"Why are BJDs so expensive?"

Volks does not charge FCS fees, Japanese FCS is almost the same price as a normal limited. And no let's not get into a "if Volks was nicer they would put Sato heads in Sumikas and put Sumikas in every state" issue. And this is getting more into a Volks discussion, and while I'd like the myths to be dispelled, a lot of people will get the wrong idea if they keep being discussed.

 

Alchemic Lab is a Japanese company, and their sculptor Gentaro Araki prefers to be deeply involved in the production of his dolls, so no he cannot undercharge his own labor or make them any faster. The point of dolls is not making a large number to make a profit with (yes profit is partially in mind, but it is not their sole goal), but to make people happy with a quality product that was designed with care.

 

..uhm..actually..I wasn't even going there..and I clearly mentioned that the fees are because of the shopping services which are because FCS is hard to get which is just a FACT. not good or bad. I was trying to keep this a normal discussion, I clearly said I'm not in for Volks bashing but jeez..if you have to see everything I say as an attack, please do so..


I just took them as an example. I could've used CP too, but come on, you have to admit that Volks is an intresting example on the whole 'how much is image and being exclusive and how much is production costs is in the price of these dolls' discussion, which this is still about..I really don't get why I can't talk about Volks?

 

I think they've produced a video on this, a long while ago, but I've never seen it. I'd really like to, though! ^_^ (Sorry to be OT!)

 

When non doll people ask me, I just say: Alot of workers/employees/managers etc using expensive materials to make few products, each of which need to be flawless.

 

There's a lot of good and solid things that have been said here, but there's at least one thing that I can add that I don't think anyone else has mentioned yet...

Up until recently a very small amount of BJDs were purchased in a season or year. BJD popularity has risen steeply in the past year or two.

There are still places on the web where you will see a limited doll that's only 10 pieces be up for sale for MONTHS. Volks and Luts are exceptions for the most part now because they've gotten so popular that things sell out far quicker than a few years back.

It is a very specialized hobby that most people haven't even heard of. I know plenty of Japanese and Korean people that just stare at me blankly when I say something about ordering dolls over-seas.

On a different note. I ordered a head with make-up from one of the smaller new up and coming companies recently and there was a hold up for two days. I was informed that when they were painting my head they noticed a few air bubbles had appeared in his cheek...They scrapped the entire head and worked like crazy to recast the entire head and get the paint re-done for me. A job that had taken them a week to do, was ruined and they spent two days hurrying up to re-do the job at no extra cost to me. People have spoke already about the scrap rate, but this is just a real life example of the risks using resin to cast a doll part.

Then there is also the quick and dirty reason that has been listed several times...people are willing to pay it.

 

I would guess that Volks doesn't nessecarily get fabric and other materials, especially for limiteds, at much less than retail store prices. In fact, after having worked in the theatre/costuming industry for several years making ooak or limited numbers of garments as opposed to fashion where production is geared towards larger quantities, I doubt that they get much of a price break at all, because most of that price break comes from buying in large quantities. I would guess that they might stock some things in bulk, like basic notions and basic fabrics, but for specialty items on limiteds they probably have to pay retail, just as if someone was shopping for fabric in NYC for a show.

Besides, even if the materials cost $40, the basic rule of thumb I was always taught as an artisan is that the retail price should be 3x to 4x more than your materials simply to pay for the time involved in creation and marketing of the item. Or, alternatively, when I sold art to wear on consignment, I had to give 40% of my set retail price to the store owner - and that was considered a good deal. Some places took 50%.

Let's do some math.

$40 materials
+$80 labor (let's say the seamstress/patternmaker get $10/hour for 1 8-hour day)
-------
$120 for materials + labor(60%)
+$80 (40%) marketing
-------
$200 for a basic limited outfit

This price could be more if there is a lot of labor involved in the outfit, or the materials are especially expensive. So really, $200-$300 for a limited-run outfit is pretty fair. I've found that the amount of time to make a pattern and put a quality outfit together for a bjd isn't that much less than to do the same for a person.

 

i posted earlier on top, and I know evryone said its expensive becoz of art and everything lalalalala. what i posted was purely for fun and what i think where the cost gone to, not to insult anyones art. really sorry coz i felt like i offend somebody.
what i love about bjd is that their posability, and they can wear clothes that i could never have or wear (like those cute lolita-ish outfits) i love taking pictures, basically i love playing with them. it's fun and it takes my mind off work heh heh. before she arrived home i do go omg what the hell am i doing blowing my money off like that. but when i got her, it's just gone instantly and i was ever so delighted.
i'm really curious about some thing when some people say they're sculpted with hand, while some raise an interesting issue about something like factory made.
I really like to know because all this while I assume they have molds for it because of the seam lines. In my opinion it's also expensive because it's a patented design, if another company rips off thier designs (head mold, or whatever) they can sue that company pants off.
Maybe some company do sculpt them by hand, and some do make it with mold? I mean some of the heads out there cost as much as a full doll.

