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What is your limit?

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katnaper

I decided I'll limit myself to one doll a year. Mind you I started on this hobby around 2010-ish and I have already gone well beyond that limit of a yearly doll🤣🤣🤣. I should have specified it to one doll a year per maker/type - Pullip, Blythe, Nendoroid Doll, Azone - 1/3 and Neemos, Angel Philia, Dollfie dreams (DdDy, DDS, DD, DDP, DD Boy), Volks, IH, Vindoll... uh yeah...😜 I guess like @baldylox I stopped trying to limit them. They just keep trying to move into my home 🤣🤣🤣

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We have our own BLOG. Please visit us at the House of Nyan by clicking this link or our sig above. See you there. Or, come see what Nyanko-sensei is up to at the Katnaper's Den

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baldylox
On 5/9/2023 at 6:23 PM, katnaper said:

I decided I'll limit myself to one doll a year. Mind you I started on this hobby around 2010-ish and I have already gone well beyond that limit of a yearly doll🤣🤣🤣. I should have specified it to one doll a year per maker/type - Pullip, Blythe, Nendoroid Doll, Azone - 1/3 and Neemos, Angel Philia, Dollfie dreams (DdDy, DDS, DD, DDP, DD Boy), Volks, IH, Vindoll... uh yeah...😜 I guess like @baldylox I stopped trying to limit them. They just keep trying to move into my home 🤣🤣🤣

Oh yeah, I gave up trying to limit my collection years ago.  😄  I really don't know how I got to where I am now but it's been fun so far and I'm not planning to stop any time soon.  Cute girls keep popping up asking to be adopted and I just can't say no most of the time.  I *have* had to turn some down in recent years due to monetary issues or already having one etc.  But for the most part, as long as I have space, I'll keep adopting them!  😉 

 

 

Billy

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I gave up counting the girls I own, they keep multiplying and won't stop.

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BeyondTime
5 hours ago, baldylox said:

I'll keep adopting them!

And as my own collection grows, it's getting harder and harder for me to look sincere while making fun of his ♾️+1 dolls. XD

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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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baldylox
19 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

And as my own collection grows, it's getting harder and harder for me to look sincere while making fun of his ♾️+1 dolls. XD

Don't worry.  Eventually all your dolls will be MY dolls.  😄 

 

Billy

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I gave up counting the girls I own, they keep multiplying and won't stop.

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chef_mai
On 11/25/2021 at 5:58 PM, chef_mai said:

My hard limit is 3 larger dolls. Each doll is a character in my webcomic, so I'd feel pretty bad to not be able to devote adequate attention to each one. Plus, I like having them all on my desk as I work, so there's only so much room there.

I've been building out my third, and I'm realizing that my practical limit might actually be 2. 

For starters, my desk barely holds 2, so while Mai's always out, the other 2 rotate. I sometimes only bring out Mai when I'm busier like I've been this year.

One unexpected challenge has been maintaining a consistent style across the three girls, much like within an anime, even though the characters are different, they share the same "house" look and proportionally look correct. And here, I'm running into issues where a DDH-21 head is noticeably bigger than the others I have, and the visual identity is quite different too. Going back to my analogy, it's like a different artist drew the character. 

I'm probably being picky, but it's challenging trying to reconcile the differences. It's probably not as much of an issue for most if you stick to buying within one brand.

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Xiongmao
On 5/11/2023 at 5:16 AM, BeyondTime said:

And as my own collection grows, it's getting harder and harder for me to look sincere while making fun of his ♾️+1 dolls. XD

I think the sensible number of dolls I want to limit myself to is  ♾️+1.

We already appear to have reached   ♾️+1 in terms of outfits. Many have never been worn, but to be fair that's the same with hoomans and their shopping habits.

I am trying to be more selective in terms of what we acquire next. Aside from Yor Forger, I'm not really in it for particular characters. First up is getting 3 girls to simultaneously cosplay as Kotomi, Fuko-chan and Tomoyo from Clannad. I just like the idea of turning up to an anime convention with a couple of dolls in cosplay too.

 


Xiongmao-Signature-Vinyl-Dolls-December-2023.jpg.092aa55b9a3c11160633f60ad1610e7c.jpg 

My Dollfie doll family 😊.

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katnaper
On 5/12/2023 at 11:47 AM, Xiongmao said:

  ♾️+1

That is indeed the ultimate goal number. 😜 Much like my husband's number of unbuilt Gundams and our Christmas Village. Now, to research infinite storage or pocket universes and we will be set.🤣🤣🤣

Seriously though, I need to be more creative with 'storage' even though I still have lots of space. I think, we ought to remodel our basement to one big open space where dolls and collectibles occupy the walls.

