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

The worst part of the BJD hobby for me atm is the general pricing of the dolls. Even for vinyl dolls (200$ ~ 300$) it is still pricey.

Also, so many lovely clothes which just becomes a magnet for my hand to click the add to shopping cart button when I can't because I am holding it up for more awesomeness rising up later.

I think the worst worst part for me atm is being a minor and a BJD owner. My parents don't care, but I am limited on what I can buy, especially with pretty clothes. -_- Look at the sentence above. Plus, I don't make my own money atm, which sucks even more. (My mom wants me to study rather than doing tutoring.)

 

Price, definitely. I got into the hobby in 9th grade, and I'm now in my 4th year of college...and I only have one complete doll, a second just now (as of yesterday, actually) on the way. I also have a floating head.

I just can't afford to buy all the dolls I'd love to own, not yet. Ordering my DC Agatha was a sudden surprise really, so I'm super lucky that I managed that...It'll probably be a few more years before I can buy another doll. Sadly.

 

I'd have to say the price. I'm not well off and while saving up could be an option there are most months my money is completely spent on necessities leaving me with maybe $20 in the bank until next check. I chose my first doll based on price and while I don't regret it, I know there were tons of other dolls I loved just as much that I couldn't afford. Two others I had were only bought with gift money and my latest had to be planned carefully especially since she needed a custom faceup and I had to factor in that price.

Another thing is the space. I live in a tiny duplex and the majority of my room is taken up by books, art supplies, and other things. I can't have all sorts of dolly furniture or environment set ups (though I did have a room built for my Puki made from a small box, but it was thrown away) where they can live and/or pose for pictures. It's just not possible but these guys command space.

 

Cost is the only thing that bugs me but that's become less of an issue over the years as I've stopped buying so many dolls & am basically happy with what I have. It's good to not have all my cash tied up in my latest doll purchase or desire.

 

I agree with another member, not enough room to display my dolls (which is why they are all still in their boxes). It could also be because i have way too many dolls.

Also cost and always wanting more no matter how many i already have. I never set limits with collections so they can get out of hand.

 

For me it's the waiting, the waiting, the waiting! :-) I wish there were more dolls available in the US that you can get shipped within a week or two. I bought a wig in China and I've been waiting for 6 weeks now, I'm already over it, and want a different one! That's why I bought a Blueblood Doll, since they are here in the US, I got her so quickly. Unfortunately they don't have a lot of variety in girl dolls.

 

Haha, I love this thread XD
Yeah pricing is an issue. Apart from the doll itself, add all the props, accessories, photo camera, and worst if you're acompulsive "creator" ! materials, cloth, furnitures, pencils, paints... too many of them !
I'd say space comes second place as a corollary of the first, then thirdly the (weird) way people look at your "hobby"... ut it has already been debated here.

 

This hobby is VERY expensive. Not only dolls, but accessories, wigs, clothes and everything else eats money too.
Some people don't get that these are valuable, so they talk like these are cheap and totally useless hobby to adult.
Resin (as dust) is poison.
(often) When you have your first doll, you want to buy friend for it and suddenly you have army of dolls. :'D

 

The cost, the waiting time and the fact I see more and more dolls I like all the time :O

 

Not even the cost, but the waiting. You wait for your doll, then you wind up SOMEHOW waiting longer for the shoes, wig, etc.

 

Having something else to clean/maintain/organize! I have 2 kids who need constant bathing supervision and assistance. Also, do 4 hours of housework a day on average. So even though its minimal work and for a hobby, I'm really not looking forward to future sessions with the magic eraser...

 

The worst part? Falling in love with limited sculpts that I know I won't be able to afford in time.

 

Probably a lot of people here are not going to like this answer but it's how I feel. What gets me down the most about BJD collecting is the arguing and bullying I can see sometimes between collectors. I can understand people having a difference of opinion about various things but the level of heat and personal insult I see really disturbs me. I'm not just talking about the obvious, the debate over recasts, I see people being downright nasty to each other all the time on BJD forums about a lot of things.

I've had people get snooty with me about the so called quality of the clothing I want to trade. I offered someone a limited outfit I have that usually sells for a cool $100 the other day because she said she was looking for a certain kind of outfit and this one happened to fit and I have a couple of them and because it wasn't a much more expensive outfit she got totally snooty and condescending with me for offering it. She literally told me that she'd never put a low end outfit like that on her doll. I mean WTH? A $100 dress is low end? I guess maybe it might be compared to some Volks type stuff but in general that's more medium range I think and this one was exceptionally well made and cute besides and she clearly still thought it was little better than a rag. FYI, she's not even a high end BJD collector. From what I can tell most of her dolls are Resinsoul so that was totally out of left field her reaction. She apparently wants to put $200-300 doll outfits on her $150 minis. Her prerogative but I thought she was kind of rude dissing a $100 outfit considering.

Wish I could tell you that she's the first person to say something like that but she's not. The first face up I did on my Alba, which okay was admittedly not that great for a more seasoned face up artist, but which was literally my first resin BJD faceup and admittedly amateur, and I don't think she looks THAT bad, got some pithy comments from someone elsewhere. She said and I quote "Well, I wish I could say she looks even remotely okay but she looks terrible actually and you really should consult a face up artist rather than attempt to do any more of your own dolls." Mind you I did not really ask for any feedback. I just posted a pic so people could see what I had done with her vs what she looked like originally. But apparently my doll's face offended this person so badly that she felt she had to tell me to remove it and get in a professional. Again, WTH?

I've met a lot of nice people online collecting BJD dolls and I've had a lot of fun. Most of the people I've met, absolutely nothing like that, but it seems to me there is a certain contingent of people who collect these dolls who seem to think that unless every doll and outfit you own is a $500 and up thing you're not really worthy of owning anything BJD related, that you should just give it up and go away, and go buy Bratz (or whatever other low quality cheap dolls they think you are worthy of buying) instead and that attitude really annoys me because I am the type of person who sees value and worthiness in ALL dolls and who actually loves collecting playline dolls and BJD's quite equally.

Doll snobs? That's just something I can't quite wrap my head around! It's a very weird concept to me that some people think of dolls that way. Every doll is "art" even though it's produced several hundred times over a lot of the time, or is even totally unlimited and sold for years by some companies. I have other kinds of dolls that are actually much more limited than a lot of the BJD's that I see (and own) yet they are vastly inferior in some people's eyes just because they are made of a different type of plastic? Sometimes this hobby admittedly makes no sense to me.

 

Worst thing: cost.

 

Nasty written comments on your doll from people in the hobby.
So unwarranted, so thoughtless, so able to ruin a doll and a hobby completely. It was so crushing an experience I locked the hobby away for a year, and remain guarded about sharing.

 

Not having enough warning about when special events are going to take place where sold out dolls are put up for lottery !!

I feel like I should make a Doll fund.. bc I always find out right before the sales going to take place and I'm not about to upset my budget.. even though part of me would love to just buy a doll & say oh well to everything else !!

 

The limited dolls that are either sold out before you got in the hobby, or anounced right after you bought another doll. It happens all the time =__=" It is seriously annoying. Because if I knew beforehand I could wait or save, but no.

 

This... -__- especially when the company releases said event with no prior warning and for a time so limited there's absolutely no way to make enough money in time.

 

Constantly buying more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cost
Limited edition dolls that I see, and want and can't buy because i'm poor
Being judged by people
Cost lol