When do you NOT buy a (limited) doll? What are your principles/critical stance?

Well if it's interesting enough, I may go ahead and just buy it since it's a limited and my window of opportunity is, um ...limited. But of course it would have to be something that I'm just gaga over, and this simply doesn't happen anymore for me (meaning it happens very very rarely).

For example with Beryl, I went ahead and ordered her because though I knew I was fascinated by the hooves/horns, I felt the doll herself would probably be too big and too mature for me in person. I was right. She was too big, too mature, too much going on for me so I re-sold her right away. I don't regret it, because what if I'd been able to make her work for me?

In general I'm far more likely to NOT buy something, even when I like it, because I'm just really really choosy these days. I don't have a lot of fun money right now and I've been in the hobby long enough to have cycled through most of the genres.

I also tend to prefer old, used things over shiny-new things, so I'm more likely to comb the marketplace and ebay for out-of-fashion secondhand dolls than to buy a new limited.

Raven

 

One thing I discovered in this hobby, is that characters and stories are very important to me. Sometimes I will see an absolutely beautiful doll, but I know if I get that doll, it wouldn't fit in anywhere. A doll needs to either work for an existing character or really inspire me to create a new character to work with. Some dolls no matter how lovely just don't speak to me in that way.

On the other hand, every now and then I'll see a doll and have a "MUST HAVE NOW" moment. However, usually when that happens it is because they do work so well for a character, though it may have been a character I hadn't been planning to get a body for originally--my Uni Limited 06 was just such a doll.

Well, if I don't have the money, I don't have the money. Bills and food come first and there's a limit to how much I'm willing to put on a credit card. Sometimes my financial situation at the time decides for me whether or not I'm going to plunk down money for a doll.

If there are several sculpts I'm torn between, or if there's just one doll I'm not sure about I'll leave it's picture open on my computer so that I look at it every time I get on--I find that that does help as after awhile I will either want it all the more or find that I didn't feel as strongly about it after all.

 

For me, it would have to be something I really, really want, as well as being able to afford it.
The only limited doll I own currently is the Pirate Lio from Luts. And I got it mostly because I fell in love when I first saw it. It was also something I could afford at the moment.

There's many limited dolls that I would have liked to have gotten in the past, but with my own budget, it's hard to get them. So, I always figure there's always going to be another one I'll want more than the previous. That's why I don't really bother with the limiteds much. By the time I even have the money saved up for one, it will be sold out. Especially dolls like the MDs at Soom.

So, unless I can afford a limited doll as soon as it comes out, and know I'll be alright with getting it, I let someone else enjoy it. To me it's no biggy if I miss out on owning a limited doll.

 

If I don't have the money for it I wont break my self, I have a line of credit saved for that special doll that I MUST have if it ever comes during an unexpected time. But, though I love this hobby, I have some one really close to me that I love, and animals that depend on me to live, I can not think of, or dream of, risking our security for a doll habit.

More important then a doll, no matter how much I would want it, is a roof over our heads, clothing on your backs, and food in our stomach.

The fact is I try to buy dolls that I love and would never want to see anyways, though I have sold/ given away 2 dolls and many bodies in my day. I lost a lot of money in this hobby that is why from now on I will ONLY get the dream dolls. By the way, All the dolls I own are limited.

 

This is a big thing for me. Initial financial concerns aside, in the end its about one thing: do they fit in my doll world, both character wise and visually. There are plenty of dolls which are gorgeous, but just don't suit my overall aesthetic with the dolls I have collected so far.

Some of my limiteds aren't really impulses. They've been sculpts where I've thought "If only they made a doll that looked like this", then bam! next thing you know there is.

I agree that some people's reactions to the Soom teaser pics is a little excited. I know theres many of us who speculate what the upcoming dolls will look like, and plan around them, but for me a singular (and often misleading) pic of a doll head is not enough to state how perfect that doll is, and a lot of the time a number of the people who say that will retract their words when they see the full package.

Another thing for me is that limiteds aren't what they used to be. The days of when companies like Luts would give a couple of days notice of their limited dolls (which would then sell out in minutes), just aren't that common anymore. Companies give plenty of notice, a lot of them do order periods over limited quantities, and of course there's the wonderful option of layaway with companies like Soom. There's a bit more time to stop, calm down and think if this doll is really what I want.

 

When I look at it and go "meh."

Seriously.

Ok, that wasn't much of an answer for a debate thread, so let me beef it up a bit. I really don't care whether a doll is limited or not. That's ONLY an issue for me in the event that I see it and absolutely know I must have that doll (and it's only ever happened once or twice). Because at that point I need to shift funds around to be ready when it is. Exclusivity is not my thing. And almost all limiteds will show up on the secondary market eventually, in case I determine in the meantime that I'd really like to have one of those after all.

