Artist Full Set question

Due to the nature of this question I do not feel comfortable mentioning what doll/company I’m talking about, as the last thing I want to do is call anyone out.

 

I am from the vinyl side of the hobby and recently got my very first resin doll. I was lucky enough to get an artist full set and of course was really delighted about this!

Now recently I’ve been shopping on Etsy for some new potential outfits for said doll, and after a while I bumped into the very same outfit my doll came with. After some more digging on Etsy I was also able to find her shoes as well.

I felt a bit confused as I was under the impression an artist full set was fully made by the artist, including clothes and accessories. 
 

So my question is; is it normal practice for artists to use other artist creations in their full sets? And if yes, what then exactly is the appeal of getting a full set if they’re not exclusive to the doll and you can just get those pieces yourself? Is it just about the artist aesthetic preferences and how they coordinated and styled the doll? 

 

Now again, being from the vinyl side of the hobby I have of course no clue how resins really work usually, so if I’m being really stupid now my apologies! Of course it goes without saying I completely understand why an artist would do this. I know they already have their hands full with the dolls themselves, and giving face-ups and what not. They may also just not be able to make clothes themselves even if they wanted to, which is also completely understandable. I am simply trying to educate myself being new to the resin side and trying to understand what exactly the appeal of a full set would be then if it’s not exclusive to the doll.

 

(I am aware that people who only did the face-ups and who didn’t make the actual doll themselves will use other people’s creations to create a full set sometimes. This question is talking about an actual company owner who has his/her own line of resin dolls he/she makes.)

It's quite common for non-limited dolls to have their fullset-outfits available for purchase separately. And limited ones are occasionally available too. As long as it isn't licensed character-dolls.
Some collaborate with clothes-makers, some have their own clothes made in-house, and some do both.

It's a thing of ease to offer a fullset option right there, with the doll. The option to buy the doll and clothes are just a click away, rather than making you hunt down the clothes, wig, shoes, accessories, and what-not.
(and I'd also bet it's to nudge you to spend more 😉)

Keep in mind that a huge number of Etsy stores selling bjd clothes are actually not the original makers but are reselling stuff from Taobao (often at huge markups). My first thought reading this was that it was possible that a reseller was selling the outfit originally from the company that made your doll, as many companies do sell the outfits separate (or for some it’s more like they just have the option to buy with an outfit so you have everything you need). But without knowing the specifics of the maker of the doll and the outfit it’s hard to say for sure.

1 hour ago, Monty said:

Keep in mind that a huge number of Etsy stores selling bjd clothes are actually not the original makers but are reselling stuff from Taobao (often at huge markups).

That's been my experience. Some of the sellers are more like a Taobao shopping service. I do see a benefit in some of them though, because they will deal with the maker and can arrange a custom fit for your specific doll. I think the markups are in the 15 - 20 % range though, so if you're looking for a bargain you should shop directly with the maker.

Being from the resin side of this hobby, another sadly common thing is people selling recast "fullsets", mostly on etsy and sometimes eBay (and of course Taobao).

So depending on which doll you've bought it may also be something like this, but fingers crossed!

Edited June 23, 2022 by Collie

I bought the doll directly from the artist at an event a couple of weeks ago, so it’s for sure 110% legit.

I have done a lot of research and the outfit maker is also someone who makes the outfit themselves from what I could see. She has been selling the outfit for a lot longer than that the doll artist got it to use in her full set (the doll is literally only a few weeks old). I also went to go look at the doll artist Instagram and it seems she often uses other artist their outfits (which is of course perfectly fine). So it’s really just a case of that she simply doesn’t make clothes herself to use in her full sets.

I guess it’s like Yumeiro says; that it’s just a thing of ease which saves you the trouble of having to still go shop for clothes too. But that to me still does not really explain it. From what I understand sellers make special full sets for their dolls to sell at events and it will only be available to buy there (unless it doesn’t sell. In which case it will go online at a later date for whoever is fast enough to snatch it.) So I guess that is also where I am somewhat confused? It’s always such a big deal to be able to grab that full set and I have seen lots of people actually run as fast as they can to a certain artist as soon as the doors open to try and get their sets and it just confuses me. Because after that I simply do not understand what is so “exclusive” about my doll if the artist just uses other peoples work instead, if that makes sense.

