Things I no longer buy as BJD collector

I'm with you on the "no more pleather"-thing... I've lost a few too many favorite pieces and pricey sets over the last few years to ever waste money or time with that stuff again. Lesson learned, there.

 

I also agree with the "no more pleather" and fortunately, I haven't had to deal with it personally, I just know the stories. But I'm really interested in hearing others' opinions on other things in a "word of warning" sort of way.

 

Magic erasers because dealers (ACBJD etc) pop them into the box every time I buy something It has become my side collection.

 

100% no faux leather stuff

I haven't been in the hobby long enough to really know what 'not to buy' (aside from faux leather). But I do have some general 'no buy' rules:

1) No faux leather!
> Yes it absolutely needs repeating! Don't fall for the pretty leather-like fullset!

2) No metals!
> Unless you know for sure it's stainless steel make or some other non-tarnishing or non-plated metal and won't rust to oblivion in a year

3) No discounted heads
> YMMV, I bought a few discounted Dollmore heads for faceup practice, but other than that, the age/yellowing of the heads might disappoint if you planned to use them for something other than practice

And that's all I can think of at the moment

 

At first, I was like, "Lol. I buy everything." But then I realized there is indeed stuff I no longer buy!

Eye putty - Walmart sells poster putty for $5. Same stuff, and you get tons of it.

Silicone "kips" - they're called flexible silicone washers, and you can get hundreds of them for a few bucks at the hardware store.

MSC (for me) - too pricey, too toxic, too temperamental (humidity, temperature). Water-based airbrush sealant works fine.

Restringing tools - jewelry wire, floral wire, twist ties from play line dolls.

Elastic or wire from BJD companies - shock cord for boats (comes in multiple colors!) and plant wire at the hardware store.

Really, any accessories labeled for "BJDs" are probably repurposed tools from somewhere else that I can get cheaper and easier.

BJD jewelry - human stuff is fine. Anklets and bracelets make perfectly good doll necklaces.

Oh - one thing I will never buy, no matter who makes it: doll belts. I destroy those things. I am Conan the Barbarian when it comes to doll belts. I give up.

 

Have to agree with @juni-fee with wanting to know what others have found out they don’t buy anymore either. I haven’t been too deep in the hobby myself to really know what I wouldn’t buy anymore. Always get distracted by new doll faces so for me, it’d probably be putting a rein on how many dolls I really truly want/can manage!

@MaleficentMrsofEvil, you provided such wonderful information on alternate means of using everyday items around us and not just ones strictly marketed for the BJD hobby! I hope it’s alright that I copy those ideas down for later use! They are really interesting insights.

 

Cannot stop laughing at the barbarian comment xD

 

I agree on No Pleather - I’ve had several items disintegrate. I don’t buy restringing tools - I use a $5 Dritz Elastic Threader and some kitchen twine. I stopped buying wig caps and use fabric store Velcro.

 

bjd elastics, I use shock cord now too.
kips, they are a nuisance
pleather, I don't expect everything to last forever, but boy when it's ready to go, what a huge mess it is to clean up

 

The pleather comments hit too close to home. Watching beautiful doll boots and belts melt into a million fragments has always been depressing. I don’t buy the restringing tools either. All it took was one time for one of them to unbend while I was using it because of the force of the elastic, scratching my doll when it shot backwards, and I’ve never wanted to put another metal hook near one of my resin babies again.

 

I'm lazy, so I do end up buying a lot of things, but here are a few I stay away from.

Casual clothing items- stuff like t-shirts, plain pants, sweaters; I find I can make most of those myself for cheaper
Doll jewelry- again, I can make that myself
Elastic from BJD companies- it's easier to get and cheaper from craft stores
Face protectors- you get a free one with almost every doll (I have TONS) and I guess you can use starbucks lids anyway
Eye putty- I don't like the clay stuff the companies use anyway, and sticky tac is way cheaper and easier to get
Restringing tools (with a caveat)- I highly recommend getting a head-puller tool, it's been a life-saver, but otherwise just use folded wire

 

Couldn't aggree more. Some of my dolls are in danger of goign shoeless as a result, however. I spent a fortune on shoes and boots in the right styles and colours for them that have all flaked horribly and I'm reluctant throw more money at replacing them - they're the sort fo thign that the few places making shoes in real leather don't seem to make and, while not all faux leather doll shoes flake, you have no way of telling in advance which ones will and which ones won't. It's very frustrating.

