When is it NO LONGER a limited??

[rattimoth]

Ok.. so, you buy a limited doll, and its all good, you are happy, your doll fulfils your dreams.

Then one day you change the face up.. could be a number of reasons, it got marked from playing with it because you love it so much.. it just didn't suit the way the character had progressed.. you just went right off that shade of lip colour.. who knows.

That's ok, your doll is still a limited.. right??

Then one day you sell the outfit that came with it.. why?? again, a variety of reasons.. your doll never wears it, you need the cash, someone else is absolutely desperate and pays you triple what its worth.. could be a combination of all of these, or others.... but it happens.

Its still good, even though no one else can tell.. your doll is still a limited... right????

Then something MAJOR happens, and you decide to sell the doll.. perhaps you have a 'one in, one out' policy, perhaps you really NEED the funds for school, wedding, car, moving house, medical bills.. there are lots of VERY valid reasons for selling a doll....

BUT.. should you advertise your doll as being a limited edition of a particular sculpt?? After all, there are none of the original things that MADE it limited included in the sale, it just looks like XX sculpt with a nice faceup and some great clothes, that fit, but aren't the amazing limited outfit that came with the original..... is it wrong to insist that your particular doll is STILL the limited edition??

I don't want to get into the "I would NEVER touch my LE dolls, they all live in their box and never come out" discussions.. or the rights and wrongs of customising an LE.... thats a whole other discussion thread.. Ijust want to discuss at what point does a doll lose the right to be identified as a limited..

Opinions????

Seek peace

Carol

[tylonika]

It depends on what you think makes it limited, which can be case by case. Most of the time though, a limited is defined by the sculpt itself. the head is the main reason why your shelling out the moneys.

It gets tricky when you get into limited editions of 'standards', like the standard fair LE Yori for example. all that makes her the LE version is her face up, eyes and wig (admittedly, I do NOT know if the head plate differentiated between the standard fair and the normal versions of yori. red line this argument if it does). Thus if you remove these things, theres nothing to really prove shes the LE one, aside from you saying so and maybe her papers (which can always be bought separately). I think its those LE's that are the hardest to define.

[Em]

I tend to think of 'limited' interms of sculpt or perhaps skin tone.

If it's a 'Full-set' I'd advertise it as such.

For example I have a number of limited dolls, none of them have their original face-ups and most no longer have their default oufits.

However, the sculpts themselves are still limited. If I ever chose to sell them (heaven forbid!) I'd just make sure I had accurate pictures and that I specified who did the new face-up etc.

However if you're talking about a limited 'full-set' of an existing standard sculpt eg. a CP El in standard skintone and you had sold off the outfit and changed the face-up then it definately is no longer a 'limited'.

[Reshana]

In my opinion, when the doll loses all of the unique features which mark it as a limited it becomes standard. A naked faceupless Elf El would still be limited unless someone sanded his ears down. A limited DoD Camine fullset doll without his clothes is just a standard Camine and I wouldn't pay limited prices for him. It all depends on what features make a doll limited and what changes have been made.

[Moggie]

When it loses the things which make it a limited.

If the sculpt is limited then it never would without major modding.

If it's the finishing touches that make it limited, like faceup, clothes etc then it's not limited without them.

[Osaka]

I actually have Limiteds that fall into both the categories of Limited sculpt or Limited set of a standard.

Isao is a limited sculpt. I bought him as a head, and paid the standard rate for just the head. If I sold him, I'd ask for the current going rate for him, because he still is a limited. I might even ask for a little more, because he still has his original faceup and default eyes.

DIM Rain, however, is a standard sculpt. Sure, I acquired the head as a part of a very limited edition, but if I were to sell the head without the body or the fancy little outfit or the extra head (which was limited), it would be absolutely unreasonable to expect a higher price for it. There is nothing exceptional about the Rain head to make it different from every other standard Rain out there.

