What is the worst part about being a BJD collector/owner?

What really drives me crazy are the custom fees. I don't even mind the cost of the dolls so much, but having to count additional 20-25% to the doll cost just makes me want to kick somebody ><;;;;;.
Also shipping costs, not being able to see the doll/clothes/wigs before I buy them, having to WAIT, and not being able to take a satisfying photo of anything -_-;.

 

I would have to say that the worst part is the looks I get when people see me with my dolls. For example, yesterday I was outside of my apartment taking some pics of my 2 newest dolls under a tree, and a teenage boy rode by on his bicycle giving a "WTF?" sort of look. Needless to say, I had to fight off the urge to shoot some birds. >.<

 

hm, it would not be the birds i'd be tempted to shoot.

 

1. Never really being done
- This can also be a perk, there's always something to do. However, it can be frustrating when you don't have the money, or the time or the patience to get what you need to "finish."

2. Monies.
- I need moar monies now! ... it's never enough, no matter how much you save.

3. Finding the right clothes/shoes/wigs.
- UGH. I suppose this can also be part of the fun, hunting down what you're looking for and earning the joy that comes with a discovery. But it can also be very frustrating if you're looking for a style that just isn't popular, outfits that are poorly made with yucky, bulky fabrics, shoes that look appropriate for a clown, wigs that look like a stiff plastic.... etc.

4. The waiting!
- The wait has its own rewards, but somedays, it would be nice to find a pair of eyes, order them and then receive them within the week, rather then ordering and then waiting in suspense for FIVE MONTHS! Yes, I've waited that long for a pair of eyes... *cough, cough, Gumdrops*

 

having so many dolls on my wishlist and trying to figure out how to get them to my at home list instead

 

what I also really, really hated was when I finally recieved a limited outfit, it was made from a completely different fabric with a very larger b@tt-ugly pattern. Now I know there was a "fabric susceptible to chance" warning, but it went from a beautifull subtle bright colored pattern to an out-of scale, washed out colors fabric that was much stiffer. At least I expected an equal quality fabric.

 

When people think you're hoarding when you have x number of dolls and they keep climbing. I'm not hoarding. They have names, all have clothes, wigs, eyes, shoes! Sure, one might have to share the only pair of shoes that fits with the other his size, but they have everything else! I do have a story with some, but I have a hard time keeping them standing or how to start. (And some characters aren't here, yet.) Beginnings I've always had a hard time with, so likely never will do that with them. Don't have massive amount of props either. But I'm not hoarding cause I have 70 plus dolls!

 

I can deal with astronomical wait times. I can deal with dishing out several hundred dollars on a nude, blank standard edition doll. I understand the costs that go through them, so this is fine. Yes, it's a damper on things I want to do "in the real world", but I don't let it interfere with what I need to do, and I enjoy collecting, and otherwise my money would go to random things that I'd never know where it went. So at least I can see what my money is going towards.
My least favorite part about this hobby is probably....myself. Lol...I've gone through *looks at profile* ...34 dolls (including floating heads). This is only counting ones I've sold. At one time the most I've had was 7. The longest I've had a doll was 2 years (and I regret selling him). I've been in the hobby for 5.
I have a vision on what I want my dolls to be like, character wise, but I have a hard time settling on anything. It's kind of frustrating to look at my list of past dolls and think "Why can't I stick with anything?". I'm trying really hard now, to limit the dolls I buy to very exclusively ones I've planned on, to help reduce the number of dolls that pass through my hands.
Though, at the same time, I am also torn, because I miss the days when I was a little naive, and used to buy a doll specifically only because I loved how it looked. That's how some of my "characters" were created. But, somehow, I managed to skew from that and think about reshelling characters (who were created from dolls, not the other way around!), into other dolls. I don't know. I think it used to be more fun back then, but it was also chaos not really having anything planned. But now it's just chaos trying to get the things done that are planned.
I don't know.
I also think it's ridiculous, that every time I have money, I want it to go towards a new doll, and the things I "need" for the characters (clothes, wigs, eyes, etc) get pushed to the back burner. I also don't know if I'll ever be "done". But sometimes, I think, that if I just get my "crew" of dolls planned, then maybe I can go back to just getting dolls because I love how they look. Not because they fit a character.
I think I want it all.

