Why don't normal doll shops sell ABJDs?

Denver Doll Emporium sells ball-jointed dolls. You can look at them online and buy over the phone if you are not in Colorado. http://www.denverdoll.com/. Lots of bjd companies will not sell through an agent or shop and most of them are in Asia. I've just gotten used to it. Good luck!

 

There are shops in Hong Kong which sells dolls of the shelves, but at a much higher price.

 

It is frustrating and I have to agree but if you find a BJD dealer in the US such as DDE or Mint on Card and they have the doll in stock you can order through that way and they usually ship it within 2 days : ). But of course not every BJD company will have a dealer in the US (or other country), in fact, most of them require you to order directly from them...Of course if your mom doesn't want to do that then the best thing you can do is save up and buy it with your own money. Otherwise, you'll have to do some really good convincing to convince your mom to buy you one...And if you can't then start saving little by little or if you have a job, start saving each time you get your paycheck. Good luck!

 

The problem with BJD's and traditional doll shops is that BJD's are not mainstream enough for them to be featured. BJD are a very small, very specialized sort of thing that has only been around since 1998. A lot of other doll collectors are just now starting to get to know them. In time, I'm sure that more doll shops will carry bjd stuff. For now, you are going to find the best price and best selection online. Besides, if there is a limited doll that you want, chances are you won't be able to find it in a shop, no matter where!

If your mother is afraid of turning in an order online, I would suggest that you stick with name brand sites that are well established and known. Volks, Luts, DOD, ResinSoul. I'm sorry that your mother is not comfortable with purchasing something over the internet, but the fact of the matter is, in this hobby if you do not have a paypal and are not willing to buy off the internet, you probably won't end up with many dolls/clothes/shoes/stuff.

 

It's because these abjds are expensive--doll shops in general cannot afford to get bjds as inventory.

And if they could, most customers would be interested in some other brand or sculpt or makeup style or......

 

Absolutely. My friend with a doll shop can only afford to sell expensive dolls on consignment. Don't blame her, there may be only 3 or 4 BJD owners in our entire metropolitan area.
The only time I've seen a doll and held her in my hands before buying is at a doll show, and that is almost the only time there had been one at that show.

 

There's also The Doll Market in NC, they carry a few brands of BJDs as well as Dollheart clothes. Do you go anywhere on vacation? I always check for doll shops when I'm traveling. Would your mother be OK with ordering over the phone? You could call doll shops that have the doll you want and ask them if they take orders that way.

Also keep an eye out for doll shows, as there might be dealers there, and for conventions as sometimes dealers will sell BJD's there (like DragonCon, for example, the last two years there's been a dealer with dolls there). Another alternative is once you have marketplace access you can check there to see if anyone local to you is selling a doll... and sometimes people bring things for sale at meetups. Those sales can't be announced in meetup threads however, so it'll be up to you to figure out who is local and has a doll for sale and arrange it with them.

However also realize that at most dealers there is very little kept in stock, and most of the time even from them you'll end up essentially ordering the exact same as if you bought it yourself from the company just with them doing the actual ordering for you (side benefit - you might save money on shipping ordering through a dealer). This is a largely online hobby, and you'll be limited in choice if you cannot order anything online.

 

Perhaps it may help to monitor the box openings, the experiences people made with the different companies, etc. on DoA. Then you get a feeling which company is trustworthy, and which are not so much.

There are also goods videos on YouTube where dealers and companies are jugded by customers. These may sometimes be individual cases. But if a customer is satisfied more often, this is also a good sign, I guess.

And perhaps you can get your mother to order any other smaller items online at first, such as books, DVDs. So that she is convinced that buying online is nothing bad.

Then if you know which doll you want, you can perhaps start also with something smaller, such as a wig or a shirt, etc.

Perhaps then she may be more willing to actually order your dream doll online.

 

You could also try to buy a second hand doll sold by someone in your area and make an appointment to first view the doll before deciding whether you want to buy the doll or not. It's a pretty safe way of offline buying (as long as you don't go to some stranger's home all on your own.)

 

If you live in the LA area, there is the Volks Sumika that sells standard models and sometimes even has extra limiteds in stock. You can also visit Kerbey Lane Doll shoppe and We love dolls. They carry BJDs on their shelf as well! There are places in the USA, just have to look a little

 

There's also Doll peddlar which majority is on fashiondolls but it has also several different BJD brands

 

Depending on where you live, find a local forum. I know most areas have local groups too and then if someone has a doll you want in that forum's marketplace, you can arrange a meeting to buy it. There are just way to many brands to have every one represented in a small doll store and most are made to order rather than mass manufactured.

 

For your own situation I suppose that you have no choice of getting a doll online. maybe if you can try to buy one second hand you can talk with that person more personally and then exchange some talks with your mom so the person can tell her it is safe and show her how they will proceed for the transaction. To be honest if you can ask your mother to read or chat with someone drop me a mail I will be more than glad to talk with her!

 

When I was trying to get my collection insured the people looking at the doll information didn't even know what they were! And these are professional doll collectors (all types of dolls). I don't think we even have a doll shop around here, let alone one that sells BJDs.

You might want to read through this thread (assuming you're in the US): BJD shops in the United States. Would your mom feel more comfortable ordering off eBay? Several doll companies have reps on eBay.