...for 2010, that is. But! I resolve in 2011 to be more discerning about my doll purchases. I will think them over first without allowing my emotions to determine the dolls I buy. The days of thinking, "I've got to have it. She's so cute. I need this one, too. I can't pass up on this price. She will display well with..." etc. are (need to be) over. I mean it (this time).
I resolve to use a "cooling off" or "think it over" period before making the final decision to buy another doll. I will not conduct spur-of-the-moment-I'm-bored eBay doll searches. I have already removed several saved eBay searches, as eBay is my main doll buying source, and I will continue to gradually wean myself from it.
I will do this. I need to do this. I am running out of room. This, I know, is easier said than done, but I'm determined to curtail my spending.
Let's use the featured dolls as an example of past emotional purchases. I had no intentions, whatsoever, to buy additional Kelly dolls. I do not even collect them (well, I do own a few, but to actively seek them out has not been part of my doll-collecting modus operandi. But, I was enabled. Actually, I enabled myself.
After owning Kwanzaa Keeya for umpteen years, I got the bright idea to remove her from her box to photograph along with Festivals of the World Kwanzaa Barbie. Doing this led to the discovery of the Kelly Club poster enclosed in Kwanzaa Keeya's box, which illustrates several AA Kellys manufactured up to 1999. These dolls were previously unknown to me. I immediately went to eBay to search for one of the (I need this one) dolls on the poster, Lemonade Stand Tamika (LST).
In addition to finding LST, the same seller offered the other featured dolls. How could I not purchase them all and save on shipping, too? (I asked.)
Going forward, I am going to utilize and further develop my "think it over first" skills to determine whether or not I really need to purchase another doll. I am also going to limit my eBay visits as well. Seriously, I am. I will. I must.
dbg
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I feel ya Debbie! I have been using that strategy for a while.I usually save an interesting doll in My eBay just to think it over. The majority of the time I forget they are there(I don't always check my email) or I decide I don't really want that and I delete! Sometimes I just save because I'm curious to see the end sale price(if it sales).
ReplyDeleteBonnie
Thanks for feeling me, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteI only place eBay items in my "watch," when I am seriously interested in bidding. If the bid rises above what I desire to pay before the auction ends, I remove the item from my watch. I am not interested in knowing how much an item sells for unless I am the seller.
:-)
dbg
Ditto to everything said by Debbie and Bonnie. In addition, sometimes I'll bid the mimimum price and hope that I'm outbid. If I'm outbid, I'll say "Thank you, Jesus, I really didn't need that".
ReplyDeleteRuth
Good luck with that new strategy Debbie. Mine is sort of opposite of that. I was really good at not buying excess doll stuff over the years. Even when there was a doll/things that I wanted, I didn't buy it. So recently when I had to scour 8 stores before finding the Trichelle, S.I.S. doll that I kept putting off buying, I said enough. If I want it from now on, I will buy it. I am still kicking myself about not buying more Happy Family stuff from 2003. I have more regrets about stuff I didn't buy than the regrets about stuff I bought.
ReplyDeleteBut I do feel you and I wish you much success with this.
Thanks, Vanessa! It can be a catch 22 if you delay purchases that you really want, especially if the doll or item sells out and you are forced to purchase on the secondary market at a higher price, or pass it up at the higher price. I, however, am guilty of impulse buying.
ReplyDeleteEven with my impulse buying, I really have few regrets about dolls I have purchased in the last few years because I am more discerning in my selections than I was as a novice collector.
My main problem is that I do not have one specific doll focus. I am quite passionate about most genres of black dolls. Where some are only interested in fashion dolls or artist dolls or other categories and can maintain a stricter focus, I cannot.
I will see how things work with my "think it over" plan that I have already utilized. It helped in my decision against a doll purchase. So I think this will work for me, for now. Thanks again!
dbg
These dolls are so cute Debbie! I would've had a hard time resisting the urge to purchase them all, also. I hope that your new "think it over" plan works for you!
ReplyDelete