How long did secondhand market shopping take?

I’ve had good luck with some things . It does take while if you have something specific . All my dolls have been purchased second hand .

 

All of my current dolls save one are secondhand, I love browsing the secondhand market, there's lots of great deals! You can also set up alerts for some sites in the case you're looking for something specific, IE: a specific doll sculpt or parts.

The best thing that I've gotten was actually a secondhand doll body for a (still unfinished) project that I needed in a specific resin tone (Doll Family H, Volks Normal) because unexpectedly, the seller ended up giving me a whole bunch of extras like hands, 1/3rd scale glasses and some accessories like jewelry and a mask! It felt like Christmas! I was and still am very grateful. I searched for specifically this for a few months.

 

My first BJD (the one in my icon picture) was second hand from eBay. I wanted to be able to see pictures of the actual doll and faceup rahter than buying direct from the company and only seeing their generic listing for the sculpt and style of faceup. It was quick and easy since I haopened upon the listying while checking to see if any BJDs were even listed on eBay, but that was 20 years ago.

I still buy a lot on the secondh-hand market but timing isn;'t a thing that really registers because it's either chance that I see a doll I want, and have the money available to buy, or I'm just keeping a general eye out for a body that could work with one of the floating heads I'm looking to make into a complete doll at some point - but I'm not specifically searching for it, so it could be a couple of days or it could be a couple of years before I see somthing that I buy in that case.

Teddy

 

I feel like some of the older dolls are harder to come by now. I had always wanted a Soom Mylo ever since I first joined the hobby. I left the hobby for a few years and when I came back I found a Soom Teschen in normal skin on the market place and decided to get him. Few months later and a Mylo head came up for sale in the same skin tone. The Teschen is quite a few years older so the skin tones don’t match perfectly but it meant I could cobble my dream doll together without waiting ages. I’m very happy to have her finally.

 

Most of my dolls are second hand and I've always found them very easy to buy but to be fair, not all of them were dolls I was looking to buy and searching the market to show up - often enough, I saw the listing first and fell for them that way. There are at least two dolls I have bought on a total whim because they showed up in the right place at the right time - if I hadn't been just browsing, I would have never gotten them. But I love them that way, I think for me personally the "happy accident" approach works.

When actually searching for a specific doll, it took me a couple of months of scouring the market - but that of course depends on the doll one is looking for. I try to keep an eye on Japanese second hand sites, local second hand and DoA regularly, sooner or later something fitting always appears, at the right time and for the right price. Putting up a WTB can also be useful when looking for specific dolls - even if I don't look for anything myself but stumble upon something good, I'll go and see if anyone is looking for it.

All in all, I think most of my second hand finds have been successful - but of course there are several dolls I did not get because they got bought first or I lost an auction. I still have to say I enjoy this over long company waiting times, and it has (accidentally) allowed me to build a collection of nostalgic dolls that are (mostly) no longer available any other way, which I now recognise is quite special.

 

I'm not much of a window-shopper or a casual browser... If I'm buying secondhand, I'm usually looking for something specific to fill a current need -- a certain doll sculpt in a specific skintone, a limited-release outfit or eyes, a wig of a certain colour and style, etc.

I set up auto-searches on all the secondhand markets - Mandarake, Dollyteria, Y!J Auctions, Xianyu. For dolls, I also put up WTB posts for on DoA, Instagram and the various BJD-related Discord servers I'm in. So far I haven't been contacted by a seller offering a sale, but people were sending me For Sale sightings in the wild, which I was grateful about! (This is one of the benefits of putting up WTB posts - more eyes on the search. People in the community do remember them. I myself have sent tips to other hobbyists out of the blue, because I remembered their WTBs.)

So far, I've found all the resin I wanted. Search timeframe has ranged from readily available to 2-3 months to over a year. The doll I spent 1+ year looking for was a particular sculpt variant in a specific skintone -- several had already appeared secondhand but I wasn't willing to pay the asking prices, so I let those go and kept waiting. That doll finally appeared in the right config at an acceptable price, so I went for that one. It was a long wait for "the price is right", but I wasn't desperate for this doll so I was willing to wait (or perhaps, never get it).