I don't buy modern clothes for mine (except the YoSD and smaller sizes) any more. They all seem to end up in some variant of vintage, or historical styes as their default, and the few, more recent dolls that do defautl to modern clothes are more than adequately catered for by all the modern suff I still have from mistakenly buying it for earlier dolls.

Other than that it's:

- Eye putty - I bought several packs of silicone ear plugs over ten years ago, and haven't finished the first one yet

- Elastic or wire from BJD companies - There are way cheaper sources for the same things

- Eyes marketed specifically for BJDs - I buy other doll eayes (reborning eyes are realistic, attractive, come in na variety of sizes and colours, and cost a fraction of what the ones marketed specifically for BJDs cost).

- (some) Shoes marketed specifically for BJDs - "basic" styles like slip on flats, mary janes, and sandals etc are readily available for other dolls in many sizes that fit BJD, aren't in expensive Faux leather that might peel/flake in a few years time, don't have the massive price-hike that being for "BJD" adds to them. I jsut wish the same were true of more fancy styles (like "Victorian"boots)

- Jewelry - I have a collection of lovely bits , 90% of which I never get around to putting on a doll. Its just not something I generally think about when dresing a doll (most of mine are children, rahter than teens or adults so not wearing jewelry isn't a big gap in their aesthetic).

- High dome eyes - The dome restricts the positioning of the eye in the socket so they can usually only be set looking straight ahead. And, no matter how you position them, they make the eyes look crooked in photos no matter how fine they look in person.

Teddy

 

- No faux leather for me either, exception being dolls I can't find shoes for because of their weird size but knowing what will happen and for that reason getting as cheap a pair as possible with the intention of reusing the soles myself eventually and making my own shoes
- Wig caps and wigs in general. I haven't bought a wig in about 10 years, I make them myself and so I don't need wig caps either.
- As cobaltconduct said, magic erasers. I bought one many years ago I still have but I've been receiving even more from dealers, I'm probably set for life
- Doll jewellery, as said, many human one can work for dolls or I make my own.
- Knit clothing since I knit myself.
- I don't buy faceup services anymore, I do my own, I find it less stressful.
- MSC. I hate the stuff. I only used a can many many years ago. I switched to Citadel after that MSC can and I liked it more and used that for years, now it's no longer available and I've switched to liquitex with the sponge method. Learning curve but satisfied to not worry about my lungs as a bonus.
- Anything that is targeted towards BJD maintenance I never buy from BJD places, usually the prices are bloated. So things that have been said here like eye putty, silicone kips, elastic, restringing tools, head-puller tool.
For the head-puller tool, in case it could be useful to someone, I recommend looking for a tent peg puller or a trampoline spring tool, even an S hook without sharp ends if that's enough for you. I guess it will depend on where you're from but those were so much cheaper for me than the tools they sell on BJD specific websites.

I must be unlucky because my dolls always come without one and I don't usually go to starbucks either. If anyone has any suggestions for other things that could be used for this I would appreciate it!

 

I've used plastic cups - I cut the rim off until they're reasonably shallow and make sure to pad around the cut edge so there are no scratches. V cheap n easy to get.

 

-BJD underwear. Sometimes I will buy a particularly cute pair but for some reason i used to think it was a necessity at all times
-BJD Jewelry. It's too easy to DIY it!

 

In terms of modern undies, I tend to go for the less expnsive options sold for non-BJD dolls where I know the fit is close enough.

Period style undies is a combination of buy or make and most of the bought ones arent actually aimed at BJD's

Teddy

 

I'm intrigued by these "no pleather" comments. I have pleather stuff from a decade ago that is just fine (though my dolls have never been in storage and stay in my house in a bedroom, so that might help save them) yet almost everything new pleather that I've bought in the past year already has damage, some started to crack before I even got it fully out of the package.

Which leads me to my (mostly) "no more" thing: cheap stuff. Clothing and accessories, mostly, but some wigs and shoes too. I feel like the last few times I've bought from Ali Express, eBay, and sadly, two of my favorite dealers, I've been extremely disappointed. It seems like at least 1/4 of what I order ends up being out of stock and they tell me to pick something else, which is disappointing enough. And for the stuff that does arrive, the quality varies wildly from pretty good, to obviously cheap, to outright unusable. At this point, I'd rather spend twice as much from a shop whose quality does meet my standards and is consistent.

