Average price of DDII body

Could anyone tell me what the average price is for a DD II body? In $ and ¥ please. New or 2nd-hand.

At the moment I'm looking for a DDII body, but I don't want to pay too much or cheaper if possible.

 

Where's the best place to buy a body? I know the Volks store.

Are there any places where they are sold 2nd-hand? Except Yahoo Auction Japan.

I can buy a body from the official Volks site, but getting a $50-$100 (converted) fee over it doesn't make it a normal price anymore.

 

Hopefully I can see the marketplace on this forum soon.

Do you recommend me a DDIII body instead of DDII body? I find them not too common yet and a bit more expensive too.

The price has changed a lot because of fluctuations in the exchange rate and availability of bodies. The old price of a DDII was $231. The yen to USD exchange rate was really bad for a while so even Volks USA raised its price to $254. During the body shortage, neither Volks USA nor Volks International stocked bodies reliably. The parts for building a DDS or DDIII were $400+ because of the exchange rate and/or higher prices at Volks USA. So even DDII bodies were going for $300+. Now the exchange rate has improved immensely and bodies seem to be available again. You can find damaged/stained ones for less than $200. I would say mint condition bodies might be $230 to $250.

 

I think the DDIII versus the DDII depends on personal taste. The two bodies have different looks. Now that there are reinforcement parts for the DDIII and DDS bodies, the problems with rampant cracking and breaking of the internal skeleton are not so much an issue anymore.

The price has changed a lot because of fluctuations in the exchange rate and availability of bodies. The old price of a DDII was $231. The yen to USD exchange rate was really bad for a while so even Volks USA raised its price to $254. During the body shortage, neither Volks USA nor Volks International stocked bodies reliably. The parts for building a DDS or DDIII were $400+ because of the exchange rate and/or higher prices at Volks USA. So even DDII bodies were going for $300+. Now the exchange rate has improved immensely and bodies seem to be available again. You can find damaged/stained ones for less than $200. I would say mint condition bodies might be $230 to $250.

 

I think the DDIII versus the DDII depends on personal taste. The two bodies have different looks. Now that there are reinforcement parts for the DDIII and DDS bodies, the problems with rampant cracking and breaking of the internal skeleton are not so much an issue anymore.

Thanks for the good and clear answer.

So pretty much because of the exchange rate and not enough stock in bodies they became more expensive lately. It's weird sometimes that I see DDdy or DDS bodies cheaper then DDII bodies, but that's still very rare, but since I've seen that I was a bit confused too.

Those prices for DDII bodies still seem decent. Where's the best place to find them? I know Yahoo Auction Japan, but that will get expensive with fees, Mandarake rarely has them. Where can I search more? Marketplace on here is a option too.

 

I think it's best for me to start off with a DDII body. Later on I will notice how different DDIII bodies will be and they're still kind of expensive since they're so new. I believe the difference is bigger with a DDI body compared to DDII body, than a DDII compared to DDIII body.

Those DDII problems sound scary, but of course I try to take good care of it when I have it, unless I get a bad condition used one.

The market is a lot better now. You can find DDII closer to $200 now. I think private sellers are the best for finding a good price. The Marketplace here, Ebay (sometimes), the Flickr DD group, and posting a looking for request might be good ways to get a DDII.

 

You can also probably find a DDIII for a good price if people are setting up splits for limited DDs coming out at the next Dolpa or if people are selling limiteds they recently received. Things seem to come in waves because of Dolpa timing.

 

You are right that you get stuck with fees and high shipping prices from Japan if you use a proxy to get things off Yahoo! Japan Auctions. Setting up a split for a full set limited DD off Mandarake or Jungle is a reasonable way to get a good price for a DDII or DDIII.

 

And like you said, the difference between DDI and DDII is immense compared to the difference between DDII and DDIII. It is hard to get DDI to even stand.

I bought Tana's body used at $200, no stains or damage. I also bought Maiko's body at retail price, $230, brand new, never used, just over a year ago. (on twitter, believe it or not!)

Best bet is to just keep your eyes peeled on the various forums, there's often some great deals out there...

Average price for a good body should be around $200-250, I'd say...

