Statements from BJD artists regarding recasts

What BJD makers say about recasts

Click the company name to read their statement.

• Batchix Dolls

  1. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said. It's disheartening and it's frustrating and depressing. I've actually backed off on doll making to concentrate on my day job. It takes so much work and time and money to develop and produce a doll. People whine on about how they don't recast artist dolls, but it's evident they do if they get popular enough. To think that if I make a doll that appeals to a larger audience than my current one would open me up to people ripping me off makes the whole process feel completely pointless. I like to share my work with other people and I try to make sure to keep my costs down so I can sell at a reasonable price. It seems pointless to keep creating if I can't share it for fear someone will decide to recast my work.

     I can't imagine how desperate and helpless the artists who have been ripped off must feel. How do you come back from something like that emotionally? How do you come back from something like that financially? Especially knowing how little is left over after the cost of production.

• Depths Dolls

  1. I'm afraid of being recasted one day, it's always in my mind. So I have to think about protecting my creations all the time. Basically, the recasting for me it's more stress and more expenses >_<

• Dollmore

  1. Dear Dollmore customers and guests~

     WWW.DOLLMORE.NET is an official Dollmore website in English for Dollmore brand ball jointed dolls and related accessories.

     It has been brought to our attention that there are recasts or imitations of the Dollmore brand already on the market or currently in the works.

     Please note that as an Official seller, We are selling based on Dollmore's integrity and patent, supporting the preservation of Dollmore product.

     If you purchase your Dollmore BJDs directly from Dollmore site or Ebay(ID: lemonday) or Fabric Friends & Dolls, we wholly guarantee the authenticity of the product(s) you will be receiving.

Offsite link - information regarding Dollmore COAs:
Dollmore Notice

• Dreamhigh Studio

  1. As a Doll artist, I know that recaster are our worst enemies.

     Let me talk about designing, doll sculpting, concept building of a characters we originally made. This is a very long process that may take MONTHS of hard work.

     While recaster only need 1 day to make silicone molds and 15 minutes to cast 1 doll.

     If recaster keep doing this, BJD art itself will extinct. Imagine that one day BJD is not a form of art anymore but just another mass produced toys.

     The soul, passion, and artists works deserves appreciation. Fighting recaster is the best way to supports artists.

• FairyLand

  1. We regret having to notify our customers with grim news.

     Recently, we have been informed by number of our customers about possible sales of illegally recasted FairyLand dolls on some dubious websites. We now confirm that this is indeed true and further to this, our shopping mall photographs and brand name have been used for promotion of these dolls without our consent.

     We believe that "FairyLand dolls" sold on this particular website were indeed illegal recast dolls. Further, a particular website has automatically blocked all accesses being made from Korean IP which delayed our acknowledgement of the issue but we were able to get around it thanks to friendly help of those who have reported the case to us. There are now several of these websites that are selling unauthorised and illegal recast of FairyLand dolls. We won't be disclosing website addresses of these shopping malls in question not to encourage their promotion. However, we would like to take this opportunity to well inform and warn our customers regarding the issue.

     Whilst we will be trying our best to prevent sales of illegally recasted dolls, we ask potential customers, seeking to buy FairyLand dolls to be extra cautious as these website will be selling not only recasted dolls but also be using our name and photographs. Our shopping mall photographs are exclusive copyright properties of FairyLand which cannot be reproduced or published for financial gain other than those authorised by FairyLand which includes our authorised FairyLand dealers and few other exceptional cases mostly for non-profit charity causes.

     Use of our official photographs to gain profits, especially to sell illegal recasted dolls may cause misunderstanding and we believe the particular act should be heavily criticised for deliberately misleading customers and we will do all in our power to put an end to this.

