The company goes bad - can you still enjoy their dolls?

Would it taint your enjoyment of dolls you'd already bought from them?
Perhaps because the comapnies stigma would rub off on your doll or because you'd simply have bad feelings toward the company.

I can't say that this has happened to me, so it's hard to tell...
BUT, I'd like to believe that I have my doll because I like the DOLL itself (the sculpt, the customization, whatever)--not because of the manufacturer or retailer or anything outside the doll itself.

So--I'd hope that nothing like that would matter to me. The doll is NOT the company, after all. It can't help what company it came from, after all!

--Finding out that a doll of mine was a copy? Hmmm... well it would matter regarding DoA and my anger with the copiers... but again, it's not the fault of the doll itself, so I'd hope I could keep the two things separate and not let it disturb my enjoyment.

 

I've only bought from Fairyland so far, and it seems to me like they have a shining reputation. If something bad happened, (worst case being copying.. I don't care as much about lousy customer service because that's usually just due to laziness and disorganization, rather than purposefully dishonest or crooked practices) I would probably assume that some new person was making decisions, because people with good business integrity don't just randomly become corrupt, as far as I know. >_<;; Usually companies go bad when management shifts around. So I wouldn't feel bad about owning their doll, because the PEOPLE who made her most likely wouldn't be to blame, even if I didn't like the overall company anymore.

Buuut since there seems to be an unusually high amount of scandalous activity in the BJD world, I WILL research every company from now on before I buy from them, because yeah, it would sort of bother me if I bought from a bad company, and it would REALLY bother me if I bought a copy doll. D:

 

If it was discovered that the company made illegal copies or sculpt-overs - then I would be deeply disgusted and not able to enjoy my doll anymore. I would question the company's integrity. If I am somehow stuck with the doll then I wouldn't feel guilty for modifying the crap out of it. THEN maybe I could regain some of the enjoyment.

Unfortunately I've run into two cases so far. My very first time when I was new to this hobby I bought a ForeverDoll - poorly cast illegal Volks copies made out of inferior brittle resin. No one was sure they were illegal copies (they just seemed so ugly in comparison?) until Volks took legal action against ForeverDoll.
The second problem was with the Lady Saiyuki issue where the newer doll she uh...developed was basically a modified doll from another company. I own one of her original handcast Teds and although there is no doubt to it's originality it still makes me feel awkward. As mentioned above, this doll will probably become a massive modification project until I like it.

 

The same thing happened to me. I really liked the SD Ted sculpt and purchased one second hand, and didn't hear about the scandal until afterwards. Eventually I decided that his character would complicate my storyline too much, and I decided to sell him. I had not completely bonded with him in the first place (probably because he had no faceup), so it wasn't too difficult for me to sell him. But I have to say that the alleged copying issue DID influence me in my desire to sell him as well. Even though Ted was not the sculpt in question. There was a definite tainted feeling there.

So apparently, no, I couldn't enjoy the doll afterward, even though it also turned out I decided not to keep his potential character, either.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

If it as nothing to do with what I currently have, then I would absolutely not care.
I mean that if the dolls I have are not copied, then I would not feel bad or anything about them. I will not start hating a book I bought because the author did something bad afterwards. And I certainly do not stop listening to music even if the artist did something bad after either... so I do not see why I should not like the dolls I already like :/
If I hear that what I have is copied.... then there is nothing I can do about it and I'll just keep a low profile about them, its sad but I cant go and sell a copy! xD

Though all these problems make me really curious, the only one that would really bother me would be the copying. If I hear a company I bought from is making copied dolls then I will not buy from them again.
If it is only "minor" things like a copied fullset design then I will continue to like the company as I did before since that is something that happens in companies xP

Though the big problem about this is that there is no specific place where we can get the information. If I did not find this place I would never have known about what you guys are talking about... and right now I'm trying to find more information about it and I can't, which is kind of frustrating.

 

Most of the concerns here seem to be about copying and recasting. What if a company was found to pay its artists sweatshop wages or less in order to fill the huge demand for their dolls?

I'd certainly sour on them, and I actually already have.

 

unfortunatly i am one of the ccc waiting list people and i can answer this question. I have an alice cherry blossom and bubu2 (one of the last ones to be sent out) and have been waiting 7 months now for another ccc doll. Most of the time i can't even look at the two i have, it just makes me feel so sad and angry. I have been concidering selling them but haven't decided yet (keep hoping for charles to make things right for everyone!). So NO for me i can't enjoy the dolls when the company goes bad (and i am personally involved)!

 

I honestly think it would destroy alot of my enjoyment of the doll and would probably end up sold. If it was a recast issue, most definitely the doll from said company would be sold. Sometimes even a poor wait experience not related to company screw ups can ruin a doll for people so I'm no suprised that so many of us seem to feel the company reputation would affect our feelings.

 

The LS debacle had a dual effect on me. Seeing the whole thing go down destroyed my opinion of her as a person and artist, and tainted all of her original dolls. At the time I was waiting for an AE Mo, and watching her slander a distributor treating me so well, and getting a wonderful doll from the company she claimed had terrible quality that she in turn copied from. It wasn't the fact that she copied a doll that ruined it, it was her, which makes it ten times worse.

I honestly think becuase of the CCC situation, despite not being affected by it, I don't think I'd be unable to enjoy any dolls of the company. But looking at DZ, a company that initially copied and then turned into their own company with a fantastic set of original dolls, it's not impossible to pick up the pieces and make a success.

