Would a mass-produced BJD be negative or positive for the hobby?

I must ask here, where do you get the idea of a "weird doll collector" stigma? Having collected various types of dolls for over 20 years, I've never run into such a thing. Dolls are the number 2 collectable just behind stamps & coins, which for some reason are counted together. If they were separated, dolls would place number 1 as the most collected object.

Doll clubs & publications profilerate. This is NOT a fringe hobby. BJDs are simply the hot doll right now & do appeal to many people who were not previously interested in dolls but there are just as many collectors of these dolls who have moved into this type from other doll collecting areas.

And so what if you're lumped in with the general doll community? Why is that so bad? Is there something so intristically special about being an ABJD owner? Or is it simply the desire to feel special & set apart from more traditional collectors? And let me tell you, if you think these dolls are expensive, you'd never believe what some folks pay for artist originals & antique dolls. The vast majority of those run in the thousands & tens of thousands dollars.

Sorry for getting so OT here but the many negative references in various threads about general doll collectors have finally gotten to me.

 

I think that having mass produced BJD would lower the prices. But I also think that the quality would suffer because mass produceing things tend to have imperfections.

Plus these dolls are works of art, if someone wants one they should have to pay for it.

 

Wouldn't this work similar to Barbies? While anybody can walk into a store and buy a normal Barbie, only collectors will buy the more expensive, LE Barbies. The fact that there's LE Barbies doesn't stop your average consumer, and the fact that there's normal Barbies doesn't stop the collector.

From a noob perspective, I kinda like the idea of mass-manufactured BJDs. If somebody isn't sure about the hobby they can test the waters with a vinyl doll.

 

I don't think it would have much an effect on the hobby itself. Collectors would still buy the high quality more expensive models, while other would buy the cheaper ones. I would still buy resin dolls, for sure!

The one change I could see that it would have would be that BJD sized clothes and accessories would become more available. That and kids of collectors could be 'just like mommy or daddy' who collect BJDs, without purchasing an expensive doll they may play with too much and break...

 

It's interesting to think about - everyone has valid points both for and against the mass-production of BJD's at cheaper costs to appeal to a broader market. For me, it's hard to say. Personally, I think that once something "hot" is caught by mass media, there is an over-saturation of that product which effectively fizzles interest out after a peak time. Remember Ty Beanie Babies? They used to be sold only in specialty card and gift shops. They were limited in numbers and styles were retired after so long, all to feed into the demand. Over time, the craze reached a peak, and once other companies began to offer pellet-filled stuffed animals at cheaper prices and more accessible markets, the novelty of the original Ty brand began to expire. These days, they're like, 3 for $5 at Wallgreens - a store you never would have thought to find such an up-scale brand. I've even found long-retired styles once considered very rare on the bargain table in Kay-B-Toys.

So, in the case of BJD's - it's hard to say how the hobby would be effected if Western companies began to take the style and market it to mass production. The comment about Barbies is a good one - there are limited styles for collectors (which there are many) and then your average $5 Barbie for your 4 year-old sister, niece, or daughter. A thing to consider, though, is that the quality between the exclusive collectable Barbie generally isn't much different from the $5 one. In fact, I understand it to be the case that the value of a collectable Barbie is in keeping it in perfect condition in an unopened original box. With BJD's, we can handle them, manipulate them, etc - but at the same time, we do so carefully (if we are a responsible owner) with the knowledge that these are very expensive artistic pieces. Kept in good condition, the value of a BJD is generally the same regardless if it's been used or brand new.

There was one comment expressing that if cheaper, less-fragile BJD's exposed a new market to the hobby, what would be the risk of a casual fan mishandling the original, resin pieces, ignorant because they then think that all BJD's regardless of the material is the same? Is that necessarilly something we should worry about? No. What someone does with their money is their business. I've seen some crazy things with BJD's that I never would imagine I'd justify doing to something so fragile and costing hundreds of dollars.

Personally? I don't think any of the existing BJD companies are in a position that they would need to mass-market. All you need to do is click around DOA and hear the moans of poor expectant owners being told that the companies are backlogged and the wait-time has been extended. All these new molds and limiteds are popping up ... really, it's not necessary. I don't see a need to mass market to gain more general appeal. Now, that's not to say other toy/doll companies won't break into it once they see or notice the popularity within the collecting community. But customizable dolls aren't anything new. American Girl, anyone? Build-A-Bear? A lot of small dolls, including Barbie, have also had swappable parts. They may come up with something similar, but until they notice the market hurting, I think BJD's will stay the exclusive item that they are for a while.

 

-click me-

Well.

It does say her eyes can be changed, and I don't know about the hair, but she meets all the criteria and is about the size of a MSD.

 

BJDs being mass-produced would be one of those double-edged sword kind of deals.

It could impact the hobby both positively and negatively.

Positive is that it could become more popular, meaning that we would have higher traffic and interested individuals in OUR ABJDs. Companies may begin making new/more dolls, more limiteds, and Volks may hold physical Dolpas again. It could be very good for the companies!

The negative part is that people are retarded.

