They get dirty doing meet-ups (About dolly respect)

My dolls I really don't care if they get dirty. Especially at a meet-up. (ours are usually outside anyway.) I let little kids play with my dolls, and at a convention you know people's hands are going to be dirty or pick up some dirt, cause usually you're sitting on the floor, it can't be helped. same with minor scrapes and dings that can be easily sanded out. Now a big break I might be upset about, but agian that's my risk.

I do however handle others dolls a lot more carefully than I do my own. But that's just cause most aren't as carefree as me when it comes to what happens to the doll. (like I don't know anyone else who lets 3 year olds and up run off with their dolls for a few hours) In my mind anything that happens is easily fixed, But on someone else doll that might not be the case. Not all are as handy with scuplting or glueing, or sanding.

 

PeterPan-Syndrome~~ I hope you were able to remove the dirt from your Ducan after the meet-up.

Some people are more anal than others when it comes to dolls getting dirty/or even slightly dirty. Personally I simply don't let anyone handle my dolls- ever. End of story. I would get annoyed if my dolls got dirty/stained/whatever...which is why i don't allow others to touch my boys :P

The only BJD i have ever handled myself- other than my own- is my friends Souldoll girl. When i have played with my friends doll, I have made sure that my hands have been clean and i also never touch dolls faces.

These dollies means alot to people, so when handling someone elses doll it should be done with extreme care....me thinks

 

Wow, that sucks! If my doll came home dirty I would be rather upset because I always make sure to take good care of my own things and special care with other people's belongings. It's a risk you take when allowing people other than yourself to handle your dolls but they should have some respect and treat your doll like they would(or better) than their own. Maybe you should put a sign on him next time that says "have you washed your hands? If no GTFO and don't touch me!" XD

 

You know, part of going to meet ups is getting to see dolls that you don't have, looking at companies' products you haven't seen before, etc. If you don't want people touching your doll, maybe you shouldn't go to meet ups? If you go, and just sit in the corner or say "Oh no don't touch him/her" it's a rather bad reflection on you. It makes you look anti-social which is... kind of counter productive to going to a meet.

Unless there are people walking around with cheetos on their fingers, or have been eating greasy food, stains should be removable. If thats the case, you have every right to get upset at people. Your dolls are a part of you, and they're an expensive investment. Anyone coming to a meet, unless they're complete newbies who have never before seen a doll in their life and are kind of wandering in to see what's going on, should understand the principals of the hobby and how you do and don't handle a doll, especially if it's somebody else's personal property.

I agree that folks shouldn't ever touch a face up, period, but that's just good manners. Face ups are one of the most expensive parts of owning a doll, and the hardest part to replace. Things, however, like smudges on the legs, arms, etc can be removed with a good bath or a rubdown from a mr. clean eraser or doll cleaning sponge. Light scratches are going to happen regardless of wether or not you go to a meet if you actually play with/regularly handle your dolls. However, the nature of Polyurethane, the stuff "resin" dolls are made from, is highly durable. NASA makes parts for space ships out of it. Unless you're dropping it on concrete, you shouldn't get any significant damage.

Just out of curiosity, how exactly does one "bruise" a doll? Bruises are when veins break and the blood pools under the skin. I'm confused.

 

I agree with romancedinthepast. Going to meetups you sort of have to expect to get a little handling dirt on your dolls. Get yourself a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean him up after you get home. Or, if it really bothers you, don't take him to meetups.

 

This is going to sound so mean but, just Dont let 'dirty' people touch your dollie! (you know the kind...like dirty little fan people who dont bath for days at a convention...we've all encountered them im sure )
Or just carry a bottle of hand sanitiser perhaps? lol

 

I would be really pissed off if that happend to me. I always wash my hands before I play with my doll and I would never touch someone elses if I wasnt sure my hands were clean.

 

A little container of wet wipes (baby wipes) wound't go astray at a meet-up, especially one where food is being served. However, dirt on a doll's backside is not from people handling the doll, it's from general dust and dirt wherever you sat the doll down, and usually comes off with just a damp cloth, or a quick wash of whatever pants it's on.
Of course, I'm a lot more laid back about dirt than scratches. I'd have some strong words to share with anyone who did anything to actually damage my dolls... But just dirt, whether it be on dolls or humans, cleans off.

 

Dirt happens. I just hope that people have the common courtesy to know not to handle a doll when they obviously need to wash their hands or whatnot. Every one of my dolls has had some sort of spill at a meet, but you know? I like going to them and having fun. I can clean the dolls and fix faceups, but the gatherings don't come everyday.

...although I admit to being a bit peeved when Mikelandros was launched from a picnic table because a woman flopped onto the attached seat (she didn't seem to have noticed that NOBODY else was sitting down, as there was 30+ dolls on these tables) luckily, he didn't sustain any permanent damage. ^^;

Just be courteous, ask before handling peoples dolls, exercise some common sense, and all will be wonderful.

~Anrui

 

I think people should be more careful with dolls or anything that is not their own. I do not think it is rude to take your dolls to a meet-up and hold on to him and tell people not to touch his face-up or whatever you don't want them to do. Maybe it seems anti-social to some but it is your doll not theirs.
I do not understand what you mean by bruises though; did your dolls actually get discoloured?