[BunnyChan]

I agree that the SCULPT itself is what makes the doll limited because, there ARE just a limited number of them out there in the world...But in the case of dolls like Michael, where there have been several differant releases of (generally) the same face...I think the clothes and faceup (imo) are the SECOND factor in what makes it limited....Which is the very reason I havent sold Kodona's witch hat, and coat, and all the other little bits and peices that go to his outfit, despite them never really seeing the light of day...Because they belong to MAGICAL MICHAEL. The character in there somewhere who is being firmly sat upon and smothered by Kodona's velvet covered booty.

[Nymphetish]

I think it depends. If the only thing that makes it limited is the face-up and outfit (like most Delf Art dolls), then I'd consider it to be a standard doll once it has a different face-up, or doesn't have the original outfit. When it comes to limited sculpts, I think that it's always a limited. Even if you change the face-up or mod the doll, the sculpt hasn't changed.

[celestia]

I think of limited as a doll that was produced and identified as a limited.
If you changed the face up; yes you changed the limited face up. It is still the same doll, however.
Much like the first edition of a doll that never got correction/altered. It wasn't a part of the same timezone nor given the same identity as a first edition therefore; it is not.

Of course when selling things, if a limited doll is made limited through quantity of face ups and clothing; both of which you rid; purchasers may only consider it to be a non-limited (especially if there are no resin changes to the limited version) because all its limited features have been rinsed and removed/no long intact.

I prefer to see it categorized by who was made limited rather due to what made it limited.
(If a doll was identical to its basic release, save for the hands and the owner sold said doll hands of a limited release would not necessarily mean the buyer now possesses a limited doll- but rather, the hands of a doll that was made limited. IOW; what is limited is still limited. Similarly i would think the doll those hands belonged to; was limited because of it.)

[augustamethyst]

Seems like it's been established that the differences between a standard and a limited can be the edition size, sculpt, skintone, clothes, and the faceup. Don't some limited dolls also have different bodies or hands? That would also set a limited apart even if the face was wiped and clothes already sold.

An example, the majority of my dolls are limiteds or uniques. If I took my Customhouse Archangel Israfel, a Cebee, and wiped her blank, well, she would just be a regular Cebee. And this sculpt used to be limited, but is now available as a standard. If I leave her the way I got her as a fullset, drop her, and chip her up, she is still a limited.

[celestia]

Well i *thought* edited my post.. . .. so.. yes. apologies for this one.

[Moggie]

Just a random thought which popped into my head while browsing on DOA.....

If a company re-releases a limited, at what point do you wonder "is it really a limited anymore?"

How many times can a limited be released before it shouldn't be considered a limited but maybe a hard to get sculpt.

Should companies keep making the same limited, releasing it and calling it a limited or is their limited just false advertising for a doll they pull out of the cupboard and dust of the moulds every now and then?

[Stormlight]

I agree that limited full-sets including faceups, clothes, wigs, whatever, on a standard sculpt, should only be considered limited if all of those things were still included should the owner choose to sell the doll. Perhaps the clothes themselves might fetch a higher price, being a limited edition, but the doll, if sold by itself, shouldn't go for more than the price of the standard sculpt. After all, it's only the clothes/faceup/wig/whatever that makes it limited.

As for limited sculpts, well, I'll use CP as an example, because most of my dolls come from there.

CP makes a habit to re-releases their limited sculpts. The Nanuri and Juri heads are two good examples. There are two versions out of each sculpt, but even though they share the same name (with the year added at the end: Juri2005/06 and Nanuri2006/07) the head sculpts are completely different. The two Juris are elves, but with different facial features. The Nanuri2006 is a human sculpt, but the 2007 is a vampire dreaming elf and looks completely different. So, because of the differences, despite sharing the same mold names, I believe each sculpt is still limited in its own right.

Now, as for their limited elves El and Lishe, I think there are differences between the original releases and the special Christmas releases last year, as well. The original releases were on type one bodies, right? And they came with at least one additional spare head (maybe two? I wasn't into BJDs at that time, so I'm not sure, but I thought at least the Lishe elf had two spare heads?). Anyway, the ones released last Christmas did not come with an extra head (am I right about that? Correct me if I'm wrong), and they were released on type 2 bodies. Are the face sculpts slightly different, as well? I don't own either version, so I don't know. Even so, although the Christmas elves are "re-releases", they still are different from the original. In my opinion, that makes them limited in their own right, as well.

