Doll Collecting Habits: Large Family or Constantly Swapping?

Hello all

 

I've been thinking lately of my doll collecting habits compared to other owners and wanted to start a discussion regarding buying, selling, and keeping dolls.

 

For example, there are owners with 7+ Dollfie Dreams in their doll family where as I myself have never, at one time, owned more than 3 dolls. I find myself buying a new doll and selling a previous one. In regards to resin BJDs, I feel as though I am done collecting in that aspect and am fine with my one Super Dollfie since they don't appeal to me as much as Dollfie Dreams. With Dollfie Dreams, I'm already thinking of getting rid of my first DD's head as I am getting a new one in. I definitely like owning more than one doll as it makes photos and character development more interesting, but I seem to lose interest.

 

What about other collectors? Do you find yourself with a larger doll family or do you buy and sell a lot?

 

If you have sold some of your dolls, was it from bonding? Making room for a new doll?

When I first started this hobby, I never, EVER thought I would have more than one girl. And then when I went to Japan in 2010 and came home with 2 more girls, I thought I was done and wouldn't add another any time soon. And now, here I am, with sixteen lovely DD's!

 

I have been a collector in many different areas throughout my life so collecting is in my blood. The only problem with the DD hobby is that I get emotionally attached to the girls I adopt so I do NOT sell them. EVER. In other hobbies, I used to "flip" items to keep money flowing so I could buy other itmes I wanted more. But all of my other hobbies held no real attachment to them like this one does.

 

So there's no way I could sell any of my girls off in order to afford another one. I would feel so very guilty if I did that. I even have a hard time selling off clothing even tho I have no attachments to it. Maybe it's my collector mentality of "gotta have it all!" I dunno.

 

But that's why I have a large family now, I just can't say no to a sweet face or a great deal on a girl.

 

 

 

Billy

i'm in the same case as you, i love to have more than one dolls but sometimes it's hard to keep a large family, it's not that i don't like them, it's just that i 'm not bond well with the dolls and i lose interest in them. though i like swapping, sometimes i feel that this attitude is somehow irritating because whenever i saw my past girls, i always want them back, but yeah, serves me right, right? lol..

but the main reason i go for swapping my girls is i want to find the right one that i hope will stay with me long enough.

At first I too only aim to get just one girl. But in the end, these girls keep tempting me to adopt them. At first I wanted to sell some of my did stuff away but I too, grew attachment to them. I guess things change.

I've certainly thought of selling but for some reason never go through with it. I think its like Billy says, one gets emotionally attached to the girls that its hard to part ways with them. When I first started the hobby I thought, it would be a great investment since the girls retain their value and I said once I want to get out of the hobby I can always sell them but its been three years almost and I'm still in and my family seems to just be getting bigger and bigger. Even when I find myself taking a break from them, I know it wouldn't be long be long before they hold my interest again. I love looking at them, dressing them, making stuff for them. Yes, I sometimes feel guilty that I don't always have time for all of them but I haven't even thought of selling or swapping any of them since that would make me feel even worse. Will there ever come a time when I might do so? Not sure. I hope not. Somehow, I want to be able to pass on this hobby to my real daughter one day.

At least for Dollfie Dreams, if you get bored and decide to buy a new one and sell your old one, you can probably get most, if not all, of the money you paid back. I've seen plenty of people on DoA do that with resins. Resins don't seem to hold their value as well as DDs in general (of course, this isn't always true - depends on company and doll) so those people seem like they're just losing money over time.

 

Didn't really intend to have a large family. Like others, just planned to buy Rin and that was it. But now we have several dolls (to include some Azone/Obitsu dolls). I have a hard time resisting cute things.

Unless I really dislike a DD, I have always kept them.

I think that they're as expensive as I just can't buy one I don't really like.

In case I'm out of funds, I sell (and sold) option parts and bodies, just to replace them with upgraded ones or later when my wallet can afford the expense.

I collect figures too, and with them it's another thing. My cabinets are seaports, and I don't really keep the figures for too much time, unless I really like them.

Just like everyone else I too thought I would only have one DD, my Seraphina (Saber Nero), but that didn't last very long XD;;; Ended up getting Momoko before Seraphina and now I have 2 lovely girls. And I'm already planning on getting a third if things go my way with the lottery for Melty.

