What to answer when people ask about the cost of your doll...?

My Dad just doesn't understand my hobby, he will spend so much money on computer parts or his hobbies but thinks I'm crazy to spend so much money on a doll, now when he asks I just tell him "none of your beeswax".

 

I tailor my answer depending on who's asking. I will be honest down to the last penny if it's another collector asking online, because they're obviously asking how much the doll would cost for them to put together, and they're more likely to understand the crazy prices, or at least be able to appreciate what that money has bought.

With friends and family well outside the hobby I will probably massage the true price a bit. My family know dolls are expensive, just not how much.

If someone came up to me in the street and asked, I would be a bit nervous of saying the true price - if I say how expensive it is, there's the potential for someone to steal my doll, and if I go too low and they damage my doll by accident, I can't ask them to pay a higher price for repair or replacement if I quoted them a low price. It's a gamble. If I'm at a doll meet, I would hedge my bets and go for the true price, but if it was a random member of the public I would go middle of the road. I don't let my dolls out of my sight anyway, so it's unlikely I'd let someone I don't know handle one of my dolls or walk away from me holding one of my dolls.

 

I'm usually upfront with the price. Sometimes it makes people baulk at the dolls and question my sanity but my main reason is to instill caution is questioners. Guaranteed at Cons someone will come up and ask about my bjds. Being honest about the price (usually) makes them reluctant to pick up or mistreat.

 

I love getting asked this (especially by ppl who know nothing about bjd's). mine is a wopper of a pricel, so I grin like a madman and tell them, by the time it got to my door about 1300. Then I say there are only 20 of him that look like him. (it may be a current stock head mold but the faceup and specific costume set is limited). I tell them i could get the same doll with NOT limited stuff and do my own faceups for half that but I fell in love with him so he was worth it. And that these dolls are of a quality that reminds me of what can only be found in rare antiques now. The kind only aristocracy and high class dress makers used as models back in the day. (and they do remind me of them in form and details). Mentioning that the dolls are esentially all 'custom' always makes ppl think twice about the 'not worth it comments'. ^^. And my doll is 70 cm so he's kinda hard to miss or ignore in that sense lol.

A second thought just occured to me.... Many parents will in the course of a year drop as much or more, than we doll ppl spend on a doll, on Barbie stuff for thier kids, 90% of which will either be lost, broken, or tossed in the 'borring' box within that same year. WE treasre our dolls and take great pleasure in and care of or dolls... forever. These dolls do not get put in corners because we 'got bored' with them. The same goes for the hundreds of dollars spen on electronic games. I think value for dollar, even I would come out on the plus side of that comparison. And I'd bet money all those Barbies and video games don't bring as much SHARED enjoyment like at say a doll meet? ^^ No reason here to be embareased about cost I'd say. ^^

 

I tend to be fairly honest and straightforward with people. I mean, I'm not going to brag about how much the hobby costs, but I'm not going to lie about it either. Depending on who I'm talking to my answer might be something kind of vague, like "They're all pretty expensive" or it might be something more specific, ranging from "These kinds of dolls usually cost hundreds of dollars each" to mentioning the specific price (rounded to the nearest hundred) of a specific doll in my collection. So far the only people who have ever asked are my parents (who know how much all of my dolls cost) and my friends (who know they're expensive) and I haven't had any odd or weird reactions. But if I ever do, well, my answers to those reactions are going to be pretty straightforward too :p I kind of have the attitude that if you ask a question and don't like the answer you brought it on yourself by asking in the first place.

 

Generally, I don't tell how much I paid, just more than I can afford. I don't want to make myself a target. Some people get upset and think you've wasted money on a doll. It's best for me to down play it.

 

Once when a friend saw that I had bought another beautiful doll (actually, I showed it to her) she told me under no uncertain terms, "You have a terrible addiction! That's all this is. You have got to stop before you go broke! How much are you paying for these dolls anyway!" Well, okay, so I am addicted, and sometimes I buy with my heart instead of my brain (almost always), and sometimes price doesn't matter to me, I just love the doll so much (part of the addiction I guess). And who is she to lecture me about addiction and money!? Good gosh. Give me a break! It is my money and my life and I don't owe anyone an explanation...no matter what they say or think. I just did the hahahahahahaha thing and poo pooed it all, and moved on to other topics. Trouble is she is a dear friend. But friendship is all about forgiveness. I forgive them all: those who play with their kids' toys, grown men who play with model trains, all the model builders, and boat builders and car builders, etc., etc. I forgive them and applaud them. Life is too short!

 

I've been super excited about my recently purchased dolls so I actually showed pictures to my mom who asked the question. I simply said, "You really don't want to know. Just know that I did budget for it."
She wasn't upset or too curious but she knows I'm pretty careful with my money c:

 

Oh boy, the first time I had to do this was fun. I got my girl for Christmas (although I paid for a good part of it myself), so obviously I brought her over with me when I went for our big family Christmas thing we do every year. My family is pretty okay with unusual hobbies, and if they have a problem with it they usually won't say it out loud, but I kept getting stares for the rest of the night. My granddad kept saying "do you know what I would have bought with that money?!" and whatnot over and over, listing off everything he would do with $400. It was super irritating. I also got the "you're too old for toys" vibe from a few people. Needless to say I don't think my girl is really going to be coming with me anywhere other than conventions or meetups. Can't stand the obnoxious attitudes.