Now, I have a question. Would a limited sculpt that has a spare head still be worth as much if the spare head was modified? For instance: if CPs dreaming/sleeping head sculpts were modified to have open eyes? Or would they perhaps be worth more (to some people) because of the modifications, because they are even more unique?

What if a spare head was sold? Would the doll itself still be worth as much without their extra head? Personally, I'd say not, although it would still be worth substantially more than a standard sculpt would be. But how do people feel about splitting a set like that? I sold my minifee Shiwoo elf's spare sleeping head just last week, because I'm not in love with the sleeping sculpts, so it just sort of was sitting cocooned in bubble wrap in the clothes chest for the past few months. I didn't sell it for more than a standard minifee head with faceup would be worth, even though it was an elf head. I wonder now if I should have held out for a year or two and tried selling it then for a bit more, but oh well. The new owner is happy, I have money in my paypal account for new clothes, it's all good.

I also have a Chiwoo-elf, and I don't really have plans for his spare head so it mostly sits in a drawer, as well. Unlike the minifee Shiwoo elf, I can't bring myself to sell it, though. Part of the reason is because I love the faceup Luts did on it, unlike the Shiwoo elf head. I didn't care for that faceup at all, or I might've been more inclined to keep it. But I also keep thinking that one day I may buy a body and give my Chiwoo-elf a twin brother or something (the faceups on both heads look exactly alike). And finally, even if I never use the spare Chiwoo elf head, I just can't bring myself to break up a limited set like that, even if I didn't mind doing so with the mnf shiwoo elf.

[Moggie]

If the re-release involves a change to the sculpt then I would agree that they remain limited, each in their own right.

I guess my random musing would be to those where there is no difference between the releases.

[kirane]

As everyone said, there are several types of LE dolls. Some molds are limited, with or without their fullset. I've got all my LE dolls second-hand without their original bodies or clothes, but I didn't expect to pay them less than I did. The mold is limited enough to be worth it. The rest is worth it too, and that's why some outfits can go very high.

For standard molds with a special face-up or clothes, if you remove these 'extras', it's not longer a limited version. Indeed, when you think of CH previous LE and Unique, it's a bit annoying for people who own old dolls and sold the outfits a long time ago. I would understand that they wouldn't want to sell the doll less than what they paid (minus the estimated outfit) and I would understand too a buyer who wouldn't want it at more than the new standard price.

As for Cerberus Project, if you think of the El and Lishe Elves, I do not consider them as true re-releases as their molds have been slightly modified in the process. Thus I don't think one version should be paid less because there is a common name. They are different dolls.

[Chiaki]

For me, to consider a doll as "limited" depends only on if it's an edition that can't be bought regularly in the shop because they restock. In this case we could have an existing headmold with a special characteristic ( skintone or something like that) or also a special headmold.

For example take a non fullset LE you want, something that fits the requirements above. When the stock is sold out, you can't buy them in the shop any more (we could talk about reeditions here because it's another story...but it would be a little off-topic). So although they don't keep the original clothes or make up, expect to pay a big sad sum of money -_-U.

[kirane]

Also certain dolls have original bodies, in a way. Jun T. for example seems to have special hands, and that is enough to ask for a lot of $$$. However if these hands are available through FCS for example, and the L-bust body is as well... What is left of the LE etiquette of this body? FCS parts aren't so easy to get but?...

[Bandwidth Broad]

While it's evident that people are defining "limited" in many different ways, here's the way I've looked at it. If the doll I'm interested in purchasing is an exclusive sculpt released with specific styling, an exclusive outfit, etc. etc., I consider it a limited edition. IF the doll is not re-released and somebody sells it, full set, it is still a limited edition and should command whatever secondary market price the market will bear. If a doll has been released in a standard model, while the original release was still technically "limited," it is probably the specific face-up treatment and outfit that made it limited and, should those be altered and/or sold off, the doll is no longer "limited."

