Treat dolls like children, friend, or simply just as an inanimate object?

I think of my dolls as...well dolls. I mean I love them to pieces, I care for them and I dress them like I would a child, but they aren't of course I play with them, and talk to them and take photos and everything it's a hobby, it's something that on days I feel down or upset I can come home to my dolls and love them and smile and put my energy into, work hard at making them look good and stuff. If I had a bad day I can spend time playing with my dolls or making something for them. It's simple really they're like little people that bring a little more up into my life. They really just comfort me and help me to get emotions out, that's what I find hobbies are good for. Especially when you don't wanna take those emotions out on other people such as for me my husband.

What I;m really trying to say is that time with my dolls is like time away from real life and it's nice. So yes I treat them like dolls but they're also more special than that.

 

Um, well, I treat them like physical things that represent my original characters. XD I dress them up like that chara would dress, get them appropriate wigs and eyes, and take photos of them doing things that that chara would do. They're like props for my roleplaying.
[MENTION=44438]CloakedSchemer[/MENTION] - I also call them my crew!

 

I am reducing my doll amount, and I just realized this is a horrible thought, cause I treated my doll so well in the past time.
and now, they probably just an expensive toy to me.
sth that I could play and also exchange for money. I don't know, I am very confusing.

Of course I have "Never gonna sell" dolls,and they just like my friends, my partners. I feel bad of other dolls..............what do you guys think?

please remove this if have same topic thread, thanks

 

I have one doll that I know I will never sell. He is named after my cat, Asher, who we lost last December. I do not "play" with him a lot, but he is always out on display, and it comforts me to know he is there, and in the winter months I will take him out to photograph in the ice and snow.

Sometimes I do feel bad when I get a doll that I do not like at all - then I do not feel bad selling. I know some people look down on people selling dolls...but I think it's better if you know you don't appreciate something, to let someone else have it that will. I don't like the idea of dolls sitting in boxes never seeing the light of day. I would rather see someones doll that is all broken and dirty because it has been used so much...then see a doll pristine but only because it has lived its life inside of pillows. Obviously we all get different things out of this hobby - and I don't mean to sound like I am judging any one's style of collecting, this is just my personal preference.

 

I've learned to never say never. My first two dolls were my favorites for years and I said that no matter what, I'd never let them go, even after I upgraded them from MSD to SD, I kept both forms. Then I sold the MSD version of the second doll. And now I've let go of the SD version bodies as well, but kept their heads. I've just lost interest and moved on to a new crew (whose leader is the teenage son of my first doll!)

To me, dolls are physical representations of my roleplay characters. I do feel a bond to them, as many people feel a bond to their favorite book of tv series characters. I don't think of them as real friends or family at all. They're just dolls, though special dolls. Once that character bond/interest is gone, though, it's time for them to move on. I don't feel bad about it, as that gives someone else a chance to love them more than I do.

 

I think it's too naive of me to say that I'll never want to get rid of any of my resin dolls! My first girl, a Tiny Fairy Jasmine, is beautiful and I am in abaolute awe when I look at her but she is far from my favorite. I think the only resin doll I own that I absolutely cannot see myself selling is my Angel Region girl, because she's not only beautiful but she holds a lot of personal attachment to me, being one of the first BJDs I ever encountered and actually wanted. I still look at her and get giddy at the fact that I actually own her after all these years of thinking I would never get a Minty AR girl with all of her clothes and extra pieces.

 

I'm sure I'll be selling a lot of my dolls when I get aged & infirm LOL & have to downsize everything. But I've got too many photo/cosplay projects yet to do to even THINK about such a thing. I will say that basically to me a doll is a character, & the character is for the most part symbolized by the HEAD sculpt - some of the bodies are perfect for what the character is, some are fine but interchangeable - some (Impledoll) are just a pain & I'll probably get my girl a new body at some point (BUT I love her head sculpt - she's a Camille - & even tho the eyes are somehow wonky I love her face).

 

In a perfect world, if I were attached enough I'd never sell the doll.
But if it came down to it by necessity- it's just a resin shell to me. The character is mine and I'd never sell that. I can always get a replacement doll later if I really want to.

 

I feel guilty selling dolls if I don't bond with them, let alone ones I really like, haha. Like CloakedSchemer said, never say never. I feel like I'd never want to part with some of my dolls, but we continually change and evolve throughout our life and there may be a day when I look at them and feel like they just don't fit with my interests anymore. I'm sure I'd still feel guilty selling them if it came to that, but I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad if I knew they'd gone to a home where they were going to be loved.

 

I second what @CloakedSchemer said as well Never say never When I got my first doll I also thought :Omg, whatever happens i'm like sooo keeping the doll

The main reason (i suppose why we all have the dolls is because it's pleasurable to own/photograph/dress/paint/etc them And their main purpose it to bring this pleasure. If they don't... then what's the point of keeping one?

