If you're looking for a reason to hate me, you're in the right place. I am full of opinions after being in this hobby for over a few days.
If you want me to buy your doll just follow this guide to get to my heart. I don't think anyone can get upset over this list!
There's something so impressive about large dolls. It's my favorite size by far. I will only make exceptions for Kinoko Juice.
Young girls or mature girls doesn't matter! The less titty the better. Cute!
MY HEART. I love little simplistic white teeth, but not detailed ones. I really don't like when teeth are painted with a line between them.
Let's face it, I only bought tan dolls because they were limited. I used to not care for WS, but in 10 years the doll will be almost NS anyway.
My elf ear days are over. No fantasy parts please. Goodbye.
When the resin from the thigh piece extends over the kneecap rather than the resin from the calf piece. i.e. every unoa and all DDs past DD1.
No fancy knees, no fancy elbows, and just one joint around the waist area is perfectly fine.
It's seriously so pretty. Mobility is severly compromised, but it's worth it to me for a well sculpted torso.
I want them all!!!!
Just because I don't like them doesn't mean you shouldn't (I guess). These are all dealbreakers for me.
Knee bean joints drive me insane and most double jointed knees are done in this way. If the knee bean can turn around in the socket, I will be even more upset. Fairyland's knee mechanism doesn't bother me.
i.e. Atelier Momoni. Also hip joints where the ball is attached to the torso i.e. Dust of Dolls. ALSO mobility joints.
i.e. Angel Fantasy. Slenderman.
I do want my dolls to be thin, but I dont want them to be shapeless!! Danny has this problem big time.
i.e. Bluefairy's neo bodies. This makes your design look like a playline doll faster than any other choice.
I'm glad this went out of style because I hate everything about them. The cut outs in the joints absolutely disgust me.
I cant put into words why I hate this doll so much. It wouldnt make sense even if I could explain it.
I will never EVER wait over 6 months for a doll again. I don't care how much I want it.
I think very few companies are able to pull this off. I like Kinoko Juice and some of Enaibi's shapes, but I've come to greatly dislike the current trend of gigantic doll *sses.
If my doll has a british accent, we have a big problem.
Amazing sculpts with impressive engineering, but hors has a point when she says they're too shiny. Put some MSC on it!
I don't like the direction they've headed, but I still love their classic dolls!
This is the only company I will buy tinies from now. Irresitably cute! Kame is very sweet and I love to email her.
Migi is also very sweet! I love her head sculpts. I'm not such a big fan of her bodies though.
Consistently great quality dolls in both sculpting and finishing.
No one wants to hear this, but you dont need one. Don't put it on your credit card. There's no such thing as a doll emergency. Note: By don't put it on your credit card, I mean don't spend money you don't have. Feel free to get air miles from your doll purchase.
If you have to put the doll on layaway for over a month, you really dont need the doll. Please be financially responsible.
To people with 20+ limited edition dolls: are you okay.
You can save up enough to buy one. I believe in you!
If you don't want to save up, it's perfectly fine to just be a fan. You're allowed to enjoy these dolls for free online by looking at photos.
DONT THINK JUST BUY BUY BUY
Stop buying dolls just because the company and community is tricking you into only getting dopamine hits from hitting buy and opening a new box
If you truly want this limited doll, you will find it later.
Rereleases are not impossible (unless you're in love with a DoD)
Try creating something once in a while! Sew your doll a shirt! Knit a scarf! It's fun, I promise
I just cannot comprehend how someone can be happy collecting this way. Do you truly enjoy the dolls or do you just love pressing the order and pay button?
I am genuinely curious if anyone is happy doing this. If you are, please message me and try to explain. I really do want to know.
You don't have to buy every new release or every doll that catches your eye. you certainly do not need to do anything for the likes. Don't let social media brainwash you
Unfortunately, most doll companies run off the preorder model, where you pay in full and wait while your doll is produced.
This is a terrible business model but most of us are willing to put up with it since these are small businesses and there's not really any other choice rather than buying used.
Do not let an untrusted company in another country to hold your money outside of paypal's protection period. You probably should not ordering from companies with wait times over 6 months.
Back in 2010, Customhouse had a 1 year wait time, which was considered outrageous at the time. Somehow a 1 year wait is slowly becoming the norm in the 2020s.
The best way to combat scalpers is to not buy their items. Let them rot with the $1000 investment they made that they don't want to keep.
I will never enter a transaction with a person who charges me their paypal fees or asks to send the money friends and family. I don't care how bad I want it. Stay away from these sellers. If you are one of these sellers, include the fees in your asking price.