I guess my question and what I was wondering was more if this is the norm in the resin community when it comes to artist full sets, or if this is a minority and most full sets actually are made fully by the artist and exclusive to the doll (which to me would make more sense as to the demand people have for full sets). 

After some thinking I guess it’s also just the ease of having the doll NOW instead of having to wait many, many months. And buying directly from the person and meeting them is probably part of it too.

 

Sorry if I haven’t really been clear, I tend to want to over-explain myself and make it worse with my ramblings 😂

17 minutes ago, Roxanne said:

I simply do not understand what is so “exclusive” about my doll if the artist just uses other peoples work instead

Will the doll be available all year around from now? Or is it limited? If it's only sold at the event/for a short period, then there is the exclusivity.

I've never been to an event, but if you buy a doll at one, isn't it standard to get a fullset? A sort of ready-to-go kit.
It sounds like it's a lone artist, and not a company..? They might not have the resources to make both dolls and design unique outfits and items.

22 minutes ago, Yumeiro said:

Will the doll be available all year around from now? Or is it limited? If it's only sold at the event/for a short period, then there is the exclusivity.

I've never been to an event, but if you buy a doll at one, isn't it standard to get a fullset? A sort of ready-to-go kit.
It sounds like it's a lone artist, and not a company..? They might not have the resources to make both dolls and design unique outfits and items.

I was never implying that. I did say in my original post that not every artist has the means to take care of everything, and that making dolls themselves is already more than hands full as it is, let alone having to focus on clothes too. And that it is perfectly understandable and excusable.

Being new to resin I am only trying to educate myself on the topic and trying to learn. Quoting only that particular part of my message really does make me sound rather mean, which was never my intention. 

I see! Don't worry about rambling, things make way more sense now.

I guess I kinda misunderstood artist fullset as you meaning company fullset.

Company fullsets are usually either made by the company or outsourced, but it's not a "scrambled together from other available sources"-thing as you described. Gem of Doll comes to mind, they always have amazing fullsets but also sell fullset outfits individually.

As for artist fullsets... the term seems a bit more loose here. I've definitely seen some artists sell or auction off OOAK fullsets with elaborate handsewn outfits. But I guess you could also call a doll whose fullset is just a plain dress from TTYA (or whatever) an artist fullset - after all, fullsets are kinda like styling suggestions from the artist/company. I've mostly seen single artist do less fullsets and more OOAKs, as in special face-up or unique resin colour, for reasons Yumeiro already said.

Edited June 23, 2022 by Collie

4 minutes ago, Collie said:

I see! Don't worry about rambling, things make way more sense now.

I guess I kinda misunderstood artist fullset as you meaning company fullset.

Company fullsets are usually either made by the company or outsourced, but it's not a "scrambled together from other available sources"-thing as you described. Gem of Doll comes to mind, they always have amazing fullsets but also sell fullset outfits individually.

As for artist fullsets... the term seems a bit more loose here. I've definitely seen some artists sell or auction off OOAK fullsets with elaborate handsewn outfits. But I guess you could also call a doll whose fullset is just a plain dress from TTYA (or whatever) an artist fullset - after all, fullsets are kinda like styling suggestions from the artist/company. I've mostly seen single artist do less fullsets and more OOAKs, as in special face-up or unique resin colour, for reasons Yumeiro already said.

Thank you that really is super helpful! It’s good to know this info! ☺️
 

Yes I guess this would be more of an independent/small artist. The fact I got a face-up with my doll is probably already special too, as from what I see a lot of blank dolls get sold too by independent artists. So that in itself is I guess already a big part of the exclusivity as well!

I really want to apologise if at any point in my messages I came over as entitled or whatever. It was never my intention. English is not my first language so as a result I tend to want to over-explain myself too much or use the wrong wording.

I’m a bit worried I came over in a bad way but really the only thing I was trying to achieve was learn a bit more about how it all works, as I’m new to this side of the hobby.

I have nothing but kind things to say about the artist and I am over the moon in love with my new doll! So if at any point I came over as entitled or mean it was never my intention. I was simply just trying to educate myself.

Collie did a really good job explaining it, I am also going to take it a step further. . .

