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

Thank you for this thread I have one of those big coffee ground tubs that I keep coins in. It's really slow to fill up but my friend had two of them and she emptied them both at the bank and got around 250$ So that's definitely a way but maybe not quickly since it takes a while to save up that much change. Also selling stuff you don't need/use anymore is good too. I have about 15 years of video games I went through today to sell and I'm selling clothes and anime figures too. Also, like @RavenNight said I rarely spend money on my card because it doesn't feel like it's real money I'm spending.

 

I do babysitting for my neighbours children and babies quite often and when they pay me in cash I place it into an envelope so it doesn't go into my bank account and I accidentally spend it! So I have savings that i can put in when I want to buy something special.

 

I work part time at a vet clinic, and luckily I do not have any living expenses right now because I am with my parents. I put about $50 out of my paycheck to the side in savings for my first doll, and any change I have from buying necessities I put in a jar for clothing and accessories for her.

 

Hi! I am new, so it may be a stupid idea.

I am a firm believer that it is way easier to save money that to win money.

Frankly, fresh out of school, while I was doing an internship, I lived for a year in some small room, with no hot water, no heating, no light and with the toilet and crude shower in the basement while the room was upstairs and I had to go outside to use the toilet and shower or to get water. (Very fun in winter when you want to wash your hair!) I also cooked with some camping equipment on the edge of my window and used a ricecooker to cook everything from pasta to cake. It was urban survival 101.

It was in a city where rent was so expensive, so in comparison, it was a very cheap deal. It was also in a city where such living conditions may not be entirely legal (for the homeowner, not for me) since there are minimum standards. I saved so much during these years (alas not for a doll, but for necessary studying expenses). While it may be a bit extreme, there were rooms just a bit pricier but with a rent low enough to save on it, I just decided to go all the way in my saving plans.

In my humble opinion, if you work more, you will earn more, but you will also be more tired and be weaker to temptation to some degree. (There is also the fact that I am currently cumulating both a fulltime work and studies, so I would rather do something enjoyable or even sleep in my spare time. XD) So it is easier to get used to lower living standards, like cheaper coffee, cooking rather than eating out, walking instead of going to the gym, etc.

I also remember that during these years, I never spent a coin without thinking at least twice so I definitely was a little bit too obsessed with the idea of saving up.

While I since have a better income and can live more comfortably now (yay for tepid water!), I still have the habits of prioritizing things when I get money. I do the following, in this order:

I will always save half of it in a special bank account. It is the money that I won't touch unless someone's life is at stake or something dramatic like that. If I have to buy things for my studies of for my work, I will get it from that fund, since I consider them to be essentials.

Then I pay my rent.

Then I pay my bills.

Then I put away the money I owe to taxes (it can be paid once a year in one lump sum in my country).

Then I look how many times I am expected to go out with my friends and budget my eating and drinking money accordingly. (I don't like to be the person who orders only a salad at a restaurant when everyone else is having full meals).

Then the money left is my "hobby" money, up to me to spend or save for non-essential things. If it's gone, it's gone and I won't get to spend anything until my next paycheck.



I tried selling stuff I don't use anymore, but I lost way too much time in comparison with the money earned. It is more efficient to buy non-essential things with the keen awareness that it will be a sunk cost anyway and to ponder if it is still acceptable.


As I said, it may be completely dumb, but it worked for me!

 

My other passion are succulents.
They require little maintenance and most varieties can propagate from leaves.
Once they start to root, pot them up and when they get large enough I sell them on the marketplace.
It is literally money growing on trees (or plants in this case)

 

I notice a lot of really amazing photographers here. Has anyone tried making/selling a photo book? I'm working on a Kindle book and am not sure if it will be successful but am interested to hear from any others who have tried.

 

Sell old stuff that you no longer like/use, especially if it's in good condition. People search for old electronics (ipods), furniture (rugs, lamps), toys, books (textbooks), car tires, unworn shoes, pet accessories, craft supplies, home decor (planters, picture frames, anything with macrame/rattan will do since it's in style)...I sold some of the most randomest things on the internet and made money that way.

