Accidentally Buying a Copy: What Should They Do?

"Last, regarding eating resin; I was at a meet once when a stranger unexpectedly put my doll's hand in her mouth and sucked on it. I was horrified and revolted!"

lmao what a weirdo. Why, I say, why?


~Back to the topic....

 

This is a very important view!

I think it would be a great thing if there was a direct comparison made and put somewhere that newbies can see. I am a pretty paranoid person when it comes to online dealings (It took me forever muster up the courage to enter the marketplace here... and I only just bought my first item on ebay a couple of months ago.. yes, I am paranoid about internet commerce), so I know I would be as careful as can be when making a purchase. However, upon receipt, I (nor would most other relatively new owners) wouldn't know how to even begin checking to see if it was recast.

For someone who might never have touched resin (let alone seen a doll IRL), I think that the more information that can be put out there and the most immediately accessible, then the easier it might be to prevent the mistake from happening to unknowing buyers. Are there internal differences (like, inside the doll?) that might give it away? Or, is it up to us to figure out (visually) by comparing the joints and such to those of other companies?

 

To the girl in question - if you love it, then love it, bootleg or not! No one should make you feel bad for it, including yourself! Post pics off site to follow the rules, and label the doll as a copy accordingly. If you ever try to sell it, do so with full disclosure, and price it accordingly, though I do think it will be hard to find a market, since copies are illegal to sell on DOA and eBay. Do report bootleggers to eBay to keep it from happening to other people, but don't beat yourself up about it.

 

I can only speak from my own experience, but there are differences inside and outside of recast dolls. Dezarii photographed and posted here on DoA some really nice internal comparisons of the Phantomdoll and the original it was cast from.
There are sometimes tool marks inside that should act as fingerprints to distinguish the sculpt from any other similar style. On the outside one of the easiest things to spot is two seam lines running close together instead of a single line. When parts are recast the new molds will not always line up where the old ones sat, creating a second set of lines. They can be faint or pronounced. There are a number of threads all over DoA discussing the traits of recast dolls, which companies are known for it, and ones that are suspect. I'm not sure if there is a organized thread or sticky devoted to it.


To stray back on topic, if someone buys a copied/bootlegged/whathaveyou doll inadvertently I think what they do with it depends on each person, but I would hope that they would have the integrity to not pass it off to someone else unknowingly if they choose not to keep it. One good turn can right a wrong, and I believe strongly in karma.

 

I was so curious about the bootlegs, but when I saw one (someone wanted a chiwoo but couldn't afford one) I knew it was fake. To me personally, it defeats the purpose. Sadly, as my collection grows, I become more picky about the dolls I buy. My dolls are totally willing to play with copied dolls, we don't have a problem with them. I just don't want any for myself.

 

Actually, knowingly selling an illegal copy - or even giving it away for free - is a crime in many countries, including the USA.

It is also against ebay regulations: http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

Granted, ebay does pretty little to inforce these regulations, so there is a reasonable chance that someone might get away with it if they tried. And even if caught, the repercussions would probably be small if it´s just the one doll they were selling.

But if someone´s moral code does not allow them to keep a copycat doll because they feel copies are wrong*, that moral code would be a pretty strange one if the same person felt it was alright to sell it now that they know what it is.
(*as opposed to, say, wanting to get rid of the doll because they can no longer enjoy it after having been attacked for owning it.)

It wouldn´t make a difference if they declared it to be a copy or pretended not to know. They would still knowingly pass on a bootleg. It would be even worse if they knew this copy to be a potential health hazard. In that situation, they have few options for getting rid of the doll in a legal/ethical way. Even throwing it in the garbage or destroying it would be difficult as there might be harmful side-effects (poisonous smoke/dust, poison affecting earth and ground water...)

Of course they could return the doll to the seller and demand their money back, but the seller would probably just resell it to someone else and not care about the one person complaining. If it´s still within the time frame, they could open a dispute and try to get the seller in trouble with ebay/Paypal.

They could send pictures of the doll (or even the doll itself if they don´t want to keep it) and the seller information to the company that produced the original, which would add to the company´s means to take action; as well as post information on doll boards to get the word out. These two are the most effective ways I can picture to actually do something about the matter.
After all, the main damage in this case is already done: The bootleg has been sold, the bootlegger has made money from it. It will really do no-one any good if the buyer punishes herself.

If the doll hasn´t been spoiled for her by the knowledge/experience, I think she should by all means keep and enjoy it. There are so many other options for posting pictures besides DoA, and so many other options to enjoy DoA and participate in the community besides posting pictures.

 

If this ever happened to me, I'd keep her/him and love him/her.

D= Sad though, I hope someone who has ever bought a fake is never shunned at a dollmeet. Heck, I'd probably be the first to go sit with the owner. All dolls are beautiful, Volks, Luts, DollZone, Leeke etc. Every doll is beautiful to its owner, and thats really what matters most. =D

 

That's my opinion too. If the girl didn't KNOW it was a copy/fake when she bought it, it isn't her fault. And if she loves the doll, she should continue loving it. She should not be shunned because she was tricked by the seller and wound up making a mistake because of it.

 

Wow. Until reading this thread, I never even realised people counterfeit dolls... although they are costly, so it makes sense. It's even more scary because though I've been watching this community and the hobby for years (yet still don't have 40 posts, I miss the days when Marketplace was open) the only doll I've ever seen in person is the Catsy I had for a few months and was afraid to touch. And the possibility of toxic resin? Another thing I never would have thought of.
I could very easily be tricked into buying a counterfeit El, for example. Every doll of the same mold looks different once they've gotten their makeup, eyes, and a wig- plus people mod them all the time. I know I'd be pretty hurt, maybe even in denial if I posted pictures of my beatiful new El and people started jumping all over me telling me he was a fake.
If it were me, I'd keep the doll. I would still love him, and the harm would have already been done. That said, I would also report the seller, and notify the real doll company that someone was counterfeiting their dolls. I would also hope that everyone here would have the decency to treat someone in this situation kindly, and with sympathy. I agree that a "spotting a fake" sticky would be a good idea, maybe with tips as to who to notify if you've accidentally purchased a fake.

