Your opinion on Volks?

I loved some of their older models, such as SD10 and SD13 Nono and also Ryo. They are only available by FCS now though (or second hand if they ever pop up) and unfortunately FCS is only available to order in person (and at that, not within Europe)

 

Have been a Volks fan since 2001 when I first started the hobby. Volks was all we had. Over the years I've had many other dolls from other companies. But I must say there is something about the Volks " feel" that still appeals to me. I've gone a different direction with my collection now, but I have always thought Volks quality and customer service are still commendable.

 

Agrees. I am largely a Volks owner but I have absolutely no problem hanging out with owners with dolls from other BJD companies. I just do not understand this status thing. And Volks is expensive on the 2nd hand market but not if is straight from the company itself.

And I swear Volks dolls age really well! They yellow in a very natural way.

 

They definitely do! I have two older Volks dolls, one from 2003, the other one probably from around that time (both bought second hand on Mandarake - you can get some really, REALLY good deals on Volks dolls there, that's why I'm not going there until further notice *lol*) and they're yellowed but to a really nice ivory kind of colour ...

 

I feel the same too

 

To clarify I don't think people who own Volks are snobby. But I do think Volks are very expensive. They're kind of like the "designer" dolls of BJD collecting though of course there are other higher end brands too like Iplehouse, Soom, etc. I've honestly never seen a Volks yet that was in my price range so to ME they're very high end dolls. That being said they have a look to them that I just don't care for. Mostly I tend to stay away from the traditional style of childlike BJD's. I tend to like more mature heads on mature bodies. That aesthetic it just doesn't appeal much to me. I don't much like the Anime faced dolls either. Too cartoon-ish for me.

For a long time that's all I thought all BJD's were made like children only on semi-mature bodies and I just wasn't all that interested. When it comes to doll collecting in general my collection is very much oriented towards teen and adult fashion dolls. I have a few kids but not many. I just like fashion model type dolls. I'm a big Barbie and 16" fashion doll fan. Until I saw BJD's that were more like that, less child, I just wasn't really into them. There are more expensive dolls that I'd love to own, sure, but with Volks dolls as a general rule they just don't really appeal to me in terms of style. Plus I just can't rationalize the cost in terms of my budget anyway. It's the same with Iple, Soom. I can't afford them either, but actually those dolls I rather like in terms of style and would buy if I could afford them. My tastes have widened a bit since I started collecting. I do have a couple of younger looking dolls in my BJD collection at this point but overall my BJD dolls are teens and adults and are a lot more mature looking than most of the Volks dolls I've seen.

If it were not for Volks there would be no world BJD's so I don't begrudge them being what they are. It's just personally I'm not much into them. For me it's kind of like vaguely admiring a very high end bag or pair of shoes. I can respect the workmanship but there's no way I can afford them and frankly I'm just not inclined to spend that much for something like that. My idea of a designer bag is a $40 discounted designer bag from someplace like Tuesday Morning. Yeah, that bag might have been listed for $200 at Saks or Macy's or someplace, but I'm usually hitting the bargain store several years after it's been released looking for a huge discount. That's my budget. I do like nice things, and I have nothing against people who can afford to buy them, but it's a question of perceptive I think.

To some people a $1000 doll is affordable and they can rationalize that in terms of their budget. More power to them. Me, I have trouble affording a $200 doll so it's all very relative, you know?

 

Except that they are not always over a $1000+
I am lucky to have twelve volks dolls,and None of them were bought for more than $600, including my SD 16 yukinojo,who is most definitely not childlike.

While I can understand not being interested in volks,it's not right to say that all super expensive,;many are,and just as many are in the middle price range for an SD:400/500.while that is still a chunk of change,it's a more attainable purchase than a 1000+ doll by volks.

All BJDs are designer dolls,and potential "status symbols" to their owners.volks is wonderful but is no more hyped than any other maker.

 

Agree, just because it's Volks it doesn't mean it has to be super-expensive. You only have to know where to look. The three full dolls I bought from Mandarake last year were all under 300 USD each. And they all came with eyes and clothes and face-up and one with two different wigs. Ok, so two of them were MSDs but even those were great deals. Of course there are Volks dolls that go vor 1000+ USD on the Marketplace here or at Mandarake but that's mostly limited full-sets and especially Dollfie Dream full-sets. (Those Dollfie Dreams sometimes go for around twice as much as they originally cost.)