I know that I spend an inordinate amount of time trolling Y!Japan for original default set outfits that I've been interested in. I've never understood why people separate them from the dolls (well <amends>, yes I do, but wouldn't do so myself because the outfit is a huge part of why I purchase a doll to begin with). However, I benefit in the long run when people split the outfit from the doll. Over the past years, I've picked up some gorgeous limited outfits for the price of regular release outfits.

[romanesque_gothic]

I'm confused. Are you talking about a limited sculpt, or a nonlimited with a OOAK faceup and outfit?

I own a Volks Kohya. He no longer has his original eyes, wig, outfit, or faceup, but I still consider him to be a limited because Volks doesn't produce his headmold anymore.

However, if you have a doll like El with a limited outfit and faceup, and you get rid of that, then he's no longer limited in my opinion.

[celestia]

i was thinking the thread asked when is "limited" not longer considered "limited".
The extent to which 'limited' applies does not necessarily represent the doll it is bought with-
but rather, the question, whether or not is it considered to be "limited" if the limited items of a particular "limited" title is/are removed.

So in this case, you would think that a limited release sculpt with its original items removed is still considered to be a limited doll regardless; because of said sculpt. ^o^

I hope i made sense .__.;

[rattimoth]

thanks everyone for the input..

In this case I am talking about a sculpt that was produced as many different limiteds, with differing face ups and clothing etc.. but was also produced as an 'everyday' version as well.. This sculpt was then discontinued.. which means it will ALWAYS be limited in some respect, so to speak.

However, if one of the 'more limited' (say 10 produced) had its faceup removed and the original limited outfit wasn't offered.. then surely the doll only qualifies as a nice version of the every day??

I am not haranguing any sellers.. just curious.... guess its lucky I am not a cat, or I would be using up lives at a great rate lol!

As an example, I currently own a cyber bohemian shiwoo.. he's gorgeous and I love him dearly, but without his current faceup and amazing outfit... he's just another shiwoo.. right?? But I also own a nightmare sharmin.. even without her amazing faceup and gorgeous outfit.. she's always going to be limited, because Sharmin has been discontinued.. so even though I have NO idea how many there are out there, or what number mine is (drat serendipity for not providing that info with their limiteds), I could redo her face, give her new clothes and sell her as a limited.. just not as a NIGHTMARE limited...

Does any of that make sense?? Or do I need to go take some interesting drugs?? Maybe I should go back to sniffing resin lol!

Seek peace

Carol

[hobbywhelmed]

Sounds like you've got a good handle on it. Moggie said it well too.

I have a Victor Puppetmaster. Limited in that only made in a limited quantity and with a particular outfit, and head mold. I bought him secondhand, minus the costume, minus his white wig (both already sold to someone else). On the basis that his remaining specialness was in his head mold (which is what I really wanted anyway), I had no compunction about getting him off the terribly posing Domuya body and onto another body. After all, it was a standard flexi-body. No special skin tone, regular white, no tats or other modifications.

If I ever went to sell him, I'd give his background, of course, and let the conceptual chips fall where they may. Especially since most buyers t that point wouldn't spend the extra bucks to have his gawdawful heavy wooden box shipped with him either! As it was, he was priced good when I bought him, whereas I could never have afforded him in full-set.

[Ridgeway]

The way you're saying it makes complete sense to me Carol.

My Tony has his original faceup (plus one painted on scar) but he rides around on an SD16 body. The body he came with is being used by another head, so it's still here and I have his complete outfit. I could easily put him back together and sell him as a Full Set (plus scar). He is still a Limited.

I also have a white Custom House Cyn. When he was first made he was a Limited Young Cyn, of which they only made five. I bought him third hand, his face had long since been wiped and repainted by the original owner and who knows what happened to his outfit. It used to be that the only way to get a white Cyn was to buy one as a Unique or a Limited, but now you can have any mold made in any color as part of their Special line. My Cyn is now in no way a limited. I still refer to him as a Young Cyn just in case anyone is ever wondering what happened to the five dolls from that edition.

