Do you keep a tally of what you have spent on this hobby?

Note: I did (4) search parameters and did not see this topic. If it has been done please remove this post.

 

 

When I started back in 2011 with this hobby I started a spreadsheet to keep track of how much I have spent. So, I would like to ask…

 

…Do you keep a tally of what you have spent on this hobby?

You do not have to tell the total, just whether are not you keep track.

 

I kept track because in case I ever needed to sell a doll or clothing (or anything else related to them) I would have a reference point beyond the current market value, and even then some items just are never seen again in online searches. I also did just because I knew I would be curious down the line and didn’t want to have to dig through receipts and bank statements.

 

My total includes the dolls (13 total), outfits, wigs, accessories, face-ups & blushing, shipping charges, and any customs and/or PayPal fees.

I still have a lot of the receipts and stuff because when I first started the hobby, most of the things I bought were directly from Volks or from online stores, or eBay. Volks mails receipts, and eBay has printable ones that you can choose to do. Then I started buying from other users, and then deputy services... And eventually I stopped counting, but for outfits and whatnot that I bought on the aftermarket or from other users I pretty much remember the price that I paid for all of them. I don't have a lot of them because I am generally very picky, haha! Wigs I can just look up on the website if I need to, so I didn't feel like I had to keep track anymore.

 

The only thing I ever have a problem with is the things that come with dolls, such as default outfits or wigs... I don't always know what to price them at, so sometimes I just take a guess and let people make me offers, or right now I have a "feeler" topic for some things that I don't use but I'm not willing to easily part with without knowing their current value. I don't want to overcharge anyone, but I also don't want to put the prices way too low because I don't know if the people would turn around and sell it or something. So I'm trying to establish a baseline. ^_^

 

This is a pretty interesting question though... For some people it seems like they often resell the things that they don't want and then others I have never seen for sale topics. (I mean out of everyone I have encountered on this forum, DoA, Flickr, etc...) Sometimes I wonder if other people keep track of their expenses or if they just buy what they want and don't worry about it. For the most part I don't really worry about it anymore. If I can afford it then I will buy it, and if I don't like it or don't use it, then I can just sell it later on... Most likely someone will want it since most of the items can be used on multiple doll types.

I've allways had this old habit of saving receipts for all non-consumables, not just doll hobby items. Reselling stuff I've bought has never been my thing; once bought the stuff stays with me, even if I don't use it. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

 

Still, I'd most likely get a chock if I ever summed up all the money I've spent on the doll-hobby Not so sure I want that chock!

Edited August 23, 2013 by Guest

Not exactly related to the doll hobby specifically (given that I'm new) , I keep an excel file of how much I spend on my hobbies this year.

 

Looking at it every time makes me question myself sometimes

No way, no how, no chance of us keeping track of what we spend! If I did that, I would probably freak out at the total and then our poor girls would have to go naked or something!!! My husband and I look at this as our hobby and it is a real stress buster for me as well as something we do together as a couple so we don't really care about the cost...well, we care, but if we can afford it, I just buy it or buy some material and make something similar (a significantly cheaper option). I enjoy the challenge of designing and making different outfits because it gives me a break from my job and my husband enjoys designing/making wooden furniture-type things that fit the DD size. We work together at this stuff and have a lot of fun with it -- much discussion and lots of laughing! I'm not sure that we could or would want to put a price on this hobby because that might take away some of our enjoyment of being together and of playing with the girls and stretching our creativity!

I tend to keep a mental tally, which is easy for me at the moment because of the small size of my collection. It's actually come up though because I've recently been considering selling my resins and going fully vinyl, so remembering exactly what I spent has been an asset.

Heh, I've thought about this quite a few times because when I was in other hobbies, I certainly DID keep a log of my costs on things. Oddly enuff tho, in this hobby, I haven't kept up with it at all.... other than in my head.

 

Clothing I don't really worry about because I can either remember what I paid for things or ask a couple of good buddies what these things sell for. But I hate to sell clothes so it doesn't really matter to me anyways.

 

As for my girls, I actually DID make a list about a month ago of what I paid for them and where I got them from. I think I did this mainly so I could know exactly what I had in each of them at the start and finish of their characters. What I mean by that is I wanted to see what it took to make them who they are today. For instance, let's take my Rei. I bought her in Japan for around $300 in a Mandarake store. She was on a DDI body and after a few months I just couldn't deal with it anymore due to it's terrible posing abilities. So I got her a DDII body from Volks US and that ran about $270. In total then, since I didn't change her eyes or wig, Rei cost me around $570 in the end.

 

But other than my girls costs and totals, I don't keep any records on what I've spent on shoes or clothes for them. And I think that's because I would seriously question my sanity if I knew.

 

 

 

Billy

Last year I had set a doll budget, I went a bit over with wigs and outfits but made up by selling a few things.

