Would you go to a physical BJD store?

If you had a physical store devoted to BJD in your area:

Would you go to it?

All the time. I'd be known by name pretty quickly.

What would you expect to find there?

A selection of BJDs, lots of pamphlets, cards and paraphernalia from the various doll companies the shop is representing, some wigs/eyes/clothes/shoes, a small selection of furniture/accessories, doll magazines, a few cute things like re-ment etc. The dolls would be set up in dioramas, or artistic arrangements that showcase them perfectly.

What would you want it to have?

BJDs in different sizes, perhaps an ordering station for dolls the dealer doesn't have in stock. I feel like a good bjd store would collaborate with local artisans/online artisans as well as the doll companies, so maybe there would be stuff you could normally only get on etsy for sale in the shop as well. A large variety of clothes, wigs (or perhaps a small selection to start out with, to build on as the shop becomes more successful), shoes, eyes, furniture, carrying cases and accessories would be great, as well as dolls/clothes from a large price range (from really reasonable to highly expensive, so that there could be more choice for customers). I'd love the shop to be an experience unto itself, so perhaps, a tiny tea/coffee shop annexed to the store would be ideal. There could be different themes to each doll display. Also, similar to the service in the Volks stores, there would be knowledgeable sales staff who are more than willing to help you spoil your doll rotten, and make suggestions for you and your doll--though unlike Volks, which is selling dolls and products solely from its' company, in a store that represents many different sellers, your service wouldn't be specific to one brand only. I think it would be great if you could walk into a BJD store and have your doll fawned over, be it Soom, Fairyland, Bobobie, or a BJD from any company.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?

Hmmm. Depends on the hobby. I'd say setting up dolls in an established miniatures store might work, if you section it off correctly, and advertise yourself properly (Volks did miniatures before sculpting/selling a line of BJDs, after all)--these hobbies require certain materials that are similar (hobby spray and tools, for example). Starting off as a doll/hobby shop might be a little tricky though, as the initial output would be enormous, and you'd have to pick hobbies that mesh well together. Azones, etc might be a good thing to carry on the side, or re-ment, or possibly, Japanese Roleplaying video games --though JRPGs are an exceedingly niche market and don't sell well by themselves in physical stores, unless you hit conventions, from what I've seen. I'd think it would really boil down to how well you advertise yourself, and how many people you can get to spread the word out in the communities you're targeting. I think it'd be an interesting idea, though. It would require a ton of research, but I think it might pay off, if you do it right.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
At one point, there was a shop that sold BJDs in my vicinity but it was a pretty long bus ride to get to, and if my memory serves me correctly it carried a small selection of the ball jointed dolls themselves (I imagine it was a pretty huge expense to carry them, and renting store space in the Toronto area is NOT cheap). Sadly, even though I went to this shop often in it's pre-BJD years, by the time it sold these types of dolls I was working full time and unable to find time to get there. From what I remember, they had fantastic, super friendly customer service, a jaw-dropping Barbie display and a huge variety of dolls there. Just going to that place was an outing in itself. I have to say I miss it quite a bit.

 

Would you go to it? In a heart beat!

What would you expect to find there? In-stock clothes, accessories, and wigs.

What would you want it to have? ALL THE THINGS

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Yes of course.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it?? I haven't been. I really want to go to Japan and check out doll shops there, and in the US I'd love to visit Denver Doll Emporium!

 

Would you go to it? Yes, immediately, and I'd probably end up hanging around there rather than in human fashion stores. I'm planning to visit at least one or two when I travel to Japan at the end of this year.

What would you expect to find there? Clothes, accessories, and wigs - that I would actually be able to physically see the sizes and colours of, and maybe even feel the textures! I wou,ld expect a larger one to have a couple of dolls of each size stocked, or perhaps their own doll sculpts or special offers from popular companies.

What would you want it to have? Ideally, a bit of everything. It'd be interesting to see a store where the clothes mannequins are actually for sale as well as the fashion! Maybe there could be different sections - a salon for face-up tools, eyes, and wigs, and then a closet to choose from clothes. It'd certainly be much nicer than a regular shop with cluttered aisles and boring black shelves, because BJDs are a bit more precious than groceries. I imagine it'd be a bit like the Barbie dreamhouse I explored at a Toys R Us in Manhattan.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Yes, of course - I'd even be happy if it was just a section of a general toy or model store! There is a shop near where I live that sells some doll things, but they're aimed at the baby-dolls you give to 5 year olds more than anything.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it? Sadly not

 

Would you go to it? Of course! I would spend a lot of time in a BJD store.

