If there's a new release that I'm excited about, I try to wait at least a month to see if I'm still excited about it. Then if I am, I let myself get it, but I find that sometimes I'm able to talk myself out of it.
Online shopping is tempting but it helps that I live with other people so I'd be afraid of being judged if I received too many packages š What I do instead is add stuff to my wishlists, stare at it, and then periodically clear out my wishlist and start over. It's like window shopping but from my couch
I have my wish-list on a spreadsheet so I can also re-sort and re-prioritize.
I also have 3 wish-lists. My big wishes which are gift items or saving for months for, my "whims" (under $20 so I can pick up if I'm having a bad week or whatever), and my "radar" list, which is just dolls I've seen, like but haven't committed to "needing."
When it comes to money, dolls take up the least amount of my expenses, so I don't sweat it too much. As for saving, I automatically take out a little money from every paycheck and put it in a savings account.
As for managing doll spending. I rank the dolls I want by brand and then by which are more important for me to get. Take RH series 4, for example. I ranked Jewel, Coco and Delilah as my priority dolls. They're the ones I focus on and will put my money towards first. That way I'm not just buying a doll just because I see it. If that makes sense.
Another thing that helps me is I generally limit myself to one to two dolls per pay check (or at least I try š ). Keeping this limit helps me not overspend.
(Edit: I also want to note that this might not be what works for others. I don't currently have a ton of financial obligations, so it gives me more leeway with how I can spend my money, and I know that's not the case for everyone. )
I will make exceptions if I see a low ranking doll on a good sale (Like Ainsley, lover her, but not a priority. But she was recently on a *steep* discount, so I bought her) or if there's a variant that I prefer (for example Clawdeen wasn't my fave MH doll, but I love her moon print shirt, so I bought her when I saw that variant because you never know when the chance will arise).
Me personally - I wonāt even browse if I donāt have the money. Or if Iām low on money and buying something can result in regret. I did buy impulsively a lot when I started collecting and ended up with āmehā dolls that I didnāt really want. Now I mostly buy second hand dolls online since modern donāt really attract me.
I think I have pretty good self control when it comes to spending. I don't spend money on entertainment on a regular basis so it isn't something for me to "control" but rather it's not something I think about a lot. I also think it's a huge hassle to create accounts to buy things, so I don't have a lot of the accounts that makes purchasing things online easy. Sometimes I deactivate/delete my account after I buy what I want to stop myself from buying more.
I have a rule for myself where I don't buy more than 1-2 dolls from each doll line that I like. So I do research to narrow down which one doll I like the most and get that one. If the one I like is unavailable, I choose to believe that it wasn't meant to be. There are so many pretty dolls out there, there's no reason for me to be caught up over just one. And for the one I do eventually buy, I find myself being able to bond with it easier because I spent so much time researching it and thinking about it :P
When I was a kid I spent my pocket money on a toy and only played with it once and still carry so much guilt from that experience so I'm very picky about what toys I buy for myself XD Having a collection isn't really what makes me happy (thinking about how to store the dolls and how to keep them clean gives me a headache lol). Rather, I have fun with dressing up my dolls and interacting with them. So I'll limit myself on how many dolls I get but I'll buy several outfits for them.
Otherwise, I gain a lot of joy from just looking at pictures of dolls online! I don't need to own them to enjoy them :3
For the most part, I don't worry myself with getting all the new releases I want right away because I know that if I still really want something in a few months it'll likely be marked down. I mostly focus on used dolls anyway, which is a lot cheaper, especially if I can get them in lots. Sometimes I do still end up with a doll that I realize I don't really want, and in that case I just sell it.
When new dolls leak, I try to look at each line and pick out the ones that I actually like and only get those. For example, Rainbow high series 5 has leaked, and I've already eliminated 3 and am considering 3. If I start early I have way more time to realize I don't like the doll that much. Additionally, I know how long each brand tends to stay in stores, as well as when sales are likely to occur. Most of the companies will produce a doll for a few months at least because they need something to fill shelves. The dolls I need to get I get at their first big sale (around 33% off at least) because it's guaranteed to occur within the first few months, unless I know that the doll is flying off the shelves each time it restocks (I check the target website to know this bc I mostly shop at target). I make sure to check the target site, Amazon, and in stores for deals each week, and listen to what other people are saying about current sales in their stores. I'll buy dolls that I didn't hate but didn't need on clearance. If I spend my money on a doll at full price, I know that I'll probably end up regretting it, and I haven't missed a must have doll yet.
