Others Handling Your Dolls

I only let people touch my dolls of whom I know that they know the worth of them. So it is mainly people who I trust and I know they handle them with care. One of my besties is even afraid to move them, she just keeps holding them if I give them to her because she is so afraid something may break xD

 

Just my friend or dearest parent, who will never look my doll as children's toy =)))

 

Only other collectors/mature adults are allowed to handle my dolls. I've got a large local group and I trust most of them to be mindful of other people's dollls. I also happily share my dolls with friends and family, because most of them are mature enough to handle things with care. When I'm out and about with a doll, I never allow strangers to handle them. They can look, but they can't touch!

 

I don't let strangers hold my dolls. Only friends and family that understand how important they are to me. I had a run in the other day at the park that left a really bad taste in my mouth. Hubby and I took the kids to the park for some play time and i took a doll with me so i could get some photos in while we were there. It's a giant park, so i went to a spot away from the playground and where there were no other people. At least i thought there weren't. Anyway, a little girl came running up behind me and grabbed my doll from where i was setting up for pictures. I kinda paniced and told her to give her back and she yelled to her mom that i was being mean not lett ju ng her have the doll. The mom comes over and goes "ok, what's going on?" And i explained that i did not want her touching my doll let alone taking it. The mom looks at the doll and says "that's yours? That's totally creepy you know? You're too old to be playing with dolls. How much was it? I'll pay you for it." I told her that's not the issue and to give it back and she insisted on knowing the value. So i told her and she snatched the doll from her daughter and threw it to me. "That's disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourself." I looked the doll over to see if anything was damaged and told her i had nothing to be ashamed of and that her entitled attitude was more shameful than my hobby. And that she was lucky the doll wasn't damaged. She just retorted with "it's yourfault for bringing that trash to a child's playground." The playground was on the otherside of the park. I avoided that area specifically and told her as much that it didn't justify any of her actions. Needless to say that there was no apology and she smacked her kid in the back of the head while walking away. I can't say that a child is old enough to know something because both my children have learning disabilities so i can forgive the girl, but her mother... what a trainwreck. It just makes me stand more solidly on the grounds of if i don't know you, you can't touch. But I've also been around good experiences too. I went to a dollmeet and we had met in the local library. As the library is a public place, we had to let people outside come in to look around. Most people didn't, but there was this one father and his little girl that came in. She asked politely to hold one and one of the girls said that she would hold it for her but that they were too expensive to let her play with. And the dad started talking to another girl about them and they both seemed interested. So the dad says they have ti get going and asked where he would get one for the girl, and how much they cost. He got kinda pale when we told him the prices, but gave a couple of company names. I don't think the girl got one but, what i remember from that was how respectful they were not to touch the dolls. So it's about a 50/50 chance of the people being respectful or completely not.

 

I've not really been many places with my dolls yet (plus I've gained a couple more since my last meet XD), but i would think i am careful with who gets to hold. With my little abs hujoo and plapico dragons i don't mind who holds them as they are nowhere near expensive, and they are perfect tinies to introduce people to bjds. I'm also happy for my friends to hold my resin kids when I'm around, as they know they're expensive and mean a lot to me and treat them with respect. However i have since gained an sd who I'm not sure yet how I'd feel them holding (if they can, he's super heavy XD). At meets I'm much more happy letting anyone hold any of my dolls, as they probably know better than me how to do so XD Though i do get paranoid about them/those i don't know holding my tinies as - nothing against them - i worry they can be pocketed or misplaced a lot easier

 

Family: Yes!
Friends: Yes!
Doll Meetups: Yes
Strangers: Nooooo~

I might make an exception if it's someone who comes up and is like "Ahh! What a beautiful BJD! Can I touch it?" Because clearly they know a thing or two. Or of it's an older person who appears genuinely interested and mature about it (and not likely to, you know, yank on it). But for the most part, if it's not someone who understands what the doll is and how important they are (to me), I'd be very wary.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, when folks I know want to dress up or pose my BJDs I'm like YES let's do it!

 

To this day I've only let other people hold my dolls once, which was a friend of mine who was interested to see what handling one was like. Though she doesn't hold them my mum often gives me a hand when I need to restring someone who's strung to tightly (looking at you WithDoll Clarity and Asleep Eidolon Arweil)

But other than that it's a big NO. I'm so paranoid someone will drop them or steal them or dirty them or- okay I'll stop. Basically they mean a lot to me and I wouldn't risk them being damaged or taken. Ever. It doesn't help I have very little trust in people; not due to them but my own cynicism.

