BJD community and eBay ..?

I have not had personal experience but I have been warned not to use eBay because of higher pricing and some folks getting burned before by bad business deals. I sell other stuff on eBay and have not (fingers crossed) had any problems but I think dolls are different due to their somewhat fragile condition?????

Anyhow, I'd just been told to wait until you have access to the marketplace here because it was more reliable than eBay for your dolling needs. I'm sure some people with personal experiences will jump in here and answer this!

 

Though I do use ebay sometimes for smaller purchases and some nondoll stuff, I prefer the DoA marketplace over ebay for actual dolls. There are legitimate sellers and dealers on ebay, but there are also a lot of bootleggers and scammers too. Granted, the MP here isn't perfectly foolproof -- nothing is. There will always be some element of buyer beware when it comes to buying secondhand. However, ebay doesn't seem to do much or care about the bootleggers and such, while the community here on DoA does a pretty good job of self policing.

If you want to use ebay to buy a doll, the key is doing your research. Check out the threads here on known bootleggers, and if someone claims they are a dealer for a company, check with the company (some company sites will list all their dealers) or ask here. Also make sure to familiarize yourself with the sculpts and/or companies you are interested in so you can spot fakes more effectively. You can use the search function on DoA to look up sellers' names on ebay and see if there is any information or feedback on them here as well.

 

I'm new on DoA that I can't access to the marketplace yet but for myself I wouldn't trust ebay enough to buy a doll, coz I think that it would be hard to deal with when a doll you bought had problems or not as listed. I order my doll myself or through dealers which I can reassured that if I have any problem, it will be well solved.

 

There are actually a number of legitimate doll sellers on ebay. And in fact, some people list their dolls both here and ebay. As Taco said the Key is research. I know Jeeryama is a legitimate seller on ebay, there are a couple others too. Mimiwoo for shoes and clothes etc. In fact, they have feedback in the feedback section for you to check out. Dollheart and Dollti are ebay and they are actually companies.

 

What a good question! I have wondered this too. Here is what I think about selling for each:

DOA:

Pros - Costs nothing to list a doll for sale, layaway can be offered, buyer can be asked to pay Paypal seller fees, shipping can be determined case by case (instead of flat fee or the stupid shipping calculator), trades and partial trades can be listed as payment, buyer is more likely to be aware of all the special specifics of a BJD (like the fact that they come blank and everything else is added), feelers can be put up to gauge interest without having to sell, special orders and commissions can be sold to people who are aware of how they will be BJD specific, offers can be made for item price, you can look at sellers other posts and get to know them personally, all your sales are being seen by the target market audience.

Cons - Money back guarantees and buyer protection are more difficult or not available in some cases, tracking down a bad seller can be impossible, price can be faked or shilled if the seller is dishonest, seller can be apathetic about sending items out because they feel they are not as "policed" as Ebay, basically all the risks that come from it not being a businsess marketplace.

Ebay:

Pros - Format takes all the extra work out of maintaining a sales post, price is determined by the bidders, address is provided so no endless PMing back and forth, all the pros of a business watching and maintaining your transactions, shipping is available and the buyer knows how much the total price is up front.

Cons - Buyer may be unaware of what a BJD entails and claim it is a faulty product, bootleggers and re-casts, price inflation, items cannot be traded to make up for price, seller is only known through feedback scores and not through community chatting, feelers cannot be put up, if you want the PP seller fees back you have to add them to the price, people are less likely to notice your sale because Ebay is vast while DOA is a specific market.



Kinda long but I have been thinking about this a lot and now that I write it all out I really do see why DOA is preferred.

 

I think it's that most of the people who are avid BJD collectors prefer not to sell on ebay because they are most likely here on DOA and know that they can sell their doll safely on here to other collectors. Whereas people are wary of ebay and the sellers there as we've all heard horror stories of bad sellers and bootleg copies of dolls- but that isn't to say there aren't good dealers out there on ebay as well, it's just sometimes very hard to tell the difference especially to those newer to the hobby.

 

A doll seller I know of uses ebay to sell their overstock and random inventory they don't have room for on their website. They use ebay to sell off stuff so they have more room for incoming inventory.

 

DOA doesn't charge listing fees!

 

Finally somebody mentions the real reason!

Matters quite a lot since dolls can take a long time to sell and eBay charges you repeatedly to relist every 7-10 days.

 

One thing to really watch for, if you decide to use ebay, is the time limitation on paypal claims.

If you purchase on ebay with paypal the time limit to file a claim is very, very specific.
Some dolls are a pre-order and take much longer to make than the claim time allows.
It can be risky if you don't do your homework.

That said....... I have used ebay for non-doll purchaces and been pleased.
BUT
I love the marketplace here!

MM

 

I like the personal element as well. It's more friendly and safe here, I think. There's a community involvement. :3

It's like CHILD ADOPTION. XD

 

Perhaps its simply because of the additional ebay fees you incur on top of the paypal fees. I've sold a few BJD's on there in the past and ebay takes quite a cut from the final amount you got for the doll. I only sold them on ebay as I didn't have access to a BJD marketplace - it was a time when you had to get an invite to join Den of Angels unlike now where you can just apply to join. I still don't have access to the marketplace here as I only recently joined when I discovered you no longer had to have an invitation code. I have also sold some dolls via BJD specific groups on Facebook to avoid extra fees on top of the Paypal ones. I've purchased five BJD's on Ebay via an official company agent and everything went fine but selling BJD's on there is a whole new ball game.

 

I have bought and sold on eBay.


As a buyer, just do your research first to be sure you are buying a legit doll from a trustworthy seller at a reasonable price.

As a seller, I use it as a last resort to get rid of a doll. If I've had it on the MP for months at half what I paid and no one had shown any interest, I might stick it on eBay. But the fees are killer. eBay takes about 10%, PayPal takes another 4% or so, then you still have to ship it, so you end up losing $50 or more in the end, even if your doll only sells for $250! It's usually not worth it IMO.

 

I bought my first BJD from Dollmore's ebay agent at the time, and it was a good experience, but I don't do it anymore. Now I would rather go directly through a company instead of through ebay for a new doll sale, and if I'm looking at secondhand dolls I'd rather come here. I've only ever encountered honest sellers, and you get a bit more opportunity to get to know the doll here because you may have chatted with the owner on the forum, seen photos, etc. Plus, sellers really lose out with all the fees and things on ebay, so I think selling here can be better. Bumping every day costs a lot less than re-listing if the auction ends without a sale.

 

Same here. I bought my first doll through Ebay, but nowadays I'd rather buy straight from the company instead.