     Please note that other than our shopping mall website and list of our authorised dealers listed at our website, we do not provide any FairyLand products including dolls and services for re-sale. Further, we do not offer product under a category of 'Second graded/quality dolls' for sale behind the curtain or administer them for companies believed to be selling illegal recasted dolls. All products including returned and cancelled orders that does not meet the quality check are simply discarded. Most importantly, FairyLand cannot be held responsible for any financial loss or trouble from customers purchasing illegally recasted dolls and kindly ask our customers to be extra cautious. The most effective method is to be on guard at all times and we urge you again to be cautious. List of our authorised dealers can be always found at our shopping mall website (http://dollfairyland.com/infodesk/banner.php?number=53).

     If you have any questions regarding the issue, please do not hesitate to contact us via c/s board. Thank you.

• FreakStyleBJD

  1. This is a pretty crowded market. It’s hard enough to ‘make it’; unless you’re a big name, most of the time you’ll only sell up to 20 copies of your doll. The last thing we need is unfair competition of a recast. Recasting is stealing. It’s waiting to see what doll is popular, spend two days making a mold and then casting it. No wonder they sell for so much less than the original: 2 days of work vs. 8 months to 2 years.

     My company is very small due to issues in my personal life. Luckily, I’ve never had to deal with recasters myself, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect me. The threat is there. What should be a good thing: One of my sculpts becoming popular, so that I’m able to make enough money to get by, has become a threat. I know that when a sculpt gets popular, it will be recasted. Could I survive that, financially? I’m not sure.

     It is one of the reasons why I changed my business format. I only make OOAK’s, and sculptures anymore. They are less likely to get copied.

     Recasting has affected our community in other, more indirect, ways too. Everything has to be cheaper. People have told me that my dolls are too expensive, so could I please make a custom one for them for 100 dollars. Others say that I’m a thief, because Recasting Company A is selling dolls for much less. Recasts are being used to compare prices, and thus create a falls sense of value.

     Recasters are a threat, not only to the artists, but to the community as a whole.

• Iplehouse

  1. Today we want to ask you a favor.

     Recently we received information from some of our clients that fake Iplehouse doll is being distributed in the market. Real Iplehouse dolls are only sold on Iplehouse site. So please be aware of this and do not buy Iplehouse dolls from other sites.

     Especially please don’t buy recast dolls. If you find some sites which sells our dolls cheaper than our site, you can assume that it is a fake.

     If you continue to buy these bootleg dolls, it will affect our creativity and eventually it will affect our company fundamentally.

     A lot of doll manufacturing companies are facing hard time because of these illegal products. And Iplehouse is not an exception.

     Iplehouse is organized by few artistes. Most of our staffs engage in creative work and we appreciate our clients love for our dolls. We give careful attention to our client’s need. Also from the planning stage to the end we try our best to make an adorable doll which will be loved by our customers. All of our dolls are made of our effort, toil and passion. Please don’t fill criminal’s pocket with money by buying fake products.

     We need your support and help to keep on developing new dolls. Developing a new doll consumes a lot of time and money. Please understand this and once again we sincerely ask you not to purchase those illegal products.

     And please prevent other friends around from purchasing bootleg items. We are planning to conduct a campaign against illegal items. Please join us with this campaign.

     We need your love and support. Please give us strength.

     Thank you for your time and support.

     We will do our utmost to develop new products and design to give satisfaction and joy to our clients.

     Iplehouse will make your dreams come true.

• K-doll

  1. We have heard that there is a site selling dolls of K-doll.

     the dolls of K-doll are sold officially in k-doll.com only.

     (the heads up to 2009 were completely discontinued saling.)

     Please be careful If you choose any other site to buy, you could get pirated doll or can’t get anything because it would be a phishing site.

     I would appreciate if you contact [email protected] when you discover a suspicious site.

• Light Limner

  1. I think it's thievery.

     Recasting is steal doll maker's idea, work.

     If the illegal recasting is going on, small bjd companies are gonna be closed eventually.

     And most of companies are really small.

• LUTS

  1. Thank you for loving our dolls always. Today we make announcement about sale of recast dolls and products. Recently, we discovered some Chinese and Thailand sellers sell our recast dolls using our logos and official photos.

