Buying secondhand: Boxes and certificates...are they must haves for you?

I don't really mind buying without the papers as long as its on here. I feel decently safe on our mp. I would like the box, but if its not possible and I really love the doll or find a good deal, I will buy without the box. If I'm buying outside this community, I would need some sort of proof of authenticity, not necessarily papers but a receipt or head plate or something. The box again is preferred but not a deal breaker.

 

I think it would be nice to have both the box and certificate, as they are both proof of authenticity in a way, but I suppose I can do without both if the person selling the second-hand doll has a good reputation. Anyway, I think as long as the doll gets home safely that's all that really matters. xD

 

I definitely want the certificate and the boxes are nice to have right now because I'm up and moving a lot, but lack of box wouldn't stop me from buying one.

 

No it isn't important to me. Unless they were charging an outrageous amount. But then I wouldn't be able to afford it so it really cancels it out. XD

 

Typically, I will only purchase a dolly that comes with both default box and papers, but my last dolly(Volks YoMidi Cyndy head) only came with her papers. I am sad that I wasn't able to get her cute box, but hopefully one day I'll be able to find it or get her a fullset twin with both box and papers and then I wouldn't mind cos I'll at least have one of their boxes.

 

I prefer buying secondhand with paper to prove the authenticity.. Unless it is event doll that basically didnt come with certificate.
Certificate is important, but box, doesnt really matter to me

 

The certificates should be a must have in the first place in my opinion. I don't mind not having a box though.

 

The box is not a big of a problem as the certificate. There should be a certificate to show it's authenticity or else I wouldn't buy secondhand. I mean I am paying for an original.

 

I've bought many dolls without a coa. Then again I was here before recast was big... I recently sold all my minifee sized dolls, and switched to tinies. The first doll I bought was a lati yellow without her orginal box or papers. She had a company face up. So I know she's from the company. My last doll I bought was a yosd volks. He also had no papers or box, but his plate on his head is there... So it's kinda like a coa for me.

I feel like the "no paper, no box" just means I can't change my mind. Their mine for ever. Which I find nice. It's like a permanent adoption. Lol

 

If I was going to purchase a secondhand doll I would definitely want the original box and papers, even a screenshot or whatever of the original order email would be cool. Depending on the age and price of the doll I would be more open to not having those things though.

 

Certificates may be mandatory depending of the sculpt, but most of times I'm not picky about that. About boxes I don't care at all, I throw them myself to trash to save space.

 

I would prefer to have a box but I can certainly live without it. In very special cases I may take the box in place of a CoA, but as a general rule of thumb, the lack of CoA is a deal breaker for me.

 

I don't really care much for the boxes. To me, it's like keeping the boxes of the shoes you bought. Some people care for the box and others, like me, don't.

However, certificates are an absolute must. I enjoy keeping all my documents on track and filed. Just in case I ever need to prove the legitimacy or of I ever wish to sell a doll.

 

I used to not worry about it... I would buy from the Marketplace here, where members are mostly anti-recast. And I would buy on Ebay because I usually know how to spot re-casts. But now there are TONS of re-casts being churned out--it's easy for people to mistakenly buy them and pass them on without knowing...

NOW, I will not buy without CoA and box, and pretty much the default faceup and fullset if possible!!! There are just too many fakes being churned out in China and being sold to idiots, knowing or unknowing, all around the world. (I know about the re-casts because I keep seeing them whenever I look for bjd items on Ebay--and they are also all over on Amazon. So be careful out there!"

 

They're both nice to have, but not a deal breaker for me, if they aren't available.

The buyer mentality of 'must have CoA' is an interesting shift I've noticed since getting back into the hobby. I got my first dolls between 2007 and 2009 all straight from the companies or via reputable dealers, and only one out of six came with any sort of CoA. Even my Unoa (bought via Crescent shop lottery back in the day) just has a glossy pamphlet and Japanese instructions for stringing/assembly.

I do remember being advised to keep the box in case I wanted to ever sell a doll, because it was something buyers might want, but aside from a few cases that I remember, recasts weren't as prevalent as they seem to be now.

 

Depends, yes on coas almost exclusively. If its limited with a special box then I'd want the box too.

 

I plan to store my dolls in their original boxes until I can buy pretty trunks for each one, so the boxes would be a must for me.

But most especially a certificate of authenticity. I was close to buying a doll on ebay just today, which I took to be legitimate, but after asking about a certificate, the seller admitted that it was a recast, and she wasn't very polite about it, either. :-/

 

In general, no. More boxes and more pieces of paper just seem like clutter to me, because I don't really use them for anything.

The only exception would be that if a deal seemed too good to be true or the doll was really rare, I would want proof of authenticity. For the average doll, I wouldn't find it necessary.

 

I think I don't require a CoA as long as a seller has a good reason why they don't have one with a doll or a doll part they are selling. However, I hope they can somehow prove that the doll is from an original company even if there is no certificate with it. If anything fishy occurs during trading or seller does not have a good reputation, I would most probably not buy the doll.

A doll box is not very important for me. I have very limited space in my home and if my collection grows much bigger there will be no room for all of the boxes. If a doll is well packed into other box for shipping it's fine with me.

 

Certificates didn't used to be that common so for some of the older dolls that might come up on the second hand market they don't exist.

As for boxes - I don't have room to keep more than a few of them (that nest neatly inside each other) so I don't see why I should expect other people to do so on the off-chance they might want to sell the doll on at some unspecified point in the future.

Teddy