Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

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marilyn
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by marilyn »

I totally agree....I can barely afford a 2nd hand market reborn much less a brand new one.
LynnW
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by LynnW »

I agree that prices in general seem to have gone higher, especially with the silicone babies. In the past it was possible to get a good quality full body silicone baby in the $3,000 range, but these days, that seems to be the going price for the cloth-bodied silicones and the FBS are running much higher in the $5,000-10,000 range or even higher in some cases. With the prices so high, I have to be very very selective when it comes to FBS and I really only feel comfortable investing if it's a baby I am very confident I will cherish forever. I hate having to resell items in general and when I do, I count on taking a 50% or greater loss. In general, I would never expect to get the same amount I paid for the doll new since it is used and not the same as getting the doll straight from the artist.

With reborns, I actually feel like the prices are similar to when I first started collecting 8 years ago, but maybe it's just me. I have seen some beautiful babies selling in the $400-500 range and there are many beautiful options (new) on Ebay for <$700. I think there is a greater supply than in the past with more new artists coming up all the time.

For me, I personally don't "play" with my full body silicones as much due to the price (I handle them very very gently and redress them very rarely) but I am less careful about my reborns and can feel free to handle them a bit more. I also really enjoy my Paradise Galleries dolls also... they don't look that realistic, but are very cuddly to hold and because of the price, I feel like I can enjoy them without worry and allow my kids to play with them also.
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alienor
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by alienor »

Sandis Doll House wrote:
MikeTheEngineer wrote:Supply and demand. Hopefully I can increase my quality up to expected standards, and help on the supply side. ^_^
I can't wait to see your work. :dance:
me too, I stopped to collect 2 years ago, and left DF (after 10 years..) too many temptations
I hoped after my moving to a cheaper house I could buy again, but no :( reborn prices are too high for me now, even with a cheaper rent, so maybe I will leave DF again
MikeTheEngineer
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by MikeTheEngineer »

alienor wrote:
Sandis Doll House wrote:
MikeTheEngineer wrote:Supply and demand. Hopefully I can increase my quality up to expected standards, and help on the supply side. ^_^
I can't wait to see your work. :dance:
me too, I stopped to collect 2 years ago, and left DF (after 10 years..) too many temptations
I hoped after my moving to a cheaper house I could buy again, but no :( reborn prices are too high for me now, even with a cheaper rent, so maybe I will leave DF again
My first one is almost done. It was a bit bigger than what I was aiming for... Almost used full 2 gallons of silicone on just the body & head. (1 Gallon of A 1 gallon of B) It has some defects due to the smoothing method I tried (Silicone disintegrated the plastic wrap into the first layer of the dolls skin) It didn't cause huge problems... the doll just looks like it has a sunburn in some places. (where the plastic wrap is peeling off) And a couple air bubbles. All cast in Eco 20. I'll be quite happy to recoup the costs of the silicone on this doll, so I can buy more silicone to work on my next iteration. I'm quite certain I can get my next one without any seams... and if I can get enough for the doll I've already made, I'll buy one of those things to remove the air bubbles. I believe within two to three more iterations, I can get a flawless casting that's completely smooth, with absolutely no seams, no joins, and no bubbles.
Amysbabies
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Amysbabies »

Ginny W wrote:There are lots of really lovely reborns for between $400.00 and $800.00 yet. Just harder to find with all of the Chinese premade junk on ebay now days.
yes!! There are a lot of Chinese made baby's that they advertise as reborns!! When I tried to sell a couple of reborns on Craigslist once I had a couple of people message me saying that they could buy a reborn baby for $100 on ebay..i told them that those aren't real reborns..
love4reborns
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by love4reborns »

I don't necessary feel priced out, but I feel like the inflation in this hobby is crazy!!!

I've only been collecting 3 years and I've noticed a huge hike in prices.
alienor
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by alienor »

for now, I save funds for a fb silicone, I lost all my silicone during the moving :-( I don't want to pay so high prices for a reborn, but it's just me even if they derserve the price :wink:
Jen
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Jen »

Amysbabies wrote:
Ginny W wrote:There are lots of really lovely reborns for between $400.00 and $800.00 yet. Just harder to find with all of the Chinese premade junk on ebay now days.
yes!! There are a lot of Chinese made baby's that they advertise as reborns!! When I tried to sell a couple of reborns on Craigslist once I had a couple of people message me saying that they could buy a reborn baby for $100 on ebay..i told them that those aren't real reborns..
Oh, I love those people...they are completely clueless and will argue with about what a reborn is!

I was around when the first ones started so I don't waste my breath when they want to argue, they think they know it all, but it is frustrating when you are trying to sell something that is high quality and you see some really bad dolls selling for more than you can get. I have to wonder what is going on when I see things like that.
Who are these people that are shelling out hundreds of dollars for these things that barely even look like they are painted, or a silicone baby (some of them just look like burned meat IMO) that looks like crap, but yet you can't get $500 for a really well done reborn, or $900 for a good quality fbs?? It makes me not want to buy anything, because lets face it, things come up, tastes change, and at some point I may have to sell and I know I am going to take a hit, and I am tired of it.

When I see the term "used" for our dolls it baffles me because I don't even really handle my dolls, other than to redress them every once in a blue moon. I just look at mine, and when I see "used" it makes me think it was played with and handled a lot, so for a piece of art to go from brand new from the artist to "used" the second it leaves their house just baffles me. These aren't cars we drive! I just don't understand why it is ok to pay thousands to an artist but you can open the box and well its used you will be lucky to get $300 now. That has been my reality on occasion, and one too many times it soured me on dolls.