 

^^' I have the overall opinion that people don't wash their hands enough. I wash my hands before touching any of my dolls and toys, practically every time. Even the smallest amount of oil, dust, or sugar, I still wash my hands. I remember my toys being absolutely coated with grime if kids ever touched them. That's why none are ever getting near my dolls. But it's not just kids, of course.

 

I am relatively careful with my own dolls, ie making sure my hands are clean before handling them. I am far more careful with other people's dolls than my own. In our local group at meets everyone has their own rules about touching dolls. Some people will toss their doll into the nearest pair of hands, other people are deathly afraid to touch someone else's! At the last meet somone grabbed one of my dolls and started posing her with stuffed animals on her head; since it wasn't an activity that would permanently damage the doll I was a little surprised but not bothered. As long as you communicate your wishes there should be no problem. Unfortunately when you go to a meetup or convention, you make the decision to allow other people to handle your doll, so you don't really have a right to complain about it. It's common sense that not everyone treats possessions the same way, and if you can't handle the stress of that situation then either leave your doll at home or make a strict hands-off policy. Keep in mind that there is almost nothing about these dolls that cannot be fixed. Dirt and scratches can be washed or buffed away, faceups can be touched up. Unless something actually breaks off your doll you should be fine.

 

I really don't mind much.

When you take them outside/to a meet, you expect them to get some level or dirty.

If I found one of my dolls with PERMANENT scuffs or marks, I'd be mad. But some normal scuffs or dirt isn't horrible cos it comes right off with a magic eraser.

 

I honestly don't care if my dolls get a little dirt on them as long as it's not on their faces. If I really wanted them to stay clean I wouldn't take them out of the house. I find it's easy enough to clean them off with a magic sponge. I wouldn't be thrilled if I took a clean doll to a meet and came home with a filthy one, but I wouldn't be terribly upset -- I'd just clean it.

This sort of thing, though, is why I don't handle dolls unless I know the owner. There's too many points of view on handling dolls. Some people don't want anyone touching theirs, some people only want you to touch if you ask first, some people want you to wash your hands... I only handle dolls belonging to people I know are okay with me handling their dolls.

 

I recently had a pretty bad experience along these lines. I made the mistake of brining a YoSD Lin, a doll I hadn't really warmed up to yet to a local meet. I thought that having her out and about, taking photos, etc would make me enjoy her more. Unfortunately, at some point when she was sitting out on a table with all the other dolls, her faceup was slightly damaged. I have no way of knowing how it happened, but it pretty much killed my chances of "bonding" with her. Though minor, the damage was enough to put me off, and I wasn't willing to invest in a new faceup that I had never planned to get. And of course, even very minor damage means less interest from buyers.

I'm always extremely careful with my dolls and handle them as little as possible. Frankly, it was a mistake to assume that other people would feel the same way, even when dealing with other people's property. In the future, I probably won't bring more than one doll to a meetup or event, and they will either stay in my control or in a place where they won't be touched, like a contest display. Unfortunately, that may make people think that I'm selfish or standoffish, but I just don't "play" with dolls the way many other collectors do and that's really the only way I'll feel comfortable bringing them into public.

 

It doesn't matter if people touch my dolls, I can stand it. But it's true that not everyone is as clean or responsible.
That happened to me: A woman brought her daugther to a meet up. The girl was eating a tuna sandwich and she almost touched my doll when I was not watching, and her hands were NOT clean at all ._.
I have also seen how a person touched the face of my doll without care... And that frightens me because not everyone is careful with things that do not belong to them, so I understand that people don't want other people to touch their things.

 

I assumed that anyone attending a meetup would know enough to handle private property only with permission of the owner. Am I ever naive! We went to our first meetup and everything was fine (it was a private event with a lot of experienced doll owners), but if I bring my dolls to a bigger event like an anime con I'll keep hold of them rather than setting them on a table where I might not be able to see them the whole time. Perhaps there should be signs with the rules: ask permission, wash your hands, don't touch the faces. It's not a perfect solution--I learned from working in libraries and bookstores that many people are constitutionally unable to comprehend signage--but at least there'd be documentation. "No, you can't do that, see, there's the sign right there in front of you!" Gahhh, people.

 

I've had that happen before (I came back from a meet with my brand new mnf soo and she had a nick on her wrist and smudges all over her legs), and as long as it doesn't occur near the face-up, minor smudges are fine with me(not so much happy with the nick but i had no way of knowing who did it). If i see someone touching my dolls face i tell them not to do that, since oil does break down the msc on their face and then that leads to the paint breaking down also. I always carry a bottle of hand sanitizer with me to meets so people can clean their hands after they eat, i'm a little weird about eating then touching a doll, especially if it's greasy or messy food. Just treat other people's dolls like your own- respect them and handle them safely.

 

I wouldn't like it either. :S
Next time don't leave your doll alone I think.
Even some dollowners are 'dirty', I mean that their dolls are dirty and the owners don't mind. Also you have owners that are rough with their own dolls and also dolls from anyone else.
When I went for the first time with my first doll to a meetup her face-up was damaged. >_< I was very sad and didn't want to go to meet-ups anymore. But now I'm just very careful. I'm holding my doll all the time or keep a close eye on it.