In the DoA Marketplace I often see people selling whole or partial dolls with their special limited titles even when the doll has been stripped of their unique accoutrements. It's all good and fine that someone wants to sell their limited SD13 Tony body...but really it could be easily made through Full Choice. The fact that it was from a Tony is moot once his head is gone. He doesn't have special hands or anything.

[Moggie]

I also have a white Custom House Cyn. When he was first made he was a Limited Young Cyn, of which they only made five. I bought him third hand, his face had long since been wiped and repainted by the original owner and who knows what happened to his outfit. It used to be that the only way to get a white Cyn was to buy one as a Unique or a Limited, but now you can have any mold made in any color as part of their Special line. My Cyn is now in no way a limited. I still refer to him as a Young Cyn just in case anyone is ever wondering what happened to the five dolls from that edition.



Thats a good example of my little musing. Although first made as a limited, the company then produces the doll as a regular sculpt and without anything to distinguish him as anything more than the regular sculpt, it's no longer a limited.

If the clothing and original faceup was still there then yes, he would still be a limited but without those the doll itself is in no way a "limited".

[ravendolls]

I suppose if you're selling a doll, you just need to say what it was when you bought it, and what you changed on it (if anything) since you've owned it. It would be good to know if you have a head that's Anais 1, Anais 2, or Tae because they were released at different times.
If you have Cyber Shiwoo and sold off his outfit/wig/eyes and erased his faceup, it still might help to date him at least to the potential buyer. Especially with companies like CP, whose resins vary so much from batch to batch, it would help to know if a particular Shiwoo (etc) was from Spring '06 or Summer '07 and so forth...

Raven

[Tsuminaki]

I confine it to sculpt, clothing and faceup, too - If the sculpt is not unique than it ceases to be limited when the faceup, outfit, etc. are removed, in my eyes. If it is, then it can be limited into perpetuity but either way I would hope the resale markup was at least kind of limited. Calling things limited for the sake of notoriety or to try and get more money out of buyers - either way it doesn't mean too much to me.

[kiradyn]

i feel that it's what makes the limited doll limited that classifies it. like some of you here, i prefer to think along the lines of 'limited' (in terms of unique head sculpt) and 'fullset' (in terms of standard head sculpt with unique parts). i classify things like special hands/bodies/changeable ears along with fullset, since such things can be sold off and replaced with standard parts the way fullset clothes and accessories can.

with regard to what moggie (?) mentioned about whether a limited is still limited if it has been modded (sleeping/dreaming eyes modded open), i believe that said sculpt is still limited. but the value of the sculpt will be determined by aesthetic value and the demand for the mod. you can have the same head sculpt (vampire elf el) and depending on how you mod it, the value (both to an individual and 'globally'/to the masses) can change.

example 1: vampire teeth are modded off in an attempt to make it like the non-vampire head. if an individual is after a non-vampire head, his/her demand for it will be higher than someone who likes the head as a vampire/with the little pointy teeth.

example 2: eyes are modded open. if the mod is good and there is generally demand for the particular eye shape/look, then the value afforded to it will be higher than a mod that has been horribly done (e.g. opened too large) which most do not like. in this case, the limited head remains a limited head, but how much you can sell it for would be drastically affected.

example 3: elf ears have been sanded down and modded into human ears. if the teeth remain, then this sculpt can still be considered limited, since it is unique in the sense that there is no human vampire el. however, if both vampire teeth and ears have been sanded away to resemble a normal el, then while it can still technically be classified as a limited (because it was bought as a limited sculpt), reselling it and hoping to get the same price you would for a non-modded/not-as-extensively-modded head is likely to be very hard, as it is no longer unique as a sculpt. it may look slightly different to a standard el, but the identifying features that make it limited (vampire and elf) are no longer present.

the first release of elf els and lishes had a slightly different facial structure to the standard ones, though, while the second run (at least for the els) looked more like the standard version with elf ears. it may be possible to still classify the first run elves as limiteds if the difference to the standard sculpt is obvious enough (though it would also likely be possible to simply mod a standard el head to resemble that), but less likely for one of the second run elves.

in short...i type too much. XDD

[gayle]

Carol said
However, if one of the 'more limited' (say 10 produced) had its faceup removed and the original limited outfit wasn't offered.. then surely the doll only qualifies as a nice version of the every day??