 

I once passed my doll though a McDonald’s drive-thru window because the employees were curious and friendly, so I may not be the best person to answer this. XD

However, it was a cheaper doll and one I took many places with me while traveling, so I wasn’t as concerned about him as I would have been with most. He already had some damage and yellowing and he didn’t have any delicate clothes or accessories, so whatever.

Most of the time, I trust friends and family who understand what the dolls are and what they cost. I trust most people at doll meets or conventions. With strangers, I try to use my best judgement. I like placing the doll in their hands so they can fully see how different they are from Barbie, help them understand just exactly why these dolls are worth so much, and maybe encourage them to get their own! But if they seem condescending, rude, entitled, careless or dirty? Nope. Stay away from my doll.

@Zavrinas I’m sorry you had such a terrible experience!! You’re never ‘too old’ to enjoy fun things! I think most people who tell you otherwise are often bitter people who have no hobbies or fun of their own.

 

@Zavrinas That sounds bloody horrifying.... I feel sorry for that girl, no way can it be good for her development to have a mom like that.

I don't personally carry my dolls around outside so I've never had many encounters with strangers. If I have, it's usually in the context of a doll meet when curious people come over, or when I'm carrying my doll around at a con (got a lot of "I like your doll" comments ). I'm pretty paranoid about letting other people handle them considering my own clumsy hands have hurt them on occasion, so yeah, I wouldn't let other people touch them unless I really trusted them. And it's different if they're already in the hobby and know how important/valuable these dolls are, too.

 

Absolutely. I'm not precious about them. Dolls are playthings, what's the point of having them if they don't get played with. One of mine went home form a convention with a friend's toddler and got collected next time I babysat.

Teddy

 

@IceQueensQuest thank you. My doll and I are both fine. Yeah, it's like people have no respect for anything lately. And she's not really doing her daughter any favors showing that kind of attitude. :/

@bickazer I'll admit, i found it really hard to breathe while the girl had my doll and when the mom threw her at me. And yeah, i feel the same for her daughter.

 

I don't really like it when someone else handles my doll, so I rarely let someone hold it much less play with it. The girl I have isn't super expensive, but she still means a lot to me and I wouldn't want something to happen because I let someone else handle her.

 

As long as people can listen to the most basic of instructions not to touch the face, I’m fine with them handling most of my dolls—however, I am more choosy about who gets to hold Gunther, who is on the Dollshe 24m Pose+ body because he is both quite heavy and prone to flopping unexpectedly and most non-doll people probably wouldn’t know how to hold him. Second, Uriah is pretty much only handled by me because of his extensive tattoos—I’m careful about how his joints are moved to avoid scarring up the sealant. The rest are pretty user-friendly.

 

I will totally let my mom hold my doll. She gets the whole peice of art thing. My hubby...? Im pretty wary of having him around my girl. He once suggested i use sharpie on her to get some measurements. I do need his help sometimes when i am putting on her clothes, or getting measurements, but i never let him near her unsupervised.

As for anyine else? Absolutly not.

 

I don't really get around too many people with my dolls but like most I let close friends who understand the value of the doll and my husband touch them. I dont have any expensive faceups or tattoo work on any of mine currently so im not too worried about people handling them but i definitely wouldnt let a stranger hold them, maybe my Ondinn since shes small and rather durable for her size since im not the gentlest person with my dolls. im careful but there have been times my doll has been pusehd off the edge of my desk by a chair by accident or something. Either way i'd be quite picky and if a stranger atleast understand that these need a little extra attention to hold, i may let them.

 

@CloakedSchemer thank you. This hobby is very important to me and makes me very happy. My husband supports me in it and loves how happy i get with the hobby. And my daughter thinks it's the coolest thing ever to be able to do what i do with them (the customizing and crafting). That's all I really need.

 

Sealant will collect finger oils and grime if touched, but the added challenge with body blushing and tattoos is the friction of tightly-strung joints rubbing together. The sealant will eventually rub off and the edges will be visible. I put moleskin or thin leather in the joints of my blushed dolls both to help with posing and to protect sealant, but one must accept it will eventually become damaged with any significant amount of movement and play. I hear it is possible to do a tougher/more permanent seal job with clear epoxy, but I’ve never done it (and I’m not nearly in love enough with my artwork to put it on a doll permanently.)

