Accidentally Buying a Copy: What Should They Do?

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Waitasec. So you're saying that if someone buys a recast they can just mod it and then present it as a legitimate doll?

 

Den of Angels is an anti-recasting forum. How you personally feel about recasts is up to you, but there is no positive spin on them here. Members who post recasts are banned.

People have tried to justify buying recasts because they don't want to modify a legitimate doll, but there are lots of less expensive dolls around now, so that argument is moot. The issue isn't modified dolls, it's unofficial, unauthorized copies of other companies' work.

 

I say keep it, but don't try to post pics of it on DOA or talk about it other than to warn other newbies about what can happen. If she really wants to share pictures of this doll with the world, she can always join the dreaded "recast friendly" forums and Facebook groups or just post pictures on her own personal Facebook/ tumbler/ Live Journal/ etc. If she does post pictures somewhere, I think it might be a good idea to say something along the lines of, "yes, this is a recast. No, I didn't know it was a recast when I bought it. At this point I've bonded with him/her and can't bring myself to give him/her up. Please understand and don't judge me for it."

 

Self moderating by deleting this post here as it seems a similar post elsewhere has been deleted by DOA's mods. My apologies ^^

 

Celyne.

You have just added a valuable new piece of terminology to my vocabulary I LOVE the phrase "dolly-sin"!

I hope you don't mind if I borrow it?

 

Once I buy a doll it's more often than not my doll forever. I rarely re-sell my dolls. Finding out one was a recast would not lessen my love for a doll. It might upset me to find out it was a recast, at first, but I'd get over it. Assuming it was a safe doll to keep I'd retain ownership and still love and enjoy my doll. I would not post pics of it here out of respect for DOA's policy on recasts. But there are other forums and places where I could and I probably would, while mentioning that it was a recast and that I bought it unawares. I would not pretend my doll was legit. I would not try to resell it as legit. But I would not suddenly start treating it like it was some kind of shameful thing either. At that point the deed is done. I'm not going to destroy a doll that's already made just to prove a point. It's not my doll's fault it's origin is illegitimate. I wouldn't treat it any differently than my other dolls except for not putting it on DOA. In fact I might love it even more because it is a recast and has to exist with the stigma of being one. I admittedly have a big tendency towards anthropomorphizing my dolls and I actually tend to go for dolls that are slightly imperfect. I like having dolls around that I have to fix. In this case I think my sympathy and love for the doll would simply outweigh other people's distaste for it. Flaunting it on here I would not do, but I'd keep it and love it even if half the planet despised me for it.

 

I'd probably keep it, but stop posting the doll online to avoid conflict. I am not pro-recast in any way, but I feel that once the mistake has been done, there really isn't anything else to do. In that situation, I would just probably learn from my mistake and make sure to research before making further purchases.

 

I was at a meetup and this actually was brought up. There was a girl who got into the hobby before knowing of DOA. She found a doll she loved on ebay she bought it and loved it. Then found DOA and started posting pictures and she got it pretty bad. You coukd tell she was hurt when she talked about her doll and DOA. She found out that her not onky was a copy but was a collaboration of several different companies put together (legs from one company, torso from another, head from another ect, all copies of coarse) she told me she still loved her doll she just didnt know. There was even a situation which everyone was lining their dolls up for a picture and she told everyone she wouldnt put her doll in the group so the picture could be posted here. (She was very nice and open about her doll it was obvious to me that she didnt intentionally buy it as a copy)

If I were in the situation id prob do one of three things...1) keep it and love it, 2) keep it and have it put away , or 3) keep it and use it as modding practice. I wouodnt sell it because that is spurring things on so I would definatly keep the doll but what id do im not sure..

 

I hope she was at least invited to take a group photo after the group photo for DOA was taken, bc it would be so sad to think of someone being left out bc they were not aware of that they bought a copy.

