Why do people buy a doll just to turn around and sell it?

Sort of but not really. I had a floating head and needed a body. I can't remember if at the time it was just cheaper to buy the full doll or the company wasn't selling the body separately or if I was just curious to see the head sculpt and if I reallllllllly loved it then I would keep it too. But my primary reason for buying the doll was because I needed a body and had no use for the head. So I sold the head for a really good price plus some eyes a wig with the hopes that it would be purchased by someone who always wanted the sculpt but there'd be no way to get it unless they bought the full doll.

 

I generally cling to a doll for a little while hoping against hope that I'll grow to love it, so I don't tend to resell any right away, but I've definitely had a few dolls over the years that I knew from the moment I opened the box weren't going to work for me.

I think, like a few people have said, that sometimes the problem boils down to buying a doll without seeing it in person. There's often no way of knowing how a doll will feel, pose, look etc. in person until it arrives.

 

I've never done this, but I think people have tons of reasons. Impulse buy and they decide they don't want it even before they get it, dosen't look like they thought it would, or they where wrong about how it would work for a character, profit if it's a popular doll or limited, suddenly don't have the money they thought they would, some people find they can't bond with the doll personally, some of the wait times are long, and in that time they found another doll that better fit the character or look they wanted, some even but one and find they don't like the size of the doll.

I can't see ever doing it myself, but I do understand the reasons, and did have one time I should have done this. I should have sold my SDs ages ago (Like when I got them), because I knew the size was too big for me. I got three (back then I had more money then sense, and never waited to see if I liked something first before getting more) I just could not admit I made a mistake back then though!xD

 

I've done it a few times, mostly it was due to changing my mind, but some of it was down to guilt of how much money I'd spent.

 

It's pretty hard to get a true idea of what the doll looks like until you have it in your hands, sometimes. Things that you didn't notice or didn't bother you in photos are more evident in real life. Or sometimes you were really in love with the particular doll in the promo photos or that someone else owned - that specific faceup and styling - and once you get the actual sculpt and put your own faceup on it you find out that you don't care for the doll so much, or at least not the particular example you have in your hands.

Or sometimes people just way overspend in this hobby and have to sell. I'd say that's kind of a bjd culture problem, although it is also true of all hobbies - within the hobby everyone's an enabler because we all love dolls, we all pump up each other's excitement, and while that's not a bad thing it also is something one has to be wary of to avoid going overboard. So I think it's very easy for people to buy things on impulse, then regret it when 2-5 months later the actual doll comes in. Or buy a doll and then 2-5 months later when the doll actually arrives, you've already become infatuated with a different doll, so you sell the first in order to afford ordering the next, and then when that doll arrives...

That said, I would advise not jumping to resell too fast because sometimes it takes a bit of time with a doll to really finalize your impression of it.

Sometimes it's not love on first sight when you open the box, but after a week or two, or a faceup or two, you find you really like the doll and would've regretted letting it go. That's what happened to me with Venitu, I had mixed feelings about him right out of the box and now he's one of my most favorite dolls. I'm glad I let myself have some extra time before making a decision.

Sometimes the opposite happens too, of course. I've fallen out of love with quite a few dolls before.

Also I am quite mercantile about buying full dolls and reselling just the head to get the body. Many people do not want to split their doll or will ask more money to split the doll because obviously it's less hassle to arrange one sale than two. So, if you the buyer are willing to take on that hassle yourself by buying the full doll and then selling off the unwanted head or body, you can get a slight deal (granted, keep in mind that you are taking on the risk of that part taking a long time to sell or not selling at the price you hope for, so as always in the marketplace there is a slight gamble!)

 

Even before I was able to buy my first doll I made a rule for myself that when I buy a doll I will keep it like for forever. And I won't sell my BJD(s) untill I really have to. That's why I tried to think really carefully before I placed my orders. I always try to find not photoshoped pics and box openings as much as I can to be sure if the sculpt is really what I want. Though I can understand what most people wrote here. Sometimes it's just better to sell the doll instead of keeping it on a shelf like an old book that you'll never going to read again and actually you never like it anyway even if you tried to. But sometimes I also have impression that some people buying BJDs (and other things too) only for the exact moment of placing an order, for the exciting moment of choosing skin color, eyes, clothes, shoes, face-up or not, fullset or not, that's fun, isn't it? And when they finally click the order button the excitation slowly fading away untill one day when the doll finally comes, but after few months the doll itself isn't as exciting for them as moment of order was so they selling it.

 

I think because people know they are ordering from a popular company so can they just order many dolls to see which mold they like and resell those that they don't like? When it's popular company they know it would sell quickly so that make buying many dolls easier(with some profit too)

 

I personally have never done this- all of my dolls take months to choose, design, deliberate, customize, etc. If a doll came that I wasn't in love with, I think I would still customize it- then consider selling it. The part that I never was able to understand was when people bought dolls and never bothered trying to work with them, and refused to even try. It's such a waste, of both time and money.

 

All the reasons I could have brought up have already been mentioned by others, but in terms of finding owner pictures before buying a doll, sometimes that's just not an option. Either because the doll is limited and you can't wait for others to receive theirs before making your order, or because there just aren't many owner photos at all out there. I've run into the latter several times already, where there are just. no. owner. pictures. Or if there are, they're terrible photos, grainy and just very hard to actually get a look at the sculpt. So it's not always a matter of not having done research before, sometimes you try but it's not possible, and waiting around for an undeterminate amount of time hoping that maybe someone will get that sculpt and post good photos of it isn't really feasible. Thus, when the doll arrives, it turns out it's not what you expected and you end up selling it. That is, of course, only one of many possible reasons.

