Why would you give up your first doll?

My first doll is part of a group that started out as 'the only size I'm going to get ever!!!' ...and are now the odd ones out. Thankfully, there are enough of them they can live in their own little clique elsewhere and it wouldn't be a fuss, but were I ever to sell her, it would be likely that I'd be selling that entire group. I strongly doubt this will ever happen unless I decide to drop the hobby entirely, which I also strongly doubt will ever happen.

I fall in and out of hobbies, but I don't often sell things off even if I do. This is why I have too much stuff and too little house, yeesh. We will just not discuss the fashion dolls that haven't been touched, literally, in about a decade, unless I've had to move them over on a shelf, eh? For more reasons than them just being off-topic.

Even if I lost my general interest in dolls, or BJDs, my first dolls were bought in part because they are so perfectly representative of many things that have been long-time passions of mine in terms of the artistic influences I see in their sculpts. Those specific tastes have been a part of my life for around 25 years, so while some of my tastes may evolve, the ones they represent for me are pretty firmly rooted.

 

Well, i'm actually kind of on both sides of this one. The first doll i paid for was my Souldoll Sleeping Ize. When i ordered him, i thought he was exactly what i wanted. I did lots of searching for the right face and the right look, and tons of research, since he was to become a character of mine. I was super excited to get him.

Then, while i was waiting for him to come, i ended up putting together an Unoa hybrid. Unoa has always been my dream doll, so when i learned you could hybrid them for cheaper than the real thing, i jumped on it. I got her long before Ize ever came in, so she was the first doll i ever physically owned. I fell in love with her immediately, even though i couldn't decide on her character at first.

Then, when Ize finally came in, i was shocked. He was huge! Way bigger than my precious Suzy, which made me feel like they belonged in two different worlds. I made him into my character, but i never bonded with him. So when times got rough, i put him up for sale without a second thought. Even though i did all that research and planning, i still wasn't prepared for what i was getting into.

So... I've sorta done both. I've sold my first doll, and i've kept my first doll. I guess they're not both first, but which one is depends on how you look at it.

 

The fact that my first doll was my first didn't really make it any different to me. My tastes and interests, doll-wise, have changed a lot since I got involved in the hobby and after a while my first doll wasn't what I wanted anymore, so I sold her. That's it. I'm not going to keep a doll I'm no longer interested in just because it was the first one I ever bought.

 

Yeah. It's great that my sister has her. Now, when she comes to town to visit, I ask her to bring both her dolls with, so we can 'play' dollies together. So far that means making clothing, and searching for the right wigs and eyes for them. ^-^ But I can enjoy her that way, and made myself and my sister happy. Though...the dolls I have now...I can't see ANY of them ever leaving me! One of my girls, Yllora, is getting 'upgraded' to SD size, so that I'll have an easier time getting dolls of the other characters in her story...but I still can't imagine getting rid of her...or changing the doll to another character, either. So instead, my MSD version will be my 'carry along' doll of her, while my SD version will be my 'photo story' version. As a side note...she and Shikyo were my first two dolls that I fully chose and purchased myself. My previous one...was a doll I liked a lot, and had an opportunity to get.

 

I can understand why people would do it, tastes change and if you've been in the hobby for a few years, chances are that by now there is so much more available and you feel as if your first, older doll just doesn't compare anymore.

...only it's not like that at all for me. My first doll is still my favorite. My tastes haven't really changed, more like..broadened. I still like the 'old school' heads like my Chiwoo but now I also like more realistic molds such as Zaolls or Leekeworld Mihael, my most recent dolls. But my Chiwoo is special to me, he is the one who inspires me again and again, above the others, he is the one I pick up when I want to cuddle something, and in my display cabinet at home, he has the top shelf, where he's best seen and proudly sitting at the best spot. He also has the most clothes, wigs, anything..I adore my other dolls as well, otherwise I wouldn't have them, but I can't imagine selling Vasy. He's been here all this time-almost 5 years, I'm so used to him being here and inspiring me. So, while I can understand why people would sell their first dolls, mine is still very special to me.

 

A lot of people buy dolls when they first get into the hobby to... get them into the hobby. It might be an impulse buy, one to test the waters and see if the hobby is right for them, and they might not put as much thought into the purchase as someone who has had more experience in the hobby. Considering that you can usually sell these dolls for almost as much (if not as much, or more) money than they cost, it becomes a relatively safe way to test the waters before you go in search of a more fitting doll.

Me, though, I'm super attached to my first doll and can't imagine ever selling him. Still, I can see why some people might, and I don't really see an issue with it if they do.

 

Actually my first doll is the one I'd be most likely to sell! I have a love-hate relationship with him. I did a ton of research before buying him . . . but apparently not enough, because it was only after ordering him that I learned the importance of looking at owner pictures, and when I did, I immediately knew I'd made a mistake. I adored the way he looked on the company website . . . and hated the way he looked in just about every other picture. After what . . . five years? I think I've found an eye-wig combination that flatters him, but I still love him from that one angle . . . and hate him from all the others. But he sticks around, because for the amount of money I could sell a yellowed, readily available standard, unpopular sculpt for . . . I may as well keep the little bugger. Oh yeah, and I'm sorta attached to him.

