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Were You Afraid to Start The Hobby?

Jul 21, 2015

    1. I started without a second thought really. Now when I look back, I'm surprised at how much money I threw at them. But I was working at a place that gave me pressure, I couldn't go out, I couldn't dress the way I want or even talk the way I want. I guess I was stressed so I needed an outlet.
       
    2. I ran in terror for ten years from the hobby. It was expensive, silly, ($2,000 a doll at the time!) etc. It finally caught me. Then it was the classic delusional "okay, okay, I'll get just one" and he was second hand. 13 dolls later, my dolls have saved our lives. It's really a hobby that you can throw everything into and really love, not just worry about the money it costs.
       
    3. I'm currently about to order my first doll.... I'm so nervous!!
       
    4. I'm eccentric. I rarely worry; I just do the research and dive in. It was my family who bore the money woes of my first doll. And it wasn't even their money!

      ...Weeks after the order was placed, I got a few 'will I bond with this?' jitters. But there were far more 'I hope he doesn't come super late' jitters.
       
    5. Well, yes. Since I had to ask my parents, lol! My mom was and still is very skeptic about buying online. Which I understand, too.
       
    6. I was. Not for the money reasons, I collect reborns too so I know what it means to save up but I was scared because Im socially a center cloud puzzle piece. I dont have a def. place but I can fit almost anywhere. Making friends now, two years later, is still hard but I encourage many to join. Social rejects and all. :)
       
    7. I was just worried about how complex and specific everything seemed! I collected a lot of less expensive OT dolls but when I started researching BJDs it freaked me out. All the sizing diffences (no guarantee those clothes'll fit), long posts about caring for them (yellowing? Restringing???), rules to get into DOA (what if I accidentally say something I'm not supposed to?!), and extra stuff (it doesn't even come with eyes??) had me pretty nervous. I've only been here a month or two but I can safely say it feels a lot less daunting from the inside. I don't feel insanely judged when I don't know something like I kinda thought I would. People have been very welcoming!!:thumbup
       
    8. I was quite young when I started the hobby and didn't really think of the price. As soon as I fell in love with them I just knew that I needed to have my own doll and so I went to buy it.

      As soon as I started i the hobby I bought two dolls, however it was years before I got my third, fourth and so on. It took me quite some time to fully become part of the hobby more than just admiring my dolls on my own.
       
    9. Yes, because of the high prices and the maintenance. The idea of buying something expensive that will be totally yellow in some years is not good for me, but it's something that I have to accept and now I'm ok with this
       
    10. I had a friend in the hobby from early on, and I really admired her dolls for a few years before deciding to get my own. My concerns were over the expense--this is a horribly expensive hobby! I wasn't so concerned about what people thought because I knew some women older than me who collected various non-BJD dolls.
       
    11. Concerns about maintenance, size (my first is a reeeeeally tiny size, I was afraid MSD/SD would be too big, plus the tiny was cheaper), dressing, photos, a name...I have all of the worries. They're offset by all the DoA folks saying they worried too, though. ^^
       
    12. By the time I found out about ball jointed dolls and by the time I actually bought one, about a decade had passed.

      I was afraid of the high cost, but I was also afraid of not being committed to the hobby. I was also spending money on different hobies, so I wasn't ready to spend much on bjds.

      Fast forward to the present, I've been happily collecting dolls for about four years now. There's so much to collect and so much to do with them, it's all so exciting. I am glad I got into the hobby when I did because it was the right time for me. :)
       
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    13. I was only 14 when I first found out about BJDs, and 5 years later, I just bought my first one. I did only get a Mirodoll Yaya, as she was really inexpensive at the time. My boyfriend thinks that I'm not going to keep in this hobby that long so he wouldn't let me get a Minifee like I wanted, but if I save up for one, and prove to him I want to continue this he will let me buy more.
       
    14. I was definitely worried because my mother very much disapproves of this hobby, as well as the price tag!

      I eventually knew this hobby was for me when I still loved dolls 4 months after discovering them!
       
    15. I was kind of thrown into the hobby - considered it a long time, but then friends got me my first BJD so I kept to it!
       