With doll accessories like clothes or eyes, I'm typically looking for specific limited or preorder items, and usually to service a particular doll in my collection. If the preorder for the item recently closed, I try to set up my searches and have funds ready around the time when the goods begin to ship to buyers, because you can often get a spike of "revolving door" secondhand sales when buyers receive the goods and then immediately sell them on. I've used this strategy to buy a limited outfit from a tailor who never re-releases outfits, and a pair of eyes from an eyemaker who only releases OOAKs that sell out within minutes of them going live on their store. I kept track of those releases, they both surfaced on the secondhand market within a month of their shipping dates, and I managed to nab them. Of course, I can't use this method for accessories that are long discontinued, so I just keep searching and make sure to have funds ready when it appears.

 

It really depends. My secondhand doll buys so far have been mainly serindipitous. I saw a doll I liked that a friend was selling; I PayPal'ed them the money; I had a cute new doll!

Shortest time was about 20 minutes (live meetup). Longest has been about a month or two to get a body to hybrid a head I found and liked.

I think what I like about the secondhand market is that, if the doll is currently available, you don't have to wait nearly as long as preordering it from the company.

 

I’ve always kept an eye on the second-hand market here on DoA (for nearly 20 years now!) I not only used it to find dolls that fit my characters but to learn about all the companies and options out there, discovering companies and ateliers I never even knew existed. It’s been an excellent research tool…even if you’re not actively buying at any given moment. It made me aware of what’s out there, helping me build my overall doll knowledge. And of course it helped me to find the dolls I missed out on over the years too. It might take years even, but eventually I found all my grails. Because I was always perusing the marketplace as a casual, fun endeavor (with my grails quietly lingering in the back of my mind) I was able to snag a doll I desperately wanted when they did finally show up. And as for my characters, I’d just keep looking without any preconceived notion about sculpt until I found the perfect one beckoning to me from the page. It’s really been a great way to build my (by now, rather substantial) collection.

 

When I look for something second hand. I don't look for a specific doll, but more for the concept the character of a doll.
If a doll's features don't look quite right or isn't the size I wanted, I may pass on listings sometimes. For example, I might desire a doll that is about 60 cm, but I keep seeing ones that are 65 cm.

I usually have no trouble searching for and finding what I'm looking for. Many of the older dolls appeal to me. The older dolls were what initially intrigued me to the BJD hobby, even though I didn't get involved in the hobby until much later.

 

Only one of my three tinies is a secondhand purchase, but they were an absolute steal. A good condition Lati Yellow, with faceup, that's fifteen years old and still extremely spunky (super kicky and fights me every time I try to dress them) for less than it costs for a brand new blank Yellow directly from Lati? Sign me up! Plus, getting to talk to the previous owner was such a nice experience, you get to ask all sorts of questions you normally wouldn't ask a dealer (dimensions of the box, whether the doll needs restringing, etc) and sometimes, you end up meeting somebody you really vibe with. The only caveat was that while I initially had a character in mind, when the doll arrived the character didn't fit; this doll is someone else entirely, and I'm still learning who they are, but I love them more than I thought possible for a doll I didn't even know existed a month prior.

I also like to browse the marketplace just to see what's out there and find new studios and companies I never knew were out there. I browse the new doll profiles posted for the same reason. The only drawback to shopping the marketplace is the few times I have found sculpts that I was specifically looking for, the seller won't ship internationally or has been inactive for longer than a month. In terms of wait time, it highly depends on the doll - the larger companies tend to pop up a lot more often, but if the sculpt was unpopular, you might be waiting more than a year just to see it pop up. For example, I've been looking for a specific Dollzone sculpt and I've never once seen her even mentioned, nevermind on the marketplace. I've seen other dolls released around that same time, but never that sculpt. And if you're looking for a specific resin tone, especially a fantasy tone, you'll likely be waiting a long time; the less popular the sculpt, the less likely it exists out there in the exact colour you're looking for. In some cases, I think it'd be easier to find the sculpt in white and dye it to be the colour I want, or even a completely custom colour. But it's still always worth checking; chances are, somewhere out there in the world, there is a collector who has similar taste to you, and has the doll you were looking for. You just have to be patient.

 

I made a post on tumblr contemplating buying a SDM-F-39 that had a faceup I didn't love, and the very next day the perfect coordinate model came up on Mandarake! I doubt I'll have that kind of incredible luck again

 

Its a lot of fun looking through all the posts on market place. I took a long time to buy a used Doll and was pleased with my purchase. It took me a few months though. Pictures of new dolls are very pretty and marketed well so they look pleasing. Second had dolls , not so much . I depends on who's taking the pictures.

