How To Get Doll Money: The Master List of Ideas!

I'm selling in a site similar to craiglist, but its for my country, I dont want to have to ship.
They do sell fairly quickly, but my country is currently going through a hard crisis so its difficult for everyone here.
I was contacted for some item, specially the camera, but even people who said they would take never came to actually get it, so I'm worried...
Do you have any tips for a great deal finalization?

Thats actually one thing I'm not really sure about: Will it come up again? Its a 25cm slinky neko, in great condition, come with original box, brochure, shoes, eyes, wig... Its overall a great deal, which makes harder for me too let go. If it was a common doll I wouldnt be so stuck in the idea of getting it.

 

If nothing else, when you don't buy the doll, you will eventually be able to turn around and put all the money you would have paid on interest on the loan into a WTB post on the Marketplace.

 

You are right, I guess I should see if the things I'm selling sell until than, and if not, just get over it.

 

Hi! This is gonna be somewhat of a long reply. So I wanted to add in my two cents to this already informative post about plasma experience. I just finished donating the first time today and it was a rather...new experience. I am also in Arkansas and the center I go to offers up promotions every month so you can make a bit more extra cash when you donate. My first time was supposed to be $20 but it became $50 instead because of the monthly promotion they have, where you get $50 your first time, $60 your second, $50 your 3rd time, $70 the next time and $80 the 5th time you come in. That's $300 if you come 5 times before the promo ends by the start of next month. I know the center I go to offers these promotions all the time, not sure if the other centers in different areas offer up the same deal. It's true that the needle was pretty big so that was kind of an ordeal for me (I'm terrified of needles). But the staff was very kind and covered up my arm for me so I could relax a bit more. They have very detailed information on their BioLife website that explains everything you need to know before you donate. You need to have enough protein and iron in your system the day of otherwise you won't be able to donate. And you need to drink enough water the day of and also the day before, because apparently you lose a bit of water during the process as well. I took iron pills and ate about 70 grams of protein literally right before my appointment and my nurse who checked on me told me my levels were excellent, that the level of quality I guess of plasma I was giving was really good for a first time donor. The website said you had to eat a good meal that would give you enough protein no more than 3 hours before your appointment. That's another thing I want to talk about to. I know I'm replying to a post that's 3 years old so a lot has probably changed since then, but as far as I know everything is on a reservation basis. I don't think the center I go to takes walk ins. You can make an appointment on their website or on their app, but I definitely did not wait 5 hours. I arrived earlier than my appointment and they took me right in. You'll be in and out within an hour, but your first time will take 2 hours since you have to go through a physical. I kid you not, I cried my first time today when I saw how big the needle was when they stuck it in to me. I was told it was a normal thing that happens every now and then haha. They check your vein size during your physical and they want you to have big enough veins in both your arms in case they can't stick the needle in one of them. One of mine was definitely big enough to accommodate the needle but my other one was on the borderline between too small and acceptable, so I managed to barely qualify to be a donor. They will have to take your blood sample every time you check in for your appointment to make sure you qualify to donate that day. Lots of needles and poking and blood! If you are queasy at the thought of needles and blood you'll have to take those into consideration if you are interested in donating plasma! I myself do not like the sight of blood, and needles have terrified me ever since I was a child so I'm hoping that maybe this experience will help me get used to it? While making some cash on the side, of course! Sorry this was long! Just wanted to add in more info regarding plasma!

EDIT: ok I read my information packet wrong. The whole thing with $50 the first donation and $60 the 2nd and so on and so forth, that is only for newcomers ^^;; so if you're a first timer that offer is good only for you! I'm sorry for the misinformation!

 

Sad thing we dont get money for plasma donation here (I dont know if I could anyway cause I have anemia).

Updating my situation:
The girl decided to give me more time because she saw how much I wanted it and she want the doll to go for someone that will really enjoy it.
I got 200R$ so now I need 400 + shipping (its usually under 50). I still was not able to sell the camera, i was at our local genfest so I couldnt promote it, but now Im going to try again and I also found some really good clothes that dont fit and as brand new so I will try selling that too.

 

@flornosertao, what about making doll accessories? There are always people who could buy nice eyes for their dolls and you could to get additional money in this way (and the things you need to make resin eyes aren't expensive).