 

For me I have to really think hard about what I'm buying before actually purchasing because once I buy one of these girls they are staying with me forever. I'm just too attached to ever sell one of them so I can have the money to purchase another. I would just gather up the money another way~ So I could definitely see myself having a large DD family in the future since I don't want to sell any of them.

 

I definitely find no problem with those who do sell their girls in order to purchase other girls. You just have to make sure you aren't going to miss that particular girl once she's gone. Once sold and you decide later on you want her again it might be harder to obtain her and her price might be more than when you purchased her the first time.

 

I have a hard time resisting cute things.

This is me as well!

I have a hard time resisting cute things.

I couldn't have said it better myself! My original plan was to have two DDs, just so they wouldn't be "alone". And here I am with 10 complete girls, and 3 more heads waiting for refaceups/bodies.

 

I could never sell any of the girls I'm attached to, because I would just feel too bad. Maybe a floating head/etc if I felt I couldn't really get an attachment, or be happy with the way it turned out.

 

My Sakuno was an exception, because I sold her to acquire another custom Sakuno.

Growing family here, currently at 9 with an ever present wandering eye looking for more. I've never sold one, and have zero plans to at this point. Moe's the only one who I've really had trouble getting super-attached to, but that's even changing with her recent Miku-isation .

Uhm... I admire a lot the DD large families but I'm from the second group, not swapping them for others but only have one (and in a large large future, the maximum planned is 3 aswell). The problem with me lays in Rise's multiple personalities, because she is only one and already owns 19 wigs brbrbrbrbr and not to mention her big wardrobe :S so I prefer staying with one and multiple clothes than spending in clothes, shoes, dolls etc xD

 

If I go ever to Japan, I will return with tons more of clothings and accesories and maybe a floating head, but space is not so available for a big DD family in my case (I already have my army of nendos and Rise is happy with playing with them ^^)

 

About BJDs I don't own any yet, but I have in mind of chasing a pukipuki and a Soom someday in a near future (2 years or so), but no plans by now...

Edited January 18, 2013 by Guest

I started with resin dolls in 2009. In that hobby, I've owned... 31 dolls at various points. Most I've owned at once was around 5 complete dolls. I had a hard time finding what I really wanted from them, but I finally did. My oldest resin doll is from June 2012. ... So, as you can see, it took a long time to find my balance. I still own 2 resin dolls including that one- both minifees from Fairyland.

 

Now, for Dollfie Dreams, I decided to get one when I decided to study abroad in Japan. I didn't want to take minifees with me since they're a Korean company for one- I really wanted a Volks doll. I decided on a dollfie dream and Rise Kujikawa at that. I'd loved her since the moment I saw her but I wasn't into DDs when she first came out. I decided to get rid of most of my resin dolls and buy her. I was only going to have one DD and that's it.

 

... Then I found Mariko-sensei. I HAD to have her. I pined and searched for her, and luckily found her. I got her. And well, now I already want a third (Aoko)! For some reason, I find that my two DD girls, I'm extremely bonded to already. There's no way I'd let them go. Possibly it's because unlike resin dolls, I don't feel like I could "get them back" if that makes sense. If I regretted selling, it'd be hard to re-buy.

 

So, yeah. If I get a third, I know I'll want a fourth due to numbers (I had uneven numbers). I need to be saving my money for school. u.u So Aoko may have to be it until I go to Japan. But I can tell that DDs want to break my bank. I love them, though, so there are no regrets at all. I may end up with a larger family far into the future, I don't know. But I've really bonded with them. I don't want to sell unless I really HAD to do so.

Personally I couldn't imagine selling any of mine and Raven's kids, because that's what they are to us (for many reasons). I can't imagine life without Tamayuki anymore, the little bugger wants to be sitting with me whenever I'm home and if I get busy and forget he is not a happy camper. Now that I personally have 3 kids complete I can understand how some collectors purposely keep a very small family because it can get complicated very quickly. One of the things that save my remaining sanity is each DD's level of dependency. No other DD needs me as much as Tamayuki, he is seriously a mama's boy and if I ever attempted to cut the proverbial apron strings he would just sew them back together. Naiomi and Rainie are a lot more independent and generally go about doing their thing, and if they need me they freely butt in and speak their mind. I find that telling and sharing their stories here on the forums helps a ton in reaffirming my connection with them and gives me something to do to spend time with them.

