What’s something you wish you knew about some dolls before purchasing

My partner had a similar sentiment saying he wish he knew how much time he would spend looking for dolls that don't exist. As in, he has a specific image for what he wants and nothing quite like it exists.
As for me, I wish I knew how easy it was to make most doll accessories and clothes. When I was young I though that making custom stuff for dolls was like myth level hard but it's now my favorite thing about the hobby! I love how much customization there is. I've honestly been in this hobby so long I don't really remember what I didn't know.

 

I wish I knew that by the time I said "it's okay to get the cheaper doll now, I'll get the other one next time" the doll would be discontinued. That's my biggest regret.

 

I kinda wish I had known how to shop on the second hand market better. All the sellers I've bought from in the past were nice people and I've never been scammed. But in those first two years of the hobby I was probably way too trusting of people

Another thing I kind of wish I knew beforehand was that April Story was not going to discontinue the Diana head. I still like the body I ended up getting with her so it's not a big deal. But I spent the longest time agonizing over it and felt like I jumped the gun to buy a bit fast LOL.

Oh I also always wish I could know how well a wig would fit on my dolls head before I buy it!

 

Yeah, sewing has a pretty tough learning curve, it is super rewarding though. You can find patterns on etsy for most dolls, I'd be happy to dm you a couple links for some beginner friendly ones. As for stuffed animals, I like teacuplion and dolphinwing, they both have very easy to understand tutorials and plushie patterns for all skill levels! Granted they don't make doll sized stuff but you can always size it down.

 

i wish i had known more about pricing when i first purchased. i didn’t get scammed but looking back i think i paid way too much for my first (second hand) doll... it’s ok though i loved her ^^

 

For my first doll, I wish I had done more research before buying. For doll buying in general, It would be so helpful to know if a sculpt was going to be retired soon, like @AmariGem was saying. I opened an Instagram account just to follow doll makers in hopes that it would help me keep up to date.

 

I do wish I knew that some companies were going to take fooooooooorever. I wish I had known to look here and read the reviews even about dealers.

I've got some that I ordered 6 months ago, that claimed a 1-3 month wait time, and they're still not even with the dealers yet.

I'm just not excited about those dolls anymore. And I'm glad I didn't wait forever for my "first ones" to arrive because I really did want to jump into the hobby. It was the right choice to go ahead and find some I could get faster... But I'm just now a little salty about the ones that still aren't here when they said they'd be in at most half the time... haha

 

Agreed! I know stuff is just -going to take longer- because supply lines aren't normal right now. I get that. And it's still mildly annoying to wait. Especially with no or infrequent updates.

 

@Seafoam Shade For sure! I definitely am always keeping in mind the reality regarding ongoing supply chain stuff - I just definitely wish I had known to look for the information that would have presented a more realistic picture for those first purchases. A couple extra months, I think is okay. I guess I just wish some of those estimates weren't like.. 1-3 months.. and then remain never updated due to what is going on. I think at least the dealers should be a little more transparent or overshoot on their estimates. Kind of loses my trust if they don't communicate proactively, I suppose, on something where the wait time could be up to 5 months more! I'm spending too much time "convincing" myself it's still okay and that I shouldn't be worried at this point

 

I think, the only real advice I can give myself when it comes to shopping for a doll is: Don't miss out on an event because you're scared of the price. I hesitated with Dollzone's Neruga because I didn't want the fantasy parts (just the head on a human body) and I regret it so much. Fortunately I just tell myself I only have one MSD so getting others would be a hassle, but hesitating on a limited doll can be heartbreaking. Also, Shopping during discounts. I'm never paying full price again when I can just save up and spend 1k+ on all the dolls I want during an event and get that 15% discount. In the end, I have saved myself so much money buying the non-limited dolls I wanted during a discount event.

EDIT: Oh! and to buy that doll in the resin tone you like versus waiting to see what dealers get in stock...cause dealers always seem to order dolls in WHITE resin...and I can't stand white resin X.x

 

This thread may give you some extra insights.

 

I'm still very new to this, so the list of things I wish I knew will certainly grow in the future, haha.

I bought my first doll secondhand, kind of impulsively, based on not-so-clear photos and very little outside information. I wish I'd known more about different kinds of jointing and asked more questions about the condition. I also felt that I had to act so quickly because dolls within the parameter I was searching for were very uncommon, but actually there are way more options than I thought at that time. I don't genuinely regret it because I really love her and I think I would have regretted more passing her up, but I had a lot of surprises and there's more questions I would ask/find out now. I think if I knew exactly what I was getting into, I wouldn't have had negative feelings of being overwhelmed in the first few days after receiving her.

I was kind of thinking I was "only going to have 1 bjd" (does that ever work out for anyone?) but because I didn't really stick to my plan for buying my "ideal" BJD I felt I didn't get a true enough picture to answer my question of "do I like strung resin BJDs enough to collect more, or do I want to stick to only plastic/mechanical joint dolls?" so I ordered another (new) bjd almost right away. I think the answer to the question will ultimately be that I like both in different ways, and I would have wanted at least 2 bjd anyways to have different styles as well.

Sorry that's a lot of rambling, but the concrete things I wish I knew/will always find out from now on are:
- What kind of jointing does the doll have? Which possible joints are single or double or not present? I thought this was a lot more universal before, but now I've seen more of the huge variety these dolls can have
- Subjectively do owners consider this doll to be a "good poser" or what do you have to do to make it pose more easily?
- What is the wig and eye size? what size elastic is used?
- For secondhand dolls, is there any damage to the faceup? what is it sealed with? is there yellowing or has it ever been exposed to smoke?

 

Well, I just got a Lutz Tiny Delf in the mail today, and I wish I had known how top heavy she was going to be.... she has to be around the sewing machine a lot, and I don't feel comfortable at all about her fragile little elf ears if she's going to fall over for no reason. I'm definitely going to have to take her head off for sewing. All the videos I'd watched were so amazing in showing her joint mobility, I had no reason to think she would topple over like she has a pumpkin for a head!

 

I wish I knew how different all "MSD" or "1/4" doll measurements were before buying clothes, shoes too...

 

Wish I had known that...

...one of my recent doll's skintone is yellow (completely different from the official photos)

...some suppliers take about a year to finish dolls

... fullsets are not my thing

... the eye and wig size is often imprecise and won't necessarily match

... sometimes the posing ability is very limited

... some dolls need sueding

 

If the patterns are Free-To-Use, wouldn't you mind sending the links to me via DM? I would be grateful if you could. ^_^