Help me make an informed decision?

[Maniah]

I've been a stalker here for a while, admiring all the gorgeous resin dolls posted. But lately I have found myself seriously beginning to consider purchasing my first doll. Only, I know so very little abo0ut them. I see people show off photography and say that the doll in such and such, but I can barely tell brand from style.

The doll currently catching my eye is a Luts Senior Delf Yuri.. Did I list the doll type correctly? But I think Im beginning to realize that it's the body types I like most, and not the face. (Though her face is gorgeous, I want one with more open eyes) I would love to have a shorter doll, since she is a bit big, but I havent seen shorter dolls with faces or bodies that appeal to me as much as these do. I really like the more mature look. I don't want a doll that looks too young (yet!)

If I bought a Luts doll, could the head fit on the body from another company?

If I want high articulation and pose ability, who do you think is best? I'd prefer something around 40cm, but not much shorter than that.

Is it worth paying the company for the faceup/blushing or are there artists out there who I could commission who would charge less and still do a good job?

Does anyone have pics of Luts Senior Delf Yuri or Kara they would be willing to share?

Im not going to be buying any time soon. Im trying to wrap my mind around the idea of spending that much money on a doll. I would be selling off some things I collect to get the money together. I just have to justify the doll purchase in my head.

[xkelpiex]

:'D

Well, not all resins are a match for colour, but you could certainly make a hybrid doll with a head on a different body; people do it all the time. BUT a Senior Delf head is too big for a 43 cm body, which is typically called MSD. It would need an SD body. I'm sure others will be able to fill you in better than I can, though, and if you want I can even send you an invite to DOA, where there is a whole wealth of info. There is even resin comparison threads and such which might help you greatly.

[suppi]

Ou I think you should join the dark side! haha If it helps though, you can get the new bodies with all the different heads they have, because I might be snagging me a Type 4 in tan here pretty soon.

If you bought a Luts head it could possibly fit another body however the resin will not match. Also it depends on the size of the neck hole on the doll and the girth of the neck on the new doll body. Since it's not universal all the way around it's best to look up to see which hybrids work on DoA or, if your willing, you could almost mod it to work.

With your taste in doll bodies I actually suggest, Fairyland. They have a wide range of sizes now and even their smaller, mini, dolls have more mature bodies than most in their size range. They even released a new "Moe" line which is 38cm tall or the regular MNF line which is 42. (I really like the Moe line though.) I love Fairyland dolls and their pose ability on all of their sizes. My current favorite doll is even the Feeple60 and she poses like a dream!

The face-ups and body blushing is a personal preference to me. I have exceptionally picky tastes and want something other than default so I would be more than happy to shell out money for a professional face-up by another artist. However, if the default doesn't bother you and since it would be your first doll I suggest getting a factory face-up. Luts does beautiful work on their factory face-ups and my Lishe still has hers after over five years and three owners! Luts will also do custom face-ups that I think are worth the money and I would even pay to have that done.

Though the good thing about these dolls is that they typically retain their value. It's not like buying a car, driving it off of the lot and loosing almost half the value of it! So if you find that you buy this doll and cannot stand how much you spent it on you can always resell. :3

[Maniah]

Xkelpiex Thank you very much! I tried to find a way to join DOA a while back, but it said they were closed to new members. It seems like it would be a really useful knowledge resource

I'm still trying to recognize an remember all the acronyms. Im not sure what MSD stands for (I assume Sd is Senior Delf?), so I wouldn't know what to look for. I tried to find a list of the acronyms earlier today, but I need to try looking again.

I do realize that the Senior Delf heads are too big for the other bodies listed on the Luts website, but I wasn't sure about other bodies of the same size made by other companies. Ideally, I would love to find dolls like the Senior Delf but in a smaller form.

Suppi - Thank you! I have seen the Fairyland dolls and adore them too! It's hard to pick just one doll! I had actually forgotten about them when I stumbled across Yuri and Kara. I will really need to look over them again.

Can I ask what the "Type 4" body you mention is? I have seen where I can order bodies, and I have seen one or two heads to order separate, but Im not sure how to order just the head for the doll I want, without the body also. Though I suppose that doesn't matter much. In the end I will buy a complete doll anyway!

And thank you for reassuring me about the resale value. It's good to know I can always change my mind

[xkelpiex]

Sure, just pm me your email!

SD stands for Super Dollfie, a term that Volks first used when bjd's were just starting out. MSD stands for mini super dolfie. They're just acronyms people peicked up to use all throughout the hobby. MSD are generally in the 40's cm range, SD is usually 50 or higher. Then there are YoSd's and other tinies and they range from 35 cm and under and can get quite small! A pukipuki is just 4 inches tall!

[suppi]

Oops! Type 4 is one of the many body types that the Luts came out for their Senior Delf line! :3 It's the one with the big boobies that are smooshed together. If you scroll down on Yuri's page they show all the different body types there. Though if it helps you can't buy just the heads on Luts sadly. :c

Though I hope you can find your dream doll. <3 If not then the DoA access that xkelpiex is tossing your way will help you a lot. Also once you make a lot of posts (40 I think it is... maybe 50?) you get access to the second hand market. It works great because sometimes you can find just a head or body, or even a full doll! In some cases it is also cheaper too since people usually just want to get rid of the doll they're selling. :3

[little.fox]

Though the good thing about these dolls is that they typically retain their value. It's not like buying a car, driving it off of the lot and loosing almost half the value of it! So if you find that you buy this doll and cannot stand how much you spent it on you can always resell. :3

Is this always the case? I'm asking because on DoA prices seem to be under the retail price a lot of the time, and I was under the impression that it's mostly limiteds that retain or go up in value. Do people pay retail prices for dolls that are still available straight from the company?

And if you do get the price of the doll back, there is also the shipping and duty fees to keep in mind.

[suppi]

I guess it does depend on the doll's popularity. Like I can you typically sell a MNF for the price you paid (if not a bit more) because of the wait but the cheaper companies like BBB do tend to go down in value about 10-20 roughly. Though I'm so used to paying shipping and such that I never factor that into the doll's price since if I don't like it, my mistake. lol

Though I guess if it says within $50~ of the dolls original price than I consider the value pretty much retained.

[Rabiruchi]

Though the good thing about these dolls is that they typically retain their value. It's not like buying a car, driving it off of the lot and loosing almost half the value of it! So if you find that you buy this doll and cannot stand how much you spent it on you can always resell. :3

Is this always the case? I'm asking because on DoA prices seem to be under the retail price a lot of the time, and I was under the impression that it's mostly limiteds that retain or go up in value. Do people pay retail prices for dolls that are still available straight from the company?

And if you do get the price of the doll back, there is also the shipping and duty fees to keep in mind.

Well, usually the dolls lose their value when they're demaged. Aging may have bad effects on a doll.
Some people play a lot with their dolls, or just are not careful enought, and the doll gets demaged (chipping, breaking, yellowing and staining are the most usual things).
Also, the resin will get yellow with time. If the doll is exposed to the sun it accelerates the process quite a lot. But even if not, it will get yellower.

The thing about "dolls losing their value" on the marketplace is that recently a lot of people out of the hobby got into BJD and are flooding the sellers asking for lower prices for the doll. Since some sellers do low the price, others tend to follow to get their dolls sold without having to wait soo long. Not sure how long things will gonna stay like this...