 

The problem is you can't tell if it will flake an crack until it hapopens. How expensive or inexpensive they are doesn't apper to be a factor.

I have faux leather stuff from years ago that has flaked, and others that are absolutely fine. The cheapest faux leather shoes I've bought my dolls (and I have a LOT of them in different sizes colours and styles bought over many years from a place that is sadly out of business now) are actually the ones that have never flaked or deteriorated. More expensive ones, as well as other brands of inexpensive ones, of various vintages have cracked and flaked, while others of similar vintages have not.

Teddy

 

- Furniture and big props in general: I'm just fed up of props occupying more space than the dolls themselves. I colecct most 1/3 and it's a pain to store huge dolls, but at least they fit in my wardrobe. Furniture most of the time has to be kept on the floor, wich bothers me. Also, I'm not into setting huge scenarios for photoshoots anymore, so it only makes me tired to look at the mess on my doll room. I'm currently selling everything.

- BJD Underwear: I've never considered it important to be honest, so I never bought any. My girlfriend, however, can't let any of her dolls without underwear, so she handmade me some and I use it because she's my sweetpie and it makes her happy

- BJD jewelry, elastics, tools and pretty much everything that can be bought at a local store: As stated above, it's much easier, cheaper and faster to look around for these in normal stores.

About the pleather thing, most of my pleather stuff looks great after 10+ years. Ironically, the itens that deteriorated the most were the ones I bought from expensive shops So... I keep buying the cheap ones hahahah

 

Thank you for the suggestion!! I'll check if I can find some locally.

Totally agree. This is the same for me and the reason I don't want to risk it anymore if I can avoid it, it's a lottery. Price doesn't seem to correlate to the quality of pleather. In fact, personally, I've had more this problem with expensive shoes than cheap ones and it's the reason I prefer to go for the cheap ones expecting it to happen at some point and with the intent of upcycling as much as possible of them once they're in very bad condition.

 

Lucky/Blind bags. I’ve gotten too many things that were obviously poor sellers at the shops selling the bags. I have gotten a few good things but really? I’d rather just buy what I want.

 

RIP my ridiculously pricey Luts "Armadillo" armored outfit sets..
The HZ white set with the fur collar...
My Lati Red Adel's and Chaim's full set outfits...

Over here it's always the $$$ things that die the death of a thousand pleather flakes.

 

That is very true, I didn't mean to imply it was a weird answer or wrong in any way, more that I found it weird that my own personal old pieces seem to be much much better quality than the newer ones, and I wasn't sure if it was luck or that quality really has gone down that much as prices keep rising.

 

I made porcellain dolls back in the 80's and have been through many eyes for various types of dolls over the years, but I've yet to find high dome eyes that photograph well and look realistic. Glass eyes in particular, even the high done ones, tend to look very "flat"/unrealistic, thought I have seen exceptions.

I prefer the "cheap" acrylic ones that are sold for reborning. They look very realistic, photograph well, and are a fraction of the cost of a lot of other doll eyes (especially compared to ones marketed specifically for BJD, but in general too). They don't, however come in fantasy variants, but I have limited need for those so shop aroun d for low-dome alternatives if/when that situation crops up.

I've got a couple of pairs of soft eyes that also look good, but they tend to attract dust and look dull very quickly.

Teddy

 

Yet another pleather do not buy vote from me. Oddly, it seems like it's mostly the shoes for me that get all flakey over time where the majority of clothes are okay. It's a total dice roll on what lasts or not.

I haven't bought eyes in several years because I make my own now. I've never bought elastic from a doll company. I hate the eye putty most offer (it feels like old chewing gum to me) as I prefer silicone ear plugs. In a pinch, I've bought poster tack from the Dollar Store. I've never purchased any stringing tools from doll companies as I use shoelaces, forceps and pipe cleaners and they work just fine. I somehow ended up with a head puller but I've honestly no idea where the heck it came from. I do sometimes buy magic erasers but I also use those for cleaning around the house so I'm not sure if it really counts as a doll thing, lol. I rarely buy clothes as the style/type I want is hard to find for what I see as a reasonable price so I make 98% of all the clothes for my boys.