The market is a lot better now. You can find DDII closer to $200 now. I think private sellers are the best for finding a good price. The Marketplace here, Ebay (sometimes), the Flickr DD group, and posting a looking for request might be good ways to get a DDII.

 

You can also probably find a DDIII for a good price if people are setting up splits for limited DDs coming out at the next Dolpa or if people are selling limiteds they recently received. Things seem to come in waves because of Dolpa timing.

 

You are right that you get stuck with fees and high shipping prices from Japan if you use a proxy to get things off Yahoo! Japan Auctions. Setting up a split for a full set limited DD off Mandarake or Jungle is a reasonable way to get a good price for a DDII or DDIII.

 

And like you said, the difference between DDI and DDII is immense compared to the difference between DDII and DDIII. It is hard to get DDI to even stand.

Thanks for the advice, I will continue looking for a good priced body. $200 is pretty affordable compared to before.

DDIII bodies are nice too, but I will start off with a DDII body. The newer versions of the DD standard models Aoi and Yukino come with DDIII bodies now too, but they're almost always sold out.

 

I prefer not to buy from Yahoo Auction Japan, even when I think I got a good deal, with all the fees and shipping it still can turn out normal price or overpriced.

Does Mandarake and Jungle really split?? I've never heard of that! Actually last time there was a DDII body on Mandarake for ¥22000, I wasn't sure if it was a good deal and I didn't get it though.

Luckily I didn't get a DDI body then, I've seen it for cheap sometimes, but I also don't like the hole parts in the upper legs. DDII bodies look so much better compared to it. DDIII bodies are better in stability and performance compared to DDII bodies. But I'm wondering, how different is the look? What's improved?

 

I bought Tana's body used at $200, no stains or damage. I also bought Maiko's body at retail price, $230, brand new, never used, just over a year ago. (on twitter, believe it or not!)

Best bet is to just keep your eyes peeled on the various forums, there's often some great deals out there...

Average price for a good body should be around $200-250, I'd say...

Those are pretty good prices for bodies and getting it from Twitter is pretty rare.

Yeah, I usually just wait for the great deals to pop up. I'm patient, but it can be difficult. Sometimes I'm not too sure either if a deal is good or not.

Actually I've been waiting to buy my first DD since January 2013 and I really hope to buy my DD soon. Currently I'm not really in a good position of buying a DD, I'm on a budget and trying to save up money for other stuff too.

Does Mandarake and Jungle really split?? I've never heard of that!

 

No, they don't. What Mitsuki meant was that if you or someone you know or someone here on the boards sets it up themselves, you can do a spilt for a character or limited girl that Mandarake has listed on their site and then purchase the body after other people have agreed to purchase the other parts. Mandarake sells things as is in sets as they are brought in, they won't split up anything. So what that means is that either you or someone else purchases the doll as a whole from Mandarake or Jungle and then AFTER it's received by the buyer, THEN the spilt is done.

 

 

Luckily I didn't get a DDI body then, I've seen it for cheap sometimes, but I also don't like the hole parts in the upper legs. DDII bodies look so much better compared to it. DDIII bodies are better in stability and performance compared to DDII bodies. But I'm wondering, how different is the look? What's improved?

 

The DDI bodies are cheaper because they lack the posability of the DD2 and 3 lines. They don't have an internal skeleton, they are strung using elastic string inside just like resin dolls are, this is also why those slots are at the tops of the legs. I've had to use one of these bodies a few times and while it works as a placeholder for a girl, it's not a very good body to use permanently, especially if you plan on posing your girl in different positions often. If you don't plan to do that then the DDI body is fine for static seated or standing poses.

 

As for the differences in the DDII and DD3 bodies, check this thread to see them:

 

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3791

 

Personally I think the DD2 is more sturdy and durable than the DD3 is but that's just my opinion. I really like the shape and look of the DD2 tho, it seems less skinny and stretched out than the DD3 can look at times. My fave by far tho is the DDdy body. I love the curves!

 

I hope that helps you out some.

 

 

 

Billy

Does Mandarake and Jungle really split?? I've never heard of that!

