Why are bjds so much money?

I don't think it's accurate to say that less expensive is automatically more (or less) appropriate. Doll prices will always vary somewhat. It is more expensive to manufacture in Japan than in China (Korea seems to fall somewhere in the middle), it also depends on what the doll comes with (Volks standards come with slips/panties t-shirt/shorts, wigs, eyes, faceup, and kips on the renewal versions), possibly some variation in cost of materials since companies do use different resin formulations, as well as possible differences in overhead costs.

Plus an established company that has already proven themselves trustworthy and of good quality can more easily charge more than a company just starting out that doesn't have positive customer reviews yet and needs to get their dolls out into the world so they can drum up more business. Then there's also exchange rates to take into account as well. Ultimately with luxury items, it comes down to what something is worth to the individual, however, some of the more expensive companies are very successful which I think says something about their products and customer service.

 

They are crazy expensive (well most of them) but I feel it is worth it; especially the clothes, I know how much effort it is to make something so tiny. I can't even imagine making a mold for a whole doll.... all those parts!

 

i think the fact that these are posing dolls with so much details
that is why they are that expensive but i think they are worth it

 

My question to counter that is; Why is ART so much money? There's a coffee shop nearby where I live that sells paintings by local artists. I've seen paintings in there go as high as $1000! Most BJDs don't cost nearly that much, and compared to a BJD a painting is useless, IMO.
My mother loves everything about my dolls EXCEPT for their price-tag. When she gets to complaining about how my hobby is too expensive, I have to point out to her that my brother makes a hobby of guns and cars, which are both also very expensive, and dangerous to boot.

 

I guess the clothes are expensive because they are all handmade. Same goes for their wigs and shoes and usually their eyes too.
I mean, I will have enough trouble trying to sew myself my very first dress! I don't even want to think about how tiny doll clothes are compared to my own clothes! It will take a lot of time till I'll be able to make pretty things for my dolls, I know that for sure. It
takes a lot of work, a lot of time and you need to measure it very well or it just won't fit at all.

 

I totally understand why they are so expensive. Of course, I just wish they weren't as expensive. But, I'm not going to begrudge the companies nor the artisans their due. It's nice to know there are still things being made in this century where aesthetics and beauty and craftsmanship still count for something.

Anne

 

I asked myself this, at first, but after reading some of the threads around here I figured it out.

As stated... a lot of hands on work goes into these. Barbies are created from machines and machines don't get pay checks. BJDs are hand made by people, hand painted by people, their clothes are hand-sewn by people, and their shoes are hand-made by... well, people.

Have you ever tried to make a piece of doll clothing? I've struggled with it over and over and despite how decent my human-sized clothing is, my doll clothing is... well, not. On a smaller scale, its much easier to see mistakes and so you pay for perfection when it comes to the clothing.

As far as the dolls are concerned... Resin is very expensive, as stated, and so are the molds. Try looking into creating your own BJD... many of the tutorials on it start by saying that its going to be much more expensive then just buying one.

It's not a cheep hobby to get into. If you want to find a cheaper doll that is still just as posable and customizable, I suggest looking into obitsus. They aren't made of Resin.

 

That's the whole point. To others dolls are completely useless.
And even tho dolls take a great deal of work, paintings often take months to be finished and they are more 'unique' than the dolls, which are produced in batches.

 

The casting process itself can be expensive. Mold release is often applied to a mold to prevent the doll from molding to the mold during the casting process. This is for hard molds, and the mold is usually pretty sturdy.

A doll creator can avoid using mold release by using silicone molds. Unfortunately silicone is an expensive material and the molds are fragile and breakdown after so many casts.

The only company I know that does not use mold release is Volks, which has led a few friends who work with resin to speculate they must use silicone molds.

Batchix also prefers to use silicone for her one off casts but she has mentioned how expensive the cast is.

Does anyone have any info on the casting process of other companies?

 

In a word: Handcraft.
Resin is, being toxic in several forms, expensive to work with and to cast, and the supplies for doing so are costly. It requires people who are not common laborers- they have to be artists.

Art is hard.

Harder than most people are willing to admit. Sculpting is, as an art, difficult. Then factor in that a bjd artist needs to be not only an artist but an engineer, making joints that work correctly and dealing with gravity and weight of materials and friction and elastic tensions and the strength of various thicknesses vs their weight...

That's where the money goes. These are handcast pieces of very refined art.

 

They are hand made and some have very nice faceups that can raise the price.

 

I often find myself wondering why clothes and shoes are so CHEAP. Only $80 for a Dollheart or Volks outfit? That I don't have to draft and fit myself, spend weeks in front of my sewing machine for, or rip out that same darn seam from again? Sign me up!

 

I can't say much one the doll itself but as for clothing their are two reasons.
Sometimes the details are much harder to do when they are small. So sometimes people put a lot of time into making them, thus have the right to charge a little extra.
On the other hand dolls clothes aren't all over the place like our clothes. So people are willing to spend the extra to get their hands on them.

 

I do believe bjds are worth that price. The skills, the labour, the time put into it is worth it. I once thought about sculpting my doll using maya or zbrush, but I realized it will take me so long to even master that to sculpt a proper doll. Besides, this hobby is rather new, unlike other hobbies and it is in my opinion that the potential buyers are only this number. So I thought they will charge a bit more. But that's just me😃.

 

i think it too. but when i noticed why all bjds stuff are expensive because making a small cloth, wig and acc are very hard because they are small not like our outfits that i think more easier to making it... it just my opinion