The smells of your home relating to your dolls?

My current home doesn't have any distinctive smells to me, but every time I buy from Musedoll, their packages arrive with this very subtle perfume that I'm just crazy about. It seriously increases my happiness when I open their packages. I feel it must be a scent that pervades their workshop because it's embedded in the fabric of the clothes, not just the packaging.

Our sense of smell generally has the most powerful effect on memory, which in turn tends to strongly affect our emotions, so I would definitely mention any smells that come from your dolls if you sell them, but whether it'll have a positive or negative effect on the buyer is completely up in the air, since everyone has different associations with different scents, even those that most would consider to be nice.

* I would like to add that I agree with ezzora (post #17), in that one might not notice the scents from one's own home since they've been immersed in it for a while, but that doesn't mean others won't pick up on a scent. So while I cannot pick up a distinctive scent from my home, I wouldn't be too surprised if someone else can. Also, just in general, I don't know if there are any places that exist in a vacuum of scents. Most likely, we only notice scents that are new/strange to us, and what we think of as having no scent is probably just scents we are extremely familiar with and are therefore acclimated to.

 

Sometimes I light candles, but they are usually lightly scented, and I tend to open windows when I do that. Aside from disinfectants (always barely scented) and Fabreeze, I do not have very many smells in my home.
My dolls and most of their stuff smells like resin.

I would be concerned about selling if my dolls had a certain smell, even a good smell, on them.
Once, I bought a doll head, and it arrived with a strong scent of incense. I was a little bothered by it, but I am sure the seller did not think it was an issue, and I did not think it was bad enough to complain about.
I guess I expect heavy scents to be made of things that can quicken the yellowing process and would prefer tem to not be around my dolls.
I have considered using very light perfumes on doll clothes before but have yet to try it.

 

My home doesn't usually have any distinct smells. Sometimes I light candles or incense, I do cook, but I don't have the dolls right next to it, and they don't absorb smells.

On receiving a doll with a smell...it REALLY depends on the smell. If it's strong perfume, smoke, cat pee or mildew, I'd be pretty upset. I have received dolls and clothes before that smelled awful and took some time to air out, such as a doll from a "non-smoking" home that smelled so badly of stale smoke that I had to throw her string away and soak her overnight.....but if it wasn't overwhelming and was a good scent, like incense or candles, and didn't affect the quality of the doll, it wouldn't bother me at all.

 

It would be hard to tell if your doll smelled like your house, though. If you live in the smell all the time, you don't smell it anymore. For instance, dogs have a distinct smell, but if you live with them you get used to it. You may mention the dog in a sale in case of allergy, but you may not even think about smells. Or if you like to cook strong smelling things, those smells could be on your dolls and you wouldn't notice, and it wouldn't come up in a sale at all. There's not much to be done about these things before a sale if you don't even recognize a problem, so I think in this case, a second hand doll is buy at your own risk.

 

I think that's something that ought to be disclosed before selling items - wood smoke, incense, perfume (as louiselle mentioned) and similar scents can be allergy triggers just as pets and cigarette smoke can be, so ideally a buyer should be warned about that.

That said, Jezrah is right that we don't always notice scents once we're used to them, but if you are aware of them (or if it's something that guests mention when they're visiting) I think it's only fair to let potential buyers take that into account (or at least be aware of the potential to have someone complain at some point).

 

I've bought quite a few things secondhand, and I can't recall ANY of them having a strong smell, even things from a smoking home.
I agree with the other posters, if you don't keep your dolls near you every single day, chances are, they're not going to smell like curry or wet dog. There is a chance though, with incense or smoke/fire/candles, simply because the smoke drifts throughout the house, and the tiny airborn particles settle on surfaces. I think in an environment like that, if the doll was kept in a box or closed display, there still wouldn't be a problem.

 

I moved from a home to an apartment in May. My neighbor across the hall is a heavy smoker and you can smell the odor in the hall. Although my dolls are in display cases I worry about them picking up the odor. The odor is very unpleasant for me as I have never been a smoker.
I once commissioned a repaint and purchased an additional OOAK outfit from a seller and when they arrived I smelled the cigarette smoke. She had not disclosed it and when I asked her about it she said that "yes, she does smoke but not around her craft room." She said that no one ever mentioned the odor to her before. I really liked the repaint but I would never purchase from her again.
Sooo, I hope that my dolls do not pick up my neighbor's smoker smell.