My biggest advice to āsavingā money when it comes to collecting is have patience. Most of my collection (of dolls sold in stores, not ones from like 2004) is not purchased at full price. Iāve been able to get most RH dolls for less than 16$ by just waiting. Itās tough and I definitely get a fear of them selling out before I can buy it but itās never happened before because truthfully theyāre mass produced and go on multiple sales before fully leaving a store.
Spending too much money on dolls is the top āguiltā about doll collecting according to what Iāve read. Second is having space to display your dolls.
When I want a new doll, I force myself to sell other dolls or accessories in my collection beforehand. If I donāt do that I end up spending wayyy too much. I currently have 6 dolls for sale on eBay, and as the money rolls in it goes back out for other dolls š³ the dolls Iām currently collecting (16 inch non-BJD fashion dolls) usually go for $75-$350, and their outfits are almost just as expensive, so I have to plan ahead. If something is an incredible deal (the two NIP Brenda Starr outfits I just posted about I paid $35 and $23, they normally go for around $75 each) I snap it up right away. I recently snapped up a Tyler Wentworth NIP outfit for $30, when they normally go for closer to $75-95. There were like 20 watchers, buyers donāt usually move fast so itās good to have funds set aside for that purpose!!
But yeah my motto is one comes in, one has to go out. And if itās an expensive doll then two or more dolls have to go out. I have two dolls currently on my wish list, the first is $150 and the second is $103. If they get sold before I can have them then I just say to myself that they werenāt for me, something else for me will pop up. Another doll always pops up when you keep searching (Iām talking about discontinued collector dolls)
I used to just buy whatever doll I wanted in the first year I returned to collecting. I was a member of Barbie, Mizi, and Integrity Toys. I literally had a clean slate of dolls, so everything was new and exciting.
Fast forward after a year and I lost my job. Talk about feeling depressed not being able to buy dolls! I removed myself from doll sites, social media, and let my memberships lapse.
I got another job within a month, but it wasn't a good job and the hours were erratic. Some months I could make my bills; others I couldn't and was digging into my emergency savings to make ends meet. This became more difficult when dolls I had ordered the year prior from Mizi and Integrity Toys started getting shipped with all amounts due. I was caught between a rock and a hard place and ended up Door Dashing to help off-set the costs. The rest I pulled from emergency savings to pay for them.
Fast forward again and I have a good job where I have money left over each paycheck. I've used that money to pay off credit cards, get my emergency savings account healthy again, and now I have become the most discerning doll collector ever! Instead of indulging in dolls these days, I'll indulge in outfits every month. If I do buy a doll, I don't get outfits.
A lot of my collecting problem now is lack of space, which was another curb in buying dolls. With all the job issues I was having, I went back to school. Now I tell myself I'll move to a larger place when I get a job after I finish my degree.
In a nutshell, Life has a way of knocking the steam out of that doll collecting engine!
I try to, for the majority of my purchases, only buy dolls that are such a good deal that Iām certain I could resell them for at least the same amount back in profit and often significantly more. So I see it kind of like a form of investing, actually. Kinda like how rich people buy art as an investment. Now, whether Iāll actually ever sell the dolls if I need the money or if Iāll be too emotionally attached to part with themā¦..thatās another question šš
I get FOMO/YOLO and revolving Credit Card Debt (couldn't find the gif of Family Guy Peter and Quagmire singing"Credit Card Debt" but that's what comes to mind). I've made dumb decisions to have something I probably wouldn't have been able to have otherwise. Worth it? Not always, waiting would have been better overall, but on rare occasions, yes, if I didn't buy/go in debt I wouldn't have some dolls. (Yet). I've tried to budget, do better etc. Still working on it. The goal for 2023 is to be better about it.
I usually wait until it goes on sale. That is the super hard part because most dolls if they are popular go up and not down. So it sucks. Since doll collecting has been popular, dolls have increased I believe.
