"Why are BJDs so expensive?"

Um ok, but why does it matter what they charge if people are gladly willing to pay it? You go to a nice restaurant and pay $30 for a meal that takes maybe $2 worth of ingredients, that's quite the profit there but no one says anything about it. Should dollmakers charge only for the materials used, and maybe some 3rd world hourly wages? I don't think they should. Resin is extremely toxic, and dangerous to work with. People have developed severe allergies from minimal exposure to the fumes while making dolls. Plus, there are a lot of parts of a bjd that need to be individually cast and de-gassed. My luts delfs are pretty basic as far as number of parts, but they have about 24 individual parts that need to be cast. If the color doesn't match, it's scrapped and has to be redone. If there are pits, bubbles, cracks, imperfections, etc... in the resin, it's scrapped and has to be redone. Not a single part of the process is as easy as you seem to think it is.

Also as for "why do some companies charge $700 when others only charge $250" I have never seen a $250 doll (unless it's a mini or tiny) come from anywhere but China. In China, the wages are low, and the cost of living is low. Compare that with Japan whos cost of living is insanely high. Do you really think a Japanese company can even afford to charge what a Chinese one does?

And again, to you $600 for a doll might not be worth it, but to me $600 for a mattress would not be worth it. I would never pay $10,000 for a diamond ring, no matter how big, how flawless, how much history it had. then again, I also wouldn't go onto a forum for jewelers and jewelry collectors and post about how diamonds are too expensive, they are just chunks of rock, people are being ripped off, etc...Can you see where people might get a little offended?

 

Damn dude I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend or anything. ;-; I just can't be convinced that it's worth that much, material and labor wise. I think it'd be best if I just left the thread :/ It's probably pointless to argue anyway since it's impossible to get anyone to agree 'cause most already own an expensive doll. But still, I really do hope that after I own a doll, I'll be one of those who will gladly pay. Well, toodles, I'm outta here.

 

It might be because they're so highly customizable. But I think it's hard for a doll admirer to explain to a non-doll-person what makes these guys so special. I was really happy when I first opened the box and found my girls, but my mom was standing over my shoulder and said they were really ugly and asked how I could waste money on them... >.>

 

You want to talk about wastes of money... I used to buy a lot computers and electronics. $1000 for a "gaming" PC (was higher in years past), $200-500 for a videogame console (no games included!) or iPod (no music included!)... all these things depreciate to 1/2 value in 1-2 years and are nearly worthless in 5 years. You probably can't even be bothered to give it away by then. Where do you think the digital dumpster came from? In retrospect, that was a big waste of money.

In comparison, dolls are pretty nice longer-term. But it's much more like collecting art than straight-up consumption or an upgrade treadmill; you can resell the piece for a significant fraction of what you paid, years down the line. Sometimes you can make a profit, sometimes not, but is a side benefit--you bought the piece in the first place because you loved it.

 

I've been wondering for a while now. Why are BJDs so expensive? Is it the materials (resin)? Is it just that they're hard to make/produce?

I'm not talking about a full-set either. Just a normal blank doll that is between 40-60 cm. Tiny dolls are a little less expensive, but the big ones are the ones that hurt our wallets, lol. So, any ideas?

Edit: Thread moved here. Thanks, answered my question.

 

This thread just about covers every answer ever

 

Materials are expensive. Casts that are unusable due to molding issues (bubbles and such) increase the cost because those are just waste.

It also takes time and talent to sculpt the doll. Most artists would like to be paid more than minimum wage, yes? (I know I do!)

Frankly, I'm surprised they're as cheap as they are.

 

Pretty much what Minerva said. The dolls are all hand-casted individually too so you have to take the work that goes into them into account too.

 

not to mention they are imported from Asia (which costs a fortune with import taxes too) and made to order - you will always pay more for commissioned stuff than normal. They really are 3-D works of art

 

Resin is expensive to use and hard to work with. Also, when you order a doll, they make them in small batches and the molds have to be remade after so many batches... and making molds are expensive.

