The BJD Crash

This is a welcome thread to me. Though, I didn't read all the posts, I can see that I am not alone in buying a doll because I love it, and not for the resale value. I don't understand the mentality of Dolly commodities. futures, or Dolly hedging. I'm simple....I buy what I like.
Thank you guys

 

Yes and yes!! I collect my dolls for me and that's it. It's just a bonus that they have a higher money value; meaning if I HAD to sell one or more for some reason, they'd pull in in a nice chunk of change.

 

I would still keep my interest if there was a BJD crash. I don't collect them for their monetary value, or for any sort of investment income. I collect them because I love them, the aesthetics, the culture. I would be much happier if they were more affordable.

 

If these dolls lost their value... OMG I WOULD BY ALL MY DREAM DOLLS!!
Yes I would. I would not like my family (doll family) any less, they are very strong characters and I do love their form.
And I would take the opportunity to collect all my dream dolls, witch is very expensive. So I would love it, in a colleting point of view.

 

I have mixed feelings. For one, I don't want my favorite companies to crash. Also if BJDs started Mass production it also means lower quality and cutting corners... On the other hand this would make the dolls more affordable.... but I think I'd rather pay the money... it kinda makes me proud to save up for them... it means commitment to something you love.

 

This is quite an interesting topic! Thank you for sharing!

Whilst I haven't read all the reply posts in detail, I can understand why people would be happy if there was a financial gain from a crash. However, would there be additional strain for the companies manufacturing them, possibly? Would they be able to keep up with demand if they charged, say, half the price?

Again, really interesting! I think I'll mull on this topic a while and read through all the replies. Thank you for posting

 

On the base level I have to agree with the majority of the posts in reply to this interesting question. The 'value' of my doll collection resides in how I feel about them and has nothing to do with their re-sale value.

However, a crash in the doll market, whilst it might lead to some cheaper pricing of dolls in the short term, would inevitably lead to the demise of many of the companies that produce the dolls that I love and that would be a tragedy.

 

One of the things I told my mom when I finally told her about my interest in this hobby was about the resale value. If it suddenly went down she'd be upset, but I'd still have my babies and that'd be that!

 

I'd still love my dolls, but I'd be ticked off that I didn't wait till after the crash to buy all my LEs XD

 

I don't like dolls because of their value. I would still love them the same, and I think I would continue to collect them as well. I'd actually like that they would be worth less, it means I could end up getting dolls that I couldn't get before. :P Maybe I'd be a little jealous that a doll I paid a lot for was suddenly very low priced, but it wouldn't matter that much to me.

 

To agree with the crowd, I would still collect them, and might collect more of them faster because of lower prices. I love the dolls themselves, not the price.
My grandmother might pitch a fit. I justify my purchases (its easier than listening to her crab) by explaining the resale value (not that I'd ever sell my beauties).
But I could justify again by: theyre cheaper now!! ^~^

 

i buy my dolls because i love them. i love the characters i created and the molds i picked, many have custom face ups that i asked for. i did not buy any for resale and i would still buy them if they cost less from a "crash" [i might even be happy cause i could buy more for the same amount than i could now lol]

 

I think I would have a few problems if the bjd market crashed. First and foremost being, well, if they were less expensive then I would buy more! (now many are thinking why would thi be a problem?) and I know it shouldn't be...but if I could afford to buy every doll I ever had the inkling of buying well...I wonder if I would treasure them as much as the ones I had to scrape and scrounge for?
Unless of course it's the "omg I've been trying to get one of these for five years and now it's on sale for 300! Soom Sard for meeeee!!!!" type scenarios.
I just fear I would buy up anything with a pretty sculpt and since theres no reselling market I'd have a bunch of dolls I do nothing with, then the favoured few! Where as now I have a couple dolls...and I am debating more, but in order to get the Iplehouse girl I want I will have to give up my Dollmore Model girl...and do I want to do that?..

My other problem would be chances are if they dropped too much a lot of the smaller doll companies would cease to exist. Which, is kind of sad since they have so much to offer us!
and then there is the quality. What if the quality of the dolls goes down? We live in such a disposable society after all...I mean, lets take televisions for example...I know, this is random, but I can rmember my Mum telling me that the purchase of a tv for the first time in her house was a HUGE thing, her dad scrimped and saved to buy this one thing so they could all sit around and watch Lassie. My Dad and others I know have similar tales, buying a family television was a huge deal! it was expensive! it was cherished! You got ONE. Now? We have at least six tv's in the house, most people I know do! And if one breaks you chuck it and buy a new one....could something like that happen with bjd's too?