It's easy money because you don't have to put in much work, all you have to do is take a couple of good pictures, write an accurate item description and answer prospect buyers emails. Depending on what you are selling, you can earn something like $50 with 10 mins of effort.

 

Not dumb at all! I think this is a really smart way to manage your money and I like how conscious you are about it.

I want to put more thought into money management now that I’ve picked this hobby back up!

On a side note, I also prefer my hobby budget to take the hit instead of my food budget!

 

You should add swagbucks to this list. It’s somewhat time consuming, but it adds up after a while.

 

Wow, that’s such a nice thread,
and it caught my eye just in time, thank you all so much!
But to be honest, for me the most interesting and pleasant way to earn money for a new doll is to do something for the dolls with my own hands. You can say: oh well! As if we ourselves did not know, plus this does not suit everyone. But damn it, this is such a cute way to unite with your favorite hobby.

 

For me I'm working full-time, but after the expenses to keep myself alive I do find myself wondering how I can get more money for doll's stuff lol
Right now I'm running a little Etsy store selling crochet dolls, business's not that great due to Covid, but I do get some money from that. Personally I also know you can help walk the neighbor/family/friend's dogs to get extra cash! Working part-time is always an option as well.

 

*deep breath*

Facebook marketplace. Advertise what you have. 80-90% of the people that contact you won’t reply back-but I have some people interested in buying and as such it can be a great way to make money. I live in a small area but still have had 20+ locals contact me, so I mean? I downloaded Facebook just for this. Also great BJD sale groups-though fair warning make sure to check if they allow recasts or not.

 

The methods to fill up one's budget for dolls are all so varied. Coming out of full time work where pay was reasonably good to unemployment was a real wake up call. Other than existing on online marketplaces in hopes that extra items can be picked up, to simply taking the time to save, I'd say that I was way more of a market troll when it comes to dolls.
Nowadays, since the bankroll is near stalled, I'm re-evaluating income streams. The pull for dolls is hard to reign in.....

 

Another idea for earning money for dolls if you can drive! You can work for a rideshare service or a food delivery service app!

 

Thats a good idea, thanks! we have our own little succulent nursery and my dad is a potter. We could sell little succulent gardens for some cash.

As for my own suggestion, if you have some artistic talent and a decent following (500+ followers), commissions can get you a bit of money. Its not always consistant enough to live off of but it adds up if you save it.

 

I like this thread! I believe this is an important thing that every BJD hobbyists care. Firstly, we need PASSION. When we have passion on this hobby, we'll work hard to earn more money. And, we may start to try to make doll stuffs by ourselves, such as clothes, furnitures, or even a doll room. If you are not good at making DIY works, you can try to sell some things that you have but you rarely use. Besides, because it could be a high-cost hobby, you’ll start to have an awareness that saving money is important. So I don’t buy things that are not necessary in my daily life.

 

It's soon to be snow shoveling season, depending where you are! You can make money, help out the community/elderly and get a good workout in. Oh and if your customers are old people, they'll probably invite you in for a hot drink and some cookies lol.

My go-to way of earning doll money is to make stuff for dolls and sell it on etsy. There are some really easy and cheap to make things that a beginner can do, ex. choker necklaces made out of ribbon, tote bags, headbands... the possibilities are endless.

 

Another good one would be to get into making and creating stuff to sell. Like hitting up your local craft store and making doll props, wigs, clothes etc. There are a lot of Things that are easy to make.
Also a good one is selling old clothes, shoes or other stuff you don't Need anymore

 

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this one, but here it goes.

Over this past year I used one credit card to make most of my payments with. (This particular card has cashback rewards that build up with the purchases you make using the card. The rewards can be applied to a purchase and save you money. You could end up paying nothing if the purchase is the same amount as your rewards) I didn't use any of the rewards until the end of the year, and I had saved almost $150 in rewards that I used on my most recent BJD purchase. (It made a $600 doll now $450) Now I realize not everyone is comfortable with credit cards (and I totally get where you are coming from!), but I figured I'd put my two cents in.

 

One thing I do, since I'm an educator and enjoy doing it, is freelance tutoring. There's always someone who could use a little extra help, and then you can put the money aside for dolls.