 

Re-stringing tools--Crochet hooks work great for tinies, and for the bigger dolls, I have a piece of jewelry wire I bent into a long hook.

Eye putty--Like everyone else here, I use poster putty.

MSC--Games Workshop makes a varnish that's even better in high-humidity areas AND I don't have to pay to get it shipped from Asia to the US.

T-shirts--super-easy to make, plus I have a Cricut so I can make catty phrases to iron on. :3

Panties--for any size other than 1/12, it's just easier to sew a pair myself and I have TONS of knit fabrics that I can use. (And several of my dolls are in short skirts and kinda need them.)

 

I'm another member of the No More Pleather club, for reasons listed above. It's also annoying finding fabric or real leather shoes, and the sizing can be ridiculous, with over 0.5cm gap between my dolls' toes and the inner toe of the shoe. I plan to learn how to make my own.

Spray sealant. I live in a large apartment building. Even if I spray on my balcony, I don't want to risk the stuff hitting a neighbor on their balcony, or through their open window.

Ball Jointed Dolls. Space is precious, so I'm trying to settle back and enjoy who I have.

 

MSC... there are now cheaper alternatives out there. Back in my early hobby years I didn't practice face ups to conserve my MSC supply and rarely attempted any blushing.

Eyes... I have a big stash built up from many years in the hobby even though I have sold some... and can make passable resin eyes if I don't have the size/style I want.

Horns, antlers and the like for small bjd... I am finding them very relaxing to make as they are a relatively (to face ups, making clothing, wigs, etc) quick project from start to completion... if it doesn't turn out how you like, you just attempt another haha

I should also be saying BJDs as I have a lot and currently attempting to trim/refine my collection but there have been so many released in recently months I have been wanting to buy for years that I now have a generous number on preorder

 

Wigs mostly… since Monique closed I have kept all my dolls hair the same. I loved the wigs Monique made and nearly all my dolls have them. I tried a Dolly Planet one recently which was actually pretty nice but I miss Monique’s styles and colors a lot. I think I’ll probably just start making my own now.

Eyes… I haven’t totally stopped buying but I tend to just keep them in my dolls and I don’t buy as many dolls as I did so no more new eyes.

I also don’t commission faceups anymore… for a lot of reasons.

 

Not really a thing but face ups. I may not be the best artist but I'd sooner settle for my work and the peace of mind. Unless the face up artist is right there at a meet or something and can work on my doll on the spot, no thanks. Also , out of curiosity, I looked into people's and company listings and I was shocked by some of the outrageous prices posted. So between that and hearing the horror stories of people waiting for months on end or having their doll heads outright stolen, hell no.

Jewelry: It's honestly so cheap to produce and easier to customize. Plus, I'm not above admitting how easy small pieces are to lose.

Stringing tools: If you're dealing with SD's, you will develop Hobbyist strength lol. Or at least, I did. All I need is ribbon and a pair of pliers.

Carrying cases: They are the most cumbersome thing to lug around and usually only holds one doll. A luggage carry on or a sturdy backpack has never done me wrong.

Props: They're almost always overpriced and not properly to scale, be it size, quality or use.

And yeah, pleather anything lol. I have real leather shoes that cost less than some of these dolls shoes and within a few years, if they didn't crack and deteriorate, they melted.

 

I have such a huge stockpile of magic erasers and eye putty that I can't imagine ever buying those things again.

 

Faceups: The commissioned/company faceups I have are lovely, but I've been learning how to do them myself and want to get the most bang out of my buck on the supplies I got! Also, I feel more comfortable with the possibility of wiping or reworking faceups I did than ones others did. (Like how I need to make some fixes on poor Suha's faceup...) Maybe it's because I did faceups on thrifted playline dolls before ever getting into BJDs - and with pretty poor-quality stuff - but I've found it surprisingly easy to get a faceup I'm happy with on my own!

MSC: Does it count if I never got it in the first place? When I was first starting with faceups, I got a recommendation for Citadel Munitorium, and I've been using that. Why? More temperature and humidity tolerance (though I still make sure to check the weather conditions before starting), and like, half of my dolls are tan to dark tan. I was told to use Citadel to avoid the misting/dusting/whatever whitish cast MSC gives tan dolls. It's worked well so far!

