Things that annoy you... *Rant Thread* - pt.2

This one only just occurred to me, but has honestly been a back of the mind peeve for a while now.

Offering advice or photo references and then either never hearing whether it help or not, or just gets completely ignored. I've had this issue in a few non-BJD places as well, but it's something like this that makes me very hesitant to offer help to other people. It just feels like it's falling on deaf ears, and I wasted my time trying to be helpful.

These days, even if I have advice for something in a particular thread, I most often just wait for somebody else to respond instead. Saves me the headache.

 

Like some people have mentioned on here, I really don't like how clothing companies don't have a unified scale for clothing. Some good companies will base their clothes off the Volks scale, which is great, but some other artists will be a wild card. I also don't like how Volks is so selective with their releases of the SDGr Girl model.

 

A more recent annoyance of mine- several companies make mature tiny women with nice bodies with faces with child-like features. And I'm sure this has been said before, but some companies only provide photos of their dolls with face-ups. If I'm going to order a doll, I'd like to know what the actual sculpt looks like.

And how common tiny dolls with oversize heads are. I respect that that aesthetic appeals to many people, but it does not appeal to me.

 

I really wish more doll companies would maintain pictures/information of their discontinued sculpts (heads, bodies, etc.). This site has an excellent wiki, but sometimes it just doesn't tell me all of the information I need (and that's not taking into account companies that are completely defunct).

I also wish more secondhand sellers of dolls/clothes/props/etc. would post measurements. I enjoy research and browsing for information, but it would be much more convenient to have it contained in the listing.

 

SAME! It took me forever to find a mature tiny that looks...well...mature!

 

Poorly designed websites and non-responsive sellers. No HTTPS, weird Q&A system (and no public posts for clearly common questions), slow response times, no measurements, weirdly named doll lines, and so on. The faster I can get all the information I need, the more likely I am to get to checkout. With extra stuff in my cart at that.

Also, nude body pictures that don't show off full poseability. Lots of joints, yet pictures don't even show the doll kneeling from a flattering angle? Very suspicious.

EDIT: Lack of blank head pictures. Front and side profiles, at least.

 

It's not really a big deal but I still find it annoying but the pukifee hashtag on instagram has so many pictures of not pukifees People hashtag all the small FL dolls and lati yellow on a picture like if it were the same doll. Also I'd say most of the pictures are from people selling clothes which is fine but I would like to see more owner pictures! Most annoying is looking for a specific scuplt (#pukifee[name] for example) and then the photos are clearly a different sculpt with unrelated scuplt/body/brand hashtags from someone trying to sell something.

 

Finding a fantastic item of clothing only to find that it fits a skinny SD not a chunky (in comparison) Iple SID or EID.

Having ordered an item of clothing from Etsy months ago and it still hasn't arrived, supposedly due to the pandemic. Not only has it not arrived, I've had to chase the seller to even send it. Very annoying.

Wigs. I want wigs that are finished, not bowl cuts which need trimming and styling. I'm tempted to take them into a hairdressers and ask someone to style them!

 

Buying a $20-$25 wig from a BJD company and being disappointed by the quality. If I can see the cloth wig cap through the wig, I feel cheated. I know its harder to make tiny wigs, but if you can't do it so it looks decent, don't sell it.

 

Yes, this is more than frustrating, as now you have a wig that won’t work. Feeling cheated explains it well.

 

Yes! I try to find owner pics of wigs before I buy one, especially if it's expensive. (Which to me is like $20+ haha) So many look great in the promo pic but not so good in review pics.

 

Things that annoy me about this hobby:

