Ball Jointed Dolls (BJD’s) have been around for several years and since the early days the cost of a BJD has come down significantly. This is partly due to more companies offering BJD’s as well as having more orders. Now it’s possible to own one from under $300/£194 to well over $2000/£1295 straight from the company as well as in the second hand market. The size of a doll almost makes a huge difference in price for the majority of BJD’s with the smaller ones mostly being cheaper than larger ones (there are exceptions however!)
I will be referring to Asian Ball Jointed Doll’s as this is where I have researched the most and is my main interest.
In most cases more expensive dolls does not necessarily mean better quality. There are many BJD’s that are excellent quality and cost significantly less than those at the top end. As BJD manufacturing is a lengthy and costly process with often long curing times and a lot of room for error the quality of a product can vary.
Remember!
Not all BJD companies have hundreds of employees, some are made up of just a few people.
This also leads to second hand prices being inflated. However, saying this, many established BJD companies now have quality controls set up to ensure that each customer gets the same high quality product.
Prices in the second hand market can be linked to a variety of things including:
- how sought after a doll is
- how hard it is to find
- If a doll has been discontinued
- If the owner has modified the doll or it’s makeup (also known as face up) that has improved it
- If the doll has been damaged
- If the skin tone has yellowed (particularly true of resin dolls)
Prices
The costs of BJD’s can be a very sensitive subject for the owners so here is list that shows you what price range BJD’s fall into. I’ve started with the company Iplehouse but will add other companies over time.
Prices taken from company websites for 2015. This list is not definitive and does not include shipping, import customs, clothes and accessories.
BJD’s under $100/£64
none yet that I’ve seen!
BJD’s under $300/£194
Iplehouse – BID – starting from $230/£149
Iplehouse – KID – starting from $290/£188
BJD’s under $500/£331
Iplehouse – JID – starting from $340/£220
BJD’s under $1000/£663
Iplehouse – YID – starting from $610/£395
Iplehouse – SID – starting from $620/£402
Iplehouse – EID – starting from $650/£421
BJD’s above $1000/£663
Limited Edition Full Sets – various
