In love with a discontinued sculpt

I feel you . I have the same problems . The most of the dolls which I wanted were discontinued. So I had to search for them so much until I got them . Still trying to find some shoes for almost one year and I can not find them . It’s really big pain.

 

The only thing I can advise you is... never give up. I know it can be annoying, and painful, and you never know when or how they'll turn up secondhand. Sometimes the odds can feel so little you might be tempted to give up the ghost... My grail was an old sculpt from a nearly entirely unknown company so the chances of actually finding him were next to none. And yet, after 10 years of pining for him, he is finally in my collection... I literally sobbed for joy when I opened his box. I don't think I've ever had this reaction with another doll, he's just that special. So though the process may be grueling, it's all worth it, in my experience...

 

I've been drooling over certain dolls for years, but I just recently started actually buying them. There were some I had loved so much it breaks my heart they are no longer available (Dollzone Robot Ji Cyborg and Spiritdoll Little Mermaid) and I'm kicking myself for not just buying them. And since I'm just now starting to shop for real, now I'm seeing all these other amazing dolls I missed out on. I'm just really hoping they just fall magically into my lap some day.

 

I managed to get my hands on a head of a duo sculpt I wanted from Dream of Doll (Tender Too and Bee).
I still kick myself for not ordering them when I had the chance. Finding them 2nd hand is so hard but I at least have one of the heads.

 

Yes for sure, falling for a discontinued and htf sculpt has happened to me. I have just resigned myself to keeping an eye on secondary markets and hoping someday I find one.

 

A discontinued sculpt I'm in love with is Doll Chateau Carol. The event period to get her was going on back when I was ordering my first doll in 2015, but I wasn't able to afford to get her at the time. It's been in the back of my mind to get her for years now, and I recently started putting more effort into seeking her out, but I've had no luck so far. I would expect more people to have her up for sale considering how many people were selling her after the dolls from that event began coming in, but nope.

I have a few other discontinued sculpts I want (Doll Leaves Noir, Coralreef Opal and Amber, Iplehouse fantasy Stella and Doria, etc.), but Carol is the one I want the most.

 

minifee erda, and dream of doll si...i managed to get my hands on Si finally and hopefully erda is next...its hard finding some discontinued sculpts...

 

Dream of Doll E-an haunts my dreams. I used to sit on the computer in high school scribbling pictures of how I would do up her face.

 

Honestly I fell hard for the older soom fantasy sculpts while I know they do rereleases it’s just not the same as the new heliot and chalco don’t catch my eye as much as the older version not including wanting the full sets.

 

So, veteran discontinued doll hunters, what are your go-to spots for second hand shopping? I really don't know where to start other than the usual ebay (which I try not to use because it's a great place to get scammed/ hacked) and Facebook groups.

 

If you don’t mind using a proxy xianyu has some discontinued or rare sculpts on their however you need an account to even view the links.
Also common same tips apply watch out for blank profiles look for positive rated sellers and if they mention the condition and your having doubts especially if it’s just the company photos you can always ask them to send you pictures.

 

I've got about 8 dolls on my list that are discontinued, some that are more recent like Coralreef's mantis girls Amber and Opal, and others that have been gone for awhile like Dream of Doll Petsha and Ringdoll March Hare, but one day I hope to see them around on the second hand market and get lucky. Ringdoll March Hare is particularly painful for me since I had her sitting in my basket for awhile and had finally saved up enough to get her and then discovered they had stopped making her about a week an a half before and I didn't even notice their post about it.

 

Instagram has a very active marketplace under the #bjdsale tag. There’s also Mandarake (massive secondhand store chain in Japan that sells all kinds of great hobby things) and tbtbros (used to be on yahoo Japan, now I think they have their own site).

 

I fell in love with Doll Chateau Alberta (who i was able to find) and DC Ada (who i can not find)... I just recently saw the 31cm doll from 白零 White and REALLY want him, though there is a chance he will be re-released soon and I have to say I am on the edge of my seat.

It definitely is a little panic inducing to realize the sculpts I love may never be findable, but it is also sort of a fun challenge! I do try to be careful about looking up dolls older than the last few years though to try and keep my wishlist under control.

