Wiping a Limited Face Up

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?

I think it depends on the mold, and/or how well done the new faceup is applied. Personally, I would not consider wiping the faceup off the limited mold myself, though I don't really mind others doing it.

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the original face up?

Again, it depends on the mold. For doll molds that have more than one limited edition run, the mold becomes less rare and the value may drop in the market. For popular molds that have only had one run, the value may stay the same, drop, or rise - I think it really depends on various factors.

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?

The mold is important, but I would only buy the doll with it's original face up (and the rest of the L.E. set actually...)

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?
I feel that they're free to do what they want with it, since they paid money for it. If you love the sculpt, but hate the faceup, why keep it like that?

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?
In some cases it might, but in other cases (and depending on which artist did the new faceup) I think the value can rise.

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?
I would, but if it was a doll I didn't like the limited faceup of.... I would prefer to buy it blank. xD As much as I agree with my "You spent the money, you can do what you want with it" opinion, I couldn't bring myself to wipe a limited faceup. The limited head is the most important thing to me in this case, and if I had the sculpt, even blank, I would be happy. xD

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?

Personally, I don't care. I have 2 limited dolls that came to me with their default faceups. And I honestly did not care for the default faceups at ALL. I wanted to wipe them. And I was harassed by some people for it. But I finally just stopped listening to people. My doll. My choice. I wanted the sculpt, not the faceup. Had there been a blank one, or one with a non-default faceup on the market for an affordable price when I had been buying my dolls, I'm sure I would have purchased them instead. As it was, I bought the dolls I bought, and once I paid for them, it was my choice. And I chose to wipe the faces. I really don't think anyone has the right to say if you can or can not wipe the faceup of a doll, limited or not.

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?

I don't know. It depends on if the faceup was what made the doll limited in the first place. If that's the reason it's limited, then yea, it would definitely drop in value. But if it's the sculpt that is also limited, then I don't think it would matter that much. Some may pay more for a completely default limited doll (limited sculpt, faceup, etc.). But if the sculpt itself is limited, I think the value will still remain higher, default faceup or not.

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?

The head itself is WAY more important to me. Like I said, if I could have found my 2 limited sculpts whose faces I wiped without the default faceup, that met all my other criteria, then I would have bought those before I bought the ones I did.

 

I think that all three questions should be answered in light of one obvious fact: Nearly everything about these dolls is impermanent, from stringing to resin color to body blushing to face up. Only the design of the sculpt itself remains the same, so if you're considering nothing other than long term value, it's probably the only thing of any real importance.

 

to me the face is ok but the head itself is way more important!you can always have somone do another faceup just like it or more better!

 

I would'nt pay the price for a limited doll, then wipe the face-up. Just seems like a waste of money to me. Of course, sometimes a certain sculpt just calls your name and you have to have it no matter what. I would buy a limited sculpt with the face-up wiped -for a reduced price of course.

 

i think like a lot of other people have said, it really does depend on the doll. i personally would never wipe an original face up on a limited doll, seems like such a waste.. i might add to it, but never remove it entirely. there are also some limiteds that i wouldnt buy without their original faceup, i'd rather wait (even if its unlikely) to find one with the faceup intact (namely soom amber and soom heliot - their faceups are too perfect for me to ever dream of recreating). i do think they would be less valuable without the original faceup :s and tbh i think that applies to any limited doll, however obviously the actualy sculpt of the head is far more important than the actual face up.

 

If you can only get the doll with the faceup (as is usually the case with Volks) then I don't think it's strange at all to want to wipe the faceup and have it redone. The sculpt is what you're really after, in that case. However, I think it would be strange to order a special faceup with a limited doll that could otherwise be sold blank and immediately wipe it; that's just throwing money away. If you see it in person and decide you hate it, that I could understand, but to have it painted just to remove it seems like a waste of effort and money.

I am a little biased because I've done this--I purchased a Volks Nagisa in Preschool, loved the sculpt but hated the way she was painted, so I sent her off to be wiped and redone. I don't regret it at all. She might be worth less in terms of resale value, but I'd rather have a lowered resale value than sit around hating her faceup whenever I see it! If someone really wants that specific faceup, they'll buy a doll with that faceup still intact. I'm sure there will be one available eventually. Most people don't buy their dolls specifically with resale in mind (although there are some who do), and faceup are fairly easy to remove because it's common to alter them.