I cannot recommend trades because you are unlikely to get a doll you truly want and love out of one. If you really just love getting a new doll and opening the box, this may be great for you!
I wish I could say this to my boss when he tells me I'm awesome.
Do you like some weird feature on a doll that only one artist makes? Buy the doll and stop posting about how you wish there were more dolls with fat rolls.
Don't like scalpers? Neither does anyone else. Don't buy from them.
This company had an unacceptable wait time? Don't buy from them.
Support what you like, don't support what you hate.
In the end, you are not the target audience for any doll company outside of your own country.
If you want the doll and dont want to support the creator, you could but second hand, but keep in mind that the person you bought it from is likely just to give that money back to the creator and support them more.
Is it really a grail if you can just straight up buy it with enough money?
If your grail is easily obtainable and under $300 you need to lurk more.
"My legit doll is lower quality than a recast!" did you do your research? I could have told you that it would be. Some companies have awful QC and you need to figure out who those are before sending them hundreds of dollars. EDIT: I have now seen enough 2nd hand recast sales photos to not believe fairyland ships out anything that bad.
Please for the love of god, find every owner picture of the doll you can and save it to your hard drive before deciding to send this international company $600.
Is this company going to take a year or more to send your doll to you? You'd better find out!!
If a company's current wait time is 1+ years, I cannot suggest more that you buy secondhand or not at all.
Choosing a doll to fit your budget usually ends in selling the doll at a loss and possibly deciding this hobby isn't for you.
You may not find the perfect doll until you've viewed hundreds of dolls. You will know when you're in love. "This one is good" isn't good enough. Plenty of dolls are good. You want to buy the BEST.
Starter dolls are cheap for a reason. Keep in mind, you would still be spending a significant amount of money that could be put toward something you'd love much more.
After buying and opening a doll that I once considered to be a pipe dream, I could not recommend saving up more. It's worth it and I hope everyone can experience this. The feeling of opening the box of a dream doll is insanely different than opening an impulse buy.
I have to wonder if revolving door owners truly enjoy any doll they own. It doesn't seem enjoyable to me.
Dear Americans, there are many more companies than Resinsoul and Fairyland
Don't buy a doll just because it's limited and you have FOMO
Also don't buy a doll because it's on sale.
My ideal doll family would be 1 single extremely spoiled doll. It's too late for me to achieve this.
Nothing feels less personal than a CoA that doesnt even bother to have the sculpt name written on it. Thanks for the barcode?
If I get a doll with my name handwritten on the CoA, I don't think it could be more special.
I love boxes with white pillows! I'm not really interested in foam cut outs too much and I'm 100% not interested in plastic bubble pillows. How cheap.
The ultimate "box" is a carrier. Iplehouse used to send their YIDs in them and Maskcatdoll sends a hard case. These are awesome!!
I can't really understand why people throw their boxes away unless they have a significant number of dolls. You do you though...
If I buy a doll from you and you ship without an outer box, I will cr*p my pants. Jesus christ do not do this without asking.
We've gotten to a point where most people no longer point out flaws in service, item quality, or design.
If there is a large flaw with your doll, please say something. If there is a small flaw, please say something. Don't you wish that someone had told you before you bought it? You don't need to protect the maker's feelings.
No matter how stupid a omukae ceremony sounds, you still make me want to do it
Why is Mother SD a premade virgin mary statue when you have amazing sculptors that could make a much better one
Please note that all (expensive) volks furniture is made out of pleather and therefore has a limited lifespan before you buy.
I want to go to a Dolpa so bad someone please take me!!!
If you're dying to own a Volks doll, some of the older ones are really dirt cheap on the secondhand market now.
What the h*ck were you thinking, Volks? Why? How could you charge so much for a doll with mismatched joints?
The combination of eyes and faceup makes these dolls look dead inside.
Why did you ask a fashion doll company for advice on the American market when the American market loves you for what you have already?
Someone please tell me if that ribcage joint has any use whatsoever.
It would be really really cool if VolksUSA also sent out letters for the winners of the one off models
PLEASE adjust your exchange rate. No one can afford to buy from you!
Gentaro Araki is my favorite sculptor of all time!!!
The engineering choices in Unoa 1.0 were way ahead of their time and I can't wait to see what this man comes up with next.
I would never argue that this man isnt a degenerate, but I have to forgive him because his work is just so beautiful. I'm only 50% sure there are official photos of his dolls having sex.
He is literally begging you to stop buying from him! Please stop! He doesnt want your business!
My life would be better if I could erase this man and his dolls from my mind
Why is he marketing to actual children?? This is just weird.
