Would you consider collecting BJDs a mainstream versus unique kind of hobby?

When it finally becomes "mainstream", we won't have 500 threads about people calling the dolls creepy or being freaked out about the price. Obviously it's not "mainstream" yet since those things are still going on.

And I agree, customizing a doll is not "unique". I was looking at Barbie and Blythe repaints and reroots and storylines for years and years before I discovered BJDs.

 

I think it's an issue of semantics. When I say "90% of doll collectors", I'm making the assumption (which might be entirely wrong) that this chunk of people includes mostly the kind who buy Barbie, Bratz, Moxie Girls, Liv Dolls, Madame Alexander Dolls, etc, which are largely produced to be enjoyed as-is, without much more happening than a change of outfit. I would imagine that the large bulk of people who collect these enjoy them in that capacity.

But, like GreenieBone pointed out, there's a lot of grey area between "common" and "unique", and similarly there's a huge grey area in the realm of "how much do you customise your doll?".

I think that, no matter how you slice it, collecting BJD's--specifically BJD's--is far less common than, say, collecting matchbox cars or Coca Cola paraphernalia, but yeah, if you think of it as just "collecting" or "doll collecting", then in that sense it's way more common.

Regardless, I'm not in it to be 'weird' or 'different', I'm in it because there are several things about BJD's that appeal to me on several levels, and whatever comes with that is pretty much part and parcel of the package for me.

 

Agreed.

I think the BJD scene is different to other collctors hobbies in that there's not the impetus to complete a collection. BJD people don't want to 'collect them all', they generally just want the doll(s) which appeal to them. I wouldn't really see it as different to any other variety of doll hobby, though.
Perhaps this hobby is most unusual in the peripheral interests it connects with such as sewing and photography.

I'm not sure about the mainstream thing. It's not like a secret society or impossible to get into. OK, most people out there just won't ever 'get' it, but it's impinged enough on internet/anime fandom to have an article dedicated to it on encyclopedia dramatica. And when you think it was only about a decade ago when Volks started out with dollfies it hasn't taken long for BJDs to catch on and lots of other companies to pick up the idea. I expect in 10 years the bjd scene will be a lot more mainstream as it diversifies develops and draws in more fans. Yeah, it's not like there's going to be a doll in every home, not everyone who sees a bjd wants one but I think there will come a point when they become well known enough that most of the sort of people who are interested in bjds will have been exposed to them.

 

Reading this site about doll collecting (any doll) tells me otherwise. Read #7. Is that so different from how we enjoy our hobby? Heck, the entire list sounds very familiar.

EDIT to answer the OP's question: We haven't invented the doll collecting hobby. We're not new, we're not unique, we have just narrowed our focus one one particular type of doll. And again, that is really not such an uncommon practice.

 

All that really says is to unbox and play with your dolls; it doesn't encourage collectors to repaint their dolls' faces, make clothes for them, or pop out their eyes and change them.

My point is simply that: some of the particulars of BJD's make them different from collecting other types of dolls, and as a specific hobby it's not as "mainstream" as others (stamp collecting, camping, having a pet dog, going to the movies). Ultimately, yeah, it's doll collecting, but as a specific hobby, it's not very common, not part of the public consciousness, and definitely not mainstream.

 

I would not mind. I understand why BJDs are as expensive as they are, but if there were cheaper alternatives and I loved the mold I would buy them and they would join my doll family, just the way my Pullip has. Even though I like being unique in my every day life, my dolls are not a part of that. My favorite doll (don't tell the others) is one of the most common tinies out there (LittleFee Ante). My other BJD is a Brownie (not at all uncommon since the sale). I would not mind if more people derived this much joy from dolls as I do. I think it would be kind of nice.

 

I agree. "Unique" is kind of a subjective term, so it's open to interpretation. One could say every BJD collector is unique, since the intended level of customization for this type of doll is so high, and every doll is different. But on the other hand, one could say BJD collectors are not "unique" because it really is just a niche in a larger hobby. As others in the thread have said... any doll can be customized, really.

As for "Mainstream"... BJDs are growing in popularity, but I wouldn't quite call them "mainstream" yet. When I'm discussing hobbies with people, I still have to explain what a "ball-jointed doll" is. If it were truly mainstream, I could just say "I collect ball-jointed dolls" without further explanation and most people would know what I meant.

 

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

There are quite a few of us in this hobby who both self-identify *as* collectors, and who have or want complete "sets" of one sort or another... Every release from a certain series, or from a specific sculptor or company, for instance, or every version ever made of a particular favorite sculpt. Yes, we like the dolls we're collecting. But make no mistake about the collector's instinct for "completeness" also being a factor in what we buy.