 

I will forever lament missing Sartoria J Jude elf in the misty gray skin. He would've been a perfect shell for an oc
I do my best not to look back at older sculpts because I am not very good at hunting 2nd hand so the chance of me getting a limited sculpt/one that isn't made anymore is very close to 0.

 

Minifee Ruth… Will simply never rest until I’ll be able to find him on a secondhand market. With his sculpt the face just looks so kind and soft, with a positive and gentle smile. Have been wanting to purchase him since 2013, but had no money at the time he was still listed. It is my dream doll indeed.

 

Pretty sure about 3/4 of my extensive wish list is discontinued Never expected a lot of them to "disappear" but i did just return to the hobby after several years and it was a shock. Nevermind all the 'new' dolls that came & went while I was gone. MNF Erda is a big one rn, and several other FL sculpts - incl one of my absolute grails, a MC7 (which was one of the only discontinued dolls I wished for pre-hiatus - my other was an AA Er) A couple Cocoriang cuties, that Muhan's Doll Shark. Ugh, the list goes on (& on) Hopefully I'll be able to add at least a few of them to my crew thru the 2nd market some day.

 

Yeah this happened to me. I have like two from what I remember. They are Dollzone Clovera and Little Monica Yuria. I wanted LM dolls so much and got upset when they are announcing the discontinuation of the dolls.
I just look for some sculpts that has the same aesthetic or kinda has same ring to it. It's challenging but whatever floats my boat I guess.

 

got my hands on a minifee erda finally! (and another on the way gfvdgdf) looks like FL might be adding onto my list with some soon to be discontinued littlefees...i hope lewi doesn't get discontinued...

 

I'm lucky in that if I find a doll out of my range of availability, I wind up losing interest in it. The only way I could get passionate about a sculpt to the point of watching the secondhand market is if there was a limited event I missed. When Dust of Dolls first produced the Meel, I was obsessed. I really wanted her, so I searched the secondhand market, but after years of not having the money for a secondhand sculpt, I eventually lost interest.

After coming back to the hobby, I discovered the Dust of Dolls Roze Chae in choco resin and fell in love. Secondhand she's...very expensive. Too expensive for me. Luckily there's a preorder for the Roze Chae in a different resin color, so I can at least get the Chae, even if it's not the color I originally wanted. We'll have to see if that'll be enough for me, though.

 

Well, I fell for a discontinued sculpt too -- Saiki, by the sculptor Minawadou. An obscure head sculpt, made by an obscure artist who was active for just a few years in the '00s (early in the BJD hobby) before moving to non-BJD interests. I've been in BJDs for over 10 years but only discovered Saiki recently through owner pics - that's how little-known it is.

The bad news is - Saiki is so obscure that I'll have a hard time finding one, since it's a small artist-release sculpt. The good news is - it's so obscure that barely anyone would want it, so if I DO find one I'll probably be able to buy it without issue.

I'll just have to keep an eye on all the Japanese and second markets, and wait...

 

Sadly all the dolls on my wishlist are either discontinued or limited

It's super heartbreaking and some times I don't cope at all, lol, but then a new day arrives and my hopes for finding them secondhand springs to life again.

About half of my current dolls are secondhand actually, so I know it's possible ^-^

 

Dollzone Merlin! He was one of the first dolls I ever wanted and for some reason, I didn't get him even when it was announced he was being discontinued and I kick myself about it a lot >.< He's the sweetest little grump and I love Dollzone bodies

 

For me that would be Dream Valley's Rah Eagle.

I just love the way his legs bend. And his talons are exactly what I am looking for! His eagle head sculpt is just so pretty and well made.

But I unfortunately missed his preorder. On top of that, he apparently wasn't very popular either, so I've had no luck finding him second hand and I have no delusions about Dream Valley rereleasing him either...

But a person can dream, right?