     We are afraid that innocent customers who buy dolls from them would receive fake dolls.

     They may receive bad quality dolls and products because they believed our name and logo. Also it is impossible to offer A/S or further event support about the recast doll buyers.

     We do not want to see more victims.

• Maskcatdoll

  1. I think recasting is utilitarian.Only steal the creatures from the artists without soul.And just selling it because nobody can really ensures the copyright of the artists.

     Also i think recasting doll is easy to misdirect some new people in the BJD hobby,to makes them building up a wrong values about BJDs.

     I understand why there're so many recasting doll around the world but also i really hate it.

     That's killing BJDs in some ways.

• Pygmalion Dolls

  1. Hello, this is Pygmalion Dolls.

     We are living every day in gratitude with all your attention and support.
     However, in a world full of illegal recasts, we at Pygmalion Dolls have always had that worry in the back of our minds.

     In a more personal note, I started Pygmalion Dolls in June of 2015. I started with nothing – I had to rent out available studio spaces and did everything from production, operation, to fabrication and everything in between. Even though the work environment was lacking and less than optimal, I pushed through without much thought since I had a lot of fans supporting me and encouraging me.

     Pygmalion Doll’s Ha, Allen, Robin, Kyle, Lavier, Han and Chen all was created in these circumstances.

     Not only just me, other companies and artists probably poured their all into creating dolls. Illegal recasts undermine, steps on, and tarnishes all the time, blood, sweat and tears all of us poured into our creations. These criminals are making money off someone else’s hard work and effort.

     From the start of Pygmalion Dolls until just 2 months ago, I’ve been doing all the work by myself. Recently, I’ve hired a part time helper after realizing it was impossible to do everything on my own. Now Pygmalion Dolls consists of 2 hard working members that manufacture, produce and operate the whole ‘company’. When illegal recasters continue profiting off our work, we will not see any profit. In such a small company as ours, this has a larger effect.

     If the vicious cycle of our creations being recasted and sold continues,

     we will continue to face setbacks after setbacks that will result in discontinuing sales in current dolls, canceling releases of newer dolls and eventually, us closing. Buying illegal recasts also exposes you to health risks (since we do not know what materials these people are using in unregulated work spaces) and risks of losing money as it is more likely you will receive defective dolls or face destruction of dolls by custom agents.

     At the end, the damage also goes to you, our loving fans.

     We hope and trust that our true fans will only buy dolls from our official site or our official dealers. We ask that you help redirect others who may not be choosing the right path. Illegal recasting is an immoral act that goes beyond just stealing, and with your help we hope to stop this evil. If the doll community stops the demand of recast dolls, the supply will dry out.

     The following are the Official Pygmalion Dolls websites and sales site:
     http://pygmaliondolls.com (ENG)
     http://pygmaliondoll.com (KOR)

     The following are our Official Dealers:
     UK : Frost Bitten
     CN : 大果子BJD

     You can meet the lovely Boys of Pygmalion Dolls ONLY at the above-mentioned places. Again, we encourage you to buy our dolls ONLY at officially recognized retailers. Thank you for your undying support and cooperation.

     May 2017, Sincerely, Pygmalion Dolls Artist and Representative, Jisu Lee

     There are a few ways to ensure the authenticity of Pygmalion Dolls.
     1. Inscriptions within the head or a red wax seal with Pygmalion Dolls’ logo.
     2. Certificate of authenticity – it is easiest to confirm authenticity by requesting order history using the certificate.
     3. From orders placed on April of 2017 on, we will place serial numbers inside the heads.

     We are working on a website that you will be able to ensure authenticity by inputting the serial number (we hope to incorporate this feature very soon).

     If an item produced after April 2017 lacks the metal plate with the serial number, you should question its authenticity. (Items produced prior may not have a plate and if you would like to confirm authenticity, please send us a request).