 

No, they don't. What Mitsuki meant was that if you or someone you know or someone here on the boards sets it up themselves, you can do a spilt for a character or limited girl that Mandarake has listed on their site and then purchase the body after other people have agreed to purchase the other parts. Mandarake sells things as is in sets as they are brought in, they won't split up anything. So what that means is that either you or someone else purchases the doll as a whole from Mandarake or Jungle and then AFTER it's received by the buyer, THEN the spilt is done.

 

 

Luckily I didn't get a DDI body then, I've seen it for cheap sometimes, but I also don't like the hole parts in the upper legs. DDII bodies look so much better compared to it. DDIII bodies are better in stability and performance compared to DDII bodies. But I'm wondering, how different is the look? What's improved?

 

The DDI bodies are cheaper because they lack the posability of the DD2 and 3 lines. They don't have an internal skeleton, they are strung using elastic string inside just like resin dolls are, this is also why those slots are at the tops of the legs. I've had to use one of these bodies a few times and while it works as a placeholder for a girl, it's not a very good body to use permanently, especially if you plan on posing your girl in different positions often. If you don't plan to do that then the DDI body is fine for static seated or standing poses.

 

As for the differences in the DDII and DD3 bodies, check this thread to see them:

 

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3791

 

Personally I think the DD2 is more sturdy and durable than the DD3 is but that's just my opinion. I really like the shape and look of the DD2 tho, it seems less skinny and stretched out than the DD3 can look at times. My fave by far tho is the DDdy body. I love the curves!

 

I hope that helps you out some.

 

 

 

Billy

Thanks for telling me about the splitting part, I understand. People just split orders theirselves. I might want to do something like that too. On Mandarake there's a DD I want to buy, but I'm planning to trade or sell the head.

 

Ok, I see, I don't really like the DDI bodies that much then and they look worse compared to DDII and DDIII bodies. From the looks I can't say if I like a DDII or DDIII more, but the difference is mostly just the stability and durability then. I will just go for a DDII first, because it will be pretty much permanent and I would like to pose it sometimes. DDdy bodies are nice too, but not really what I need for my custom DD. The price difference of a DDIII is still pretty big. Would you say a DDIII is worth the extra pay or very similar to the DDII?

Personally I prefer the DD2 bodies over the DD3 bodies. I guess that's due to them being more durable and also I'm more used to having them compared to the DD3. It's all up to you tho because this will be your girls body and she needs to look like you want and be able to move like you want.

 

One bonus of the DD3 bodies is that parts are easier to get now so if something happens to go wrong, you can repair or replace parts way more easily than you can with a DD2. No one sells inner skeleton parts for the DD2 so if one breaks and you can't repair it, the body is useless except for having it as spare parts.

 

 

 

Billy

From the looks I can't say if I like a DDII or DDIII more, but the difference is mostly just the stability and durability then. I will just go for a DDII first, because it will be pretty much permanent and I would like to pose it sometimes. DDdy bodies are nice too, but not really what I need for my custom DD. The price difference of a DDIII is still pretty big. Would you say a DDIII is worth the extra pay or very similar to the DDII?

 

My oppinnion is that if you want to get into more creative posing right away, go for a DD3, but if you just want a body that can be posed to a degree, get a "low milage" DD2.

 

The DD3 is significantly stiffer with its joints out of the box than a factory fresh DD2 ever was so that is a cruicial thing from the start.

 

The DD2 isnt hopeless, since it can be worked to be made a bit more stiff with fiddling with the joints with various methods, but naturally this requires work.

 

Doing a pose like this with a DDS/DD3 is pretty easy:

misc004

 

But with some patience the same is possible with a DD2:

Yonkko002

 

And before you ask, she's only standing on her legs, and no hidden support from the wall, etc. And this is also one of my oldest DD2 bodies, that I dont think i've done much in terms of stiffening her up (maybe her kneas were tightened, but im not sure anymore).

 

But doing something like this, the DD2 wants to spirally collapse on its legs for some weird reason, atleast this body, so as I said, the DD2 body requires a bit more patience in terms of posing.

 

Another pose comparison:

nekobon009

 

The DD2 on the left has had her knea screws nipped up, some silicon tubing added to her hip joint pegs to add friction, and probably had her ankles nailpolished, and as a result she can keep up with a factory fresh DDS.