 

I think the most important thing about a limited is:
1) Would you still want it even if it wasn't a limited? because if the answer is no, then it's obvious you don't really want it for the sake of the sculpt or the fact that it melts your heart everytime you see it. Just food for thought

 

I only buy dolls I have a character for and fit in the story. This sometimes means that when I see a nice doll I'll have to pass. It's tough, but that's how it is. Can't buy all the dolls you like.
I have a wishlist of characters I still need to find a sculpt for and I know which sculpts I want for them. Only rarely do I change my plans.

Another rule I have is that I'll only buy one doll a year and only when I have the money. So even when I've won a million bucks and have plenty to spend, this rule still applies. It helps me to stay level-headed and as a positive side-effect to appreciate the dolls I have more.

 

I am really picky when it comes to choose a doll to fit a character. Even with Limited dolls: they could be rare, captivating and exclusive, but that's not enough to convince me to buy them. Someone said it's not what comes with the doll, but what actually you could make with it. I hate fullsets and limited ones because they allow you no choice. Soom Monthly dolls are indeed beautiful, but none of them appeals to me. I would buy them for their face mold, not caring about the rest: as if I am buying Sard because I like his face, and not the whole doll with hooves and horns. I have problems with such dolls, that would be a pity to show Sard only in his human side because I don't like the devil one.
I own no limited doll because I plan my purchases and I save for a longtime: maybe, I convince myself I should reserve more time to think about it, so the more I am going to spend for a doll the more I think about the purchase.
Moreover, I would never sell another doll just to raise funds for a Limited one. I am very happy with them, if I manage to find the money that's ok - if I can't oh well, I have nothing to lose.

 

This seems a little, I don't know, self-evident to me. Maybe I'm hopelessly naive, but is it fairly common in this hobby for people to buy a doll they don't like simply because it's a rarity? It seems like an awful lot of expense if it isn't something you like.

 

I'd only buy a limited if I : 1) Had the money, and 2) Would have a place for it other than saying it was a limited and wanted to show out.

I mean, soom's got a lot of limiteds, but I don't have any characters that are unicorns or wolves, you know? So what's the point if it's just going to sit around all day and look pretty? That's not my way.

 

Not so, I knew a girl who would buy them just for the fact it was a limited doll and she could resell it for more than she paid for. Which is completely unfair for all those other people who wanted it for more authentic reasons it's happened to me before, otherwise I wouldn't have stated the obvious

 

I would only buy a limited if I desperately wanted the doll itself and buying the limited was the only way I could get one for a reasonable (original, not the secondary mark-up) price.

 

Limited or not doesn't really matter for me. I like to sit and think on my dolls for the most part, so limiteds are a pain.

I prefer MSD size and thus for me to be taken by a doll, it has to work with my others since I custom them as my characters and sew for them then write and photo them. If they don't fit in the story, they don't come home.

The only time I consider a limited is if it's for a limited head/parts, since I also do a custom job on my dolls.

The only limited I own is my soom glati, and it's because I loved the fantasy dolls, but never wanted a big one. The tinies were the perfect fix to this and I was already looking to upgrade to a yo-size to replace my puki.. it was also one of those love at first sight dolls. Luckily it worked out okay, I was a bit worried because I usually think on dolls a long time.

I had similar infatuations with Heliot and Chrom, but passed them up due to not having a character in mind and them not being a size I was interested in.
The only other limited I've been taken by is Volks Souji Okita. I still tell myself I'll save up for him some day, but I still haven't justified the size yet and would rather put money into MSD sized dolls that fit my storyline.

Money is always an issue too, I won't put them on credit if I don't have the cash saved or partially saved or if I'm replacing another doll.. otherwise, I only let myself buy dolls with gift money or money from commissions, my funds from my other job I put towards rent, bills, food etc.

So all in all, I almost always turn down a limited, because most of the time it won't work for what I had in mind, regardless of how smitten I was.

 

I've talked myself out of buying many lovely limited simply because I cannot afford them. Honestly, the stress of trying to push myself to make the payments by the skin of my teeth, probably would have made the doll so I couldn't enjoy it as much. If I really want something limited I will just have to pay the high price later.

 

I only own two dolls, and I plan to sell one of them soon.
My fiance is not supportive of the hobby at all, and though I do have the money sitting aside, it is for more important things, like a wedding, and buying a house.

Although I'll fawn over a limited doll, I will probably never buy one, ever. For me to buy one, it would pretty much have to already be my character, and that will never happen.

 

My opinion is really similar to JennyNemesis.

I go with my gut feeling.

However, I am also from a very different situation. I have been in this for 3 years now. I have been following Soom MD since Beryl. I have seen about 7 Soom MD in person and touch them.