 

I haven't really had a doll that long but I think I'd let my family (with exceptions of my cousins (just very entitled ..all of them) and my son (only 1)) hold them and probably anyone at a doll meet, I don't think I could let anyone else just because I am worried they won't understand how careful I'd like them to be an how much they are worth

 

I've let people at meets and close friends handle my dolls. Just to chime what some other people said, as long as they are mature and understand the value, monetary and sentimental, then I feel comfortable with it.

 

Due to all my current dolls having face plates, I don't usually let other people hold them unless I know for sure that they are going to be carefully. I myself have flung a few faces in my day lol

 

Big nope for me, I don't really like it when people put their hands on my dolls, I don't know where they've been. BJD collectors, maybe. Anyone else, including family, is a no... I love them but I get really bad anxiety about it since they aren't familiar with the hobby - it's me, not them, I know my dolls can handle it but...

 

The only qualm I'd really have is handing off one of my dolls with intricately hand-styled hair... my method for holding it in place is really resilient, but I'm always afraid the slightest breeze will ruin my hard work.

Still, everyone who has ever handled my dolls is 80x more careful with them then I am, so I probably shouldn't worry about it lol

 

I don't really disclose to those in my life the cost of my dolls, so many see them as just toys. Luckily most people don't try to handle my dolls either. I don't let any of my kid family members even in my bedroom because I have multiple breakable things in there. My grandmother has handled my dolls before, but she collects porcelain dolls and was pleasantly surprised to find that mine are more durable than hers. (I think she wants one now even.) Haven't had the chance to attend a doll meet yet, but I'd probably let those I met handle my dolls before I let most of my family.

 

For me, it depends very much on the person. I'm not overly precious about them, but I also don't want them to be damaged, so I gauge how the person will behave with it and make sure they know my dolls are more expensive and less resilient than playline dolls before handling them. But I'll regularly let people at meets or convention panels handle my dolls, especially if it gets them interested in BJDs in general, or a particular company (my DollPamm girl is quite popular!). Similarly, I'll let people in other settings look closely or, if they seem responsible enough, handle with some limits, but most of the time they'll decline once they're made aware of the general cost of them.

 

I probably will only let ppl who knows what they are handling.

 

I don’t mind my family holding or moving them. I sometimes tell my mum to be a bit more careful, but really I’m glad my family are very accepting of the dolls being around the house. My nephews have handled the dolls, but they’re older now and not greatly interested now they’ve seen them a few times. They were mildly curious when the dolls first arrived but they’re good kids and were careful when I explained so no issues. My parents sometimes have to move them if they’re in the way downstairs, & don’t ask me, they’ll just move the dolls to sit somewhere safe.

Outside of my family, I’m a bit more wary. While I’m not very delicate with the dolls myself - they are essentially there to be posed, modified, dressed and otherwise messed around with - I think I’d be very irritated if a stranger damaged one, and it’s not worth the row.

I’m much more careful with some than others, so company face ups are protected more than my own, expensive dolls more than their cheaper buddies, and the ones with body blushing even more so (gah, chips). But mostly if people I know relatively well want to have a hold of the dolls, I’m okay with it.

 

I only let some of my friends and bf handle my dolls, even when my friends play with them, i have to watch! lol

 

because i have a doll owner friends, the only people i let handle my dolls are people i know have dolls themselves and understand the preciousness of dolls. i don't even let my family touch my dolls. expecially my younger brother

 

I’m fine with it as long as they understand it’s a little bit more than just holding a Barbie lol. It’s mostly just my friends being curious so they’re very careful and know not to be too rough. My stepsister also likes dolls so I’ve shown mine to her but I ask her to be very careful and she’s good at it! She’s very gentle so I’m alright with it.

 

I'm the type who will go 'here hold Victoria' or more lately it is 'here hold Rhiannon' when people express interest in my dolls - but this is usually at conventions or doll meets where I view my roll as ambassador of BJDs. I do the lecture of 'she's heavier than she looks' and 'please don't touch the face', but generally trust people to be respectful. I haven't had people grab them without asking in public though when I'm in public its usually a two-person job so that there is always someone playing spotter.

