Where do all the cheap dolls go?

I don't know, it's odd!
But I certainly don't see 'cheaper' dolls as a standard.
I've got a Bobobie Isabella and she is my favourite mold by far! At first it was the price that tempted me (I mean, c'mon, $98 for a gorgeous doll is a great price!)
I have (well, hade just spent it on a tiny doll) some money and knew it was for another doll, and so researched into other 27cm-ish sized dolls, but I just thought their molds were.. Weird..
Simply their bodies were not as nice, even though some were 3 times the price of Aurora! Maybe it's different once they're physically in your hands? Don't get me wrong, their faces were beautiful and such, but they didn't appeal to me at all because of their bodies.

-Edit- That's just my personal opinion, obviously

 

There's almost never just one reason for anything.

I do notice that most of the folks with "cheaper" dolls (BBB, RS, Fantasy Doll, some AoD) posting in the MP have reasonable expectations about what a common used doll is going to be able to command and price them accordingly--and as a result, they generally sell quickly (some within hours of being posted).

I also notice that most of these are listed as "not able to bond" or "not what I wanted."

So here is the second reason: some of those that are buying the "cheaper dolls" are keeping them because they are exactly what was wanted.

And the third reason: the doll may not be exactly what you wanted, but at that price, why worry about making extensive mods or experimenting until it IS what you want?

 

I think it's also probably because cheaper dolls would be purchased quicker since they're easier to impulse buy. I also think that it's important to remember that most people do in fact buy a doll because they love the mold than because of it's price. A lot of people generalize BBB/RS dolls are bought as first dolls becasue they are cheaper, and while this is sometimes the case, many also buy them purely because they love the sculpt. When I was first looking for a doll I went to BBB and I definately would have bought one if I liked the sculpt, but I found that I fell for migidolls. *shrug* I buy what I like and I don't worry about how cheap or expensive they are.

 

I agree with this. When I decided to part with my old DZ sis last year I knew she had very little monetary value. What remained was sentimental value to myself and even more so to my oldest son. He coveted that doll. It was easy for me to decide to allow him to buy her from me for a small price (we are working on lessons on the value of money and saving) instead of trying to list and sell her even though I had to potential to make more. It made us both happy. I also took a long time making the decision to part with this particular mold, even though she wasn't working for me, vs when I had my LE Kalix sitting around doing nothing. A big difference between a doll worth maybe $150 at best and a doll worth $800 when you aren't bonding. It was easy to decide that the Kalix wasn't working and needed to go so I could finance a different doll that would meet my needs. It was easier to let the Sis sit around and try to bond, and eventually allow her to make my son happy. I think people often take their "cheap" dolls and use them for face up practice or for modding into something new entirely when they can't bond.

 

To be honest, money has never really been a deciding factor on a doll for me, because if it was it'd be hard to justify the hobby the deciding factor has always been the sculpt itself. I notice a lot of people make hybrids with cheaper bodies with good resin matches and this tends to make it a more viable option for a lot of people, because ultimately it’s the face’s sculpt they’re mostly after unless there’s something specific about the body they like or dislike, so maybe people buy them to harvest their organs *lol*

That being said I do find I sell my dolls second hand for a lot cheaper than I originally paid for it, because my expectation is I wouldn’t pay full price for someone’s secondhand doll when I can buy one brand new for the same or sometimes even less @_@ so why would I expect someone else to? Sometimes you find someone with an urgent sell or something similar where a doll’s price is drastically knocked down, but I don’t think that’s really the question of this discussion correct?

 

I agree with Victoria Victrix. I've seen a decent number of second hand less expensive dolls, and I've seen them sell like hot cakes. As they're cheaper, they can be bought more quickly - especially second hand when $20-$50 are knocked off the price depending on the size. The expensive dolls are still expensive (only slightly less so) second hand, so they sell at about the same rate as the new ones, I suppose. What I mean is - the person who has to save up to buy a Soom doll new, normally has to save up to buy one used, too. But I could be wrong. Good question, BirdSeed.

