Too many dolls?

CS, I had to smile since of course a few of your former dolls and bodies are at my house now. It all goes around I'm sure. I've seen this before with other dolls. Most people get into collecting dolls. They over collect for a few years, then they scale down to a more manageable level and stop buying so many. My own doll collection BJD's included is formidable but I've been collecting dolls for like 15 years now. I do buy quite a few but I do have a system for display and I honestly do love them all. If I didn't I wouldn't own them. I've been collecting BJD's for a little over 2 1/2 years now. Mostly it's low end dolls though I do have a few hybrid dolls that have semi-expensive heads. I'm on 19 as of right now if you don't count the 2 floating heads I'm always trying to trade off but that no one seems to want. 5 MSD's, the rest SD's. Most of them cost well under $150, only a couple have exceeded $200. One of my MSD's was an outright trade and cost me nothing, and 5 dolls they were actually gifts in that I didn't pay for them. I used Christmas money, birthday gift cards, stuff like that to purchase them.

19 dolls is a lot and it's more than I ever meant to have when I decided on starting a BJD collection. But all total my BJD collection is maybe 1/4 of the total in cost of all my dolls over the years. I've spent more than I planned, but not nearly as much as most people with this number of dolls. Not buying new most of the time, waiting for the right deal, swapping for stuff, only buying dolls new that are low end that's made a larger collection possible. Some people have 2 or 3 higher end dolls for this kind of money and that's apparently fine? I have 19 for the same money and that's excessive? To me that's a matter of perception really. Same amount of money, more dolls, that's all.

I chose each and every one of my dolls fairly carefully. Even my so called "impulse buys" I did my homework before I contacted someone. I looked up the doll, looked at what it normally cost. Checked out face ups if the doll had none. Looked for a pic of the sculpt sans one if it did. Each doll has it's place, a significant name, and in most cases a relationship to another doll in the collection. I think a lot of the sculpts in my collection are unique and definitely some of the brightly colored dolls are. They make up an outstanding collection overall. A lot of the sculpts are not as popular and I really had to go out of my way to acquire them and find info on them because they are just not well represented here. I think the whole time I've been on here I've seen maybe 2 or 3 Magical Angel Kelly dolls, 2 Angel Fantasy Vent dolls. Only a few of my dolls are hugely popular dolls. I tend to go for the odd, quirky sculpts, particularly with my guys.

I tell myself occasionally that I am done but the dolls they really are therapy for me. Buying them, working on them and their stuff it's very therapeutic for me and I'd much rather spend money on a new doll several times a year than on a shrink. Been there, done that, and in the end at least with dolls I have a continued source of stress relief I'm not just sitting on a couch spewing my guts over and over again and spending money on that. Art is constructive. Hobbies are constructive. I live with pain every day and when I say that I mean considerable pain. Medications don't help much. The pets, the dolls, they do. Mentally, physically I have to endure. I also have to deal with a lot of stress because of problems that are not actually my own. The other people in my life don't have their sh- together and/or they are in worse situations than mine, so who else is there to deal when they cannot?

That's just my life, but playing with the cats, playing with the dolls, that let's off a lot of steam. This last month in particular has been absolutely horrible for me. I don't think I've gotten an hour's worth of play in all month. I'm certainly not working on my dolls, but getting a couple of new ones, knowing that they are there waiting for me to customize when things get better, that's been enormously comforting for me right now. I've said this before but there are a lot of things I could be doing with my money that are a lot worse for me than collecting dolls. I don't drink hardly at all. If I have two glasses of wine all year that's normal for me. I don't smoke, do drugs, or go out much otherwise. My life is pretty boring except for work. I hardly ever go to the movies out or go clubbing. I don't drink $4 cups of coffee. Most of my fun money goes towards my dolls and their stuff. My idea of a big night is having my two BFF's or my nieces over, splitting a pizza with them and watching some DVD's I rented from the library. Or that they brought with them.