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We have our own BLOG. Please visit us at the House of Nyan by clicking this link or our sig above. See you there. Or, come see what Nyanko-sensei is up to at the Katnaper's Den

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mukyuu

Technically I set myself a limit of 3 when I started but I already have plans for at least 2 more dolls so whatever, I will just do whatever my heart wants and my budget takes.

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0bsequi0us

For Volks I have a pretty strict rule: only one of each body sculpt I like. I only collect MDD size, so that means 1 standard MDD, 1 Mochi Ashi, and 1 Integrated Asexual body. I've been very satisfied with these 3 so far, but with the possibility of a new MDD body on the horizon I might be in trouble. 😱

Heads, though, I have no limit! They can share the bodies or go on cheaper bodies.

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Xiongmao

I really don't know what's going on here. Or maybe I do. Inflation's up again in the UK. When I started moving into physical assets back in 2021 it's been a pretty decent plan. Being a child of the 70's mean I have more experience of inflation than subsequent generations.

So I guess I will continue to hoard both Lego and dolls. Why Lego and dolls? They're both awesome, and the Lindy effect also predicts that they'll be around for a long time to come.

If (lol) I acquire more DD I think I'll focus on the limited release anime collaborations such as Yor Forger and Ciel. So many of the earlier releases have become major grails (e.g. Asuna 1.0, Rem, Ram).

I don't keep my DD girls in boxes although I have quite a few boxed Pureneemos. Most of my DD licensed girls' outfits and wigs are unused though, as we have a tonne of other stuff for them to wear.


Xiongmao-Signature-Vinyl-Dolls-December-2023.jpg.092aa55b9a3c11160633f60ad1610e7c.jpg 

My Dollfie doll family 😊.

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Jezrah

@Xiongmao I don't understand- are you planning on holding on to your dolls for a time and then selling them before you think they'll begin to lose value then? Nearly all of the older dolls are less expensive to buy now than they were when new, or in some cases even five years ago, and that's only partially due to the value of the yen having dropped. Tastes change, faceup styles change to reflect more current anime, and Volks releases newer body types, which are all things that can contribute to a doll's value falling.

When I got into this hobby DDII was the most recent frame, they all had the hard head caps, and we were only on the first release version of most. An example from a few years before I started collecting is Haruhi: she was popular when I came in and hard to find because her anime was still quite famous. Now when you see her around she is not very expensive because she's on an old body and her anime is from like 17 years ago. It aged out of popularity by now.

Even many all-time grail dolls from the earlier era have come down a lot in price by now. I only own Yuki Morikawa because her price came down a lot in the last five years or so. I got her before the current dip in yen value. I also see others also being able to buy previously expensive grails like Tamaki and Ryomou.

At one point I could have been able to sell my Melty for as much as $1800. Now there's a Santa version of her on Mandarake for 90,000 yen, which is only about $645 at the current exchange rate.

The only way to make money on these dolls is to scalp them, which generally involves buying low, such as at the original Volks price, then resell them either immediately or within no more than a few years, before their anime or game goes out of popularity. You might be able to get as long as 10 years for some really popular dolls, but eventually their faceups will go out of style and some of their outfit parts will deteriorate. Also, remember that hard to find does not always equal worth a lot of money.

Anyways, tldr: I wouldn't bet on these dolls as a form of long term investment. They're much better to just buy and enjoy even knowing that one day they will lose value.

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BeyondTime
On 5/24/2023 at 10:25 AM, Xiongmao said:

and Ciel. So many of the earlier releases have become major grails (e.g. Asuna 1.0, Rem, Ram).

 

On 5/24/2023 at 6:04 PM, Jezrah said:

I don't understand- are you planning on holding on to your dolls for a time and then selling them before you think they'll begin to lose value then?

I have to admit I am a bit curious, when you refer to major and minor grails, are you referring to the doll's resale value because it's a major or minor grail for other people?

Don't get me wrong, what you do with your dolls is your business, I've just been a bit confused by your use of the word "grail" for awhile. At least as I understand "grail," it's a one of a kind thing that you go on an impossible quest for. In the doll collecting world, as far as I know, a "grail doll" is the one single doll that you must have for some reason. For me my grail is Sailor Mercury, because she's my favorite character from my early days watching anime, and she holds a special place in my heart so I'd never sell her.

I guess I am trying to understand if these are all "grails" for you, or if "grail" is just a market value assessment, which would make sense from a market standpoint and the way the word grail is often used in slang, but the usage is a bit off the beaten path here on this forum. 

I am pretty sure there are fair number of people here who buy dolls, keep them in their box, and then sell them unopened in the marketplace after a few years as a side-hustle or as a way to fund the hobby. It's a thing here, but I think you're the first one to talk about that so openly. 

Edit: I want to be clear here, I'm not being judgmental about this. You don't mistreat people here, so I have no reason to think poorly of you. I can't speak for everyone though, we do have a lot of artistic people who are very connected to the world around them here, so your millage may vary. 