 

If I were to buy one by accident?

well, reselling isnt really an option as other people might not want to willingly buy a bootleg doll. I would just keep it.What else should I do with it? burn it O_o?

 

Ew.
Resin, rosin, or anything of the sort does NOT taste good.

 

Same here.
Technically, that person might have found it considerably immoral and may "blame" the doll for the flaming she received on DoA.

 

i would have continue keeping the doll. afterall you already paid for it. and most importantly, you love it. not everyone can love everything that you love and vice versa. people have different attraction to things.

so i say, keep it and learn from it. let it be a gentle love reminder, and not make the same mistake.

 

Before I put my two cents in, I would like to say that this thread has helped me cope with a few insecurity issues I had with my doll since he is a DollZone and I just recently heard about their little starting scandal. I am fairly new to the whole BJD thing, but I know about counterfits and am proud to have an original.
As for buying a counterfit doll, I think I might avoid my doll for a bit after hearing that it was a bootleg, but after a while I would realize that it is not my dolls fault, but the companys, and I would try to warn others about them. I think I probably wouldn't go for an original, though, but maybe try buying a doll from the company the original came from. As for coming to DoA, I honestly don't post here much, so I think that wouldn't be too much of a problem...

 

Honestly, I'd keep it. The money has already gone to the guys creating copies, and they aren't going to take it back. The only other choice would be to donate it, or to sell it. Either way, someone ELSE ends up with a fake. And if I fell in love with it so easily, then I'd especially have to say no to giving it up. I'd just not bring him/her up on the boards, and not post pictures. Maybe get myself another, real doll eventually, but still love my accident.

 

I would definatly keep the fake. I mean, if you truly loved it in the first place, you wouldn't want to get rid of it no matter what. If you got rid of it for what others think, that would show people that you were just on the bandwagon for the sake of making friends. That might make people angrier at you.

 

Maybe I'm just super new to this hobby and I have no idea what I'm talking about, but this thread kinda disturbs me. So what if her doll was a knock-off? I don't see why it should make any difference. I can understand if she was trying to push it off as a real one, or if she attempted to sell it, but if she just wanted to have a BJD, well, she got one! Who cares what the make is?

I wholeheartedly agree with what other people have been saying about similar knock-off scenarios. Purses, clothes, watches, sunglasses, everything that is expensive has a non-expensive counterpart. I recently bought a pair of fake Gucci sunglasses for five bucks, and they worked just as well as the real ones would have.

I guess I really don't understand this hobby in the same way that others do, but if it were me that bought a knock off, I wouldn't be upset at all. So what if it's not a real Volks? It still looks and acts just like a real one, so I'm happy. Of course, I know that I wouldn't be able to take her to doll shows, or sell her, and I understand why. I just don't get why it's "wrong" for someone to buy a cheaper, fake doll when all they want is to have the doll for their own reasons, i.e, taking pictures, doing faceups, making clothes, etc.

So is it really that big of a deal?

 

Honestly, this post kind of disturbs me. I think it's a huge deal if someone is stealing another person's work that the artist spent hours, days, months sculpting and casting and creating only to have it stolen and used to make cheap knock-offs for profit. The thought that people don't see this as wrong in any way disturbs me and makes me question where the world is going. If I were the sculptor of a BJD and had my work stolen and copied I'd be pretty angry.

As for the original question... I'd get rid of it as fast as I could. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the doll in the least knowing it was made from stealing another artist's work. If I liked the sculpt I'd go and buy the original and support that artist. I can't dictate what others should do in that situation as morals and opinions differ greatly, but that's what I would do in that situation.

 

Well, being rather new to all this myself (I've loved the dolls for over a year but only in the last 2 weeks decided to take the plunge and start my re-search and preparation, including saving up, to get my first doll...and already have 7 planned, though I've not found the 'right' sculpts for the characters I want yet) at first I gave a fleeting thought to looking into getting a 'copy' because those are more in my price range...don't worry, the thought didn't last longer than that minute or two of 'well, they cost less, but looks as good...but someone somewhere worked HARD to make the original...never mind, if I can't find what I want in MY price range, then I'll work with my dad to get the materials to make my own, and maybe sell a limited number of the doll to those interested. It's FAR more honest, and I'd not feel bad about it, either!'

But now, reading threads like this, and the 'if you didn't KNOW it was a copy when you bought it' stuff...I'd have to say that if I'd bought it, and loved it, and THEN found out it was a copy...well, I WOULD be heart-broken, but I would still KEEP my doll. After all, I already paid for it, getting rid of it won't do anyone any good. If I keep it, then it's not still out on the market, every bit as much as if I'd destroyed it. I'd likely work to save up to buy the original, to make up for the cost, though I probably wouldn't KEEP the original unless I had another character it could become. Instead, I'd give it to my sister, or one of my friends who want one but can't afford them, either.

I would still take pictures and post them, just not in places like here on DOA where there are such strict rules about it. I'd stick to posting them on one of my Deviant Art accounts, and I'd state in my artist's comments that the doll I love, and thought was legit when I bought it was NOT, that it was a copy, and that while I still love the doll, I want others to be aware of this problem, and to be more careful than I was when they find 'official' dolls at a 'too good to be true' price and question them, ask people who know better, to be sure that they are getting a legit doll and not a copy.