What would you expect to find there? Everything for BJD's. I'd love to have the opportunity to see dolls from almost all companies before choosing to buy one.

What would you want it to have? Dolls, accessories, furniture, I guess just a little bit of everything.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Yes. Especially collectable anime figurines or manga.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it?? Never been to a physical store.

 

It really depends on what the store has to offer. I would gladly take the time to visit a Volks store in Japan, as I have a pretty good idea of what items I can expect to find in stock--and those expected items include things I actively want to buy. I'm less inclined to visit a ball-jointed doll store if I'm unsure of stock or theme. I know that there were a few stores in my area that catered to doll collectors (including a limited bjd-related selection), but it's never been worth it for me to take the time to travel to those stores because they were not stocking products I'd be likely to purchase. I don't really want to go just to look--and, honestly, the store doesn't want me to do that, either!

It's really difficult to carry the right products. Inventory and inventory holding costs are expensive and hard to predict accurately while still keeping prices competitive. That's why new physical specialty stores have such a hard time staying in business.

I'd love to go to a doll store someday, if it carried items I wanted to buy at the right prices.

 

Would you go to it? Probably

What would you expect to find there? Dolls, maybe, doll stuff, maybe some store-specific stuff.

What would you want it to have? Clothes and accessories. Dolls maybe, but depends on what they carry

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Depends on the hobby, but I wouldn't mind.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it?? Never really been to one, the closest I've been to was a small figurine shop.

 

Would you go to it? Of course!!!! In a heart beat! It would be a dream come true having a physical BJD store to visit!

What would you expect to find there? Dolls?? LOL Everything for dolls!

What would you want it to have? clothes, shoes and props!!!!

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? no problems with that!

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it?? never been in one, unfortunately!!!

 

Would you go to it?
Yes! It would really help to see the dolls sizes and resin colors before purchase. I'd also just love to go to look around at all the items.

What would you expect to find there?
Dolls, wigs, eyes, clothing, accessories, restring and maintenance tools

What would you want it to have?
maybe dioramas that customers could bring their dolls to and take photos, face-up supplies, "help I need to learn how to restring my doll" classes or face-up classes would be nice

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
As long as they are somewhat related, I don't see a problem with other hobbies being there.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
Unfortunately, I haven't had the pleasure to go to a physical store.

 

i have never bean in one and i wish there was one. they could sell everything that has anything to do with a BJD from doll to eye wig clothing furniture face up material and so on

 

I live a few minutes away from DDE and have been a loyal customer for about 10 years... yikes! Anyways, they do have other hobbies there. They have gorgeous antique dolls as well as Pullips, Tonners, etc. but it's all doll related. They have bjds, clothes for all sizes, wigs, shoes, stringing tools, eyelashes, all kinds of stuff. I generally can get anything I need there with the exception of some specific facup supplies (pastels, MSC, paint). It's a smaller shop run by a mom and her daughters and they are super friendly. I've gotten to watch their kids grow up which is really crazy. They've even gotten involved in some community stuff in the past which was really cool! When they had a bigger store we were able to have meetups there. They've had to downsize to a smaller store though so it's too small for meets now but I still will meet up with a friend or two there and shop. I dunno... it's just really nice and friendly atmosphere. I like being there.

 

It would be brilliant but I think it wouldn't survive here in Australia unless they also had an online presence for selling. There were 74 "customers" who came to a bjd show I attended recently, which isn't enough to support a bricks 'n' mortar store which is open 7 days a week.

 

Would you go to it?
Yes.

What would you expect to find there?
A few different brands and sizes of BJDs, maybe some basic clothes, shoes, eyes, wigs and doll-care/customization supplies like wig caps, elastic, stringing tools, Mr. Super Clear, ect.

What would you want it to have?
CLOTHES! Awesome quality lolita sets (maybe even a commission service), and a variety of BJDs of course.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
Yes, depending on the hobby, I would not be ok with a BJD store that also sells hunting supplies or anything like that.