 

And a DD2 with some added patience can take a monkey catgirl onto its back (without any outside support):

misc006

 

 

One visual thing to note is also the elbows, which in my oppinnion is a bit more pleasing to look on a DD2, than the DD3/S, since on a DD2 arm you can pull out the elbow if you need the extra movement, but the newer elbow seems to like to come out all the time.

 

Eventhough I havent had any misshaps with the inner frame with Melty or Rise, Im still probably going to get the already mentioned reinforcement parts for both, and these also add up to cost to the newer bodies.

I personally like the 3 series bodies better, and only one of my girls still has a 2 series body. The reason is that most of the pictures I take are somewhere else, not in my house. I often take a girl with me on a trip, and with a DDIII or DDS body I can easily plop them into position, take a picture, and move on. This is especially useful in touristy areas. It's not impossible with a DDII (or in my case a DDDy) body, but if she wants to collapse on you that's more time spent getting it right while others are waiting for that photo area.

 

It probably also makes a difference that while my first girl was a DDDy and my second an original MDD, my third was a DDS, and all subsequent girls were 3 series bodies. I have upgraded my original MDD to an MDDIII since I got frustrated with her a lot. And since I got used to 3 bodies I intend to eventually upgrade my DDDy to a DDDyIII as well. This in in contrast to Billy, who got into this hobby a ways before me and already had like 12 girls on DDII bodies when I joined this forum. It could be why he has more patience with them than I do.

 

ETA: Oh, and with the elbows, so far I have been lucky and none of my girls have been prone to dropping their arms off at the elbow. I got used to the inside of the elbow on the new bodies being more flat, so I don't like the way the older ones stick out since they're more round.

I was used to DDI and DDII for so many years before DDIII, so DDIII looks strange to me. When I first got a DDIII, outfits I already had for DDII looked so weird to me on DDIII. I could hardly find anything that masked the shape of the body enough. It is just so long and awkward looking. Not that any DD body of any kind is remotely realistic. Now I just use clothes that are new to me and I am not used to seeing on DDII or clothes that are loose enough to mask the body shape. I never put mine in swimsuits anyway. Most clothes I use cover the elbow joints too. haha My mom has particular issues with the elbow joints. She prefers clothes with long sleeves. Although, the bag of hands I take with me when I travel is more disturbing to her than the joints.

 

The DD3 is significantly stiffer with its joints out of the box than a factory fresh DD2 ever was so that is a cruicial thing from the start.

That hasn't been my experience, maybe it's more of a case by case thing. My Lucy is pretty stiff on her DD3 body and my custom girl Shia is almost just as stiff on her DD2 body. Meanwhile, my friend's second release Lucy (DD3 body) is way looser than either of my girls, despite being newer and fresher.

 

I like both bodies and I couldn't imagine Shia on a DD3 body (actually I tried and couldn't stand it). But if I ever get more girls, I'd prefer DD3 for them probably.

I have seen a lot of variation too. Some DDIII arms can't support weight. A lot of MDDIII arms don't even stay in one piece. Recently, I got a DDIII body with arms that won't stay together. The lower arm just falls off all the time.

Thanks for all the replies. The differences between the bodies is very clear to me now.

I guess it's best for me to start off with a DDII and get a DDIII later on and see if it's a big improvement or not.

Judging from pictures the DDIII looks a bit different, but the difference isn't that big. There's mostly difference in the posing options, but to me it seems that the DDII is good enough too to pose (with patience). I just wonder if I buy a used body if I can expect looser joints on a DDII or DDIII.

I can just echo what mitsuki and Yukamina has already said... DDIII bodies can be hit or miss with stiffness. I have one DDIII body that used to be pretty much as floppy as a DDII one -- but it was fixable by tightening most screws, and using epoxy on the hip pegs then sanding it down.

I have heard of adding thickness/friction to pegs using various products (nail polish, Future Floor Polish). Most of the looseness problems I have seen have been because the peg and its socket don't stay together. The piece just falls right off. It seems like epoxy can add thickness too. Thanks!