How to spot a recast?

I've sold a ton of dolls on ebay very cheaply, all legit from the company, I'm just an idiot LOL - but there are bargains to be had on ebay if you check the listings a few times a day - bargains go very quickly as people have me down as their favourite (idiotic) seller, so they snap my dolls up straight away.

As for spotting recasts just avoid companies selling a variety of new dolls unless they are an official dealer - there are a few good dealers on ebay such as jeeryama for example. If you want to check whether someone is a legit dealer then email the doll company, and bear in mind nobody deals for iplehouse, for example, so be suspicious of a dealer selling iplehouse dolls as they will be recast!

Spotting 2nd hand or used recasts isn't so difficult either as most people will state the doll is recast. Otherwise with used dolls look for it being boxed with certificates etc, or if this is lacking check the provenance - I recently bought an old Volks from ebay and with the help of the seller, traced the doll back to DoA, contacted the original seller for reassurance, bought the doll and people on the Volks thread remembered her too, which was good to know as she had no box or papers and had been modified.

the doll in my avatar was my first ebay bargain - she's a B&G Sandra - no box or papers and she was really cheap, but she's very old, single jointed, yellow and has no ears - I studied her faceup and it looked original, so I risked it as the price seemed reasonable for the condition of the doll. Plus it's not a doll favoured by recasters - always be wary of used fairyland, soom, iplehouse or volks dolls on ebay though, and do some careful research before buying.

 

This. Not every doll will come with a certificate and it's possible to buy certificates on the marketplace (Y!J for instance). But if you ask about the item provenance, track down who the previous owner was and so on, you usually get a decent idea if you're dealing with a recast or not.

Yeah, FreakStyle dolls' leg and/or arm parts are also marked as left and right. I'm preeeetty sure they're legit .

 

Having solid proof of providence of an item isn't always possible even if you bought direct from the company.

My very first doll, Moswen (AoD Chi), was purchased directly from AoD 8 years ago. My PP doesn't go back that far for transactions records, he didn't come with a CoA (although he is in the original box) and the computer that I used at the time to buy him and which had screencaps of my order, died an inglorious death several years back and all data on it was lost. AoD has revamped not only their sculpts but their site since my purchase and there's no records there of my purchase any more. Jaiseki (AoD Min) was the gift head I got when I purchased Moswen so I've nothing to prove his head is legit either. A doll friend I had at the time bought me Jaiseki's body for Xmas so I've nothing to prove the body is legit aside from the company box. And a company box doesn't prove legitimacy as I've seen threads where people are looking to buy just the company boxes. I know my guys are legit but if I was to sell them, the buyer would need to take my word for it because I've got nothing in the way of solid proof they are.

That aside, I'd say to be suspicious of deals that seem too good to be true (there's a good chance it is to good to be legit). One of the best indicators I've found is simple pricing. If the doll is easily half the price of what it was for sale on the company site, it's recast. If it's a limited doll that's been long sold out but the seller is saying they need 4 weeks to make it, it's a recast. You can also ask on the company Q&A board if the seller is a dealer for them. If the company says no, it's a recaster and hopefully the company can take action against them once they know about them.

 

well I've sold many dolls half price and they were all bought direct from manufacturer, so even that rule isn't always the rule! Usually I've sold them because I want the money to buy a different doll with ASAP, and just want a quick sale rather than months or even years waiting for someone to pay what I paid for them.

 

Point taken, elve. It is still a good idea to be wary of really low priced dolls and requires further research into them/the seller to make sure it's the real deal. people sell dolls for all kinds of reasons and quick sales happen easier with below typical prices.

 

Also, LUTS does have an official USA dealer in Mint on Card, so while anyone selling LUTS on eBay new is not a legit dealer,
Mint on Card is.

 

Luts doesn't have any dealers on eBay, but they do have an eBay store of their own.

 

Most buyers say if the doll is a recast because they don't want it returned. From the actual ebay stores, if they have the promo pics and more than one in stock, OR if it says it's from a Chinese seller. I've never seen a chinese seller selling a legit on ebay. I'm SURE it happens, but HIGHLY unlikely.

 

Jeeryama - legit and reputable dealer for multiple doll companies on eBay and from China. It does happen.

