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

Dec 10, 2008

    1. I never thought of that, but that's an amazingly good point! They would have to make clothes for this mass produced doll that would most likely be cheaper than the current clothes market! Also the accesories and the stuff that they might make for said doll would be nice to have ^.^;;!?
       
    2. I'm not sure this hobby would catch on as a mainstream thing, because generally, most people find them creepy.
      It would be easier for us, but I don't think it would affect the hobby that much. Maybe some kiddies that decide it's cool and make their friends buy some too, but they get bored easily.
       
    3. hmm... i hadn't thought about the clothes and accessories! that's a good point! i'd love to be able to go to toys r us, or even a higher end toy store, and be able to look through the outfits and buy them at an affordable price and not have to wait for them to be shipped.
       
    4. ...Unless the outfits were ALSO cheap ugly mass-produced crap, of course.
       
    5. well, some of the members already do use mass-produced clothes (kelly clothes for pukis, ken doll clothes for yo's, and i've seen some other brands of mass produced doll clothes here that i cant remember the brands or doll sizes)
       
    6. Though the clothes might not be perfect, it's a better alternative for new owners than the good old sock dress. :lol: If the outfits are on par with Teen Trends or American Girl then they'd probably be similar quality to some of the cheaper BJD stuff around already.
       
    7. Sure, but then it's only a boon for "collectors who already like cheap mass-produced clothes and/or have very tiny sized dolls to fit". My point was that for the rest of the collectors, having more cheap mass-produced clothes around wouldn't affect their shopping at all... If they already don't buy that kind of thing, having more to choose from wouldn't make them start.
       
    8. Putting aside the fact that it'll never happen for reasons already discussed...

      I think a mass produced BJD would be a great idea! I don't think it would effect those of us already in the hobby. Because it would be mass produced it would have to be of lesser quality, so I don't think it would get much interest from us. What it would do is be a great "beginner doll" for people outside of the hobby to get interested in delving in further!

      I think it would send more traffic into the BJD hobby. :Yay! More of us! :)
       
    9. Coming from the model horse hobby, perhaps I can offer a bit of help here.

      There are mainly two "types" of horses: the plastic, mass-produced made by one big American company. They are produced in large numbers out of a special plastic and are therefore relatively affordable. They are meant as toys for the age 8+.
      Disadvantage: the level of detail is relatively lower.

      Then we have the second group of artist resin horses. Like with BJDs, there are some hundred artists usually casting horses in low numbers (depending on the molds, 50 examples on average). When these are sold out, they are gone. They are much more expensive than the plastic horses, as there is more work involved, and they are really hand made.

      Most often people are introduced to the hobby by the plastic figurines. However, when they discover the beauty and delicacy of resin, they get the "resin bug".

      So there we have both sides of the coin (apport from the wide field of modding), and every hobbyist can choose what he or she wants to own and collect.

      I like this choice quite a lot, and I have both. However, there are differences, you cannot deny it. So I think it may be a good thing to have such "mass-produced" dolls. You really still cannot compare them to the "artist resin dolls".

      Another option would be that plastic dolls may be (if made of the right type of plastic) more robust than resin dolls. Then more people would dare moddings, and they would be a good method to excercise alterations.

      Just my two cents.
       
    10. My first doll was a massed produced BJD, I got her first b/c she was alot cheeper and to see if I could do my own face up and get to understand a BJD. All in all It was a good idea b/c I feel in love with BJD's and then felt more confortable buying a much more exspensive doll. There is no comparrison between them but like I said it gave me the confidence to put alot of money on another doll and I was able to know I will never do my own face ups! LOL ^_^
       
    11. This topic reminds me of the Cabbage Patch craze back in the 80's. You could go to Georgia and get a hand made CPK and pay alot of money for the original OR you could have ones that people could afford to give to their children.
      I dont think it would stop us collectors from getting originals hand made but, it would make them affordable for folks on a budget and for kids to play with.
      Just like today. The CPK's are still available for in a Kids Version and also available for the collector to have an original.
      Just my thought on the subject.
       
