When is the price just too much?

I know these dolls are amazing, and beautiful, but is paying over $1000 for a bjd too much in your opinion? Or does it depend on how much you truly love the doll?

I combined the question to answer it in one

Firstly, at this time, yes I think paying over $1000 is too much for a BJD. Even if I love it to pieces, that is more then I'm willing to spend on something inanimate, especially when in addition to that I will probably have to spend more to customize it for myself. (That's one of the things I love about them - few are alike!) So I would rather find something cheaper but similiar for this reason.

However.

If I were to be in a surplus financial situation, then maybe. I don't think a doll is worth any amount of money if you have to scrimp and save to the point that it is harming yourself or others around you (not paying rent, going without gas in the car, food, having to stress over saving etc.) That's why from the beginning, even before I had seen a bdj in real life, I went with MSDs, since I could afford to take a loss if it turned out I didn't like them. (There were other factors, but thats been discussed elsewhere)

So that being said, if I made more then $1000 in a week or two, then I might. But again, it would have to be an exceptional doll, that I could be absolutely sure to love. (Like maybe those beautiful Luts/Fairyland Breakaways..)

 

My limit is probably $700 for a doll and that would have to be very special. I could never see myself paying over $1000 for a doll, but its just down to the individual, its your money.

 

I want a Souldoll Chiron centaur in grey skin, and I've priced him to be over $1300, so I can't necessarily say I would never spend more than $1000 on a doll. The doll in question would have to have some very persuasive qualities, like a centaur body or grey skin, or both, or some special design that I can't duplicate myself, or have it commissioned for less. For a regular doll (human features and proportions, normal skin tone), I can't see myself paying more than $1000 for. If other people want to do it (and they do), all the power to them! I'm a huge proponent of doing what makes you happy, and never being ashamed of it.

 

The maximum I paid for a doll was $1800. This was for a Soom Sard, my 'grail' dolly.
I can't see myself ever going beyond $1000 for another doll unless it's super special or I put it on a looong layaway!

 

$1000 isn't necessarily too much, but given my current budget I sincerely doubt that I would even consider paying that much for any doll unless they came with a lot of extras. Anything more than $550 for a 1/3, $350 for a mini or $250 for a tiny -- not including faceup, shipping, etc, which adds on quite a bit -- makes me hesitate. I will pay more though if the doll seems worth it to me! With her finely engineered body, my Thaasa hybrid was a steal at $600, and my Soom Hati came with enough extra parts to justify her higher price to me. On the other hand, I wound up passing on Soom OE Minette. I think she is adorable, but $295 for a blank tiny with no extra parts just seemed like too much for me since there are quite a few cheaper human tinies out there that I think are just as cute.

Strangely, I've actually become more hesitant to spend such large sums on a doll over the years I've been in the hobby. There are just so many more options available now (new molds, body sizes, skin tones, etc), so there is usually something comparable to the really expensive doll I like.

 

It's "too much" if you can't comfortably afford it and/or don't want it badly enough to pay the amount the doll costs. It also can be too much if the seller is asking waay more than the doll is worth in the secondhand market, so research is helpful in that instance.

 

There are a couple of dolls I'd love to own, Volks Williams and Volks Genji (I think I spelt that right!), and retail they're over a grand. I paid $1300 for my Olivia, and that was retail, with fees due to the fact I bought her off Yahoo Japan. But even with a Williams being released for this upcoming Dolpa, there is a slim chance of me getting him. Now, most, if not darn near all of my dolls were around $600, give or take, but none over $1000, save for the Olivia, with my Maki coming in at a close second with his near $1000 price tag, retail! My Elf El takes third, but I also got him at Luts' price.

So I normally do not spend that much on a doll. Akira (Maki) was bought through We Love Dolls and they allow layaway. Naru (Olivia) was bought with the cash I was saving for the 2009 Dolpa, but the plans fell through before Volks canceled it due to the Swine Flu. Seiji (Elf El 06) was bought with Christmas cash, and he was one released due to non-paying buyers.

