Your opinion on Volks?

Honestly the Volks dolls are why I never really got into BJD's for a long time. I'd seen them online but they really just did not appeal to me for a lot of reasons. I think they're way overpriced compared to other similar dolls and I'm not a fan of the look of them either. But to each his or her own. Some people love Volks and don't mind the hefty price tag. I don't know, to me Volks, it's like this major status symbol doll line. It's a bit of a turn off for me, shrug.

 

I think the price tag is higher because when you purchase a resin doll from them they include a faceup, simple outfit(like pjs), eyes and wig.

 

The Dollfie Dream (DD) line of dolls is exclusively female. In Volks resin line of dolls, they do indeed make males as well. There are Yo-SD males, MSD males, SDCute males, Midi males, SD males (though none of those are available as standard models anymore), SD13 males (also not available as standards anymore), SDGr males, SD16 males, SD17 males, SDGou males.

 

Yep, definitely feel this. People really change their attitude towards me when they find out I own volks. It's like people think owning them makes you a doll snob, even though other dolls in my collection are super cheap. It's hard to shake the prejudice and I think is really affected volks popularity.

Seems a shame really.

 

*high fives!* XD

I think that's a bit of an oversimplification. Second hand prices on many of the limiteds can be insanely high, because the dolls are rare and hard to obtain, but they can also be ridiculously underpriced depending on the age of the doll and which body it's on. Many of the SD single-jointed bodies are not worth a lot at all, so with the right head they're a bargain. Also, if you buy a standard or an FCS direct from the company (or even a limited direct) I think they're comparably priced to other companies, especially when so many of them come fully painted and clothed with eyes and a wig. My SDMB boy was less than a Minifee and he showed up totally done with a welcoming outfit and the engineering on his body is just as amazing. The idea that all Volks dolls are overpriced status dolls is a frustrating trope in the doll hobby.

 

I like Volks but I'm not so crazy about them anymore. They did a lot to 'create' this hobby back then and we can thank them for so many innovations that opened the door for so many other companies that make gorgeous dolls and revolutionizing the doll world, but these days I'm not impressed. I wanted an MSD when I first came into this hobby but I soon found that other companies were offering much prettier sculpts and body types than Volks for the same price and in the end, Volks wasn't in my list of grail dolls.

That said I appreciate the aesthetic of their resins. I like that old-doll feel they have to them, they look very dreamlike and graceful. I wanted one of the MSD (?) girls they have right now but it seems they still have that odd body shape that they had before and I dislike their hands.

 

It is not Volks' fault that some people consider them status dolls, etc. I find the dolls themselves very well made & not horribly priced for the quality. As I've said MANY times my only problem w/Volks is one that is shared by MOST Japanese companies - the medieval marketing strategy which makes some of their dolls very hard to get (lottery plus limited plus no layaway plus some not even available unless you live in Japan or get someone in Japan to get it for you).
However, the customer service is amazing - I only bought some shoes, wigs, doll stands from them & you'd have thought I was some VIP customer when I asked some questions

 

I'm not sure I'm a big fan of Volks. Yes, they were among the first molds I discovered and for some time I was dreaming about Nana. But they're a bit childish for me and I don't like their bodies. They're pretty but not perfect for me)

 

I like Volks but I only have Dollfie Dreams and none of the resins, though I am looking at some FCS dolls on Madarake at the moment. So I can't say much about that side but I do love my DD girls out of all my others. xD

 

I think highly of Volks because I've heard great things from those who own Volks dolls. Personally I like several of their sculpts, but not enough to pay secondhand prices for them or sit and watch for lotteries. I'll just admire other people's pictures instead ^^ With DD, I think they are unique and I enjoy looking at photos but not something I would purchase for myself.

 

Too true. An ugly side of the hobby that I keep hoping we'll grow out of, but never do.

But back OT- on the subject of male DD, check out the DD discussion thread! There are some DD boys I think the 05 and 07 heads make nice anime boys with a good faceup, and Obitsu makes a vinyl male doll to hybrid the head with. So there are no official DD boys but you can make your own custom one. They're really cute!

 

I have some Volks action figures but none of their dolls. I don't mind some of their resin sculpts but not enough to want any of them. Also it's funny since I love anime/manga but DDs are of no interest to me. I like more realistic and varied faces with distinctly sculpted features. It really just comes down to personal preference though.

