The consequences of copied dolls

Another consequence is being afraid to take a doll anywhere that doesn't have all her original paperwork. I have three secondhand dolls, all legit, that I won't take anywhere because I'm too afraid someone will question where they came from. Two are too old to have ever had COAs and I'm not sure the third company even issues them. (That one came from a friend I know beyond doubt I can trust, and she knew the doll's entire history. The other two came from sellers who sent me screencaps of their receipts from DDE and FairyLand - which I lost when my old laptop died last fall.) So - they stay home.

 

[MENTION=11367]Norma in NZ[/MENTION], please don't be afraid of buying secondhand. 6 out of 9 of my dolls are secondhand dolls (all very legit) and I feel so much closer to the community when I buy secondhand. I have met some amazing people too. I think DoA does an excellent job of implementing and enforcing very strict rules against recasts. I, personally, feel comfortable buying here because of that.

 

Thanks alisameow! Coming back to the hobby after a long break - I feel just like a newbie. I'll certainly consider purchasing second hand if the opportunity arises.

 

That is quite a statement there, may I ask if you have any proof to back this up? Claims like this can ruin the community's trust in the Marketplace, and in the mods who are supposedly VERY hard at work to keep this place recast free, so I as a regular visitor of the marketplace would like to know for sure if what you said is the case (and I would like to hear a mod's opinion too).

To me it seems there is a simpler explanation for the increase in certain limited dolls (I assume you are referring to Fairyland and Soom mostly): those companies work with events and otherwise limited order periods, people tend to buy NOW so they know they have the legit thing and because second hand the doll will be overpriced and possibly a recast (if it's not sold on DoA), and then end up regretting it or realize the couldn't really afford it, plans changed etc, and where a few years ago people might still hold on to those dolls and reexamine their possibilities later, with the current economy they simply can't afford to keep a limited doll sitting there unused with the prices they can get for them second hand. Also with a number of events in a row you're bound to end up with a lot of unwanted event heads and stuff going onto the marketplace, especially if they end up not looking as nice as in the photos.

In short, I don't think that just the fact that there are currently more limiteds on the MP means there's recasts sold there. I do think that this (in the case that this claim does not have evidence behind it I mean, if it does I stand corrected) is another prime example of the consequences of copied dolls: people get too paranoid about buying secondhand, with all due consequences.

 

Yeah, this is kind of crazy to me. I never would have thought, unless I was planning on selling or trading, that I'd need to bring my dolls' COAs with me to doll meets etc. But after this recent debacle I guess that's going to have to be the norm! How sad.

 

Oh, let me tell you, anyone who did to me what was done to that girl kicked out of that doll convention would have a MAJOR lawsuit filed against them pronto! Defamation being the prime charge! The DOA investigation was awesome :d

 

I never would have thought to bring COAs either. And why would you, unless you had a concrete plan to sell or trade a doll?

I am actually hoping that what happened at the RR event will serve as a lesson on what not to do for future event planners/coordinators.

 

Shuritiger, I don't want to get too specific with which recasts I think I'm seeing a lot of for the reasons you stated. One is a volks limited which is from quite a few years ago.

the thing about finding proof is that it risks incriminating innocent people, so I keep my suspicions to myself (up until this discussion that is. )

I believe the mods do very good work of reducing recast sales, especially with new selling template, but there's no way to eliminate the problem. there's just so many recasts already in the hands of western collectors, they WILL turn up in the marketplace.

I've even seen a doll artist selling what seemed to be a recast of a popular doll. But reporting it or discussing it is such a risk, although all the clues are there i could still be wrong. So I keep the user name to myself, just in case I'm wrong.

 

What puzzles me is how a company that blatantly sells recasts as recasts gets enough customers to stay in business. I guess there are enough people out there willing to buy something of lesser quality with a community against it because its cheaper.

 

You know - if folks at a doll meet asked me for COAs to prove that my dolls are all genuine (I don't have recasts, all my dolls were bought either from the companies or reliable second hand sources) I'd probably tell them where they can stick their doll meet ... I hate recasts and don't like the entitled attitude of recast-buyers - but it's still "innocent until proven guilty" for me.

 

Companies who sell recasts as recasts usually do so because they're already in the business of casting resin, and producing recasts of ball jointed dolls is just another way they can line their pockets. Furthermore, the reason they're able to sell the recasts at a cheaper price point is because they're able to buy their materials in bulk amounts for whatever else they're casting. The reason artist dolls seem so expensive compared to recasts is because artists must pay much more for smaller amounts of materials, since they're not huge industries buying in large quantities. In addition to cheaper (and most likely inhumane) labor practices, this shaves off a huge amount of the overhead that a recaster would have to pay to begin producing a recast doll. I'm pretty sure recasters engage in this activity more for the convenience of what they're able to make (as they have the tools at their immediate disposal) rather than just picking up recasting as their sole means of income. To them, it's just another chunk of plastic off their assembly line.

Basically if it's out there, and they can make it, and people will pay for it, they will do it.

 

I'd have to agree with Khell...

I wouldn't want to be a part of a meet that won't let me join because I don't happen to carry the CoA of my dolls around. That's starting to sound more like a witch hunt to me and we all know how many innocents happened to die because of those. Don't judge people based on your silly suspicions. You know what, don't judge people, period! Not all people who own a recast should be shot on sight, some might not even be aware they're carrying one. Calm conversation might help a lot more than scaryng the hell out of them. I'm absolutely against recasts and stealing, don't get me wrong. I just think some people are taking a horrible approach regarding the issue sometimes.

 

Also they don't have to pay for the time/expense of designing, sculpting and perfecting the doll and parts, since they just steal the entire idea and then have it mass-produced.

 

I'm so new to this that I never knew that recasted dolls existed ^^; I'd just save up and get a legit to support the company and get the good quality doll.