 

So I saw that someone mentioned making a photobook of doll photography and I wanted to reiterate that its very easy and sorta fun to make one. The two big photobook makers are Lulu and and Shutterfly.
Oh and Redbubble is a good site to make stickers on

 

If you have a reliable car, and live reasonably nearby an affluent city, try DoorDashing at dinner time on the weekends, if you have the free time. It’s currently paying for all of my layaways, and I have quite a few going, atm. Just remember to set aside some money at the end of the year if you do it often, since they do not withhold taxes. Not sure if it’s the same with UberEats/Grubhub/etc.

 

If you're a fan of gacha games (think Love Live, Fate/Grand Order, Idolmaster, Bandori, Genshin Impact, Identity V, etcetera), you can make a lot of money by making "reroll accounts." My general plan is this:

- Make a variety of new accounts on different gacha games.
- Log into all them regularly, collecting in-game currency (most gacha games have log-in bonuses, especially near holidays)
- Collect as many limited SSRS/skins/characters as you can with free in-game currency.
- If you get one, wait at least a few months after the promo ends. This makes the demand for them higher.
(Note: You can check how "in demand" an SSR is by looking on forums where accounts are sold and traded.)
- Sell your account once it gives you enough money.

Alternative:
If you have a large account on any of these games that you don't really play anymore, you can also sell those.

My younger sister just recently got $200 for selling her old Love Live: SIF account after she lost interest in the game.
That's more than enough for lower-cost BJDs, and close to half of a higher-end one!

 

The best way I think is sell the dolls you don't want anymore and try limit the numbers of dolls

 

I m jumping from hobby to hobby
So I tend to sell out stuff from my old hobby which I no longer play with, to get the funds for my new one

 

Believe it or not my brother has made around 800 a week for doing that instacart thing. He also asks our neighbors if they want someone to go grocery shopping or yard work. With covid a lot of elder people do not want to leave the house. Now is the time.

 

I recently sold some jewelry I didn't want anymore. Stuff that was broken or way out of style or had bad memories attached to it - ie - ex boyfriend gave it to me and I've been married for 30 years so that was a long time to keep something I wasn't ever going to wear. I sold the jewelry to one of the more reputable gold and silver sales places in my area. I actually got a lot more for it than I thought I would and I'm not a big jewelry person.

 

-Use the Shopkick app. You can get points by scanning barcodes while you shop which can be used to get gift cards to offset your regular purchases at Target, TJ Maxx and others. You won’t be able to directly get a doll, but eventually you can save by offsetting small purchases.

-If you have a credit card with cash rewards/points/miles, use it for all your regular purchases to build up rewards quickly. I've been doing this for a few years and my last few major purchases were bought solely by the cash back reward through my credit card.

 

Here is a good idea I found on Tiktok! Go to wal-marts and check the clearance section. Use an app like amaz0n and check the prices. Keep items small and easily mailable like books, games etc. If there is a huge price difference buy it and resell online. This is what I do over FB and K1j1j1!

 

Re sell old books on amazon or ebay, you can also go to a dollar store or a goodwill or similar sort of store to find cheaper donated books. The best ones to get are college textbooks that you can resell, some of those sell for a lot.

 

So my contributions are more long term ideas. I have no "get rich quick" ideas. My ideas for having more doll money come bluntly from increasing my overall base income to begin with.

I'm a "career" type person. I frankly love working.
I've got a bachelors in Fine Arts but I work in Information Technology. A lot of my coworkers have weird mismatches as well or no degree at all. I've mostly worked for small private companies (sometimes 200-2000 people), my current one is a few hundred people spread out over several countries and continents.
I have a fairly big disability that limits how much time I can be "on my feet" each day that'll get progressively worse with time (yay, HEDS) so a lot of my career ended up being finding something I can do that I find enjoyment in.

Everyone has different challenges and advantages in approaching their careers and lives.

As I mostly work corporate, here's some general info for those moving into entry level work. I'm not a career advisor, these have just been general observations and based off a lot of conversations with friends over the years who have wanted to enter office work and have struggled to wrap their minds around it.

Spoiler: Jobs/Needs:

Try to think about your job in the long term. Do you want to be here in five years? Ten years? What all do you need to have covered in your life?