I think that's it in a nutshell, and very well- defined.

[saranilla]

My feeling is that we all look at limiteds differently. To me the minute you change anything that originally came to that doll they are no longer limited. The only exception would be the mold. But it seems a lot of molds for faces are now beginning to look similar enough they have almost become a standard. And as pointed out some of the companies are actually re-releasing. To me that devalues the original limited mold.

I would hope that the companies continue with reissues since hopefully that makes it easier for others to acquire them.

[LoveVampire]

Personally? I would only call it limited if the actual doll mold is limited. If it is a basic doll with limited clothes and face (like the Luts art dolls) and all was left was the doll, I think all the value is gone if the original face and clothes aren't there.

[knovak]

I suppose if you're selling a doll, you just need to say what it was when you bought it, and what you changed on it (if anything) since you've owned it....

Raven

I agree with this, as a buyer, partially because I like to know my doll's history. It's just curiosity on my part but it's interesting trivia, if nothing else.

...I would only call it limited if the actual doll mold is limited. If it is a basic doll with limited clothes and face (like the Luts art dolls) and all was left was the doll, I think all the value is gone if the original face and clothes aren't there.

I agree - a doll that is normally available in the regular line but is being sold with a special outfit or faceup is just that, a "special."

Kathi

[harlowe]

When it loses the things which make it a limited.

If the sculpt is limited then it never would without major modding.

If it's the finishing touches that make it limited, like faceup, clothes etc then it's not limited without them.

Totally agree. If it's a standard base with unique face-up and/or clothes - and you eliminate what made it a limited, obviously it's really not a limited anymore. If the mold itself is what was unique and limited, then you still have one - though any changes can decrease the higher limited value it had.

[april]

I pretty much agree-- there are limited sculpts and there Full-sets or specials...

What do you all think about Volks One-Offs? Lots of people buy them and sell off the outfits and change their eyes, so they're basically back to limiteds, aren't they?

As for prices of various limiteds--well, it really depends on the market with anything--it can be hard to predict in a general way. Depends on the sculpt and condition and the timing and all that...

[kiradyn]

I think the issue of re-releases decreasing the value of the original limited is very much true.

Except to some of the 'purists' in the hobby who will insist that the original limited is still The Ultimate Limited. And actually, I can quite easily see their point. The re-releases are limiteds, but are still re-releases and can be thought of as a semi-standard of a limited doll. Whereas the original limited was The First.

*is likely not making much sense* XDD

[avacado]

I guess it depends on what makes it limited.

Like Cyber Bohemian Shiwoo is limited because if his wig, eyes, hair, clothes. and face-up. But if you wipe the face-up and sell everything else, it's becomes a standard Shiwoo again, IMO.

But if it was something like and Elf Shiwoo, then it limited because of the parted mouth and the ears. Which means you can wipe the face-up, change the clothes, hair, and eyes, but it would still be limited because of the sculpt itself.

[omichao]

If the faceup is what makes it limited, when that goes, so does the title.

If it's an outfit that makes it limited, when that goes, so does the title.

If the sculpt is what's limited, then there's not any way to really change that without modding. It's always going to be limited, even if the faceup changes.

Example: CPs '05 Juri head. Limited head, limited faceup. Even without the limited faceup, it's still a limited head until modded.

[Milenoka]

I think it'd be important to mention that it's a limited, but asking for a higher price just won't do any good.