Compared to the vinyl dolls, resin bjds are much broader overall. Vinyl seems to have some specific "rules" because they are only made by a few companies, none of them very small. Resin bjds on the other hand are much easier to be made by anyone. . . So there really is not any "rules" except them being strung with elastic or wire. . . And made of resin, lol. I have been in the resin side longer than the vinyl side and still would not be able to tell you if it is common or uncommon for an "artist fullset" to be outsourced and not unique because it kind of changes depending on the artist. Even a set company like Aimerai uses slightly "custom" outfits by a company found on Etsy for some of their fullsets. Others will hand make everything, and others still will just buy pieces from other artists and provide a full set doll who wants one with everything in the package. It all depends. "Artist" is a term that I would argue has become more vague as more and more independent doll makers enter the community. Technically anything handmade, hand designed, or hand painted is seen as "artist", even of only one of those boxes is checked. 

Sorry for rambling, was just an interesting question.

1 hour ago, Roxanne said:

I’m a bit worried I came over in a bad way but really the only thing I was trying to achieve was learn a bit more about how it all works, as I’m new to this side of the hobby.

I don't think you did.
But it can be a bit hard to answer your question in a satisfactory way, due to not knowing what doll/artist you are referencing. So unless you can be more specific, you can't expect a more concrete answer.
Because just as @Collie said, I too thought you were talking about a company, and not, what I assume is, an individual.
And it is also a bit hard to find a definite answer because:

15 minutes ago, marishade said:

Compared to the vinyl dolls, resin bjds are much broader overall. Vinyl seems to have some specific "rules" because they are only made by a few companies, none of them very small. Resin bjds on the other hand are much easier to be made by anyone. . . So there really is not any "rules" except them being strung with elastic or wire. . .

Yes, there are more resin bjd companies than vinyl. So with that comes many different ways of conducting sales (and competing with other resin oriented artists/companies).

I understand! Thanks all for your insight, it really painted a clearer picture for me!

When you’re used to how other dolls work it can sometimes become confusing when getting into something new.

Sorry I gave the wrong idea. I thought I was being clear I was indeed talking about an individual/ independent artist but re-reading my original post I see I made the mistake there at the end of saying company owner. 🤦🏻‍♀️
I understand not naming the doll/brand does make it harder as well but I don’t know, even though I am not speaking ill about them at all and only have good things to say it feels wrong to me to call out someone like that. And since my question was actually more a general question about if it was a common occurrence or not, and I was more using my situation/said artist as an example, I felt like it didn’t really matter who I was talking about. As long as I made it clear it was an individual, which I obviously failed at 😂 

But thank you all so much! It definitely helped lots and I understand now how it works!

Unless it says "exclusive" or "OOAK" or similar, it is possible to usually buy the fullset aside.

However. I think it is worth mentioning that if the clothing is from another seller, normally that seller is mentioned in the sales listing. As in: Doll by X, Clothing by Y, unless they are all part of the same "studio" or "company."

Sometimes "fullset" just means you get the doll clothed with makeup all at once, so you don't have to wait. For small artists who are making the doll by themselves, this isn't too uncommon.

I do agree that the terminology could be clearer however. I can easily see how someone could misinterpret what is going on, or be confused. Part of this is due to the very 'homemade' nature of the dolls. Almost everything for dolls is at the beginning, made by hand, and if it is insanely popular, might go into mass production. Even then, production is short and fast, and doesn't go beyond that one pressing of the product. 

1 hour ago, Misuka said:

Sometimes "fullset" just means you get the doll clothed with makeup all at once, so you don't have to wait. For small artists who are making the doll by themselves, this isn't too uncommon.

Isn't that what being in stock entails? I've honestly never heard of fullsets being described that way.

'in stock' just defines if it is fully in the sellers hands at that moment in time; immediately for sale; you can have "preorder fullset" where it is not all produced yet.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Misuka

I guess I'm still hella confused by the "so you don't have to wait" part! That fullsets are usually available via pre-order (as are blank dolls) is a given.

On 6/24/2022 at 3:33 PM, Collie said:

I guess I'm still hella confused by the "so you don't have to wait" part! That fullsets are usually available via pre-order (as are blank dolls) is a given.

My guess was that they were referring more to the fact that if you get a fullset, you can have your doll painted and fully dressed right away, instead of them having to sit around bald, blank, or clad in makeshift clothes.