When do you have "too many" dolls?

JennyNemesis, just... assume I quoted everything you said to give it a thorough thumbs up.

I'm actually at precisely 50 on-topic full dolls at the moment, actually. Not including off-topic dolls -- one of those is a BJD and there are probably well over a hundred other play and fashion dolls in the house -- or floating heads, or those not yet arrived. I wouldn't say there's broad expanses of open space around here, but there wouldn't be even if this house was completely empty. It's just not a place designed that way.

 

I'm in the "50-or-so" camp as well, but the majority of mine are either stashed in a trio of matched display cabinets, or are posed upstairs in the spare room we use as a library, when I'm not actively doing something with them. I'm a bit of a neat-freak, so letting them take over every surface in my house was a definite no-go.

So, it *is* possible to have a whole tribe of little resin minions without running into space or excess clutter problems. Don't assume that all of us who have large collections live in houses that look like an expolsion in a doll factory.

 

Exactly. It really is amazing what you can fit on a wall full of shelves. All the dolls in the house -- on and off topic -- take up less space than the books my roomie and I own.

 

50, 100, whatever works for you. When the collection becomes a source of genuine stress, then it's time to rethink it.

I'm currently restricted by space and finances, so there's a second wave of collecting I plan to do when I've got the opportunity . . . right now I'm at the point where I have to think about it to come to a total, but it comes to 12 plus four floating heads. It's not as much fun right now because I can't have them out and hanging with me, but that has nothing to do with the numbers. I am feeling pretty dolly saturated at the moment, but again I plan to have quite a few more in the future. I've come to the happy conclusion that I'll never have every doll truly finished, which means lots of fun shopping, faceupping, etc for years to come.

 

Well, now I need more time to count how many dolls I have, and who are them. I think that is a sign to remind me that I already have too many dolls, I own 9 now. Who knows I will buy more in this year or not.
Good thing is I don't have much desire to buy any doll that I think is pretty than before, only very few are kept in my wishlist.

 

Is it possible to use the words "too many" with bjds? I don't think so

 

Like others have said, I think "too many" really depends on the individual. I have 9 dolls at home and plans for at least 3 more, and for me even that many gets annoying at times. If I had a better job and a bigger home I'm sure my "too many" would have a higher limit, but since I'm a waitress and a student... such is life! Add on the fact that I always seem to want expensive dolls and only seem to buy urethane eyes, nice wigs, expensive and highly detailed clothing and shoes... I'm a person that would rather have a few dolls that all look well dressed with the perfect wigs and eyes than a slew of them with barely anything to share between them. So since I have limited funds, I've resorted for the past few months to buying mostly items FOR my dolls rather than dolls themselves. For me, "too many" is more dolls than I can clothe stylishly and buy the right wigs and stuff for. Basically more than I can take care of the way I'd like to.

 

I keep a notebook on my dolls. I believe that notebook keeps my mind in check on the amount of dolls I have and what I am planning for them. I agree that it is ultimately an individual's decision on exactly how many. Tastes and ideas for characters do change - so I do suspect that over time, I would be wanting to adopt some new bjd's here and there.

I also think that space can be an issue. I would want my resin family to be displayed nicely; have chairs etc to live on. Nice clothes to wear - wigs and so on. I still have to build a better "photography" mini studio; so that I can practice my photography on them etc. I am working on a large "great room" for them right now.

I have been collecting dolls of every kind for many years and some of my collections have stayed the same or have dwindled over time. There are many I have bonded so much with; I cannot part with them. I believe that will be the same in the BJD family I am building now. BJD's are the most interactive dolls I have ever owned and I find myself very immersed in this hobby; so a big family might be headed my way. Time will tell.

 

I started with one which became two within a week. I have four now, and I'm saving *poits at siggy* for my first BIG guy, since what I have now are all minis. He's a total random because he doesn't fit into my 'list', but once I figured out that "One is not enough" I had to decide how many of what sizes I could comfortably deal with. I think I've averaged it out to about... 12 being my max limit in the end, that leaves me some wiggle room for the dolls I have absolute plans for as character shells, and a couple of other dollie purchases that are just pure "Oooou, WANT!" like the Chase I'm going to get this year.