 

its possible, but there isnt any doll collectors here were a I live and our mail service sucks so bad (I sold a doll a month ago and it didnt arrive yet, the mail people dont even know what happened, they are like "oh, it was supposed to have arrived, how weird"), its discouraging ):

 

Have you tried to file a complaint? What does the tracking number say?

And you could sell your accessories abroad. I think that there are plenty of people who like to buy fancy eyes for their dolls.

 

Yes, I filed a complaint, but there is no answer for it yet.
The track says "july 2 19:00 Recife/PE - object didnt arrived in the unit".

 

Lately I just did an account for saving! Like... It'll be getting 30$ every month from my main bank account and making additional 1,5% or something. It's nothing big but lately I just discovered that I can't save other ways. And if I'll be patient, I can save enough.

 

I finally got the doll I was saving for! Now I'm gonna save for another one (not a bjd this time). Never ending saving life LOL

 

I don't know if anyone else has already posted about this, but I wanted to share my realization in case anyone else is in the same situation.

If you happen to have any of those little Funko Pop! figures still in the box, do a quick Ebay search and see how much they're going for. They really are today's Beanie Baby! I looked up these four that I bought a few years ago for maybe ten dollars each and found that I could get nearly $200 for them if I found the right buyer. I had no idea they'd ever become valuable! So maybe check your collections and see if you have anything like that?

 

i made doll dress for sale in my community and try to save it for some times, hard at first but luckily i get some supports from my parent ^^

 

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but it technically has to do with getting doll money, so...is there anywhere on Den of Angels where I could share that I'm open for art commissions? Besides my profile and signature, that is.

 

I don't actually have permission to view it yet, but I notice there's a hand-crafted goods section under the Marketplace tab. Maybe that would be the place to do it?

 

Thank you! I'll have to take a look there, then! I've thought for a while that the Marketplace might have options for that, but I've been a little cautious about getting my hopes up. Most people are probably looking for doll goods when they go around there, after all...and a drawing of their doll isn't quite what they have in mind at that moment.

 

You're welcome! Honestly, there are plenty of things you can do with a drawing of your doll. For example, you could print it out, put it in a tiny frame, and hang it in their house so it's like the doll had its portrait painted. I'm sure people are interested in something like that!

 

Art commissions (that are not faceups/blushing/tattoos on dolls) are not allowed on DoA:

So, there isn't anywhere you can post that, other than a link to an outside "shop" (whether an actual shop or an informational page on a blog) in your signature.

 

Making a portfólio people could see to get interessed in your work would help, art comissions are also common in deviantart, so I would give it a try

 

Thank you, @flornosertao, @vicemage, and @GCDear, for your answers! I might consider linking to a main site I'm constructing, since otherwise my signature and profile would get cluttered with too many links. Otherwise, people can message me about it.

 

I didn't see anyone mention this site yet but Fiverr seems to be an interesting option if you have a few skills you want to market! I haven't tried it myself but it's a freelancer marketplace where you post "gigs" that you can do starting from $5. The site takes 20% as commission but it's a large and well-established site so there's more security and a built-in customer base.

 

@Autumnfallen I was working on fiverr for some time as an illustrator some years ago. At the beginning it was cool, but then I got more than 300$ stolen from my account, they managed to enter my account, change the paypal address where the money had to go, and withdrew all the amount, lucky me it was only 300$. It's not the safest place from my experience, and fiverr staff ignored me and said that for privacy reasons couldn't see who did that to take any action. The 20% rate is also a bit abusive in my opinion. For every fiver (5$) that a customer pays, the site gets 1$. So if you got 4$ and then paypal takes a small amount.... well, it's not the most encouraging thing to see.

 

@Naisha Oh geez, I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. It's nuts that the company gave such a lazy excuse to not do anything. Hopefully they've improved their security and customer service since then.

 

WOW! These are all very good suggestions. Reinforcements and additions to ideas I hadn't thought about. Thank you very much for starting this thread Lizzard.

 

Thanks for this thread its super helpful! Saving up for doll things can be slow but its worth it!

 

I thought about BJD accessories. "mainly drink bottles, and shoes". What do you guys think?

