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

I've done it before. I've bought a doll I liked, usually 2nd hand and I try to like it but he doesn't seem to go well on how I thought I would want him to be. It's strange it's like they want to go to a new home & I was just the middleman to make it happen.
It doesn't bother me to sell them if I feel they want to go to a new home.

 

I have seen people needing money at the time of arrival and selling their new doll to pay bills. But, I had a similar experience with selling too quickly and it was because (although I had done my picture research) it was not what I expected when she arrived, and for what I paid I was a bit dissapointed. It is something unplanned, it just happens to be honest.

 

Let's see - I waited 9 months for a Doll Chateau kid body for my DIM Larina head after being told the resin colors were a close match. NOT!!!! So had the body and head listed separately for sale within the day. Got a new preorder doll and was very disappointed in it. Eye sockets were different sizes, cheap fake fur wig and paid extra for fullset outfit and it didn't even include panties! Since it was the newest release I listed it for sale ASAP while everyone wanted one. I've also been less than enthusiastic about a doll after I wait long months to get it. Which is one good reason why I don't do layaways to buyers for over 30 days and the down payment is nonrefundable. Nobody wants to follow through on a doll they are no longer interested in..

 

For me personally, I purchase a doll thinking (based on company and owner pics) that this doll would suit [character], and one of the following four things may happen to cause me to sell them.

1: I receive the doll, and it doesn't suit my character at all.
2: It does kinda work, but a different doll has just been released (or I just discovered the company they are from) and that doll works so much better for the character.
3: The doll was perfect and I kept it for a while, but with time my vision of the character has changed and the doll doesn't work anymore.
4: the doll is perfect, except it is too tall/short/too big head/etc and I purchased it hoping it would work with the rest of the crew, but the size difference is too great to ignore. (honestly, this happens quite a lot to me, I am stupidly finicky on the heights being right)

Of course when I sell a doll I do want to recoup as much of the money I spent as I can, or even profit on the sale when possible, but mostly I just price them in accordance to their current 2nd hand market value, or whatever the last doll of the same sculpt was sold for.

 

This. No matter how many photos you look at, you could still end up hating the doll that arrives. I've sold dolls soon after receiving them because I either just wanted the body or the head, or they were not at all as nice as their photos and I wasn't as in love with them as I thought. My dolly fund is limited so when I do sell a doll, I try to recoup as much as I can to put back in the pool. Sometimes they sell quickly, sometimes they don't. Hopefully everyone ends up happier though.

 

I was really wondering why people sell their dolls? I haven't seen a recent threat about this. There are so many for sale, it just made me wonder. Especially when people sell dolls that they just bought last year or this year. What's your opinion?

 

It can be plenty of different reasons. I feel it's mostly not liking the doll as much in person (the perils of a mostly online hobby!), downsizing the collection, or simply needing the money from the sale for important things/another doll/etc.

I know that I have sold a lot of dolls (some immediately after arriving) simply because in my hands I did not like them as much as a did in pictures. I myself am rather impulsive about buying, and am trying to break the habit because I realized I've only kept about a fourth of all the dolls I've purchased. I am not proud of that.

 

I sell dolls for 2 reasons. Found another I want more, or I am just not bonding with a doll. It happens and as someone who doesn't work outside my home, if I don't sell something I can't buy anything. So I sell dolls, clothes and props. It makes the dreams come true.

 

I've only ever sold one doll and it was because he was a boy and I never wanted to make boys clothes. I mostly have dolls to make things for them, so it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do.

I think some people sell dolls because of financial strife. I feel bad though, because I don't think I could buy a doll I knew someone was upset to part with! I would feel guilty every time I looked at it.

 

For me, most of the time it's bonding troubles, other times it's because I only wanted the head/body and would then sell the part I didn't want. If I have trouble bonding with a doll I'd much rather have it go to a home where it would be better loved and appreciated, and with that money I could also purchase a doll that I could bond better with.

 

I used to sell a lot of dolls the main reason is because than that doll may not bond with my current dolly family. I tried to make some changes but it turns out that I have to let him or her go for adoption. Also sometimes I ended up with too many dolls so I made decision of downsizing my collections. I had a very bad experience with a dealer once which made me wait for almost 10 months and the service is just horrible...that time I ended up with selling the doll as soon as I received him.