It has come down to the fact that I have three companies whom I trust completely - I even know the sculptors at Soom and Volks whom I love. Thus even if it is just teaser pictures, I know whether I need to prepare for the expenses.

For Soom, it is never really impulse in the sense that I did not plan for them. Many who follow the MD series actually plan our purchasing based on the tentative schedule. So waiting for teasers is just more or less deciding whether the team as Soom has created another good work or something I can just pass on.

Even if it is LE, if I do not like it I do not buy it.....

 

With limited, I'm extremely critical for several reasons.

I tend to be an impulse buyer, but I've got control of it now. So I sit and calculate all possible bills/expenses I'd have while paying the doll off. If there's not enough wiggle room in it, I don't jump.

If the doll is not perfect to me,it's a no go. If I'm going to spend THAT much on something, there better be no "flaws" that I see. With a normal doll, I'll take a mouth I'm not fond off, or a body that I'm not gaga over. Not with a limited. I best be knocked over by the looks of a limited to even consider it.

Just how expensive it is with everything. If I buy a limited, I want the fullset. Everything that comes with that doll. Obviously eventually I'll change it around to personalize it, but I fell in love with "that look". SO I'm going to want to put it in all it's stuff on occasion. If I can't afford all of it, even with layaway, I won't do it. I sorta refuse to buy "half the limited".

Character isn't really important to me in purchasing. Of my 5 dolls, only two had pre-existing characters for them. If a doll is good enough that I want to buy them, their character will come in time. Same rules for limiteds. They'll develop the character once in my hands if it's not there already.

I'd also never buy on teasers. Even with a company I trust. It may be the one time I don't like what they did with a body, or something else. You never know when a company is going to try something new, so yeah. Until I've seen the doll in full, naked, blank and from all angles, I won't even start figuring out if I want it or not. Sometimes this has ended up in me being "too slow" to get one I could have afforded, but at the same time, it's better than buying a doll I end up disliking and selling (and then being inevitably silently accused of intentionally scalping by someone since it's a limited). I think it's just too rash a decision unless you're fortunate enough to have enough money that it doesn't matter.

So, over all, I'm VERY critical with limiteds. Very very very critical. And why not? This hobbys already expensive.When you get into limiteds, the critical aspect of our buying SHOULD go up a few notches.

 

I just bought my very first LE, and I was kind of surprised by my choice, to be honest. I love customizing and have rather eccentric tastes - I never thot I'd find any LE that was 'worth it' to me.

But, here I am, giddy with excitment and hoping my new boy arrives before Christmas! I chose to get this doll because I don't think the LE version is 'perfect' representation of my character, just very close. It's really a plus to me that I will have things to do with him when he arrives, and am very eager to see how he looks with the changes I have in mind.

It is cast in a colour of resin I suspect will not be available in subsequent 'basic' releases, and that I want badly, for multiple reasons.

The faceup is very well-executed but not exactly what I want, and I already know I will probably modify it. But, to me, this is a 'plus' in the end - I get to enjoy and study a true professional's work, and not worry about it getting damaged: I am also very eager to take what I have learned and put it towards my own vision of how this doll could be.

The outfit? already 'claimed' by another doll in my collection, lol! It's cleverly designed and well-made, but not the sort of thing for my concept of this LE doll's character. But, it will be perfect for his older bro' here, who spends far too much time mooching around wearing no pants as it is! (one can get away with so much with animal-dolls!)

So, the value of the sum of the parts balanced against the cost of the doll, for me - especially factoring in the excitement of being one of the first to get a new release, and that the LE isn't that much more than a basic. It is from a company whose dolls I love and I have every confidence this one will be every bit as wonderful as the other two I have from them.

So, never say 'never' about LEs, because you just never know!

 

For me, If I looked at it alot for 2-3 days, decided I still liked it and had the funds, I'd buy it. If things didn't work out I know I could always resell it for what I paid or more. For me, there are more critical views for buying limited dolls secondhand. Those are easier yet harder. I know I've looked at it for a long time, it's been out for a long time, I've always loved it. But now it's harder to get and there are less of them on the market, I have to ask myself if it's worth the inflated fee. Half the time it is, half the time it isn't.

*Pokes signature* Take that little one for example, she was limited but released twice, yet nowadays she's so popular and so hard to find she's worth a lot more. I asked myself for a YEAR! if she was worth it, and I have finally decided she is. I can't not love her and at this point I'd be willing to pay through the nose for her.

That's how I decide: 1. Do I still love it after some time looking at every detail? 2. Is it something I can resell for at least the same value if things don't work out? If yes to both of the above, I'll buy. Which is probably why I'm broke most of the time...