• Housing, food, healthcare, and any dependents all need to be covered financially, along with making yourself a safety net and also consider what you want for fun money. This will affect if your pay is enough or not.
• If your job is not meeting your needs, it's absolutely time to start looking. When it's like this and you're still hemming and hawing, I want you to imagine that your job is gone in 30 days. You can't stop it, it won't be there for you, get ready to move yourself.
• If a job gets "too close" to the wire(financially, stress, hours worked - esp if exempt salaried, and so on) but maybe it's still meeting your needs: set a date 1-2 months out. Start cleaning up your resume, which should be maintained on the regular anyways. If that date comes and the situation has not improved, start sending out your resume.

Spoiler: Social Media/Applying:

• Lock down your Facebook to private. Any public social media with your actual name on it needs to be kept at least surface level professional. Use your handle other places, try not to mix the two. Hiring managers WILL run searches on your name and if your Facebook is open, they're going to see it.
• Similarly, if you've got NSFW writing, art, photography, or anything else, be real careful about having it up with your real name. Your intended career field might be "chill" about it, but not everywhere is and you don't want to hamstring yourself when you're in a job bind.
• Don't friend your coworkers on Facebook unless you're really really close to them or you don't work there anymore.
• Set up a LinkedIn. These are public profiles and they're not just for office drones! Your hobbies don't go here (though you can find ways to word doing commission work in an acceptable manner), but your work history, connecting to coworkers, people you've volunteered with, and just general networking do! Many hiring managers will also check for a LinkedIn, to the many I've talked to/worked for, it can be a dealbreaker. The other benefit is that this will direct people to look at your LinkedIn and not keep digging until they find something with your real name elsewhere online.
• You do not need to make wall posts and such on LinkedIn though the option is there, you can just use the connections/jobs/resume-profile sections.
• Look at others' profiles and how they set them up. List your jobs and your skills. The extra benefit here is this counts as a backup master resume when the uploaded resume you'll actually send to places should be tailored down to 2 pages, tops.
• Set up alerts on LinkedIn for the types of jobs and areas you are looking for. These are private, your employers won't see it. ONLY use the "I'm currently looking" settings if you're OK with it potentially getting back to your employer.
• Be careful with recruiters, good ones are invaluable and bad ones are scams.
• When applying, also keep in mind that if you can meet around 3/4ths of the "requirements", you should apply. A lot of people skip applying to jobs they really could potentially get because they feel they need to meet all of them.
• At worst, you'll make it through an entire interview process you were excited for and be turned down. It happens a lot, don't get too discouraged.
• Reminder that when you are interviewing you are also interviewing the company and hiring manger to see if they're a good fit for you.

Spoiler: Types of jobs (office jobs anyways)

I want to note real quick that the roles I'm mentioning can be prone to high turnover, often because they're entry level stepping stones for people moving on to different roles:

• Customer Service, Customer Support, Customer Care - having retail and food experience can be great for these types of roles. Pick up any product or service and go to their website, usually down near the bottom they may have a careers link. Often they'll be in need of customer-facing roles that may be in call centers, offices, or even managing chat programs.
• Sales Support - these are roles great for detail people who maybe don't like selling, but like the high energy or are looking to avoid a mostly commission-based role. A Support can be partnered to a small team of the Salespeople and they might be pre or post-Sales with slightly different approaches to the role.
• Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Billing Specialist - Finance roles that are careful data entry, tracking, sometimes calling other business customers to ensure money is moving correctly.
• Administrative Assistant, Office Managers- kind of loose terms in my experience and the offices I've worked in. For some this is a secretary like position serving a small number of people, others can range up to running the front desk, greeting guests, dealing with deliveries, and a number of hospitality-like tasks for an entire building.
• IT Support, Desktop Support Technician - if you've got some good problem solving skills when it comes to computers, and ESPECIALLY if you've got good people skills, it can be a good way into IT. Jobs in IT can be heavily reliant on certifications too, as opposed to a degree.

There's way more than this out there, but these are some good starting sets of words to look for.

One site I love for looking for work advice is Ask A Manager, the responder there is excellent. She has a lot of questions and answers on resumes, job hunting, negotiating raises and salaries, and also some really wild office social conundrums.

