The lure of the rare

When i want to have a doll, i don't really care if its rare or not. My main reason to acquire a certain doll, its if i really like it, if the dolls appeals to me on all levels. But then if the doll is rare and not mass produced, it is also an extra point, but not the major factor.

I respect an artist's decision of not wanting to get her dolls mass-produced but creating OOAK dolls.

It isn't a consideration for me really- if I fall in love with a doll, I just fall in love, regardless if it is rare or not. I find it more heart breaking if they are rare or difficult to get hold of, as this generally means the prices are really high, and way off my budget!!! I find this frustrating!!

I think in the doll world, collectors like to show off their dolls to each other. And while I think the number one factor in buying a doll is liking how it looks, rarity can make it even more desirable. It's very exciting to acquire a doll that just about no one has, you think, "wait till I show everyone!" Then everyone is marveling over it, and congratulating you, it's fun. Some people love Louie Vuitton bags, but they are expensive and only a select few can have them, if everyone had them, would anyone really care as much about them?

I agree, waiting lists without end are a drag.

For me, rarity is actually a negative thing. Of course the most important factors are to do with the doll itself, then maybe how much I like the artist and feel comfortable shelling money...but I don't like it when dolls are rare. The doll community is a big part of the hobby to me, and I think dolls become more fun when lots of people have them and can enjoy them together.

I like to see pictures other people take of the same doll I have, I like to make friends with them and talk about the dolls. I can get ideas from about clothes and wigs and posing. It's so much fun!

I like to buy clothes for my dolls, and if a doll is so rare that no one is making clothes, all you can find is stuff that doesn't quite fit. And if the doll is truly rare or a strange size, you might not even be able to commission clothes that fit perfectly without sending the doll to the seamstress, which no one wants to do. And don't even talk to me about shoes.

I suppose if I was the type to buy an OOAK costumed doll and just display it in its original outfit and never change it, I wouldn't care about being able to find clothes or wigs or whatever. But I like to interact with my dolls, make them my own by customizing and dressing them. I don't do shelf babies.

I do have some "rare" dolls and I don't mind it enough to not have bought the doll, but if you ask me, the more people have the doll the more fun it is.

Rarity and exclusivity are certainly one way to measure value--the status symbols in life. But to me, it is a sad thing for an artist or collector to judge artistic merit on the commercial success or rarity of a doll. As a collector, what I am looking for in a doll is for a doll artist to elevate the medium. I'm not looking for something that is just scarce--I am looking for something that is rare in terms of its artistic vision, something that has a unique voice, something that evokes a true emotional response. I'm interested in the doll artist that creates because s/he feels s/he must give physical form to the muses in her/his soul--whether that doll sold for a large amount of money or not. So for me, when I buy a doll that is costumed by the artist, I never change the costume again because what I'm after is that particular artist's vision. I like to interact with the art by changing its pose or display, but I do not like to alter the look of the artist's original vision.

Of course, all artists need to be able to support themselves and their families--and I wish that all the doll artists whose work I love enjoy great amounts of financial success because I want them to be able continue to focus on making their art. But I also think it is wonderful when art does not belong to, nor made just for, the wealthy, the elite, the entitled few. When I first learned of the Popovy Sisters dolls, it was when they only made static dolls. Yes, those dolls were rare and yes, those dolls were expensive--but more important than any of that, their dolls were just pure art! I was beyond ecstatic when I first learned they were going to make a resin BJD line because that meant their art would become more accessible to more people--including myself. The fact that the Popovy Sisters produce their dolls in greater numbers than some rarely produced OOAK porcelain does not diminish the artistic value and beauty of their dolls. Even though most of what the Popovy Sisters create is not rare or exclusive, I still gasp every time they come out with something new because it is always something I have never seen before--now THAT is true art, and that is what makes me want their art! 

Allurose and 415ea,have very clearly put into words what most of us think, I certainly do,as I said in an earlier post,Popovy dolls didn't do anything for me for a long time,then suddenly... Well I've ordered Little Owl and have fallen in love with Peewit,I'm really happy to say their magic worked on me! I don't care how many people have these dolls,as Allurose said,more people to interact with/share ideas,and the more there are the more "stuff" is available for them,if you fall in love with a doll,rare or otherwise then you fall in love. Actually rare dolls etc upset me a bit because unless you have an awful lot of money you can't get them,just the way of the world but still.. There's always going to be things you can't afford and you can't let it upset you too much,and it's an artists right and probably need to produced one off creations. But endless waiting lists to me are unfair,why have them if it's all going to go quiet with no communication? I'm with Sutton on this .... So over it now. Still pretty Little Owl will be here soon got to think of a name for her,she's having an Asian face up by Mai, any thoughts? Something pretty

Well, while it may be fun for a person to own a "rare precious jewel of a doll" it does suck for those who came along too late in the game, or who just thought the beginning price was just too much. I know plenty of people lament that if they had only known what would happen with Enchanted dolls, they would have bought when they had the many opportunities that they did. So, if you loved the doll and had the money, why didn't you buy in the beginning? They say, I didn't know they would be so hard to get in the future, or that they would get so expensive, or I couldn't see myself pay that kind of money "for a doll". But I'm sure these people now would gladly pay whatever the price, if they could find one for sale, so it's worth the the even bigger price tag now? See what scarcity does?
When resins came out, people who bought them started moaning that the were beautiful but the eyes were not painted, the blushing was coming off, the wigs aren't as well made, bla bla bla. Then the resins stopped coming, and so suddenly they are prized and sought after and expensive in the secondary market. And you don't hear too much complaining about them now.
  I have my own laments and opportunities lost, I could have been way up on the resin list but turned my nose up at the idea of resin, idiot that I am sometimes! So I am not pointing a finger at any particular people, we all do this type of thing, I just want to make a point about scarcity and how objects suddenly become more precious in our eyes when they are hard to attain.