Keeping or removing custom faceups on second hand dolls

Personally, if I sell a doll with a custom Faceup on it it's because I don't mind if the next owner uses it. I hope it is helpful to them if they can't or don't wish to replace it right away. If in doubt I would ask the seller, no reason not to, if you are able.
Sometimes, I keep whatever Faceup on the doll when I receive one for a while... Actually I have one now with her old Faceup over a year (though I don't know if it's custom or not) but at any rate, even though I repaint my own dolls in certain circumstances sometimes it's just really helpful to have something you can use to get you started until you know what you would change and have the resources.

 

If I sell a doll it's not mine anymore so the new owner is free to change whatever fancies them.

And for my position as new owner, I've kept some faceups from second hand dolls, and changed some of them. It all depends.

 

I agree with Blablette, I am fine with people who buy dolls from me keeping face ups on dolls. I only keep face up if it's in good condition. Who did it doesn't matter. Most of my second hand dolls came with factory and a few were custom, but if it is damaged I will replace.

 

I have never made a faceup before so I would keep the old faceup, if is nice or the factory faceup I wouldn't touch it, but if it has several damaged beyond repair, or an amateur faceup, or just plain ugly faceup, I would take it off and save the sculpt for later, maybe I can find a good deal with a commission on Instagram from one of the artists I like.

 

So far I've kept all the custom faceups on my 2nd hand dolls - mostly bc it was the faceup that drew me in somehow. Though like mentioned by others, if it originally bought with some damage I would replace it.

There's only one custom I'm unsure about keeping rn and can't decide if the faceup (tho it's what I originally fell in love with) is what is blocking me from bonding/finishing the doll even after I've had him over 10 yrs But it's gorgeous work and I feel conflicted about getting all that wiped and then still not doing anything with the poor dude

 

When I go browse the secondhand market, it's with all intent to customize the doll to how I envisioned the character to be. So unless the secondhand sculpt's faceup matches the writeup spot-on, it's going to get wiped sooner or later. I've sold dolls with custom faceups before, and I totally don't mind if their new owners decide to overhaul their appearances. It's already their property, after all.

 

I'm another in the keep or wipe depends on the doll camp. I buy mostly second hand dolls. I've got dolls with factory faceups, some over ten years old. Styles have changed, but the faceups are in good shape and I think it gives the dolls a certain charm, so I don't wipe them. And I have a couple with faceups from an artist I love that I would never wipe unless they were irreparably damaged. But if a doll came to me with a faceup I didn't like or didn't suit my plans, I'd wipe in a heartbeat.

 

Whenever I’m looking to buy a doll, whether new or second-hand, I always have an original character in mind that I’m trying to shell. Sometimes the doll I bring home needs to have the faceup removed and a new one created to suit the character. And sometimes the existing faceup is an extra added bonus that allowed me to more easily recognize my character in that doll, so it stays. I wouldn’t hesitate to wipe a faceup or to keep it on a doll I own. It’s as simple as that.

 

If I like the faceup enough I keep I (sometimes the faceup is what attracted em to the doll or head) otherwise it goes.

Since 90 of my dolls are children, not adults or teems, many favceups go becaue they look too mture or look like the dolls is wearing makeup, but the deciding factor is my liking of/aesthetic preferences, not the fact that somoen else chose the faceup when they owned the doll. If they were that concerned about the faceup not being kept by someone else they could have wiped it before selling. Therefore, by selling it with faceup in place they aren't concerned about somone else having and keeping it.

Teddy

 

I was going to say that I'm not sure I've bought a secondhand doll with a custom faceup, but then I remembered my volks Nono came with one! She kept hers for a few years because I liked it a lot, and I think she had had it for a few years before that. Eventually it needed a refresh, so I wiped it a year or two ago.

