What was the worst mistake you made when you first started the hobby?

Like many others here, I didn't do enough research before purchasing my first couple of dolls. I was impatient and didn't want to wait on an order from companies and so I would just order in-stock dolls from dealers since I knew I'd get them quickly. I really did love the dolls that I ordered at the time, but once my husband actually ordered me a doll, one with the preferences that I picked out, I realized the style I actually love was really different than what I had been collecting, and also that the waiting isn't that bad. And so now I'm working on reworking my entire collection, lol. It's a learning process.

 

Everything about faceups. I used the wrong paint, the wrong pastels, the wrong sealant, the wrong gloss. I am extremely lucky that none of it did permanent damage to my doll. I didn't use spray sealant at all, I just brushed gloss over pastels, which made them look clumpy and gross. I drew on the top eyelashes with pencils. My first few dolls were a hot mess for awhile. I also didn't use proper respiratory protection, and developed a really bad cough. Granted, this was 2008, so doing proper research was much harder before I knew about DoA and information was pretty scarce, but I should have still asked questions on other forums, and more importantly, listened when I was given answers. Playing with very expensive dolls and toxic materials is really not a time to have the "I'm doing it my way, nothing will happen to me" attitude.

 

Not doing research and thinking (at the time I only knew of smartdoll) companies overpriced the dolls so o went to etsy and bought a bootleg I'm still sincerely so embarrassed about that. I'm glad it was at least only one, after purchasing her I joined a bunch of groups and educated myself

 

My is bought different size of doll without research, I don’t realise how much I will spend with two different size doll. Such as 75 dolls and msd.

 

Mine’s doing a very poor attempt at body blushing, then sealing my doll body (still strung together) with uneven coats of UV spray. I was hoping it would keep the body from yellowing, what I got in the end was uneven yellowing years down the road, sigh.

 

I bought a doll I could afford rather than one I really wanted. Turns out that if the dolls are already expensive as they in fact are, it makes little difference to your wallet if you spend 200 bucks or save a little more and eventually pay 400 bucks. Both seem insane for the laymen judging the price of what technically is a toy. However, it makes a big difference to you as a collector with their strong preferences and a particular sense of aesthetics.

If my first doll was what I truly wanted (then, crobidoll lance) I bet I still would have had him And since he wasn't my first doll, it didn't feel special when I got him, so he didn't stay with the crew for too long and I suffered from the revolving door owner syndrome

 

Definitely jumped in head first and didn't really develop my style. Ended up burning through a lot of dolls/clothing and even still didn't really get a solid style for my crew until 5 years ago. Also made a few poor impulse buys that ended up biting me in the rear.

 

Was too impulsive in my doll choices, not for buying, because honestly I only had one doll purchase I really regretted, but with selling. I'd buy a doll, feel guilty spending money, and then sell it cheaper than I bought it for even if I didn't actually want to sell it in the first place.
Also cared too much about other people's opinions both inside and outside of the hobby rather than just customizing what made me happy.

 

It was my first week as a BJD owner, and I was adoring my new girl to no end, changing her clothes, adjusting her eyes, etc. The only eyes I had on hand were her defaults, so I thought nothing of their irregular backs. Then I looked at my fingertips and noticed cuts that weren't there before. Her eyes were glass, the stems had broken off, and it was a wonder I didn't bleed or feel pain.

 

Oh No!! i couldnt imagine anything worse. Youre so lucky you didnt bleed, i cant imagine cleaning blood off of a doll would be nice, particularily as a new owner!

 

I did a ton of research before buying my first dolls, so luckily I didn't make any mistakes when purchasing or painting my dolls, but one thing I did do was accidentally gouge the resin inside the headcap of my first doll right when I got him. He was strung super super tight, and because of this I was having a really hard time getting his head off. I used a pair of jewelry pliers to help give myself leverage, and without realizing it, I had pressed the sharp metal edge against the inside of his head and pushed. When I saw the gouge I had left, I was devastated. I had done so much research and so much prep work just to make such a simple, dumb mistake. Luckily it's inside his head where you can't see, and I look back on it now as a funny story to tell about my first doll, but at the time I was so upset at myself. I quickly transitioned out of using pliers to grab the s hook, and instead use carabiners or string. It's much easier to hold and you don't risk the damage as much.