 

I create cross stitches patterns and sell really cheap (I also make custom patterns for cheaper than others).

 

One of the things I’ve tried is holding a garage sale. But! I get my items from friends and family members that were going to drop everything off at goodwill anyways.
I did a pick up which helped save them a trip, and I got to sell things!

 

Thank you for the ideas!
I think the most stable way is to find a job.

 

I've been getting into transcription work! There are several websites out there that you can use to transcribe things for money-- It's not a TON of money, but it will definitely help, and it's nice because it's flexible so you can do it whenever you have free time.

Transcription Jobs from Home No Experience (20 Jobs) - Swift Salary

This website gives an overview of transcription work from home, and gives many, MANY options for you to choose from.

Additionally, for selling things you no longer want, I recommend Mercari as it makes the process a lot easier. You can have your customer pay shipping, or have it pulled from your profit, which is standard. However, Mercari will also create a label for you so you don't have to; all you have to do afterwards is package it and drop it off to be delivered! It's an app similar to DePop, but not centered on clothing.

 

I have done the decluter and posting items for sale and it is crazy how much money you can make by posting items you no longer use. This is a great option for those who don’t want to do a garage sale. :-)

 

I joined the poppy parker club and I plan to sell some of the dolls I get there. Sometimes they sell for much more than you purchase them for. That club is awesome. I purchase Barbie's from Mattel, for example: Barbie Dia De Muertos, I purchased her and sold later for 400. Some of them you can purchase new and sell for much more after Mattel stops producing them. The preproduction sets are good about that. If you can buy the Monster High Dolls that come out and sell out in 15 minutes, they re-sell for a lot. I have the twins but no intentions of selling. I am always watching ebay and mercari for gotz and AG dolls that I can buy cheap and sell for more.

 

I know this is going to sound nuts, but bear with me...

One of the things that I think we all run into with this hobby, and with artistic and creative hobbies in general, is that we feel like we have to "treat" ourselves to dolls or add-ons because, as far as the general populace is concerned, this is an impractical use for hard-earned cash. (Especially when factors like health, social status, etc. make it difficult to find well-paying work.) It's like there's a guilt attached to it, and that's really sad. This is something that brings us joy, and creativity, and a sense of community, and is worth our time and money to pursue.

So, instead of scraping by with $5-$25 side hustles, start a side business (or several), and you'll fill that dolly jar (or several) in no time.

I literally sell trash on Etsy, and have not only made enough for dolls, but enough to buy a house. The trick is that I don't sell to fellow doll peeps or other starving artists, but instead, target buyers with WAAAAAAY more money than I have. I sell things like glass from broken windows (people buy it for weddings, fairy gardens, and fire pits), fallen pine cones (wreaths, fall and winter decor), and poly-fil beads from old beanbags (one old beanbag worth is about $500 of product). The materials cost me nothing (or next to nothing) and I don't spend any labor time on crafting them into something to sell, so the profit margin is ridiculous.

Raw materials can be found just about anywhere, but I suggest only dealing with ones that you have room to store in bulk. Not sure what people might want to buy? Take a trip to the local craft store, and look around, especially in the wedding and floral sections. Sand, feathers, seashells, moss, gravel, corks... fabric shreds? Plastic shreds? One man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say.

While I also have shops where I sell my crafted items, the "craft supply" shops make the most by far. I use my crafted products as project examples for the materials, and then just sit back and let them sell themselves. Don't have artistic skill to make project examples? Partner up with someone who does! ^_^

 

Wow! Thats an amazing idea!! Thank you for sharing this! Really amazing idea

 

I utilize my bullet journal and categorize spending to determine how much I can allot to spend on dolls etc.

 

Wow that is such an amazing idea. Thank you for sharing. How do you deal with the logistics though? Wouldn't shipping be expensive since some raw materials may be bulky.

 

I'm new to bjds, but not new to collecting. Saving money can be really hard when you have multiple hobbies! I loved reading through this entire thread because there were a few things I hadn't thought of trying before, so thank you to anyone who has ever contributed here.

