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Try Before You Buy??

Sep 26, 2011

    1. I had not seen a BJD before I got my own. I was surprised at how smooth the resin felt, how unlike most plastic it was, and I was surprised at the detail on the small parts of the face. For me the surprises were good; however, if it's convenient, I think it would be a good idea for someone considering purchasing a BJD to see some first. Maybe the person could have their heart set on an SD then find out that's too big for them. It would be nice to know before spending the money.
       
    2. I'd seen dolls before (I ordered my first doll in a physical store so it was hard to miss them, really) although I hadn't actually held one. As a result I wasn't surprised at all by the size, although it was heavier than I expected and the details on the faceup were pretty fascinating close up. I definitely think it's worth seeing some dolls in person before buying one, even if you can't find someone with the specific doll you're interested in.
       
    3. I got to see my dolly in real life and that's honestly why I got into them. Before the moment where I got to look at her and then customize her there, I dont think I would've bought a doll. This did become a slight problem for me because I didnt want to order a doll online for the longest time.
       
    4. I haven't held one in real life yet. So I don't really know what to expect, but I am hoping for the best. xD
       
    5. Big thanks everyone for your comments and feedback :3
      It's good to hear that so many of you have had good experinces when ordering your dolls without seeing one before hand!
      I imagin it's very special for the first doll you see to be your own! It's made me even more excited to get my first bjd, and I'm really determined for it to be the mnf chloe. I didnt consider to look on youtube for video's, but after watching several box openings and reviews I'm feeling much more confident with my decision.
      Ofcourse I still have a bit more saving to do, definatly going to try and get myself to a Meet-Up before I order.
      Thanks guys ♥
       
    6. The first few times I saw BJDs, and got to hold one as one of the girls was really nice, was at an anime convention. Otakon four years ago to be exact. She had a boy from Dream of Doll and I had been looking at him online for a long time, so it was great to actually see him and be able to hold him in person. Even better was that in seeing him I had also gotten to see other dolls as there was a doll meet. So I got to see the different sized and learned quickly which sizes were for me and which weren't. It was great. : D
       
    7. Actually it was carrying around my friend's little minifee that made me want my own bjd. She showed them to me and was really chill about letting me hold onto one for a day or two to see if I wanted one. I did...now I have three xD
       
    8. I had never seen nor held a BJD when mine arrived. The thing that struck me most was my complete inability to estimate size. My first arrival was a floating head, a Dreaming Shiwoo, on which I tried face-ups. I thought that head was really small; in fact I thought it was an MSD head. One day I had the bright idea of measuring it, and saw that it was a 9 1/2 inch head and therefore ginormous XD. So when my first complete doll - a DZ MSD - arrived, I thought his head was tiny!

      Another thing that struck me, again with the floating Shiwoo head, is how much I liked how resin feels. Just holding my practice head convinced me that BJDs were something for me :). Which is a good thing, because I'd already ordered a complete doll at that moment.

      I think there was some luck involved with my choice of my first doll. That is to say, I think my DZ Hal is the perfect 'first doll' - he arrived sanded and well-strung, he is a convenient size and easy to pose, his clothes were really easy to put on and take off (no limb removal necessary) and the wigs I got him were the perfect size. There was nothing not to love; I was (and am) very happy with him. Looking back, I actually knew rather little about BJDs when I ordered him, and I can think of a few things now that could have surprised me in an unpleasant way just because I had no experience with these dolls.
       
    9. I had only seen one for a few moments years ago at a convention. I didnt dare ask to actually touch it. I ended up really unsure of which size bjd I wanted because I hadnt actually seen different ones irl before purchasing my first. I ended up getting an MSD and selling it soon after because the size just didnt fit well with me.

      I've seen plenty of people just be aboslutly in love with their first dolls despite never seeing one before irl though >u<
       
    10. Hello, I had never touched one before my first bjd, I now have three, I was surprised at all, resin quality, weight and beauty of the sculpture. All are size SD and molds are very different because of different houses. I think before buying be interesting to have an experience of living with them. I have not had that opportunity, I chose for my photos and videos and visit the forums.