My first doll was ugly as hell. I tried to mod it, repaint it twice but nothing ever worked. I sold it wtihing three months since its arrival. And? I couldn't feel more relieved and happy ;D

And as regards the partners... Idk - what I feel it's more like a parent-kid/caretaker-pet kind of relationship. And you know that sometimes kids grow up and need to move out? That's in the physical sense bc I dress them, photograph them, take the fringe out of their eyes, and do their shoes laces etc etc. All the cute stuff you have to do around a child

Besides that - I'm also attatched to them as one gets to a book/tv series character. You get so attached that you could read/watch it forever But... soemtimes there are those annoying characters and it's good to have them go away Or sometimes to just get a more handsome/pretty version of it - shell the same character into it and save the whole story xD In that manner I reshelled each of my major characters thrice. No regrets since - I was just looking for a more and more perfect version each time

Besides, at the end of the day - doll's have no feelings so it's not heartless to sell them And in case they do... they're always happy to find a new loving home, where the owner has more itme and inspiration for their outfits/pics etc

So, TL;DR: get yourself the doll you like. If you decide in the meanwhile that you dont - you can *always* resell it - you'l only feel better (I've already sold about 18 dolls and... still going xD)

 

Dolls are just dolls, even if they represent characters and are special. However in my case I'm pretty firm in not reselling any.

My reasons to not resells BJDs are both emotional and practical, Brazil have high expensive shipping to outside of the country so unless another Brazilian wanted the sculpt it would be hard to sell. The time I connect the sculpt to the character is done deal, I will have a hard time to detach them, I could even revamp the character but change the sculpt would feel wrong. I'm weird that way. The only way I can see myself wanting to let go of a doll is getting bored of a character but then I could revamp them and I will get giddy again, I know this works because I have characters for more than 10 years so sometimes I revamp them.

 

I have 2 dolls right now, that I would not have any trouble selling if I knew I could get full price for them. I'm keeping them because I know I could never get full price and also I bought a lot of things FOR them. I do enjoy having them and sewing clothes for them, etc, but I'm not "in love" with them.

However, there are 4 dolls I could never sell. I love them so much. They give me great comfort and joy to see them every day. They're not like human companions of course, but I consider them companions in a way. When life gets tough (and it has been lately) those particular dolls give me a sense of peace.

 

I tend to think of "toys" as things that are made with children in mind, so to me BJDs are collectibles, made with adults in mind. If selling them were an absolute necessity for me to survive, then I would part with them, albeit regretfully. My BJDs are special to me in that they represent characters of mine, but the characters will always be in my head.

 

sadi-chan said: "dolls are just dolls"
This really doesn't explain anything. Why? Because the term 'dolls' means different things to each individual. Plus, there are so many different dolls out there as well. I find it a rather demeaning statement as well.

I see these dolls as art objects and collectibles - NOT what people normally think of as toys (although if you use the word 'toy' to describe, say, a Lamborghini, then go for it). If & when I decide to sell one it will be the way I'd sell an original painting or other art object.
Dionnysia​, love how you put that about the characters. Absolutely agree

 

I love my dolls but i don't see them as children more like friends i guess, sometimes i give them some fuss and sometimes i don't but i never forget about them, i sometimes like to sit them on there doll bench while i watch films i think its more of a comfort thing. I have no problem with other people loving there dolls like children tho i guess its each to there own

 

Dolls are dolls. They're not my children or my friend. They're objects that I own. Of course I would treat them with care and love, but not to the point where they'd be equal to me or another human, that would be weird imo.

 

I don't treat my dolls like they are my children or friends. I see dolls as works of art, I've never had the necessity to give my dolls complex personalites or to treat them like they are living beings. My decision to buy a doll is based purely on whether I like the look of it or not. I'm content just to have them on display. I have numerous dolls i've collected over the past 16 years (BJD & non BJD) and none of them have characters except for my two relatively recent Dollfie Dreams who are based off of characters from a fantasy story I created a while ago. I thought it would be fun to base them on the principal characters of my fantasy story but my resin BJD's have names only and no characters or backstories. I could never seriously regard them as children as they aren't in proportion to a "real" child. The thought of it just makes me chuckle. This doesn't mean that I don't maintain and take of them but I certainly don't regard them as my kids or friends. To me a doll, (no matter how beautiful or expensive) is still just a doll.

 

I treat my dolls as friends. I do fuss over their clothes and hair. And sometimes I chat them up when stuck on an idea. I know they won't answer. But sometimes having something or some one to say it out loud to helps me puzzle it out on my own.

 

Dolls are a treasured hobby I will always have, but they do not take the place of a human being. I feel close to some of them because I worked really hard to put them together or really love the sculpt or associate them with a particular time/place/person in my life that gives me good feelings. I just can't and don't see them as friends and definitely not as children.

 

I treat my BJDs perhaps closest to children. I don't like calling them "son" or "daughter" because I'm far too young to have actual children and calling them that would make me feel old. I like giving my dolls personalities and backstories, so it's like I'm creating characters as the God of my own fictional world. But calling oneself a God is a huge stretch, so I'll settle with considering dolls my children.