Dollfie Dolls?

[littlenugget]

I've seen some gorgeous dolls online. I think they're called dollfie dolls. I'm going to Tokyo in May and was hoping someone could tell me where I can buy a dollfie doll or one similar. I've looked online and they seem pretty expensive, and I'd prefer to pick one out in person. Are there cheaper brands of dolls? Are they very popular throughout Japan or is this an "otaku" thing?

[Polar]

1) You'll find 'em at Akihabara

2) Yes it would be considered an otaku thing

3) I assume you are aware how pricey these are.

[kalcia]

You can find Volks dolls in their shops all over Tokyo. Also they have stores in different cities (Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Osaka etc).
Volks have created dollfies and super dollfies, they are first and one of the most prestigeous companies.
Their dolls are very expensive (depending on the size, wether it is limited or standard edition, one off, etc).
VOLKS INC. - Online Shopping, Doll Hobby, Grage-kit, Figure, Robot & more

Second hand dolls are available in stores like Mandrake, in Akihabara and Nagano.

Korean company Soom, also have store in Tokyo. http://dollsoom.com/soom/

Cheaper dolls are chinese ones and they are not usually available within Japan.

edit: basically there are no other japanese companies selling dollfie/super dollfies than Volks (they have monopoly on dollfies in Japan)

[edelweiss]

Volks will have some of their basic Super Dollfies for sale in their showrooms, different showrooms will have different stock levels so you would have to visit a few of them to get a good idea of what is available. Try the showrooms in Akihabara, Harajuku and Shinjuku. Soom has a shop in Harajuku but they only display dolls you purchase from their on-line shop there, none are for sale.

If you want a Volks brand resin Super Dollfie it's about $360 for a 43cm doll and about $640 -$750 for one of the 60cm dolls. They do come with painted faces, eyes, wigs and a clothing set. If you want one of their Dollfie Dreams which are made of vinyl you'll spend about $200 for a 43cm doll and about $250 for a 60cm, but they do not come painted.

You can find second hand dolls at Mandarake and Closet Child, still mostly Volks but also some Blue Fairy dolls and Obitsu.

Many popular brands cost about the same as Volks dolls but there are cheaper ones to be found. You may want to join a forum dedicated to Asian Ball Jointed Dolls (like Den of Angels) and do more research before you decide what you want. Most BJD collectors buy dolls on-line, it's pretty standard. I don't consider it an Otaku hobby because (at least in the US) doll collectors come from many backgrounds and approach their hobby in different ways. There are some otaku who collect dolls but very few doll collectors are truly otaku.

I hope that helps.