Why do you think no one seems to want to trade?

I think it's generally because most people on the marketplace already have the doll they want in mind and plan to use the funds from selling a less used doll. Another is people who actually need funds only for "life happens" stuff.

Also trading can be indeed be risky because you may be getting a doll you really wanted but it may not be a well kept as the one you traded away lading to a feeling of dissatisfaction. That's why most people who do want trades require a lot of feedback on the forums and want many many recent pictures with the doll in mind.

I think I'd be open to trades in the future but honestly I don't wanna let my babies go just yet!

 

I agree with @TheKidAbroad - I personally would be reluctant to trade because 1) it requires a LOT of trust to mail away an expensive doll and to hope the other person is not scamming you and actually sends the doll to you that they promised and 2) I keep my stuff in very good condition.

Not everyone has the same concept of condition. I noticed that at an early age with books even. Sometimes books that would be advertised as great condition I'd describe as just OK or poor.

I would be very reluctant to trade because of those things. I feel like I'd rather sell off the doll I don't want and then try to buy the doll I do want instead.

 

I usually sell stuff because I want to get something very specific in turn.
Unless the other person has exactly that item in the condition I want it to be it is very unlikely I will find a suitable trade partner. Not counting the whole trust thing, which is of course an issue too.

I also had to realize that when you outright say you accept trades people think they can contact you with every odd thing they have sitting around in hopes you say yes. They don't even check if it's something that would make sense (like people offering me MSD clothes even though I have nowhere stated I even own MSDs) or is even close in value to your piece.
This is sadly especially true when you say self-made stuff (i.e. seamstresses or face-up artists can trade their skills) is cool too.
It is very unpleasant to tell someone that their stuff is not up to your quality expectations
To avoid that situation of even happening I rather say I don't accept trades at all.

Also agree with @aliceIDZ, I always take great care of my things and when they show the slightest damage I rather toss them then trying to sell them. I want to avoid any trouble with a possible buyer.
When I sell a doll I always clean it and inspect it greatly before I take a lot of pictures and close-ups, something most people do not do.
So I say my doll is "damaged" because there is a tiny dent somewhere, while the other person probably trades me a dirty, way more used doll as "like new".

I think most people who do trade do so among a) friends, b) collectors they know or c) at least in their own country.
And many artists prefer to trade skills with other artists, since neither sell their stuff to a broad public and it's a good way to get a fellow artist to give them their work.
I'd also rather trade skills or only small pieces (like clothes for clothes), or at most a head for a head. Never a full doll for another full doll unless that person lives in my country.

 

The funny thing about this thread is I usually can't get rid of things unless I am willing to trade :\

I honestly feel like no one wants to pay for anything anymore! Having to lower the price hundreds of dollars below what I paid sucks, and doesn't even work in some cases. And then even if I don't fill in a trade list I get offers. If I do fill in the list I get a lot of offers of things that are vaguely in the neighborhood of what I'm looking for but not what I want (though obviously I get lucky often, and sometimes get offered things I didn't know I wanted LOL). I've done a serious amount of trading on DOA - the first doll I put up for sale I ended up trading, it's better than hanging on to something that will literally never sell.

And I did have one bad (really bad) trade, so I do have that experience too. It wasn't here, it was on a now-gone BJD site, but it was a trade where I sent my half and they didn't. The community jumped in and with the help of pretty much everyone the trade was finally finished, but it was a nightmare while it was going on. I still trade *shrug*. One horrible person does not = everyone. I don't really do business with people outside of DOA anymore tho (unless it's in person). It's not worth the potential hassle and scamming.

