Fair price for a standard head with an artist faceup

There is a listing of a doll for sale that I'm somewhat interested in, but I have some reservations about it. I want the body because it's uncommon, but the head is a standard 07 with a faceup by an artist called Rinka. I do already have an 07 head, and I typically don't like to own repeats unless one is modded or something. I do like the faceup that the artist has done, though, so I don't think I would be overall unhappy with owning this head even though I don't currently have any specific plans for it. Of course, I would love to split the body and head, but I feel that it's a long shot since the head isn't limited. I can't find any information about this artist, so they're either not super popular and well known, or maybe they're from a country with another language and I'm just not hitting the right search terms. The cost of the head would work out to about $200. Does this price seem fair to anyone else? I've honestly never bought a standard head with an artist faceup before, because I typically do my own faceups on standards. To me it feels just a little steep because that's about the same cost that a limited head would come out to in a split of a new doll direct from Volks. I think I would feel more comfortable at about $150, but the seller is firm on the price. Of course, I wouldn't want to undervalue anyone's hard work, but this is a second hand doll so it's not like the artist themself is getting the payment now. Sorry if I'm rambling. I just kind of wanted another opinion. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Jezrah

Based on my experience and what is posted on the websites of the various faceup artists on this forum, I think around $100 is a typical and fair charge for a normal DD faceup without mods or other special work, maybe more including shipping charges, so your $150 figure for the head sounds about right to me, assuming the faceup is a quality similar to that.

On Yahoo Japan, some of the artists that are known command prices for their work more in line with rare limited heads, but as your head is from someone that you can't find any information on, I don't think they would fall into that category.

If you search Mandarake for "DDH-07 custom" you'll see prices around 12,000 - 15,000 yen for "unknown" but well done faceups, and several times that amount for ones from artists like Ronshuka or Narcisse Noir.

In this case the seller could just be asking for what they paid originally for the face-up.  Without finding the artist's prices or asking the seller how much they paid for the custom face-up, you'll likely never know.  They could be up-charging for the head simply because it's 'custom,' in the hopes of making a tiny 'profit' off of it.

You could always try asking (if you have the means to) and see if they respond.  The worst that happens is they don't, and you can either decide to buy it anyway with the intention of selling the head on your own to re-coup some of the price, or skip it altogether.  Just depends if the body is worth the hassle, I guess!

Thank you guys for the input. I suppose now I need to decide on whether I feel the body is essentially worth an extra $50 to me, and whether I think I might be able to resell the head for a reasonable recoupment if I don't end up bonding with it in the end. Hopefully I can come to a decision I won't feel regretful about before someone else decides first.

Hihi Jezrah!! Yuna to the rescue!!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rinka_floralgarden/ He/she has improved a lot, A LOT. The heavy mods are worthy. I don’t know how much time has your head, but if it’s one of the older works, you can ask the price you were talking. But I think the firm price of the seller is valid too. Artist is having current ongoing auctions this weekend and are in the 20k yen price range.

Awesome, thank you for the info and the link! @Singer Yuna 

I ended up caving and buying the whole doll for the body, which is Len's body and one I don't have. I know more people are getting their 9S in and there will be more DDS boy bodies around, but 9S is in SWS and I wanted to use my DWC02 head. 

The 07 head with this doll is made to look boyish, and I while I really do like it, I don't want to leave him as is because my DD boy body already has an 07 head. This artist's work is still softer than my art style even for a boyish faceup, so I may see if the head works well for a girl for me.

Haha, at the end of last year I had completed my previous wishlist, and had a body for every head, but this year I ended up with more heads than bodies again. This particular transaction netted me a body for a head, but also another head, so I still need the same number of bodies. I think it's at 3 or 4 needed depending on how one of my mod projects goes. Anyway, at least I know that this head probably wasn't overpriced so I won't feel bad about adopting them unexpectedly.