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

Boxes, yes.

Certificates, no. Nice to have, but no.

 

It doesn't matter to me much; I'm actually much happier that Resinsoul sent me a carry bag instead of a box! If I ever need to take my doll anywhere it's much more useful to put her in a carrying case than a box. Also Resinsoul doesn't have certificate papers, so I never really thought about that. I guess if I was buying a secondhand doll I'd want the papers if possible though, to make sure it's legit and all. If it's straight from the company it wouldn't bug me.

 

I've only ever bought one doll secondhand, and he didn't come with a box or a certificate! I wasn't that worried about it because he was an old doll and there were no fakes going around at the time, but now that his sculpt is being produced again I do occasionally worry that if somebody starts making fakes then I'll have no way to prove he's legit. Of course, with the way he's yellowed there's no way he could possibly be new. :P The next time I buy a secondhand doll a certificate will definitely be a priority though!

 

Certificate is usually a must have for me, specially in terms of a doll which is known that has been recasted. But I can understand that not all people keeps every paper of their dolls.
Boxes are not important, they usually raise the shipping price, and not all people save doll boxes as they are so big that you can't store them if you have many.
I always keep everything, certificates, manuals, boxes... for now I have the space and I prefer to have them as complete as possible.

 

A box might be a plus, but definitely not necessary. It is nice to have that extra reassurance that the doll is legit though. However, I would definitely want certificates if the company provided them, I know they can be faked but it's relatively uncommon. The actual box or piece of paper has no real significance to me, it's just the fact they prove the doll isn't a recast.

 

I have found this thread very insightful. It seems that if the doll originally had a certificate, that is generally, but not always wanted, boxes, not quite as much. This will influence what I do in the future. I saw pics of bjds last Monday while looking for something else. I ordered my first doll last Thursday, from DDE, a doll they already had in stock, as I still am a bit unsure about ordering from Asia. She arrived this afternoon and I will most likely open her box in the morning.

Yes, I am impatient to see her, having never enjoyed this experience before. But I am waiting for a reason, I will record the Opening, and keep a copy of the recording in a file with the certificate, which should be in the box, and any other items of identification, including sales slip. I will scan these into my computer, the cert, sales slip and any other identification materials, for future reference when and if this doll is sold. I generally keep such things on my computer and in the cloud. I have a fairly large home and my husband and I do not have any children. There will be room to store the box.

I do not know how far I will go with this hobby, but if I need to, boxes can go into the attic with the Christmas decorations. I wonder if breaking down and storing boxes flat would be beneficial for those with limited space. I had no idea that anyone would recast a doll, but can see that would happen as they are fairly expensive. I will have to learn more about that, do not want to get one of those, am very opposed to theft.

I view this type of collection as an art form, but as bjds are so new, we may not know how value holds up. Nevertheless, keeping what records you are able to, may be appreciated in the future. I do not yet know if I would buy a doll without box or cert. I chose the doll I have just received because she appealed to me. Indeed, there were several that I would have been happy to own.

 

If the doll I want to buy is secondhand and in the UK, I'd rather have the box and the certificate. If I am buying secondhand and internationally I would usually only ask for the certificate as the box is only going to bump up the cost of shipping and also the chances of customs holding it for longer!

 

I dont mind not having the original doll boxes but i prefer when they have certificates. All mine except for one has theirs. Mainly because i like collection them because i like to see what each one is like from each company

 

I believe the certificate is very questionable warranty (the paper is easier to fake than the doll), but it's better than nothing. I don't understand why people want copies of certificates.

As for boxes and covers, firstly, I am delighted with them. Secondly, I like to keep dolls in boxes.

 

When buying second hand, I definitely like having the original box and the COA if possible. I also prefer that the dolls carry their original logos and the like.

Sure, the boxes do take a lot of space, but they do protect the dolls well when they are in storage.

And while a COA can be duplicated just as easy as a doll, it still has some added benefits such as access to replacement parts and/or additional information about the production of a particular doll.

 

I keep my boxes - they DO fold flat, at least most of them, so I've stored them in my storage shed, stuffed in huge garbage bags (those leaf bags). I like getting the boxes when I order 2nd hand. I think the certificates are more important tho, in the long run. Always want those.

 

I'm really bothered if the doll I'm interested doesn't come with certificate. I don't mind it to be honest but if I want to sell the doll later the other buyer might skip my sale if I don't have the Coa go give some of my dolls I've sold without Coa because at one point I was so dumb to trash them because I didn't know what they were. I thought they were some business cards or something, lol. Usually I at least can provide screen shots of my purchase history. But yeah, certifications give me a real headache.

Also boxes. Must have the original box.

 

As I've never, ever owned a BJD. Buying secondhand, as my first BJD (I've been thinking about this as well admittedly), yes, I really hope to get the original box and the certificate, so I would feel right and complete even by knowing that I bought a secondhand (it still costed me hundreds of dollars and is still a BJD). It'd mean so much to me. Just holding the box would make me very excited, I wouldn't able to describe it in words. Its gonna be so sentimental. LOL

 

Preferably I would always buy secondhand dolls with box and coa/papers but box is not really necessary unless the doll is one of my dream dolls which I want to keep them as complete as possible.
I feel like coa is really important especially for those popular dolls who are known to have recasts.

 

Just getting started, but for me it would depend on the doll, and if I was a) sure it wasn't a recast (ie trusted seller, etc) and b) how badly I want the doll, if it's one I could only get second hand. Boxes and certificates are nice but in the end if I want the doll bad enough to buy it in the first place, those things would be secondary for me.

 

It was never like that for me, but nowadays, with all the "recasts" wondering around I just order dolls with certificates or original boxes.
Just to be safe, you never know :/

 

Why are the certificates easy to fake? I saw some pictures of Fairyland certificate that includes serial number of the doll. I don't own any doll yet(waiting for my mnf from fairyland), but can't you check with the serial number if doll is legit? Does these dolls have printed serial number on the head or body?

I think including serial numbers on certificates and dolls is a good way to stop recasts and prove the origins of the doll.

 

If people have the wherewithal to fake a doll and a certificate, they could just as easily make up a serial number and put the same number on the fake doll and the fake certificate. The best that can be hoped for is that certificates will make it a bit more difficult to fake the whole package and may discourage some of those doing the faking.

And it still doesn't deal with the issue that certificates are a recent thing and the older the doll the less likely it is to have had a certificate to begin with.

The majority of my own BJDs predate certificates, and many of them came to me second hand without their original boxes so if I wanted to sell them on many of the more fussy or wary buyers wouldn't consider them because they don't have certificates and/or boxes.

Teddy

 

I don't necessarily require either when purchasing a doll secondhand. There are certain companies now that, depending on the sellers feedback/reputation I may want to have a certificate, but for the most part it is not a requirement. The boxes are nice, but I've run out of room for them. Really, my only requirement when buying a doll secondhand is that it is shipped strung, at least partly - because I can't restring a doll to save my life!

 

They're both nice, but not must-haves. As @Teddy said, anyone with the technical know-how to recast a doll can counterfit a CoA, and older dolls just don't have them. As for boxes, I just don't think it's reasonable to expect people to hang onto them! One thing I do though, is cut off the identifying information from them and file it away in case I need it.