Was your first doll a doll you wanted?

I jumped straight in and got my favorite first, Unoa Lusis. 8 years and 17 dolls later, no regrets and though I love them all, and have gotten some I'm maybe more amazed at, I still play with her the most. She's still my favorite. She's not a grail because pretty much anyone willing to plunk down the price can find one fairly easily but with her faceplates, detailed hands and feet and her size and shape, I liked everything about her right away.

I think it's different for everyone though, some do well and feel safer with a starter doll before they get more invested into the hobby with a doll they might love but may also be afraid to mod if they want to or get something rare or very expensive that they can't feel like playing with too. I already knew I would love my Lusis because even though I couldn't afford resin dolls for a long time, I had quietly followed the hobby as an observer and done a lot of research.
There is no 'one best way', only which way is right for YOU.

 

Aidoll Hani was my 1st girl, b4 i started i always wanted Iplehouse Elin or Fairyland Chloe, i got her cos i fell in love with her sales picture and she is very affordable to me! But now she is my fave girl.

 

Admittedly, when I was first looking at buying a doll I was specifically steering away from more expensive companies, so that may have something to do with it...but once I saw Doll Leave's Yoko, I fell in love! He sculpt was SO pretty and the body that they had available for her was perfect for what I was looking for! I was really lucky that I ended up finding a doll that I loved that also happened to be very cheap! (At least in terms of this hobby )

 

No. My first buy suddenly became a gift from my mum so I had to choose from a Polish dealer only. I chose IsLand Amber since she was the cutest one as a whole, for me that is. She grew on me and I really like her very much. I have other dolls on my wishlist but she was a really good choice and I don't regret it.

 

I definitely settled when I bought my first doll, though I would not have admitted it at the time. No major complaints; getting him meant I was able to participate in the hobby sooner and I learned a lot while doing the necessary tinkering that can go along with a less expensive body. However, now that my tastes are more established and my focus is solidly on quality over quantity I now have plans to reshell him.

Would I have done it the same way again? ... Probably not, but my income is a bit higher than it was then. All I can say is that my favourite doll, the one who makes my heart leap and fills me with joy each time I see him, is the first one for whom I said forget the cost, he must be mine! I'll save as long as it takes! I would encourage newbies to wait for the doll they adore despite the price, because even an 'inexpensive' doll will delay the purchase of your forever-favourite. It didn't happen to me, but I imagine some would find themselves underwhelmed to an extent they might abandon the hobby altogether.

 

I purchased a doll I wanted for my first, and I Love him dearly. However, my second doll was purchased because she was cheap (Not because I wanted her) And I am pretty unhappy with her. DX

 

Half no, half yes. I love my mirodoll hybrid (I took a Mirodoll Anne head and put it on a 60cm boys body), but what I really wanted was a way more expensive bjd, a soom doll that isn't available anymore. So I went the safer route and got an inexpensive bjd first. I love him, he is almost perfect to what I wanted.... now all the other second hand bjds I got befor my mirodoll arrived is a whole other story lol.

 

Both. Although the doll is off-topic.

With the wide availability of BJDs out there, I always find it hard to believe that people only truly have one doll that they have have have to buy or they'll never be happy.

Her name is Pixel, and she's a Hujoo "Hujoo" sleeping sculpt with modded eyes painted to look like a robot.

She was a budget doll. ($35? $40?) I bought her on sale from Junkyspot long before I had a full-time job, in late middle or early high school.

She helped me enter the hobby long before I could buy a resin BJD, and made me confident to start modding dolls.

My first on topic doll here on DOA was also a "starter doll," a PlanetDoll MSD Riz. She helped me understand polyurethane resin dyeing, and is really the only on-topic doll I feel comfortable bringing anywhere, not because she was cheaper, but rather because she's small, and sturdier than hell (her casting is super thick).

I don't necessarily think buying the limited, expensive, or hard to find first doll is necessarily better, 1) because expensive dolls can also have disappointing qualities: my Dollstown 18 body could not stand, and had terrible seam lines at arrival; and 2) I think loving a doll, or really anything really, is not inadvertent or accidental, but rather a conscious and continuous choice.

I mean, it's pretty evident that this love for a doll is a continuous choice and ever evolving when you ask people: Question whether their doll is fungible, if it could be replaced with one of the same brand or model and they'd love it the same. The only answer I've ever received is a resounding "no, I do not want a copy, I want the exact doll I own as it is now!"

So for me, it's clear it's not the sculpt you love, but what you do with it, the memories you make.

Sure, not every doll in existence will work for the memories you plan to make with it, but there will always be a budget or "starter" doll you can love should you choose to do it. Perhaps having that extra money for rent or a movie provides you more fulfillment as a whole than the limited doll. The decision is individual, and blame (you should do this, don't do that, why didn't I do that) shouldn't factor into it.