     Buying, selling and/or cooperating with an illegal recaster is infringement / unauthorized use / breach in intellectual property rights of Pygmalion Dolls and we will do everything in our power to punish those who do so. Illegal recast dolls are not under any product quality guarantee or warranties, and will not receive any warranty services. Anyone caught producing recasts or cooperating with recasters will face the full extent of law, banned permanently, and their partial personal information will be posted on the official website as well as other doll communities as a warning.

• Rumpel Doll

  1. It is difficult to express all the feelings that I have about this situation... For me, the recast means all the bad things about this hobby. It means days and nights thinking if I should share my creations with the rest of the people or just keep them for me because of the fear of thinking that they can be recasted.

     I'm sure we're losing very good future and current artists precisely because of this, since for a small business owner losing each single customer can mean the cessation of activity. It feels like a great impotence, since mostly you can not do anything, and the fact of knowing that one of your clients (to whom you have dedicated effort and time answering all the correspondence and preparing the product with dedication and love), has sent your creation to copy, is tremendously discouraging.

     In my particular case, to make my first creation took me a year, a year of effort and uncertainties repeating, undoing and remaking a thousand times my work so that everything is as I had in mind, and knowing that this effort can be stolen in just one second without any punishment is heartbreaking...

     So please, buy always from the artist and reject recast products. Many artists are fighting to survive, but we can do nothing without your help.

     Together we can avoid losing art and creation of amazing sculpture.

• SOOM

  1. Hello SOOM lovers, we always thank you very much for your interest in and loving our BJDs.

     
     

     There are tons of SOOM BJD reproductions / recasts manufactured and distributed by illegal market channels and recently, a number of these illegal activities are getting higher than ever. This is indeed black marketing that jeopardizes the whole BJD industry including SOOM.

     • Please do not use online stores selling the illegal reproductions / recasts
     • The illegal online stores close their sites once you make payments or deliver dolls other than what you expect, not original SOOM BJD(s)
     • Please cancel your order(s) / request refund immediately once you have ordered
     • Please check our regular prices. If prices are much cheaper than our regular ones, it is suspicious and can be fraud
     • Original SOOM BJDs are available only at our online store www.dollsoom.com and Vodaless Japan
     • We do not guarantee the warranty and do not provide customer care service for SOOM BJD(s) from other online stores

     
     

     How to authorize your SOOM BJD
     1. Go to our web site and click on
     2. Your BJD will be authorized if all the information is correspondent with Purchaser, Date of Purchase, and your BJD
     3. Must check the serial number and warranty first when you purchase used SOOM BJD

• SOULDOLL

  1. Copyright violation is a very sensitive and important issue. Any product requires much effort and time on many people’s part.

     Copyrights violations set back such efforts by so many people in one instance, and eliminates the very reason for which many companies exist.

     In addition, copyright violators do not care for the quality of the dolls, customers who who are tricked into buying a copy may turn out to have a negative image of the original maker.

     When we first encountered this problem, our disappointment and despair were too big, and could not figure out how to overcome this problem.

     Many companies, in addition to ourselves, are suffering vast financial and mental damage because of copyrights violation, but we are feeling the extending grasp of the illegal copyrights piracy market in the past few years.

     We found some of such illegal websites through our own searches, but many others were found thanks to customers that love our dolls, as well.</p>

     We send warning e-mails to the illegal copy sites whenever we find them, but the sad reality is that it is almost impossible to eliminate them because the operators of such sites close the first one and open another in matter of days. Under such circumstances, we came up with twelve-digit alphanumeric code that certifies our product, as well as holographic stickers that help us keep track of the data. This, however, is not a perfect solution.

     Despite such setbacks, we are always thinking of new ideas to certify genuine products and provide high-quality dolls and services through continued efforts.</p>

     We ask for the support of doll fans so that our efforts count for something.

     Thank you.

  • VOLKS

    1. Please note, Volks' statement can be found at the following website: https://www.superdollfie.net/otoiawase/illegalcopies_en/