I guess for me it's as much about the service as it is the product!

 

I don't care if I get some flaming/hate for saying this, but I'm going to stick by LadySayuki. I refuse to believe she copied a doll to create her Kodomo series and I can't believe this hasn't been resolved yet. She has pictures showing her creation coming to life (sculpting pictures)... not to mention the fact that quite a few people really loved her little yo-SD-sized dolls... why would she start copying dolls when she already has sculpting talent?! She's actively fighting this accusation if I'm not mistaken. Why would she fight to prove her accusers wrong if she actually WAS wrong?

Edit: If it can be proved without a shadow of a doubt that LS did copy an AE doll (she admits it or charges are placed against her where AE wins) I will shave off one of my puki's mohair wigs and eat the hair. I am able to admit that I'm wrong, but I don't see why someone would continue to deny the allegations if they had actually committed the accused act.

OK, rant over, back OT.

Unless the company was recasting dolls from other companies, it wouldn't bother me much if they went belly up. That's NOT to say I wouldn't feel horrible for anyone and everyone who might have lost out because of the situation, I just mean that my view of my doll would not be tainted. I STILL would love a fullset FelixDoll Zeppelin because I absolutely adore him and his clothes, and if I had the money and one was for sale, I'd scoop him up in a heartbeat. If I had dolls from a company and was waiting on a doll from that company when it went belly up, I'd be very very upset, but once again, I'd still love my dolls, and they wouldn't be cast in a bad light.

We may give personalities and 'life' to our resin kids, but they can't help what the company that makes them does... THEY are not responsible.

 

I think there's a difference between several of the issues. If I bought a recast unsuspecting, I'd probably have problems with it, I wouldn't buy from the company again and would lose respect for them, but I'd probably keep it. I paid for it and I wouldn't want to pass a recast/fraudulent copy on. But in the case of CCC, so many people got hurt.... I couldn't enjoy my BuBu piggy. He was cute and innocent, but there were people who were still waiting.. people who are my friends and colleagues in this hobby and I respect and care for them. So I had to sell him. I just couldn't enjoy him because of that.

In the case of LadySayuki, I have one of her yo-sized puppies. I love him dearly. I'm not convinced she copied. I haven't seen proof one way or another so the Jury is still out.

 

Definitely NO.
If the memory related to the doll, including the company service and reputation, makes me unhappy, I won't enjoy to play with it. Very high chance I'd end up selling the doll. For me, letting someone who loves that doll to have a better start than me, is better off.

 

My heart truly goes out to those who have been scammed by bad companies. And in the case of copying, I am absolutely dismayed and heartbroken for the victims of such a despicable practice. With that being said, I believe that once a doll is mine, and I've turned it into my own unique and original character, then I'm the one who has brought the doll to life. I consider it a blank canvas before that and think very little about any company connections. Each doll in my collection is from a different company, so obviously I have no strong company loyalties. Also, I've always purchased through a 2nd party like DDE or DoA members in the marketplace, which makes the company connection feel even more distant. So as you can see, I absolutley would never blame my doll for it's company's future problems, anymore than I would blame an innocent child for it's parent's problems. I would continue to love it simply as my own original character.

 

I am not really sure. I think about the previous issue with Dollzone and I have two dollzone dolls I absolutely love and cannot imagine parting with. I think with that though, it all happened before dolls were part of my life, dollzone had rebuilt their reputation by the time I started collecting. At this point I don't think anything done by a company would ruin my feelings towards the dolls that I already own. It might however change my opinion about ordering from said company in the future or even buying one of the companies dolls second hand.

In the past I had a bad experience ordering a DOD limited doll. I did not appreciate their practices or their customer service and by the time my doll arrived I just was not excited anymore. I do think my feelings towards the company affected my ability to bond with my doll and ultimately I sold him. I swore I would never order another doll from DOD and I have not. Hubby has a DOI that he had purchased before this but he got him from the market place. He still loves DOD dolls and would probably buy another. I told him that was fine but I wouldn't help with the process. I want nothing to do with that company. I don't even handle his DOI.

 

I know which company you mean (or at least I think I do ). And yes, it does sour me on them, even though I like their sculpts as an artist I am rather disgusted. I'm not buying anything directly from them anymore, I'll pick up anything I want from their company secondhand in the MP. I'd rather give my loyalty and money to a company that actually cares about and listens to their customers.

 

Honestly, if I already had my doll, unless it fell apart after the scandal with the company broke, nothing would take away from my enjoyment of it. I love my dolls overall too much to let the company's reputation mean anything to me after I'd already bought from them- however, it'd definitely influence whether I'd buy from them again or not.

 

The more I think about this and the more it's giving my a really big headache.... a migraine is coming for sure D=

I'm still thinking I wont see my dolls differently, but I do feel really bad for anyone who is going through this kind of process.
It is kinda sad to know that a hobby that can bring so much happiness as this one can go downwards so fast because of corrupted, dishonest, lying, etc. companies/artist/etc....

And it really makes me think that some people "get out" of the hobby because of this kind of thing.... but it is everywhere, there are just some people that are unlucky to be stuck in the middle of it.

 

I would still enjoy the doll, but if it was something like re-casting another companies doll or scamming customers, I don't think I would want to buy from that company again. The only thing is I might be a little hesitant to show others my doll or post pictures since some people can be judgmental.