 

I mostly buy secondhand, I was looking for a Bimong Dandelion and found one right away, this is rare, but I am very happy about it. Look every day if you can!

 

I do prefer buying second hand. I’ve always been this way with clothes, furniture etc so it’s very unsurprising if you know me

Being patient has paid off for me! I have a doll arriving soon that I’ve been looking for casually for a while. I saw a listing of his fullset but he had 2 big chips in his face (he’d face-planted, I think. Unfortunate ). I was genuinely considering buying him - but while I was literally thinking on it I saw a listing of him in perfect condition (minus body blushing, but I can live with that!!!) and marginally cheaper too!

 

I have bought SO many things secondhand...which you can tell I do I lost of buying, selling and trading from my feedback thread that is over 500 individual feedback posts now.

How fast I find what I want varies wildly. There are a couple of things I never found. Several I didn't know I wanted or even existed until I saw it and impulse bought it. For things I'm looking for specifically, I'd say on average maybe immediate to a few months? But I'm not into fullsets, and usually not even that interested in rare or super limited sculpts, so that might make it easier.

 

I'm generally pretty lucky when it comes to secondhand searches, but I'm also not someone who usually looks very hard for very specific items. As others have said, if you check major marketplace areas daily or every couple of days, you're likely to find some really good deals and surprising treasures!

That said, I also keep my "want to find" list in my back pocket -- that is, things I would buy if the opportunity came up, but not things I'm willing to put out WTB threads for at this particular juncture. This list usually includes old/limited/rare doll parts and/or discontinued clothing and accessories that aren't strictly necessary for my current collection. I happened upon both my grail doll and a very cherished event head this way!

As far as targeted searching goes, the longest I've actually worked to find something was almost 2 years, which eventually resolved because I put out a WTB thread. I agree with others above, too, that WTBs are amazing! People in the community genuinely do remember your ads and will reach out if they happen to see what you're looking for out in the wild. It's impossible to have your own eyes on all fronts at all times, but many sets of eyes can see much, much wider of an area.

(Unfortunately, Volks announced they're re-releasing the doll I've searched the longest for only after I managed to snag her head secondhand, so now I get to decide if I want to finish out the head I already have or try for the re-release and sell the head later. Decisions, decisions!)

 

I'm curious to know which places people go to for browsing! I'd say a good half or so of my dolls were bought secondhand. I had decent luck setting up email alerts on Mandarake; I'm a big fan of Dollzone and Dream Valley and those dolls show up semi-frequently on Japanese sites like Mandarake and Dollyteria. (Although with the whole tariff situation I paused buying/looking overseas.) I have search terms saved on eBay and some search tags on Instagram. But! Instagram lately has been kind of really annoying to peruse.

I never had to wait long for anything but I was never after any particular doll either. Just by companies and what I thought would be cute or aligned with my interests.

I don't regret any of my secondhand purchases! Several of my dolls were bought as "rescue" projects, and the whole process of cleaning them up, re-painting, and re-stringing has made me appreciate them so much more than I would have ever thought. Looking at them makes me happy and I like to think of everything they've been through and where they have been in the past.

 

I browse here, Mandarake, Dollyteria, and the bjd sales Instagrams almost daily. I check in on the Facebook bjd sales groups 2-3x per week, and check Discord sales about once a week. I've had the most luck here, Mandarake, and Instagram for buying, but I have the best luck selling on Facebook.

 

It varies greatly. Sometimes it took a lot of patience, other times I found a treasure early on.

 

It's been about a year since I started looking actively, and I expect it to take a few more. Three times I've been unlucky and messaged a seller only to hear that someone else beat me to it just a moment prior.
But such is life, and patience is one of my virtues. The wait makes the reward all the sweeter

 

All of my dolls have come second-hand. I have either found them via eBay with careful selection and asking a lot of questions, and requesting pictures. As of late, I have found that Instagram sales pages have been fruitful.

Best KC

 

Grail hunting turns into an obsession for some people, and not just in this hobby!
For me, it's weighing up "how much do I want this?", "what condition is it in"? and external factors like postage costs.
This all contributes to how long it takes me to find something.