But if I won the chance to purchase either a Genji or a Williams, and they took layaway? Heck yeah! But only retail...otherwise $3000 apiece is too much for me.

 

My willingness to spend money on a doll, and on any other hobby, for that matter, is ruled by a variety of factors. First and foremost is the question of whether or not I can afford it at the time. If not, I'm usually willing to exert the patience required to save up for it, assuming, of course, that it's not some type of limited edition item that, if I don't purchase right away, I won't have an opportunity to do so for another long while. If the latter is the case, and I simply can't afford the item, at the time, then I simply, and painfully, accept the fact that I simply can't have it. However, if the item will be around for a while, and I know I have the time to save for it, and I'm in a position to save for it, I see no reason not to save for the item, if I really feel I want it that badly. Finally, would the amount of money spent on the item prevent my enjoying it? In other words, would my having spent so much money on an item keep me from using it the way I would have if I had spent less on it, for fear of breaking/ruining the item? For me, that's actually the biggest factor: if spending so much money on the item will keep me from being able to enjoy it the way I wanted, then it's ultimately not really worth my buying it, because it will simply sit there, unused, taking up space, being a lovely lump that I can only admite from afar.

In the case of BJD's, I've found that I'm unwilling to spend too much money on a doll based on the simple fact that, if I did, and I had an accident, I absolutely know that it would upset me, because replacing or fixing it would be incredibly difficult. I'd rather spend a small amount of money on a doll that I think is just as pretty, yet allows me to have fun with it without worrying overly much about losing it (well, okay, I do worry over Kyouko and Adelwyrchiad, but I'm not so paranoid that I can't take them out and about, every now and then, or play with them in my own home). Now, my idea of a small amount of money is likely to change, based on my current financial situation, and whether or not I feel that situation is likely to change for the better or for the worse, or remain stable, in the immediate future. Perhaps, later, I may be in a situation in which spending $1000-$2000 on a doll will not be as nervewracking, as my financial situation will be such that I know I could take care of an "oops!" should it occur. Right now, however, as a university student, my financial situation is unstable enough that spending that much money on a doll is simply not feasible.

 

Nope-- if you chase rarities or LEs, a thousand-dollar doll might be a bargain. : A new Volks SD13 will run you about a grand; a used Volks LE SD13 can run you from $1K to more than $2k; an Iplehouse EID will clear a thousand bucks easy if you get him fully-loaded with options; ditto Soom fullsets for Super Gems or Mecha Angels. When I found my SD17 Genji repaint for a mere $1700, I did the Happy Dance (complete with butt-wiggling interludes & jazz-hands).

Of course, cost is all relative. If you're a kid with no job, a thousand bucks is a thousand miles away. But if you've been working for 25 years, earn a wicked salary, and have a solid sense of your own finances, a thousand dollars is less than a paycheck.

 

Ditto what JennyNemesis said.

The other factor I've found is one's finances in general. I have a decent salary, and so get dolls I want, but I do TRY to space them out so I'm not doing large purchases all at once.

But I have had dolls I thought...no it's to much... then kept looking at it...and looking at it... until it became reasonable to get for x amount. Because love has beat out cost.

 

There are very beautiful dolls, but I guess for me it would depend on the quality and characteristics of the doll. For example, one of the dolls I'd like it's around $1300, and that's totally naked, no faceup or anything else. I like it, but it's too expensive. Mostly ,it depends on the time range I have to buy them (I've missed a few dolls I loved because of that, like MNF Chloe).

I normally put my limit in $1000, and that I'd pay with layaway, because it makes me uncomfortable to spend that much in a doll. There are a few dolls on my wishlist that go well over the limit, but since they are not grail dolls, I'm still considering them...

 

Pretty much agreed, even if I don't have the solid income part. I think I'd sell a kidney for a Genji...

At any rate,$1000 is not to much for my tastes. It would infact be quite the steal for rather alot of dolls, just not something I can personally afford often in the slightest. I just have to work at it and save and be thankfull for who I have home. Determination'll pull through in the end.