 

Another mistake I made, which wasn't directly related to any dolls I owned or bought, was trying to gatekeep the hobby. I was an outcast high schooler (I joined the hobby at 15) that held my interests way to sacred and personal because they were the only things that gave me a sense of belonging and stability. It also didn't help that I was undiagnosed autistic and didn't understand why I got so obsessed with things and had a, "you dont like this thing as much as I do, therefore you don't deserve it," attitude. I had some people try to engage with me about the hobby and express interest in joining it, but I basically wrote them off and told them not to buy a doll. I guess I did this because I didn't see them as worthy or something? I guess it gave me a sense of control or power that I didn't have in my life at the time? I have no clue, it was so dumb and toxic.

Needless to say, though, I have changed my ways since then. I actually finally convinced one of my friends to buy her first doll (she's been interested in getting one for a while) this month, and I'm so excited to finally have a doll friend! Since she's a newbie and hasn't done much research yet, I'm super excited to show her all that I know, help her protect her dolls, teach her how to do face ups and make wigs, and let her borrow my supplies. It was really fun giving her guidance throughout the buying process, too, which helped her avoid buying a head and body that were two different sizes, helped her find a company and sculpt that matched her vision for her character, and help her find the best sales/events to get the best bang for her buck. I also have plans on hosting a "BJD 101" panel at an anime convention next year to hopefully help introduce more people to the hobby and help make their first time buying experience easier.

 

I bought like hundreds of cothes and wigs and stuff. And i think that i ve never changed the outfits of my dolls, XD so i have a box full of new stuf...

 

Putting so much pressure on myself to come up with a character “worth” the money I had spent on her doll.

What I wish I had done now was… just enjoy the doll. Keep her out on my shelf, dress her up in pretty outfits. Appreciate having her, and doing things with and for her. Eventually, her character would have developed on its own, and I would have gotten to know more of her personality, so I could tailor her look to suit who she was becoming.

 

You shouldn't buy a doll just so you can join the "fandom" as quickly as possible. Take your time and do research. Don't find out too late that it's difficult to find clothes or wigs or etc. that will fit. Pick something you really love, don't go with something because, again, you just want to have a doll to show off.

 

I had like, really big plans for owning X and Y type of dolls and having a whole large cast of characters for photostories. That did not happen lol, and as a result some of my dolls were more neglected than others. Also, I was too impatient with the bonding process. The moment a doll didn't click with me automatically, I immediately wanted to sell it even though I had put no effort into customizing it or trying to make things work.

 

Don't buy dolls based on emotions. It usually comes back to haunt me when a new doll pops up that I truly want, but can't buy because I just bought a doll based on emotional shopping to suppress my emotions or make myself feel better. Once I really stop to think about it i realized I didn't want that doll a hundred percent, but the next one i do want a hundred percent. Also if you emotinally buy dolls like me you end up with way too many dolls crowding up the space in the house. You can't focus on the doll that just arrived because you will need another doll to fill up an empty feeling inside, so it's best to buy dolls when you have a clear mind.

I just wanted 1 to 5 dolls. Now I have too many and I haven't properly focused my attention on. I do like all my dolls, but i never planned to have so many dolls, but I'm too emotionally attached to sell any of them.

 

I stupidly impulse bought heads I didn’t like because I wasn’t familiar with the concept of having faceup artists paint your head. I thought they all just came with a default look, so I spent a little too much money figuring out what I liked and didn’t

 

I ended up accidentally staining some parts of the dolls head with pastels because I didn’t properly apply my sealant before beginning the face up. Luckily most of the staining was either covered by her wig or was covered up when I redid her face up.

 

This might be a little bit of a cop out answer, but my biggest mistake and regret was being too afraid to make mistakes. In the nine or ten years that I've had my first doll, I honestly have only had her out of her box a handful of times. I'm working now to stop being too scared to touch her!