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| After six years of thinking "I should either paint or sell this guy", I finally sold this one two months ago. |
And I've listed a few others: my MiroDoll Lele and Angel Street Zazean are now listed over on DoA (at discounts, if anyone is interested!), and I have a number of other AG items up on AGC. I haven't started listing anything on eBay, but I've been thinking about it - if you have any hints or tips, I'd love to hear them!
I'm also still debating what other dolls and figures are worth holding onto versus selling versus donating, and I'd love to hear more about other people's thought processes when it comes do doing the same. How do you decide which ones to sell or give away? And how do you decide which sales sites or forums to use as a platform for it?
And if you've hosted a giveaway on your blog, how did you decide on what to offer and what parameters to set? Because that's something I'm thinking about as well. :)
This is a good question, as I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I really need to thin out my collection as I have been finding it all overwhelming due to lack of space. It is not just the dolls though but all their accessories, props and then for me the fabric and wool and crafts. It has stopped me enjoying them as when I try to sort through I don't know where to start!
ReplyDeleteI have had one giveaway I think (possibly two, I can't remember) and I think I used the random number generator to choose a winner. Funny though the amount of people who 'come out of the woodwork' that would never normally comment, suddenly do when there is something being given away!
Hi, Serenata. There are probably a lot of people who read your blog, enjoy it, but don't comment. But look at the bright side. They must be reading it to have known about the giveaway. So that's good. It's funny, people will speak up to get something for free. :-)
DeleteA random number generator sounds like a good idea - thanks for the tip! :)
DeleteAnd I feel your space issue - that's what's driving me to clear some things out as well.
Hi Janainah! True! But sometimes it is nice to have the encouragement and feedback of comments ;-)
DeleteReducing the hoard errr herd is a difficult task that I sadly am not very good at. I keep promising myself that I am going to start selling some dolls and then I will read about somebody having issues with eBay buyers. Sometimes, I will see on Flickr or other social media that someone I know of is looking for a certain doll or body parts and if I have the item they are looking for and it is something that I don't mind parting with, I will give it to them and ask them to pay for shipping. If it is something that has a high value, I will negotiate a fair price. I have also given dolls to our local Salvation Army.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my giveaway that I did earlier this year, I came up with my rules by looking at the rules for other giveaaways from people whose Giveaways I participated in and then picking my own rules based on what I felt best for me. I agree with Serenata in that new people do come out of the woodwork to participate, but that doesn't really bother me. To pick the winner, I had my daughter draw the names out of a hat.
Heh, hoard/herd - that does feel interchangeable sometimes, doesn't it? ;)
DeleteI'll be curious to see if a giveaway brings in some new posts - from looking at stats there are a lot of people who visit but don't post, so I'd be curious to see if any of them make themselves public. :)
Some really interesting questions that I wouldn't mind seeing the answers to myself!
ReplyDeleteThe only place I have sold dolls (specifically bjds) is DOA. I haven't really attempted to sell anything from other doll lines, mostly because I am not sure the best place to sell although I've been thinking of ebay as well but am not really sure how to use that place for selling (only buying!) Shame there isn't an international doll and figure marketplace where one could sell any type of dolls and figures.
I'm usually pretty quick when it comes to decisions to sell off a doll, at least in the past. For me, space is a huge factor in my decision as I only have a limited number of display cabinets to put everything in. So thinning the herd is often required. But my general rule is if I feel any doubt about a doll, I should really consider selling it but first I attempt to re-dress/makeover said doll to see if my feelings remain unchanged. If I can't make the doll work for me, then I sell. I try to make dolls work for me first because selling is becoming a right pain these days.
As for giving away dolls, I've actually given away a few dolls (and some figures) to friends. It makes me happy to do this especially when I end up enabling said friend into a new doll line!
I have never done a giveaway on my blog. I've thought about it a few times though and I always wonder how people handle shipping costs for giveaways because shipping internationally (at least from Australia) is very pricey and can get even more expensive to certain countries around the world (and I am talking just registered post here).
Yeah, I know what you mean about the international shipping - I had a forum-friend send me a pizza stone from the US while I was still in Canada, and the shipping cost more than the stone was worth! I can only imagine how much worse that would be from Australia. It certainly makes me understand why so many people will have US-only or EU-only shipping restrictions.
DeleteI've had some luck selling 18"/AG-type dolls on AG forums, and other toys on general toy forums (the MLP Arena forum has turned out to be good for that, and I'm not even particularly a pony fan!).
I think a lot of the shipping issues on Ebay stem from the Global Shipping programme most USA sellers now use - it is easier for them I believe, but it hikes up the postage costs significantly. Much more than simple standard international airmail costs...I know that as I have had friends send me things from the USA and they are always much cheaper than the equivalent items postal cost on Ebay.
DeleteI like the Global Shipping program only because there are countries where sadly a lot of packages would get lost. Plus some people just feel overwhelmed by international shipping, which is a shame. If I ever sold anything via eBay overseas, I would be open to sending it via regular international mail to places like Canada or the UK.
DeleteJSarie, I'm sure it's hard parting with some things. Whatever way you choose, I'm sure you'll find something that works for you. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janainah! :)
DeleteCleaning is always nice! I've been selling dolls and a lot of doll stuff lately to make space for my new stuff and because I'm parting with most of my SD stuff.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help you with tips on ebay or giveaways but I have not done those things. I thought about making a giveaway too because there's some pretty stuff I can't seem to sell and I'd love to give it away, but I do not have many followers in any social media to host a decent giveaway and I wouldn't want to make people follow me just for free stuff XD!! I might send it away to dolly friends in that case~
At least clearing out SD stuff must make for plenty of room for new items at least! :)
DeleteI've mostly be going through smaller items, so that always feels like I'm making less of a dent in things.