All the fun stuff I used to do, going to theme parks, faires, festivals, conventions, that's pretty much not something I am up to these days so what else am I supposed to do for fun? I can't just work, work, work, and do nothing else. I'd go stark raving nuts. Everybody needs an outlet and dolls are definitely a major outlet for me. I've actually made a few friends online and off because of the dolls. So this whole adventure into the world of collecting dolls it's been very good for me. Yeah, I spend a lot of money on dolls. Not as much as some, probably a lot more than others. It's all relative. The joy they bring me far outstrips the money I spent though.

 

LOL - too many is a really personal evaluation. I myself have a lot - let me see... SD I've got 32 (ranging from 55 cm to 73 cm). I've 4 MSDs, 4 YOSDs (1/6th) & 4 tinies (1/12th). That's just the BJDs - which are all characters from a fictional town that I write stories about. I've got floating heads as well.... who need bodies. Plus I need a couple IH KID size (35 cm) & more MSD & YOSD. For my photo stories!
So I don't think I've too many dolls LOL I manage to keep them clean, change their clothes once in a while cause they are all on display (why in the WORLD would I spend this kind of money & keep them hidden away? LOL) - and also do about 5 photobooks a year. I'm starting to put those stories on a blog as well. I need all these dolls for the stories to work.
Of course I plot out where everybody sits pretty carefully, and have not compromised my finances to get them. That's two real big areas of concern: If you run out of places to put your dolls & you really can't afford them, you just might have too many for YOU.

 

I think a super important aspect to having many dolls is that you work your way up there. If I had started out with say... 3 dolls, I would've been overwhelmed. Now I'm waiting for my 4th and I feel like I could easily care for and love all of them. I think Teleri makes a good point and also provides us with proof that even if you have 50+ dolls it can totally be manageable.

I feel that your doll collection's gonna grow, whether you like it or not, haha! But I don't think that's a bad thing! As long as you can give them the attention that you think they deserve, then whatever number you have is perfect for you (even if that number fluctuates ).

 

For me 10 would be too many @-@ I'd love to have many more, but I think 10 would be too mch for me xDD Unless they're MSD.. If they were SD 5 would be too much @---@ I wouldnt have any space! xD

 

5 is the limit, i feel that more than 5 and the characters wouldn't develop in the same way.

 

I don't mind the amount but personally I believe 8 or 10 is enough and any amount over that is just too much. I, again personally, can't see how I or anyone else would have enough time to care for 20+ dolls even though they may have names, personalities and style. Almost feel like they're bought just to be theirs (though this could also not be the case, I can't speak for anyone else)
But yeah- buy what you want, enjoy the dolls and carry on, but 8-10 = Good enough for me

 

I didn't want to pass 20 dolls, I actually wanted to stop at 13 since I like the number and to give room. But that is kind hilarious since I have 68 OCs, last time I counted, I just love to make characters and is always fun to write about them. The difference with BJDs is that you need physical space and they cost money, one of my worries that biggest is how to travel with the whole group however XD

So when I actually think of how I'm, I have no doubt that I will get more than 13 dolls one day. I'm in peace with that, as long I'm having fun and loving them is all that matter.

 

magkelly good for you on getting your collection and sticking with a plan -it doesn't matter the amount of dolls, just how much they enrich your life. People with large collections have my admiration -how do you dress, wig, and shoe so many?!

For me it's the enjoyment of working on a bjd and getting them just right. I don't go out or spend my free money on anything else but my collection (I've quit other hobbies just to indulge in this one). Right now I have 3 SD's, 1 MSD, 5 yosd's, and 4 tinies. I still would like to add one yosd sized anthro to the collection (Dearmine, I'm looking at you). I'm not as flush with free money as I used to be, so my collecting is going to be very slow. I treasure each of the bjd's that I have, and am very thankful I found this hobby.

 

You may not be able to see it, but there's definitely those of us around who can do it!

