Why don't normal doll shops sell ABJDs?

Wow, this thread surprised me. I didn't think there were BJD shops anywhere but HongKong and the like, and even there I thought they were hard to come by. The only time I've heard of a BJD in a store over here is the special Hello Kitty one at the Sanrio stores.

There are no BJD stores around, and the only time I can buy clothes and whatnot in person is during Doll North or in the crafters corner at cons. I wouldn't count on finding a store, either, to be honest. The only thing I can suggest is give your mom the money and have her put it on her credit card so you can buy the doll. Make sure you factor in shipping. Just explain to her rationally that buying things online is completely safe, and if the item doesn't arrive companies are usually very reasonable. Just make sure you get a reliable doll company and not some 'back alley' seller and you're good.

 

When I wanted to buy my first doll, I didn't have a credit card, or a bank account either. However, there's a pretty easy way to get around that. Most places, like Wallgreens, and Walmart, and other places, sell prepaid 'credit cards.' With the walmart one, you pay three dollars to add on any amount you'd like, and then you can use it either to create a paypal account, or just use the card directly to pay. With mine, I used different cards (to avoid monthly fees) To pay off my doll on layaway with Mint On Card. The prepaid cards do have the downside of the fees you have to pay, but at least for me, it was a small price to pay so I could get my doll!

 

Heh! I know an upscale (okay, world famous?) local doll museum whose proprietor simply didn't like the bjd aesthetic (so it was said anyhow). All well and good, I suppose, but I just heard they're going out of business, and closing this year! I doubt bjds could have saved them, perhaps (Personally I doubt they're closing because of lack of funds anyway, I can't imagine this particular person EVER running out of funds!) but I can't help but wonder what this place and this very wealthy local personage might have done for the bjd hobby in general, and what we might have meant to her in return. Well, I guess we'll never know, too bad!

 

Go to Disneyland in Los Angeles with some friends/more-lenient family members and make sure your trip covers a weekend day. Then visit Volks USA. Alternatively, you could go to Burlington, Wisconsin (We Love Dolls) or Austin, Texas (Kerbey Lane) who will most likely have an actual BJD in stock to showcase in person.

I have no idea if other dealers like Junkyspot or Denver Dolls will take money order, but you could try that.

You could also try the marketplace here. A few members may accept money orders (I personally would for domestic transactions). But then again, I'm not even sure what country the OP lives in...

 

I would definitely encourage you to get your own bank account and paypal. Paypal can be a pain in the butt to set up, but once it's there, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it, and having your own bank account is a generally a good idea anyways. I know a lot of people and places will only take paypal as payment. Buying something from 'somewhere else' is sadly pretty much a fact of life in this hobby.

 

Sometimes eBay isn't particularly trustworthy where BJDs are concerned. If you are thinking of going down the eBay route, do plenty of research before you even think about buying a doll to make sure that the doll you are buying is genuine.

There are no physical doll shops where I live either, and import/customs fees are quite high in my country, but for some reason I'm not pining after a BJD shop close by. If I went to the US or Japan on holiday I would immediately seek out Volks' Sumikas, I would love it if Volks did a European Dolpa, and I think it's wonderful that Luts are having European tea parties, but I think a dedicated doll shop in Europe might not receive enough attention and I would hate for someone to put money into the business and promoting it only to have it fold Europe is a pretty big place and even if there was a Volks Sumika in London or Paris or Berlin...there would be people who couldn't get there often enough for it to be worth Volks spending the money on premises and staff, not to mention the costs of importing their merchandise to sell.

I think dolls could actually be more expensive to buy from a physical shop in some ways.

The BJD hobby is large (just look at DoA, 10,000 active members!), so it's not as if it hasn't taken off Many of us like the fact that it's not mainstream. If the dolls were mass produced in order for shops to carry them as stock, I think we would lose the artisan connection between doll owner and doll creator. It may not be as convenient to buy a doll as just popping down the shops and picking one up off the shelf, but for a hand-made product produced in a country a long way away, I think the wait times are understandable and the online ordering system used by most companies is really clear and easy to follow.