 

I never had any delusions that I'd have a small family, I just don't do things that way. On the other hand, last night when I realized that this same time next year that our family most likely will be double (or more) the size that it is now, it did feel a bit daunting. Even if I just get the three surprises finished in my sig, that's still twice as many kids. Luckily they are getting their own room in less than two weeks.

 

The number one reason I couldn't sell our kids is because they are all custom. Sure one of them has a default faceup, but that seems to be about the only thing premade about her. I can't stand having a stock character because there is no depth to the personality. The only exception to the no selling rule is I would love someday to create totally custom girls (complete with outfits) for the purpose of having them up for adoption. If that would actually come about, I dunno but I still think it would be loads of fun. I love the idea of having unique and special girls available that aren't the Volks standards or limited characters. Each girl should be special. This is why I say they would be up for adoption, not for sale.

 

I really don't think that there is a 'right' way to collect DD simply because the people collecting them vary so much. It is strange thinking about if my way of doing DD depended on the community consensus and I'd be shunned (or some other equally ridiculous situation) because boy DD/MDD just shouldn't be allowed because he's not truly Volks. I don't expect everyone to love him to pieces, but I'm happy for the few here who seem to enjoy seeing him. Really this hobby boils down to doing what makes you happy. If that's just having a girl or two for a little while before they are adopted by someone else, then so be it. If you are collecting and not having fun, something's not right.

 

~Sister Kyoya

I can also echo Billy. I had lots of other types of dolls, but felt that once I switched to DDs (and Obitsus) that just one would be fine. I thought that since you could change the eyes and wigs, etc. then you only needed one.

 

Well, I was wrong. Once they take on a personality, then that is it. I don't swap, sell, or anything. I am a sucker for a cutie and like cats, there is always room for one more.

 

So yeah, large family (shared with H):

 

sweet mother of god. youve got a whole army there

So Many!! That is an impressive group you have there!

When I started with Mio I never really thought about adopting more girls. But in the process of doing research about them, I discovered Mari and Yui, followed by Yoko, Nia, and Saber Lily... Now almost 2 years later I'm up to 18 girls with plans on adding KOS-MOS to the family, along with SAO's Asuna if I like the sculpt. I don't sell or trade any of them or their stuff either.

Hmm, I'm not much for selling dolls... If I wanted one so much that I bought it, well I plan on keeping it! If I see another doll I want to buy, I don't want to sell anyone in order to get him/her. So I have a slowly growing family of dolls.

Yep, that sounds very familiar RaveofNightmares.

I have six with two more on the way. Should be another year or two before I pass 10. I've only sold one once and that was one I never planned on getting and never really liked in the first place. I got it because it was cheap ^^;

 

I tend to buy(or custom make) the ones I want and would never sell them. Even my wife would never let me sell them. I'm also an odd one when it comes to clothes. When I find clothing I like I never change it, ever. That includes wigs and eyes. I'm not one that like to have a bunch of outfits/wigs and constantly change them.

I can only share my experiences with BJD families so far, as I don't own a DD yet. But I think, it might be very similar.

 

My family is rather big (around 30 members). Sometimes it's very tricky taking care for all of them. Someone wants new shoes, another one new clothes and so on.

There are always times, when I like this or that doll more and care more for her or him.

Sometimes I realise, the love for a certain member has faded and there might be a better home for him or her.

Overall, my dollfamily is steady, with few and minor changes. ^^

I was never sure how large my family would get. It all started off innocently enough. Now I'm at 17 with more on the way or in the works.

 

I don't know if I could sell any of them I get so attached but I know that if I had a girl I couldn't bond with I would try to find her a good home and just rack it up as not meant to be.