 

This year I've got no fixed budget, but I'm taking a more relaxed attitude toward doll acquisition. Volks releases lots of DD per year, most of them I like, so I try not to stress on missing out on a particular girl and get what I can from the lottery at retail price. For accessories I'm trying to focus on completing an outfit or look, or filling holes in the existing wardrobe. My running tally of costs this year is fuzzy, but now before I purchase anything I look at my doll wishlist first. Counting wigs and clothes against potential DD purchases has helped me reign in expenses a lot

I do not know, nor do I want to know a grand spending total. My household budgeting is a little weird due to the nature of my husband's job. He's either never home and we have lots of money, or he's home all the time and we can't spend as much. So mostly I buy things when he's away a lot and so I'm by myself. I inform him when I buy things, but I don't keep a tally. That'd be so hard, too, with trips to the craft store, where I pick up some things for my girls, but some other things that aren't for them specifically. Or especially with things like jewelry supplies, where I could make both doll or people jewelry out of it.

 

If I want to sell things, I only look at the current market value anyway. Or if there are no comparisons, I just price at what I think is fair.

 

Also, my husband does not at all keep track of how much he spends on Magic Cards either. If he wants to sell he looks up values online. We spend money on hobbies when we have it, and don't really want to know the big number.

I've tallied it up before, if you wanted I could do it again. I keep a list of how much I buy and sale things for because I like to be aware how much money this one hobby takes up. I don't keep track of small items, but I can tell you that a lot of the bigger items (if it was $100 or more) I could most likely recall, but it is really just dolls.

 

Imagine, I've been collecting BJD/DD/other dolls since 2007...I've owned more than 30. XD I almost want to do the list and break down on my sales. I haven't done that for at least two years. O.o

I have a record of 2013, because I needed a full budget for this year...but I dont have one for the entire hobby, though I can count the number of things I got in 2009-2011 on my fingers.

I have all my dolls, their clothing and accessories insured at replacement value (includes shipping costs) so I have to keep a runny tally for insurance purposes. Despite the fact that I have two "regular" heads, my dolls plus their clothing and wigs easily add up to the price of a limited fullset or more. So I guess as much as I say "oh... limited dolls are too expensive for me" they really aren't if I buy the doll and clothing in pieces like a regular doll. Since I have a sick addiction to Dollheart and I love having 2-3 outfits per girl. Also, I bought the DDIII bodies in pieces. Because of this, the limited dolls are often more affordable then my girls all added up + shipping when won by lotto. At the moment, Arisa's total actually is more than a full set Melty because she has REALLY nice clothing and lots of it.

I have a list in Excel of what I paid for the dolls with shipping included I think. I don't think I've included customs and such though. To date Lily is still my most expensive and the pre-order ones and the one's I won from Volks being the least expensive. Sadly, Volks hasn't given me the opportunity to win from them very often which sucks since out of my 12 DDs, I've only ever won Milhi and Beato from them and my 2 Sabers were pre-orders as well as the incoming KOS and MOMO. I haven't kept a tally of what I have spent on clothes and other stuff though.

right now its only in three figures for me, so i still dont need to write it down anywhere unless i suddenly develop amnesia.

I don't keep a running tally of what I've spent on doll things, but I've pretty much memorized how much any given item cost me and can rattle that off like it's nothing.

 

My philosophy has always been to buy the things I want regardless of price, so I don't really worry about it very much.

I think I would cry if I looked at a total haha I haven't even been as actively acquiring as most. I have an issue with spending more on my dolls clothes than on my own, oddly enough I've loosened up quite a bit on this though. I think maybe setting myself a budget would be a good idea though.

I started in 2005 with an MSD - and she's still my favourite. But I don't want to know how much I spent, it is way too much and more than I expected for sure. Originally it was meant to be just one girl.

I don't have in receipt but I did record everything that I bought from my first doll (BJD) untill now I bought alot for my Picarin (DD)

 

So I could know how much I spend in this hobby I dont care when I bought it but I like to calculate it per year . Her outfit is expensive than mine too

 

Also, Most of items I bought are still in my home becuase was I bought is the most I want so cant sell them >.<

 

PS: only one DD at my home she very special one is like a birthday gift for me

her birthday and her head is 6 << and I do love this number the most

I don't keep track of how much I spend on doll stuff at all, although I reasonably know how much I paid for everything. At least it doesn't quickly drop in value. I probably spend way more on computer and video game stuff which depreciates disturbingly quickly. And unlike everything else I spend my money on, my dollfies continue to make me happy just by sitting around my room in their pretty outfits.

I have been keeping track of it since 2008, but in recent months i have been kinda lazy xD also i have the weird habit of keep the invoices from my packages xD

I have the dolls, clothing, shoes, wigs, etc. recorded in individual folders which have pics and text files which log the title, source, and amount paid, so I do have the information. But I haven't yet tabulated it up for a grand total. I know in a general sense what the cost of a particular doll & current attire is, but the whole collection would be a bit staggering to acknowledge. I suppose I should make the effort soon and purchase some collectibles insurance.

Uh...no.

 

I think I would be scared.

Uh...no.

 

I think I would be scared.

judging by your avatar pic i think you can buy a nice car with it

This makes me Ill to think about! I'd say in dolls I've spend at least 9k in the last year or two

I'm with Misheru on this one. Knowing the total dollar amount spent in the last few years would not be pleasant. At least it has been a constructive, positive past time, unlike some others.