 

well, the first doll, the original, is sculpted by hand-out of clay, for example. Then they make a mold, and from that mold, the resin dolls are made. Of course, you can use a mold many times, so the original doll is only sculpted once, then the dolls we get are cast from the mold.

I don't know if the casting is done by hand..I think there are machines for it, but I'm not sure if they are suitable for dolls, unlike other things you can make from polyester, these dolls have to be perfect-one little air bubble is already a big issue. Perhaps a machine is just too rough for bjd's..

 

Although not sure how exactly Volks casts head, Mikey has said she makes around 40 versions of a head until she finds one that is just right. The time she spends designing alone is tremendous, and that work has to be figured into the price.

 

...I didn't say it wasn't..I didn't say the doll makers just make a head overnight(if you actually read my other posts, I said the opposite, that they spend a lot of time in making a doll)..I was just explaining the GENERAL process, how reproducing a doll works to someone who was wondering..I honestly, honestly fail to see how my post is saying the opposite of yours here..

 

Because to a true fan they are priceless. <-- Don't have one...yet.

 

I don't know if I'm just weird, but I've always figured I've been getting a good deal, lol. Not so long ago I was very much into doll houses. One time, I saw one made completey out of resin, which was priced at &#163;1000 ($1824). The resin quality really didn't look anywhere near as nice as my dolls, so since then I've always thought they've had a good price.

XD I realise that it's a totally different situation though!

I'll agree that there are many factors involved, including marketing, but I've always been under the impression that the doll companies (expecially the smaller ones) really don't have as wide a profit margin as you might think.

 

I have the Volks MSD Creation Video that shows exactly how they make the SDs at their Zoukeimura factory in Kyoto. Yes, everything is made by hand.

 

Load of people have asked me that, but that thought never crossed my mind when I was buying one.

 

Actually the resin isn't expensive, at all.

You're paying for the sculptors of the original creation, the highly skilled mold makers, and the labor intensive production.

(Most people have no clue what it is to "orient" a piece so a mold can be made. A good mold make is worth his/her weight in gold...and then some.) ^^

 

**edit**

all right my bad I tried searching but didn't spot this board sorry

 

well, then there are the companies like Iplehouse, who mold the doll in house, but send it to ANOTHER company to have it painted, and then order an outfit from yet ANOTHER company.....The boots that came with my Soo Ri were Luts boots...and it has the Luts logo on the insole....so i'm assuming the outfit as well was made by luts...Iplehouse themselves have said that alot of their dolls are SENT OUT to be painted. Once you add that on top of all the other reasons, it just makes sense that these dolls are so expensive.

Also, i might add, i'm kinda GLAD they are so expensive. That, to me, is PART of the hobby.....i think i appreciate them more, because it is ALOT harder save the money for one, as compared to a collector barbie for 45.00

U know?

If BJD's were Cheap, then EVERYONE and their MOTHER would have one, and i'd have to find a different hobby, because i like being different....Not like everyone else.

 

They are so expensive because they have a soul

Maybe not ^^; I'm not certain of the production costs of non-Volks dolls or even maybe the quality since everyone swears by Volks up and down being the best, but I do believe these dolls are art in their own right, all of them. Just holding one, any one, you feel the quality and uniqueness, plus you get versatility that you normally don't find in artsy/designer hobbies. I don't think they are too expensive, as there is a decent price range from company to company, different sizes, and the option to 'adopt'. You do get what you pay for, after all, and if they were cheap I doubt they would be this wellmade and, well, special. They aren't special because they are expensive, they're expensive because they're special....if that makes any sense at all -_-;

 

This is what I was told when I asked this question at the Connecticon, because me and my mom are always fighting over how worth it they are.
This is the answer I got:
The molds are hand made, and the resin used to make them, cost over $1,000 just to make five dolls. Then, most dolls have their seamlines sanded, and all the detail on the dolls, (Ex: fingernails, toenails, lips, eye lids, belly button, butt, boobs, penis, vagina, ect.) are all done by hand. The doll is then put together by hand, and the fact that they'll mostlikely stay with you for years and years, and you can do so much with them, that it's just that expencive.
Also, the size and quality of the doll adds on to the cost.

I hope that helps. :]