 

It depends on the doll, and on my situation. Right now? Just about anything is too much. My doll money is spent, and I have other expenses. I'm kind of considering a $50 a month layaway for a doll that's about $280, but am not even sure I should do that. A month ago? I had over $400 in my Paypal from doing faceups and selling random things, and I readily spent it all on one doll I fell for. I actually DO have one that's over $1000 on my "really hope to get someday" list, and probably 3 or 4 more on the "if I was to win the lottery" list. So right now, my "too much" limit is very low, but it hasn't always been, and it won't always be.

 

When I can't Afford it. I fell in love with Chiron, from Soul Doll. But to get him the way i'd want him, i'd have to pay nearly 2,000 dollars. I just can't let myself do that.

 

for me ; the price is too much when I know I could get an even better guitar or bass then i have now instead. music will always come first so if a doll costs more then 1000 bucks i know i could just upgrade my instruments and it would do me far better to do that then buy a doll :P 925 is the most ive spent and i hope nothing ever costs me that much again doll wise XD i try to keep under 800. tho my dream doll is an iplehouse luna or yur -the cat head versions. i dont want their real heads, but their cat heads on their bodies with the paws and feet and tails. my dream doll. her id go to 925 again for :P

 

Um, yeah. I would like to get a Dollmore Lusion but everytime I think about the price...I gulp and think about all the other things I could use that money for...I still may get one some day...maybe...gulp.


Az

 

In all honesty, collector hobbies are expensive by nature. I know people who have shelled out sums that make thousand dollar dolls look cheap for old metal cookie tins, Coke memorabilia ...

I think reasonable only works into the equation IF someone is willing to pay that amount of money. I remember seeing one of those "bring your junk in and a dealer will appraise it" and someone had a Pez despenser that the dealer said couldbe worth a million dollars IF they could find someone willing to pay that...

 

* I know these dolls are amazing, and beautiful, but is paying over $1000 for a bjd too much in your opinion?

It depends on the doll and what comes WITH the doll, particularly when dealing with special parts and limited edition outfits and such. However, when people pay that much for a regular basic doll, I can't say I don't think that they're slightly insane.

* Or do you feel this is a reasonable cost?

Like I said, there are reasonable cases. Personally, I hope to never spend that much on a doll but I know that one day, it might happen, particularly when dealing with companies like SOOM and Iplehouse. Larger dolls especially seem to hit this price range quite often.

* Does it depend on how much you truly love the doll? (that saying, the more the love, the more money you are willing to pay?)

I think that loving a doll can have a lot to do with it. If I didn't love the doll, I wouldn't spend that much money on it. But if I knew I could get it cheaper elsewhere, then I wouldn't spend the extra money. That would just be silly.

 

Around $800 make me think alot but I still get that one if I really want.

Anyway, I never want anydoll so bad that I will spend more than $1,000 for one blank doll.

The most I spend for one doll with face up is Iplehouse CDS Theo, he cost me $850 include shipping, more expensive than my SOOM MD Chrom even he is a basic doll. = ="

 

I know these dolls are amazing, and beautiful, but is paying over $1000 for a bjd too much in your opinion? Or do you feel this is a reasonable cost?

For me, 1k is way too much to spend on a doll. Grats to the people that can actually bring themselves to take the plunge, but even if I had the cash in hand, I could never spend that much on a doll. More likely, I'd buy a much less expensive doll and then save the rest, or use it on stuff I actually need.

Does it depend on how much you truly love the doll? (that saying, the more the love, the more money you are willing to pay?)

It depends on the person and situation, I guess... For me, no amount of love for a doll can justify spending a thousand dollars. In this hobby, it seems so easy to start forgetting just how much a hundred or even a thousand dollars, is. Just recently, I was prepared to drop the 400$ on a fullset MSD that I loooooooooooooved. Soooo much! But I completely chickened out. I couldn't even spend 400$ and be okay with it. xDD