There was no link, so what or where is DoA?
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm stingy and lazy, during four years of blogging, I've had one giveaway. I do recall that I used the Random Number Generator website to pick the winner. I'm more the barter type and I've had plenty of exchanges of dolls or dolls for crafts. But you want to get rid of stuff, not add stuff back, lol.
I did sell some items on eBay but I'm so not a fan of the 13% taken off the profit between eBay and Paypal fees. I also don't like the wait time of the auction style.
I'm giving the Square Online Store a try. It's free to set up, they host the pics and per order they charge a processing fee of 2.9% + 30 cents. The negative is that you cant sell internationally. If you are in the US you sell to the US. If you are in Canada, you sell in Canada. I'm still building the store and there are plenty of glitches and the forums are full of complaints... but again, it's free, lol. I plan to launch my store 5/1 and I'll let you know if it's worth the hassle.
DoA is Den of Angels (https://denofangels.com), it's the largest English-language BJD forum. They have a huge marketplace, but I didn't bother linking because it's behind a security wall.
DeleteI've never heard of Square Online Store, but it sounds interesting - I'll be curious to hear what you think of it. And hey, free is always good! :)
I've recently started trying to narrow down my own doll collection. In a round about way, starting my own doll blog is helping me try to focus my collection. My blog consists of a bunch of stories told from my dolls' point of view, so right now the most important thing I'm looking for in my dolls is personality. The majority of the dolls I'm getting rid of are ones that I only bought because I liked their outfits. My sister has been helping me attempt to sell these dolls. She has an account on varagesale.com, a sight for local communities to organize swap meets. Unfortunately, the Barbie type dolls my sister has posted on the site have not been selling well. There doesn't seem to be enough interest among other site users. But like a lot of other people, I've heard negative things about selling on eBay. With all the fees it only seems to be worthwhile if you're selling in bulk.
ReplyDeleteI was planning to try and hold a giveaway for my one year blogiversary, but like you I'm not sure how to go about it. I might be checking back here to see what advice you get.
Signed, Treesa
I can see how your blogging style would affect the way you see your dolls - when I first started blogging I was just trying to document everything, and even that changed the way I started looking at them.
DeleteIt's too bad the local market hasn't been working out so well for you and your sister - that would certainly make things easier if you didn't have to worry about shipping!
I've gone over my keep/sell decisions before, so I'll just talk about how I've sold things. I've only ever used eBay, because it's gotten me the widest audience. I'm not a regular on any doll boards, and a lot of the things I've sold have been truly toys. For example, right now I have some outfits for the 8" Madeline doll, a rug from one of her furniture sets, and the horse that came with her carriage. I could try putting them on Craigslist, but that would only be local, and I don't know of any other venue to use. Madeline is not a hot toy anymore, so I see as only being salable to a specific audience.
ReplyDeleteI got into the DollPage Show and Sell right before the site went down for good. Talk about timing! If I had more high-end dolls that were not BJDs, I might think about selling them on Mister Dollface. I've never used them myself, but you could do a search and see if there are unhappy buyers complaining anywhere. Mister Dollface came into being, from what I've read, as a replacement for the DollPage, although owned by different people. Right now, you don't have to pay a fee, although MD does request that you contribute to the site if you make a sale, just to help defray their costs.
I have over 600 transactions on eBay, buyer and seller, and I've never had a problem. Yes, the fees are high, but a lot of the things I've sold, I don't know if I could have found a buyer for them elsewhere. I've also had a few items sell for a price beyond my wildest dreams, which is the advantage of the bidding system.
If you have any questions for me besides the short novel I've written here, let me know!
That's a good tip about Mister Dollface - I used to window shop on DollPage, but never actually bought or sold over there.
DeleteGreat to hear that you've had such good luck with eBay. I've had decent success selling on BJD and AG specific forums (and as I said to AlasseCarnesir, the MLP Arena has been a surprisingly good place for selling non-pony Funko figures), but I'm starting to clear out some of the more general items it's good to know that people are still having positive eBay deals (I've done a lot of buying there, but haven't sold anything yet). Thanks for sharing! :)
I also have the same issue as you with selling, as in it's not that easy!
ReplyDeleteI am currently facing the situation at my home, where I have about 30BJDs and no space to keep them, which leads me to having to make some serious decisions! :O :O
As for giveaways, they're cool! Get people to make specific comments to earn a number to participate, and I'm sure whatever you have to offer will be fine! :)
Heh, 30 BJDs was the number I hit last year that had me wondering where all my storage space went as well! Good luck with deciding what to do about it - I know it's been challenging for me...
DeleteThe ones that I have a nostalgic bond to will generally stick around the longest.So most of my vintage stays put.As far as the contemporary stuff,I'm more willing to sell those off.Sometimes I'll hit up the local Wal-Mart looking for a particular Marvel Universe figure and then come home with something I didn't really want just because the one I really wanted wasn't there.It fills the void momentarily but after a while the magic wears off and I end up putting It up on ebay.
ReplyDeleteThat (nostalgia vs. recent impulse buys) makes sense - and reminds me that I bought a bunch of random toys from the clearance shelf at Target six months ago, stuck them in the closet and forgot about them. I should do something that those...
DeleteCleaning is nice!! It is good you were able to sell some dolls!!
ReplyDeleteRegarding giveaways, I've tried several things, from discounts to items, and when done in my blog they don't get much attention. Social sites are best for that. I've seen some people (specially those who giveaway faceups) asking that the winner pays only the shipping.
Good luck with what you decide to do!