 

I don't think it would have much impact--remember, dolls with ball joints have been around for a long time. What makes our abjds what they are is the style as well as the way they are made. I doubt a mass produced bjd is going to have a lot in common with our dolls except for the joints. It would also cater more to the younger crowd most likely--more durable play dolls, less expensive rather than expensive resin dolls geared towards an older audience that require more care--it would strike me that the markets would tend to be different for each.

As for what non bjd or doll people think--who cares? No matter what other dolls are or aren't on the market there will always be people who think we are nuts to spend so much on a doll. They're always going to think that way, but what they think has no bearing on anything anyway.

 

I found another link for that doll, where it says it's been cancelled. Is it me or does it look just like a 43cm Narae, down to the face paint?
I find it very odd, especially when the Hannah Montana doll they are showing seems to be a Photoshop creation and not an actual prototype. Look at the body pose, and the hairline on the doll. It doesn't look like an actual doll.
http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-301212001.jsp

I know Ashton Drake is supposed to be a reputable company, which is why I find the whole thing really odd. I wish I knew more about the company, so that I knew what they consider acceptable for their prototype photos. Are they known to sell dolls with mock-up photos?

 

To expand on what Ostrich is saying, I don't think "mass-produced" is probably the appropriate terminology here. Mass-produced in terms of Barbie brings to mind the basic blonde doll in a swimsuit, which you can find anywhere from Target to Big Lots to your neighborhood grocery store. Even higher end discount stores like Target don't carry a full selection of Barbie anymore and what they DO carry is aimed at little kids, with the minor exception of the Holiday Barbie and the occasional pop culture offering, like Elvis or Lucy. The collectible Barbies are a little more challenging to come by and depending on what level of "collectibility" it falls under, it can be quite limited.

Ball-jointed dolls, even vinyl ones, would require at least a minimal level of hands-on assembly, so I don't know if they could ever be truly mass-produced on a scale that would put them within the reach of any five-year-old shopping with Mom at Wal-mart. I just really doubt if they make even a miniscule impact on our hobby.

 

actually I don't know for sure if mass production would be a "good" or a "bad", And maybe it would not have a whole lot of effect on the hobby.

yes they would become more affordable, that would be a good thing for most people
But
They would most likely indeed be made from other materials and thus might not spark the interest of Resin Ball joint lovers.

but in the end I think my personal conclution would also be that mass production of BJD's would be imposible, if they mass produce only one sculpt it would probably soon lose the interest of the collectors.

and mass producing the number of : sculpts, face plates, body's, little resin wings, and so on that we can chose from now would actually be an incredibly Giant project That I think could not be finisched.

 

I could see it having an effect, but i'm not sure if it would be a negative of positive one. It would introduce more new people to the hobby, which i believe is always a good thing. However it would almost 'dilute' people who are serious collecters and enjoyers of the dolls, as a mass produced doll would likely be cheaper. This could lead to people who just think 'huh' to buy one and just leave it sitting around untill meets, or for ever.

Mass produced dolls may also open the door to much younger kids to start collecting (Say preteens) As it is not many people under 14 (roughly... please don't bite my head off if you are younger) have the dolls, as it would require a lot of saving of money which not many younger people have available. With more young people the dolls could simply buying the dolls because there friends have them... which doesn't seem to good to me.

 

I believe this seller was infamous among Pullip collectors for having listed on their sales page dolls that were only prototypes and were never released or never even properly announced. It's possible that the original item was just a BJD outfit, or that this was some kind of prototype photo or concept art that wasn't meant to actually sell a doll, and that seller has incorrectly identified it. The doll has apparently been canceled and still that seller is trying to sell it, so clearly something is fishy.

 

Actually I own a Limited Edition Barbie still in the box. I thought she was so cool that I bought a second one of the same type and opened the box. My LE Barbie is very fragile compared to a normal 5 dollar one. I was actually surprised. My LE Barbie is probably going to break before a bjd will.

As for the real topic at hand, I think it would be near impossible to actually mass produce these. Doesn't the stringing need to be done by hand? That alone would make the price pretty high, I would think. If the mass produced ones were at least $100 then you might as well pay a little more to get a resin. There are quite a few that aren't much more than that (well based on the size of'course im working from msd size in my mind).

 

I think an original, less expensive, mass produced doll could be a good thing for both companies and consumers.

Establishing an absolute lowest possible price would hopefully force all other companies to focus on creating quality, original dolls. It wouldn't be enough for a company to just release anything, regardless of quality or originality, and expect some buyers to buy it as long as it was cheap enough.

In the same way, it would definitely reduce the demand for bootleg copies of non-limited dolls.

But I don't know if it would be possible to create such a thing.

 

Collectibles Today is Ashton Drake's marketing 'arm' so to speak, so it's not really fishy. It's common for these sort of companies to advertise dolls to see what sort of reaction they get, and if there is not enough orders, to scrap the project altogether ( I know this from experience). Sort of like the preorder thing with the BJDs.

 

Sorry, I was talking about the "Delilah" doll linked before, which is being sold by guyzndollz4- I think this is the same seller who was previously posting dolls for sale which didn't exist.