How do people with only budget resin dolls or a set of recasts justify getting multiple smart dolls? I'm genuinely curious how he has convinced them.
Almost all of the big Chinese doll companies make dolls not worth looking at. They look like they paid a sculptor a few bucks to pop out a head and another a few more bucks to pop out a body. Not many were started by artists who hoped to share their work with the world. Anything considered a "starter" doll is not worth buying. You will most likely find that the worthwhile Chinese dolls cost the same as Korean and Japanese dolls.
There are many smaller Chinese artists who are passionate and deserve your attention. These dolls are definitely not mass produced with the sole intention of making money. These dolls will not cost you $200 for an mini, so don't go in with that expectation.
Myoudoll can manage to sculpt a cute face and cover it with a nice faceup but their bodies are as basic as the other cheap companies. It's been shown the faceups they ship out aren't the same quality as the promo pictures.
Mirodoll is a joke. Those dolls aren't worth their shipping cost.
I like to believe every bobobie/resinsoul doll was sculpted by the mother of one of the employees.
I have nothing bad to say about Granado yet. Crocus's dolls are nice from what I've seen and very well priced.
Talk about diversity, we got a company that churns out just about every style you can think of here.
Most korean dolls are better sculpted than the average chinese budget doll
Here is your warning: Dollshe is running a ponzi scheme. DO NOT BUY.
Haru Casting requires you to prove your anti-recast stance by putting "pro-artist" on your instagram profile and sending him the link to order a doll. wat.
Your heads are literally perfect. Your faceups are literally perfect. Your bodies were literally perfect. Why did you put a JOINT at the top of the upper arm?!?! Why are there so many ugly joints!?!
Please sell the classic bodies again. I can't buy a neo body.
I really hate this term. Almost all BJDs are artist dolls. These companies are tiny even if you can't see them. "Artist dolls" describes a subset of BJDs that I don't have any other term for. These are creators on social media who post the entire process and interact with their followers constantly.
For some reason, deformities are very popular among American creators. The dolls are often extreme pear shaped, bow legged, or knock-kneed. I would really appreciate if they picked up an anatomy book and studied it before casting their doll in resin. Try not to just copy what Enaibi did. We can tell she studied first.
Haru Casting requires you to prove your anti-recast stance by putting "pro-artist" on your instagram profile and sending him the link to order a doll. wat.
She's a dishonest woman who has a huge following despite her past. Check out my doll issues page for more info.
I don't believe anyone deserves their doll being recast, but I am not feeling sympathetic this time. I hope on both sides of the recast argument, people will refuse to support her for her dishonesty and repeated "mistakes".
I see that rolling ball joint in the back of the knee. I hate this so much.
I cant wrap my head around these dolls or why they're popular. I'm probably just not "in". I'm really not in.
Elle has the LEAST secure faceplate I've ever seen. This doll can throw her faceplate off. Absolutely terrifying.
Despite her maddybear dolls elle slamming her faceplate off on video, she has made the choice to design her dolls with the same dangerous faceplate system. Please...
Please see my doll memories section on Zest vs. BJDivas. Are they both crazy? Most likely. I am still convinced to never give them any of my personal information or money.
If they forget to tell you your doll never arrived, it's not their fault and don't post your opinion about their service if you don't want to get sued!
If I had an account with them, I'd be accused of being Zest and banned for writing this. I'll probably be sued now too.
They sold me a new doll that had been displayed so long that the front of it was yellowed. They didn't respond to my email when I contacted them about it (this was a year later in their defense).
Do not order from dolk ahahahaha wtf!!!!
Allegedly they treat their domestic customers a lot nicer than their overseas ones.
My favorite wig brands are leekeworld/dollga, Luts, and Mandarake's himezakura line. I do not like Volks wigs. I'm a big fan of heat resistant fiber. Here's a page of reviews on specific wigs I own.
Acrylic eyes are like the lowest of the low. They dont offer any clarity and the irises are often just printed. Resin eyes are like the fast fashion of eyes. They can be beautiful and well made but in the end, resin yellows and will need to be replaced. Glass eyes can be mediocre to awesome. I think they're the best option if you find quality ones.
I cannot find nice shoes not made out of pleather and all my old shoes are peeling and disgusting. Luts makes some.
No one enjoys reading this kind of stuff. please feel free to skip it. It's all been said before and theres nothing humorous to make it worth reading.
Recasters are awful but don't let them ruin your fun. Just because everyone is virtue signaling the legitimacy of their dolls doesn't mean you need to. You don't need to sit and worry about proving your doll is legit unless you're selling it. Every one of my box opening photos were taken for fun, not for proof.