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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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finnleo
7 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

a side-hustle or as a way to fund the hobby. It's a thing here, but I think you're the first one to talk about that so openly. 

 

7 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

I can't speak for everyone though, we do have a lot of sensitive artistic people here so your millage may vary. 

Its been deemed a bit of a volatile subject, and all previous open discussions on the forum that I recall about how people go about aftermarket sales for profits have ended up deleted or pruned because of guideline violations, so its been mostly quiet on that front for a reason. But in terms of recent things it seems that the forum has learned to reign itself in a bit.

 

on a more on topic thing, I guess my limit break was with the artificial eye shaping with the paintwork from volks, so currently now its the first thing I check for stuff both new and not so new ... to the point I decided not to get a doll I wanted before. So there is that ... otherwise Im also in a bit of a debate with myself that do I actually get bodies for all the limited floating heads I have, or do I just go with a few stunt bodies on a rotation, as displaying the whole lot just turned into what was best described as clutter.

 

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BeyondTime
2 minutes ago, finnleo said:

Its been deemed a bit of a volatile subject, and all previous open discussions on the forum that I recall about how people go about aftermarket sales for profits have ended up deleted or pruned because of guideline violations

I'm not seeing a rule that covers that, unless it was the rule about disruptive arguments that came into play. Generally, I don't want to be the thought police, and I only remove content that breaks the rules. Outside of that, it's up to the individual to decide how to represent themselves to others.


The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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finnleo
2 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I'm not seeing a rule that covers that, unless it was the rule about disruptive arguments that came into play.

Typically the line that was crossed was when things turned into finger pointing and the subject matter could be easily identified (Thou shall not direct anger towards another forum user). So in that sense the way the discussion being opened is new, but all in all its still a touchy subject.

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puxlavoix
On 5/24/2023 at 8:04 PM, Jezrah said:

Xiongmao I don't understand- are you planning on holding on to your dolls for a time and then selling them before you think they'll begin to lose value then? Nearly all of the older dolls are less expensive to buy now than they were when new, or in some cases even five years ago, and that's only partially due to the value of the yen having dropped. 

I think he meant it as a joke lol... I sometimes ponder on that possibility too but they're just too cute to part with for something so mundane as money :lol:.

Out of all my girls i think the only ones who have dipped in value are the generic non limited ones. In my personal case never intended to make an investment out of them but because almost all of them happen to be grail dolls, and of all those everyone still holds their original value even if by a short margin of a couple hundred, with some like Tama, Miki or Sasara averaging 2x or 3x their original value (Granted there's been an influx of Tamas lately but still fetching the 1,400 mark at yjp) (also talking about jpy prices here)

I have this life long friend who purchased basically every single transformers figure from when we were kids and kept them in their blisters for more than 20 years only to find out one day that he had just been sitting on a ton of plastic because they were really not that special even if kept mib and all that.

What I'm trying to say i guess, is that like in all hobbies one could knowingly or unknowingly hold to a jewel that one day could fetch a somewhat high price, but as somebody already said those "rare" dolls or "highly sought after" went skyrocketing the next day they were released and for the most part all existing dolls are not getting much more valuable if at all. 

Also there are cases in which people will give their dolls a sentimental non realistic value even way above market value w/o meaning to scalp people...  thats why there's instances when a bald used head on a naked body is being listed for more money than what the same new full doll can be found online.

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sunlightandtea

At this point I’m pretty much good with just one doll, period. I find myself very paranoid about damage and maintenance. I can deal with that paranoia for one doll, but not more than one. Maybe one day I’ll get over that, but I like having just one girl. 

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Xiongmao

I have come to the conclusion that 18 is a good number of emotional support dolls.

I do tend to have a current couple of favourites, and the rest hang out and chill in the gloomy corridor of our apartment (dolls LOVE being out of the light). Kirika and Ciel are my current favourites.

I see the girls (and my Lego) as investments in so far as they're on my balance sheet as physical assets. We have a pretty serious inflation problem in the UK right now, and they're holding up well (Lego especially). If there was a life or death emergency I'd sell them.

I do of course know that outfits deteriorate over time. On the other hand most of my girls have never opened their default outfits and I have near-perfect conditions for storing outfits. Our stuff will likely last longer than anything being stored in the average Japanese apartment.

Anime dolls will also go in and out of favour - the Haruhi girls are not especially valuable these days. The same may happen to Asuna and Yor.

The Yen is also extremely volatile against other currencies, especially GBP. I visited Japan when it was 250 to the pound, and I also visited when it was 120. I was in Tokyo during the peak of the Great Financial Crisis. I had a look round the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Strangely I'm not even sure if they're open to tourists but I went in there anyway and took a few photos 😵.

Having been to Japan 4 times I do of course know that anything related to Japan is usually expensive. And yes I took photos of the square watermelons and DD head-sized strawberries selling for astronomical prices in Ginza.