• No nearby physical stores to visit so I can see dolls and dolly related things in person. I like to look at things even if I have no intention of buying, but I also like to see what I am getting in person before I invest. It was great when a certain company had a physical store with a showroom in the same state that I lived in, but that closed down years ago and I think they only have a store for picking up purchases as an option but no showroom. And I think a few more dolly stores in my state have closed over the years so less potential places to visit.
• No dolly hang out places. I would LOVE a BJD tea room with adjoining shop. Seriously, can you imagine going to the local BJD tea room that not only offers a delicious afternoon tea service but also has an adjoining dolly store that includes dolls, clothes, and accessories as well as various dioramas to take pictures at with your dolls? This needs to be created people! If doll owners are worried about "grubby hands" from non-BJD owners, then maybe let's make a clubhouse only for BJD owners section for BJD owners and a section for non-BJD owners. Heck, the clubhouse section could be open it to all collectible doll owners because I would love to see all the different types of dolls out there besides Asian BJDs. Plus, gives me an excuse to learn about more dolls out there to collect as well as will get more money and business from them. Ultimately, I just want a place where I can bring my doll to in public and know that not only is it fine to have my doll there, but other people can bring their dolls there too and it's safe to do so.
• The price sometimes. I fully understand that what I am buying is a piece of art and the cost of labor and materials is appropriate for what I am getting as well as the quality of the product. I know I can easily buy from more affordable BJD companies if I wanted to, but you are still looking at triple digits when all is said and done for a full set doll (doll, face-up, eyes, wig, clothes, and shoes). There are times when it isn't even for me but maybe a friend or family member that is interested in the hobby, but the price point might be too high for them or for me to help them get into it. Sometimes, I just want to pay less than $100 for a full set doll and not worry about resin poisoning or if it was made in a sweatshop.
• Finding clothing and accessories for your dolly at the appropriate scale in a reasonable price range for the aesthetic you like. Again, for any custom item or item made exactly for the scale/type of doll you have, I feel it is worth the price for the cost of materials and labor. Pieces of art are not just mass produced products. With that comes difficulty in finding particular pieces and of course with that the price goes up. Sometimes, I want Gothic Lolita or Steampunk for my dolls. Other times, I want period pieces like from the Regency era or Victorian era. Sometimes, I want something associated with a book, game, anime, manga, TV, or movie series. Sometimes, I want something associated with certain cultures (like the Maria Clara from the Filipino culture, the kimono or samurai outfit from Japanese culture, the Hanbok from Korean culture, etc). Or maybe I want a bedroom set, dining room set, and living room set from any of the aforementioned styles. Or maybe I want a horse or pets for my dolls. Most times, I buy whatever is available that I know for sure will fit my dolls or is the right scale for my dolls from the company I bought the dolls from because I know they are consistent and it will fit. At some point, it becomes a treasure hunt and it gets costly and takes time. Let's not get into dioramas because that is just all of this and then some...
• Explaining the hobby to non-BJD owners. I think it's easier when talking to another person that also is into some sort of collectible hobby (non-BJD dolls, Star Wars, comics, figurines/miniatures, trains, stamps, antiques, coins, etc) as there are certain spoken and unspoken rules or etiquette that most people abide by (e.g., no "grubby hands," asking permission to handle collectible item appropriately if allowed to, not dissing collectible even if they are not your own aesthetic, not discussing price of collectible unless person is interested in purchasing said collectible or equivalent elsewhere, not asking to buy collectible when you are not selling, etc). However, it can be a chore sometimes when explaining the hobby to a non-BJD owner, especially when they are not a collector of any kind themselves or are disrespectful in some way (e.g., "grubby hands," saying "Ew, doll is scary/creepy," judging doll owner for being a certain sex/gender/age/ethnicity/any demographic, shocked at the price when "it's just a doll," etc). Sometimes, I just want to go somewhere with my doll and not have to explain it all.

Omigawd, I didn't realize I had this much to say. There's more, but I'm going to stop here. Whew! But really, I love this hobby. Wouldn't have been in it for so many years with this many dolls for no reason. Hahaha. Way more positive things to say than negative so let's leave it at that.

 

Scalpers who snatch up as many lottery dolls as possible to sell at a markup, and even worse, true collectors who try to make a ridiculous profit off of their fellow collectors. I understand the idea of selling an old, rare doll at markup, since you will never own one like it again...but come on - recent dolls? When it looked like no more RealPukis might come out, people were hauling their own unloved ones out of the cobwebs and trying to pawn them off at three times the original price. Recently I saw a Volks Lady Oscar head on eBay with a sticker price of $1600. Really? Just the head?? You can still buy the whole fullset for a little over $2K if you know where to shop. Try to show some dignity instead of greed.

And with all due apologies @Ligaya24 and the few others who do it...people who make all of their posts on DoA in weird colors. There's no need for it, and it's hard on the eyes. I like reading everything that everyone has to say on this forum, but I do tend to skip over those because my poor eyeballs just can't take it - and I know that I am not alone by a long shot.

 

This is more than just a pet peeve, it makes me angry. And not just with bjd, but basically any product that people hoard and resell for more. It reminds me of the eejits when Covid started going around, who bought out all the tp or hand sanitizer and tried to resell it for more. I liked the karma when these same people ended up being unable to resell once things restocked, and ended up with a stock of hand sanitizer bottles or what not that they couldn't get rid of.

There are some unreleased dolls I really want but I know once they come out, they'll be limited edition so my worst fear is that people will buy them in mass qualities until they're sold out, and then sell them for a way higher price.

 

Impossible small eyes on so many big dolls now, which need a 14mm eye just to fill out the white, but a 10mm iris max to not look weird. Good luck in finding such eyes - also I have the impression that very few eye manufacturers adapt to these strange sizes, which occur more and more often. 12mm with a small iris is the best that I have seen, and these are mostly sold out very fast.
Or maybe I just have a knack for buying all the weird dolls ...

 

I’ve sure seen a number of folks with the same “annoyance” that I have -
like @celga writes - it makes me crazy when people have to change the
colors and fonts of their post-texts. They are hard to read - and why?!
Are their posts SO much more important than any one elses???

 

@Robyn_in_WA I've posted the same complaint in the past as well, and I know others did before me. I just add anyone who changes the font in any way to my ignore list. Sadly the forum still lists "new post" even when it's from someone on the ignore list so it's not a perfect solution.

It is a special form of arrogance to go out of your way to make it harder for other people to read your posts though.

 

I completely agree @scripple ! And like you, I’ve been adding them to the “ignore” list as well.
Just too hard to read ....

 

I made the appeal that it makes it hard for some of us to read but it obviously didn't make a dent. Thinking about it now it reminds me of the time a waiter decided to steal my cane from where it was leaning against the table at a restaurant because he thought it was "funny". It's just hard to understand how some people think.

 

Not so much as an order email or communication with a secondhand seller? Pretty sus.