 

I've generally been fairly neutral on Volks, since they overall don't fit my aesthetic. I don't view them as "status symbols," nor do I view the owners as "elitist" purely based on their ownership of Volks dolls (anyone can be elitist, no matter what dolls they own). To be frank, I mostly just don't care for the body style... though I might be warming up a bit based on the newer body sculpts. I do think the head sculpts are lovely, and I've seen some great Volks dolls in my time in the hobby, but at least at this point, there still isn't quite a place for them in my own collection.

 

i did not care about Volks that much and doll looks just fine to me with their default make up but i like their props like part of default stuff. they are very exquisite.

 

I feel the same way.

As I said earlier in the thread, Volks dolls are for the most part not to my taste. However, when another person has them, I assume it's for the same reason any person has any doll - they like them and think they look nice. I would never assume it's snobbery, just that they have different taste than I do.

 

I can't speak for every collector out there, but I pick dolls for my crew based on how much I like their individual sculpts rather than the supposed status of the company they came from. While that does mean I've ended up with some fairly pricey, limited dolls here... including a fair few from Volks.... it also means that I own some very inexpensive, very common ones, too. In either case, I treat them the same way and generally regard them all equally. They're mine, I like them, and that's what matters. Given that, I'm certainly not going to judge anyone ELSE for what they like... I'm not going to consider another Volks or IpleHouse owner an elitist any more than I would consider another FectDoll or DZ owner a cheapskate. I buy what I love and assume everyone else does the same.

That said... as far as Volks' dolls in particular are concerned, I've found them to be very nice, very well-made dolls. If ordered directly from the company, they're not really any more expensive than a comparable Soom, Fairyland or IpleHouse sculpt. Their resin has a nice weight to it and it ages well. The older bodies aren't particularly "advanced" as far as their jointing and engineering is concerned, and they aren't the most acrobatic posers out there, but they're quite sturdy and can hold up to a lot of handling and tinkering. My SD13s in particular are the real warhorses of my collection... I worry a lot less about them falling over and breaking bits than I do my CP/Delfs or my Soom guys.

I don't know a lot about DDs, so I can't say much about them... Just that I know they're a little prone to picking up stains from their clothing and that some of the anime-based Limiteds are very, very expensive on the secondary market. 'Much more-so than most of Volks' resin dolls, it sounds like.

 

I love Volks. See avatar, left. Throughout the years they have consistently given the BJD world amazing and iconic works, and always marched to the beat of their own drum. Volks gave the BJD world the whole concept of "for custom" or "another yourself". Without Volks, I don't think any of this (waves arm around to denote "this" as this forum) would exist. I don't understand the Volks bashing I see sometimes. They are lovely people, and make a very nice high quality product.
I don't really get the moaning about being over priced, they are actually pretty par for the course in this hobby.
Volks as a company gave me a lot of pleasure through the Doll's Parties in New York.
I love my Volks dolls, and I love Volks as a company.

 

They don't have to have the giant boobs, it just seems so many collectors love that look ^^;. The bust pieces on a DD are changeable, and some come with a small or medium bust as standard which is nice.

 

Rather than parrot the statement of the dolls are good quality, and for the most part fairly priced when you consider what you're actually getting like many others have said, they also have had excellent customer service. They actually emailed me when I bought an SD dress and MSD shoes together to let me know that the shoes might be too small for what I intended. Even after I explained my intent (that DD's have tiny feet and can in fact wear MSD shoes) they still wanted to make sure I was sure about it. I appreciate the concern they showed, as most other companies wouldn't even think twice about an order like that and a newbie could easily make a mistake like that and be disappointed. They also ship pretty fast and since they're also in the US, them not charging me an arm and a leg for shipping is a plus too.

While I don't own any resin Volks I still think very highly of them as a company, even if some of their selection is kind of meh. I'm not fond of what they did to the U.S. website either, I quite enjoyed reading the newsletters and tutorials the folks there would put up. But I still like them.

 

After giving it some thought there's actually one thing that bothers me a little about Volks. The pics they show of their standard models on their website. Those pics really don't do their dolls justice - talking about my Link and my Mark here, for example - and also, the face-ups are - well, they're okay and I won't say anything against them since they come with the doll, included in the price but ... Let's just say I've had the same experience many times: I see a doll on the Volks website, with standard face-up, and it's kinda meh. And then I see the same sculpt here on DoA with a custom face-up and I'm blown away because it's absolutely awesome!

On the other hand, that has taught me not to dismiss a certain sculpt just because I don't like it on the Volks website ...