 

I think selling a doll is a great idea if you don't want it any more, because it gives other people the opportunity to own something that might be discontinued, have a faceup by an artist who no longer takes commissions, or obtain a still-available doll at a lower price. My favorite doll head was actually one I bought on the Marketplace Also it might just be an issue of space. De-cluttering can feel good!

 

For me, it was definitely a bonding issue. Every doll I’ve had after my first just felt wrong (and even like a waste of money. Money that I could’ve spent on my favorite doll). Has anyone else had this “cheating” feeling? I just cannot bond to anyone else. And trust me, I’ve tried. I have the bills to prove it! Lol

 

I sell if the doll isn’t right for me, like I just don’t bond with it, or I end up collecting too many over the years, the number becomes overwhelming and I purge. Both situations have happened. I try not to let the number grow too much. Sadly, can’t do much if I end up not bonding with a doll other than sell and move on.

 

I've let some go that were very nice, but they didn't fit in with the rest of my dolls. Sometimes, I couldn't find clothes for them and it would leave me frustrated. Other times, it was one I got in a trade but it just wasn't a doll that I really liked as much as someone else would like them. Trading and selling within the community here is much safer than other places on the internet as well, so that is what I try to do as do many others. I've not sold many, and I hope I don't in the future. Some people also get bored of the hobby, have major lifestyle changes, or discover they like a different type of doll better, so they don't like their old dolls as much. Sometimes a doll might have some bad memories attached, that has happened to some.... I would say the #1 reason is lack of bonding though. I'm not the impulsive type, so this hasn't happened to me with any doll I've ever bought new just for me. It's only happened with some dolls I got from trades.

 

I do know this feeling! But it wasn't after my first doll. I bought a doll head I adored and my next purchase was buying her a secondhand body that was very old and slightly damaged, just because I didn't feel like putting a lot of funds towards the brand new body I actually wanted to get for her yet. Then I proceeded to buy 2 new heads that I ended up not liking and I felt incredibly guilty that I hadn't just put that money towards buying that better/new body for the original doll head. I still feel really guilty about it to this day even though I'm currently saving for her new body at the moment. But at least I did learn something out of it (which is that I really prefer SD size to MSDs, so no more MSD purchases!) which is important. In a way, I think it's sweet you said can't bond with other dolls the way you can your first. It must mean that first doll was an excellent choice for you since none seem to compare! Is your first doll "finished" in the sense that it has wig and eyes that you think are perfect, and at least one full outfit? Maybe making sure that doll is all set with accessories before buying another doll will make a difference?

 

For me it's typically a level of engagement type of thing. Have I played with this doll in six months? Does this doll still make me happy? I am working on this doll or something else taken it's place or I am still enjoying working on this doll? Now that "done" with this doll do I still love it?

If the answer, is no. I might sell it.

 

Lots of reasons. I myself will sell a doll if I end up not liking it as much as I like my favorites. Or if it arrives, and I find I don't care for it as much as I did in the photos. The last doll I got because it was the only time the sculpt had been released in the size I normally collect. However I already had it in a larger size and couldn't decide which was best. So, she came home. I liked what I had better, and I resold her the next week. Also I like a lot of different kinds of dolls and enjoy getting my hands on them. But, I dont like having a big collection. So, it is fun to me to buy it, play with it for a bit, then sell it. I have slowed down on this since the secondhand market has gotten so bad, though. So many reasons to sell dolls.

 

I've never sold a doll (or anything, actually) so I've been sort of wondering the same thing! Like... when someone posts a box opening and then puts the doll up for sale (blank) two days later... what happened there??? I couldn't imagine selling a doll RIGHT away, but turns out people have quite a few reasons.

For me the only one I've considered selling was because I just can't bond with her and feel bad for her sitting in a box unfinished. But I haven't sold her because I'm afraid I'll look like the selling newb that I am.

 

Most of the dolls I’ve sold were due to financial reasons. I have to sell one or more to justify buying a new one, unfortunately. And I’ve sold dolls for odd reasons too. Like If the doll costs too much, I feel like I cant keep it because it was a lot of money spent on a luxury item I don’t need, and if a lot of other people wanted the doll because it was limited, I felt wrong having it. So messed up.