 

And this is why you absolutely must do the research. Automatically assuming all dealers from China are illegitimate is incorrect; any number of people here on the forum will tell you of all kinds of good experiences with Jeeryama. There are also a number of Chinese dollmakers with legit presences on eBay, unless I miss my guess. Many recast sellers are indeed based in China. This is not at all saying that all sellers of dolls located in China are illegitimate. Do the research.

 

What someone told me before when I was entering the hobby was that two main key points. 1. Low prices are a big red flag 2. Most of the time, bjds on eBay are recasts

 

Speaking as someone who has been in this hobby (and on DoA) since 2004, I really think you should read this thread carefully, and get a more detailed grasp of the situation. Both of these "key points" are partly true, but they aren't foolproof. As @Tez said in the post just above yours, do the research.

 

Yes I am aware that I still need to do more research. I am only 2 months into this hobby so I am not as knowledgeable as you are. I was only stating what someone has told me. Thank you for the advice though, I will be more cautious when purchasing second hand. Asking for recipte of purchase, coa, the metal plate on the back of their heads, their original box are some key things to ask and look out for when purchasing a legit on the secondhand market. If you know of anything else, please let me know. I know some companies didn't issue out coa back then.

 

As I said -- there's a lot of valuable advice in this thread, along with some false information (which gets corrected very quickly). Basically, any simple rule is too simple to be trustworthy in every case. There's just no substitute or shortcut for doing the research and gaining experience with the actual dolls in your hands: knowing which resin colors are authentic for a particular doll, knowing whether that company included CoAs or other authentication items and what those looked like, even knowing what kinds of textures and weights are authentic for a company's resin.

 

Echoing those saying to avoid eBay for the most part... personally I started to look at used BJDs on eBay after I'd been in the hobby for maybe a year. At that point I had begun to feel pretty competent at distinguishing the obvious recasts. Of course some recasts are not obvious at all; hence, even if you do feel okay using eBay, I would still avoid buying dolls without a CoA and original box (as some have said... these have been known to be faked; but this doesn't seem TOO common. I still consider a CoA and box to be pretty good markers of a legit doll). Though I've looked a couple times, I actually have not bought any dolls from eBay, I find the marketplace here and the Mandarake auction site have been able to get my secondhand needs met.

So my biggest piece of advice is not to use eBay at all when you're relatively new to the hobby. If you want a deal, the marketplace has some, and of course companies like Resinsoul/Bobobie, Mirodoll, and a lot of the brands at Alice's Collections have great prices.

But later on if you feel confident about distinguishing, there are certainly some legit BJD deals to be found on eBay. If you must use eBay some red flags to avoid are:
-A BJD listed as "New condition". For the most part, with some exceptions (i.e. someone has never unboxed a doll and sells it in mint condition), legit BJDs will be sold in used condition by other hobbyists.
-Related to the first one, if the description says something like "preorder" or "made to order". Big exception: dealers like jeeryama (dolls-singing is their shop name). Since they are actually placing orders to companies, when you order a doll from them, it's going to be made-to-order like if you ordered it straight from the company. But if a non-reputable dealer lists it as made to order, that's a bad sign.
-ONLY company promo photos are used. Most of the time people selling their legit dolls include photos of that specific doll that they took themselves. They may also include promo pics for reference, but if they have no photos of their own, it's a red flag.
-Multiple company and/or sculpt names in the title/description (i.e. "Super Dollfie Minifee Volks Luts"). If multiple of different common companies like Volks, Luts, Soom, Iplehouse, and Fairyland are used in a title or description of a single, non-hybrid doll then that doesn't make sense and should be avoided.
-"Free makeup/faceup" in the title. I see this a lot with recast listings on eBay. Uncommon thing for a company or a secondhand seller to offer.
-Listing offers resin colors that are NOT offered by the company/official dealers. Many companies do offer a wide range of colors, like Resinsoul. But if you see a Minifee offered in all blue resin (I have to say all because FL has released some PARTS in fantasy colors, such as the Momo bunny legs), don't go for it.
-And of course... an important thing, but with a LOT of exceptions as people have pointed out: very low prices compared to company/dealers. YES, there are people who sell dolls very cheap on eBay just to get them sold; but if you see a very low priced doll with a combo of other traits on this list (i.e., a NEW doll with a bunch of company names in the title AND a low price), it's a good indicator. Example: I've seen recast Minifees with face-ups included on eBay for around $150, while legit Minifees bought direct from FL or through a dealer like Denver Doll are close to $400 without face-ups. I see Luts Kid Delfs going for $80 on eBay while they are $230+ (depending on resin color and face-up).

