When do you have "too many" dolls?

I think it's easy to be overzealous in the first year or two of BJDs, when the passion burns hot. I wanted so many and I could make the space and save the money. Rather than throw myself into my dolls as I do so many other hobbies, I opted to pace myself and take the time to get to know each doll before getting another. I have characters I want to "bring to life", but in taking my time I've found better sculpts and looked into possability and such. It's different when you already have a fully-formed character in mind than just buy random dolls that might appeal to you asthetically. There's a purpose to it.

"Too many dolls" is relative and individual, and there isn't a set number or limit. And it's not just a question of practicality (space, cost, etc.), but of love. There are a lot of dolls on the marketplace that are there because their owner just can't bond with them.

On a personal note, I too was looking at the Akando for one of my characters, but am still researching other companies for body type and face sculpts and instead fell in love with a Luts SSDF Cane which suites my character better. Nothing against, Akando, I love him! I just worried that rushing in to a big purchase might lead to regret in not exploring my options. It's harder when you start with the bigger, higher-priced dolls right off the bat! Yikes!! I think the best thing is to be realistic about your hobby.

Anyway, that's my speech; but I'm somthing of a hypocrite with one hand holding an unfinished Pukipuki and the other poised over the BUY button on the Luts website while three Obitsu's sit on my lap and Bobobie tiny heckles from the sidelines.

EDIT: P.S.- Everyone needs an obsession

 

As far as I'm concerned, you have too many dolls if:

1) You don't even remember which ones you have, there are THAT many
2) They're interfering with your life and more important things (like you don't pay your house payments because you buy dolls instead)
3) You don't have the space to keep them all and they're busting out of every nook and cranny.

 

I think it also depends on why you collect dolls. Some just have them as collector items (just sitting on the shelves, are rarly played with etc.) then it is like with any other collector item, you can have as much as you want and your money allows (some people have houndreds of whatever they are collecting).

Though if you have them for their characters, to play with them, use them as creative outlet etc. it shouldn't be more than you can take care of. Like.. if you buy more and more dolls but have no money for clothes to dress them or no time to do all of their face ups and so on and so forth.

And of course when you can't pay your bills and other stuff anymore because of the dolls!

 

"Too many" is pretty individual. I probably have "too many" by a lot of definitions -- even some of my own. *blush* But it doesn't feel like "too many", and I don't disregard them or treat them poorly (again, by my own definition).

The best answer I can give to this one is: if it feels like "too many" to you, it probably is. "Too many" is "more than you can personally handle", however you choose to define it.

There are some general things -- like being unable to cope with basic responsibilites/bills because of a hobby -- that should obviously be avoided, but beyond that, I think it's pretty individual. It's not something I'm comfortable slapping a number on for that reason. For some people, one could be too many; others may be able to cheerfully cope with hundreds without a single woe or worry. (Oh, how I envy them their storage space! *wink*)

I have a lot of unfinished dolls, for instance. A lot of people would insist that means "too many" because one should be finished before the next comes home. To me, it means the cash and the right sculpt appeared at the same time -- and that time was before I had the proper skills or time to complete what I had in mind for the doll when I saw it, or had the idea I wanted to find the right doll for in the first place. Having the doll there in hand to consider, fuss with, check sizes against, and so on, is a huge help to finalizing the plans and working on the skills, which is the way I like to approach pretty much any project. It's one example out of many I could pull out, really -- it's just that people are different, and are going to approach any given hobby or interest in a different way.

So, you need to decide for yourself when it's "too much", in the end. Sure, other people will want to tell you one way or the other, but their opinion really isn't any more or less valid than your own -- I'd go so far as to say it's considerably less important than your own, since it's your hobby, your dolls, your time, your space, your money, and so on.

 

Well, 3 is definitely not too many. I think very few people would feel overwhelmed with 3 dolls. So you've promised yourself to only have 2 dolls, big deal. I promised myself that I'll only have one (you know, "they're so expensive, I'll only get this one and I'll be forever happy" illusion a lot of people are in when they finally decide to get into the hobby )

Too many is only so, if you THINK it's too many. There's no magic number that works for everyone. Some might think 5 is overboard, others would think 50 is still not enough.

