Too many dolls?

This. Alllll this. It's not hard at all for me to manage my crew. When I was a little girl I literally played with my dolls every day. Now I get more enjoyment being hands off. My dolls each have a name but I don't do stories with them or have extensive personalities. I like finding the right name and perfect set up (eyes, wig, clothes, shoes, etc.) for a doll and setting them in my display case. Most of my dolls have one complete head to toe outfit and that's fine with me. They don't complain! XD

 

i personally think over 10 is a bit too many

 

Like many, I thought 1 was plenty when I started... and that lasted about a month. It's been over 10 years of doll-buying for me and I'm hoarder-y, so I haven't sold any! Now I have over 50 depending on how you count 'em.

The whole idea of "it's terrible to neglect your dolls" is somewhat ridiculous since dolls don't NEED attention. But I do feel a little guilty about not giving mine the attention they deserve as amazingly beautiful pieces of art that I can play with and show others through photos, etc. I love sharing them because I love them. But they don't need sharing or whatever. It's up to me, the owner, really, to do whatever I want with them.

That said, there is no definitive "too many." Again, it's individual. If someone wants to buy up bjds by the thousands, that's their business! And I'm sure it would be great for business and for everyone (companies could hire more people and up production, prices would go down).

Personally, I need to downsize everything. I have too much stuff in general. I have too many dolls and items... but they will be the last to go (as in , probably never!!!), since I really do enjoy them THAT much!

 

You know you have too many when you dread moving Which is me right about now! But seriously, as someone with roughly 30 dolls, I can't really say there is such a thing as too many if all of the dolls make you happy. I do have a friend that lives in a HUGE 3 story house like... 6 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a large living room, a family room, big open kitchen and a den. Lined top to bottom with dolls of every kind. Her home is fun to be in but I am floored by the sheer amount. I don't see myself ever getting to that point but if I did, I'd be just as happy. Most of my dolls are kept out in my bedroom and some are stored in my cabinet, what I do is rotate who goes in and out. I'll admit though, only about 5 of them I always keep out and play with constantly but they all get TLC from me!

 

I have a small collection (2 dolls and 1 on the way) I cant see me having more than 5 as they require so much to make them just right,

 

I currently have six dolls "complete", with one that should be coming today and a doll project I plan on working on. I think in a way 6 is my limit, because I'm having to resist the urge to get rid of two dolls in exchange for the two I'm working on. Its weird, because in general I do like smaller, compact collections because I have absolutely no space for a huge collection. But at the same time theres no reason for me to get rid of dolls I still really like?

I've kind of given up on assigning myself an arbitrary number. I'll keep the dolls I'm enjoying and get rid of the ones I don't play with anymore. I spent too much time stressing about which of the dolls I was going to get rid of, when i realized "Hey, I can keep all of these you know". I don't think anyone should limit themselves unnecessarily, especially if it could make you unhappy or stressed out. But knowing your own limits both mentally and physically are important too.

 

I have three dolls + one head waiting for a body (all of them 70+) and it's toooo many, more than I ever meant to have. They are all members of my family, however, my dear guys

 

Having hit the 50+ mark I still don't feel that I have too many. As some mentioned it's all individual when too many is too many. Some go at a few, some at 20, while others would just about never stop.
Sure, when I look them all over I do get a bit overwhelmed seeing them all together, but I don't immediately think of needing to send some of them off to new homes. I get insanely happy to have them all here and feel so good having worked my ass off to get them all home. Nah, they never leave here unless there's a mighty good reason.

 

I have 10 dolls with the incoming latest addition and I must say that it does feel like a lot. When I'm thinking about their characters I'll occasionally forget someone and that's my queue to start really focusing on the dolls that I have now. Then again, I do think this is a very manageable amount for me. I feel like I have lots of variety to choose from in terms of sculpts and sizes and also that each doll gets enough attention to warrant being here.

To be honest, between my partner and I (who got his first doll last Christmas and is already talking about another) I do think we could easily end up at around the 20 mark when we're more financially stable. As long as I don't run out of storage room or time, I'm fine with that. Though I would like to complete and build upon the dolls I already have before welcoming any more in.

 

I'm at 15 full dolls and 2 floating heads right now and considering if this might be the limit for me (12 SD + 1 floating head, 1 Unoa + 1 floating face, 2 1/6 sized dolls). I think as many have pointed out, only the owner can decide what is too many. I was quite alright up to about 10, but the lack of space makes me wonder if I should try to thin out the collection, or just stop buying new ones (except bodies). At the same time, it's nice rotating between which doll I feel like playing at the moment, which is why I'm reluctant to part with anyone. I think if I didn't have to store all of them in a wardrobe, I might appreciate (or be surprised by) the total number of dolls, but as it is, I kind of just take them out one or two at a time to play with, once in a while.

 

10 would probably be my max. I currently have 5 on topic BJDs, 2 heads, and 2 off topic BJDs. Maybe I would feel differently if we had a ton of extra space, but we're moving to a smaller place when our lease is up so space will have to be a consideration.

 

I keep my pets out of my bedroom (they're more or less downstairs-only dogs lol), but the biggest concern is space. Financially, I can save up (it'll take forever, but I can do it), but I don't think that I currently have enough room for more than 2-3 SDs (luckily, the dolls I want after my first SD boy are all smaller).

 

I'll consider it "too many" when there is no room in my room. If there is room, there will probably be more dolls!

Though mentally I tend to feel like double digits is a lot of dolls.

Also I have gotten to a stage where I often miscount my crew which makes me feel bad haha. oTL I usually just rotate which ones get the attention since the dolls fill different niches in style and visuals..... though I've got three 1920s boys now... well, my next one is gonna be a big girl because I got room for an Asian girl niche.

 

I currently have 5 full dolls and 3 floating heads. Two of the heads were free and I'm demoting them from potential characters to face up practice lol. I have 2 more dolls on layaway right now, and have my eye on 3 more on the MP. I also saw an artist doll at a con this past weekend that I will need in my life at some point. Is that too many? That's not even enough! Right now, that's all the space I have, though. In March I'm moving to a bigger place, so I can a) get a storage cabinet and b) buy more dolls. I don't think there's a limit at which you have too many dolls. If you start to feel uncomfortable about the money you've spent, or how much the hobby rules your life, or you feel like you're neglecting other parts of your life, that may mean you've reached your limit. But don't let other people tell you how many is too many.

 

since i store most of them in boxes, rotating them out to the "work on now" shelf, I keep a list. Looking at the list, I have to remind myself this is equivalent of almost 10 years of collecting and a number of them are free event dolls, and many are from the secondary market and they're sharing bodies and clothes... yes, again I'm justifying, so for me, that's indication I'm approaching the "too many" point. as for how many another person should have - I agree it's really for them to decide.