Knit Clothes/Undies/Basic Shirts/Skirts: I can make those, even if man, having a Cricut to make fun phrases to put on the shirts sounds like a blast! Though, I suppose it's more accurate to say I don't intentionally buy these. I have a weakness for the lucky bags Rrabit does in November!

(But as for things I always end up buying, in contrast? ...Pants.)

 

Wallpaper and flooring for dioramas, scrapbook paper has a lot of designs that work! I have yet to start on a room or house for my dolls though

 

Adding onto not buying anything pleather, I hate all man made synthetic fabrics/laces on doll clothes for the most part. It really gives the doll a cheap, stiff look. It really boggles my mind why artists still choose them when collectors are more than willing to pay more for something stunning and flattering for their dolls. So many cute outfit concepts are ruined by a choice of cheap materials.

 

Old Pleather can be mended to some extent with Angelus Leather Paints.

However, I myself prefer to work in real leathers, and only offer Pleather when people want plastic instead of animal products. I'd rather just sell them a woven ribbon belt than a pleather one, I feel, personally, but I have some of it so until it runs out I will try and make it an option.

I usually don't let myself buy shoes any more unless they're VERY high quality and some type I cannot make. The fun of Medieval-ish Fantasy dolls is that I can make those shoes, but not modern ones. I don't feel so bad about upcycled Pleather if it's on my own dolls' feet because if they ever wear out or flake up (Not common here- it's a VERY dry climate) then I can replace them in an afternoon.

 

I'm totally into shoes, so if I were in the anti-p-leather team, I'd have nowhere near as many shoes as I have,

However, there are many things I cannot envision paying for:
1. as others have mentioned - anything that can be easily purchased anywhere but is labelled as "BJD" and priced accordingly then. So, elastics, eye putty etc.

2. Faceups. I don't care if someone will go with the "you can't put a price to artwork" line... they are usually terribly overpriced and super generic. It's just easier to learn it myself... and I'm in the process, with some ups and downs.

3. clothes that I can easily make generally. So this does NOT inclide ties, men's shirts (although I've recently triedone and I'll see how it goes) and men's suit jackets. Oh, and doll sized, washed denim items.

4. expensive cameras.

5 expensive eyes... the cheapest glasses, preferebly in a bulk from Alice's Collections... my thing

 

White leather-back wigs. All the ones I've had have just disintegrated after a few years. As for pleather, I have shoes that are probably twenty years old still in perfect shape and ones I bought two years ago that are peeling. I also went in search of an old pleather coat I was thinking of repurposing, only to find it glued to the two coats on either side of it because the pleather had turned into a sticky mess. That was - icky.

Clothes for the most part as my sewing has started getting better. I was looking at dresses on Etsy for my DT Seola a couple of months ago and found myself sounding just like my mom, who was an *amazing* sewer back in her day: "That's way too much money for that! I have a pattern; I can make it for her."

 

I no longer buy cheap eyes. I bought a ton of “placeholder” acrylics, enough that I won’t need any more for years. I’ll buy nice eyes, once I figure out the size and Iris size that a particular doll calls for, but I won’t buy any more cheap eyes. Just the nice urethanes that dolls with an established need for eyes get. And I’m trying to reuse my nice eyes from my face company that’s unfortunately gone under. I have 2 pairs of “good” eyes looking for a home.

string. Seriously, so many companies have sent me extra string and S-hooks, I’ll probably never need to buy string or S-hooks unless I start making my own dolls or anything wild like that. I have so many unused strings that whenever someone needs a replacement, it just comes out of the hoard.

old pleather: I had a pair of volks pants from an outfit from like 2015 literally turn to dust on my doll once. Now I accept that pleather has a shelf-life and I don’t buy pleather anything unless I’m okay with it falling apart (like a fullset with a pleather component for instance).

pastels: I got some really good artist pastels, and a set of the Mungyo pastels that Soom sells, and I’m good. I may occasionally decide a colour is worth getting a “good” pastel of, but I really don’t buy a lot of pastels these days. Maybe 1 new colour a year now that I have a good set!

acrylic paints: I got a nice set forever ago, but I use primarily my pastels and watercolour pencils for faceups, and only occasionally bust out the paints, so I don’t often buy more paint. Exception made for iridescent watercolours, which get used on most of my faceups, because I love shiny things.

my offbrand dremel: I bought an offbrand “king Canada rotary tool” thinking I’d one day replace it with a proper dremel if I got into modding. I’m into modding, but I found my offbrand dremel is more than sufficient on its own, and I don’t need the name brand item.