I know I've reiterated a lot of what others said but I wanted to see if I could make a simple and comprehensive list, adding what I didn't already see in the thread and including exceptions.

I would also like to address those who said that recasters would not mark their products as recasts. This is not entirely true; I've seen recasters put a deliberately convoluted disclaimer in fine print about their products being bootlegs. Most of them won't put it in the title or clearly state it in the description, but some of them will use the fine print tactic (I assume to protect themselves against refund requests and attempted legal action). I noticed this with a dedicated recast site I came across when I was really new to the hobby, BJDShop. I had just learned about recasts and got suspicious of their prices, but I had to dig into the site to find a small statement about their dolls being recast, buried in the "About" or "FAQ" someplace, not obvious.

Another thing I want to address is the presence of markings, like "L"/"R" on limbs. I have two Volks dolls (both secondhand, and certainly legit) and they have those little L/R markings as well as a few markings of "VS"/"Volks" inside their heads and my SDMidi has one on the side of his torso piece.

 

Agreeing with others on this thread, I'd definitely try to avoid aliexpress, and be cautious when navigating ebay.

Personally, my number one red flags when looking at sales post include:
- A sales price that is much lower than the original company that creates the doll
- Use of official company images in the sales post, but the site hosting the post isn't an authorized dealer for the company
- Adding in "freebies" that the official company doesn't generally throw in with their sales (ex: free face-up, heeled feet, extra hands, etc.)
- Offering resin colors that the official company doesn't generally offer
- Selling dolls or packages that the official company is no longer selling
- Selling limited edition dolls that the company has listed as being "sold out"
- Long, convoluted titles, such as "OUENEIFS bjd sd dolls fairyland minifee chloe sarang 1/4 body model reborn girls boys eyes High Quality toys makeup shop resin". Recast companies will try to add as many words as they can into a title so that their product is guaranteed to come up if you even google something like "1/4 bjd" or something similar
- (Specific to ebay) A doll being listed as "brand new". On ebay, most of the sales should be pre-owned or gently used.
- (Specific to ebay) The doll is listed as "used", yet the seller only uses images from the company website
- (Specific to ebay) The seller refuses to show photos that help validate the authenticity of the doll

Also, if the site allows you to leave feedback on transactions, I'd be sure to read feedback that other people left. If someone got a recast when they were expecting to receive a legit, you can be sure that they are probably leaving feedback to warn others of the seller's dishonesty.

(Sorry if my answer isn't solid. I'm still pretty much a newbie to this hobby, and I'm trying my best to learn the ropes and stuff)

 

I know this isn't directly applicable to your question, OP, but I'd also recommend checking the seller every time you buy something doll-related on ebay. I've often seen clothes, wigs, and eyes that I like, but then I check the seller and I find they sell recasts too. So I've learned the hard way it's not enough to just avoid dolls if you don't want to give recasters any of your business on ebay.

 

There's a thread. Here, I'll link you to it. Information about recast BJDs - Den of Angels BJD Wiki | Den of Angels

 

I agree with the person who said mostly watch for "new" dolls on eBay. When I decide I want to sell a doll, I usually list them on facebook (I need to figure out listing in the DoA marketplace) and If they don't sell after a while, I put them up on eBay for a penny start bid and see what I can get. I did have one sell for way less than I wanted, however, I had lost the Coa for him. I had the advantage of him being a doll that is not recasted, so the buyer could buy him and be confident he was legit. So with used dolls, You can sometimes find amazing deals on eBay. Just keep an eye and make sure they show actual photos of the dolls. And never be hesitant to ask for more photos if you are not 100% sure.

 

Boxes can change from the company itself. I have a doll I joke about being unable to sell because his completely official original box looks like a terrible obvious fake compared to the current style, complete with misspelling the name of the line. (I'd never sell him anyway, but his box sure wouldn't help if I did.)

Certificates can change, too. Some companies didn't originally offer them. Some lookup systems have lost old data. Some have partial data, so a fake only needs a valid number, not even one that matches to that specific sculpt. Some have changed the style of their certificates.

Sure, they can help, but they should not be taken as definitive proof. If you don't have sufficient knowledge, you could call something legit a fake, or be convinced something fake is legit ("oh, this is the old style!").