 

I see a few here and there, but not for long. I think they aren't that many because they sell pretty quickly. My "cheaper" dolls have sold faster than the expensive ones when I've set out to re-home dolls.

 

Just check the graveyard. There are pages and pages of RS/BBB dolls. And most have sold very quickly, indicating they were priced right, or that people were anxious to buy them.

I have no idea how you'd even consider this. A 200 dollar doll is still expensive in the big scheme of things (e.g., how many bags of groceries can you get for 200 bucks, etc). I paid only $150 for my puki, and I won't be throwing her in the trash anytime soon.

Lots of people find the term "cheap" and "cheapie" offensive, btw. How about using "inexpensive," or "less expensive" instead?

I'm guessing they could easily be just as happy as I am with my thousand dollar dolls, because happiness is a purely subjective thing. Right?

 

I honestly think that they sell too quickly to hang around for long. There's a lot of people looking for a bargain doll to mod and experiment with. I sold two RS dolls last year, they hung around for a few weeks but it was the horrific price of international postage from Australia that was killing off potential sales ^^; otherwise they probably would have gone in the first week. I did take a fairly big loss on both of them but the fact that it was a loss wasn't even an issue since they were dolls that didn't fit with me anymore and any kind of monetary compensation to go towards other dolls was better than having them around collecting dust.

 

Personally, I find this a little bit offensive. >_>

Yes, my dolls are on the more expensive side, but I didn't buy them with any sort of plan but to keep them. I haven't even bothered to check what the resale value is on my dolls because I don't have any plan to sell them at all. This sort of assumption is not only wrong, but it shows a lovely sort of ignorance as to other collectors.

I buy all my dolls with plans to keep them. If I didn't love a doll, I wouldn't buy it. There are very few people out there who do buy and sell expensive dolls with just the wish to make a quick, cheap buck.

If a cheaper sculpt called to me the way that some of the more expensive sculpts do, I'd buy it. Unfortunately there's not really a cheaper sculpt out there at the moment that I have fallen for. But if there was, or if one is released, I'd still buy it and love it, and probably not sell it nor care what the resale value is - just like my more 'expensive' dolls.

 

Well said! I have "expensive" dolls too and I certainly didn't buy them for future resale. I don't think most people do, regardless of price. There are a lot of assumptions being made in this thread that are not accurate or fair. Why make artificial distinctions among members when we are all here for the same reason? That is, to enjoy and share our dolls.

 

I only buy dolls I love and although I do sell dolls occasionally, it's usually been because once the doll arrived and I saw it in person for the first time, it didn't work for me. I never think of my dolls as investments. I don't think I've ever made any money selling a doll; usually I take a small loss by offering free shipping as an incentive to sell quickly. Cheap or pricey, they're here to stay.

 

I was watching the MP fairly closely (as in, looked at the listings in chronologial order a couple of times a day) for a couple of weeks last month, and saw numerous listings for the lower price dolls - and virtually every one of them sold within a day or two.

I think it's not just people looking to experiment either. There are just so many more people who are able to buy them quickly - the number of people who can spend under $200 quickly and fairly casually is just that much larger than it becomes as the dolls go up in price.

 

LOL Birdseed, those Resinsoul bodies are gold. They do actually come up a lot on the MP but you have to be alert and check almost every day, I've bought several to put a variety of heads on. Resinsoul NS for a long time was the only match for Dream of Doll if you had a DoD head (of either the DoD or the DoT variety) and the WS is a perfect match for Soom, not just in color but in fit as well. They are highly posable and expressive and with heavier elastic, excellent and stable standers. I just bought one last week but I was able to grab it before it hit the MP. (cackle).

 

I think most of the "cheaper" dolls get bought fairly quickly, and it's the (sometimes overpriced) "popular" dolls, or limiteds, that just sit for sale for months. I've seen people selling dolls for more than I can buy directly from the company, and I know they're going to sit on the MP for a while. If you're willing to take a loss, you'll probably sell your doll faster.