Too many depends on how you want your space to be taken up and how you really want to spend your money and time on them. I don't want to end up with so many I can't actively spend time with them, but I know my family is not yet complete. I've decided on 12 as an approximate, not an absolute. Though if I start hitting 20 dolls I think someone might have to stage an intervention on me, because I just don't have the space for them at all. For me, 20 is pushing it, but as the above posters have 20 or even 40+, they'll have a different answer. X3

 

I wonder why several people associate irresponsible spending behaviour with having too many dolls. If you, let's say, have $600 to spend on hobby stuff and need the rest of your paycheck to pay for bills, you could buy 3 $200 dolls and not have too many dolls, but if you buy one Bermann, you have too many dolls?

If you buy so many dolls in such a short time you do not have enough money left to pay for necessities, then you do not have too many dolls. In that case you have problems spending your money responsibly.

 

That's a problem of financial responsibility. If you have the money for the Bermann (I've never seen one, so I don't actually know what they look like, this should be rectified) and it's not coming out of your bills, then it's not 'too many'. I'm just sort of assuming people are paying what needs to be paid first before buying dolls. I buy my dolls with my tax refund every year, so I'm not spending money for bills on stuff for my hobby.

 

Oh heck, I passed that landmark a long time ago. My family is still growing. It's always been "the more, the merrier" around here, and I have no regrets.

 

Hmmm... Hard question, lol. XD

I only own 4 full dolls and 2 heads, and that's even a bit too much for me... but I can't help but want to get a few more, for the purpose of having 3-D shells for my beloved OCs.

I guess it all depends on your budget, the amount of space you live in, and how much you, personally, are willing to spend on resin dolls.

 

It's too many when:
-You don't have space for them. If places like the dining room table, couch, or your bed are over taken by you stuff, that's a warning sign that you have too much.
-If collecting is causing you financial trouble.

When collecting, it's not just "what can you afford" but "what do you have space for?" If you don't have enough space, it doesn't mean your space is too small, it means you have too much stuff. It can be hard to think that way for hard core collectors. I imagine BJD collectors will have more trouble with the finances (buying more than you can really afford) rather than space, unless they collect other things as well.

 

I don't think you can really ever have too many. -shrug- I mean, if you like them, like having them around, they keep you company, bring you joy, all that good stuff, then whatever, who cares about how many you have? The more the merrier. :3 That also goes for spending money on them. If you want a doll really bad then you should feel bad for getting it or anything. Though I do agree that it goes just a little too far if one ever ends up buying dolls more than actual things that they need. xD Me and my friends always joke that we're gonna end up living in cardboard boxes, but we're still gonna have all of our dolls.

Hopefully in a few years that'll still be a joke. xD

 

Personally I would feel I had too many if I forgot I had certain dolls xD

I love it when people have like 50 dolls tho. Especially the group shots they produce. You just know they spent over an hour to pose them all xD
I think 10 is my limit. I've always had around 6 dolls in my family, and I have 6 at the moment, one on the way, and I want at least one more. So that would be 8 already xD
I don't have the space for much more tho. I would build a giant dollhouse in the living room, but I have a housemate that probably won't be amused and I also have cats that love to sleep in the livingroom, so yeah xD

 

I do believe that this is related to irresponsible spending behaviour and not having too many dolls. It's a very different issue.
Let's say that your doll budget is $2000 and you'll get into financial trouble if you spend more. You could buy 10 dolls worth $200 and be perfectly fine financially, but if you'd buy 2 dolls worth $1500 each, you would have too many dolls by the "causing financial trouble" definition. In that sense 10 dolls is okay, but 2 is too many. To me, this does not add up.

 

I have a doll room of my own. It's not all dolls as it is my craft room as well and I have sewing, scrapbook and craft items in there too. I currently own 77 BJDs and have hundreds of off topic dolls in my collection and I love them all. I do not need to play with them all at once or all the time and I rotate. That is what keeps me collecting. I get variety and I can recall where I bought nearly all of them and I can recall many stories when I have taken certain dolls to conventions or trips with me. I love to look at them and style them as time permits. I am financially responsible and they don't take over my house since they have a designated space of their own. Do I ever feel saturated? Sometimes but as long as I love them and have the monies to buy them, there is no number limit in my head. I think you would know when you are simply done or if one of the dolls in your collection needs to move on. It's different for everyone. I know I certainly have felt that sensation with other sub-collections I have and I simply stopped buying them. I still look on the internet to see what's new and what's going on but I no longer feel the need to purchase any more of those doll types or go to their conventions anymore.

 

Don't kid yourself. You're a crazy doll person from the start. xD Even without getting one, although that's the final step for me.

As long as you don't bankrupt yourself, and you're getting dolls you legitimately, 100 percent want, I say you don't have too many.