 

It depends in my opinion. I would never let an immature child hold my doll but in the past i have let children touch my doll only if i am holding it. I am careful to see if the child is clean or not as well. she is a smart doll so she is not very likely to break. I have let strangers hold my doll but this was a one time occurrence and not something i will do again.

 

I'm pretty cool with people handling my dolls. I probably wouldn't hand my most expensive one over to a young child or something, but once I'm reasonably certain they'll be careful enough, sure. Even more so at meets. I had taken some dolls to a meetup and a fellow collector was taking pics of them and was asking if she was allowed to pose them and I just kinda shoved my boy in her face like "what'choo waitin for?", not really getting what she was asking for (even though I wouldn't touch others' dolls without their permission either).

I think part of the reason for that is that my dolls are by no means the most expensive things in my household that get moved / carried around a lot. My least expensive instrument is still more expensive than my least expensive doll. My most expensive instrument probably cost more than all of my dolls put together, I dunno. That's when I get nervous about people handling my stuff. (Confession time - I won't even let people hold a bag that has my flute in it. I know they're not gonna run off with it, and I know it's safe in its case, but still. Feels like I'm handing over my soul.) So yeah, compared to that - letting people handle my dolls is ok.

 

In the past I used to let people handle my dolls at meetups. Unfortunately after a few situations where my dolls were mishandled by doll owners of all people, I generally don't allow people to touch them anymore. If I let you hold them now, you're someone I trust.

 

I'm a nervous nelly so I only let family and close friends handle my doll! I especially wouldn't feel comfortable with strangers holding him... but if I was at a doll meet up someday, I might consider it depending on how trustworthy they seem!

 

Never had a family member express much interest in holding my dolls which I don’t mind. I let my friends hold them because they’re even more careful than I am and listen to my requests without fighting me on it. I guess I wouldn’t let the average Joe handle them just because I doubt they’d realize how expensive dolls can be, but then again that’s never been a problem for me since I don’t take my dolls out in public or leave them in plain sight. If I ever got a doll with delicate parts I’d probably be more protective. I think it’d be for the best since if a friend broke a doll they’d be just as heartbroken as I would be.

 

I generally don't mind as long as people just ask first. It's really jarring to just see someone... reach out and touch/grab a doll though.

 

I'm not comfortable with someone grabbing an expensive art doll that you handle carefully yourself as the owner. It's just too easy for an accident to happen that way. I guess if they take instruction first that would be o.k. But I would rather grab a jointed MTM Barbie for them to try instead of a resin Bjd as my first choice. It is kind of sweet to see people who upon seeing your doll love it on first sight so much their arms come out wanting to hug it unconsciously.

 

Generally I don't let others handle my dolls. My cousin is really the only one who really appreciates my dolls (other than my mother). One time I let my cousin hold my Lusis. She was just so amazed by how detailed her face was, she touched her faceup. I let her know not to do that and she stopped and respectfully said sorry. It was my fault because I didn't tell her not to. Now I know to let people know that they are expensive collector's items and not to touch their faces.

I would let my best friends hold them but they are absolutely terrified of my dolls

 

i'd be way too terrified to let anyone else handle my dolls orz the only one ill let be held is my pukifee, bc i'm not super attached and she only generally gets shown to people who already know me/bjds so it's not a concern of care. but anything bigger than that? no way. not that i really run into people who i would show them to; i'm frightened to take them anywhere, and even if i did they'd be safely in a bag 90% of the time rather than exposed. it's a big investment for me (the idea of buying anything "useless" ie not crucial for daily living got scared out of me from an early age) so if i lost a doll to even a pure chance accident i'd be horrified, never mind if they were carelessly damaged or god forbid stolen ....

all that being said, when i can finally get my msd out of storage and back safely in hand, i think i might want to try taking him outside for pictures .... even if it is risky business ^^'

 

It depends a lot on just who is doing the holding,... in general though I've been pretty chill about letting other people handle my dolls. Though so far no kids have wanted to/had the opportunity to hold my dolls. I think I'd probably a lot more cautious with kids than I am with adults.
With all the adults I've had hold my dolls I pretty much just ask them not to touch their face and explain about skin oils messing up the face-up. But other than that don't really worry too much, since my dolls have all been fully clothed when they've been handled and the adults in question know enough to not be too rough with the dolls.

 

You can't trust anyone, well at least I can't so no one would ever touch them.