 

When I first got into the hobby I ordered several dolls at once (I had money back then, lol), so I guess I never had that "First Doll" thing. Actually it's probably more that I'd already been a doll collector for a decade or three, so it was just another doll to me. ^^:;

Otherwise I sell a doll because I'm tired of it, or need the money ...and I don't like having too many.

Raven

 

I sold my first doll, because her body didn't fit her character, and I didn't want a hybrid. I also fell in LOVE with Fairyland Dolls, so it was a good choice to sell my first doll, a Dollmore Kid Pado. I now have two MNF, and am waiting on four PKF... and soon (possibly) to be a fifth.. all of whom I can't think of ever getting rid of.

 

I switch my first doll's "character" around sometimes, but I doubt I'll ever get rid of him completely. I really like him, and his body is probably my favorite body that I've handled thus far. But I can imagine people selling theirs, and I don't think them crazy. Interests change over time. So do budgets.

I do notice that most of the people who swear they'd never sell their first doll are people relatively new to the hobby, or with only one doll. Not in every case, but the majority of them. I probably would have sworn the same thing when I first started out.

 

I sold my first BJD (PW pop moth girl)... Because she was msd size, and it was too big for me. I liked her face so much, but I suffered from her size and didn't enjoy a doll hobby... So I have decided to sell her. I didn't understand that she's too big until I bought her... The first doll is special as memories, but if I can't enjoy it, I don't hesitate to sell it.

 

That's the same as asking "Why would you give up your second doll? Or third? Or fourth?" Order in which you got a doll doesn't necessarily reflect specialness, at least definitely not for me. I actually ended up keeping my first doll longer than I wanted to because of some of the odd stigma I've seen associated with selling one's first doll but I eventually let her go and never regretted it.

 

hmmmm well i sold my first doll and later got him (the same one) back again....i sold him because i thought that i wanted to move into the SD size but that first try didn't work out so when i saw him on the marketplace i snatched him up again and have enjoyed him since then and even now when i've decided to get a 74cm doll.

 

my first was an elfdoll Lydia so no absolutely not and never in a million years....She got me started in the hobby and to me she is still stunning after 4 years

 

My first doll was an impulse buy - I'd been looking around for a doll I would like as my first, and there she was on eBay, in the UK, with a buy-it-now price - and she was a sculpt I recognised and quite liked - so I bought her.

She is my absolute favourite and I think always will be, I have had her three years now.

But I think I was lucky - I could easily have bought something that I soon found didn't really appeal that much and then I would have sold it on.

 

A year ago I couldn't have imagined it . . . now, it's possible I might replace mine someday, as his head is now available through FCS, and it'd be nice to upgrade him in various ways. Or I might even mod the head I have to make him even more the chara, while I'll definitely replace his body with a newer one along the way, too. He's still special as my first, but I'm willing to make him more special in the future . . . if that even makes sense

 

Never say never.

I find it funny when someone says they could never sell their first doll when they've only had it for...a few months? A year? Really, that's still the "OMG, new shiny doll!" stage. It's like setting yourselves up for being a hypocrite when sometime down the road - maybe 5-6 years from now you find yourself not enjoying the hobby anymore or having changed your preferences in dolls...or maybe finding that the character just matured and is not matching the vessel anymore...

Of course I don't say that everybody will inevitably come to this. But why say never, when none of us can see the future? (those who can, please don't mind me^^)

Even in the short time I've been in this hobby I've seen countless people going from "I'll never have more than one" to "OMG, how can I get money for the 7th?!", or from "I'll only have 70cm+ boys" to "Hey, I can't wait for my first girl doll!" (the latter would be yours truly^^). Tastes change and lives change.

That said, right now I can't really imagine selling my first doll - he's still my absolute favorite even after 3 years. But I don't delude myself...when I came to the hobby there were relatively few dolls that looked like an adult male instead of teenage boys. I had around...5-6 molds to choose from? If I came to the hobby later, it's highly possible that my first doll would have been a totally different mold. But he's here, and it never occured to me to change him into a different doll...you could say that I'm very attached to him^^

But me and hobbies...I seem to be falling out of hobbies after 5-6 years, so the possibility of me selling all my dolls - including my first, who I can't imagine parting with right now - is still not over. Ask me in 10 years. If I still have Ezra, I might really never sell him

 

I will *NEVER* sell Clarice. And yes, I've only had her 6 months, but I bought her before I go into 'the hobby' (ie, joined DoA ) so, even if I get bored of the BJD community and rehome all my other dolls, she will stay I just can't imagine someone else having her and giving her a new name and style... she would be sad!!

 

Hmm, I think it would be very hard for me to give up my first doll. I've grown quite attached to her, and apart from giving me something to do, she's also comforting. I often put her on my lap or hug her when I feel bad. However, I agree with Smaug, never say never. I've only had her since october, so how could I know already I would never want to get rid of her?
Honestly, I don't think I will unless something happens to her and I wouldn't be able to look at her or whatever again and the odds of something happening that I can't deal with aren't that big.
But who knows, maybe in a few years I'll be tired of dolls all together or my taste in dolls may change completely. That's something I cannot know now. Can't look into the future

 

I would consider selling my doll if my taste had changed therefor my attention would be toward other dolls. I would still consider the doll worthy of someones love and would rather someone else love it than just sitting on my shelf being ignored. It would be such a waste. Yeah I would feel better if I knew someone was enjoying him/her.