinyl doesn't have, btw. It all comes down to taste and aesthetics.

 

Yeah, I would. I don't really care much about the resale value. I mean, it's nice to know that I can get most of my money back if I buy a doll and decide later that it's not working out. But actually, I bought dolls from Luts at one price years ago, and now they sell them for less. I was a little bummed, because now I can get them cheaper, and if I want to sell one I have to sell it for less, but I really love the dolls I got from before, so it's ok ^-^