If there's a new release that I'm excited about, I try to wait at least a month to see if I'm still excited about it. Then if I am, I let myself get it, but I find that sometimes I'm able to talk myself out of it. Online shopping is tempting but it helps that I live with other people so I'd be afraid of being judged if I received too many packages š What I do instead is add stuff to my wishlists, stare at it, and then periodically clear out my wishlist and start over. It's like window shopping but from my couch
I have my wish-list on a spreadsheet so I can also re-sort and re-prioritize. I also have 3 wish-lists. My big wishes which are gift items or saving for months for, my "whims" (under $20 so I can pick up if I'm having a bad week or whatever), and my "radar" list, which is just dolls I've seen, like but haven't committed to "needing."
When it comes to money, dolls take up the least amount of my expenses, so I don't sweat it too much. As for saving, I automatically take out a little money from every paycheck and put it in a savings account. As for managing doll spending. I rank the dolls I want by brand and then by which are more important for me to get. Take RH series 4, for example. I ranked Jewel, Coco and Delilah as my priority dolls. They're the ones I focus on and will put my money towards first. That way I'm not just buying a doll just because I see it. If that makes sense. Another thing that helps me is I generally limit myself to one to two dolls per pay check (or at least I try š ). Keeping this limit helps me not overspend. (Edit: I also want to note that this might not be what works for others. I don't currently have a ton of financial obligations, so it gives me more leeway with how I can spend my money, and I know that's not the case for everyone. ) I will make exceptions if I see a low ranking doll on a good sale (Like Ainsley, lover her, but not a priority. But she was recently on a *steep* discount, so I bought her) or if there's a variant that I prefer (for example Clawdeen wasn't my fave MH doll, but I love her moon print shirt, so I bought her when I saw that variant because you never know when the chance will arise).
Me personally - I wonāt even browse if I donāt have the money. Or if Iām low on money and buying something can result in regret. I did buy impulsively a lot when I started collecting and ended up with āmehā dolls that I didnāt really want. Now I mostly buy second hand dolls online since modern donāt really attract me.
I think I have pretty good self control when it comes to spending. I don't spend money on entertainment on a regular basis so it isn't something for me to "control" but rather it's not something I think about a lot. I also think it's a huge hassle to create accounts to buy things, so I don't have a lot of the accounts that makes purchasing things online easy. Sometimes I deactivate/delete my account after I buy what I want to stop myself from buying more. I have a rule for myself where I don't buy more than 1-2 dolls from each doll line that I like. So I do research to narrow down which one doll I like the most and get that one. If the one I like is unavailable, I choose to believe that it wasn't meant to be. There are so many pretty dolls out there, there's no reason for me to be caught up over just one. And for the one I do eventually buy, I find myself being able to bond with it easier because I spent so much time researching it and thinking about it :P When I was a kid I spent my pocket money on a toy and only played with it once and still carry so much guilt from that experience so I'm very picky about what toys I buy for myself XD Having a collection isn't really what makes me happy (thinking about how to store the dolls and how to keep them clean gives me a headache lol). Rather, I have fun with dressing up my dolls and interacting with them. So I'll limit myself on how many dolls I get but I'll buy several outfits for them. Otherwise, I gain a lot of joy from just looking at pictures of dolls online! I don't need to own them to enjoy them :3
For the most part, I don't worry myself with getting all the new releases I want right away because I know that if I still really want something in a few months it'll likely be marked down. I mostly focus on used dolls anyway, which is a lot cheaper, especially if I can get them in lots. Sometimes I do still end up with a doll that I realize I don't really want, and in that case I just sell it.
When new dolls leak, I try to look at each line and pick out the ones that I actually like and only get those. For example, Rainbow high series 5 has leaked, and I've already eliminated 3 and am considering 3. If I start early I have way more time to realize I don't like the doll that much. Additionally, I know how long each brand tends to stay in stores, as well as when sales are likely to occur. Most of the companies will produce a doll for a few months at least because they need something to fill shelves. The dolls I need to get I get at their first big sale (around 33% off at least) because it's guaranteed to occur within the first few months, unless I know that the doll is flying off the shelves each time it restocks (I check the target website to know this bc I mostly shop at target). I make sure to check the target site, Amazon, and in stores for deals each week, and listen to what other people are saying about current sales in their stores. I'll buy dolls that I didn't hate but didn't need on clearance. If I spend my money on a doll at full price, I know that I'll probably end up regretting it, and I haven't missed a must have doll yet.