 

Actually, no one has given one single example of anything that's "unique" to bjds as opposed to other branches of doll collecting, or why it should be considered a special case instead of just a niche in one of the most common hobbies out there (look at higher posts for the prevalence.) Customising isn't "different"; not wanting every single one isn't "different"; expense isn't "different"; emotional investment isn't "different"; photostories aren't "different"; taking them out in public isn't "different"; conventions and meets aren't "different". These are all things prevalent in the wider hobby, which is a pretty damn common hobby. And they don't even apply to everyone who collects bjds, in any case - we don't ostracise people for factory faceups and limited editions, or march them to meetups at gunpoint.

Not so much an issue of semantics as, and i don't mean this nastily, it's understandable, making false assumptions based on lack of knowledge.

It seems to me that this thread is spiltting quite nicely between people who are more aware of the greater context of the doll hobby, possibly because they are older and have had contact with other streams, and people who aren't really aware of what other collectors do, are judging it by whether their schoolfriends/workmates/Mums know all about bjds and, possibly, have an emotional investment in thinking of their hobbies as "unique" and "special".

It still looks pretty mainstream to me - a bit weird, as all hobbies look from the outside, but certainly not unique.

 

Collecting dolls is pretty mainstream. Few people just collect 'dolls' -- most doll collectors collect a specific kind of doll, be it BJDs, reborns, a specific line of fashion dolls, antique dolls, and so on -- so it's not so terribly different from other doll collectors in that way.

You can say "I collect dolls" and it's pretty mainstream.

Saying "I collect Asian Ball-Joint Dolls" is not really any more unique than saying, "I collect Tonner Tyler series dolls" or "I collect <blah> series of Barbie dolls" or "I collect 1920s bed dolls", and so on. Pretty much any heading under 'doll collector' is going to be a lot more distinctive when it comes to the actual collection than the generic term 'doll collection' would imply and our choice of what type to collect is special to us, but doesn't grant any extra special distinction that any other subset of doll collectors has in regard to their preference.

'Doll collecting' is pretty mainstream. Any given collector is likely to have a specific niche collection that is substantially less so.

 

I maintain that there's an issue of semantics at work here, as it seems plain that there are differing opinions of what is meant by "mainstream" and "unique". If 'mainstream' = 'common' and 'unique' = 'uncommon', and the question is whether collecting BJD's (naming a specific kind of doll) is closer to one end or the other, it's definitely closer to the 'uncommon' end of the spectrum.

There are plenty of threads on DoA like this one, and this one, and this one, all of which illustrate that hoi polloi are unfamiliar with BJD's and might not know how to appropriately react when they see one. I think that, if anything were a testament to how common or uncommon BJD's are, then these discussions would be.

I think it was me who initially mentioned things like customising dolls, but truly this is moot to the basic question of whether the hobby itself is common or uncommon.

You're right that a person's particular exposure to other types of doll collecting might affect how peculiar they think the various aspects of the hobby are, but if we're talking about mean numbers of people who collect BJD's in terms of gauging how common it is as a hobby, then it's going to be smaller than the mean numbers of people who collect certain other types of dolls, or engage in other hobbies.

As for emotional investment in how 'unique' or 'weird' a person's hobby is, I really have none, as I believe I've mentioned before. My hobbies are mine to enjoy and, as long as no-one is getting hurt, then what another person thinks of it really doesn't matter to me. My posts in this thread have only been to discuss my view on the original question.

ETA: My interpretation of the original question has been whether collecting BJD's is common or uncommon. It occurs to me that some people have read it as "normal" vs "weird"/"abnormal", in which case a lot of the other arguments make perfect sense.

 

I don't agree. If someone comes up to me and tells me she collects Kokeshi, she'll probably get a blank stare from me. There are so many types of dolls. And most collectors narrow their focus, so they can get a special, interesting collection. BJD's are just a specific type of modern doll. That's all. Doll collecting is really a very common hobby.

Besides, I think that all grown-up doll collectors get strange looks when they carry a doll around in 'normal' situations like shopping or having a walk in the park. (perhaps reborn-collectors can get away with it if their doll is realistic enough) A doll convention is about the only place where you can do this unnoticed.

 

BJD is a steadily growing, but still niche hobby.
The hobby has seen a great boon, but I think it's to be expected. The hobby can only grow in popularity as it gains exposure; more people want the doll, so more people see the opportunity to make money and open up more stores, making more dolls available to more people.
But doll collecting is a hobby that's been around for a long time, and yet I think its popularity can only grow so large.