If I wanted the limited head, I would certainly buy one without the faceup. What is most important depends entirely on the purchaser. :3

 

When I can, Im getting a Volks Cristal and wiping her face. I have a plan for that girl, and she needs a natural face. I dont really think its a waste, mainly because you are buying it for the face. datnose.jpg

 

I just got a five year old LE, and her faceup has some chips in it already and I expect it'll chip more -- five years is a moderately impressive lifespan for a faceup. So I'll be having her repainted in the next few months, and I'm fine with that. The ONLY time I get a little iffy about people wiping faceups is if the only thing about the doll that's limited is the faceup, like some of the Luts art dolls or something. In that case I feel like it might be better to at least try to sell the limited doll and replace it with a default one. But at the same time I am a firm believer in the idea that once you buy a doll it's yours to do as you wish with, so if the person really wants to wipe that faceup, I don't care.

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?

I probably would wipe a limited doll's face-up if I didn't like it. I fall for the molds, not the face-ups. There is no wrong in someone customizing their doll to their likes, this is what these dolls are all about.


Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?

If you wipe the limited face-up and then turn around and try to sell it as a limited still, then yes the value should go down a bit. Especially if the face-up was what made the doll limited. But if you get a custom face-up on the doll, I think the value can increase in any doll, limited or standard, if it's a high quality face-up. I'm not talking Sharpies and Crayola face-ups here. A bad face-up can devalue any doll IMO.


Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?

It all depends on the sculpt. If I like the sculpt, I'll buy it with or without the original face-up. I won't buy a doll without the limited face-up if it's the same price as one with the face-up, though.

 

My limited Yun from Dolkot has a limited face-up I would'nt wipe it because it's pretty much what I paid for. If I saw the limited I bought without the face-up I would have bought the normal one.. though for me it was very much an impulse buy.
Then again people who do their owns face-ups and commission work I'd class as being more limited..

 

Since no face-up is a permanent thing on a BJD, eventually you'll have to make a decision whether to paint or not... unless you never play with or handle the doll, which sort of defeats the purpose of having the doll in the first place. But there are collectors of all types just as there are dolls of all types, which is one of the great things about this hobby.

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?
I have no problem with it. Not everyone who buys a limited doll has the same vision for it that the company did, and a doll that is handled will eventually need a new one anyways. My exception to this would be the limiteds that only a very small handful were made, because the whole package is something special.

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?
I think it depends. If it was a standard sculpt with a special faceup, of course the value drops. But if it's a unique sculpt, no. Especially if the doll's production was a significant period of time ago. Then again, it depends on what faceup the doll has when being sold. If it's a blank head, yes, the value should decrease somewhat, but if it has a very skilled custom faceup, that has value as well. Again, an exception for the very rare dolls; if there are only five dolls in the world with a certain fullset, chances are someone who wants that doll want it as a collector's piece and want it "whole".

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the original face up, or is the actual limited head more important?
I would almost definitely buy it, unless the original faceup was something that I absolutely adored and it a major reason I wanted the doll in the first place.

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?

I feel it's their property, and their right to do so. I may think it's a shame, as in your example with the Limited Shiwoo faceup, but I'm not going to say, "OMG DON'T DO THAT THAT'S SO WRONG." In the end, people should enjoy their hobbies in the way they want to. If one of my friends were wiping a limited faceup, I would advise them not to, of course, because the value of the doll might/would drop, but if they had a reason for wiping the faceup, I'd totally be okay with it.

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?

I do. I think the fact that a faceup is limited means something, and therefore increases the price of the doll. However, again, I don't think this should be more than a slight deterrent when considering wiping faceups.

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?

Yes. Absolutely yes. I own two (four? Do extra heads count?) limited dolls, one of which I bought without faceup (for three heads without faceup: Both Bygg heads and my Euclase meditation head). I obviously don't/didn't think the faceup was THAT important, or all my heads would have had the default faceup. In fact, I didn't LIKE the faceups for the Bygg heads or the Euclase Meditation head (though that also had to do with finances, I admit). Because I didn't like the faceups, I got them without faceups. In the end, it's the SCULPT of the doll, not the actual faceup, that means more to me (though a faceup can make a dramatic difference for a doll, I admit)


In the end: Do what you want, it's your doll. If you don't like the faceup, trash it. Your property, your decision. Sure, it might make the doll go down in value, but who cares? You'll enjoy it more this way, and that's what hobbies are all about.