 

Exactly! that's the only problem, finding people that know how to handle them and be respectful with things that belong to others. I'm not selfish or stingy, It's just that people need to know not everything is a toy.

 

I'm definitely one to show off the posing ability of my dolls by just handing them over.
Usually it's Ruthie, and her favorite prank is to pop off her mag hand when they go to move it. She also has no faceup atm, and is already yellowed and tumbled, and perpetually a toddler so I don't worry too much about her in others' hands.
Carrie has a fancy faceup and a fussy wig so I'm a bit less likely to just hand her over--- I'm a bit less likely to have her out on the daily anyway bc of it.
When I get my new big girl, Idk what I'll do yet. All my others are secondhand.

 

I wouldn't let my nieces or nephews touch them since they are only children.
Only my mother and boyfriend ever touched my doll.

 

I’m perfectly fine with people handling my dolls if they ask first. I tell people they need to have clean hands, for the wigs and clothes, and not to touch the face because of possible damage from hand oil. So far everyone I’ve had approach me has respectfully followed those guidelines, and no one has done anything rude or damaging. If I owned $3000 art dolls, I probably would be pickier, but none of my dolls have delicate fantasy parts or body blushing, so I enjoy letting others experience how the dolls work and feel. Had a guy who’d never seen them before drop by our local meetup this weekend, and he was surprised by the weight of my Volks tiny. I remember feeling the exact same way the first time I ever held one.

 

No one really gets a chance to touch my dolls besides my mom or close friends, all of which are aware of the hobby and how expensive the dolls are. I don't think I'd let any of my extended family touch them if that situation ever arose, and I certainly wouldn't let a stranger. Sure, my RS was cheap but I'm not risking $150 on a stranger.

 

In general I don't let people handle my dolls. Most folks aren't familiar with them & don't realize that the dolls are expensive & somewhat fragile. I will let my doll friends play with them as they respect them for the art they are. It was mainly thanks to a friend letting me play with her BJDs that I became interested & I think that's a good way to promote these dolls to other doll collectors. In fact, one friend fell in love with my Not Doll Lab Lucy & bought one for herself.

 

I would probably let other doll-peple hold and touch them but so far I have had no good experiences even with friends. They just grab them and try to put them in weird poses and think it is so funny to leave them like that to see my reaction when I notice it... I recently got pretty upset about it and therefore I tell people to please leave them alone. To them they have no value and they think it is crazy to spend so much money "just for some doll".
I try to place them on shelves and behind glass where they are not too easy to be reached and hope to keep them save this way XD I am used to the comments and I don't as long as people keep their hands off my cuties

 

The only person I let touch my dolls is my fiancee, because she gets how much they mean to me and she's careful. It doesn't stop me from telling her to keep her fingers away from the face every time, but that's probably my problem.

 

I probably wouldn't mind letting friends in the hobby handle mine, especially if they're showing me how to do something. Outside of the hobby, I'd be pretty leery.

 

I'm VERY paranoid about letting others touch and hold my dolls. No one I know personally knows how to handle a ball-jointed doll, and I hate telling them "Don't do this, don't touch that, don't bend the arm that way." It makes me feel like a fussbudget.

 

I have never taken my dolls out before. My husband likes to handle them. My daughter likes them but doesn’t try to touch. So I don’t know if I would be ok with strangers touching unless it is someone in the hobby.

 

My friends and parents, yes. Others, no.

 

I let my boyfriend and some close friends handling my dolls but I'm really afraid when that happens Lol

 

Only my family have really met my dolls and I'm happy for them to handle them. It can be really interesting to see how they pose them actually because it's usually in ways I wouldn't have thought of.

 

I don't mind letting others hold/touch my dolls but I also immediately tell them not to touch the face. The only doll that I get a bit antsy about people touching is Mkhai and only because I spent 36 hours metal leafing him and I REALLY don't want to have to touch that up since the process is so intensive and the sealant takes 6 weeks to fully cure.

There has been a person who I'd wrongly assumed would be ok to handle my dolls since they were also a doll owner. It's not that they were very rough but that once they finished taking photos, they simply walked away from where they'd posed my boy, leaving him standing on a ledge about 3' off the ground (which was concrete) and in a public place with a good bit of foot traffic. Fortunately, that doll is a rock when standing and nothing happened but it could've been a disaster. Because of that, there are very few people I'll let take my doll more than 10' feet from me and generally I watch them like a hawk the entire time.