I cant understand why people are willing to spend such a large sum of money for a bootleg. Recasts are cheaper, but not cheap.
Recasters (namely Oueneifs) are not running small businesses. This was once a small business out of someone's house, but go check their sales figures. 6000 dolls sold in 6 months is insane. Taihe Zhongshe Toy Co., Ltd. (Oueneifs) has a good sized factory with lots of staff and even a show room. This business is possibly larger than Volks at this point and I have to wonder if more recasts exist than legit.
If you look at the photos of this factory, their workers are sanding resin without proper respiratory protection, if that makes any difference to you to know they are actually poisoning their workers.
I know I can't convince anyone, but please please consider the consequences for the hobby (and their staff) before supporting counterfeiters. If you already own recasts, it's not too late to stop buying them. If you absolutely must buy a recast, please buy one secondhand to avoid supporting criminals.
Has anyone actually managed to change a recast owner's (or hopeful owner) mind? Reading the pro-artist arguments every day is annoying so my hot takes won't leak out of this section too much. Let's always just enjoy dolls.
I've heard a few times that recasts are higher quality than some legit dolls. I find this hard to believe after looking at secondhand recast sales photos on ebay. Fairyland's quality is bad, but not this bad.
You deleted all my box openings and now I am sad.
Everyone's box openings are gone and I am VERY sad
Ban Dollzone and Doll Chateau dolls. Companies have been banned for less while Dollzone started as a honest to god recaster!
Danny's dolls are off topic please delete the multitude of posts about them
To the makers of doll profiles: "provenance" means origin or history not proof of legitimacy. Stop putting "coa and box" for provenance!!!
The mod are doing their best. Don't be too hard on them. Moderation has become a lot less strict in recent years as well.
I still feel like I'm going to be banned there every time I post, but they haven't banned me yet!
I live in a universe where no one knows how to resize photos
I asked for a legitimacy verification and got a response nearly 10 months later. It's okay if you don't know, but please don't leave me on read!!!
We have lost so much information by posting in unorganized places that lose posts quickly to time. These places are not set up to be archived.
Sales and trades on these places can be incredibly sketchy! Do not pay friends and family and do not send out a trade with no collateral. Does this person have feedback? Find out everything you can, but these places do not have accountability like forums and ebay. Their account could be mysteriously deleted and you could be out of luck.
Reddit is a great source of misinformation. So are bjd amino and discord! Take everything you read in these places with a grain of salt.
The world doesn't want to hear about your DnD character
You dont need to respect my dolls' pronouns
I (also) support fujoshi and gay elf twink yaoi doll rights
I want to go to there
Please invite me
Meetups are a wonderful way to enjoy more doll sculpts without buying them!
I miss my friends
Oh! haha you caught me!
There's nothing wrong with favoring more beautiful dolls. You should favor the dolls you find to be most beautiful and the size of your wallet should not influence this choice.
Those awful elitsts group who only accept Volks dolls don't exist btw. As far as I know, they were only rumors. Not everyone at the meetup will like your doll, but you're welcome to bring it! Exception: please don't bring a recast to meetups or events where recasts are not allowed. If someone unknowingly posts a picture of your recast on an anti-recast forum, they will be in big trouble. It's also disrespectful.
I dont want be like "I wont talk to anyone who buys recasts" but I won't talk to anyone who wears an ahegao shirt so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
These Chinese vinyl/ABS mechanically jointed dolls that have been floating around lately are NOT BJDs. It's not elitism, they're just not. It's hard to tell which of them are legit and which are recasts of BJD, but I have found a blog post by someone who has done much more research than I have.
lurk moar etc etc
Stop asking stupid questions you can type into google or your search bar. If the question has been answered 500 times, I'm not going to answer you.
"people were so mean to me! they told me to google it!!!" GOOD.
If your account is less than 3 years old and you are posting d*mb *ss sh*t, consider your opinion discarded.
I will die at my gate. Learn how to integrate on the internet and I will welcome you with open arms.
If it's not uneven, it's not as bad as everyone makes it sound.
That being said, it's probably not a good idea to buy a doll with blue resin unless you want a green doll in 5 years.
No one should give a he*k if you pronounce minifee "mini fee" or "mini fay". It honestly does not matter as long as I can figure out what you're talking about. It's okay to tease, but anyone who seriously cares needs to touch grass.
Volks is not pronounced like "volks" in German, but I doubt you made that mistake if you speak English natively.
I heard a Korean pronounce Iplehouse like ipplehouse once so I've been saying that wrong for years.
I know Unoa is pronounced you-know-a but it's just not going to happen.
It's kind of a weird thing to think about and people think too much into it.
just think about it...