Would you buy BJD or accessories on Amazon?

In short, you never want to buy dolls off amazon. I'd also basically never buy wigs or clothes off there either as there are many better alternatives out there, like dealers and independent brands. The only thing I'd maybe consider is something like sealant, ppe, pan pastels, or specific acrylic inks for faceups.

 

I bought elastic off amazon once. Art supplies used for faceups could be fine depending on the brand. There's not much else I'd consider buying there.

 

I've bought elastic, wire, s-hooks, sealant, and brushes off Amazon. Some of the elastic has been unusable, but most of it has been fine. So it's still a risk even with the safer stuff.

But yeah, dolls especially are a hard no for BJD – they won't be legit at all.

 

Absolutely not. I have bought art supplies for face-ups at local art stores, elastic from Alice's Collections. I don't buy anything from amazon if I can help it.

 

Any BJD you see up on Amazon is basically guaranteed to be illegitimate, so that’s a big no from me—and doll supplies, like eyes and wigs, could very well be coming from people that sell those dolls. The quality is also wildly inconsistent—I’ve seen one very nice Amazon wig, and a whole lot of bad ones.

I also do not support Amazon, the way they treat employees, or the obscene wealth they exist to accrue for their owner. If I can’t get a supply elsewhere for an even half-reasonable price, I’ll grudgingly consider Amazon, but if I have any ability to pay only a little bit more to get it from anyone but Amazon, I will.

I get that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism—I get that smaller companies can be unethical, and that Amazon is the only option for people who don’t have a lot of money and need essentials. But doll supplies usually aren’t essentials.

 

I've only ever bought doll stands from there but you have to buy them in bulk. =/

 

Hard no for BJDs on Amazon -- Amazon is not an authorized dealer for any legitimate BJDs.

Wigs and clothes are a hard pass as well. I don't know how much of it on Amazon comes from sellers with unscrupulous business practices that harm the BJD hobby. I don't want to support companies like that at all.

Lastly, I also avoid buying art supplies on Amazon whenever possible. Too many items have the cost of "free shipping" or Amazon's seller fees baked into the price. I spend significantly less on art supplies when I plan out an order from an online art shop like DickBlick or Jerry's.

 

All doll accessories you see on amazon are a lot cheaper, or better value for your money in other places. They list some of the same stuff that is sold on AliExpress or Taobao, but at a steep upcharge so it's smarter to take the money elsewhere imo - there is no need to pay mid-range price for the worst pair of shoes or wig you can get on the market.

I'd recommend sticking to trusted sellers at first, ACBJD and LegendDoll deal lots of doll stuff for decent prices, and you'll know you'll get an okay quality item that you can use for a long while.

 

I'll only buy from Amazon if I really need the item and I can't purchase it anywhere else. Like, actual medical supplies level of need. I will spend double the price on other items just to avoid buying from Amazon and lining the pockets of the tax evading owner who treats his workers so poorly and is putting so many small businesses out of business. That's enough for me not to buy from them.

Like others have said, the BJDs on there are ALL fakes, and the other items are better purchased elsewhere with less markup most of the time. I know art supplies etc can be cheaper on Amazon, but BJDs are so expensive that I really feel if you can spend £100s on a doll, you can afford to spend £10s more on art supplies to support smaller businesses. It's a tiny fraction of the cost.

 

No way. I try to not buy from Amazon at all, unless I have a gift card or just cannot find what I need anywhere else, but for dolls, no no no. No actual BJD is going to be legit, and most of the accessories I've seen look like very poor quality, or copies of legit items. I'm not saying there aren't any good accessories on there, as I haven't searched deeply, but what I have seen does not look promising, or, as others have pointed out, can be found cheaper elsewhere.

The only thing I might buy would be faceup or sewing supplies I couldn't find anywhere else, like very specific paints I use. And I did get the "teacup organizer" from there to store my floating heads in. But as for specifically BJD stuff...no. I prefer legit dealers, the companies themselves, or secondhand from reliable sellers. Or just making it myself, I'm getting pretty good at sewing for dolls!

 

Dolls, no.

I have bought wigs and props on Amazon. I like to get my photo backgrounds from there as well.

 

Amazon is only good for face up supplies and elastic for restringing in my opinion. Maybe some stuff for pictures and the tripod cases are good for storing and trasporting dolls. Clothes and shoes might be overpriced. Definitely not a place to get a doll.

 

Amazon tends to be higher cost for worse quality than you can get elsewhere, even stuff like elastic I can usually pick up at the craft store near me.

 

I see a few people mention buying elastic on amazon in here; amazon is where I found my go to place for elastic: paracord planet.

They usually have good deals, discounts around holidays, and there are a variety of sizes and colors to choose from. I’ve bought elastic for my dolls ranging from 1/12 to 1/4.

Here is a link:
High Quality Elastic Cords In Your Favorite Sizes

 

So painful but true, even the shell of the Joanns that was near me is now a Spirit Halloween I am lucky that there is a little local craft shop I can get things at most of the time but I definitely understand that not being an option everywhere.

 

For elastic yes. And I think I bought wig once too with braids. Cant think of anything else.

 

Not Amazon but I bought these eyes from The Works. It's a UK based retailer with stores on every high street.

£1.50 for 12 eyes... I don't think you'd ever find cheaper than this in this hobby.

Oh and Misaki's plush bat is from Flying Tiger. They're everywhere and sometimes sell some pretty good doll sized accessories.

 

Dolls, no. Never. The risk of a recast is just too high (are there any legit dolls on Amazon?) and I'd rather save up and get a legit doll than spend $80-100 on a recast. (Plus, some of the photos are definitely of hinge-jointed dolls, which makes them not BJDs.)

As for accessories, I've bought doll shoes off of Amazon, but many of the other clothing items tend to look cheap to my tailor's eye...so I usually sew for them instead. If you want to make your own wig, the wefts you can get from Amazon aren't any different from the ones you can get elsewhere. Basically, if you want sneakers for your doll, or you're itching to make a wig and don't want to wait, those Amazon purchases tend to go well.

 

I got a wig cap and stand on there because I had a gift card and needed them fast for my first dolly, but even those are low-quality. I took a cursory look at clothes/accessories because my girl really needs stockings and I’m impatient about the acbjd order I put in, but the selection was terrible and there’s basically nothing for 1/4 scale dolls. For dolls themselves, no way, they’re all recasts on there.

 

Amazon, from what I've seen, is pretty rife with recasts and fake dolls. I've bought some clothes from there before that ended up being okay, but for the most part there's a lot better places to take your money. Etsy has a lot of really fabulous BJD clothing sellers.