Things that annoy you... *Rant Thread*

This is the weirdest pet peeve, but I hate the fat ankles and wrists (though it's usually much worse on the ankle) that so many adult sculpts have. Like, I get that you need some bulk there for stability, but THERE ARE COMPANIES WHICH HAVE MANAGED VERY POSEABLE DOLLS WITHOUT GIVING THEM CANKLES. Why, why, do companies put so much effort into the abs and just forget about everything else? A doll's ankles and wrists are going to be seen much more often! Is it that ridiculous to put a little effort into the elegance of them?

Also:

Literally, this has kept me from ordering things from those sellers you mentioned. I just. I can't do it. Not when Alice's Collections and MoC and FRIKKEN EBAY are so much easier and more pleasant to navigate.

Especially Denver Doll pisses me off. They have a storefront. They can afford to pay for an out of the box webshop template.

 

Is there a part of the hobby that you really can't stand? (things like prices, the wait or maybe rude artists?) And if you did have a pet peeve and don't have it anymore, what made you change your mind?

For me, I don't like the fact that for a lot of dolls you only have a limited amount of time to buy it before it is gone forever. There are several dolls that I see now and really like, but who aren't available anymore. I know it's inevitable, but I still find it kind of sad.

(this isn't a thread to complain, I just think it can be interesting to know other people's thoughts)

 

I'm just breaking into the hobby and I can certainly say I'm frustrated at the prices. I've ordered my first doll from Miro Doll and managed to get a blank body and head with some essentials for under 300, but that was during a sale.

There's a whole lot I want to do and the cost barrier stops a lot of that dead in its tracks. The limited availability I find a little galling but I also look at it like 'Hey, I can still look to these old dolls for some inspiration and there will always be more coming out that I could get.'

And as far as cost, I'm finding ways to parse my purchases out and save for my big ones.

 

That applies to me as someone who lives in EU, I hate the customs and although I know that this is how we function, it hurts me every time I have to blow a bunch of money (worth an MSD sometimes) on paying the customs for an SD doll xD
But damn, these beauties are worth it.

 

The wait times drive me up the wall! Even short wait times are awful. I just wish that I had a local BJD store where I could just go and buy things. Shipping stresses me out. I'm always worried that my dolls will show up broken or damaged.

But... on the other hand, the anticipation is part of the excitement.

 

Always having to watch my mouth when I talk to people

 

For me I hate that I have to buy everything online. I'd love to shop for dolls, clothes and accessories in person because sometimes it's just nice to see and feel things in real life before committing to buy.

Although I think I'd spend WAAAAY more if I had physical doll shops to buy. The online aspect makes me think about things a lot before committing!

 

For me it's the waiting times. Just unbearable.

 

The lack of physical stores is definitely a peeve of mine, but I understand that it's a small hobby and physical stores probably don't get a lot of business. If I ever go to Japan or Korea, going to doll showrooms is definitely something I have to do.

Another pet peeve is trying to find MSC. I can't buy it online because most stores won't ship spray-can stuff to Canada due to customs issues, and the only store near me that sells it sells out super fast!

 

The wait time. I mean I understand why it takes so long these things are made to order but ugh I feel like pulling out my hair some times.

The lack of a physical store I know it's not as big in the states and definitely not in south florida, but jeebus I wish I could just walk in, see them in person and place orders. Oh if I could only win the lotttery...

Limited sculpts or discontinued sculpts. I understand discontinued molds degrade over time but there are so many dolls I have to remove from my wishlist because they got discontinued and I didn't even know about it. Until it was too late.

Second hand market prices, I get more for limited or discontinued because it's rare and what not. But I have seen old damaged and yellowed dolls being sold for almost new prices..just...really...

Those are about the only ones I can think of. It's more mildly annoying than anything else.

 

Recasts and all that bull$#@! talk about them. Then scammers; why can't you scammers let us enjoy our hobby in peace?! Last but not least; rude/mean people and their accusations.

I haven't been confronted with any of these aspects, but I have seen/heard from others. It's disgusting.

 

I think my two biggest gripes are, being sent dolls with obvious defects and fitting issues. I'm getting real tired of having to ask for replacement parts/ repairs every time I get a new doll. I wonder if it's a case that Asian buyers are too polite to complain so doll companies feel they can away with sending out defective dolls? Or do they really not care about the quality of the product at all? I just find it surprising that doll companies think their customers are going to be okay with stuff like the wrist peg sticking out the palm of the doll hand like what I got with my last doll...