 

People who are close to me know the average cost of my dolls, most of them don't approove but keep it to themselves) Stereotype that dolls are for little kids is way to strong) For outsiders I perfer not to answer that question)

 

I think it's funny when people (in public) ask me what my doll cost, roll their eyes at the idea of an $800 doll (or even a $100 doll), and fail to realize that I'm holding about $4500 worth of camera gear that I bought just to shoot dolls. Oh the lulz.

 

It's convenient and I take more than a little sadistic glee in being able to say that several dolls I have aren't available anymore so short answer is 'priceless, I guess, because you can't just go out and buy this one...or this one, or that's right, that one too, they simply aren't just "for sale" somewhere to be ordered up like a pizza.' Even though I'm secretly certain a couple were discontinued simply due to unpopularity!

Of my still-available majority, I usually don't mind telling retail prices and actually think it's interesting to watch the different reactions. I have cheap to spendy dolls in lots of sizes and am proud of them all for different reasons, rarely to do with price anyway excepting a few well-negotiated purchases I'm kind of smug about. None are 'too expensive' to me, obviously, since I bought them...but I am a little less surprised now that even many doll people still think 'smaller should be cheaper'. That's only more common in bjd hobby, miniaturists know better...and it's getting much better with bjd like puki puki though people still tend to think 'Barbie size, Barbie price' about mature 1/6, so I DO relish telling them Unoa Light going rate, smile wickedly with a pause and add..."If you are lucky enough to find one, of course..."
My friend is worse, she will shamelessly troll people with "Princess Mimi's $500 Barbie".

If they are doll peeps and they are 'shocked' or incredulous in anything but a positive way when they ask me about prices, then that's a huge clue they aren't going to be MY kind of doll peeps, who should be thrilled and impressed that there is such a cool doll. When I see an amazing doll and someone tells me an astounding price, I kind of grin like a fool and am really glad I got to see it and maybe get to take a pix. And I don't bother to ask prices of dolls I don't like unless it is something unique or odd.

Lastly, even if I know they are the party pooper kind of person who wants to frown, tsk and school people on the elitist evils of teh expensive dorries, I will tell them prices, but in a very offhand, blasé and breezily casual manner because maybe if they are offended by enough expensive dolls they will realize they aren't so uncommon and that they can just shut their disapproving yap about it and hopefully spare the next owner. If they are rude enough (and some are) to say "Wow, I could get an X doll for THAT price!" I reply with "Yes you could, but then you'd be stuck with an X doll and not this one, unfortunately."

 

I don't tell anyone. I suspect that they might have me locked up if they knew!

 

I prefer to say what this or that doll is rather expencive, but I don't like to say the real cost, cause many people don't understand "such a waste of money" like my mother says

 

I too just say that they are expensive and if the person wants to know more, then I'll say that some have cost around $800. After that they avoid even breathing close to the dolls.

 

I was wondering how folks around here feel when someone not in this hobby asks "How much did you pay for that?"

I have had a couple people ask me how much I paid for my Iplehouse doll that I recently ordered. And with the person who was not interested in BJDs, I noticed that I absolutely did not want to answer her. I felt that her asking was rude and judgemental. It just made me really uncomfortable. However, when the friend who is in the hobby asked, I felt more comfortable sharing the price with her, but still uneasy slightly.

How do you feel when someone asks you the price?

What do you say to those people?

 

When strangers ask how much dolls run, I usually say that they tend to be expensive, but there is a range of prices. If it's more specific about my own doll... I have no problem answering doll folks truthfully, but I prefer not to go into details with other people. My finances are private, and I just don't want to share that information with everybody. I might say something like: 'she was rather on the expensive side' or 'I got a good deal second hand' -- stuff like that. It's usually pretty easy to answer without giving a dollar amount, and I don't usually have people press me for more information than that.

 

I don't think that asking about the price is rude or judgmental at all. It seems to me quite innocent curiosity in conversation, and a very normal thing for someone to wonder since bjds are relatively rare and something that not a lot of people know about.

I don't think I would mind telling the price to someone who is clearly interested in entering the hobby themselves, but in general to a non-doll person I might say simply that it was expensive, so that they wouldn't be completely shocked. I don't think it's such a big deal one way or the other, though.

 

If I trust them, I tell them what I believe it's monetary value is. But I got my mine as a gift and purposefully didn't research the doll's value. I always tell them what it's worth to me, priceless and irreplaceable. If they ask about the hobby's cost, I tell them they need to look it up because they won't believe me otherwise.

 

My uncle is really interested in my dolls, so I sometimes tell him the prices, but I don't think I would tell anyone else in my family. They know I don't have a lot of money and would probably put me down for paying $500 on a 'silly doll'.

Now, I do have a cousin that used to live with my parents, and he would steal their things and pawn them--he, as much as I do love him, is never going to know how much they cost me. And I wouldn't tell strangers if they asked, either, especially if I met them near where I live. It's just too risky.