 

awsome advise

 

I have issues with saving my money. It's hard to squirrel some away on my own. But I have an app called Digit that autmatically subtracts money from your checking account so you can save for specific goals. The app has an algorithm that decides what is a "safe" amount of money to put away towards a goal. So some days they take $2, other days they take $60. All you need to do is forget about it and it painlessly adds to your goal!

 

For me, I’ve donated long ponytails to a friend so she could make doll wigs, and then later I was able to get a job to just buy a doll. The trick was to only let me buy one for myself if it was for a special occasion; new job, good grades, finishing college, getting married....

 

Here in brazil its really hard to save money for dolls, but my sugestion is to save the extra money we gain in december and january ( we call "déciml terceiro). Or save money selling old stuffs that you do not use anymore, or make a uber account if you have a car ♡ , and if you dont you can use Rappi too ( rappi is a program that accept people with bikes )

 

Once met a student who made side income by finding designer suits in resale shops and selling them online for profit. He would go around the nicest neighborhoods to maximize finds. For him, menswear was a hobby so it was probably easy to get started, basically I'm trying to say don't overlook your other areas of expertise!

I second the suggestion to go through your Funko pops, lmost collectors look for mint condition boxes but even a dented box for a popular one is good. I work for a local retailer and we sell Pops online...keep checking the prices every now and then because they do change suddenly. This goes both ways, something can fall in value too so don't wait too long if you have something good.

 

Thanks for really great ideas. I am excited to trial some of these.

 

I'm so glad for this list! I think I'll try for a goal saving's account--rather than just hoping not to overspend from my written list.

I love the envelope idea! I think I'll try it too. I'm currently trying to set aside the money in my Bullet Journal by writing down my funds and erasing a twenty every time I can but without the physical money it doesn't work as well for me.

 

I actually save all my pocket change and keep up the the amounts in a small ledger. I mainly use this for doll accessories since it takes a while to get a substantial amount.
I've recently started packing a lunch for work, instead of eating out, and setting aside $20 from each pay check. This is helping me purchase a body for a floating head soon and now when a limited pops up I have a better chance of affording it.

 

awesome ideas! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I will definitely take note and try these tips

 

This was really helpfull! I might get a summer job this year, I really have to save up anyways so tysm for this post!

 

For anyone who likes writing, I'll just throw in Duotrope. It costs five dollars a month, so there's a little investment, but it's a great way to find paying markets for your writing. Contests are fun and can earn you a decent amount of money! It's international, too, so you're not restricted to events that are in your own country.

Flight Rising is also a surprisingly good place to sell art commissions. (Plus, you can make dragons.) Toyhouse has a very healthy art marketplace. It's in invite beta, but you can request free codes through Tumblr.

 

There is always plenty of money to get if you can work with Zbrush or Maya and make 3D files and then make 3D Prints of them. You can make doll-sized headphones or swords, items of any kind and commissioned by people or even done freelanced by yourself and just sell them. I know for sure there is always money to make there!

 

That's sort of fascinating.... Might have to give it a try next time I have a proper job.

Horrifying. I was just thinking of joining there (before coming to this old discussion board). Aside from the crappy customer service issue, is it possible to add your own layer of protection with two-factor authentication, or do they lack the tech for even that?

 

Maybe they added those kind of security settings after I was there, but definetely weren't there when I was

 

Ugh. I'm so sorry.

 

Selling old fandom merch to other fans is a good way to make some easy money!
A lot of anime figures are only in production for a little while so some can be a lot harder to come by.
I suggest using ebay to look at their prices and decided from there how much you want to sell, I always post high and add a "or best offer" because usually I'll end up with the amount I really wanted. You could also try selling for lower than the cheapest one for sale but that depends on much you really want/need it gone.

 

Really saving money is very hard! I try to create clothes for dolls and sell it. But my main work takes a lot of time, being a favorite and is low paid, but despite that I have to sew in my spare time...
I want to save money for new body for my last head Domuya Fin

 

One of my goals for this summer is to avoid buying anything for dolls, and use my time and energy to try and improve my skills in making clothes and props... I can save money I would have spent while testing the waters for a possible income source sometime in the future.

 

Thanks for sharing!I tried to make up the doll myself

 

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned (I didn't see it on the first two pages, kinda skimmed a little thereafter), but if you have a decent phone I'd definitely recommend utilizing apps such as Couponer, Ibotta, etc. I believe you have to be 18 - 21+ for some of them, as they might include rebates pertaining to alcohol, but these apps can be a great way to rustle up a side-savings. Just make sure you abide by the terms of service - most require that you be the owner of the receipt you're scanning in for cashback, etc. It won't work if you share a receipt with your family or friends.

