What Dolly Rules Do You Set For Yourself?

I've broken a lot of rules over the years, but I do have some parameters that I try to stick to at the moment.

1) All dolls (mine and my wife's) need to fit in the glass display case we keep them in. No spillover. If we run out of room, somebody has to go before we can buy another.
2) Everyone needs to be in scale! All of my dolls inhabit the same world, so everybody has to be a reasonable size to hang out with the SDs that make up most of my collection. This used to mean no minis, but then I discovered Volks MSDs fit in with them much better than mature minis, and I bought a Chicline boy who's pretty much the world's crankiest fairy.

I have some other rules I try to keep in mind (not spending more on a minor character than I did on my favorite, not doing layaway, etc), but I am a lot less confident that I'll be following them forever.

 

Hummm good question...

I have a mantra. No more Dolls...No more Dolls...but its not working. I think Iplehouse lawrence will be my last unless I sell someone!

Any one looking for a Granny?

 

Well I guess this is more words of wisdom than a real rule but here's my most important guideline when it comes to BJD's:

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

I'm a pretty responsible spender, but there have been times where I had to stop myself from just dumping money into a limited, take a step back, and consider if I really want it. Generally the answer is no, I can live without this (you know, until they remade Chrom with his awesome nose *cough*). Otherwise I don't really think I have any rules set in stone, probably because I'd just want to break them as soon as I did.

 

My main rule right now is: No thinking about dolls until I finish the two I have.

Once I do finish them, the rule will then be: No thinking about dolls unless I have the necessary money for rent/school/travel, presumably in that order.

 

Only one rule: if you can not breathe without this doll, then buy. (Down with negative confirmation!)

So I have only one doll, doll of my dream, and I can't find another one which will made me to hold my breath.

 

I wish i could stick to my rules, but i have broken them all at one point or another. Nether the less here are mine:

1. No impulse buys (unless it is a doll I have been cosseting for a while and who is being sold at a reasonable price)
2. I have to be prepared to let one of my other dolls go should money become tight to pay for it
3. The doll must have a specific character and theme and have somewhere to sit or stand
4. Lastly i need to be honest and decide whether I can live without them in all honesty... most I can, but with a big sigh - love or just lust!

 

I think I really only have one, and that's that I need to have a character in mind first. In the past, when I've purchased dolls that I didn't have at least some loose idea of a character for, I ended up not really being able to bond with them.

 

I don't do character dolls so my major rule for dolls is:
1) No layaways. If I can't afford it, it isn't bought.
2) If I can sew it myself I don't buy it.
3) No buying more dolls until my fiance and I have moved out of his parents, we're moving in with them late October (this may be March/April of next year).
4) Must have twice the amount of money the doll costs in the bank before I buy a new doll. (having just enough means I can't afford it)

If I can stick to these rules I'll be very happy with myself.

 

Haha have gone the opposite way to CloakedSchemer's last rule. Mine are

1. Only fantasy dolls. If I broke that rule I would have a house full of dolls and another two houses of trendy clothing/shoes/accessories that my current dolls don't suit.
2. Wait for events where possible.
3. Avoid buying from American sellers where possible. Import tax people tend to circle in on anything arriving into the UK from America but things from China and Korea tend to slip through the net a bit more.
4. Hold off for a month and see if whatever I'm after crops up second hand. Been quite lucky and come across several wish list things this way.

Am trying to get into your way of thinking with your rule number 2 Catopolis!

 

I have 2 rules right now, hehe. They are:

1 - Don't buy another doll, clothes and props untill I complete Aurel (who is currently a very cute floating head ;-; )

2 - Don't buy her Little Monica body in layaway (unless a very profitable event comes). Priority is to save for paying in full!

^^' Not sure if I'll follow them, though...

 

No more heads until the ones I have, (3) have bodies! Oh and no more wigs ... I have a real addiction to wigs :/

 

I've been in the hobby for several years, and I've accumulated a LOT of doll accessories as a result.
This past year, since I've had to sell so many of my dolls I have a lot of stuff that has nowhere to go. And, since I've recently adopted a more simple lifestyle, I've had to really think about how I want to approach collecting.

Three Outfits Per Doll
I realized that I buy doll clothes ALL the time, yet never really change the outfits. I decided that my dolls are allowed three outfits each: One outfit that is completely that doll's style, one outfit that can be that doll's style, and one outfit the other dolls could wear if I wanted to change things up. For example, my next girl is going to be big into pastel punk, so her main outfit will be something heavy in that style, a secondary outfit will be something more casual, and a third outfit will be something more normal. They're also limited to two pairs of shoes each, and I'm TRYING to limit the amount of wigs I buy for them.

