"Why are BJDs so expensive?"

Travesty has good points.

They're not just paying the workers and breaking even on a labor of artistic love; it is indeed a form of art, but profit is also involved.

They also cost so much because, God/s help us, that's what the market (us) has proven it is willing to pay. :p

 

Low production runs and (relatively) high demand. In some cases, also a high scrap rate. (Dollshe reported an 80% scrap rate for tan Hounds, for instance.)

 

...Because people will pay that much for them XD;

 

Part of it is the cost of materials and labor.... but you have to admit that a lot of it is marketing hype.

 

Hmmm... You know, I don't think that much of the cost is due to marketing and hype, since there probably isn't a huge amount of marketing going on... Maybe Volks has some fairly large expenses for marketing, relatively... but other dolls companies don't seem to market much at all.

I'd guess that most of it is actual production cost (particularly the Japanese companies where labor costs must be pretty high), combined with all the things mentioned above about how difficult the dolls are to make--so that the production cannot be mass, rather involving lots of hand assembly and waste-age and low numbers of units being able to be produced. If the item is specialty and very low in production it costs more per unit than something that is mass-produced--it's retail price will just have to be quite high.

Right now we're (buyers) are a very limited market who are buying from ultra-specialty boutique-like stores. It sort of like people buying directly from Chanel instead of going to buy a dress at WalMarts. They don't just hype costs at Chanel--they cost a lot because you've got one designer designing one dress with lots of expensive seamstresses working on it, using expensive fabric that is particularly chosen, instead of materials bought in bulk (cheaper), sewn in bulk by low-paid machines/labor), and distributed in bulk and sold in huge numbers... And lower numbers also means the product will be more in demand, although this is countered by the more limited amount of people who will able to pay the large cost of the items. Although, there is enough of a market (people able to pay those costs) that dolls of this price are able to be sold as limited, specialty items.

So until the market (buyers) is HUGE and until these dolls can somehow be produced more easily and quickly and in huge numbers, they will just cost more than they seem they should cost.

 

As untrusting as I am of actual costs, I do believe that manufacturing resin BJDs aren't exactly an easy task. Jinnayah mentioned that there's a high failure/scrap rate and quoted the scrap rate for the tanned Hound, which is important to note.

Resin imperfections - coloring, consistency, texture, whatever can mean scrapping whole 'lots' of dolls and a lot of the more expensive dolls are also limited editions and the makeup and clothing are hand done.

So I believe there is some reason for the high prices, but yes, I also believe that the price doesn't have to be quite that high.

Supply and demand unfortunately fuels a lot of the pricing and people demand more dolls and are willing to pay an arm and a leg for them. ^^;

 

I believe that a decent chunk of the cost is made up because of these dolls being made in a non-mass production manner. Labor is almost always more expensive than materials. However, BJDs operate in the niche of having low production volume and a high profit margin, I think. It's a perfectly legitimate way to run a business. The opposite of this technique is Wal-Mart, pretty much, selling tons of goods at a low profit margin but just selling so much that you make a huge profit anyway.

BJDs could be made less expensive by creating more automated and efficient manufacturing techniques. With enough precision the quality would still be just as good. However to afford that kind of equipment you would probably need to start selling a greater volume of dolls. And a more mass-market BJD would leave a different impression on consumers. Exclusivity does seem to be a bit of the allure of these dolls.

Edit: oh. Someone said something pretty similar. heh.

 

My sister and I were discussing this, and another thing we came up with is QA costs. In a limited market with a high price tag, a company can not afford to send out bad dolls. News gets out fast in a small community, and one bad batch of dolls could affect a company's reputation (and thus sales) for months and months. Most of the company's I've heard of have very good policies for when a part gets broken in transit or some bubbles in the resin don't get caught before shipment, but it's just not something that can be let through on a regular basis. People expect perfection when they order a BJD.
I imagine most companies inspect 100%, and that takes time and people.

 

Wow...the funny thing is, I was asked the exact same question yesterday. I basically agree with all the points above. I think I also commented that dolfies are sort of elitist...as in, if you're willing to pay the money, then you are obviously going to take good care of your doll. I'm not sure if that's exactly the right answer though...

 

I think it's one-part the cost of making the actual doll, one-part the image as previously mentioned. I think the cost of making part is actually a bigger influence, since *most* non-limited dolls seem to be within 50 to 100 dollars of each other... but I also think that image plays a part, because some companies do sell for much less than the majority, and those tend to be lesser known companies.

Making the type of molds that these dolls are likely pulled from is VERY expensive. For a single Barbie sized doll, expect to spend 100+ $ on the mold alone, and that's just materials for a single mold. That doesn't include paying the sculptor. Resin is also pretty expensive, and incredibly toxic, so you need facilities that can handle it without turning your employees brains to mush mush.

 

all the answers there are pretty much correct. I have a profound respect for the comapnies for the work. I tried to make my own BJD and wow. it looks horrible and all I got done was the head in about a month and a half. It's hard, really hard and very time comsuming to make just one part of a doll. and as with any kind of art, you want to be recognized and paid nicely. ^_^

 

Because people pay that much.

