Frequently Asked Questions
- What are ball-jointed dolls?
- Ball-jointed dolls (oftened shortened to BJD) are a type of doll that has articulated limbs/joints and is fully strung to keep it all together; cord elastic is what you'll find in most dolls. Most BJDs are cast in resin, but I've seen ABS and porcelain versions as well on the market now and then. They are also usually easily customizable; most doll creators and companies sell their dolls nude and blank with the option to have them painted by them. Everything else (wigs, eyes, clothes, shoes, etc.) are purchased separately.
Something to always keep in mind regarding these dolls is that they are hand-crafted goods and are generally counted as art toys. - How much are they?
- Expensive. Most are usually in the 3-figure range, but some can go for well over $1000 USD. This isn't a hobby that's easy to get into if you don't have disposable income. I also wouldn't suggest getting into it thinking you'll make bank on reselling dolls. A majority of BJDs don't keep their original value due to the nature of the resin they're cast in as well as just how the secondhand market in this particular doll community is. Only very specific dolls ever sell for more than they originally sold for, and you really need to be involved in the community to know which dolls those are.
- Wow, you must be rich!
- I make minimum wage in the USA, so no, I'm really not. However, due to my current living situation and all that, I have plenty of money from my paychecks to piss away into savings and my hobbies, and BJDs are the main hobby I spend money on. That said, I've still had to take advantage of layaways and other payment plans to buy most of my dolls.
- Where can I buy one? Can I buy one of yours?
- There is honestly a ton of different doll creators and companies these days, all of which offer different styles and sizes and so on, that it's hard to just suggest one place (especially for newbies that don't know what they want).
That said, here's a few places you can check out that'll help you get started.- Doll Dealers
Dealers are a great way to check out a bunch of different companies in one spot. Here are a few I've personally worked with and was happy with my transactions with them: - The Junky Spot (USA) - Everything they offer is in stock, so it ships right away.
- Denver Doll Emporium (USA) - They keep some items in stock, but primarily deal with preorders.
- Alice's Collections (China) - Primarily deal with preorders.
- Check my doll page!
On my doll page, I list out all the dolls I currently have in my collection, which includes company and sculpt names, as well as links to company websites that each doll came from (when available; some companies have gone out of business over the years). - Ball-jointed Doll Wiki - A wiki on Fandom that I'm bureaucrat of that's all about BJDs.
- Den of Angels - An English-language forum all about ball-jointed dolls specifically.
- Doll Dealers
- What are recasts?
- Recast is the slang term within the BJD community for counterfeit dolls. I'm not sure why the community is allergic to the word "counterfeit", but here we are. Fake dolls are frowned upon by most within the hobby community due to the fact that these dolls are most often created by individuals and small businesses (which are often run by the doll maker themself) rather than by Corporate Overlords. Unfortunately, counterfeiting is a profitable business (to the point where the largest company putting out dolls is a counterfeiter).