BJDS: The Love Hate of Limiteds

May 1st, 2009
by misa1

I talked to a friend at a local BJD meet a few weeks ago. We’d both placed orders with DollSoom for the February limited Monthly Doll, Teenie Gem Glot. In her lap, my friend cradled a Bambicrony blue elf she purchased last year.

As we bubbled with excitement over our incoming Teenies, and admired the luminous French resin of the blue elf, my friend said: “I don’t know. I’m just getting so tired of everything cool being limited! All the interesting dolls are limited editions. You have to scrape together money on short notice, if you don’t want to pay twice as much on the secondary market.”

Her observation got me thinking about current BJD offerings. I can’t say she’s far off. What’s more, I can’t imagine we’ll see any changes forthcoming in the near future. In this case, what can be maddening to collectors, makes excellent business sense for a doll maker.

Before going on, let me say that there are gorgeous standard dolls out there, from a selection of manufacturers. What my friend noticed however, is that with rare exception, dolls with innovative or unusual molds, fantasy sculpts, or unique face-ups, are almost always limited. What’s more, the ordering windows are not as long as they often used to be. At least, that’s been my observation. In the spring of 2007, I purchased a NotDoll Miriam First. She was a limited edition fullset. I bought her just about a month after she went up for sale. Though NotDoll did eventually stop producing Miriam, it was a good year at least before she was no longer available. I also think of DomaDoll’s Kkotomu and Jado centaurs. They weren’t “forever”, in the sense of a standard doll, but DomaDoll carried them for quite some time. Long enough anyway, that if you wanted to have one, you didn’t have to choose between next month’s car payment, and a new doll.

More often now, one sees dolls with ordering windows of about one month. Either that, or very small editions which sell out in short order. I’ve joked to my husband that buying BJDs often feels like being a contestant on a 1970s game show: You like what’s behind door number one. You can either spend your extra money on door number one, or wait to see what’s behind door number 2. It might be something even better, in which case you’ll be glad you saved your cash. Or, it could be something you’re not interested in at all. By then, door number one is no longer available. I’m going through this at the moment, myself. I love DollZone’s decidedly macabre new minis, Aaron and Lola. They will only be available for the month of May. If I spend money on a Lola, I won’t be able to splurge on whatever tiny Soom puts out for July. Do I put my eggs in DollZone’s basket, or let Lola go in favor of an unknown?

One could argue that it’s only wise for BJD companies to produce limited numbers of “unusual” dolls. After all, the more unusual a doll is, the more of a chance a company takes that doll fans might not appreciate it. That’s a valid view. On the other hand, judging from the mad scramble whenever DollSoom unveils a new monthly, or Volks holds an online after-event for Dolpa limiteds, companies can be more or less assured that certain things sell. Hooved dolls are big. Horns, wings, and techni-color resin have also proven to be crowd pleasers. Still, if more companies offered these fantastical choices as non-limited standards, would sales be the same? As much as I’d like to think otherwise, I’d have to say no. To again refer to an explanation I gave my doll-tolerant husband: People will see a limited doll, and not be sure whether they like it or not. If they have a credit card, or extra money, they’ll order it anyway. That way, they can take their time and decide. If they don’t want the doll after a month, they’ll have no problem reselling it to a hobbyist who missed the ordering deadline. If the doll hadn’t been limited, there’d be no rush, and no frantic scramble to procure funds. Limited BJDs often don’t leave us with much time to think. By the time you realize that you probably don’t need another winged baby satyr, she’s already on her way to your house. Bad for our wallets, but good strategy for small companies trying to survive in this economy. The march of the limiteds will continue, and I’ll keep scouring my house for odds and ends sell on Ebay.