Turned off by a doll sculpt because it seems like everybody else has it?

I'm caught in the middle I think. I tend to sway away from getting dolls that people close to me have for a few reasons. One, I worry that I don't want the doll itself, but rather what my friend has done with the doll. And two, I fear people thinking I'm copying them. Add to that I've always steered just a little to the side of what the crowd was doing... I've never really been tempted by hype or popularity.

That being said, if I like the doll, and I have something that fits the doll, I'm not going to decide against getting it just because there are a million of it's kind already out there. I now find myself of the opinion that I like to experiment with the versatility of a popular sculpt - and also with the unpopular ones. I'm part of a group of people in which there are currently four Luts Bory boys, and another on the way. I can say with certainty that aside from the same face sculpt, not a single one of these existing bory's look the same. On the other hand, I own a few unpopular or original dolls as well. Hardly any Angelheim kozy raccoons have shown up, and there's only one of my Tender Zen (who has been modded. Hence why there's only one ^^;; ).

I have grumbled on more than one occasion that a doll I want is rare, nobody owns, or people own and don't put any pictures up of them because I'm eyeing that particular doll, and I want to see what it can do. I like finding owner pictures of the doll before I settle on a decision. That's difficult to do sometimes, particularly if the doll is unpopular.

All this being said, I don't think you should automatically discard a doll you like just because it's popular. While it's true you can admire the beauties that other people own, if you want it badly enough why take away the chance of owning it just based on how many other people around the world own it? That's my opinion anyway >.>

 

Truly interesting thread. Same way I do not think nor feel I should sell a sculpt I love and own if many people around get one after me, I do not think nor feel I should refuse the chance of buying a sculpt I really want to have because many other people have it before me.

Despite that, I know the feeling this thread is about. This is how I see it. Let's take a color as simple example. If I love green, like I do, and many other people love it too, although in different tones, I am harder to be seen among the so many different greens crowd.

The truth is I do not like green less because of that. I like what I like, rare to find or not, and never say no to it because many others have the same base. That does not matter to me at all. I have some hybrids, but always to pay attention to the characters my BJD are.

So how much faded on green do I feel? I have very popular molds and even one I have never seen any other person has and from the first to the last one they are unique and special among their sculpts types for me. Besides, I do not think everything has been done on any sculpt.

 

Well I half agree with this thread
When I was saving for a zaoll I saw that it became popular very quickly but it atfirst didn't bother me since I didn't know one person who had it until one of my friends bought one and so I was a bit "turned-off" by it but I still bought my own zaoll and she came out so diffrent that some doll people can't even tell that they are same mould so now it dosen't really bother me I find it quite nice to have a friend that has one since it is a unusual size and that makes it more fun to talk about :3

 

I think the only way I would get turned off by a doll I like is if I intended to keep the original face up and clothing (if it's a full set). But I rarely buy full sets, and when I do buy any of the popular dolls (Soom MD Glati, DoD DoI Luke for example), they either get a new face up, or they get wigs and outfits to suit the characters they're meant to represent.

If the basic face sculpt and body sculpt works for me, I couldn't care less how many people owned the same type of doll as me ~__~

 

I feel like having something a lot of people have in general just sort of makes it seem a little less valuable, but when it's something I really like then that usually doesn't stop me. (I'm talking about in general, not just dolls.)
But when you find just the right doll, I think that whether or not it's popular you should go for it and make the best of it.

 

I love this thread!!!
It's possible to like a head but not want to buy it because everyone and their pets have it. It's possible with other stuff too, like phones and computers. I see it as the norm but not everyone wishes to belong to the main crowd. Some like to walk on the edge of the crowd, but that is all dependent of personal taste. There are a lot of unpopular molds out there that are ugly duckings waiting for the right parent to turn them into beautiful swans. I tend to go for the unpopular stuff period. lol. Personally, I'm torn between the Soom Nion head, the B&G Siannodel and Freya heads, the Luts Soo Angel Elf head, the Fairyland Rona or Rheia head or the Luts Soo Dark Human head. You have to find the right doll for you and if it happens to be a popular mold, than so be it. But I would hate it if my doll had an doppelgander out there somewhere. That would feel way too Twilight Zone.

 

I think the only time I'd would turn away from a sculpt was if I didn't have the money to afford it (layaway or not).
But looking through the galleries on here, I find it kind of interesting when there's many of the same sculpts because they show the many many ways of how people can that doll their own.

 

This is actually the reason I chose AI over BORY for my kid delf. Both are fairly cute, but well, I'd like to get something different for mine. I don't think I WON'T get a Bory, but for my first sculpt, I'd like something I don't see everyday on the forums already. I

t's hard to really get something 'nobody else has' when it's not a one of a kind item, but with the endless customizations that you can do with BJD's, you kind of get that anyways.

 

At first I thought "no" because I was the one who liked the sculpt, it has nothing to do with other people... but now, maybe it's better if I didn't go on this community because I keep seeing the same faces and somehow I ended up liking my Bory a lot less compared to my other dolls. I know I made him unique and special to me, but I don't know... the fact that he has the same face sculpt as tons of other people's dolls here... I find myself having a harder time bonding with him for some reason u_u I also really wanted an El too in the future, but... I'm really rethinking it now. :/

 

If I love a doll, I simply love it whether or not a hundred other people have it too. So it doesn't turn me off if a sculpt is a popular one. My tan Lishe & tan El are some of the most common molds around & I love both of them. They even have factory face-ups & I have no desire to change that.

