What do you think of "starter dolls?"

I dont thing that there should be a ''starters doll''. Find a doll you really like and buy it. Everyone knows you need to save up in order to buy a doll so as long as the person that wants to buy his or her first doll likes it there is no problem with that.

 

A doll that you settled for will never be as special as the one you really wanted. I do not think that cheaper dolls should be frowned upon at all, but I do think that a person should definitely start off on the right foot, by purchasing dolls that they actually really want - cheap or not cheap.

 

Hello! I think there aren't such thing as "starter dolls" even if you buy a more affordable sculpt, you'd still spend money for face ups, clothes etc. For me there are just "dolls I want" Prices shouldn't affect the doll you want

 

I'm going to say this is not a great idea and not a money-saving one in the long run.

If you're not sure about bjds, my advice is not to go for the cheapest option but rather for the doll that your research indicates will resell quickly and without much price reduction should you decide to call it quits with the hobby.

Don't settle for a doll that you don't like as much, because they're ALL so expensive after faceup/eyes/wig/clothing/accessories/camera if you are into photography, not to mention time consuming, that if you are going to do this go for what you really want.

I once had this cheap doll body, I think it was Fantasydoll?, because I thought "oh it looks kind of like Fairyland and it's a lot cheaper"... yeah no, it was not like Fairyland, every time I looked at it I felt I didn't want this but something else, and so I ended up reselling it at a $60-70 loss.

Although I'm going to add to that, that you shouldn't literally break the bank over this or any other hobby. If there is a ceiling to your spending due to finances, honor that ceiling. People in hobbies can be very enabling, but at the end of the day remember that being responsible about your money is more important than any hobby no matter how beautiful this or that doll is.

And I think if you want to save money and also be satisfied as best you can in this hobby, the key is not to buy the cheapest dolls but to buy the fewest dolls possible. Buy only your absolute favorite dolls. Review your collection regularly. Is one of them less appealing than the others? Sell it. Did you fall in love with a new doll? Well, only buy it if you are going to replace one in your existing collection.

 

Though my first doll was a choice of one that I did truly want, I would consider at this point her to be a starter doll. My first "BJD" was a MIO Pullip kit- I wanted to try out a ball jointed doll I could customize that was less expensive. I figured all I would be able to afford would be a few Pullips. Assembling the MIO Pullip kit gave me the confidence I needed to now handle dolls a lot more efficiently I would say.

Little did I know my collection would soon branch into a Volks Super Dollfie and six Dollfie Dreams. Yep, so much for not being able to afford more expensive dolls! My "dream doll" brand however was always Volks dolls in general, SD or DD so I suppose Pullips would've been starter dolls for me. They helped me realize that I truly did love the BJD hobby, and would gladly spend money on the more expensive dolls also.