Elve is right. They aren't just dolls, they truly are works of art. You can also find some pretty well made dolls for a reasonable price, but yeah, they are expensive.

 

On top of all the previously-mentioned things, there's also the fact that even the busiest BJD company doesn't shift a boatload of product volume over the course of any given period of time (compared to other industries). The fewer items you sell, the greater your profit margin has to be in each item to keep you in business.

I frequently think the answer to "why are dolls so expensive" can be boiled down to "because economics".

 

Bjd is an artist's soul...they patiently sit there molding away, as sculpting, carving, hours of melancholy silence to create an image from deep within their heart. When you see this face, it haunts you, never satisfied until you commit it to a medium be it clay, porcelain etc...
The joints are trying, to make those intricate pieces to give this ghost of your mind life..
Then after hours, weeks, and even months, you see fruition.
To ensure again, the tedious process of mold making for the perfect master..
To mass produce, is up to 1800 just for the mold to be made, then each doll cast is another 200 at least, there is special shipping involved, not too mention the cost of the artwork..
Art is priceless, talent is a blessing, it's no excuse to exploit people, but I think 4-600 for an art doll is a fair price., even 1000$ ...
Unless it's a one of a kind I think 2000 is kind of steep for a bjd, but at the same time, if I could afford it, and I felt a connection to the doll I would buy it, I love dollies....

 

Too many people don't have a clue about economics, unfortunately!

And, what? Cost of doing business? Renting a place? Hiring people? Accounting? Equipment? Cost of Living? Industrial regulations? etc.

And, how dolls are made? Amazingly clueless, some people...

 

To be honest, I'd be over the moon if I'd make minimum wage one day. Even though these dolls look expensive, many companies don't sell enough to get by without a second job. Making dolls is the best thing in the world, but don't expect to become a millionaire soon .

 

materials and styling really needs time and money to make~

 

As an economics student, I guess it's because the market for them so small compared to other toys/decorative figures. However, I think companies take the luxury factor into consideration as well. We're lucky though, now that there are more companies price competition has gone up. There are some gorgeous dolls for very reasonable prices ^^

 

I dont really know others, but dollks from VOLKS are always made in JAPAN.. and I think it is one of the reasons why the dolls are so expensive!

 

Hmmm.. useful thread.. ^^

As stated before, there isn't a large demand for them plus everything is handmade, like a piece of art..
Plus they have to brainstorm about the features of the doll, from its eyes to its nose, down all the way to its toes..

It's really time consuming and they would have to do a few test runs before they can actually put them up for sale..
So I actually feel that the price is reasonable for all the effort gone into them..
But like many people out there, I do wish it was more affordable... T.T

 

Willfully clueless in some respects. Some people see nothing but the asking price and, if that price is too rich for their wallets, instantly label the item "overpriced" and demand it be reduced to what they want to pay and to hell with the livelihood of the person creating the item. The actual economics behind creating, producing, and marketing a product -- any product -- are irrelevant if that product ends up costing more than they feel like paying.

BJDs are luxury items because of their price. They are not priced high because they are luxuries. There's a difference.

 

This thread got me thinking about two cheap dolls I bought yesterday. The dolls look pretty on the internet and they were just $19.99 each, they kind of look like Pullips (big head, small body) and Pullips range pretty high ($100+). however, when I received those cheap dolls, I felt disappointed because I'm used to having only expensive dolls (high quality ^^) and the cheap dolls hardly have a good mobility, paint (face up) looks cheap and genetic, material looks and feels cheap...I gave them to my little niece and the reason why i bought them is because I wanted girlfriends for my Isul dolls but my Isul dolls look so different next to them....

It's the same with BJDs, you will never get a doll as beautiful and well done for $19.99. Also, they are hand made products, each doll is made and painted individually by a person and each doll is made for YOU. That is enough for me to justify the price.