Theft protection

I always take my doll out in public. I don't worry about it being stolen out of my hands (outside of con-setting) or my home because most people have no idea how much these things cost.

Someone has broken into my dorm this year, and they only took my calculator ($100) and my gameboy color (like... $10 used these days). These things sit next to my doll on the shelf, so obviously they didn't think that some plastic doll could be worth three times the amount that they stole.

If people in my dorm ever ask, I will never ever ever tell them how much my dolls cost. That's just asking for theft.

But just to make sure-if I am gone for a long weekend or something, I'll stash them away somewhere hidden. It just makes me feel better that they're not out in the open.

 

I'm absolutely paranoid about my stuff getting stolen or lost, so I keep a pretty tight grip on my purse or wallet at all times, even when no one is around or I know I'm totally safe. It's a good habit to have, even if it might be a bit over the top at some times. I've never taken a doll to a convention or.. outside of my house really, but I imagine I would be even more paranoid about them and keep them in my arms and shielded from everything at all times, LOL

 

I'm a little paranoid (strangely I worry more about my dorm burning down with my dolls in it than actual theft) and I have this baby-like logic fallacy where anything I can't see or touch might not be there in five minutes. >_> So yeah, I basically keep an eye on my dolls. I'm a little looser at doll meets if it's a small one.

I doubt someone would steal a doll out of my grasp. Or at least the people who will brazenly do that are not as high a number as people who just look for a good opportunity to nick something. People steal because they can't be bothered to get something the legit way (minus the people who do it for kicks for some strange reason) so most of the time, they want to steal easily.

At my dorm, I always lock my door even if I'm stepping out only a short time. I don't talk to my roommates about my dolls so I doubt they even know how much they're worth. That and the computer is probably more worth stealing (so I back it up excessively and put my external harddrive somewhere else, good also in case of FUBAR crashing).

 

I've never been to a convention, but when I'm out in public with my dolls, I prefer to take ones who fit in my purse, as I fear them being taken given my ability to set things down and forget them...though I suppose a purse may be more apt to be stolen than a doll

I was more paranoid about leaving my dolls unattended while I was on vacation for a week over the summer--my neighbor is crazy, as in, has the cops called on her at least once a week for something--so I packed up every single doll and brought them to my parents' apartment for the week. I wouldn't have put it past her to break into our house and take things while we were gone, so being able to relax on vacation was important (and she's been evicted now, so hopefully the next neighbor won't suck as much).

 

Always keep it in sight and hand. it's the best option, imo.

 

I used to bring my dolls eeeeeeeeeeeeeverywhere and never had any problem ^_^
however lately I have become a bit more paranoid (since we've had many things stolen this year where I work) and I kinda want to put a little GPS thingy inside their head or torso! I've heard of a little thingy you can attach to your child's shoes, my dolls are probably big enough to have it inside their body.
and then, I go to the house of the person who stole my doll and beat the living crap out of them 8D ok maybe not. if they surrender the doll no one will be harmed xD

 

Hi all, I'm not on the forum very much. My name is Tiffany...

But, I was reading this thread yesterday and found many good ideas. I'm personally always very cautious when I have my girls in public. I have, at times, probably been a little less cautious and trusting and luckily nothing ever happened.

Someone mentioned GPS and I just read this article on Mashable about these little tags you can put on your belongings to find them. For most people, it's their wallet etc. For us - it's our dolls. Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing... The tag looks a little big - so maybe you could hide it somewhere in your dolls clothing... But, the technology is there and I imagine more products like this will come in the future. I, at first, thought it was something like a sticker - now that would be very cool!

http://mashable.com/2012/01/09/cobra-lost-items/

 

I frequent anime/gaming conventions and generally sell artwork in the artist alley. A couple of years ago my table mates and I decided to decorate our table with our dolls and honestly I look back and think how silly we were - There's been a bit of theft going on. What was on our side was that the dolls sat directly infront of us and between us, there was always somebody there watching the table. Last year we didn't have our dolls on display, wasn't quite worth it, haha. They still ventured with us to the doll panel, in which they sat in our laps.
I think that keeping your dolls on your person at all times is probably the safest way to deal with public/outdoor adventures. I sure wouldn't let them out of my sight, just like my bag.