 

Hrmm this is from a non-Volks owning bjd collector who has vague hopes to include a couple of their sculpts in my collection at some distant point. There's a few Volks sculpts I'd love to own (Yukinojo's cheeky grin!), and everything I've heard about the company from buyers has been positive.

I've just not yet fallen for any of the dolls hard enough to try and decipher the slightly opaque ordering/lottery system, especially given the fact that US-originating parcels tend to get hit with far higher import charges in this area of the world when compared with the items from Japan/Korea. (Not sure if it's just bad luck or what but almost everything I try to get from the US ends up getting overtaxed at well above the 20% VAT rate that I'd expect. I suspect it's something to do with the relative honesty of the courier companies... EMS seem fairly pleasant and quick when compared to most others!)

 

Yup. To be honest Fairyland, Soom and Iplehouse are just as expensive, if not more, and yet when it comes to mentioning expensive companies, people usually focus on Volks.

Their standards are very reasonably priced, considering what you get with them; even second hand limiteds don't have to be super expensive. I recently saw a LE SwD Kaede fullset, in mint condition (as in, never taken out of the box) for 300 bucks. You can't tell me that's expensive. Many of the SD limiteds sell for 600 dollars or less nowadays, only a select few go for a high price.

My collection is focused on old-school dolls. BJD's I fall for have to have that doll-like quality Volks is famous for, so it's no wonder I like many of their older sculpts.

And I agree: They age beautifully. They stay very lifelike and never get so yellow that it starts to look unnatural. My SwD Lucas' resin almost reminds me of porcelain dolls somehow. But I have to confess that I like it when resin mellows. No matter the company.

 

Basically this. Whenever I see a thread like this, I always feel like the questions is asking Volks owners and Volks lovers to explain and justify why they buy their Volks dolls. At the end of the day, they buy them for exactly the same reasons as other owners buying other company's dolls, they simply like them. We rarely have threads focus on the second hand prices of X, Y, Z Company being so expensive. Or A, B or C company's dolls have massive eyes. A lot of people seem to focus solely on one type of dolls by Volks (i.e. thinking all Volks dolls are Dollfie Dreams or SD10 and 13s) without actually looking at the rest of the dolls they offer (i.e. SD Graffiti, SD16, SD17, SD Gou etc.)

As for my personal opinion on Volks, I'm biased as they're the first company I liked and if I had to choose only one company to buy from I'll choose Volks. Although my favourite sculpts are definitely the old CP Delfs, there is something that I like about Volks dolls more than others, they have a certain level of depth to the doll's face and with the right faceup they look amazing.

 

I've met several Volks owners through meets, and don't feel they are snobs. None of them snubbed people for owning non-Volks dolls. Most had mixed collections of dolls from all sorts of companies, Luts, Souldoll, Soom, Dollshe, etc, you name it. I've met really great people through those meets, Volks owners included.

On the second-hand market, some get frightfully expensive but that's not unusual. A lot of limiteds, not just Volks ones, can be that way. Volks has a solid fanbase, with a reputation for good quality. It's not surprising the market is strong and they hold their value well, if not raise in value.

Personally, I'm not a fan of their aesthetic. Which relieves me, since I'm also not a fan of their lottery system or the hoops you have to jump to get an FCS. Especially their Sato only stuff. It's their business, though, and if that's they way they want to run it, who am I to argue? They appear successful, so as a business model it apparently works.

The difficulty getting some of their dolls and the fact that until they opened the LA branch they didn't sell much outside Japan I think is part of what turns some people off, makes them accuse the company of being "snobby." I don't feel that's fair, considering how I see people occasionally on Ebay or the DoA MP say they won't ship internationally or prefer not to and it seems accepted for the most part. Maybe, like those people, they were wary of dealing with an international audience? How often have we seen problems crop up because of errors in translation? I'd be hesitant to approach that angle myself.