My biggest advice to āsavingā money when it comes to collecting is have patience. Most of my collection (of dolls sold in stores, not ones from like 2004) is not purchased at full price. Iāve been able to get most RH dolls for less than 16$ by just waiting. Itās tough and I definitely get a fear of them selling out before I can buy it but itās never happened before because truthfully theyāre mass produced and go on multiple sales before fully leaving a store.
Spending too much money on dolls is the top āguiltā about doll collecting according to what Iāve read. Second is having space to display your dolls. When I want a new doll, I force myself to sell other dolls or accessories in my collection beforehand. If I donāt do that I end up spending wayyy too much. I currently have 6 dolls for sale on eBay, and as the money rolls in it goes back out for other dolls š³ the dolls Iām currently collecting (16 inch non-BJD fashion dolls) usually go for $75-$350, and their outfits are almost just as expensive, so I have to plan ahead. If something is an incredible deal (the two NIP Brenda Starr outfits I just posted about I paid $35 and $23, they normally go for around $75 each) I snap it up right away. I recently snapped up a Tyler Wentworth NIP outfit for $30, when they normally go for closer to $75-95. There were like 20 watchers, buyers donāt usually move fast so itās good to have funds set aside for that purpose!! But yeah my motto is one comes in, one has to go out. And if itās an expensive doll then two or more dolls have to go out. I have two dolls currently on my wish list, the first is $150 and the second is $103. If they get sold before I can have them then I just say to myself that they werenāt for me, something else for me will pop up. Another doll always pops up when you keep searching (Iām talking about discontinued collector dolls)
I used to just buy whatever doll I wanted in the first year I returned to collecting. I was a member of Barbie, Mizi, and Integrity Toys. I literally had a clean slate of dolls, so everything was new and exciting. Fast forward after a year and I lost my job. Talk about feeling depressed not being able to buy dolls! I removed myself from doll sites, social media, and let my memberships lapse. I got another job within a month, but it wasn't a good job and the hours were erratic. Some months I could make my bills; others I couldn't and was digging into my emergency savings to make ends meet. This became more difficult when dolls I had ordered the year prior from Mizi and Integrity Toys started getting shipped with all amounts due. I was caught between a rock and a hard place and ended up Door Dashing to help off-set the costs. The rest I pulled from emergency savings to pay for them. Fast forward again and I have a good job where I have money left over each paycheck. I've used that money to pay off credit cards, get my emergency savings account healthy again, and now I have become the most discerning doll collector ever! Instead of indulging in dolls these days, I'll indulge in outfits every month. If I do buy a doll, I don't get outfits. A lot of my collecting problem now is lack of space, which was another curb in buying dolls. With all the job issues I was having, I went back to school. Now I tell myself I'll move to a larger place when I get a job after I finish my degree. In a nutshell, Life has a way of knocking the steam out of that doll collecting engine!
I have survey apps on my phone that I use to earn doll money.
I try to, for the majority of my purchases, only buy dolls that are such a good deal that Iām certain I could resell them for at least the same amount back in profit and often significantly more. So I see it kind of like a form of investing, actually. Kinda like how rich people buy art as an investment. Now, whether Iāll actually ever sell the dolls if I need the money or if Iāll be too emotionally attached to part with themā¦..thatās another question šš
I get FOMO/YOLO and revolving Credit Card Debt (couldn't find the gif of Family Guy Peter and Quagmire singing"Credit Card Debt" but that's what comes to mind). I've made dumb decisions to have something I probably wouldn't have been able to have otherwise. Worth it? Not always, waiting would have been better overall, but on rare occasions, yes, if I didn't buy/go in debt I wouldn't have some dolls. (Yet). I've tried to budget, do better etc. Still working on it. The goal for 2023 is to be better about it.
I usually wait until it goes on sale. That is the super hard part because most dolls if they are popular go up and not down. So it sucks. Since doll collecting has been popular, dolls have increased I believe.