 

I've done it once - I bought on impulse, got "buyer's remorse" before the doll arrived and had sold it on by the time it reached me.

Some people (not me by any means) can tell a doll is not for them as soon as they see it in person, so why wait around before selling it on...?

Also, some people buy limited dolls because they have the money available, with the intention of selling it on the secondary market (for a higher price) once all the limited edition has been sold by the company, and demand for it by those who didn't get one in the company release drives up the price. I suppose they look on it as a way of making more money to spend on the dolls they want for themselves.

Teddy

 

Because buying a doll sight unseen is a crap shoot. You get it home and you realize it's a terrible poser, or doesn't match the head you intended to put on it, or looks wrong with the rest of your dolls, or you just plain don't like it in person. I don't see a reason to keep it around when it might be the absolute perfect doll someone else is looking for. Let it go on to a new home.

 

I fell into this trap a little with heads. I really wanted an Ordoll Anderl (actually the second BJD ever I had seen and wanted to buy, the first being a DOD Shall).

I didn't really understand BJD culture then, and didn't buy him. Then, years later, I found him again, only to realize he was limited.

I really liked his eyes, cheekbones, and teeth for a character I wanted to shell, so after confirming that the head would not be remade, and stalking the secondhand market, I decided to look at sculpts with similar features.

I ended up ordering three heads, and I realized quickly each time the first two arrived that they would not work--the Soom Dia and Ordoll Orlando heads were way too big to be the willowy girl I imagined. (The third and final head, Souldoll Yu, did work, although I may further define her cheekbones.)

This actually reassured me that perhaps Ordoll Anderl also wouldn't have worked for this character, although I still hope to have him one day.

I was willing to purchase heads with the understanding that I may immediately know upon their arrival that they did not work for this character because, relatively, heads are cheap. I knew going in that this character would be hard to shell, and I was right.

 

I had one doll that I had ordered, waited months for, and when it arrived, it didn't look much like what I had expected. I did put it up for sale fairly quickly, and it sold fast because it was almost brand new. I took a small loss. I've sold a couple of dolls because the size did not work for me.

 

sometimes people fell inlove with the doll because of their company pics... so when they recve the doll... they got confused and cannit connect with it...so they sell it .... hmn it happened to me once but its not a bjd... its a pullip... i want her so bad that i purchased her right away... and when i saw her in person... I feel diffrent... and doest play with her anymore... so I decided to sell her for her to find a good owner that will treasure her and play with her

 

Waiting forever probably. I just ordered a doll and every few days I go back to look at the picture of it to be like yep still love him. Just have to hope that's how he looks when he best here. But if he gets Herr and I'm not happy I'll sell him

 

I know this has been said before, but I think it stems from personal connections with dolls. Just because a doll looks great in company photos doesn't mean you'd necessarily have a personal connection with it. Especially for new or limited releases. I spent ten years lurking in this hobby before I finally bought a doll. I put entirely too much care and thought and research into my decisions to ever lose my connection with a doll like that. But everyone is different. The bonus of something like this is it gives others a chance to snatch up a sold out limited doll or get a better price buying it on the second hand market. I have a dear friend who almost exclusively collects second hand dolls. She likes to adopt discarded everything and give it new life and a new home. So, for people like her too having an abundance of people *willing* to part with their dolls helps fulfil her sense of purpose. I still find it a little odd how anyone could just continuously be cycling through dolls but there's no wrong way to enjoy the hobby (well, except for the one we all know of, I'll always be pro-artist all the way). I just hope that all the discarded dolls find a loving home eventually :B

 

I like to think (or hope) that when someone buys a doll they at least give it a chance but if the doll doesn't suit their collection, stories, or characters then it's only right to sell it to someone who will use it for a better purpose. That way you can be free to buy another doll and try again until you have a match. I like to watch endless youtube videos of bjd to see what company makes a specific type of doll type I might be looking for. That way I at least get an idea before rushing to buy a doll. I hate having to part with something I've waited 4 to 6 months to receive.

 

I have only sold a few. Two were just really cheaply made when I finally got to see them in person. The other one was beautiful but she was so big and heavy she was hard for me to dress.

 

I sold 3 so far. Two where a gift from my daughter. I loved them but did not much with them. I found better homes and used the money to buy a msd for my daughter (from a friend of her. She wanted her doll to go to her. Long story, an other time ) Doll nr 3 was bought in a split second decision. Liked her until someone really loved her so I let her go. The ones I have now I'm to found of even the floating head.. I think it's how attateched someone is with a doll. Maybe it looked great from a distance and at home it's not just what expected? Better to let go than to keep it and doing nothing with it

 

I think that happens specially with FL dolls... maybe because right now they are so popular that people just go nuts for getting them, and they don't really think about what they are gonna do with it. I hope not to offend anyone with my comment, I don't mean to!!
I have to say I like to purchase second hand heads, sometimes I just see them in person and realise they are not for me, or sometimes I just put a face up on them and love it forever!