      [SUP]At home: Eric (Don Ringdoll) Hwang Lee (Luke DOD) Hana (Cherie Iplehouse)
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukca/[/SUP]
       
    11. I have seen a few Volks dolls but never held or touched them. This was almost 4 years ago though. My first doll is on its way and I'm excited to find out how heavy they really are and pose and get comfortable with him.
       
    12. When I got my first BJD I was shocked, I did not know what to expect, I never seen one before! They look different in photos. I bought a 1999 Volks SD10 Nana. I was surprised, but hooked. The resin is nice. :)
       
    13. I did that with both of them, too! You always hear '60cm' or '43cm', but it's hard to envision how tall that would be next to you.
       
    14. Before I bought my first SD, I had seen about 2 bjds in real life, and held one MSD. (For 5 seconds.) I don't know if its because of the different types of resin, but the one I held felt different from my DoD.

      Even though I saw many box-opening videos and pictures I was really surprised when my girl arrived, because I didn't expect her to be so... skinny? She was a lot thinner than I expected.
       
    15. I had never seen or touched a bjd in real before when I got my first one. My first doll was the Zenith Souldoll Agnetha. I was so suprised by how heavy she was and the strong smell of resin when I opened her! :)
       
    16. Before I ordered my first I went to local meet where I got to see and hold MSDs and tinies. Immediately when I got to hold a Soom Glot in my hands I knew it was the size for me! In a few weeks time I had ordered my own first Soomling. :)

      It's funny though, I held an Unoa at that meet as well but didn't fancy her at the time. But my third doll was an Unoa Lusis. When she got home, I took out her hip part from the box and just wondered how big she was! And now I got an SD home...
       
    17. A friend and a couple acquaintances of mine had them, and I saw and held one before buying mine (Luts Breakaway). I thought the fingers were fascinating, and even asked my friend if she thought they'd ever have jointed fingers (this was in 2005 or 2006, before such a thing existed - she told me 'probably not'. Hah :lol:). Despite all that, I still had no intention of buying one at the time ("Too expensive for what it is - meh!") But then I happened upon a link to a doll company's website and fell in love with a face and...well... 15 1/2 dolls later...

      My friend left the hobby years ago...but I'm still here.
       
    18. I saw them from afar once, after I knew that I loved them but before I knew that I wanted one for my own. I never approached the owner, though, so I never really learnt what sort of doll theirs happened to be. I may as well have looked them up online for all the interaction there was, but I at least got a good gander at how they moved and looked in real life.
      That said, when I first started saving up for my own, I ended up in a Saving Up Thread here on DOA. It was exciting whenever someone finally got their doll or doll parts. One refrain that I kept hearing was "Whoa, it's so huge!" or "He's gonna be a monster [because of his size]!" Usually comments like this would follow a pair of boots arriving in the mail or something to that extent, and I was all revved up to bring home this really huge doll.
      When my own doll arrived, the box was gigantic and unweildly, and I was stoked. Then I opened it, then opened the NEXT box, and then unwrapped my doll... and was more than a little surprised by how small he was, if only in comparison to what my mind had conjured up for its own fancy. His weight also took me by surprise -- mostly because I had heard how heavy they were despite their looks -- and so I went in expecting a doll that weighed as much as a bucket full of water and found to my surprise that he weighed a lot less!
      I also hadn't expected the face-up to arrive with such painstaking detail. For some reason I was under the impression that the company photos would look amazing because of photoshop and a slgiht case of misrepresentation, but I was very (pleasantly) surprised to find that my boy arrived with the most amazing attention to detail in the paint on his face.
      None of these surprises had any negative impact on how I view(ed) my dolls. They were simply just that: surprises.
       
    19. I had seen dolls on few cons and one girl allowed me to touch hers but otherwise no real feeling on it.
      My first girls SD so first thing I was suprised was how big she really is and how much she weighed. At begining I was almost too afraid to touch her and was suprised how durable she is. She have fell from top of our car to shallow snow without any damage
      And the pictures don't make justice on the beauty of my girl :)
       
    20. I had to see some dolls in person before I bought one. I'd wanted a tiny for a long time, but was nervous about buying one. I saw a couple Bobobie tinies someone had at a convention, and I loved them! (Luckily they were in my budget level, too.)
      So try before you buy is what sold me.