First off I stressed out way too much over my first BJD to end up getting a copy.. but if I had & I found out (hopefully without being flamed like a marshmallow) that she was not allowed on DOA I would follow the rules, but if I've already fell in love with her I don't think I would be able to toss her out unless I pressed the issue to get a refund & I'm sure there are more sites where I could post photos & share her.

I would be super mad at the person who sold me a doll that was stolen goods as for the mold !! If the Doll is sent through the USPS mail system I would go to the Post Office or usps.com and file mail fraud charges, bc these people have to know what they are doing. If you can prove someone cheated you through the mail you can find out their legal name, & street address if they are mailing from a PO BOX. They could find in your favor and basically force the Company/Person(s) to refund your money or risk losing the right to receive mail through the USPS. I've had to do this for another item on ebay, & the person in question shipped my item after avoiding me for almost a year !!

I would also turn over all of the information to the Company who had their mold copied so hopefully they have more power to go after people who are ripping people off !

I wanted Volks SDCG Renee very badly and I almost made it out alive with her still in my cart on Volks Inc's site.. but it was not to be However I would not buy a copy of her no matter how tempting.. bc the bottom line is that it would hurt the company that I love. People think that it's no big deal, but if everyone is buying copies and not the dolls from the legit Companies.. then their profits go down & they have less to offer us all.

There were some nude Volks Heath dolls on ebay that were inexpensive.. when others were asking for almost $2,000 for him. I wanted him so bad and could have redressed him, but thought it was rather fishy that they managed to get multiple dolls without his clothes.

 

In direct reference to the opening post, if it were me and I didn't know what I know now about recasts I'd be angry and my perception of the doll would change, it would not be as precious anymore. I'd likely still keep it for awhile, but I'd try my best to search out a legit of the same doll to purchase to ease my conscience and because I simply want to get my original intended purchase. A copy of a doll is not the same doll in any way, and not what I paid for. Then I'd use the experience to educate myself and make sure not to be taken advantage of again. If a few years had passed and I'd moved on, I may choose to destroy the counterfeit doll rather than risk it being sold on if something should happen to me.

Knowing what I do now about recasts it would be unlikely to actually happen in the first place, but if I was sold a fake I'd confront the seller, open a dispute and do whatever was required in order to get my money back, leave appropriate feedback for the seller, and notify concerned parties about the unlawful business taking place so that action may be taken.

 

Personally I can't relate to a situation when someone doesn't do a basic resarch on something that will require quite an amount of cash. Even bootlegs tend to be over $100 and I doubt this is a number a young newbie is willing to spend just-like-that. I have no sympathy for people who spend their money irrseponsibly and then are suddenly surprised by the news when it turns out they made a mistake (assuming one would consider buying a recast a "mistake" unless it was fully conscious decision, of course).

When it comes to me and my strong, anti-recast attitude, I would really detest the doll once I found out I got some piece of rubbish not a doll. But that's just me.

If this happened to a young person needing adivce, I would probably take an honest attempt in explaning what happened. I would say she/he can love the doll but must be aware this is a kind of doll that does not show value to this community (DoA oriented one) and should not be presented among originals. I think it would be crucial to ephesize that it is important to be honest about the doll and how it all happened. I am greatful to recast owners who always tag their dolls. I may not approve of thier choices but I appreciate when they inform me what I am seeing so I have a choice whether I want to see it or not.

The doll itself shouldn't lose her value in the eyes of the owner and deserves as much love as it had from the start.
But it is iportant to be aware of what it really is and not to try cross the line of passing it as a legit one, only to be able to mix into a legit-doll preferring community.

This all assuming the person who got a bootleg doll wasn't set on whether she/he is against or not. This would really determine what one would do with a bootlegged doll sold as a legit.

 

I think she should still keep the doll. I mean, even if its a fake, why go through the trouble to give it up? Maybe it would be hard to post up pictures of the new doll on DOA since it's not real. I guess I'd just post pictures on a different site.

 

I don't know if this has ever been covered, but when I was searching to see if the topic had been covered it showed me this thread.