3 Props per Doll
I'm going to limit myself to no more than three doll-specific props. For example, one of my dolls has a pink macbook. Another one of my dolls has a pack of cigarettes. These are things that aren't translatable to my other dolls, (I only have one doll that "smokes" and one that can possibly use a pink laptop) and if I accumulate too much, only to sell the doll in question, I end up with a lot of stuff that has no use anymore.

No More Toys
I have a lot of "kid" dolls -- my collection is dominated by the 20-30cm size right now. So I've accumulated a TON of "toys" for them. Some of these things aren't even opened yet! I stay as far away from the toy aisle in Target as possible nowadays. Some of these toys are doll specific, like one of my dolls is a collector of panda toys, but most of the toys are just junk and I don't do anything with them. I told myself no more >A< My dolls have more toys than I did growing up!

No More Furniture, either!
I don't have space for doll furniture, yet I have a lot of it. As much as I'd love a coffee table, or a desk, or another sofa... no more! All this stuff ends up on the floor in a corner and I can't properly display it. So, this'll have to wait until I have more room for dolly things.

One Year Rule
If I sold a doll, but can't stand the idea of selling the doll's things, I'll hang on to it. But if another doll doesn't come around who can use it, I must get rid of it. I'm often too lazy to try to sell it, so if I can't get rid of it during meets or on DOA, I'll give it away as extra gifts when I sell other dolls and doll things. This has cut my wig pile in half, thank goodness! At one point I had over 40 wigs, but only 8 dolls. @_@

I also no longer collect things for doll projects anymore, because the fabric, paper, and sculpey are overwhelming me and I haven't used any of it. The only exception to this rule is faceup supplies, because I use a LOT of faceup supplies on commissions and my own dolls.

I still own a lot of doll stuff, but I'm slowly chipping away at it a little bit at a time. I must have spent over $1k on doll accessories this past decade... insane! But this past year I've been very good about my spending habits. :3

 

Haven't set any rules for myself just randomly buying until I have all the dolls on my wishlist then I will be happy

 

I'm new to dolls, and it's not the *best* time for me financially... so I definitely set some rules.

1. Don't buy it if I don't have the money.
2. Be careful, and research lots.
3. Stick with one doll until it's *done*, dressed, etc.
4. Secondhand all the way.
5. DIY whenever possible, and don't be afraid to learn.

 

I have no special rules , I just try to no have head without body (I hate that)

 

I'm new to all this as well and I find coming on here and talking to experienced people makes me want sooooo many dolls so my rules are:

1 - One doll a year

2 - NO LAYAWAY!

3 - Doll has to be high concept and pretty far out in sculpt, I have a Bobobie and now I want any other dolls that join the family to be dramatically different.

4 - TRY to make doll purchases second hand - but I don't think DC dolls will come up second hand much.

 

1) No more than 5 dolls. I currently have the 4 dolls I really must have. I was able to obtain all 4. The 5th spot is for one in the unforeseeable future that I want.

 

> Doll has to be especially unique in some way, or realistic looking.

> Obsess for a good few months to see whether I really want it.

> Only buy dolls that have a character already planned out.

> Don't leave dolls unfinished and get another.

> Only buy if I have the money/can guarantee I'll have the money if it comes to layaway.

> Don't borrow money off my parents.

 

Only 3 rules:
1. Buy only dolls that I really want.
2. Buy then I have money - no credits, layaway or something like that.
3. 5 big dolls - maximum.

 

Only after 2 years that I decided to actually have rules also because I ended up moving out n getting rid of most of my dolls stuff ^^; so after all that I decided to have a few rules
1. Only buy doll clothes from one store even though that store is pricy but the clothes are very classic n fits all my dolls also never buy cosplay outfits and traditional outfits for dolls because my dolls rarely wear these clothes ^^; it's just a waste of money n space.
2. Only buy my graildolls and in holiday periods and not all year so I'll have enough money to survive and not just buy dolls every month.
3.never buy doll furniture or props to me they are very space filling ^^,; also taking care of them is hard I found bugs living in them n decided to just not get any I will use my own furniture instead and doll furniture n props are very expensive.
5. For wigs I only keep the dolls used wigs like each doll has nearly 1 to 2 wigs only I never get tempted to get a new wig unless it fits the dolls character more than the previous one.
Also I