[Agnes]

Interesting! I have a Volks Lilith: she is a limited doll, but this head is also available through FCS. The body is also the "FCS white" rather than the usual white skin. Her faceup and outfit are gone. But she has "Lilith" written inside her head. I bought her for about the same price as an FCS would have cost me (but at the time F06 was not available at Sumika). I consider her a limited in name, but it wouldn't necessarily reflect on her resale value. In the end I suppose it only matters when one is trying to sell the doll, and then what matters is how much anyone is willing to pay for it.

[derilan85]

Very interesting indeed the only doll I have in my collection I can say is truly Limited and so far has not been re-issued as a renewal is my Hypermaniac Gyedo. Hypermaniac is 1 company I know when they mean Limited they actually mean it. Finding any of their dolls second hand is very rare indeed;)

[Astrid]

I guess first to be determined it was what made it limited it the first place, was it just the clothes or make up? Or was it the head scuplt itself?

If it was the sculpt then yes its still a limited sans the clothing and what not. But if its a standard issue doll with special clothes and make up that you eventually change then that takes away the limited aspect. But I would think owners would still mention that it was a limited version ...at one time....

[lilie]

well to me it is based on the things mentioned face, clothes, sculpt, but I know of a doll that is a limited to the rest of its clan but the resin colour is different and unforunately the face up didnt go the distance so I think that this one has less than I think 50 in another colour and as such i would still deem it limited if I needed to have the face up again I would try my best to get the the doll sent to the orignal artist o/seas but other than the face up the dolls a limited regardless. at the end unless you planning on selling the doll as limited it doesnt matter where it would matter is when your planning to sell it limited and its distinguishing features are no longer

[Meow]

i think a doll is no longer a limited when all the limited points are not presented, like elf EL' s ears are sanded down to human ears.

[Otty]

It's hard to say though
I think if those limited dolls are limited because of unique skin colour, face up and clothes,
- having only a doll left with face up--> it still limited (but not full set)
- only doll, face-up change --> probably not limited anymore because there is no unique feature to make the doll different from the one that is currently sell ay the company website

However, if the doll is rare itself i.e. berman, the doll itself is definitely limited ^ ^

[Youkai]

I think it falls into the sculpt...like others have said, it could be the face. But, I have a soom sard body, with the incubus legs, which is what made it a limited, along with the head, which I dont have. So, technically, the body is still limited because of the legs--until they start selling the legs off as a usual thing.

At least, that's my opinion. Soom is coming out with a lot of the fantasy legs and everyone wants either just the legs, just the head, just the horns...it really depends, I figure.

Either way, sculpt is what I take as limited. If it's the faceup and such, I guess that is too...but a unique doll is what I think really matters.

[Aquido]

I'm in agreement with some things said above. It depends on the doll. If the doll's MOLD was limited, and you hav ethe doll, but none of the original clothes or face-up, but the only way to get that mold was to buy the limited, then it's STILL a limited doll.....

If you have a "Limited Cyber Bohemian Shiwoo", but you changed the face-up, and sold the clothes, it's no longer a limited, it's just another Shiwoo.

I think the Soom Monthly dolls are falling into the category of "Limited regardless of what you change" Because most of them are dolls that you cannot just buy in a standard form. They all have special sculpting and such.

[Youkai]

Yes! I agree with Aquido. SOOM is making the monthly dolls, while others just put special items and such onto already-made molds.

But, I still think it's perception...then again, you can make your 'own' special doll by eye opening or mods. Not that those are company limiteds.

[angeliclizard]

I'm getting a Tatiana Trapese and if I changed her face-up and longer had her outfit/wig/trapese/eyes she would be a normal Tatiana. I think thats the case with any LE version of a standard doll unless there is something about the mold that makes it different (ie: sleeping head, elf head, opened mouth, different skin tone, ect).

Of course limited molds will probably always be limited molds for the most part.

[topazrain]

I don't see how it can be advertised as a limited if everything that constituted to it being limited is now gone. If the sculpt were limited, say for instance a Volks Madoka, then it can still be advertised as such because it still retains an aspect of what made it limited - the head mold.