I also no longer pay for faceups, because I like painting my own much better. I get to bring my character out in the resin, and if the faceup chips, I know how to fix it. Also means I don’t have to Mail our heads for months on end to get them painted, or risk losing things in the post. And it means I can redo as many times as I need without losing much money on MSC and pastels and the like!

 

I'm really glad that everyone has mentioned the faux leather thing! Thankfully I haven't bought any faux leather items yet, so I guess I've been saved from that frustration lol.

One thing I will probably never buy is clothing! I've been sewing for my entire life, so I'm very confident in making my own clothes for my dolls.

While I will probably always pay for a faceup (I just don't enjoy it and I'm really picky about how my dolls look so eh), I don't really do body blushing anymore, so I won't be buying pastels, watercolor pencils, or the infamous MSC anymore. I think it's really fun to do body blushing, particularly hands, feet, and chests, but my dolls are always clothed unless I'm actively making new clothes for them and I need to check the fit. The most I do now is paint fingernails because those are easy to fix and don't usually chip!

 

I can... many'th the pleather thing, as I hate the idea of it all disintigrating into uselessness. But what a lifesaver this thread is! I never would have known about alternative sources for elastic or KIPs if I hadn't poked my head in.

 

Yes, I've tried a few times to make shoes and they always turn out so wonky! The one time I did buy clothes, I was actually really unhappy with the quality lol! I learned my lesson

 

Can't agree more with the anti-pleather team! The flaking and overall nastiness is just awful. Sometimes it can't be helped though, especially when it comes to accessories like shoes. The odor is pretty terrible depending on what type of plastic is used too. I wouldn't be surprised if they emit unsafe fumes depending on how the material is/was stored.

Another thing I'll probably never buy for BJDs again would be doll carriers. As I don't travel with more than one doll to meet ups, my shoulder strap water bottle/canteen bag is a great alternative for transporting my smaller BJDs. For 60cm kids, my softshell ukulele bag (concert-size) works perfectly. I still have my old Volks violin hardshell carrying case, but it's so heavy and clunky that I only use it for moving or for long term storage these days.

 

You're the opposite to me - I cram in as many as possible, three SD's to a carrier with cushions in between, as many dolls as possibe layerd in a wheelie-suitcase, and I made a big quilted shoulder bag with lots of pockets specifically for transporting multiple dolls to and from meets.

But, like you, I won't buy carriers any more - other bag work out much better, are chaeaper, and can be used for other stuff when not full of dolls.

Teddy

 

Like many others have said, eye putty. I use silicone earplugs or whatever putty comes already in my dolls' heads.

I also generally don't buy clothing unless it's secondhand from a local collector or something I find difficult to make, such as jeans or something complex. As a sewist, I prefer making most of my dolls' clothing myself.

Never bought doll jewelry either--it's easy enough to make with my hoard of beads or from human-sized jewelry.

I try to avoid pleather unless I make the item myself; shoes are really the only pleather things I'll buy. And I have refinished cracking pleather shoes with acrylic paint and sealant before with decent results, so I'm honestly less scared of shoes flaking than I am regular clothing.

 

I pretty much stopped buying clothes for my dolls.

When I first started to sew for them, I wasn't very good, and I was afraid to attempt sewing certain things. I did buy a few things, but nothing I bought actually fit them very well, except maybe the SD boy jeans. The shirts and jackets are either too loose or too tight, and I would end up having to modify everything I bought. I was almost always dissatisfied with clothing that I did purchase, and it gets expensive to buy outfits for all of my dolls.

Through trial and error I have gotten much better at sewing and I am willing to go out of my comfort zone now and attempt to sew them many new things. If something doesn't come out the way I wanted it I can always make modifications to it, or make it again. My dolls have a fairly large wardrobe now, and I love to sew even more for them. I enjoy learning how to make better outfits for them as a go along.