To me, mainstream means more along the lines of everyone knows what it is, and all the kids want it. BJD are far from even common, and with the way BJD are made to order instead of mass produced, I'm not sure it's even possible for them to become main stream.
If mommy can't just drive down to Toys 'R' Us and pick it up, that puts a huge dent in it's exposure and availability.

 

Bjd's are just one niche of Doll Collecting. Do I think more people will collect in the years to come? Yes I do, only because the prices are coming down and other doll companies are getting into the game. (especially 16 inches) Bottom line....What dolls do you collect? Sci-fi, reborn, children, bjd's, fashion dolls, soldiers(ex...Gi Joes), antique, and so on and so on.
Doll collecting is not unique.

 

Exactly! People are using the fact that people don't really know the specifics of this one kind of doll as some badge of uniqueness - but really, what do most people know about papier-mache dolls or Jem dolls or Franklin Mint dolls? You can't just go to Toys R Us and buy, say, a Sybarite, or a reborn kit, or a lovingly restored Pippa doll, but a definition of "unique" that comes down to "Not at Toys R Us" is a pretty all-encompassing definition of "unique".

Again, no one is really going to know allllll about every single kind of doll out there. (And I personally find the whole concept of "reacting appropriately" to a doll kind of bizarre.)

Bjd collecting is actually, as far as doll collecting goes, a pretty damn big group, especially when you take into account the Asian market. I'm pretty sure some of my doll collection have much smaller groups of hobbyists than bjds. Besides, it seems pointless to me to take a big hobby and chop it up into tinier and tinier focusses in order to claim uniqueness for each subsubsubsection - if you start slicing the doll collecting hobby up like that, it goes from second biggest to zillions of tiny overlapping "unique" groups, and that's awfully misleading. And on the other hand, there are a zillion company websites you can buy from, so many dealers, Ebay, taobao, Y!Japan, lots of forums, livejournal groups, mailing lists... They're not all that obscure compared to some of the dolls people collect. Barbie is not the only thing to compare bjds to, you know?

I really don't think bjds are some kind of unique special case in doll collecting. I agree with Silk that they're just a case of focussing your collection, which is kind of a necessity, whether you are collecting dolls, baseball cards, manga, vintage cars or little crystal dinosaurs. And again, doll collecting is a pretty mainstream hobby.

 

It definitely falls into the realm of, "uncommon" hobbies. It's rare to meet anyone where I live who knows about them and even hobby stores here haven't a clue when you ask them about BJDs. On the other hand, mention porcelain doll collecting and they know instantly what you're talking about.

 

The only people I know who collect dolls of any kind are people I have met at doll shows or conventions. The only people I have ever met who collect these specific dolls are people I have met online here and at doll meets. I have two distinct groups of friends: doll people and everyone else. Lots of people I know don't have any hobbies at all that I can tell, except for watching and keeping up with pro sports on television and playing the odd game of golf or tennis. Doll collecting may be a popular hobby with people who like hobbies, but the vast majority of people I know just hang out with friends and family when they have spare time. I don't think they're mainstream at all; most people are completely unaware of their existence unless they happen to like dolls in general.

 

Exactly.

I think of 'mainstream' as something that's in the popular consciousness. So, while almost everyone understands "Doll Collecting" the OP is asking where the BJD hobby falls on the spectrum of 'mainstream vs unique'. Almost everyone who I talk to about BJD's has gotten a brief primer from me about what they are because they're not part of the popular consciousness in the U.S. They may be in Asia, but I don't live there, haven't been there, and don't often talk to people who live in Asia, so for me, they're not part of the popular consciousness. The exception to this "brief primer from me" rule is made up of people I met via DoA/at a doll meetup.

Ultimately, as you've said, whether BJD's are mainstream or niche has little to no impact on how interested I am in them. If they suddenly became available at the local shopping mall, I'm not going to stop collecting because they're "too popular", "too trendy" or whatever. I'm interested in dolls, and really, BJD's are simply another kind of doll that I'm interested in.

 

I consider this a unique hobby because even when I'm in cities carrying my lishe, people come up and ask me what he is. Doll collectors in my town ask me what my dolls are. I don't care though. I don't collect to make myself look popular. I collect because I love them. I doubt this hobby will ever be mainstream, at least not in the town I live in. People I work with/go to school with drop their jaw after they have heard the prices for the dolls and once that price has been said, they lose interest immediately.

I wouldn't really stop collecting even if it did become mainstream. Usually trendy things are easy to buy, easy to use/wear/do. So even trendy people would probably sell the doll because they have no use for it once the trend's over. I find that pointless.