Rita

 

We had upstairs neighbors that smoked... a lot. So much so that it made our apartment REEK. And it was not just your normal cigarettes. I had to pack up all my dolls to keep them from picking up the sent as even my clothing hanging on our closest was smelly enough that my co-workers could smell the wacky tobacy on me.

It does make me wonder about my cats though. I cannot smell them, but when I go to another place that has cats, I can pick up on the sent if I am in the same room as a litter box.

I have no plans on ever selling my dolls, but it is does happen I will have to mention not only the fact I own cats, but the season of the stinky that our neighbors caused.

 

I have pets, a dog and a cat, but I keep my home very clean. Since they are small animals and they are not allowed near the doll, the doll does not smell. I do keep an air freshener, (bath and body works wallflower) in the room the doll is in but on the opposite wall of the room, but I don't think that would affect the smell. My room doesn't get much air circulation, that could play a factor in odor, but again, my doll doesn't have any distinctive smell, so I think all is good.

 

Odour-free doesn't mean allergen-free though, so I do think that could still be an issue for some. My house doesn't smell of dog, but I'd still always warn buyers/exchange partners that my house isn't pet-free because it can be impossible to tell if an animal's dander is in the air.

 

^-- This. So much this.

I've got a really nasty cat allergy, and it doesn't take much to set it off. Last time I was at a vet's office, there was a lady in the lobby who was leaving, and had three cats in carriers.

Just being in the lobby at the same time as the cats/when the cats were recently there started to bother my eyes and I was put in a room where there had not been any cats at all that day. Which helped a lot, but.

To lend perspective on how this complicates my life when buying off ebay: I bought a plush cat off ebay once. The seller had not stated that they had cats, and I hadn't thought to ask. I wound up getting the plush, hangtag and everything was still on it, but they MUST have had cats because holding it/being too close to it would make my eyes start to burn and glass up, which is usually the first sign that my cat allergies are kicking in.

So, needless to say, doll clothes, the pillows that the dolls come with, and doll wigs and clothes could all easily pick up dander and hold it, which would aggravate my allergies. Which is mostly my biggest concern as far as doll-things go, tbh. Allergies are not fun business.

It's also why I'd mention that I own a dog and used to own a lovebird if I were to ever sell any of my dolls. Just for those people who share my pain on the allergy front, but with a different allergy trigger than I.

Mildew is another smell that I'd worry about, but that's just because it smells nasty.

As far as I know, my dolls don't have any "distinct smells" to them. Of course, I'll also admit that I've never really bothered to sniff them.

 

I would always warn about anything that could trigger allergies, my cousin once had trouble with something from a 'pet-free' home, the seller apologised and said it was from the cats next door...... She is severely allergic and spent about a week afterwards coughing.

 

Honestly I'm mainly scared of buying second hand because I have serious cat and dog allergies. I'm used to my own dog because he has a very fine short coat and he doesn't shed a lot plus I had dogs all my life but if it's not MY dog my allergies go nuts and cats? If I'm around a cat I could get serious problems that would be flu like in nature. One time my friend came over and she was playing with her cats and neglected to tell me and refused to change her clothes...I was out of commission for a week with what felt like the flu and it was really my allergies. We now have a rule that she has to shower and wear my spare clothes as soon as she comes over to avoid any problems. Ever since we put that rule into play I haven't had problems. She doesn't even pack her own clothes anymore she just leaves in the clothes she wore to the house.

If I'm buying a doll I NEED to know because it can get onto everything and it would just break my heart. I once received swap items I couldn't use because my hands would itch and my eyes would burn every time I put them in my hands. I couldn't put them on my dolls because I was scared the dander would get imbedded on them. I wound up washing them but it didn't help. Once cat hair is on something it goes everywhere.

Last time I entered a swap I stressed this to the organizer who instead of organizing it by size and gender organized it by who lived where and who had pets and who didn't.

I know my dog has a distinctive...Aroma but it didn't occur to me to mention smells until now.

I know all about smoke. My father used to smoke cigars and when I gave a set of clothes to a friend when she opened the box she held the clothes to her and she noticed the scent. I was humiliated.

 

-Does your home have any specific smells?
None that I'm aware of. I'm a pet owner but my house and pets are kept clean.

-Do you think it will affect your dolls?
Not really. I think a nice dishsoap bath or magic eraser scrubbing will take off any smells.

-Doll you think it will affect when you sell it?
I don't plan on ever selling my dolls....but I would mention being a pet owner in my listings for fairness if I ever did.