My JID Daniel also came with one but it was immediately wiped because of damage and for customizing. Most dolls I buy second hand are already wiped since the seller probably wiped it beforehand, or never had one, or have the factory face. I don't mind either way if they have a custom face - if they do i'd probably keep it for a while since it saves me from having to add another immediate faceup to the list same with selling, but I haven't sold any of my heads with a custom face yet. If someone wanted it wiped though I wouldn't mind.

 

I've kept a faceup on a secondhand doll exactly once, and that's really because I had no particular vision about what I'd do differently and it's a fairly neutral (and beautiful!) faceup. Otherwise I don't know that I'd keep 'em--I'm in camp "I want to customize my dolls", so I might keep it for a time but not forever. So I guess I'm also saying "it depends on the faceup" but more often than not, that faceup is gonna go. I have actually passed on a secondhand head before because the faceup was too beautiful for me to want to wipe, haha, and it didn't fit what I would have done myself.

 

Whenever I need to sell a sculpt, I wipe them before listing them. Since I'm character-oriented and do all my own faceups, I'd rather wipe the slate clean for the next person so they can do with it what they wish. That ensures that they're blank and ready for the next person who wants to give them new life.

When it comes to my buying habits when I purchase secondhand, I tend to make an extra effort to search for a blank version of the sculpt I'm looking for. I often feel terrible wiping a custom faceup, especially if it's from a highly sought after artist. I'm less particular regarding company faceups (and would feel more comfortable wiping those), unless it was from a special fullset release.

The only real exception I have (or would tend to in the future) is the secondhand Lumedoll Atik I have. I love him the way I got him—plus I don't particularly like doing faceups in that scale. If I were to get Atik a companion in the future, the same protocol would apply—keep the previous faceup, and make sure to look for one that already has a faceup.

Kind of a different perspective on the wipe or keep custom secondhand faceups, but that's the way I approach it.

 

it depends! Sometimes the custom face-ups are just really nice neutral makeup and i tend to keep that face-up till it starts to fall apart. Fantasy makeup likely is to get wiped if i didn't buy the doll specifically with the want of keeping that face-up. A lot of fantasy face-ups are specific concepts to the previous owner, so i don't keep them.
I will eventually redo my secondhand dolls faces, but i prioritize getting their outfit, eyes, and wig. The face redo can wait if they have nice makeup till i have their stuff. Especially cause im working towards shelling my Characters.

 

I wipe and do it myself, but that's because I'm really picky about faceups fitting my characters. It could be professional and absolutely stunning, but not "right" for my character. I've actually sold a few dolls because they didn't truly feel like mine with somebody else's faceup, but it was too beautiful or valuable to wipe.

As to being acceptable to keep it--I think it's perfectly fine. If a faceup is so specific and special for a character, then I think a seller should wipe it before selling. It's what I do. If it's too personal, wipe and sell blank. If I don't mind someone keeping that faceup for their character, I leave it. I don't really think it's fair to sell a doll with a faceup, then complain that a buyer kept it.

 

I keep them since if I buy secondhand, the faceup is a factor on whether I buy it or not. If it's a custom faceup that I don't like, I usually won't buy it because someone else who likes the faceup could buy it. Even if I do buy dolls with custom faceups I don't really like, I still keep it. Well, at least so far.

 

Usually I buy second handed dolls with makeup just for their faceup, otherwise I can always get a new dolls. Unless if the head is limited or discontinued or whatever and I want the head so badly, that’s when I would get it regardless of the makeup.

 

Honestly, I've had older dolls that I've sold pop up on eBay or in people's flikr accounts and I'm always pleasantly surprised when they've kept the faceup that did at the time. It makes me happy to think that my girl's face still exists....
And I've kept most faceups or literally bought them because of their faceup.

 

It’s entirely your choice at the end of the day but I agree with those who say that it’s now your doll, the previous owner has no say in the matter.
A lot of the dolls I’ve had over the years have been bought second hand and almost always I remove the faceup if it has one. Only once have I kept the faceup and that was on a Fairyland Realfee June, he looked so cute with it.