    16. I was definitely a bit afraid! It all seems so complicated, and I just wanted one beautiful doll to hang out and look pretty. Having procured my first secondhand, I have a feeling I'm going to be willing to brave the complicated parts to have the exact doll I want eventually!
       
    17. Yes. I'm in saving mode for my first proper resin one and I keep umming and ahhing because i'm simply not used to spending so much on myself.
      It took me years of collecting cheap playline to take the plunge to collector level and even then £70 was a painful guilt inducing process for me and my terrible self worth. See I have terrible trouble feeling like i'm WORTH nice things, and it doesn't help that the people in my life are extremely selfish and extremely cheap when it comes to treating me. My own husband for instance will only spend about £20 on me for birthday and christmas and while I know it's the thought that counts, often he'll refuse to get something I really want because it's more than that arbitrary amount he's decided i'm "worth", even if it's still relatively cheap (like if I want something that's £30 I won't get it because it's "too expensive" right?) Suffice to say, that coupled with the little depression troll that lives in my brain conspire to tell me i'm not allowed nice things because i'm not worthy, i'm not good enough and so on.

      Anyway, I managed to convince myself that I could save for things but only if I earn that money myself. I'm a stay at home mum, I have no income of my own but I do get a stipend every month. It's for extravagances, in my case toys. I don't smoke, i don't drink, we hardly ever go out and I certainly am not one to treat myself to makeup or handbags or shoes or new clothes. Dolls are the one thing I allow myself and damnit, I STILL feel the guilt for doing it. It's illogical and it's frustrating but it's there.

      Anyway, i'm saving for my first doll that'll be over £100, and for me that's a big deal. I still can't justify the more expensive dolls, but it's like this slow process of edging up a little at a time to work up the courage and self worth.

      And to make myself feel a bit better I look around the room and I tot up in my head the amount of money spent on cheaper dolls, and it's thousands. Right now on my desk I have 6 MIB fashion dolls I haven't opened yet. That's £60 right there, just sitting on my desk. Upstairs I have boxes and boxes of dolls, thousands of them, and the amount spent over the years is astonomical. But because it's small but regular purchases you don't notice it so much.
      Now, I figure if I save for a few months to buy ONE doll rather than buying like 20 cheaper ones, not only will it slow the clutter, it'll allow me a chance to actually devote the time and attention to those few special dolls.

      I'm on the verge of another big clear out, so hopefully I can put a bit toward that savings fund. It always helps to ease the spend guilt if I feel like I "earned" the money.
       
    18. I don't think I was ever really scared until I encountered the BJD community on Tumblr, and at that point I already had two dolls. They can be so mean sometimes, and I experienced some anon hate on my blog. But it never really made me want to quit.
      My real fear was that I would get dolls and ruin them somehow. That's why I'm really glad I waited about 3 years before getting my first BJD. I did a lot of research and made sure I wanted to join the hobby before I made a purchase (Even though my first doll was actually a gift from a friend) So by the time I got my first BJD, I was pretty confident in my ability to care for her.
      I was also kinda afraid at my first meetup, because I brought my BBB Pixie, and I know she's not everyone's cup of tea. But most everyone was super nice and loved her, which made me feel a lot better.
       
    19. Not even a little. I had been interested for a while before I really got started... My friend got a BlueBloodDoll Naomi for Christmas and I was extremely jealous. When I went to see my friend and her new doll, I ordered my first girl the exact same day after browsing for a few hours. I have had no regrets since then! Almost all of my friends have been sucked into the hobby now.
       
    20. As I'm trying to get in now, my only fear is that i'll have a lot of frustrations. I haven't bought any dolls yet but already suffered from the fact that some of the dolls i really loved were limited and i can't have them even if i have money. And i suppose the situation will continue like this in the future because i have a lot to discover.
      About spending much money on dolls i do not care, they worth it, if i have money and the dolls i really want - i'll spend with no regrets. Even less i care about my feelings, i love the same things and share the same hobbies from the early childhood, just adding new to them. My addictions can live for dozens of years.