I went back and checked my responses to this thread; the last two times I posted here I had 24, then 27. The current count is 33, with another inbound as I type (she's in Alaska right now!). There's a few waiting on proper eyes or wigs, there's a few waiting for their faceups and blushing, a few waiting for wig work, and even some waiting on or currently (slowly) undergoing mods. But the thing about dolls is that they wait. They aren't alive, and with proper care they aren't going to deteriorate. So while I'm working on class work or other projects, they can sit quietly on my shelf, and when I've got more free time, I can pull one apart for blushing, or work up another pattern for clothing for them, or continue the mods that are well underway.

Each has a character. Each has a name, a personality, a look and a style. There's different styles, different companies, and different sizes.

And no, at 33 (+1), I still don't feel overwhelmed, and I'm waiting for another one to be opened up for ordering, in fact! I keep my budgeting careful for them, and don't get one when I can't afford to get one. I don't get them unless I have a character and a place for them to fit in, no matter how cool they are, but because I do have a lot of character, I've ended up with a good sized collection of dolls, that is still planned to grow a little more.

Once I have the character roles filled, then it'll be enough.

 

I feel like I have too many dolls and I try to cut back on buying. I haven't sold any dolls for the longest time but a year ago, I finally decided to shrink my collection a bit. Problem is, for every doll I sell, I buy a new one... So it doesn't seem to be working too well. I currently own 13 dolls and have a head pre-ordered. Also planning on getting another one soon. So I guess as long as you're not overwhelmed, you can have as many dolls as you want. I don't think there's a set number of dolls I'd consider 'too many'. It depends on the collector. Personally though, I'd probably stop at 20.

 

I guess since I started in this hobby - 2008 - I've turned into something like a "crazy doll-lady", which is the equivalent of the Simpsons' crazy cat-lady. XD Too many dolls? Yes but somehow I've stopped caring. I just need to work out a plan how to store them better so that I don't have all of them on display all the time.

 

If I'm not careful I could see myself ending up using a single room to house all of them. 50+ or so. The more I look at dolls the more I think "oh that one could be Character A, that one could be Chara B, that one Chara C ---" etc etc.

For me, I guess...as long as I have the room to display them, and enough time and energy to play with them, then I'd be fine with a lot of dolls. But if I ever caught myself slipping or neglecting ones that I don't intentionally leave alone just for display, I'd have to be honest with myself and start cutting back. I always want to do too much and I never find the time for everything, so I could see how that'd translate into a ton of dolls.

 

I really think "too many" is whatever number at which the owner feels overwhelmed. It's different for everyone, and for me at least it fluctuates. Sometimes I'm cool with having 20+ dolls in the house and sometimes it feels better to concentrate on less.

 

As someone with a collection that's... well, let's say "well-over" your 20+ number (If you're really curious, the entire crew is listed on my profile page-)... I feel qualified to say that you might be surprised just how little time maintaining a large group of dolls really takes if you're even marginally well-organized about it. It really doesn't take a huge commitment to keep them all in great shape, because unlike kids or pets, their requirements are pretty modest when you get right down to it. Display cabinets protect them from dust. Buying even a small number of new outfits and accessories will net you a pretty substantial wardrobe after a few years' time. Tasks like cleaning, re-stringing and re-plivering end up being done on a few at a time as needed... It's just not the huge time-sink you might expect.

That said, if you're the type of owner who just has to play with every single doll you own every single day to justify keeping them? Yeah. That could get pretty overwhelming. Those of us who are more hands-off, "classic collector"-types do have something of an advantage there. I don't feel the need to tinker with each member of the crew daily. (I tend to cycle through specific groups of dolls, playing with one bunch for awhile, then moving on to another. Everyone does get attention that way, just not all at once.) That might not work for everyone, but it works very well for me... and as I've said in other threads on the subject, I double-dog DARE anyone to look at my crew and call them "neglected".

As for the other bit... Yep. You better believe I bought these guys and gals "just" to own them! I'm a collector. That's what we do.