 

Doesn't Volks have a store front in Cali? I don't know if you can actually buy dolls there, or you just take pictures.
But yeah, sometimes being mainstream would be nice, for quickness' sake.

 

BJDs aren't mainstream, they're too expensive and specialized an aesthetic for that, and while there are some very, very rare physical storefronts for BJDs, they tend to be company specific or dealers who can only practically cover so many companies. I don't think that kind of convenience will ever come to this hobby. As for it taking off, it's grown noticeably internationally even in the time since I've been in it. It's just that it's spread is across many countries, so it's quite possible for things to be very popular in terms of fans but not actually be mainstream or well-known.

For the vast majority of people, it's very simple to buy online, too, so there's not a huge need for physical storefronts to keep the hobby going. I'm not going to lie, I used to live within an hour's train ride from a Volks store in Japan, and I loved that. I still had to buy a certain number of things online, though, because Volks naturally only sells their own dolls.

Doll shops themselves are very rare in my experience, and there are so many more types of dolls out there that come cheaper, are more known and accepted, that they wouldn't need to get into BJDs. The cost of the inventory next to the chances of being able to sell it would make it really risky for a doll shop owner to carry resin BJDs, especially if they didn't have any knowledge about them.

 

I think yellowing also would be a problem if stores would keep a large BJD stock.

 

It's generally more expensive to buy from a store in person than online, as well; at least, when I lived in Japan, I visited several Volks stores and SOOM's store multiple times, but didn't buy much because it's cheaper to get from their website in USD. I'll admit to also being a bit nervous about sending so much money so far away when I bought my first BJD from Crobidoll in Korea (though at least, I have spent some time in Korea so for me it's not some scary unknown place^^), but everything came quickly and in great condition!

I think the best way to convince your mom is to show her that plenty of other people here have ordered from the Internet and everything turned out fine You can find company feedback, box openings, etc. I'd also recommend starting with a well-known company like SOOM, Luts, or Volks, since they've been around a while and have good reputations.

Good luck!

 

This is a really good point, too. Doll stores of any kind appear to be growing a little more scarce, and the ones I've had the chance to visit have had to carry a wide array of items just to keep their doors open. Things seem to be shifting more and more online over time, since it can involve considerably less overhead if you're in a high-rent area.

A number of collectibles shops in this area dabbled in certain doll lines for a while about a decade ago, but they've long disappeared from the shelves there. (And that's if the store is still there at all -- not the case for more than a few. )

 

I know of seven doll shops within easy driving distance of my home that have closed in the past 10 years. So as a result I shop online and will occasionally find some props that are workable at the occassional doll show in the area. I've brought a couple of BJD's to the shows and have noticed a greater acceptance and interest in them from the non-BJD collectors.

SEnding wishes that all works out in your quest.

 

Keep looking mikkigirl I know someone who found one at a thrift shop! I also saw a Goodreau vinyl bjd at a thrift shop.

 

Get a debit card from your bank. It works like a credit card, but you have to have the money in the account for the transaction to go through successfully. Great for people who want control over spending, and for people that can't get credit cards.

 

Normal shops don't sell them often because it's too hard to get stock that would readily please all the possible collectors who would pop in, and most regular people looking through the shop would not likely buy an impulse doll that costs ~$500. It's just not good business. That being said, there are a few places around (and they've been mentioned on here) that are dealers for certain brands. Treasure Dolls, also in Austin, TX is another place that carries some BJD dolls/stuff, mostly on consignment, I think.

 

I have the same problem here in buying even supplies for my bjd doll. I always have to send to china for the items.

 

Me too. It's very annoying.
We're lucky to have a special Dutch BJD forum where we can buy dolls from others, like at DoA.
And we have a special BJD convention twice a year.
So even though Holland is a small country, there are quite a few places to buy dolls without it having shipped from the other side of the world.
And we have many cosplay conventions where also stuff for dolls is being sold.
But still, it's not enough, haha!