 

I've only brought my dolls out a few times. I usually don't take them out at certain times of the year (such as Christmas, as thefts seem to be much more frequent) but if they ARE out they are with me at all times.

 

I am sure keeping them safe would be just like keeping your other belongings safe when out and about.

For a convention when they are on display on a booth, I'd suggest having them closer to you rather than on the edge of a table. Some people may put signs up with their doll saying to not touch their doll, however if you are going to leave the booth unattended you will want to at least put your dolls away and bring anything expensive with you if you do not have someone who you can absolutely trust to keep an eye on your stuff.

For the most part, people try to be polite at conventions and not ram into you. It is always a good idea to have a tight grip on your doll if you are walking around if it though. Conventions can and will get crowded in various areas, more than likely you would fear your doll getting dropped or broken rather than stolen, I am sure. It's the same thing when you have props and costumes that can be easily damaged.

When you leave it in a hotel or something, perhaps leave it in a lockable drawer or put it somewhere under your clothes in a suitcase in a bag.

Writerm has fairly good advice on the bag situation, and I am now thinking of what to consider for myself when I get dolls and how to transport them.

 

I don't take my dolls to conventions, or to places where there are many people. At home, I keep them stored away when I'm not playing with them (so that if we get burgled, they aren't just lying around for any hobby-savvy thief to grab).

I also have multiple methods of making my dolls identifiable. For example, I've sculpted in identifying marks (filled with clear resin so they cannot easily be sanded out) inside most of my doll parts, so that if my dolls do get stolen, I will have an easy way of proving that they are mine if they turn up on the second-hand market.

 

I haven't been to a convention in just under a decade, and back then I didn't have dolls. My dad travels a lot, and I've learned from him that keeping a body part on your bag is essential to hanging onto your bag and discouraging someone from taking it. Similar to my suitcase, both my camera bags and what I carry my dolls in are various colors and decorated in ways that both make them distinctive (people tend to avoid very distinctive cases that can be recognized) and tend not to directly give away what's in the bag (avoid brand names or things that look like a stereotype bag of a certain type of content. I hate that my camera strap has the brand and model type stamped across it (I need to find a plain one). For what I can, I put pins or stickers, or even a strip of duct tape that I give a light scraping to with a knife or sandpaper to scuff it up a bit. If you're willing to let the bag look a bit beat, it looks like you probably don't care about the contents or can't afford to replace it with a better bag. Someone really doesn't want what you have then.

But for the most part, my msd and tiny girls ride along in my purse (which besides staying attached to me, is looking a little beat), The bigger lot I only take one out with me if it's somewhere public, and they tend to ride on my shoulders.
One of my local friends and I did take our bigger dolls to DC for the Sakura Matsuri one year, people were asking if we were musicians or if we were carrying rifles. Neither of which were of interest to people. The next year a bunch of us went up, we stuck to MSD and smaller sizes, and only one or two each. It really helps to have a buddy. A buddy also helps, in that someone pickpocketing or just swiping your stuff often works with someone else who causes a distraction.
Also, if you go to lots of meets, be friendly and get to know your local group. It's always best to have everyone watching out for each other.

As for homes, I never had my apartment broken into when I lived in a city known for it's high crime rates (but I lived in an area full of families and right next to an elementary school). Back home at my parents...we have dobermans, and no one is really interested in going past their intense stares. Even if they're babies. XD

 

I only bring my dolls to places where there are a lot of them, such as doll meets, shows, and anime conventions. In general, I think there is a lot of safety in numbers. I also think that most people think we're probably crazy enough to tackle someone that we thought was stealing a doll. And we are.

I must admit I probably trust other BJD owners too much. I think that in general we're a good bunch, but there has to be bad apples out there. Statistics would not be happy to hear that a group had zero bad people in it. So, maybe this year at Anime Central I won't walk off and leave my dolls with the group, but I probably will.