    12. Well Customhouse has a PVC line..so I guess..this fits the mass produced theme? And yes, they look exactly the same to the resin versions.
       
    13. well it has an advantage and disadvantages. Like for example, the toy car models or train models. Collectors prefer the handmade ones because it's more detailed and there's this personal touch of the maker itself unlike the ones that are mass produced etc :) The advantage of the mass production is that the products can be distributed to different countries and it can be found easily. BJDs would be cheaper. The clothes also would also be cheaper :)

      well for me, i'd rather have the handmade ones :) I like the personal touch of it :)
       
    14. I think there could be both good and bad things about a mass produced doll.

      The positive would of course be that it would allow younger or inexperienced owners to "test" out whether they would be interested in the hobby or not before committing to the more expensive dolls. However, on the flip side, the mass-produced doll might become a bandwagon item, which would lower the appreciation level for some people, or maybe become a status symbol (I can afford the more expensive dolls - therefore I'm better)

      However, as always, I think it would all depend on the person.
       
    15. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOO NO !!!
      I am against mass producing!!! That's the whole reason why the prices of these dolls is explainable, and what makes them so valuable and precious and dear to people's hearts is usually knowing all the work that went through them!!!!

      Plus there are cheaper dolls for people who want beginner's dolls already. Mass producing things just takes the heart out of things :(

      Just as an example, my mom is a cake decorator, and she takes great joy out of her work, but now that's she's joined a bakery, all the little decorations and such are made in molds instead of hand-crafted, and everyone thinks it's a real shame :/ plus we've learned that there are MACHINES that can ice a cake now, and that was just... blaspheme!! XD (at least in my house hurr)

      Oh and since your hypothetical company is just getting started in the bjd market... eh a lot of those jumping-on-the-bandwagon companies don't turn out to well, a few do, but most are just... not great.. (thinks of Dollcatch incidences...)

      So yeah, mass producing these gorgeous pieces of art... no I don't think so. It's not like they're in a shortage or anything anyway, we can still buy them, what's the worry?
       
    16. I don't see how having mass-produced dolls would affect us. I rarely see clothes made better than what I am able to sew, anyway. Hell, maybe people would quit saying how 'creepy' BJDs are if they saw them on a regular basis. *I* am creepy, my dolls aren't!
       
    17. Mass production usually destroys quality to an extent.
      For example, I've had many clothes where buttons fell of after a day, or seams start to unravel, etc. And patterns are usually pretty rough and not subtle and refined.
      Or Ikea-like furniture that doesn't completely fit, because the hole 2mm off.
      There is no time for precision and itty bitty details.

      This is a down side of the mass production I am not particularly fond of.
       
    18. I have to disagree here. In fact, if mass production is executed correctly, every piece will be exactly the same. This is impossible to achieve by hand-made items.

      With today's CAD-systems and industrial robots, a degree of uniformity is possible which is unattainable for human manual workers.

      What gets lost is the uniqueness and quality of handmade items. But every medal has two sides.
       
    19. Negative.
      The quality would slowly become worse, they would find new ways to make it cheaper and it would no longer be an Asian-ball-jointed-doll. And one of the main attractions for bjds is that they are so rare and difficult to find and buy, its part of their charm. i think i would kill me inside if bjds were ever mass-produced
       
    20. Having thought about it, I guess technically it cannot be realized. For mass-produced dolls, you need steel molds. These cost giant amounts of money (several ten thousand dollars). To balance that, you have to sell a lot of the same product.

      And this is not what we want. One of the most important things of this hobby: every doll is individual. And if you have several ten thousands of the same sculpt, this is not guaranteed any longer. Even with different wigs, eyes, etc.

      I guess the hobbyists would simply not accept this.

      And anyway, there are already companies, which offer even big BJDs at very reasonable prices. That should be enough to start.