And yes, having bought one of those dolls pretty much already qualifies you as a "crazy doll person" in the eyes of the non-dolls society. Actually, having just ONE doll, creating a very heavy bond with it, carrying it around/talking to it would make people think you're way crazier than say, someone who has 20 dolls, but only enjoys them by looking at them through the glass doors of a cabinet.

 

Seems to me you only have too many (pretty objectively) when:

You don't have room for any more and they're cluttering up every free space in your house.

Or ...

You're spending your money on dolls rather than life necessities.

Other than that, it's all pretty subjective. "More than I have" or "more than you can play with" or something like that.

My whole apartment is about 20 square meters, but so far I don't find that having 4 big ones (plus smaller ones) is "too many." And I have a job that allows me to afford dollies. But in the place I used to live (less than 10m^2) four big dolls would be "too many."

 

well, of course it's all subjective. But I think part of the fun of owning a dolly is finding out all their little quirks and idiosyncrasies. If you have loads and loads of them, after a while you simply wouldn't have time just to spend time finding out about the doll you own.

 

Too many depends on the individual. Some people are happy with just a few, some have what amounts to armies of resin--it's whatever makes you happy. I have a pretty big group (reletively speaking, I suppose), but that works for me. I have story lines with lots of people in them. When it comes to me personally, my ability to have a lot of dolls is related to my ability to keep everything organized. As long as they have a nice safe place to hang out, and I can keep all their stuff organized, I'm fine. If the dolls and doll stuff feel disorganized or cluttered, I'll get where no one else can come home till the situation is fixed. But that's me... at some point I'm sure I'll hit a limit, but I'm not going to know what it is till I get there.

These are questions you're going to have to answer for yourself, because everyone is different, and what works for them may not work for you and vise versa.

 

I definitely think the boundary between "a lot of dolls" and "too many dolls" is going to be different for everyone and depends on a huge number of factors. For me, if I don't have enough space for them all, can't remember all of their names or the details of their characters, and/or find myself going through financial hardships trying to acquire or care for them all ("Gee, I need a new shirt for work, but half of my dolls are naked! Maybe I should buy clothes or fabric for them instead, but if I do I won't be able to afford a new work shirt") I would know I had or was trying to have too many dolls. But the exact number at which it would be too many might be different for me than for someone else. I know of people on the forums who have lists of dolls they own right now that go into the double digits. On the other hand, for me anything over 10 would probably be way too many, simply because I wouldn't have room for all of them!

I would say, if you're having doubts about whether or not adding another doll will be more than you can handle, just try to wait a bit longer on the purchase and see how you feel. You're not thinking of getting limited dolls (right?), so it's not like you have a huge chance of missing out forever and ever if you take the time to really think over your next purchase.

 

I think there'd be a few factors for me when I had too many dolls- at least one of the following-

1) I no longer had room for all of them.
2) Each doll did not have at LEAST one outfit of their own and one pair of shoes.
3) Purchasing them was using funds for more important things (rent, bills, food, ect.)
4) Losing one somewhere in my own home.
5) Not being able to say how many I had and name them each (name and sculpt) without looking at them.

 

How is this a debate topic? No offense, but this seems to be all about you and your personal hangups about whether or not to buy a doll.

Do you really have the kind of financial resources that's going to allow you to keep buying doll after doll after doll and not be able to "say when"? Most people know to stop when their bills get to a point that makes them uncomfortable.

I think a lot of people entering any new hobby that costs $$ go through an early phase of wanting everything they see. Usually they grow out of it because they realize that they don't really want all that stuff or their interests focus as they get more into it. It's not really anything to worry about, nor is it anything to debate about.

I also think there have been an awful lot of threads lately about whether people who buy dolls are going to go crazy in some way, or have already gone crazy, and I'm tired of it. You do not automatically become a deranged compulsive shopper when you buy a few dolls. The worst that happens is you overextend your credit cards and have to sell a few dolls or other things. If you're beyond that point then it's not because you're a "crazy doll person", it's because you have some disturbance or disorder in your spending habits and dolls just happened to be where it manifest itself.