 

Honestly, I've been wanting to trade one of my dolls for the longest time, but I never got around to it because I was thinking the same thing. It seems like trading is something I rarely see on this site (unless it's Fairyland parts for someone else's fairyland parts/ some doll for a fairyland something). I honestly thought the lack of trading, and my hesitation to trade, was for the reasons people said: It's a huge game of trust where you're putting your faith in someone else that they're gonna ship their half of it when you ship yours. That's what stopped me from actually asking for a trade. I don't have a particularly high standard of "it should be in excellent condition when you send me your half of the trade," but I don't want a doll that's all mangled and isn't as described, either. Your standard of good quality is different from someone else's standard—like someone said above, what they'd rate as in "good condition" I'd say is probably OK at best. That's personally what stops me from trading. I just honestly don't have very good faith that some stranger is going to uphold their half of the trade when I send out a pristine doll, or that I won't get scammed. ><

 

I think one factor is the type of collector you find on various platforms. There are people who only get dolls to shell their various characters. These kinds of collectors would rather not trade because they are looking for very specific sculpts that they have imagined for their characters. For them, there's no real reason to trade because they aren't interested in getting a different doll. They want a very specific doll and chances are they're selling a doll to fund that one.

Another kind of collector (one more likely to do trades) is one that just likes collecting BJDs and doesn't have a specific vision in mind until they bring home a doll. Because they're not trying to shell very specific characters, they don't really need a specific doll and would be more open to just letting their collection flux.

Based on my own experience, I feel like Den of Angels has more of the first kind of person. However, it's also possible that the first category is just more vocal here. xD
Also a lot of people sell dolls not because they're looking for get another doll, but because they want to decrease their collection or they just want the funds. So that plays a factor too.

I've done 3 doll trades so far, one here on DOA and two on BJD Addicts Facebook group. More people are likely to trade on BJD Addicts facebook group but it gets exhausting being offered uneven trades or random wigs and accessories for a doll.

 

I personally don't like to trade because I'm scared I'll end up being low balled with the value of one item with another. I'm only two years physically into the hobby, so there's quite a bit I'm still unsure of.

In person, I find it's a little bit different. I get a lot more lenient on trading for items I really want.

But for a lot of the items I've spent a lot of money on, or dolls in particular, I'd much rather just get my money back. I'm one of those collectors that has a very specific want. I want a very certain sculpt in a certain color, and so selling my items is more likely to get me there than trying to trade them. Though I would LOVE if someone wanted to trade the exact sculpt I wanted for what I have (even if I have to add in some extra money to compensate for the trade). But it hasn't happened yet. ^^

I'm also in a very specific sizing and style zone, and so it gets really hard to have anyone a) interested in what I have and want to trade for it and b) also getting someone that's offering the exact style/size stuff I'm interested in. I see a lot of the style I want for my boys in SD sizes, but not their MSD sizes.

I also probably lack a big doll hoard of accessories and extra doll pieces that a lot of people seem to have, so my trading offers are slim to none. ; w ;

All in all, as much as I would LOVE to trade dolls one day, I find it personally more beneficial to just out right sell them and then use the money to buy from another person.

 

Now, maybe I'm naive, but I always thought trades were meant to be short-term. Like, someone is doing a photoshoot of X thing for Y publication and they need Z sculpt to fulfill the look.
Reading all the potential hazards, I can see my faith in people is too broad. But this is an expensive hobby and it's reasonable to expect equal (monetary) value for an item or service. (In the bigger community, it's why I wouldn't "trade" with an artist I like, even though I also draw, because I'm paying for their service and specific talent, not just trading what I deem to be of equal value).

 

I would only consider trading with someone in person and if that person would provide me with written proof of ownership (Ie. a signed sheet saying they are trading of their own free will and this is a permanent trade equivalent to a sale) the day of the trade.

Frankly, I don't trust anyone enough to ship them a doll online on good faith and emails alone. At least with a sale I can charge back my card if it's a fraud. Trades are unforgiving.

 

The only trade I've ever done was done in person. I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable conducting a trade entirely over the internet, because unlike with a sale, where you have various Paypal protections, there's nothing you can really do if you ship a doll to another state (or overseas) and the other person betrays you. If you want paypal protection on a trade you have to both pay each other the value of the dolls you're shipping, so that if one person backs out, you can make a claim. But most people who want to trade are trading because they have a doll but not cash, which eliminates that option.

 

#1) I don't trust you.

Sorry to be blunt about that, and it's nothing personal... but I've seen way too many trade arrangements go poorly for one reason or another over the years, and as a result I have absolutely no desire to court that particular flavor of disaster myself. It's already become risky enough buying and selling normally on the secondary market these days... Why in the world should I be expected to make the process potentially even more-so?