I’ve sold many dolls over the years too and usually with the faceups I’ve done on them however once they are no longer my property they become whatever their new owner wishes them to be as it should be.

Personally I avoid buying dolls with faceups by sought after artists even if the doll is something I really want because I don’t want to remove it and I also don’t want to pay extra for something that isn’t my taste most of the time. I respect the work the artist has done too much.

If you’re still undecided how about keeping the faceup it has as a base and add your own personal touches to it as a compromise.

 

A few months ago there was a second hand doll I passed on because it had a really lovely face-up from an artist that doesn’t seem to be doing them anymore.

The sculpt is one I had liked for a long while, but the face-up didn’t align with what I wanted to do with this doll at all. I absolutely could not have brought myself to wipe it and so I looked for a different doll instead (one I ended up liking better anyway).

I still kept my eye on that listing, hoping that someone who loved the face up would snap it up and post pictures. It seems that the seller changed her mind on selling it because she removed the sale and kept it. I saw in her doll profile for it that she loves the face-up so I am doubly glad for my decision in all of this.

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping an existing faceup if that's your jam. If the seller really took issue with it, then they would take the time and effort to wipe it before selling.

On the buyer side, I will send my dolls out to be redone at some point, since I think of customizing them as an important part of my bonding process. However, I love when I gel with an existing custom faceup! It makes the interim period before I get a new faceup way more fun!

 

Depends on the quality of the face-up, if it is default/from original company or not, or was made by a talented face-up artist, I tend to prefer to buy mint from original company fullset dolls. If I do buy from the secondhand marketplace, I tend to purchase similar fullset dolls with original company face-ups. If it is a rare doll or a doll whose face-up done is by a really good face-up artist, I'll consider keeping the doll as is. If the original face-up is severely damaged, doesn't meet my standards/aesthetics, or the doll is super rare but has an awful after market face-up, I'll consider bringing the doll to something like the Volks "Dolly Doctor" where they can redo the face-up to original factory level or find a different face-up artist whose aesthetic fits close to mines.

I think once the doll is in your possession, you can do whatever you want to it. People should do whatever they want because the doll belongs to them and it is up to their own personal preferences what to do. Just because we share a hobby doesn't mean I'm going to restrict you to do things my way. Like, I tend to prefer to keep original company face-ups as that is part of the reason why I fell in love with a doll. But I would be aghast if someone were to force me to try to redo all my dolls in a style that doesn't fit me or my aesthetic. So you do you and it is okay. I'm not here to judge your preferences or choices. I'm going to support you as a fellow BJD owner to enjoy the hobby.

 

I prefer to buy secondhand dolls where I really love the faceup already, but I won't hesitate to wipe it if I really want the sculpt and that's the only way to get one. I do try to avoid buying and wiping artist fullsets regardless, though- it feels like too much of my money and the artist's effort wasted.

 

As someone whose bought 2 secondhand dolls, I kept the faceup for one and chose to commission an artist for the second. I think once you buy it, you shouldn't feel limited by the doll's history. BJDs are meant to channel creativity.

 

Yes! That's a very good way of putting it.

Teddy

 

Only two of the dolls I've bought have come with previous custom faceups. One of them, the faceup was described as a selling point (I believe the artist was/is well known, but I've forgotten their name) and the other was simply the previous owner's work.

With the first, I kept the faceup because it's lovely and because I didn't know the previous owner and the way it was presented to me, keeping the faceup didn't feel that weird. For the second, I've only gotten him recently and his faceup is adorable! But since I got him directly from the previous owner, keeping his faceup feels... weird? (But it's so cute and I dunno what to do, so he still has it for now.)

As far as my own dolls, the only one I've sold I sold blank, but if I did sell one with a custom faceup I would love it if the new owner liked it enough to keep it! I'd never be offended if they wiped it, though.

I'd never put much thought into people's thoughts on secondhand faceups, since I don't have a lot of experience on either side. It's pretty interesting to see!