As a company, Volks gets my respect for being the trailblazers for this hobby. Ball-jointed dolls have been around for centuries, but Volks created this niche of it. I think it's awesome that they stayed relevant, even as quickly as this hobby has evolved.

 

You know, funny things happen when you buy a doll that you'd never expect. I had a doll on order (not Volks) that was taking months and months to arrive and I was getting super impatient so I bought an inexpensive MSD size doll for around $120 just to pass the time until my more expensive doll arrived. Well! She's become one of my favorites and I just bought a male doll on the MP by the same company. My point is that expensive is all relative and not really linked to how much we appreciate our dolls. Volks may have the reputation for being expensive but what I seem to read more often is how much people love their dolls and that many consider them to be their grail. I think that when we get a doll who we consider to be our grail we talk about it in a special way which could give a company a certain aura if enough people share that feeling.

 

I've had a look at Volks and I haven't seen anything that I must have right now but they do look rather adorable and one day I may get one.

 

Honestly? My opinion is... I don't get it. I don't really care for their dolls, nor do I understand the love/price of them. ??? But there are many dolls out there that are in the same price range. So as always I go with the whatever someone wants to do is good for them attitude. I do hear such a great deal about "volks snobs" which I think it is kinda unfair. I am sure that there are some that feel that way, I've never personally encountered them.

 

Hmm, I never cared for Volks dolls until I saw their Hatsune Miku, which I missed, so hoping to get the Snow Hatsune Miku pre-order in soon. I've also heard about Volks "snobs" and agree it's ridiculously unfair. I hope never to meet one either...

 

Leokitsuneb said: The difficulty getting some of their dolls and the fact that until they opened the LA branch they didn't sell much outside Japan I think is part of what turns some people off, makes them accuse the company of being "snobby."

Yep - that's it. & it isn't so much Volks specifically as it is Japanese marketing style. No one seems to understand this. There is a REASON that Iplehouse or Soom (both pricey high-end BJD companies) are soooo much easier to order from! They are Korean companies. And Volks doesn't seem to have much domestic competition either.

 

Personally I like them especially those little ones with the big heads. However their site is really really confusing so unless I go to their real store and have an extra $500 in my pocket then it's really unlikely that I'll ever own one. I also like the Dolfie Dream KOS-MOS but again confusing as hell website.

 

My grail doll is a Volks F-16, and I also own an MSD boy. Personally, I LOVE them. They may not have the insanely awesome poseability of some dolls, and they do have a more classic look, but I love them.

I have felt a little of the backlash of people calling "elitist", but I don't understand why. I bought Volks dolls because I love them. I also own AoD, FDoll, IslandDoll....I've never put anybody down for liking other dolls. And the price really isn't that bad, unless you're getting a really rare limited secondhand. My SD boy, bought secondhand, was $600. My MSD was $225. You're going to pay about that much or more for Doll Chateau, RingDoll and many others.

As for eyes, my SD wears 16mm, and my MSD wears 14mm, though I think DD would be quite a bit bigger. I'm not into anime dolls myself, but I have friends who own them, and they are very cute dolls for what they are. Posing is nice too.

 

I love Volks dolls. I generally love their overall aesthetic. I have owned a lot of them over the years, and I keep going back to them. I'm insanely picky about bodies and their SD and SD13 bodies are my faves in the hobby. Their resin is the nicest and I know that I can count on it to age well and be fairly consistent color wise for when I buy additional parts for a doll.

Sure they have some sculpts I think are absolutely fug, but you're not going to love every sculpt by a company, especially when that company is as prolific as Volks. They have hundreds of sculpts at this point.

Their business practices are very Japanese, which can be annoying to those not used to it, but I honestly have never found their lotteries HARD to enter. You just go to the website and fill it out and wait for results. And I say this as someone who has lost every single Volks lottery she has ever entered. They're also very slow to change and I think at this point we should stop expecting them to suddenly not be Volks and be accomodating and quick to change. They're a business, not our best friend. If you don't like a companies business practices, simply don't buy from them. It saves everyone aggravation in the end.

I don't think their dolls are any more expensive than other companies in their price range. Hell, I think at this point Fairyland is MORE expensive than Volks but I don't see posts complaining about their expense constantly or raging about the Fairyland elitists who hate everyone.