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Taking my obsession too far???


ecowdell

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I'm seriously contemplating driving 12 hours round trip to pick up a $20 dollhouse.  It's almost completely assembled and a kit (Corona Concepts Lily) I've been eyeing for a while.  So, tell me I'm crazy, then tell me the craziest thing you've done to track down something for your hobby. 

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Is it decorated inside, too?  And they assembled it well?

You aren't crazy. And 12hrs RT isnt that bad really. But be sure to check craigslist for any deals enroute so you can make it extra-worthwhile! lol you are asking enablers!

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Are you still at the computer???...... Stand up.... Get the Car Keys and drive like HELL!! :drive: I'm terribly sorry you have the same obsession  as I do.... But...I think there's help.... Stand up from the computer... Stop reading my post and :drive: like HELL !!! 

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Be logical....I know it is hard when the dollhouse fever starts.

A brand new Lily is $129 here on Greenleaf, free shipping over $50.  I've seen them cheaper on Overstock etc.

12 hours might be a lot of gas depending on your car.  What would that cost? Don't forget the snacks etc...

You gotta do the pros and cons....Have you seen the house in person? Do you have an aversion to building? etc...

I would race across town, maybe 30 miles for a good deal, but I don't know about 12 hours.

Here is my fever story....I just bought 13 lights off of Ebay for my house even though the electrical isn't working at the moment:doctor:

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Not sure I'd drive 12 hrs myself.. at least not unless I made it worth it by planning to stop at mini shops along the way and turned it into a mini road trip. :D I also think it would have to be a pretty rare house that was one I'd coveted for a while for me to do that.. but hey, whatever floats your boat.. 

This is coming from the person who took a flight down to a mini show for one day and proceeded to buy items for two houses down my build list.. :blush:

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Estimated build time for the Lily is 40 hours. I know it took me longer than that to complete mine 

See more estimated build times for the Corona kits below

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=1982&do=findComment&comment=27578

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8 hours ago, Cyn-AK said:

:dunno: I guess I not only have an Obsession.... I 'm also Impulsive.....:dunno:.... I think it must have come from 30+ years driving a semi truck....

I'm super impulsive too... hence the desire to do this. 

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33 minutes ago, Minis On The Edge said:

Estimated build time for the Lily is 40 hours. I know it took me longer than that to complete mine 

See more estimated build times for the Corona kits below

http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=forums&module=forums&controller=topic&id=1982&do=findComment&comment=27578

Yeah, I've actually never built a house, my dad built both of mine.  Honestly it doesn't seem like something I'd enjoy as the painting and wallpapering, etc, is something I find very tedious and not super exciting.  This is a good point... I hadn't considered the build time that my dad would have to invest (HA!). 

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10 hours ago, Samusa said:

Not sure I'd drive 12 hrs myself.. at least not unless I made it worth it by planning to stop at mini shops along the way and turned it into a mini road trip. :D I also think it would have to be a pretty rare house that was one I'd coveted for a while for me to do that.. but hey, whatever floats your boat.. 

This is coming from the person who took a flight down to a mini show for one day and proceeded to buy items for two houses down my build list.. :blush:

Now I'm looking for mini shops, not much to be found in Wyoming!

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10 hours ago, Mid-life madness said:

Be logical....I know it is hard when the dollhouse fever starts.

A brand new Lily is $129 here on Greenleaf, free shipping over $50.  I've seen them cheaper on Overstock etc.

12 hours might be a lot of gas depending on your car.  What would that cost? Don't forget the snacks etc...

You gotta do the pros and cons....Have you seen the house in person? Do you have an aversion to building? etc...

I would race across town, maybe 30 miles for a good deal, but I don't know about 12 hours.

Here is my fever story....I just bought 13 lights off of Ebay for my house even though the electrical isn't working at the moment:doctor:

The fever.... good term.  This is good advice.  I have never built before and according to reviews online, this is an exceptionally tough build.  I don't actually have much interest in building as it seems tedious to me.  But, yes, gas, snacks, maybe a hotel room, it adds up fast!

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11 hours ago, Elsbeth said:

Is it decorated inside, too?  And they assembled it well?

You aren't crazy. And 12hrs RT isnt that bad really. But be sure to check craigslist for any deals enroute so you can make it extra-worthwhile! lol you are asking enablers!

It isn't decorated or furnished but, yes, it looks like they did a really great job assembling it. 

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6 minutes ago, ecowdell said:

It isn't decorated or furnished but, yes, it looks like they did a really great job assembling it. 

I wouldn't trust photos to determine how well it is built. If you're willing to drive that far and be disappointed when you see it up close and personal, then go for it. 

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30 minutes ago, ecowdell said:

Yeah, I've actually never built a house, my dad built both of mine.  Honestly it doesn't seem like something I'd enjoy as the painting and wallpapering, etc, is something I find very tedious and not super exciting.  This is a good point... I hadn't considered the build time that my dad would have to invest (HA!). 