And the whole things not fitting. You think you've got the perfect things for your doll...and none of it fits! I never appreciated just how much of a difference a few millimeters make until I started the BJD hobby. Also on the crafting side,i It always feels like there's one more thing you need to be able to complete the project. I've lost count of how many times I thought I had bought everything I needed and then when I went to do the thing found I need another thing XD

Communication can be frustrating too. I know from dealing with Japanese people that they have a culture where it's more polite to ignore someone rather than say say no and there's the whole 'don't want to give an answer unless 100% sure because answer = commitment and don't want to offend/ be embarrassed if can't fulfill commitment' issue. But as a Westerner, being ignored or having someone avoiding answering the question is problematic when you need to try and sort something out. Of course the language barrier doesn't help, esp if they don't want to say they don't understand the question so do the 'ignore you' thing instead XD

Of course the ole waiting times and shipping and customs costs are never fun. Especially as a lot of the shipping methods come in via Parcleforce and they're so greedy on stopping parcels so they can slap on their excessive 'handling' (profit) charge on top. I'm so happy to find that Alice Collections has cheap or even free shipping and the parcels come in via DHL which i've never had to pay more than £5 customs on

 

- people trying to bully me into lowering the prices on the handmade items I'm selling by insulting my work.
- people trying to get me to lower the asking price on the LE dolls I'm selling, despite the fact that I make an effort to price my dolls fairly for the condition, availability and age.

 

Having been in the arts and crafts world for a long time I can say sadly this is a common problem that I and many others have experienced. I even had someone complain when I started out making plushies and was only charging materials cost. i believe the quote I gave them was £18 and they responded with complaining about how it was sooooo expensive. Of course I instantly dropped them, as far as I'm concerned people who price-winge can try and make it cheaper themselves XD

 

For me sometime the price that some of the doll not affordable, I still dream about getting artist doll like momoni but I think I need to save up more and work more to produce a lot of money. I just mannage to buy MYOU doll as my first doll, I fall in love with the sculpt and also fall in love with the price.
Then I need to wait patiently, I already wait about 1 month. I hate waiting.
There's just online store. I wish I can go to the shop to buy the doll that I like.
And also the recast problem, I'll really sad when I buy the doll that I think legit doll in fact it is recast. I always scared buy second hand doll.

 

For me it`s not so much the price itself (cause as much as I hate the prices I understand why bjds are expensive) it`s how long it takes for me to save up the money. It`s taking me months to save up. I wish I could just get my doll already. Ohhh and especially if there`s a limited doll I REALLY want but I don`t have the money at the moment ughhh....

 

Long wait times! Two to three months, ok, I can deal. Six months or more? I've been there, done that, not anymore. When I buy a doll, I have excitement and a vision. The longer the wait, the harder to keep the excitement going.

 

Since I'm still relatively newer to the hobby I've noticed that the thing that has been the biggest barrier to entry on a bunch of things has been the exclusivity of the industry. When you are starting out, there are very few easily accessible resources online if you are trying to find out a bunch of information on your own.

When I was first searching, typing in BJD search terms in Google was one of the most overwhelming things I've ever seen. On top of that, most sellers/shops (even ones in America) do not make it easy to order. Standard consumer shop portals are not common at all which is very confusing for a new enthusiast.

After a few weeks of research I started seeing things about DoA and finally figured out what it was. Has definitely been easier since then, but those first few weeks were super rough for sure.

 

I think as like someone said in other post... the fcking customs. For real. I can pay 150€ for take a 150$ head out of customs. Just because our customs are so corrupt that they even use the shipping for make the %VAT. EVEN THE SHIPPING.
Plus people that doesn't value handmade work, that are rude or just show their ignorance in a hurting way.
And at last but not least, when you recieve a doll that is not as neat as you expected (as it's been happening to Fl lately). Seamlines, color differences, etc. It's like MAN I paid a fortune at least I spect not a single seamline.

 

Wow. I really don't have a lot of gripes about the hobby itself. Most of my issues are personal ones having to do with an utter lack of self control (going overboard on spending, racking up debt in the past, etc). I do wish the dolls were less pricey, but they are works of art and worth the money to me. And I super appreciate all of the effort it takes to make these beauties. Resin is a sucky material to work with and mold making takes a lot of skill and expertise.
That being said, the instability of resin as a material is probably near the top of my list of dislikes.
However, to end on a positive note, the hobby has such a vast variety of doll companies and artists currently compared to when I started the hobby in the early 2000's, and I love all the amazing choices available.