 

To piggyback on this, I highly recommend Digit or other auto savings apps! You can set them to save small amounts of money (around $2) at regular intervals, and you'd be surprised how quickly it adds up.

 

Seriously seconding this. Do not put yourself into financial risk if you don't absolutely have to.

The main collection of ideas on the first page is pretty thorough in suggestions but I feel like it's really good to reiterate how good it is to create a budget, not only for your doll but for your savings and personal accounts in general. By using apps (or even a notebook) to collect the honest, unvarnished truth about how you spend your money over a month's period you'll easily start seeing areas where you can trim back and add funds into your BJD fund.

Sometimes it's little things such as realizing you spend a lot on eating out, or impulse shopping, money that you'd rather spend on your doll(s). Has your phone plan finished it's initial contract but you're still paying a phone bill as if you're still paying off your phone? Time to renegotiate to a cheaper plan.

Once you have a baseline understanding of where your money goes it's a million times easier to figure out where you get extra cash. It's also doubly good just for figuring out your personal savings and expenditures in general.

 

This thread is good for financial advice. Yes it is wise to know where your money goes. Every month when my salary is credited to my account I set aside some money for the bills and a little extra for savings. I restrict myself an amount for my expenses like meals, entertainments, shopping, transport, cigarettes and miscellaneous. So yes I have two account for such purpose. As soon as I realize the "restricted amount" is almost gone by first half of the month. The phenomenon is I don't remember splurging on luxury goods.

 

A person can collect bear cans, bear bottles, wine bottles. I do this and save up what l make.

 

I save in spare change. I RARELY spend money on my card. To me, swiping a plastic card doesn’t feel like real money, so I try to spend only cash. When I spend cash, i can see the money leaving, which feels more real, and I’m more likely to spend less. This helps me save up a lot. I use cash for important things too. The thing is, I HATE spending change. It gives me so much anxiety counting change in a store. I realized that change adds up fast. It’s a great way to save for a doll. I saved $25 in change this month! Sure, it’s not the fastest way, but it works. And its money I’m not missing. My account has all the money I’m saving, I spent cash on the things I need/going out, and I have change that I save up to buy doll stuff or new tattoos

 

can't save, i only stick with one doll at a time in that case...

 

If you enjoy thrifting and have an interest in dolls other than BJDs, you can buy doll items from thrift stores and resell them to help pay for your BJDs. That's what I do.

 

I'm really awful with money, so I'm frequently looking for ways to make a little bit extra since I can't save reliably.

I've had success with some of the apps out there, especially Poshmark and Letgo-- I usually sell unopened subscription box products, clothes that don't do it for me anymore, or other gently used or basically new items.

 

It's not good idea, but I sell my old stuff via App for Hand to Hand boards.. Low money as the result, but It's money too)

 

I personally have a job (teacher) and thats how I get my doll money. If you are too young to get a regular job I recommend picking up a doll related craft (making eyes, clothes, wigs, jewelry) and selling your work to customers via Instagram.

 

Its really big problem yo get money for this hobby( but when u aged u have more opportunities. But i just try to save money)

 

Depending on your country, students, low income status people, aged pensioners and the disabled may be able to get concessions on utilities, car registration and/or movie tickets. At least with public transport, some of those groups are charged a lower fare. You can also get concessions for certain medications, bank fees and such. Also, procedures such as wisdom teeth can be cheaper in through public health over private.

And finally, our solar powered hot water means we only use a little gas each month. It's not cheap to install solar panels but if it is feasible it can save you money.

This is relevant mainly to Australia but may be possible in other countries.

 

I'm saving up for a Dollshe craft saint or bernard so ill definitely be taking this advice To add on though, I try to have a piggy bank or savings account with limited access that way you won't be tempted to spend it.

 

Saving Jar

I have a jar where I put coins in. I bought a wallet without a pocket for coins so I need to put them on the end of the day into my jar. I'm always saving and if I want to buy smth I use the money I saved.
It's a really easy method and you get fast used to it. Especially when you don't want some money flying around in your bags or pockets!