I think in some cases, it's easier for people to "test" a doll if it comes with a low price (especially if that price is lower than what the company price is). I was interested in BBB Sprite, because some of what I'd seen done with the sculpt was amazing. I don't normally like BBB's sculpts, but I found a Sprite on the MP for a decent price and bought it. Turns out it wasn't for me, so I sold it for the same price I bought it a week later. xD I probably wouldn't have even tried that sculpt if I'd had to buy it new from BBB.

I used to hold on to dolls I didn't like just because I felt bad for selling them, and I wasn't going to get back what I spent... but then I realized having $300 sit in my closet doing nothing compared to maybe getting $200 in my wallet was worth letting go for. I think it's worth it to sell even if you are going to lose, because if you're not enjoying it, someone else could be!

Hopefully I didn't go too far from what you were asking about!

 

Like everyone has said they are definitely out there and get snatched up quickly...but I'll put in my cents worth ont he subject.

I looked at many dolls when I started thinking about getting into the hobby, yes some were a little out of my price range and then I found Resinsoul...wow what great prices I thought. So I kept looking them over deciding who it was going to be first, who would make my character come to life. I couldn't decide on a mold I liked well enough in the 60cm dolls. I knew I wanted at least 5 eventually so it was hard to decide which mold could be who. At the same time I was on ebay and ended up purchasing an Obitsu 60cm girl...not what I orginally wanted and yes still on the inexpensive side, but she was at a good price so I impulse bought her for my first doll. She came and I thought she was cool enough, sent her to a friend for a face up. But then started thinking, she wasn't going to be good for my character, she needed to be blue. I looked at Resinsoul again but this time the MSD size wow not only did they have various molds, but also an array of colors. So that started my RS addiction..lol. I now have quite a few and I love them all. Not because they were inexpensive, but because I fell in love with the molds, colors and fantastic customer service.

Now as for selling them..I have sold a few of my RS dolls(maybe 3), that I thought would be good for this or that character, but they werent. And guess what I sold them at the same price I bought them at. How? because some people just want a doll instantly, they don't want to wait 1-6 months for their dolls to arrive. So I think that could be another factor as well. It just all depends on the individual, what they are looking for at that moment. And yes I have impulsed bought from the MP several dolls that were not on my list because they were at a good inexpensive price and you know what those have been some of the greatest characters I have created.

Oh and I ended up selling that Obitsu, my first doll...you know why...because I fell in love with resin, and not just any but RS, BBB and AOD. Sure I'd love to have an Iplehouse or Soom, maybe even someday I may if I see one that I absolutely fall in love with and have to have.

So all in all everyone will have their own opinions on why they think we buy inexpensive dolls and why they think we won't sell them. For me its because these are my characters that I have created in my stories, they are special to me and they are perfect.

Oh and lastly I think it is ridiculous to think that because the dolls are inexpensive for BJD's (because in the real world a $150 doll is quite a bit to many folks) that one would just toss it away because they would feel like they wouldn't get their moneys worth back out of it..something is better than nothing. Come stop in the RS/BBB discussion thread and you can see the wonderful things that have been done to these so called "cheap dolls" and see how much we really do love them the lesser price is just a bonus.

 

And I buy expensive dolls because I like them and want to keep them.
That's a very broad and sweeping assumption. There are many reasons someone might buy a doll, yes some do buy with the intention of flipping them but there are far more who buy their dolls because they like them, with no intention of selling. Just because someone likes a more expensive sculpt doesn't mean they're just in it for the money they can make off it.

 

Each time I visit the DoA market place, I see "cheap" dolls for sale. Since they are lower priced, they move faster off the market place, but they are there.
They are praised as good "starter dolls", so people who want to try this hobby, but are afraid of ruining an expensive brand new doll, will find the second hand dolls that go for low prices a good starting point. While some of those dolls will remain with their owner, others will be put up for sale when the owner feels it's time to move on to something else. Those dolls get snatched up by others looking for a bargain or a good starter doll. There's a market for them.