 

I'm right there with you! Not with DV Rah, but some of the older Muhan sculpts make me want to cry in "wow I should have been in this hobby sooner"

 

I forget about them as I spend my energy in other aspects of my life, and also put up a post in the marketplace. Occasionally I recall that there's a doll that I want, so I search for them in secondhand market, and sometimes I receive responses from my post in the marketplace. I was able to get several elfdoll sculpts that were my grail dolls, as well as bodies this way across the time span of about 5 years. I guess the longer you wait, the more likely those discontinued dolls will come up in secondhand market.

 

Volks Ryou and Ryoma...maybe they'll be available again one day through FCS or one-off...

 

My absolute grail doll was already sold out and discontinued by the time I even found out about them... I've never even seen owner photos from people, so my chances of ever finding one second-hand really seems unlikely. I only really cope with it by the fact that they are 1/3 which I personally find too big and heavy for me. If it wasn't for that I dont know how I'd cope. They will always be my true doll love though, the sculpt and company faceup for them was so perfect.

 

I am a glutton for punishment and often find myself coveting a discontinued sculpt that a BJD artist retired or a doll from a company that no longer does business. I can empathize with everyone in this thread that it can be frustrating and dishearting when one has a specific item on ones wishlist that are difficult to find in the secondary market. Sometimes finding discontinued items takes time and perseverance. By not losing hope and always keeping an eye out for opportunities, sometimes that grail doll pops up when one least epxects it. Thus, it is important to build a connection of doll friends and periodically check online listings on a regular bases. I was able to find a first generation Marmite Sue girl through word of mouth. I always remember that the enjoyment of collecting dolls comes not only from acquiring specific items but also from the thrill of the hunt, journey of discovery, and finally anticipation of getting the doll in the mail.

 

I am in love with Migidoll Ryu and I feel so bad for everyone who doesn't own him He is the best!

 

But you can save up for them, just because they are discontinued/not readily available doesn't mean that there's zero chance of you getting one. Sure you can't choose the time when you can bring them home but that just gives you more time (and no time limit) to save up. It can be frustrating when you want them home asap but patience is one of the things this hobby is built on. It may take longer than you anticipated, years even, but one day there's a doll that was meant for you other there and it'll find it's way home sooner or later

But to answer your question, yes this has totally happened to me (and probably the majority of people in this hobby).
I have had long sold-out LEs and discontinued dolls on my wishlist, I still do have some currently but some that I thought would be impossible have found their way to me unexpectedly and so I have to believe that the others will too someday so I simply save up and keep an eye out for them on the second-hand market.
Posting WTBs on here, Discord groups, Instagram, etc is also a really great way to help find discontinued/older dolls as there might be someone who has one they haven't listed but is ok letting go to a new owner who will cherish them. This community is also full of kind people who may come across a listing for whatever doll you're looking for somewhere and tip you off about them too.

 

For me, it’s Rap1993 rabbit girls and Dust of Dolls Appi Jäma, both have been discontinued for a few years…….
(Lately, every single doll on my wishlist is T__T)
Every time I come accross a Mae in second hand market, she’s already sold and it’s so frustrating
Now that she has announced a new preorder, I can finally hope to get one u_u

For Jäma, she’s also very rarely for sale on the second market, buuuuuuut I finally found one and the seller is ok with reserving her a few days until I get my money so yay !!

 

I have fallen in love with many Scholtz and have been lucky enough to own, but the ones I miss most are the following.
On a strictly structural level is the Blue Blood Dolls. They had perfect seamless bodies that posed super well, there resin was so smooth and the joints were almost invisible as the string never showed. They stood solid and although have two of the girls in SD and MSD size I deeply regret selling all the boys.

On a appearance in that I loved the bodies and the faces it would be the pure body Dollshe with the full heads with caps, not the face plate ones as those were a big mistake to create as the faces tended to pop off and that can ruin A face up quick. But the pure bodies were solid standers and pose great.

On a unique level I miss Bishonen House dolls. The MSD boys and girl were wonderful. Various face plates with cool human emotions and bodies that posed well. The hands could be repositioned by putting in hot water, fingers bent carefully and then cold water to set. I bought extra pairs to do positions like holding an object or giving a peace sign. Sadly Covid and the supply of materials ended these to soon.

