If someone broke your doll?

It really, really depends on who broke it and what I percieve their intent to be.

If it's a very close friend who is very clearly upset about it, even with more severe damage, I'm much more inclined to take the "Eh, it's not a big deal, it's just a doll I can fix it/get another one." route. Not to say I wouldn't be upset, but in the end a friend like that is going to beat themselves up about it more than I ever could, and will do their best to make it right, so it's extra stress they and I really don't need.

On the other hand, if it's a friend I've had a rough time with and I have reason to suspect they did it on purpose, or they seem very nonchalant about severe damage, I'm bringing out a camera and taking pictures RIGHTTHERE, and offer to let them compensate me within a reasonable (1-2 month) time frame or take them to small claims court.

If it's a stranger at a meetup, it will depend on their reaction. If they offer compensation, I'd probably only take half, especially if they seem extra upset about it. If they don't offer compensation and seem to just blow off severe damage, I will be taking down vital information and demanding it outright or, again, small claims.

It's a double-standard, sure. But I'm a fan of karma, and if you're a good person trying to make things right I'm not going to punish you more. (Conversly, if you're a butt just making things more difficult, I will happily jump through legal hoops to make you suffer.)

Re: The child question -- one of the ~joys~ of being a parent is having to police your children, and pay for their screw-ups. If a kid broke a doll, and it wasn't just an accident (bumping into a standing doll/a table the doll was on, for instance), the parents are responsible for compensating the owner. And yeah, I'd take the parents to small claims if it came to that. "Kids will be kids, it's just a doll!" is not an excuse for a child to not understand that they can't just grab someone else's things.

 

Well, even if it's an 'accident' I'd still expect the parents to pay, it's not an accident if the child is running around and crashing into things, it's the parent's fault for not having the child under control

 

okay lets see I am horribly opiniated on this.... Here is my opinion.

If I broke the doll because I was careless, or didn't realize it wasn't balanced then I would pay for it, if it was a matter of someone else bumping me and scareing me and I dropped the doll I would offer to pay half, if the other person were to also pay half, they were the other part of the equation of the damage.

If it was my doll and someone at a meet broke her/him I would concider a few things. 1. new person? 2. were they trying to pose a difficult doll? 3. did I warn them of the difficulty? 4. how well do I know them.

I have had a person break a part of an outfit (my soom alk's pants elastic was pulled out she though tit was a thread) that person was horribly sorry they thought it was just a random thread. She handed me the doll and elastic and I was able to repair it without much issues. So She didn't pay anything even though she offered $5.00 bucks for the repairs (What it would have cost if it was hers and I had to repair it)

But in the same day someone dropped my Cuprit and her crown shattered into three pieces. I was okay with this damage as well as it was a pos (badly made with bubbles and soom would do nothing about it) So I laughed about it, checked the doll herself for damage as a friend took photos of the way the crown landed and the pieces it broke into.

When it was okay that Cuprit was fine I turned around checked the crown and offered it to the girl to fix it if she wanted it. The girlw as shocked. She declined and I shrugged it off. She emailed me that night asking how much she owed me for the damage as they were in market at $80.00usd and wanted to know if she was to buy a new one. I told her to forget it she can pay $10.00 for the shipping it will cost when I get her custom crown done.

Pieces can be fixed, or bought again, or replaced. If it was an accident I have no issues with flaoting the bill as I bring them out I must take the risk of them being broken.

As a mother with a 7 year old who is sitll not allowed at many of the meets (even though she owns her own doll) I am sad to see that kids normally are discouraged from them. Well be haved kids might be the next sculpter for soom or luts! so why not? But yes if they broke something it would be judged on the same level I judge everyone else at the meets and if it was carelessness of the parent or child I will ask for them to pay, if it was TRULLY an accident then I will shrug it off too.

 

I mean an accident that even a very careful adult could fall prey to. Even among fellow collectors, people do bump into things and knock them over, and tables are not always as stable as you'd think. There is only so much you can really do to protect your dolls short of keeping them stuck in the bottom corner of a closet with a metal box around them so nothing can squish them. If the child is being well-behaved, well, accidents happen no matter what age you are, and a well-mannered child (and their adult handlers) shouldn't be punished because sh!t happens.

 

broke pay no?

 

I'd expect them to pay for the replacement part. Accidents happen, but my dolls are expensive, anyone touching them knows that. Play at your own peril.

 

You break you pay D: I'd cry, make a fuss, scream, curse and behave like a little angry child.
And I don't let anyone near my dolls without them knowing it.
Sure accidents happen but still >_> I'm very protective of my stuff xP
and if it were someone else's doll I'd pay, I might be broke, but I'd pay, even if it would be in small sums over a period of time. I'd feel like a total b*** if I didn't :/

 

There is different situations...

Kid comes up to the table where your doll and other dolls are and shakes it or even bumps into it, causing dolls to fall over and break. Sorry but kid or parent needs to make payment/compensation.