The vast majority of my secondhand dolls are from Asia. I live in Australia, so shipping from the US, where the majority of English-speaking hobbyists are, is lopsidedly prohibitively expensive. It costs me $20 USD to send a head to the US, but it costs a US person $50 USD to send a head to me
I have bought dolls/parts from the US when I've wanted them enough to justify the shipping, but it makes me carefully consider how much I want the doll/part before enquiring.

Item condition is another factor for me – a doll would have to be very rare to justify buying one that's yellowed like a banana or had serious damage.
I collect mostly Volks dolls, and now that Volks has added double-jointed legs for SD10/13 to FCS, buying a doll with single-jointed legs feels wasteful to me as I know I'll want to upgrade the body and have to try and sell off the old one. The effect the US tariff situation has had on English-speaking BJD secondhand sales also means that I am unlikely to sell anything – I have had 1 sale enquiry in 6 months – so the idea of recouping some costs by selling parts I don't want is currently not realistic.

I recently went to Japan and purchased a lot of doll-related items and a few dolls: sometimes seeing something on your wishlist in person confirms that you do love it, or you might see it from another angle and realise you don't like it after all!

I've only been active in the hobby for about 2 1/2 years, but looking back at my wishlist over that time...
-Two dolls took 2 years to acquire (high cost, limited availability, high shipping cost, appearing in various conditions that were more damaged/missing parts than I'd like). Both of these dolls were bought after seeing them in person in Japan (confirming I did like the look of them and eliminating shipping cost) and both were fullset with minimal yellowing or damage considering their ages (one needed restringing and minor stain removal, the other's fullset outfit had never been opened)
-One doll took 1 year to find (was available secondhand, but came with a body I had no use for. When that one sold, I realised how much I did actually want it. Another went on sale, but was a One Off, also with a body I didn't want, that was too expensive and I didn't particularly want to buy as I'd be wiping the faceup. When a US person had one for sale that they were willing to sell only the head of, I pounced on it, as the shipping cost justified how much I wanted it, and how it was priced)
-Some dolls I want are available secondhand, but the condition is too poor to justify the price. Someone might be willing to pay ¥500000 for a banana yellow Suigintou, but that someone is not me!
-Other dolls are available secondhand, but the cost is too high for me considering I only want the head (there are lots of Le Petit Freres for sale in Japan, and I'd love a Frere girl, but that would mean ¥140000 down the drain and a body I have no use for. I could have a whole brand new FCS doll for that price)
-Some dolls have left my wishlist entirely for various reasons (I didn't like the look of them after seeing photos from different angles, their proportions were too different to my other dolls, I found another sculpt to fill the niche I wanted that particular doll for)

To sum up, I feel that secondhand hunting comes down to an equation of item availability, cost, buyer desire, item condition, and external factors that are all going to differ from person to person and doll to doll.

 

I've bought a bunch of second hand dolls and the easiest to find by a long shot, if I was looking for a specific sculpt, have all been Volks.

Most specific dolls I have not had luck with finding on the second hand market though. Of the two non-Volks dolls I've gotten second hand:

1. I had been looking for a specific doll and couldn't find it. During this search though, I found another doll from the same company that I really loved and got her instead. I'm actually kind of glad I didn't find the other doll because she really fills a special place in my collection.

2. The second was actually an impulse buy! He was a doll I'd never seen before and from a company I barely knew anything about. He fit so many unusual things I love in a sculpt and fit a lot of my wishlist traits in a male doll. The price was also insanely good -- the prior owner really wanted him out of her house lol. I wasn't looking to buy a doll at the time, but I'm glad I found that one.

 

I got my first doll second hand on the Chinese second hand market. I didn’t think I wanted the doll after seeing it in the company’s promotional photos, but when I started seeing people getting it on social media I fell in love and I was lucky that someone was selling an unopened fullset of it.

 

My first doll was second hand, my MiniFee Chloe if I ever get another doll it will also definitely be second hand. Not only is it cheaper which I appreciate as a broke student, but it's mainly the shipping time, it is sooo nice to get the doll quickly. My interests change to quickly for my ordered dolls to keep up LOL. I have only ordered a doll from the company one time, and I was so in love with her but when she finally arrived after the 7 month waiting time the "honeymoon phase" had already passed..