The One That Got Away...ALMOST! IPOPODoll Phoenix Head Unboxing

​This unboxing is brief, intentional, and missing a body. Today’s subject is the IPOPODoll Phoenix head, a sculpt I wanted years ago but couldn’t justify at the time due to full-doll-only pricing and a $600 commitment I was not emotionally prepared to make.

​​The Long Search

​After forgetting about Phoenix entirely, I stumbled across his original product photos while browsing online. A casual search turned obsessive quickly, but most listings I found lacked certificates of authenticity. Between that and suspicious pricing, I assumed most were recasts and abandoned the idea again.

While searching Xianyu, I did come across several faceup showcases for this sculpt, and honestly… they were nice. Uncomfortably nice. People are absurdly talented. It immediately put me into that familiar collector spiral of debating whether I should wipe the current faceup and attempt something inspired by what I saw, or leave it alone and respect the work that’s already there.
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For now, I’m keeping the faceup as-is. I need more practice before attempting anything that detailed, and I’d rather not learn my lessons on a head I waited years to own.

Gorgeous frosty-looking Phoenix makeup I saw on Xianyu!

​The Mercari Miracle

Eventually, a legitimate Phoenix head appeared on Mercari with a proper CoA. Initially priced around $300, it sat long enough for me to watch, hesitate, and overthink.

Honestly, I even considered going back to negotiate with the seller. But when I checked again, the listing had completely disappeared. I’m not sure if it sold, if the seller took it down temporarily, or if Mercari simply decided to gaslight me, but at that point I assumed my chance was gone.
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Months later, the listing reappeared with the price dropped to about $150. That time, I didn’t hesitate. I immediately bought it. This was one of those rare collector moments where patience accidentally worked.
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​Of Course There Was a Coupon

​Naturally, Mercari released a 10% off toys coupon a few days after my purchase. I could have saved more, but apparently the universe needed me to experience mild annoyance as a character-building exercise.
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Video Discussion: ​Head-Only Unboxings & Format Thoughts

On a side note, I’ve noticed that head-only unboxing videos tend to perform… poorly. Like “algorithm politely pretends they never happened” poorly. Because of that, I’ve been debating whether these should just become shorts instead of full videos.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the vertical format. Dolls are opened horizontally, reality is horizontal, and yet I’m supposed to fit everything into a tall, narrow rectangle like I’m filming through a mail slot. It’s especially painful with bodies or anything even remotely large.
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So I’m curious what you prefer. Full videos, shorts, or some cursed hybrid format I haven’t emotionally processed yet.
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​Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m genuinely happy to finally have the Phoenix head in my collection. This is one of those sculpts that lived rent-free in my brain for years, quietly resurfacing just often enough to be annoying. Owning it now feels less like a victory and more like closing an old mental tab I never fully shut down.

At some point, I’ll be posting head try-on photos with the bodies I already have, once I decide which ones deserve the emotional labor. Those will likely end up on Dollfinder.org, assuming the project still exists by then and I don’t suddenly decide to scrap the entire thing out of spite or exhaustion. The motivation comes and goes.
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For now, Phoenix has a place here, certificate intact, no regrets… mostly. And that’s about as good as it gets in this hobby.

​Watch the full video on YouTube!