 

 

Here they all live, around my other stuff. I organized that jewellery mess last week so it looks a lot less chaotic. ^^;

I have six with two more on the way. Should be another year or two before I pass 10. I've only sold one once and that was one I never planned on getting and never really liked in the first place. I got it because it was cheap ^^;

 

I tend to buy(or custom make) the ones I want and would never sell them. Even my wife would never let me sell them. I'm also an odd one when it comes to clothes. When I find clothing I like I never change it, ever. That includes wigs and eyes. I'm not one that like to have a bunch of outfits/wigs and constantly change them.

 

I'm the same as you as well, I keep my DDs in the same set of clothes once I find a set that looks nice and doesn't stain. Partially because I'm just not good at it, it takes me forever to just put a simple t-shirt or sweater on them. I currently have 4 DDs (Alna, Sakuya, Rina, Saber) and hopefully I won't be getting any more. I don't have the space and money to support any more! But if there's one DD that's on my wishlist (other than my recently acquired unicorn- Rina), it would have to be Yuki!

When I started with BJDs I told myself:

"Don't even think you will only have one, you know yourself very well "

So I was not in the "only one" boat from the beginning...at least I was honest to myself

 

I'm not much of a revolving door though, usually when I get a doll it's meant to stay forever.

The things I usually sold were either heads I got as gift or bought for customizing, and when I wanted to re-shell a character. I only very seldom had it that a doll didn't work out for me.

 

So far I had to re-shell three characters (my first three dolls), while my first doll's head still stays due personal attachment. Two and three got sold to fund the new heads for them. I also really miss my old third doll, but he went to a friend who loves him more than I ever did, so I'm fine with it.

Whenever I actually sell something, be it a blank head I got in an event or actually a head/doll that I owned for long, I always make sure that a friend gets it or a person I trust.

 

So far I have two DDs (one head, one full doll), but the head will most likely go after I have finished her.

I also own 12 full BJDs, three heads (two are projects, one is the first head of my first doll), one incoming doll and one body that still needs a head.

I just made a List with all the dolls or heads I owned since 2008, and I got a 24 so far not including my still incoming doll and the head that will go on the floating body.

That sounds much, while in reality most of the stuff I sold was often not intended to actually end here, some of them are event heads or stuff customers gifted to me to have fun with.

 

tl;dr:

Big collection for meeeee

I still have one or two DDs on my list I REALLY want to have, and to complete my BJD collection I at least need one head and two chess pieces that are still missing.

As soon as I have these, my collection itself is so far finished in lines of "I have every important character".

Everything that might come afterwards might be purely out of "ooooh pretty doll!" or because I just really would like to own this doll.

Like you see, I'm also not much a person that collects out of "I need doll XY because it completes my collection/because it's beautiful/because it's rare", but I usually need a doll that fits a character I have in mind that at the same time suits my taste

 

My DD collection is also different to my BJD one.

My BJD one is "serious business" for me, I spend a lot of money for them to get the perfect clothes, accessoires etc., I have built a huge world around them and so on. This sounds more extreme than it is, but my BJDs are meant to be perfect for me and my creative projects.

 

My DDs are purely for fun. They have very loose characters, usually only a name and an attribute like "shy" so I know how to dress them and how I want to let them look like, and nothing else. I only got them for their looks and whatever floats my boat, I got them so I can dress them in all the stuff my other characters can't wear, for colorful long wigs and cute girly glothes

While I am attached to Minako, I'm not as attached to her than to any of my BJDs.

The connection, the base for my love to her is just different, but it's the same time a bit more relaxed.

Um, neither? LoL. I've only got two girls and will probably be waiting quite a while before getting another.

 

I guess I'm a slow adopter when it comes to picking up DDs. Maybe it's due to only having graduated college last year (and taking six months to find a job after that), but I usually have to really REALLY be in love with something or find an *amazing* deal on it to spring for just about anything, even minor stuff, so for a doll it has to be true love AND a good deal, lol. Takes quite a while for the stars to align on things like that.

 

As a result, I've only got two DDs, adopted a year and a half apart, and it's been a year since I adopted my second. I suppose one day in the distant future I may end up with a big family, because with my shopping style they're not likely to leave after they come in my door, but I expect it'll probably take quite a while to happen unless I win the lottery or some contest that dumps DDs on my head.