 

I think 3 dolls is a nice number, although 2 EIDs would be sooo heavy to carry

I had 10 dolls at one point and that was far too much for me. I think I have the right amount for me right now, 1 Dollfie Dream, 3 Minis, 1 Yo and a pet doll. I'm looking to sell one of the minis next year, but I want to buy a body for a floating head and buy another pet doll, so I'd end up with 6 dolls. I'd never have over 6 because that would get to be too many for me, but I find that limiting myself to Volks dolls has seriously helped me cut down on excessive doll buying My floating head is a Lishe and I want to get her a CP Delf body (I tried hybridising her with a Dollfie Dream body but it didn't work for me), but other than her and my two pet dolls (Camellia Dynasty Wong), the others are Volks.

Ultimately, if the idea of 3 dolls makes you uncomfortable, don't buy the third doll However, you may feel quite satisfied with three dolls embodying your trio of characters and you may never feel a yearning for another doll again or you may feel that another doll would fit your character better and you could sell one of the original dolls and purchase the new one. Some collectors do operate a one-in, one-out system to keep the doll numbers manageable.

 

I have 2 EID males, and they're not too heavy for me to carry.... they're a great workout. But I couldn't carry three! (I am planning on buying a third.)

"Too many" is however many makes you feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable. Everyone's got different thresholds.

For me, too many would be when I run out of living-room space & have to start storing them in the bedroom, which is off-limits to dollkind (it's MY space!). Right now, 28 is not too many. For you, too many might be 3.

 

That's funny, I thought the same thing when I had two dolls. I was perfectly fine with two. I didn't want another one; three would be too many. But then my dream doll came back in stock, and I was torn over whether to get him. Finally I did . . . and now I'm waiting on my fifth.

My conclusion is, the third one is the dangerous one! Don't buy him, it's a trap!

 

I agree with everyone. Especially the post that mentions if you have a lot of dolls but can't remember their names or makes. I also think it gets bad if someone just buys dolls but doesn't pay bills or feed their own kids. For some reason I could see this senario on an episode of Hoarders.

 

I agree with that completely. It's very subjective what is too many for one person and not enough for another.

I know for me, I'll be happy when I have everything on my 'must have' wish list (not the main wish list, that's ridiculous, must be over 50 dolls on there...) and when I have all of my characters completed as well as when the shelf space fills up (I still need room for books!) XD

When someone is completely content and satisfied it may be enough, unless they see another 'must have'... 0_o

 

I found i had to many when i no longer could make them all work in my story any more...now this is coming from a girl who had 8 dolls...I used to want alot more then eight but now four (SD) and a half (Tiny) are good for me...

 

My personal number would probably be....hm.
2 now, plus another 2 I want, plus another, plus 1 more. So that's 6. But knowing the BJD world a couple more will come out that I'll be in love with/have a character for, so I'll have to go with 8 at the MAX. I dont even know if I would have that many because I really like having a well developed character for my dolls. I feel like I wont bond if they aren't the 'resin case' of a specific character.

But definatly, what qualifies as too many for me are:

-Not enough space
-Too many to be able to enjoy them each at least once every week
-Not being able to have at least 2 outfits for each (excluding shoes)
-Not remembering each one I have without looking
-Spending more money than I really should
- Forgetting any of thier individual names XP

It is personal, but those are my defining lines.

 

"Too many" is very subjective & no one can make that decision for you. For some folks anything more than one is too many while other people can have collections of hundreds & feel quite comfotable with it.

Perhaps too many really only comes about when you find yourself buying dolls rather than neccesities. Space isn't so much an issue as some folks enjoy surrounding themselves completely with dolls. Time spent with them also doesn't matter as they can be simply beautiful objects to look at. So as long as you can support yourself & feel comfortable, you really don't have too many dolls. When your comfort level changes though, you can sell some or add more depending on how you're feeling.

As for being a "crazy old doll lady", that describes me pretty well & I greatly enjoy the moniker. Now I just have to add another dozen cats (only have 3) or so & I'll have fulfilled my life's ambition to be the "crazy old cat & doll lady."