Not everyone involved in the hobby is a writer or an artist, or someone trying to shell a particular character. Some of us are just here because we like having pretty dolls. As someone else said up-thread, though, that's one of the great things about the hobby. It appeals to all types. None of us are doing it the "right" way or the "wrong" way. We're just doing it Our Way.

 

Heh, I'm actually thinking that I have too many dolls right now.

I made a long-distance move a few months ago, and at this point I've only unpacked five BJDs. And honestly I feel like I enjoy seeing those few out on display more than I enjoyed having all 28 of them on shelves in my last place. Some of that lack of unpacking is simply based on not having the same shelving situation that I did in my last place (which was smaller, but had long entry corridor that was wall-to-wall shelves), and the fact that I'll probably be making another long-distance move within the next 18 months. But maybe those are just excuses that I'm making to myself to avoid downsizing (I've actually never sold a doll, so if I actually wanted to thin the herd it would be something completely new for me).

Nothing to do with 'proper time and attention' (that's just not my angle when it comes to dolls), it's just about a more general appreciation and ability to display them without having them look like an expensive clutter pile.

 

I make a lot of their clothing. When it comes to wigs and that I buy a lot of cheaper stuff, used stuff, trade when I can. One of the things I do a lot is to buy a doll I like and then sell the outfit it comes in. I can sew a bit so I can make outfits and while they are not factory level they do okay. I'm not nearly as fussy about having to have the dolls I buy in their original factory outfits. I do have some I really like, but most I sell them and then use the $$$ I get from those dolls to buy BJD things like wigs, eyes, and that. I also don't rush to get every doll clothed and wigged and that right away. I have a plan but particularly with the BJD's I also have a lot of patience. It's a process thing, not something I have to do in a set amount of time. I've never been a patient person. Doing the doll thing, particularly the BJD's, it's really got me being a whole lot more so. BJD's are just not something you can do overnight. There's a definite wait factor there. You have to wait to get the doll, then wait till the weather is good enough to face up. It takes time to make outfits if you do that. Sometimes you just can't find the right thing you want, when you want it, so you make do.

I'm at this 2 1/2 years roughly. I have 19 dolls, including the ones coming, but not including the two heads that are floating. Most are low end dolls, not hugely expensive ones. I do have a couple of heads that cost more. Most of my dolls have eyes and wigs at this point and shoes. About 1/3 are faced up and have a full outfit to wear. I still have a lot of work to do, but right now my life a little crazy, I've got a family emergency thing going on, and I have ZERO time for working on dolls, and probably won't till Spring with what's going on. At one time that would have driven me crazy just knowing they were sitting around unfinished. But now it's this zen thing with me, doing up these dolls. A little at a time is just fine. I never planned on this many, but here I am and I'm cool with my bunch. They're a great group and they're providing me with a lot of joy. They didn't cost me near as much as you might think though. I've spent way more on Barbies and 16" fashion dolls over the years actually....

 

To me there is no such thing as too many dolls. I have collected them a long time and have a house filled with dolls.

 

I think that one can have too many dolls, but Im currently struggling to figure out what my personal limit is :/ There are quite a few dolls that I would LOVE to have, but I keep questioning if it'll really be realistic to actually own all them. Space, time, and finances should really play a role in personal limits, and for that reason I feel like it's vastly different for everyone.

 

I think it depends on the person themselves. I suppose if the person loves the stories of the dolls and the characters they represent and when they can't even remember who the doll is supposed to be than that person might have too many dolls?
But it depends on the person since you also have people who buy dolls because they're beautiful.

So in other words, I have no idea xD

 

Including OT dolls, I have 54 BJDs, 2 headless bodies, and 5 floating heads. I know it's a lot, but I can never seem to thin it out; and when I do, others find their way in. I'm a collector, and I appreciate each doll as a wonderful piece of art. I spend time with them when I want to, and play with them when I feel like they haven't been out in awhile. I just hate keeping them all in the closet, instead of out on a shelf like they used to...