Very few of my dolls are unusual or limited editions. I just buy what my heart says. Yet I can see your point a bit as, sometimes when a doll is very popular & I'm on the fence about it, I can fulfill my desire for that doll just by looking at dozen of pics of it. But if it makes my heart beat faster I don't care if the whole world owns that doll. And has been often stated, no two dolls look exactly alike anyway. My choice of wig, eyes & clothing will make the doll uniquely mine even without modding or a custom face-up.

 

I KIND of feel this way. Though I feel that if a doll calls to me as something special, I wouldn't resist buying him just because of others.
MY biggest deal though is when people only want to buy a make because it's popular. On dollmore, a lot of the 'best' labeled ones, I don't tend to like them as much as the less popular ones. For example, I like Kasi Dan unmasterful more than masterful, and I also like him more than Ripley Days, which is a very popular doll.
I also don't want to buy a doll if it comes in a whole set of clothes and stuff, because you know like a billion other people will have the exact same outfit, no matter how beautiful it is.

 

NGL I would like to have a rare sculpt, because it would be more special to me than a doll everyone has. But I am going to get the doll that I really like and I happen to like really common sculpts. I can totally live with it.

 

Sorry, but I think people should stop paying attention to what others are do and just do what they like. But hey, that's just me. It just seems like the OP is too concerned with what everyone else is doing... but if that's how it is, that's how it is, I guess!

I personally don't care if there are a thousand other dolls or whatever out there or if I have the only one. If I like something, I like it. It does not become more special if I have the only one, because what other people have doesn't matter to me.

Whatever makes someone happy is OK, though. If they feel they need to have something different from everyone else, that's cool. Plenty of people like unique customizations because of that. (I like customizing things to please me, but again, that's me, and worrying about making it different from others is just not my concern.) Nothing is "good" or "bad" or "superior" over another opinion... It really is up to the individual.

I feel that a doll is unique enough just because I own it! (It's the only one that I have, and that's what matter matters to me. And if I want two that are exactly the same as twins, that's all cool, too!)

And truly, I've seen dolls that are EXACTLY the same as mine (same faceup, skintone, etc.), but when eyes and wigs and clothes are different, they look NOTHING alike!!! That's what's cool about BJDs! But I guess my idea of looking different is not what everyone thinks. All opinions are valid, though. (Without different opinions there'd be no use for discussion threads!)

 

I think for my case, it just happened that the sculpts I like and ended up buying are the not so popular ones (Akando aside). It's not really a conscious effort to stay away from a doll that everyone else has. If I like a sculpt that turns out to be popular, then I will save up to buy that doll; the same for the not so popular ones. I don't look at it as pity buy for that one puppy that not everyone coos over

 

I feel a bit like this:

I was originally going to get a Bory, but decided on an Ai instead. My friend brought up that everyone seems to have Bory, and I looked, and indeed they did... and all the different photos turned me off of the sculpt. I found that he looked very similar despite different faceups and such. I opted for one I haven't seen around as often, so my doll would not be 'one of the crowd'.

Obviously these dolls are not ooak, and lots of people will have the same one, whether you see photos of them or not. But I prefer to have ones that I like AND that I won't see a million times every day lol!

 

Well I have a DIM Achernar and they aren't too common around here... But I don't really care about that at all. I'd love my boy even if there were hundreds of him... and unless you count full sets, I've never seen two dolls that are alike, even when it comes to the more popular sculpts.

For example, I hope to get a DOD Ducan soon... and HUNDREDS of people seem to have one... but I couldn't care less! I know he won't be the same as any of the others because he will be mine.

 

Most of DoD's dolls. I could never own them.
While plenty of them are really gorgeous, I simply couldn't handle having a doll that popular. Maybe one of their less popular molds, I would, but Ducan/Lahoo/Camine? No.

 

I won't be tured off by a doll if a lot of other people own it. Basically, what other people like or dislike has no influences on me making decisions about getting my dolls.

 

Hm...Thats a good question, I was actually just thinking about this a few minutes ago! XD

I don't think it matters, since they are customizable, and plus, no ones going to have the same attachment to the doll anyway!
I really like unique items though...So my big problem is the clothes and wigs... ><;

 

I really, honestly, truly don't care whether what I buy is fashionable and trendy, or more on the fringe, and this goes for all aspects of my life. Like, I have and iPhone. And sometimes when people notice they're all like "OMG YOU'RE A SHEEP". And I'm like "But where do I want to go for lunch today? Oh, let me consult my randomizing app, and then use the map app to tell me how to get there." It's convenient, I like it, I don't care if I get on the bus to see that every 3rd person is also sporting the familiar-looking phone and white earphones, especially since if so many people have one, then obviously there's something about it that attracts people.

Same with dolls. I don't even give a passing glance to how many people own a specific sculpt as long as I like it. I used to own a Bory, and there are 7 (I think?) whole database pages for Bory. I ended up sending mine out for a custom face-up, but I liked him a lot, and so did other people. Then I own an Infiniti Tiki, and so far I've only seen 3 (maybe 4) on the board, but mine is the only boy (that I know of, of course).

Popularity of a sculpt may turn me off from it slightly if it was a sculpt I found to be nothing special in the first place (and would never consider buying) but everyone froths at the mouth and passes out over it. That's just a bit annoying - in a small, irksome way.