Geri

 

Um, as a capital investment, that's not very expensive at all. To put it in perspective, an injection plastic mold typically runs around US$100,000. Sure, it seems like a lot to an individual artist make a very limited number, but to most of the doll companies out there, a mold that cost isn't a significant part of the doll cost. Just for an example, take the Elf Yder limited release of 200 dolls. For an even number, say there's 20 parts per doll, and each mold costs $100 and only casts one part. And for the sake of argument, pretend he had a unique body instead of the standard Delf boy body, so that the mold cost was all his. (I'm going for a high estimate here.) That's $2,000 in mold cost, or about $10 per doll. And in reality it would be even less, since he does use the standard Delf boy body.
Sorry, I'm afraid molds are probably not a major contributor to the cost if they're $100 each.

 

Whoah - SO what you just said!

 

I would guess a good 40-70% of the cost is profit to the company. And I don't exactly know how much resin cost so I don't know what it cost to make a doll..whatever it is I'm sure it's a whole lot less then we're paying.

I do kind of question the price when I see the added price of a doll with an outfit. For example, Volks charges some $200-$300 more for their limited dolls which come with an outfit. I'm currently a Textile and Clothing major and even if Volks is using all Japanese made fabric and Japanese workers to produce those clothes they are still ridiculously more expensive then they should be. Even in a somewhat limited run the price should not be anywhere near that high. I don't think that those outfits could possibly cost more then $40 in production costs. A company like that should be able to get fabric and materials at about 1/4th the cost you see them in a fabric store. I know these dolls also have a different face-up and sometimes a different headmold but come on now, any Volks doll has a face-up so I don't see it costing too much more for a different one.

Volks has a good marketing strategy in that by having limited releases all the time they can charge more because if someone likes the dolls they get forced to buy the outfit as well. A lot of people also like the prestige of a limited doll. And lots of scalpers will buy them too since they can pretty sure that if it's a popular and limited doll the price will go up later on when you can no longer buy it from Volks.

 

Volks limiteds' clothing are always from specific seamstresses, part of the cost is their labor and creativity in designing. Not to mention the limiteds all have face ups by specific artists, as opposed to the other "lesser" (not necessarily, but they do remain unnamed) artists who paint standards and FCS. Other companies have limiteds too, and charge more, Volks is not the only company that has to be brought up constantly when it comes to cost.

 

no, but they're such a wonderful example XD

no, but, seriously, I do agree with you..Luts also has their Art Delfs, who are way more expensive than their standards..partly because of the names of the people who design it(I mean, you just have to browse Y!J to see how much these outfits costs..)partly because you do get a lot of stuff with them..though Volks limiteds and Luts art delfs might not be such a good comparision, because with a Volks limited, you often have to pay the extra money that is charged because of the face-up and outfit because the doll itself only comes with that, while with the art delfs, you choose to pay extra for the outfit and face-up, because if you just liked the doll, you could get a standard. With Volks, you don't have a choice, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why they're the ones being brought up every time..you have to pay that price if you want that doll.

however..Volks is also the only one, if I remember correctly, who has physical stores, and if they're not the only one, they sure have the most. That also costs money, the building, the people working there, and the events they host all cost money..I think they might have more costs on that than other doll companies, and therefore charge more for their limited dolls, which has to do with the image thing: they can. Same why those famous designers and face-up artists can charge a lot, it has to do with image, with a name, with being exclusive..I don't think there is anything wrong with it, you find that anywhere, not just in the doll world..

(note: none of this is Volks bashing..or at least not intented as such)

Anyway, about prices, I think it's mostly production costs and paying the artists..I suppose the people sculpting these dolls are pretty expensive..and I don't think they sculpt a new doll in one night XD and resin is expensive, and toxic, so you have to pay people to work with that..and yes, I do think image and what we are willing to pay contributes to it, but not so much to the standard dolls, more with limiteds, clothing and face-ups..

 

Many of Volks limiteds are of molds that become standardized later, or have similar counterparts put into FCS: Lucas and F-28/F16, Cecile and F-29/F-17, Michael/Licht/Leona and F-09/F-06, SD Mika/Ken and F-18 etc.

 

that is true, but FCS isn't very easy to get either, is it? And it's hardly cheaper than most limiteds..assuming you'd get a limited firsthand, let's take Cecile(just because he's the one I know the most about XD) as example, I believe the scarface edition cost around $850 if you got him first hand-assuming you didn't apply for the enlightment process. FCS with a shopping service runs around $1000-and most people use a shopping service just because they're hard to get. And, staying with our example of Cecile, wasn't F-17 Sato only? If so, add another $300 for a Sato fee on top of the normal fee..and, with FCS, you get eyes and a wig(granted, you could sell those Zoukies for a pretty penny XD)and with the limited, you'd get an outfit, shoes, wig and eyes..

It almost makes the limiteds sound cheap XD

Now, the dolls that were once limiteds and that are now real standards-so, the ones that you can just order off the site and are indeed not more expensive than any other standard by most other companies, that's great ^^ I believe the four sisters were limited at first and now standard? But I don't think FCS counts as standard..they won't be going anywhere, but well..

 

Hello!
Has Volks ever shared/printed anything on the subject of producing their BJDs? How much of a doll is actually hand done? While I do appreciate the artistic and esthetic qualities incorporated into BJDs, it seems that Japan, being the technical giant it is, wouldn't it have automated its production as much as possible? Or am I being cynical?
I'll bet lots of people would be interested to learn the process how a BJD is created; from conception to the final product.

(Yeh, BJDs ARE ex-pen-sive, but once one has taken hold of the heart strings, the cost is forgotten...)

Thanks!