 

Fabric. I have accepted my fate. I don’t enjoy sewing much anymore, and I love pre made clothes. I’m much happier with the quality and enjoy playing with my dolls more now

 

things i have never bought:

-stringing tools. i actually like restringing dolls-- but my "stringing tools" are a piece of yarn tied in a loop to pull the elastic with, and a very small old aluminum double pointed knitting needle that i use to poke everything down thru the channels. if i need a little something extra to pull an S-hook up thru a head, i have pliers and if they still don't do the trick i have my husband, who at this point will take a head on or off for me like i'd asked for help with a stuck jar.

-eye putty. i use silicone earplugs instead.

things i bought years ago when i started collecting bjd that i no longer buy:

-wigs. i make all of my own now, and it's probably not any cheaper to buy the hair fiber and supplies than to just buy a wig, but i love the complete customization in style, color and fit. i used to like Monique Gold wigs a lot, but they're no longer sold, so DIY it is!

-eyes. again: i make my own now. i got so tired of buying eyes and finding that in one way or another, the fit was just slightly off, or the color wasn't exactly what i wanted in person, etc. so i tried making my own resin eyes, and found that it wasn't too hard to make a pair i was happy with.

-faceups. i am currently working on learning how to do my own, which is surprisingly both fun and going well! i used to find it frustrating and prefer not to do my own, because even tho i have been drawing and painting all my life, the way i like my dolls to look is SUPER different from my personal art style. but i'm finding that i am more capable than i thought of learning to use the materials in a different way on dolls than i would on paper.

-clothes. i make all my own, and i really don't see the styles i want to dress my dolls in being sold anywhere anyway. (the exception to this is an occasional accessory that's not something i could easily make, like a pair of fluorescent green fishnet stockings i bought a few months ago.)

i don't think i ever bought a pleather garment, but i know i never will! i have unfortunately bought pleather shoes over the years and have several pairs that are cracking and peeling, so i try to avoid those too. i want to add shoes to my list of "things i make myself", eventually.

 

Pleather, I avoid it as much as possible. Even if that's a problem for shoes.
And wigs. I prefer to make them most of the time, so I try not to buy new wigs.

 

Eyes and wigs - because it's a massive pain in the *** to find anything you'd be at least remotely satisfied with! With clothes and shoes I can at least combine different items to achieve a suitable look, and as for makeup, I always provide my artists with enough space for artistic freedom. But finding good-looking eyes that wouldn' leave any gaps proved impossible for me. And wigs somehow always look too thick... (the ones that actually look good usually require from me to sell my kidney, so no thank you). So I had to learn how to make eyes and wigs myself (it took ages, but was 100% worth it!)

 

Another one for team "no pleather" here; it really cuts down what shoes you can buy (or basically means you can't buy any at all) but I've been looking into shoemaking. It will probably take me forever to get good at it, but I hardly ever see doll shoes I like for sale anyways, so might as well do it myself!

I think the only other thing I'll never buy is a doll carrier.
I made a plastic-front carry bag myself for a convention last year (based on the volks one with some differences) and it was shockingly easy, especially considering it was my first time ever doing a whole project on a sewing machine and I totally eyeballed all the measurements.
I really want to try making a fully enclosed one next, for more sun protection when taking dolls out. The plastic-front one was more of a display bag than a full transport one.

 

For me it's expensive gloss for manicure or pedicures. I found Testors glosscote works just fine for such small details that have to get repaired or replaced often anyway.

 

Wigs, because I learned to make them myself. They’re not perfect but they look decent enough now. I also want to learn to sew, and start crocheting clothes

 

Silicone eyes. The only pair I have ever bought and handled came from a full set. Something about silicone eyes being sort of squishy and real eyes being sort of jelly-like and also squishy gives me a major ick. Even thinking about the texture of these eyes makes me shudder.

Also the billionth person to respond with no more pleather. I didn't have very many pleather items, but they all seemed to have decayed at once, and really fast. Very sad about the pleather corsets from two identical Souldoll outfits in different sizes -- I can remake them (or something similar) in something not pleather, but still. The worst offender had been the pleather pants that had been on my SD13 boy. It was not fun having to painstakingly clean up all of that off of him and out of his joints. For that experience alone, I never want to deal with pleather again.