 

A good question to add to this is; "Would your reactions be different, depending on what had lowered the price?"

So, for example, if BJDs suddenly became less desirable, compnies may put on semi-permanent sales (Like CustomHouse does), cutting their profits and becoming less likely to stay afloat in the process. With less sales, companies would probably be less able to absorb the costs of miscast pieces, so more flawed dolls would get into the market. (Call this Op. 1)

On the ther hand, a new casting technique or piece of equipment could make the actual process of casting more reliable, resulting in cheaper, more numberous dolls. (Call this Op. 2)

On a third, metaphoric, hand the companies could get greedy, and start letting much more flawed dolls pass QC and thus drop the overall quality of BJDs on the market. To some people (Faceup artists and moders, probably, who could hide the extra bubbles and missing fingers) it might mot matter, but to others it could be a deal-breaker. (Call this Op. 3)

On a fourth hand, starting to look a bit like Kali here, there could be a worldwide drop in the price of the chemicals needed to produce the dolls, meaning that the companies' running costs would fall, allowing them to (possibly) pass that saving along to the consumer. (Call this Op. 4)

So:

Op 1; Less dolls, lower quality
Op 2; More dolls, same quality
Op 3; More dolls, lower quality
Op 4; Same amunt of dolls, same quality.

...And there's probably a lot more combinations too.

 

Well I'm going to be honest. I'm clumsy. I'm a klutz. My doll already has two minor scratches--you wouldn't be able to tell unless you were looking for them, but it's because I'm such a klutz. My fine motor skills are whacked and this means that I can be a little rougher with dolls than I mean to be. So I can't worry about the resale price.

Not to mention I love my doll and the way I currently feel I wouldn't sell him for the world ^^

 

This is an excellent point. The initial scenario relied so heavily on artificial inflation that it makes the prospect unrealistic -- but these are more solid options that don't involve artificial inflation.

Options 2 and 4 I'd see as positives for everyone, companies and buyers included. With a lower 'buy in', I suspect we'd also potentially see more companies, and this would open the door to even more small studios offering sculpts as well, which would also, to me, be a very positive thing. (For variety, anyway -- not for my wallet, ow! Lower prices just makes them easier to buy... more of. *cough*)

Options 1 and 3 would be bad news to me -- though I suspect it would have the end result of inflating the secondary market costs of existing sculpts that are problem-free, even on regular line items still available from the company, since the ones bought from the company would then be hit-or-miss. This would be great news for speculators who bought in over previous years, but bad news for everyone else.

 

Absolutely. I love my dolls for play and expanding my sewing, knitting and best of all, playing skills.

 

I wonder if fine art would be closer examples, like sculptures or paintings. BJD sellers continue to grow, so I suspect the market may downsize before plateauing. This hobby is rather new, expensive, and way too risky for speculators IMHO. Its so small I doubt it will seriously crash unless production costs goes down or whatever. Even so there will still be a desire for the "classics" and limiteds. Because even popular dolls don't even sell more than 1,000 units right? I get the impression that selling a few hundred is considered good.

I am interested to see how things continue to evolve. I am always interested to hear the viewpoints of those people collecting from the very start how much things have changed since then.

The thing I most wonder is if BJDs will have a much bigger audience someday, as that will be a big variable. I dont think resin BJDs will ever get close to mainstream, although maybe gain a little more popularity overseas, or if they market similar/cheaper PVC dolls as childrens toys or something. How popular and accepted are they in Asia?

 

I never bought my dolls on the erroneous assumption that they were collectible and would gain value. They are toys, grownup toys, and my joy comes from playing with them and trying to make things for them.

If by some fluke there was a bubble market and it burst, well, I'd deal with the fallout by doing more research for future purchases. My gut says there'd be less choice overall, not more, and quality might suffer from the lower end companies in particular.

 

If the BJD market crashed I'd be buying more of them ... prices would fall and I could pick up my grail dolls for a song!