TL;DR: I am indecisive on everything. I want it all.

 

The same as with any expensive hobby: the constant money issue. I'm always trying to not to spend money on other things so that I can save for a doll I will probably never be able to afford. (Darn you, human body, for needing things like food every day...)

 

Money being the most obvious worst part. Then there's the guilt I get after ordering a doll or something for it like clothes, it's the production and shipping that's making me feel guilt... It's not exactly an environmentally friendly hobby (not that there's many hobbies like that but still), but I've decided on not getting more than max 10 dolls and I try to make my own clothing which at least save on shipping both economically and environmentally.

 

Hmm... I'd have to say buying something that I then wish I hadn't bought. Not because of money, but because it just wasn't perfect for me, and now I have to resell it and all the stuff I bought for it =__= I wish I came into this hobby knowing exactly what works for me, but it's something you have to learn!

 

Definitely the people who tell me that I'm too old to play with dolls. I'm like, aren't you too young to tell me how old I am? I've pretty much come to terms with the costliness, but that doesn't mean that I like the EMS Shipping prices!

 

Learning how to STOP buying new resin! I now have 12 dolls...after much happy trial and error, I've finally amassed the perfect collection that I'm absolutely thrilled with. But after 6 years of actively hunting for new resin, I'm suddenly having to train myself NOT to do it and that's really hard. Darn my overly active creative mind anyway!

 

They keep making them better and better so you want more.

 

Let me put this as delicately as possible:
The Worst Part is running into Playground Bullies and High School Drama Queens... who are grown women or men. Every now and then you run into someone who you'd rather not have ever met, and in the time it takes you to About-Face they've gone and tried to involve you in their personal soap opera.

BEFORE I GET FLAMED, NO, I AM NOT BEING SPECIFIC ABOUT ANYONE.

Everyone knows at least one or two people- I think fringe hobbies can occasionally attract, among the dozens of wonderful, silly, fun collectors, a few very unstable people. (and I normally have a very forgiving definition of Unstable)

(and yes, that was 'delicately'. You do not want to hear me go off without self-censoring. This is about as polite as I get.)

 

People assuming you're into lolita or pink dresses or any other kind of frilly girliness, just because you mention you're a Doll Collector.

Getting a blood-blister while restringing a big heavy doll, that's pretty bad too. Hurts like bejeezus.

Other than that, it's tons o' fun.

 

For me: Trying to find clothes that fit the dolls I like.

I don't even HAVE my doll yet and haven't ordered the doll I want next yet and I'm already frustrated! It's so hard to find clothes that fit the odd shaped dolls. ;~;

 

I am new to collecting BJD but I finally got one after 10 years of becoming fascinated by them. The things I am finding bad about it right now is trying to come up with a name and back story for my doll. I just got her and I don't know how I want her face to look like or her name to be at all. I have no problem with patience, after all, look at how long it took me to get one.

Another thing I don't like is that I don't know how to do anything yet for her. She needs to be restrung and I need to wipe her face. Luckily, I have some friends who can show me how to do that but it is just the matter of getting together with them to get it done. Money is also an issue. It takes so long for me to gather the money for anything since most of my money goes into bills and rent. Again, luckily, I know a lot of people thanks to facebook and here that sell things they don't want/need anymore so they sell them for a discounted price. Maybe sometime soon, I can get everything I want for her!

 

I agree with everyone else on the "never done" front - I constantly have things that I want to do but can't for one reason or another. Being never done, as well as often being the mayor of poor town are very frustrating.

 

People who think you must be schizophrenic when you mention you collect dolls (at your age, and in an age of electronics ruling everything), because they assume you act like the stereotypical "doll lady".

Or people who assume you have no discernible social skills - at all - which is why you decide to surround yourself with BJDs...

Honestly... sometimes, I wish people would realize that there was more to psychology than Freud, and that assuming dolls=people is not the perception of most doll collectors. We know our dolls aren't real, when we talk about our dolls we do so tongue-in-cheek and aren't serious about it. I have never been able to connect people issues to doll issues because I don't think they can ever mesh.