Dolls are all unique but some to me will stand out and for whatever reason they can only be found second hand but I had my taste of these and so many more. Hopefully some of you will get the chance to have one of these mentioned.

 

It has happened to me. I'm in love with multiple discontinued sculpts.

They are:
- Pipos Rosie
- Pipos Cheshire Basic
- Pipos Star Cheshire Basic
- Hujoo Freya
- Hujoo Freyr
- FallinDoll Force Fox

I have a FallinDoll Force Fox doll in my Ebay cart and am hoping to purchase him soon!

Edit: Now the Pipos Deer Rudy (27cm) and Pipos Deer Rudy (31cm) are sold out.
Edit 2: Pipos Charlotte III 2021 is sold out!

 

Count me in- searching for my first grail again after 16 years, a Luts Dark Elf Soo (the Minifee version looks too childish for me, face-wise). I couldn't bring her home when I first discovered her because I was a teen with pretty much no money to my name, and of course, now that I'm an adult...she's discontinued. Sigh. At least she was a very popular sculpt, so there are more of her out there- but nobody seems to want to let her go as a result!

It's a bit exhausting to feel like I should be doing More, you know? like there must be somewhere I've forgotten to check, some WTB I've forgotten to bump, something I'm missing in general. Because there's only so much you can do besides just. Wait.

 

Possibly the one bad thing I've found about this hobby is that it's really doubling down into the limited release stuff. I understand why and due to the small nature of the market I can justify it more, but this lead me to leave my previous hobby which operated entirely on this system, a situation that is an absolute magnet for scalpers.
I find it very annoying to have my hand forced into a purchase out of FOMO with no time to really think about it. Stalking the 2nd hand market for something specific (or being at the mercy of chance with a WTB) is exhausting, especially when what I'd want is not ancient molds from defunct companies but something released a month before I joined the hobby and up for a small time window for no real reason but enable this. Sorry for the rant but it grinds my gears a little.

 

I think you are being a little bit unfair to the makers. There are plenty of resons for limited sales periods and I'm pretty sure non of them are intended to enable scalpers. A doll maker only makes money of the initial sale and have no incentive to see somone else resell that doll for a big profit shortly after. If this happens and the doll maker has still not raised their prices to get the potential profits themselves, that's a pretty good proof of that.
Perhaps educate yourself a bit on how BJD are made and marketed, the problems with recasts, the narrow profit margins, the urge for an artist to move on to new ideas and all the other more realistic reasons for limited runs before casting blame. I get that it can be frustrating, but put your blame where it's deserved.
The fact is that the way polyurethane resin is cast makes it a very suitable material for small runs and it doesn't scale up as well as some of the more common options for mass production. It is also a very saurated market with hundreds, if not thousands of doll makers operating more or less independantly, meaning that there is a huge varielty of dolls coming out all the time.
No matter what you do you are going to ocationally come across a doll you like that is no longer in production, but there will always be another doll. And very few of them are actually that atractive to scalpers.

 

I meant to enable FOMO buys, not scalpers. Although this kind of business model is without a doubt enabling for scalpers. As I said the market is very small and niche, so I understand it. I also understand that recasts are also responsible... But it's still a bummer to have to make now-or-never choices on such small time frames.

 

I would do anything to find a pukifee Bonnie, and a Petite Ai Hanael... I used to have both few years ago, but i sold them on a whim, and stopped the hobby for a while...(couldn't stop thinking about it anyway )

 

Ooohhh yeah.
I am in deep love with every single Coral Reef doll ever made. If I was rich and could travel back in time, I would get them all, specially the insect dolls. They're absolutely beautiful, charming and different!

 

I thought I'd never be on this train but I've really quite fallen for a few SDCute sculpts and of course Volks doesn't want to produce them much I'd love a Renée or SWD Kaede, but the first is too expensive second hand and the latter isn't on sale very often. And so I wait for an affordable Y!J miracle.

 

I desparately miss my SDC Kaede! She had the cutest little smile.

 

I regret not ordering Niko from ShouShou Doll when she was made available. It was cute that she was originally made available with the resin wig and transparent clear faun parts.