An alternative to ebay if you live in the US though, sell on Mercari! It feels a lot simpler than starting on eBay. The money you make can stay on your account until you cash out (usually no fee as long as you transfer more than $10) so sometimes I open the app and suddenly remember "oh yeah! I made almost $30 last week when I sold xyz!"

 

This thread has some super good advice of things you can do to safe in general. Me and my family practice quite a few of those things. We are a family of 4 and money goes out the window therefore quite fast if we don’t watch it. Thank you for putting all this together!

 

I recommend software testing - manual is super easy. Also programming, its not hard to learn just you need to put time into it. Then open company, work as a contractor and move to cheaper country

 

the easiest way is selling one of your old dolls and buy another one lol

 

Housekeeping is my strategy. I have some friends with mobility issues who can’t do it themselves, but also really want to live in their own house for as long as they can. They offered to hire me. It’s basic house cleaning- bathrooms, kitchen, vacuuming, sweeping floors, etc- and they pay by the hour. I can pick when I work, as long as it works with their schedule, and it’s easy to do on the side, in addition to school and another job. As long as you’re willing to adapt to what they need- my boss has some preferences on cleaning products and cannot risk any falling hazards- it’s still hard work but it’s not difficult to manage. Plus I feel like I’m actually useful for once. We both benefit. And I get doll money, although the majority of mine is going into my savings for now.

 

I came from art and design background and teaching people art skills help. It is quite stable and can be done online.
Can also intro to students the world of bjd.

 

@eminaanime
do you have recommendations for art tutoring? I wish I can teach art online too

 

I apply to schools to teach freelance. After contract is over students who are interested will learn with me. It is a process, but pays off.

 

Basically how I got to where I am with my collection was this. I've started selling a previous doll and adding a little bit of money when I buy a new one. That way you don't have to shell out 1000€ at a time and can still enjoy other cheaper dolls and building your way up. Also never used/had to use layaway!

 

Part of earning money is knowing how to budget, make sure you are taking the time to plan out your savings as well as your spendings.

 

Fair warning for Mercari, I've seen bad reviews on the Android app store for it saying that sometimes you can lose your money or access to it and the customer service is nonexistent. I was really hoping it would be convenient and easy but I'm not willing to risk it unfortunately. Chances are most people have a good experience and it's just the people with bad ones who post reviews, but if anyone knows of a good alternative, please let me know! I have some stuff I could sell on Ebay or similar, the main issue is organizing it and figuring out shipping, but ease of use is always important so I'd be happy to hear of some good sites or methods to sell things quickly and easily (in my case varying old electronics, fandom merch, and the like, but I'm happy to hear about other options).

 

Interesting! I've been using Mercari for a couple years now, and I've made over 100 sales and tons of doll money just by selling things around the house I don't need anymore, or from when I was younger. I personally love using Mercari!

 

I've had good experiences with it too. They take a big chunk out of your sale but not really much more than eBay. I've been able to move stuff there that just sat elsewhere.

 

I haven't had any bad experiences with it either! I didn't need customer service, but I did get a refund and everything was fine.

 

It's good to read about good experiences w/ Mercari- I'm thinking of trying it out after all. However...

One thing I was wondering, is a lot of the things I'd consider selling are old unofficial fandom merch- i.e. stuff I've bought at artist alleys at cons, or Etsy stores, over the past ~5-10 years. I'm wondering about the legalities of selling art items such as these especially as for many I do not know the original artist as I have either lost relevant business cards or long forgotten the booth etc. at whatever convention they were from. Is there any particular etiquette when it comes to selling stuff like this? I'm sure there are others in the same boat as me; after all, fandom interests can change and one can collect a lot of misc. stuff before moving on. Would it be feasible to make doll funds by emptying an old ita bag of its goodies for example, or is selling fanmade stuff second hand a no go? Particularly when brand names tend to be expected on selling platforms it seems for search purposes if nothing else. Not to mention fair use and its limits re: fanart. I haven't been able to find a lot about this on Google since most results just turn up info about selling things you've made yourself.

 

This is all so helpful. Thank you so much

 

That is pure genius! I'm going to start that with my fivers.

 

Is there any recommendations for someone who can’t work due to disability?

 

A garage sale might be worthwhile!