Dolls are an expensive hobby, newbs be wary lol

[Nevaeh1]

My doll alone was pretty pricey but well worth it. I purchased a wm 170 M cup from RLSD a few years ago. Over the years I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on lingerie, costumes, cosplay, clothing it’s crazy on how much one tends to spend on a doll. I’m easily over a few thousand in it all not including the dolls original price tag. Not to mention up keep products, wigs, boots, shoes, heels, bras panties and decorative items. The list goes on and on.

A doll is just as expensive of having a real girlfriend but in reality a real woman costs more.
I recently spent another $100 on a few more sexy outfits from fashion nova and a couple hundred more at Victoria secrets. All adding to her growing treasure chest of sexual goodies.

[ZombieWinter]

I agree 100%.

BUT there are options to save money:

1 Shop at non-profit co-op thrift stores for clothes. I'm not talking about GoodWill Industries or Value Village, I'm talking about your local thrift stores that offer brand name items for pennies on the dollar. The local place my wife shops offers like-new clothing for nearly nothing. (She actually bought a Victoria's Secret beautiful pink nightgown for $1.99 today.)

2 Buy used dolls. You can get very good deals on the TDF For Sale area.

3 Invest in some wig treatments. A $10 bottle of Ebin can save 2-4 $25 wigs (or her implanted hair) from becoming a rat's nest mess.

[DG]

I know what you mean. I have male sex dolls and have spoiled them and even upgraded them, probably spending as much on their stuff, as I have their purchase prices.
I don't buy everything they have new, but I do price comparisons when I buy them brand new items. Nearly all of their clothes, shoes and accessories have come from thrift stores in my area.
However, after 3 years, I have found my spending has drastically slowed down and I find it harder to find things for them when I go out to shop.

[the living tribunal]

Indeed, I have spent a lot of money recently, but most of that was specialist props for photos and I have budgeted carefully for it, not spending on the very best stuff when 'good' will do. In particular, the vast majority of my girls' clothes, shoes and accessories have come from car boot sales and really cheap, or sometimes private sales on the forum. My spending has also slowed down as I have acquired the most obvious things for them and, no doubt, will ramp up again next time a specific theme or project comes to mind.

[ZombieWinter]

Nearly all of their clothes, shoes and accessories have come from thrift stores in my area.
However, after 3 years, I have found my spending has drastically slowed down and I find it harder to find things for them when I go out to shop.

My wife and I love thrift stores. Clothes sometimes look better after some mild use and a few washings, plus the $$$ savings are crazy.

3 years? Hmmm... that might be a topic of a good pole, "After how long did your doll/ accessories spending start to decline?" I'm sure vendors would be interested in the results. We're still newbies to the world of dolls, so our spending has been ridiculous lately.

[Mr Franz]

Get most of my doll goodies, clothing and accessories from swap.com or eBay. Don't keep track, but doubt I've reached the $500 mark yet in the past 5 years for all my dolls combined! Not counting their purchase price of course. Oddly, I think I've spent the most on my smaller scale dollies. 1/3 scale Harley, 1/6 scale remote control Beetle, etc.

[Nevaeh1]

FYI I don’t just go on massive spending sprees on clothing I compare prices and try my best to find the best deals, bargain hunting. For example last month Victoria secret had a buy 8 panties for $35 you pick sizes and styles that’s basically 3 dollars a panty and or thong. Quality stuff too. When buying online it’s best to search for discounts and coupons before checking out. A great place to look is Mercari, also Walmart has a great selection of woman’s clothing is like less than $5 bucks there at times. Forever 21, Ross, Marshall’s are all great places. For some club wear and sexy high end stuff fashion nova is great place too

[Leaf85]

Years ago, my wife taught me to sew with a machine, set up and use patterns etc., so I'm hoping to save a bit of coin by scratch making any cosplay type stuff I do. As for bling, I saved a bunch of my wife's stuff so I'll probably end up giving it over to both girls and hopefully they won't ask for more...