I see a lot of up and coming collectors but a lot of them just seem to think that a china knock off or a manufactured doll is a "reborn" and they will argue with you tooth and nail and get downright nasty if you try to gently educate them. As I said at the beginning of my book here, I don't waste my breath on them, I learned the hard way after trying to tell a few that paradise gallery dolls are NOT reborns, oh the cuss words that can come out of a 12 year old when you try to help them see reality LOL
Amysbabies
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Amysbabies »

A lot of people just want something for nothing..ive told a few people to take their business elsewhere if they don't like my selling price..just go and buy the fake reborn, I don't care..and in my opinion those Chinese dolls look nothing like an actual reborn..they just look like a play doll
Marita Winters
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Marita Winters »

Just a few thoughts - The prices of most blank kits are the same as they were when I started sculpting years ago. The kits that are higher priced are that way because of supply and demand. There are a couple sculptors that sell so well and so fast that they can charge a higher price and get it. Also, in the "old days" reborners wanted soft bodies and were trying to get away from the vinyl torsos on dolls. Now, people want these full torsos and that doubles the cost of the kit molding and pouring, so kit prices have to go up. I have started doing a little reborning in this past year, and have to say, I don't know how people make any money at it. The rooting takes me forever! I have charged $500 for each of my mini reborns and I have not made much of anything on them because of the HOURS it takes me to do it. Maybe you get faster at it as you do more?
Marita Winters
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Marita Winters »

As far as silicone dolls go, I think artists see Romie's selling for $25,000 on Ebay at times, and it raises the expectations of what they think they should get for theirs.
MonicaW
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by MonicaW »

I stopped collecting silicones they got so high switched to reborns and their prices are getting really high
tiffanybw
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by tiffanybw »

I'm a newbie, only collecting since last year.

I'm in love with these babies, and by no means done collecting. I don't know how things used to be, but for me, I think that most of the prices are reasonable. Are there babies out there that I can't afford and I will only ever dream about? For sure and I wish so bad I could buy them! There are also lots of dolls out there that are not that great and way overpriced. Those ones though, well let's just say that it doesn't bother me that I can't afford them. :wink:

I think that for the most part, the artists and sculptors who charge extremely high prices have worked very hard at what they do to create names for themselves. They have "put their time in" so to say, and so good for them that they are doing so well and reaping the rewards of their efforts.

I'd love to have a Romie silicone, would love to have a baby painted by Sylvia. Unfortunately that is just not possible though. What I will say, is if you take the time to look you can find high quality dolls for very reasonable prices. Especially with the reborns. For sure, it is time consuming as one has to wade through a million China dolls and otherwise completely junk dolls that are done by people who I guess are just delusional, as they somehow think that their baby is worth the same price as the highest quality dolls. There are lots of great finds out there though and for me, looking for "the one" is half the fun. :)

I have never sold any of my babies, and so don't buy with the intention of later selling. If I do someday though I don't expect that I would get back the money I put in. It would be great if that happened however, and I wouldn't complain. Mostly, I always have and always will love babies, whence this is the perfect hobby for me! :baby: :baby1: :heart:
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My sweet nephew Jeremiah, 1 month old now!
gabbys_babes
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by gabbys_babes »

i am mostly an artist now than a collector, but when i buy a personal collection baby i don't intend on selling it, so i don't mind paying more. i have only been painting a year, but i price my babies to be on the affordable side because of this exact reason.
chelle77
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by chelle77 »

To be honest~I have noticed that with the prices going up for reborns by well known artists; the less well done dolls have gone up as well

I feel weird pricing my dolls high so I usually ask between 400 and 500 But then I look on ebay and see horrid dolls going to the same price..or much more....and they appear to sell :shock:
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by ~Valerie~Anne~ »

My doll collecting has slowed almost to a stop (I did buy one doll in the last year). It just seems like doll collecting has become a rich person's hobby. I've decided I need to be content with what I have for now.
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Amysbabies
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Amysbabies »

I see a lot of poorly done reborns on eBay going for high prices
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by Melissas Babies »

I try to keep my Dolls affordable!! my prices haven't gone overboard. I love making these babies!!
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tiffanybw
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by tiffanybw »

chelle77 wrote:To be honest~I have noticed that with the prices going up for reborns by well known artists; the less well done dolls have gone up as well

I feel weird pricing my dolls high so I usually ask between 400 and 500 But then I look on ebay and see horrid dolls going to the same price..or much more....and they appear to sell :shock:

Ha, ha, yes. There are some I come across also where I go :shock: . Because the way they look, so horrible that it scares me and a person couldn't pay me enough money to take the doll! :wink:

And so I do wonder, have even clicked on the "watch" button on eBay just to see if anyone actually ever buys on a few of them, and at the asking price. I don't know if still there or not but there was this one, an Aurora Skye by LLE, listed for close to $2,500 I think. This doll, I'm sorry because I really try to be always nice because I don't like to hurt the feelings of others, but this doll... AWFUL. Shiny all over, and eyebrows that look as if maybe someone shaved and glued the hair clippings on. Eyelashes top and bottom that are longer than hair that is on most babies heads, and dressed like, I don't know but just that it doesn't help the doll out at all because makes it look like it should be starring in a horror movie.

I can't imagine a person paying so much for something that awful. To each their own I guess. A doll is worth what any other person, takes only one who likes, and who will pay that for it. Like they say, one person's trash is another's treasure. :P
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My sweet nephew Jeremiah, 1 month old now!
MikeTheEngineer
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Re: Anyone else feeling priced out of the market?

Post by MikeTheEngineer »

Well, I just posted my first doll (has several minor flaws) for $250. It's 17 lbs... so ya... that's pretty much what it cost me to make it. I've linked to it under the "silicone for sale" forum. So, ladies, if you want a less expensive, durable ones to actually play with, now's your chance!
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