Now, sometimes deciding not to keep loving or liking something is the right choice, when it no longer appeals to you, is poor quality, or it is difficult to deal with, but it's still your conscious choice and, as a result, you are still responsible for it.

So I don't particularly consider myself lucky to love my budget or starter dolls and that I want to keep them forever. I work to make each of my dolls mine, and into something I love every day.

 

not really. my starter doll was second-hand senior delf girl. I wanted to change the head to something that I preferred. However, I started to like the head that came with the body. Now i'm considering getting another body for this head!

 

Yes but I kind of chose from several choices because of the price since I was a high school student.

 

I had similar issue with my present doll. She is very pretty and I love her but I bought her with specific thing in mind: sewing. Luckily I can shell her into one of my favourite characters. My next doll will be definitely the one I want and have time to choose.

 

I agree with you. Price in my case does not play any role but my first doll was bought almost at the spur of the moment and I really had a limited choice. Luckily she is exactly like one of characters from my childhood and I will be able to shell her into this character. Now I can't imagine any other doll to fit that role. My other, future choices are also based on how the doll appeals to me, not on the price. I actually excluded any limited dolls from my purchases whatsoever. I choose from options available because after all - it's about the character of a doll, not her price.

 

My first was one that I really wanted. I did try to look around many other companies be it cheaper or not but they just didn't make me feel the urge to get them until I saw him. Since he was a really limited one that might never ever get a re-release, I got 2 heads and no regrets ^^

 

Haha, spares are good

 

I threw myself into this hobby not knowing much of anything about the hobby or collecting the dolls or anything about anything do to speak. All I knew was I wanted my David Knucci 70cm boy & I wanted him like yesterday when I ordered him. It was literally a hit or miss with me. I didn't understand about clothing sizes & bought stuff that did not fit him. I knew about getting him painted & just had to find someone that I could trust to paint him & wig him. Many thousands later.... I have 16 dolls & some have come & gone quickly with some still needing to find a new home. But regardless if I hadn't taken that leap of faith to buy my boy I probably still would just be looking, though a lot better off financially lol.

 

I like to do a lot of research before I buy anything, especially expensive things. And the majority of the advice I saw was don't settle. So I didn't. Yes, price is a factor, but I go for what I like, cheap or no. That being said, I felt more comfortable buying in pieces, so I didn't get a first doll so much as a first head. I also do layaways even when I don't need to. I don't know, maybe it is a psychological thing.

The first doll I finished (and the only full one I have currently) is my MD Ell hybrid. And every time I take him out I still think he looks lovely, though I am itching to give him a faceup that really brings out his features.

 

There weren't really any inexpensive dolls when I started out. Most MSD's were $300 plus, SD's were $500 plus, and YO size and smaller didn't exist yet. I really wanted a Volks Nana and a Secretdoll Yomo but I got Yomo first since she was smaller and cost less. She was still $390 plus shipping, though.

I could have found a slightly cheaper doll but everyone said to save up for the doll you really want and that was good advice for me. I was already a doll collector, though, so I had a pretty good idea I would love having a BJD. I still have her. Actually I've never sold any of my dolls, just the occasional parts. I never buy without being really really sure because I can't afford losing the money (shipping, tax, currency conversion) if I decide to re-sell.

 

My first (and currently only doll) was honestly a bit of a strange purchase for me. I'd been interested in bjds for a really long time, so I had no doubt that I wanted a doll (or twenty, lmao), but whenever I think about my plans for my first doll, it was always an Iplehouse Colin; I was absolutely in love with him. But somehow, when I had enough money to layaway a doll, I don't think he even crossed my mind as a purchase. It was a couple years ago, and I don't even remember my thought process when ordering her, but I went with an Iplehouse Cecile instead. Looking back on her company pictures, while I find her pretty, she's not really one of my love-at-first-sight dolls, which leaves me to still be totally confused as to why I chose her, especially since she wasn't any cheaper than Colin. Despite the mystery surrounding why I ordered her (which seems so silly, especially because a first doll is like..a big thing) I absolutely love my Cecile now, and wouldn't give her away for anything, ironically.

 

Not exactly...I always wanted a DOD, but I ended up buying a Minoru World Leila. I bought because I tought she was really beautiful and the price was nice. I didin't regret, I loved her a lot...and ended up buying the DOD I wanted one year later, but she became a more special doll to me and he ended up left incomplete. Thinking about it now, it's crazy isn't it?

 

Yes, my first doll purchase was a Dollshe Saint which was a doll I really wanted that was still being sold by a company. I would have purchased a Soom Amber MD if she was available, but I joined the hobby too late and she was a sold-out limited. She was my second purchase as I found her on the MP here about 6 months after I purchased my Saint I'm glad I started off with dolls that were on my wishlist; I really enjoy having them!