Thrift store sounds like a good idea but I'm pretty obtuse when it comes to sizing lol...I recall going clothes shopping with a couple of female colleagues and remember them complaining about the differences in sizing between similar items at Old Navy vs. Some Other Store, and the one woman had to buy large size child pants as the smallest adult size was too big...that's a nightmare to me, man.

[Nevaeh1]

I tend to stay away from good will and thrift shops I basically don’t want to possibly be putting donated dead peoples clothes on my doll I know a few people that wrk at goodwill as well they all tell me the clothing is never
Washed. I was always under the impression they washed the clothing that was donated before selling it. I was wrong so I asked then why does it always smell of soap in a good will and they answered we put a special air freshener in the vents. Anyways that’s what I’ve been told happens.

[Mr Franz]

Friend of mine manages a Goodwill. Yeah, no washing, but they do sanitize at his facility. That is, Lysol the crap out of everything! Thing with thrift stores though, the stuff is generally old enough to have been washed a number of times prior to donation, reducing the risk it will stain your doll.

Speaking of dead people's clothes, my gals often wear my late mom's things as does my wife! Creepie to some, frugal to others.

[circaman]

The expense of owning a Doll will never eclipse what you would spend on a RG! My Doll receives nothing but the best from Victoria's Secret, and Shein. She is a reflection of me, and will have the best because I have the best. I concur with one of the other post about NEVER purchasing second-hand items from Thrift Stores for your Girl. I believe a person's spirit (energy) remains with their possessions--especially clothing and shoes since they are close to the body.

My Synthetic Companion has brought me numerous blessings in the form of: (1) peace of mind, (2) a quiet and serene home, (3) freedom to do whatever I want and when (4) focus on self improvement--resulting in an 80% salary increase in less than two years (I've had her for three-year now). My Doll removes the financial risks from being in relationships/marriages with real women. I'm able to divert my energy, attention, and finances toward my life journey. No amount of money spent on the Doll lifestyle will ever be too much!

[Out_Of_Sync]

I agree that it's a idea to wash used clothing when you get it home. I love shopping at thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, etc. Getting 10 items for the price of one new is well worth it to me.

Last year I found a garage sale in an upscale part of my town where a college girl was selling off a bunch of her old clothing. She had a body which was a perfect match for my SM168c.

I grabbed up a ton of her old clothing of every kind. I told her the sizes I was looking for and she helped me pick some stuff out. You’ve likely seen much of her clothing her on TDF by now.

She seemed a little unsure why this older guy was buying so much of her clothing. Especially her old bras and sleepwear, but was happy to take my cash.

[Hunt the Shunt]

Totally agree with the thread title.

One thing I'll add though, is that there are much more expensive hobbies than dolls.

I dread to think how much I've blown on cars and have nothing to show now for all that money spent (but I did have my fun.) Whereas all the dolls I've bought are standing around my house, looking pretty, and giving me many smiles per dollar.

And definitely dolls are a lot cheaper than real women. Again, I've blown many 1000s of dollars on real women (some of it was worth it.) Fortunately I've never been divorced. My brother got divorced, and lost his house, and still had to pay the ex-wife a tidy sum every month!

[Bunnyboybob]

Well, you can't take it with you, so you might as well spend it on something that makes you smile all over...

[Rock13]

Wardrobe, makeup, and maintenance supplies can be a bit of a rabbit hole, but over the past four+ years I've found my dolls to be quite economical. The dolls themselves probably total about $5000 USD. All of the other stuff, including wardrobe, makeup, shoes, lingerie, bling, furniture, and remodeling rooms just for them, comes to about $10K. On average, that's about $3750 USD/year. Much cheaper than my previous lifestyle which involved spontaneous daily expenses, high end spas on Fridays, international travel, and cruises to the tune of around $50K per year. My two divorces resulted in a loss of around $475K in a combination of 1995 and 2016 dollars if I include the vehicles, household furnishings, and two houses. If I were to hand out free financial advice to single people, I'd say "just make sure that your new significant other doesn't have a pulse."