Yeah, I finally admitted that I don't enjoy building 1:12. But I LOVE buying completed 1:12 houses and furnishing them! YAY! Go get the house if you love it. And check craigslist listings for areas you will be driving through so you can sweep up all the goodies to be found on your 12hr round trip. And play lots of nice music. It will be fun.

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We did a 12 hour round trip drive to pick up a Joseph Angel shell that was on craigslist for $95.00.  Actually I paid her $100 as I didn't want to wait for her to get change I wanted to get out of there before she changed her mind about selling it.  i would do it again in a second and even drive much further if I wanted the house bad enough.  

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The longest trip that I have made so far for a dollhouse is 4 hours round trip, and so far no regrets, I enjoyed and loved those trips, BUT it is true that at least 3 of them resulted in total disappointments, I had to go back home empty handed (yet happy that I saved some money lol!). So, for a trip this far I would try to be very sure that it will be absolutely worth it. I understand that some houses do not come on the market very often at all, and a built Lily is one of them. If you end up getting it, CONGRATULATIONS!

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I've gone to Portland a couple of times to get houses and that's about 3 hours each way - or 2 if I don't see any cops. Going around to Seattle can be anywhere from an hour to 2 hours, depending on the traffic. If I take the ferry, I can cut off about 120 miles, but it costs an extra $30 now more or less and it's still an hour each way to cross the Sound.

My dream is to have a large van or U-Haul and crisscross the country looking for dollhouses to buy. Yeah, I'm not big on reality at all. LOL

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5 hours ago, KathieB said:

I wouldn't trust photos to determine how well it is built. If you're willing to drive that far and be disappointed when you see it up close and personal, then go for it. 

I agree. Craigslist houses often look better in the pictures than they do in real life, especially if we're excited about them! And they're only selling it for $20? Unless you've seen very good photos and had a conversation with the seller about how it was put together, I wouldn't drive that far.

When I was new to dollhouses I drove about 30 miles for a McKinley I thought was a steal at $65. Once I got there and saw it, I knew it wasn't a good deal, but the people were so excited for it to find a good home I felt bad not buying it. (It had belonged to their kids who were now grown and out of the house.) I attempted to rehab it but I eventually put it on Freecycle, and I wouldn't be surprised if the person I gave it to threw it out. Never doing that again!

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3 hours ago, fov said:

I agree. Craigslist houses often look better in the pictures than they do in real life, especially if we're excited about them! And they're only selling it for $20? Unless you've seen very good photos and had a conversation with the seller about how it was put together, I wouldn't drive that far.

When I was new to dollhouses I drove about 30 miles for a McKinley I thought was a steal at $65. Once I got there and saw it, I knew it wasn't a good deal, but the people were so excited for it to find a good home I felt bad not buying it. (It had belonged to their kids who were now grown and out of the house.) I attempted to rehab it but I eventually put it on Freecycle, and I wouldn't be surprised if the person I gave it to threw it out. Never doing that again!

Good point.  I'll ask more questions.  Can you coach me?  I've never bought one used!  What should I look for?  They are moving across country (opposite direction) on Saturday so they are trying to ditch it. 

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3 hours ago, ecowdell said:

Good point.  I'll ask more questions.  Can you coach me?  I've never bought one used!  What should I look for?  They are moving across country (opposite direction) on Saturday so they are trying to ditch it. 

I like close up photos, ask if the doors and windows work, close up photo of staircase. I like it when my houses have all floors finished. I have sold great houses for $29. I just wanted them gone fast, so I'm not worried about low pricing as a red flag --but definitely look at photos. I went to buy a dollhouse (it was perfect) and they had a McKinley for sale as well --really cheap --at first I thought I'd take it too, but it was horribly built. Glue everywhere, warped crooked staircase. So just be careful. Good luck!

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I drove 7 hours one way to pick up my dream dollhouse [ over the top dollhouse album on Greenleaf ]  and ended up buying three from this builder. Thought I was being smart by bundling LOL! I also drove 5 hours to pick up a shell of a house but it was the exact style I had been thinking about building from scratch. The 5 hours one way saved me from a massive scratch build that I may have not been ready for. [ The direction I am headed album on Greenleaf ]

Just be sure and get lots of photos, have plenty of discussion and I had a friend in the area go with me, since I was meeting strangers.

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Id do it in a heartbeat, I dont mind driving and I used to take road trips by myself when I was younger. (just keep a can of pepper spray handy and maybe a nice pocket knife just in case cops cant get you for a pocket knife in the car. ) 12 hours isnt that long Ive done that going down 101 from San Rafael to Palm Springs.  ( I do have to say my butt hurt but it was at night and I was flooring it in a sports car (1996 Mazda RX7) the only thing that happened was a couple of guys wanted to race me (one in a BMW and the other in a Datsun 240Z that sounded like he had swapped out the engine) but I was in a hurry and I didnt need the headache of a ticket.

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