At a doll meetup and while picking up your own doll, another doll falls over because the table shaked, got knocked into a little, etc... That's really an accident, and heck my doll should not have been so unsteady on the table, I should have had it sitting down.

Person picks up your doll without permission, and damages it. Yes they pay.

Person holding my doll, they asked permission, etc... Elastic gives out, the doll falls apart in their hands and hits the floor, a finger breaks. Again total accident, not their fault really.

I'm also lucky that I have a best friend who can repair minor even major damage so it's not as much of an issue/concern for me as it would be for others I'm sure.

 

Hmm well if a friend broke one of my dolls by accident I would be upset but I probably wouldn't make them pay for it unless they offered. However, if a stranger or someone I didn't like broke one of my girls they better pay for it. . . .they also might get punched.

 

Hmmm. I'd like to think in a perfect world that no one would ever hurt someone else's property intentionally. However with the child issue. I know for a fact that if I go to a meet-up where there are children running around (and yes this is an issue for some of us) Grabbing dolls and throwing things and being little brats. Something will eventually get broken (and has) and the parents shrugged it off, offer nothing more than a snotty look and tell their children "it's okay baby, they're just toys!" I would very quickly take pics of any and all damages (even if minor) have verified witnesses and then tell the mother/father/care provider "this toy cost this much $$$ and you are welcome to pay me now or see me in small claims court" Mainly because I think that everyone should know how to respect others, and when a parental figure teaches children at a young age to be disrespectful and not to care about other people's belongings (no matter if it's a toy or a collectors item) that child should at least learn a lesson through their parent's mistakes, and hopefully not grow into the same sort of disrespectful selfish twit.

If it was a friend, I'd ask if we could fix her together, or if the damages were major explain what would be involved in repair/replacing and the $$ involved and then see what they offer to help with.

If my husband broke her, since he's an amazing sculptor, we'd probably just use it as an excuse to make her a bionic doll.

If random stranger damages her with a " not my problem" sort of attitude. I would do/say the same things as to the parent of the spoiled child.

 

If I accidentally broke someone's doll, I'd definitely offer to pay. It's just the right thing to do.

If someone broke one of my dolls, my reaction would depend upon the extent of the damage. A broken faceplate would probably have me in tears. Depending upon the doll, a broken limb would make me upset or wouldn't really be too awful (I am planning on making a doll of one of my OCs who is missing an arm, but with his arm, if that makes any sense), and nicks or things that could be easily fixed would probably just lead to me swearing for a few minutes (which isn't that out of the ordinary for me; I have a really foul mouth XD ). But I'd certainly ask whoever broke the doll to pay for any fixing that would need to happen.

If the damage to my doll was my own fault, well, I'd just feel stupid and pay for a repair.

 

Offer to pay! Or i'll kill them))

 

someone breaks my doll, on accident or not, im pretty sure im not going to be happy and would expect to be compensated. its respectful and the correct thing to do, imo.

 

I wonder, if someone broke your doll and refused to pay/fix it, could you press charges and have them go to court?

 

I think court is the last thing someone may do ( i won't go to court in any case) The best idea is just to talk seriously with this person and explain the importance of your doll to you.

 

I imagine the convo going

You broke my doll. *waits for them to offer but doesn't come.* Could you at least pay for it? I mean you DID break it.
*person looks at you and then the doll* But it's just a doll. Go buy a barbie or something.
But this is an expensive doll.
*person getting annoyed* So?
So pay for it! *doll owner getting angry*
No *person says and argument ensues*

I know some people who wouldn't take breaking any part of my doll serious at all. Granted I wouldn't let them handle it in the first place but still. It took me ages to save for my dolls. I wanted them long before I got them so it's personal to me. I actually would try to take someone to court over it. It's like breaking a stereo or something else expensive.

Unless there were witnesses, a judge wouldn't want to be bothered with such a case though. It would be a he said she said.

 

It wouldn't even get as far as court - you'd be hard pressed to find a solicitor who would take you seriously and take on the case instead of just laughing you out of the room; and even if they didn't, their fees would likely cost far more than any repairs or replacement parts for the doll would. You could quite easily end up paying more than the doll was worth just to get the case to court - only for the judge or magistrate to say "It's just a doll, stop wasting our time" and dismissing the case. Then you'd be out a lot of money for legal fees and your doll would still be broken.

Better to save your money and put it towards decent household insurance to cover any accidental damage, and just don't put your doll in a position where they could get damaged by someone else in the first place.

 

There's always small claims court

 

I think it depends if was an accident judging on their reaction or attitude towards it I might or might not make them pay to replace the part or for at least some of it.

If they did it on purpose I think i would break something of theirs (nose or doll) lol only because that would piss me off so bad.

 

I think I will very angry on someone for few days if he or she touch my doll without permission and broke it. I will replace the broken part myself. Just hope this won't again ~