.... and #2) I'm really not interested in your random stuff.

If I'm selling, it's either because I'm downsizing a bit and so don't WANT "more stuff" taking the place of what I'm trying to get rid of, or it's because I have a specific use in mind for the funds that selling those items will bring in. Sure, there may be a remote chance that you'll have what I'm after... but based on the (Completely unsolicited, since I always make sales threads "Not interested in Trades"-) offers I've gotten in the past? It's highly unlikely.

 

I traded dolls once and had a good experience but generally I think it would just be faster and more convenient to sell the doll and use the money to buy a different doll than waiting around for someone with the exact doll you want who wants the exact doll you have. Plus it's safer than trading with a rando online that may not hold up their end of the bargain.

 

I've traded several dolls in person, and found that's my favorite way to do it. Everyone can see what they're getting and can back out instantly, with no shipping costs to worry about.

I did successfully trade a pair of hands for another pair of hands here on DoA with a very nice person overseas. Though obviously the cost of the trade items was much lower than an entire doll!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

The horror stories I have heard and the fact that there's no safety net in trades, I have no interest in trading. At least if someone takes my money and I don't get my doll, Paypal or my credit card can potentially help me get back my money. If I send my doll for a trade and I get, say, a big rock instead of the doll I was trading for, well there's not much I can do that would get me my doll back.

Now trading in person, I might be way more willing to do. But that's it.

 

I've done a LOT of trades in my time in the hobby, and I was actually just thinking about this question earlier today. Almost every trade I've ever done was good, and the most disappointing were things like dirty dolls or clothing not quite in the condition I expected, but nothing horrible. More often than not, I simply don't have the funds to buy things from the MP. Buying something I really want means selling something else, or months of saving up. It would be so much simpler if I could just trade for something else, but it seems like for about every 100 threads I go through, maybe two or three accept trades, and usually not whatever I have to offer at the time.

My biggest thing is that I absolutely will not do international trades, and I think that probably hurts me sometimes, but the cost of shipping a doll, even a small doll, in a secure, tracked, insured manner is usually at least $70, and sometimes well over $100. I really can't afford to take that kind of loss, especially on a doll that might only be worth $250 in the first place. I've had to turn down international trades before because it's just not worth it after shipping fees. :/

Other reasons I might turn down a trade would be negative/flaky feedback, lack of feedback, seller being known for drama, immature or irresponsible behavior, slow or unclear communication, if the dolls offered are just not something I would ever want OR they appear to be very dirty, damaged or in otherwise poor condition. I'm not super picky, I don't mind minor scratches or some yellowing if I'm aware of it, a box isn't that important to me, but broken parts, severe uneven yellowing, or being extremely dirty are a big turn off.

 

I would only trade with a friend or someone a friend vouched for just because bjds are expensive and I have deep seated trust issues.


That said if I sell stuff it is because I want a (probably) limited doll and need the funds asap so trades just wouldn't work.

 

Adding that thought: I know from other hobbies (like Lolita) that when a trade is done the participants also send each other the amount of money their trade piece is worth via Paypal. Kind of like a deposit.
If the other person flunks out you only lost your item, but you still have their money and at such a high price people will either drop out before or not even attempt to do something bad.

I remember those guys were pretty puzzled when I told them that this does neither happen nor even work in our hobby (and that I see quite a few flaws in their system). Most people trade because they do not have the funds for the item they want, how should they cough up several hundred dollars for the deposit?
Not going to happen. And I doubt a flakey person couldn't just pull back their payment and still run off with your item and their money.

 

I've only traded once with a girl who approached me through ebay (which got me a warning email lol, you're not supposed to organize trades or swap email info through ebay) and while it did go smoothly, it was a little nerve wracking. I sent my half out basically the next day while she took a few to get hers out to me and then another little while to give me the tracking number. In the end, everything was totally fine (and the trade actually really worked out value-wise in my favor) but I don't think I would do another one off of DoA/some other site where I could look through my partner's feedback and have the community to back me up if the trade went bad.

I really love the concept of trades though! Most of the time when I am selling something it's to put those funds towards something else I want and if I can cut out the extra process of buying/waiting/searching for whatever that is, I will.