So how does someone recast another company's doll ? Do they make an impression of a legal doll to make a mold and then go about cheating people with the dolls they make from the stolen mold ?

 

This was actually one of the reasons why I was so hesitant with buying a BJD to begin with. Of course, after years of actually talking with my friends and reviewing where it would be safe to buy, I found myself with a doll coming and a doll already arrived...
But if I did happen to have accidentally bought a recast and was shunned and ridiculed for this mistake, I would probably not feel welcomed in this community, as I know it is anti-recast. Of course, it's a learning experience as hopefully those who did make this mistake before aren't accounted for it, though they are obviously unable to post their recast on this specific forum...
And yes, dolls are extremely expensive, but there are many companies where they aren't and it's so much more affordable. I suppose it's just that you have to buy from a seller or any dealers working with them...

 

If I got scammed by some criminal and ended up with a recast instead of a legitimate doll, I'd:

1) Do everything in my power to get my money back (paypal, credit card reversal, etc...)
2) Report the thief to the doll company they were ripping off, and warn people on DoA about them
3) Either take a sledgehammer to the doll and use the shards to test various substances effects on resin (though with crappy bootleg resin, who knows if it would have the same effect) or completely dremel the doll down to where it was just hollowed out tubes and sculpt my own doll on top of it with epoxy (it would be sturdier than trying to use straws at least)

I hate recasts, I would not be friends with someone who knowingly bought or supported recasts.

 

Thankfully I'll likely never end up in this situation since I bought 6 of my 7 dolls from new, my third hand doll is legit and I don't plan on buying any more in the next few years (at the very least). However, in a hypothetical situation I'd likely keep the doll but refrain from posting photos of it on forums such as these. I'd never support recasts or buy one knowingly but I just don't think I could destroy a doll once it got to me, for sentimental reasons.

 

I'm with Nefla on this one.

 

What a crappy scenario. But I would definitely advise the person to make a diligent effort to get a refund, report it to the authorities, report it to the legit doll company and post through any/all social means possible about the scammer. I have a low tolerance for theft and deception. Some people aren't perceptive or detailed enough in their search efforts to notice scams or too gullible/inexperienced.

Case in point - I recently used a different search engine other than Google to test how someone could come across shady dealings without much effort. I searched for "Iplehouse" and guess what; the official Iplehouse website doesn't even appear on the first or second pages - but there are lots of "stores" that list Iplehouse dolls. I searched for a few other companies and it was seriously hit or miss if the legit site showed up. If someone doesn't know what to look for - it's sadly too easy to make a mistake out of ignorance. This is especially true if the person comes across DoA after they buy their doll. I now understand why some people are asking for actual websites in various inquiry posts.

I feel horrible for anyone who would go through this scenario. I cannot imagine how hurt and enraged at being scammed someone would feel. Personally I save myself the anxiety and only buy company direct. I like supporting artists directly.

 

Interesting topic…

 

I did end up with a recast. I saw a Luts KDF Bory on another forum for sale, no faceup and a broken finger. I assumed that the broken finger was the reason for the very low cost. The owner said she bought him new and I assumed that meant from the company. She was very new to the hobby, newer than me, she had not even heard of recasts. I should have known the second I saw the inside of the head, as I have legit Luts dolls, but I didn't. I was an idiot. At first I was suspicious, then finally realized for sure he was fake. The doll was absolutely ruined for me. I hadn't fallen in love with him yet, but if so, he would have been wrong for me and I would have been broken-hearted. I was fortunate that she was willing to give a refund with the return of the doll. Buying a doll on ebay, or a forum is fine. Just ask questions. Ask questions. Ask more questions. And get pictures of the identifiers. I felt terrible about it, although my only crime was being stupid and impulsive. I hate to think that I could have sent off for a faceup! Fortunately, I was doing it myself. I am in the process of paying off my Bory direct from Luts. I will love him to pieces and even more so for this experience.