Importance of doll certificate?

For me, I would definitely want to see a COA, but if that is not possible for whatever reason I would be ok if the seller was able to provide proof of legitimate purchase in some other way like a receipt.

 

Not receiving a COA wouldn't be a problem for me if owner could provide its photo or a receipt. I'm forever owner kind of person, so I don't worry about selling the doll in the future or selling it for the max. possible price. To know I wasn't scammed is enough for me.

 

It's not that important to me.

For one, a lot of older dolls don't have one at all. They just weren't a thing that was being produced, so they flat out don't exist.

For two, most certificates don't really have anything identifying on them. For those that do, it isn't always clear (and sometimes the database tying number to doll has disappeared, like with Soom's older sculpts), so it's tough to guarantee that the particular doll and COA actually even go to gether.

For three, it's not much of a proof of authenticity anyway, as they're being faked by scammers just as often as everything else is.

If everything else about a sale is kosher, I really don't care whether there's a COA present. It's not something that can, on its own, determine whether or not the doll it's with is the real deal.

 

Depends on the age and the company for me. Im new to collecting which means I've nose-dived into a lot of second hand markets without knowing all the tricks yet but if it isnt on a recast list I'm hoping I'm safe! That and some of my favorite brands like Doll Chateau tend to forget certificates for event dolls, at least from what I've read!

 

I would likely never buy a doll that does not have a COA. I'm not very interested in the older sculpts that come from companies that were around before COAs were commonplace. And to echo what someone else said...

A seller promising a COA and then not including it... I'd absolutely file a claim on PayPal over that if I was suspicious that it wasn't an accident. I always include exactly what I'm purchasing in the notes to leave a "paper trail" (for example "payment 1/2 for a [company name] [sculpt name] with certificate of authenticity". I don't know when I started doing that, I think I saw advice to do so here on DOA and it stuck with me as something smart to do lol

 

Recently a doll I bought (dollmore) came with a CoA but for a different fullset doll from the same company. She has her fullset outfit, original face-up and box, so it's irrational but that missing piece of paper bugs me. I guess a big collector long ago just put the wrong CoA in the box (it was in a plastic sheath with other papers so the name of the doll set was not visible).

 

H

Hi, I completely agree. Every time I pay on paypal I always put on details what’s the item, like the name of the doll company and I put with coa or with box and I even put Legit. I think it’s a smart moves

 

It really depends on the doll. I sometimes collect older dolls, which often don't have a CoA, so I'll buy as long as everything else seems normal. I also collect from a lot of the lower cost companies that, as far as I know, don't get recasted (Resinsoul, Myou Doll, Doll Leaves, etc), so I'm not terribly picky about whether or not someone has their CoA for those. Same with unpopular sculpts/companies that are super unlikely to have ever been recasted.

Now if I were buying a non-event Minifee, I absolutely would need that CoA, as recasts of those are everywhere.

I'm also kicking myself for trading for a Volks doll that's missing her headplate back in the day. I've done enough research to be quite certain that her sculpt has never been recast, but I'm trying to sell her now and I strongly suspect that's a big part of why no one is interested. It's totally fair, but oof.

 

Interesting topic, I was reading it because my 2 family H dolls came with a certificate, but all white XD.The seller didn't write anything about it...But I don't really care, I bought it from Alices Collection, and I love both dolls. And I hope that I don't have to sell them one day.

 

My Fairyland girl is legit aswell although, she doesn't have a certificate for the head from the company because she's an event head (Dreamy Rin).
Her body is also legit because i got a copy of the CoA from the previous owner of the body.
She also send it to me on her original fairyland box and the original manual for the body.

Either ways i don't think i'd ever sell her cause, she's my first and only doll and i kinda have bond with her since she's perfect for my elf OC.

 

I own primarily second hand dolls, but I prefer a COA whenever possible. However if there isnt a COA, as long as I have record of the previous owners/ an original receipt then I dont mind as much. When I bought my lati yellow's body from The Doll Peddlar they forgot the coa but sent it straight away for me when I alerted them it was missing. Like others have said before me, if the COA is included in a listing, it needs to be with the doll when it gets to the buyer!

 

I would prefer a COA, or at least a box, if possible, at least for more recent dolls.

At the same time, at least two of my dolls are over ten years old, and due to moving several times, as well as the fact that back then fakes weren't really an issue to consider, I haven't kept the boxes of those two dolls, nor any papers I might have gotten (I lived in 10m² for a little over a year, I just couldn't keep those boxes). I also don't have proof of purchase for either of them: one was bought second hand on a different forum, and the other was bought in a physical store that has closed years ago. I don't intend to sell either of those dolls, but anyway it wouldn't be easy to prove that they're the real deal... except that they're both unpopular sculpts so I don't think they've been a target for fakes lol

So I understand that life is what it is, and sometimes even legit dolls don't have a paper trail. If I want a doll badly enough, and everything about the transaction and the doll seems legit, I would probably buy without proof of authenticity.

 

I have been in the hobby since 2006. I took a 10 year hiatus and now I am back into the hobby. Even when I was younger the COA's were important to me. I second all the comments about them being a part of the specific doll. If the doll did not come with one originally then so be it however if I have the opportunity to purchase one with a COA I will do so.

Like all the other comments, there are ways to know the legitimacy of a doll (such as head plates etc) and I avoid purchasing from places that I could run into problems with such as ebay and other auction sites. Dolls that come as floating heads or where I have put a head on a different body I keep record of whom I purchased each from and where I purchased it from.

When purchasing ANYTHING second hand (I have a lot of different hobbies), I try and make sure that I check a few things to determine if the seller can be trusted such as positive feedback, relevancy/activity on forums or sites (if they have been around for awhile or if they are brand spankin new), what the doll comes with and if they can provide any record of the history they have with the item (IE: record of purchase). If I have the opportunity to purchase new from a reputable dealer or website I will (such as in the case of my guitars for example) however if it is something that is no longer made I keep the prior information in mind.

Lastly.... IF YOU SENSE A RED FLAG TRUST YOUR GUT. In the long run it is not worth the hassle to purchase something that is not legitimate or does not come with some kind of proof of purchase or legitimacy.

 

In the past, I wouldn't have minded too much if a doll I wanted to buy didn't have a COA, as the recast market wasn't as big. But in the time I've been hiatus-ing, that dodgier side of the community has really boomed. Given the prevalence of recasts and other less-than-legitimate dolls/dolls companies these days, provenance is really important and I'd be quite uncomfortable if a seller/reseller couldn't provide me with some concrete proof of authenticity.

It's mostly because re-selling (e.g. secondhand market) is a huge part of this community and if I expect a COA when purchasing, I can't expect a buyer to expect any less. So to prevent a problem later on, I'd prefer to buy dolls with some form of COA/POA.

I'd make an exception for split items as long as there are receipts of some kind (e.g. proof of the split).