 

As someone who has been in the hobby for a long time (I started in 2006) and then took a long hiatus, I think every doll that is on my wish list these days is a discontinued sculpt. I like the older models and they make me happy so I just bide my time and wait. Even though waiting drives me crazy. But like some others have said, the search is half the fun in this hobby and keeps me interested and coming back. I keep looking for my grails and wait it out. It also gives me something to save for and work towards.

 

A couple of older Impldoll sculpts… I wished that I’d bought them when they were still available but they always seemed like a “one day” for me and there were so many other dolls that I wanted at that time… then suddenly Impldoll discontinued them I’d love a Granado Enoch also and wish I purchased him when I could and a few less popular Iplehouse limited sculpts that were available via their Doll Choice but were then taken off…

 

Doll Chateau Dennis. I love DV Vine and DZ Gray, and Dennis has that same feel to him. I'd love to get him to round out my boys, but he's been discontinued for so long ;;

 

The old Fairyland PukiPuki Sugar and Pongpong. Such cute sculpts and a shame that they don't have them as basics.

 

I missed out on the Dream of Doll era due to being too young to purchase dolls myself and wish I could’ve grabbed a Ducan, Elf I-Ra, or E-An.

 

I've only recently started to have "big girl money" to actually start collecting, but I remember lurking on forums and different sites while not knowing anything about the hobby other than "ooooh that looks cool!" haha. If I could go back and beg my parents on my hands and knees, I would really like to get a Dollzone Yui Fullset. I remember being soooo in love with her for like a year or so and just pulling up the dollzone website to look at her.

 

Old Dollzone dolls have my heart too, I was the same way when Stramonium and Tulip came out. Hopefully you come across Yui, I’m sure she’s out there somewhere!!!

 

if there's anything I'm regretting in recent memory, it's missing out on Dream Valley's Ghost Moth. I'm not into smaller dolls and ended up getting something else instead, but I keep looking her up again... what a gorgeous girl.

 

She really is stunning. Her extra limbs feel very natural and smooth too. Her sculpt just flows so nicely I don't know how to explain it.

 

There are many dolls I *think* I would want to have bought but in reality it's their company pics with company faceups and fullsets I'd fallen in love with, which is not really how I prefer to collect. So I'm happy with just the dream image I have of Petsha and Tender Shall I guess! Even though it would be fun to go back in time and see DOD still bang out amazing visions with their dolls!

Something I'll never find second hand is a Delf Dambi... but as a girl. I really wish I could travel back in time and put in an order for this rare one, maybe also get a sleeping head. Also Abio Angel dolls because the faces are so sweet and they, too, never seem to surface in the second hand market.

 

Doll Chateau Hugh.
they didn't even say they were discontinuing him! He wasn't on the list! they discontinued him anyway!
I'm still upset.

 

I need like 5 more Iplehouse Louis heads. This was a huge oversight on my part.

 

So many Souldolls (especially from their early Double line)... I have admired their company over the years, but at the time I started collecting I was focused on other companies like Luts/Volks and limited releases. So I never really focused on getting basic releases.

Souldoll has had several masss discontinuations of their dolls/lines. And now that I've shifted my collection in their direction, I'm realizing how hard it is to find some of their old standard dolls! Some sculpts were popular enough that you can find them 2nd hand fairly easily... and others are so hard to find an owner picture of, that I wonder how many dolls were actually produced of certain sculpts!

If I had a time machine the one I'd go back and get is the Double Star and Double Leroy (Leloy? - there were some different spellings on the site).

 

This wasn't even long ago, but last year Dolk released a character doll based off the anime series Mononoke. I was in between jobs at the time and figured he'd pop up on the secondhand market in time. It's been a year and I haven't found him, but even if I did, US shipping tariffs would make it impossible to nab him now. Mononoke

 

I heavily regret not getting that doll too he’s so beautiful and Mononoke merch is so hard to come by.

 

They had a doll for the medicine man!?!?! Oh my god noooo I would've given my left leg for him. I love Mononoke so much