If you have been to a physical BJD store, how was it??
I've never been to one.

 

I've never been to a physical doll shop and I don't see why i shouldn't go there, although I cant really think of any particular reason why i would want to go their either. I'm not particularly into buying doll clothes or most accessories (since i can make them myself), and I already have dolly plans so yea.

 

Would you go to it?
Yes.
What would you expect to find there?
Dolls and stuff for dolls.

What would you want it to have?

Dolls and doll stuff.

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?

I don't care.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
Never been.

 

A physical shop would be awesome considering you wouldn't have to wait for shipping and online payment processing etc. Plus you'd have a better understanding of what you get if it's physically in front of you.

 

I would love to be able to go to a physical store. Hopefully they'd allow us to bring our doll in with us, so we can see if things would actually fit or look good. For example, I need some eye glasses, but the thought of having to order them online over and over until I find the right ones that actually fit, is too daunting to even try. But in a real store, it would be infinitely easier. And cheaper, since there wouldn't be all the waste of ordering things that don't fit. Not to mention saving on the shipping charges.

 

Would you go to it? Absolutely, if it was a reasonable distance from me.

What would you expect to find there? Dolls and accessories (or at least, a few dolls and some way to either view more for sale or order them from the companies), probably eyes, wigs, body stockings and painting supplies. Maybe miniatures and furniture too?

What would you want it to have? The above, definitely! Furniture wouldn't be necessary but it would be pretty neat. I dunno, I would think it could be pretty cool to have a direct line to IKEA so we could also order shelving for all these dolls and their stuff, haha!

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too? Absolutely! Several other hobbies bisect the doll one - miniature work, model kits and figure painting (like airplanes, trains and Warhammer!), manga/anime, lolita... Obviously a store specifically for dolls would only attract a certain subset of the population, but if it was a general hobby store then maybe it could get more business?

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it?? No, sadly. There isn't one near me that I'm aware of, but I have gone to a few doll/teddy bear shows. They were neat! Not a huge focus on BJDs specifically, but it was neat to see all the different kinds of dolls and bear people collect and accessorize.

 

Would you go to it?
yes, if only they can be more available around me, i shoukd go weekly!

What would you expect to find there?
at least wigs and eyes...it would be nice if they can have some ready stocks, some displays and better yet taking preorders at the official price

What would you want it to have?
Lati please!

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
sure, as long as they have dolls
i consider it a doll shop

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
yes
it is nice
i like hanging out there
except th prices rage there...if only it is more affordable

 

reading some of your responses makes me feel like such a shop is not only my idea of a 'heaven on earth' :3

Would you go to it?
OMG YEEES *o*

What would you expect to find there?
Lots of cute shoes, hats, bags, wigs, and dolly accessories that one can actually try on before buying. Plus, some extra stuff for sewing: small-print fabrics, tiny buttons, ready-made bows and flowers... yeah

What would you want it to have?
a 'shop' place and also a small corner to have some coffee and biscuit plus another tiny corner to take a few pics. Something, where for a little fee, small bjd meetings could have been scheduled and organised. Plus, pink and azure and creme walls, small crystal(-like) chandeliers, fluffly carpet... and nice, Louvre-inspired furniture and all that kind of stuff. That for the coffee/photo area. As for the shop area - still pink but modernised...

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
depends... but i'd just like e.g. the fans of literature and painitng still feel fine in the place

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
nope, never :3 but seeling some pictures on other people's blogs makes me feel awesome alone, so I can only imagine how awesome it must be irl

 

Would you go to it?
Heck YES. I love being able to see and hold stuff I'm buying.

What would you expect to find there?
Clothes, Eyes, Wigs, Maybe some of those cute pets that have magnets in them? Ideally they'd also have some dolls in stock from various companies. (I'm thinking like, a brick and mortar Alice's Collections sorta place)

What would you want it to have?
CLOTHESSS. Especially shoes. My boy needs some shoes, but i always worry I'll order them the wrong size >w<

Would you be fine with it having other hobbies in there too?
If they're in the same vein. Like those D&D miniatures. Or maybe some PlayLine dolls. Basically, the themes are Dolls and customization.

If you have been to a physical bjd store, how was it??
n/a