Of course I overpaid for Rin, but, hey, she's Rin.

Maybe I should have saved money and stuck to raising praying mantises, but my dolls are much longer lived than they are.

If I did invest in dolls to resell then I'd avoid DD and go for the Pureneemos. I badly want Pureneemo Menma but I seemingly can't buy her at all. Azone are very skilled at selecting franchises and I imagine their Re:Zero, Love is War and Demon Slayer character dolls will become highly sought after (if they aren't already).

Incidentally I don't buy dolls to resell and have no plans to (largely for tax reasons). I have a lot of Lego I'll resell at some point, but mostly because my previous job gave me unlimited shopping discount vouchers. I was able to acquire Lego at extremely attractive prices.

I guess people are interested in this... how do I fund my doll purchases? I've basically worked continuously since I graduated, and a couple of decades ago I also started my own business. I don't come from a priviliged background, self taught myself what I do for a living, have never inherited anything, and generally live a very frugal lifestyle.


Xiongmao-Signature-Vinyl-Dolls-December-2023.jpg.092aa55b9a3c11160633f60ad1610e7c.jpg 

My Dollfie doll family 😊.

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Gabriel

I second 18.  18 is a good number.  I just added my 18th.  Yep.  18 is good.  More than enough.

Unless I can find Ranko Kanzaki v2 for a good price.  Or if I ever decide to get DD Standard Karin.  Or if I can ever score a reasonably priced Kaede.

...

Yeah, I've kind of realized I'm doomed.

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BeyondTime
6 hours ago, Gabriel said:

I second 18.  18 is a good number.  I just added my 18th.

Welcome back. 

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The difference between Dollfie Dreams and Heroin? Heroin is illegal, Dollfie Dreams probably should be.

“Empty wallets, full hearts.” That’s probably an apt description for the effects of DD addiction

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battrastard
7 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Welcome back. 

Truth! Nice to see you here again! 

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"Madness takes it's toll, Please have exact change!"

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takatsuki

Umm, I can’t remember if I’ve posted in this thread or not, but if I have it’s totally not true anymore! I guess I will say, the only limit is my budget. I’ve gone a tad bit doll crazy and have 3 MDD, 3 DDP, and one DDYb. And…I want more! Please Volks, please, no more….. Is it wrong to want to get rid of everything else and only have DD? I can’t see any reason not to, oh, help.

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catalystscimitar

oh GOD, my limit is definitely SPACE for now. I love myself my other collectables and thus my bigger girlies like my Dollfie Dreams and my other nice BJDs are on my dresser rather than my already full (with my other playline dolls and anime figures and misc collectibles and plushies) shelf and. there is already some serious crowding.

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Xiongmao

All credit to Kirika, who seems to have gotten me fired and then hired a week later for a big salary increase.

Towa has green lighted a new arrival. I'm totally happy with this because there appears to only be one for sale in the entire world. While she's not currently a grail, she will almost certainly become a future grail.

I don't know if our family will expand much further but while perusing Mandarake today we did find some [non-doll] items that sell for X in Japan and 4X on eBay in Western countries.

I will probably green light further imports of stuff because my pension is 📉 but my physical assets are 📈.


Xiongmao-Signature-Vinyl-Dolls-December-2023.jpg.092aa55b9a3c11160633f60ad1610e7c.jpg 

My Dollfie doll family 😊.

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PolitelyNefarious

I don't have a set number, but my current group of full dolls is ten, and I share heads between most of them. Ideally I would like no more than twenty, under that if possible, but if I had to fudge, 21-23 would be acceptable. But frankly I hope I never get that many. I want to approach this hobby with the maturity and insight I wish I had with BJDs, and so far, it has mostly worked. All of the dolls I have in person or coming reflect specific goals, and outside of a couple of impulse heads, and heads that have fallen out of favor with my changing taste, I don't have a lot of extra fluff in this collection. If I could add anything it would be:

+ Smart Doll male body for Llewyr

+ DD Anthy

+ DD Kaito

+ MDD Marisa

+ One more tan MDD (Waffling on sculpt)

+ A blue or grey Smart Doll guy

+ A tan male Dollfie

+ Another nice custom MDD head; something with a more elaborate faceup and nice mouth mod

 

...which does put me up to seventeen. Eighteen if we count the Obitsu body I am also considering for Len and Balium, and nineteen if I get a separate body for my other tea heads as well. But regardless, I don't know that I could expect all / any of this stuff. I have hard-to-catch tastes. Which is why I'd rather be grateful for the collection I have, and feel happy when something I've been chasing does fall into my lap. I would not be surprised if another character DD or a grey Smart Doll sneaks into the mix, even if she's not on the official list. The dolls do what they will. We just watch them burn our wallets. @onion9@

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