But if someone tried to sell a Delf Art Cherry that didn't have any of the original items or faceup, it's just a regular Cherry to me. A SwD Nana without any of the original items is still an LE for me. A BW Volks Masha body is also a LE because the body isn't obtainable unless purchased with the Volks Masha. The body the Madoka came with wouldn't be a limited in my eyes as there's nothing that made it limited.

[Castellar]

Of the form said in first post I believe that only can be considered limited dolls that they are limited in the sculpture. Is half stranger to say that one doll is limited, simply for the reason of ours hobby to be versatile in the questions: makeup, wig and eyes.

[alekknesek]

I think it depends. If the only thing that makes it limited is the face-up and outfit (like most Delf Art dolls), then I'd consider it to be a standard doll once it has a different face-up, or doesn't have the original outfit. When it comes to limited sculpts, I think that it's always a limited. Even if you change the face-up or mod the doll, the sculpt hasn't changed.
I second this IMO.

[Absinthe]

My point of view is that, limited is defined by the sculpt itself. Hands, Hooves, Claws and so on that are just parts can be limited not just the whole doll. I think as long as the Sculpt is intacted to at least 90% then it can still be limited.

[justkatie179]

Maybe the dolls should be labeled in a more specific way. Limited sculpt means exactly that (Soom dolls, in particular), and unless modding is done, it is still limited. Vesuvia and Beryl will be desired limiteds, with or without default faceup and clothing. However, limited edition to me seems to indicate a specific dress and faceup for a doll that has otherwise been released. Therefore, changing anything on those dolls would eliminate the 'limited edition' status.

[Rabbit-moon]

I have a question about limiteds?

When is a limited not a limited? The example I have is CP/Luts' Limited LuWen. That doll has continued to be on sale for years, and each time it runs down to one left in the inventory, they seem to add 20 more to the site count.

How can they call it a "limited" doll, when it seems to be on sale forever, just like their standard dolls? It seems rather ridiculous to me to call him "limited", at this point.

[kiradyn]

Rabbit-moon>> Perhaps they're transferring the stock from the Japanese and Korean sites over, since the International stock is the one that appears to be running low. They probably are adhering to the limited quantity, but shifting the distribution from one location to another. After all, it makes sense to transfer non-selling stock to somewhere where it sells better.

[Rabbit-moon]

Thank you Kiradyn for offering an answer to my question.

[HisLittleGirl]

I really don't know in this since.

A LE to me depends on if the sculpt is limited (like Kalix) or just the face-up+outfit is limited (like the Pipos Bao Postman)

[Saraqael2000]

I define 'limited' according to how the doll company itself initially described the doll. If they say that the mold is limited but the outfit isn't, then swapping the clothes doesn't matter. If they define 'limited' to mean a restricted number of a full-set (a particular color of resin, unique face-up/blushing, and a unique outfit), then they subsequently re-release unlimited numbers of the same the mold but in other resins, without the unique face-up and/or clothes, that's fine. Those are similar but not limited.

If an owner purchases a limited sculp and then modifies the head and/or body (piercings, changing the eye holes, sanding down features), it's still technically 'limited' but IMO they've altered the collectibility of the piece and reduced it's value. I'm thinking strictly in terms of what antique dealers say: if you modify an antique, it's still rare but the value is reduced compared to an unaltered piece.

If a company releases a limited number of dolls in a specific resin (say tan) but then continues to release the identical doll in other resins, IMO the difference in resin types is still enough to justify calling the tan versions 'limited.' I don't think that this makes the tan version any more valuable than the non-tan versions -- though I suppose it's meaningless to imply that limited = valuable. It doesn't, except in the minds of collectors. This hobby is still far too new to be able to say what's truly valuable in the long term.

[Humbug]

Well, whatever that makes the doll unique to standards, in the case if it's just the faceup and outfit, you'd better that good care of that faceup, lol. It's much simpler if it's just the sculpt tho, like if it's a special skin colour or differently sculpted features. You can do whatever faceup you want or dress them in whatever, they will still keep those features.