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?
- Not just the "it's theirs they can do whatever" point. But people buy dolls for different reasons. For example, if i bought a Musedoll Polyhymnia (she's the only one that i know of off the top of my head atm) i would get the face-up regardless of whether i wanted it or not. If i wanted that sculpt and everything else about her except that face-up? Am i just not supposed to get the sculpt i want, because she only came that way and it's wasting the artist's work and effort if i wiped it?

Also, the artist will never know, and probably won't/shouldn't care either since they got paid for it anyway. Yeah it might suck being the artist if every single Polyhymnia ever sold all got customized rather than left as default, but once they're sold they're no longer the artist's to do with as they please.

Besides, does a commissioned face up artist get outraged when they see a doll they previously painted get sold and then re-customized to suit its new owner's needs? Will they ever really know unless they go looking for it? Would it be their place to say "Hey! That's disrespectful to my work for you to wipe that doll's face! I spent 3 weeks on that head! RAWR! You'd better not wipe it!"

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?
- Depends on if the new face-up is an improvement or not. :B If you wipe what is commonly considered to be a beautiful face up, then put the Crayolas to work on it and try to sell it. Yeah, it's probably going to be not so valuable. Sometimes, heads without a face up at all sell better because they allow people to see the blank canvas and what can be done with it.

Also, sometimes if you take off the default and get something custom that is equally as amazing in its own respect, then the sale value won't be hurt at all. Example: Buying a Polyhymnia again, wiping her face and giving her a well done custom face-up in whatever style that suited her owner's desire for that sculpt. If it's fantastic enough, it could even improve the sale value due to it being unique among the other dolls of that sculpt! That even happens with more common dolls too.

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?

- Depends on if i wanted that face up or not. Example being my Vesuvia. I wanted that face up Soom displayed in their pictures. Thus i ordered her with it. I did not want the face up that they showed on my Galena. Thus i ordered her without it. I wanted the head not the face up. It really depends on if the face up works for you or not, and what your plans for the doll are.

If the face up on the sculpt is what makes it my character or if that sculpt alone is what makes it my character, that's what determines how I buy the head.

If it's the face up, then i probably wouldn't buy the head without it. If it's the sculpt, that means i'm going to customize it to be my character at the end so it wouldn't matter if it came with it or without it.

 

I think it depend on HOW limited the doll is, and how likely it is that you will resell the doll.

 

If it's just the face up that's limited, I would find it a bit pointless. If the sculpt is available blank or with another "regular" face up, and you don't like the LE one anyway, why not get it that way? As for the "loved itu ntil I saw it" thing, wouldn't it be easier to just sell the doll with the LE face up?

If the whole doll is limited, and you were "forced" to get the face up because there was no blank option, then I can see why you'd do it. As for value, I think it might or might not lower it. If the new replacement face up is a big hit with the community, you might have just created a slightly more desirable version of the LE! If the face up was a "flop", and the majority of people still prefer the default one, it might get difficult to sell her.

 

How do you feel about people wiping the faceup of a limited doll?
Their money, their doll - go nuts! Two of my three LEs have custom faceups and I'm thinking of getting the third wiped as well.

Do you feel that the value of the doll drops because it doesn't have the orginal face up?
Actually, depending on the faceup artist or the quality of the work, a custom faceup can increase the value of a doll substantially. I remember Volks Heath being relatively unpopular until some beautifully customized ones started popping up in galleries and auction websites. A custom faceup can really highlight the potential of a doll - sometimes the factory faceup just does not do a doll justice!

Also, would you buy a limited doll without the orginal face up, or is the actual limited head more important?
Depends on whether or not I wanted the doll with its default faceup. Faceups may be easily changed, but restoring a factory faceup on a doll can be incredibly difficult or impossible depending on the company. Generally, however, I think the head is more important than the faceup that's on it.

 

in my opinion it would lower the price of the doll if it is the face-up that makes it different. but if it is a limited mould i'd rarther wipe the face-up for one i love, then just put up with the one given just because it is limited. You're paying a lot for the dolls, so why have it a way you don't want it.