I buy most of my dolls second-hand and some have came with their very own smells. The smells were always in the clothing or wigs that come with my dolls. I wash them for that and general sanitary reasons. I always clean the dolls too in case they have a smell I don't notice.

 

My home doesn't have any really prevalent smells; at least nothing that would ever be near my dolls enough that they might absorb it. If I did sell them, I suppose I would take the time to clean them first to be sure.

If I buy a secondhand doll, I would definitely prefer they didn't have a smell. For one, I just adore the scent of resin itself, and I prefer my dolls to smell like that. If I bought a doll and it came smelling something like incense or perfume, as long as it wasn't overbearing I suppose I'd just deal with it. Maybe it would even become a part of his or her story or character.

Smoke, or pet smells, however, are a definite turnoff for me. I'd scrub and soak that doll as long as it took to be rid of it.

 

Everyones home has a distinctive smell, that's why you can sometimes smell something and remember a person or a place, saying "I can't smell anything" is not an indication, it's your home, it's your scent, you won't pick it up unless it's not yours.
People living in a house where someone smokes won't pick up the scent, you get used to it, others will most likely notice it, however they might not tell you, even if you ask, as it's considered impolite to comment about non-pleasant smells

And I would like to stress that noone should ever include a 'nice smelling pillow/satchet' with stuff they sell. You don't know if a person is allergic, and that 'nice smell' might trigger them to having an attack. Somehow I doubt an asthmatic attack or allergic reaction is nice in anyone's point of view.

Same with if you have any kind of house perfume, be it 'natural' like (stong)smelling flowers/potpourri/incense(or woodburners or real in use fireplaces) or unnatural like air freshners/scented candles, mention it. People do it for their pets or smoking, all smells can and will cling, even 'nice' scents. Also unlike your pets, you can not keep a scent from a room. Scents travel through the air, get attached to you, your clothes, your hair, anything.

 

Someone once bought a wig off me, many years ago, and said it smelled really strongly of smoke- but I don't smoke, neither does my husband, and neither did our neighbors. I have no idea where the smell came from! It smelled fine when i shipped it(i'm actually allergic to cigarette smoke and get flu-like symptoms when I'm exposed to it for too long), so all I can think is that the package picked it up somewhere in transit? It was very strange!

My house smells like resin. Or at least the closets where i keep the boxes of stock do. God forbid you open one of those boxes unintentionally. The plastic tubs keep the smell in and it'll knock you off your feet if you're not ready for it. Individually the dolls smell only faintly of resin when you open the package... but when you've got ten in a box the smell gets multiplied and concentrated... XD

i do have a cat and I let her roam wherever she wants. She's brushed regularly, is very clean and she isn't invasive. She mostly sits in the windows or in the bed, she's not interested in doll things. Most of the time she smells like my husband's cologne because she sleeps in his clothes from time to time. But she doesn't have that dirty pet smell some animals have.

When a shipment of dolls comes in I always vacuum like crazy before I open the box. All the dolls come in their own plastic bag too, so typically they're never exposed to the house or the cat.

 

It's not just the smell mildew is bad for - over time, if the mildew is still there, it actually starts to break down the fabric, weakening it. It probably doesn't matter much for dolls, but still, weakened fabric can't be good

 

Our Marketplace sales-form has disclosure checkboxes-- about whether or not your home has pets or smoke. I think those two are the biggies. And I would add mildew/mold, for sure. Any kind of big allergens, list it & check the checkboxes.

And yes, there is that phenomenon whereby the seller can't smell what you smell. Every time I hear my Cat People friends say "But my cats are clean & don't smell", I (non-pet-owner) go to their house & I can smell cat from outside while the door's still closed.... So if you don't KNOW whether your doll stinks, get a second opinion! Preferably someone who doesn't smell you/ your house every day.


But I really wouldn't worry much about incidental smells-- unless your house/dolls have a seriously pervasive stank, the kind that all your friends notice when they come over & lingers on their clothes later-- perfumes, air-fresheners, disinfectants, etc. Occasional woodsmoke or incense, the ghost of your preferred carpet-cleaner, just the general smell of your house... those I consider part of the risk of buying secondhand. The doll is coming from somebody else's home. A little of its effluvium is to be expected.

You know how very old houses that're made out of certain kinds of wood always manage to make everything inside them smell excellent? I tend to love buying stuff from people who turn out to live in old wooden houses. =D

I least like things that smell like air-freshener or deodorizers. People who live in air-freshener houses are usually scary; I always wonder what they're trying to cover up.