When your doll isn't what she seems...

TBH, no, because I'm the type who does a lot of research before buying

But to be fair, the hobby back then was a lot more niche as well. And entering extreme niche hobbies kinda require you to do more research because otherwise you don't even find the places to buy from. But nowadays it's way too easy to stumble upon fakes just by clicking onto eBay and typing in BJD.

What I did have to happen to me though is stuff like that with clothes and accessories. Clothes that looked very different on photos than in real (even though it was the original maker), or props that had different sizes than advertised. My favorite was the umbrella I bought from Sadol that looked lovely in scale with their slim 70cm guy, but for some reason it's ridiculously oversized with my way bigger EID dude...

 

Since you mention being new to the hobby, are you sure the doll isn't hot glue sueded? Sometimes people use it to create grip for much better posing and the pieces can really suction on to each other sometimes when the doll hasn't been moved for a while.

 

To be fair, all the artists you listed are among the highly sought after artists that mainly make fashion dolls in small quantities/come from a different background! There are many companies where you in fact can just normally buy through the store, and who have certain models that are always available (like Iplehouse, Fairyland, Luts, Dollmore etc.)
But it's true that the hobby often works with pre-order phases and/or limited releases. Which can be insanely frustrating cause it feels like every doll one likes is a limited release from 2014

 

I've seen advice on this forum to try putting super glued resin in the freezer to weaken it or help it come off.

I have ordered most of my dolls directly from the companies who make them or through authorized dealers such as Denver Doll Emporium and Alice's Collections. I have learned not to trust Soom Dolls fantasy resin color names. One of my dolls from them is "Light Violet" which is a purple tinted light blue, but she's a lovely color regardless. The other one is in "Coffee Black", which I paid a significant amount extra for, and she's the color of grape juice. I was a bit dismayed when I got her. We live and learn, I guess!

 

My most recent disappointment was with an Impldoll Alisa in their brown skin. After a six month wait, she arrived and while she was absolutely stunning, she was much MUCH lighter than the brown skin looked in their photos, and as such, she couldn't work for my character. I was pretty upset, but I ended up rehoming her with someone who loves her, so I guess at least she made someone happy, even if it wasn't me. I still don't know what to do with my character though, since the only other dolls that could work are way out of my budget.

 

If it's superglue apparently freezing it can loosen it up.

Only thing i've been surprised by have been skin tones, because screens don't really display colour so well and every batch is slightly different.
And size, sometimes size can be hard to parse.

I won't buy a doll unless I can see a blank sculpt image heh. I haaaate that faceups can hide so much.

 

There's basically nothing that I couldn't fix on a damaged doll, so I don't really mind what state something turns up in as long as I know about the damage in advance and the price reflected the issues. I'd be willing to bet you could remove the superglue with isopropyl alcohol and have a perfectly good doll at the end. Just a thought!

 

I recently bought what I thought was a pukipuki. Bad photos. The seller was the granddaughter of a woman who had passed. It turned out to be a Hujoo baby, so like abs plastic or something.
I don't care for dolls with disproportionate sized heads, like baby dolls. I'm trying to care for her but it's not working. I only paid $40 so it's not a scam.

 

As others have said it could be glue sueding, I got a doll that the chest piece wouldn't move and it took a lot of effort and force to finally get it loosened up. The glue had gotten a little tacky with the heat during shipping and reset. If there is a joint there it should move.
I have also experienced a doll that was so floppy that even though I absolutely loved the sculpt I could not stand the doll because of it. It wasn't just a matter of restringing either, it was the fact that the head was a lot bigger in comparison to her body and her jointing was too much that no matter how I tried to pose her she would flop around. My friend bought her from me and I warned her but she too loved the sculpt and figured it wouldn't bother her but she boxed her back up in frustration.

 

You might try soaking the glued together parts in acetone if the refund doesn’t go through. It will temporarily soften the resin while it’s wet, so be careful, and I don’t know if I’d recommend it to a nervous newbie otherwise, but it will dissolve superglue. Wear gloves and do it in a cool room with good ventilation—not because acetone is harmful but to minimize superglue fuming fingerprints on your doll. If the acetone is less than 100% it will be worse as superglue fuming requires moisture. The majority of gaseous cyanoacrylate should be dispersed after the glue has dried for a while, but superglue fuming is really annoying so Id be extra careful

 

yeah ths happened to me, i also made a thread similar to this because of my experience its not bad tho lol. so i got my grail doll a volks hewitt and all the hewitts i've seen have neutral or angryish eyebrows which gives them a very grumpy, filled with attitude kind of look and that's why I love that sculpt but the Hewitt I found has very sad/concerned eyebrows! The faceup is very well done and very cute but it certianly wasn't what I was expecting but it's grown on me because there's no other hewitt out there that looks like mine!
As for the glue if its hot glue, which it might be as its very common to use hot glue in joint holes for more friction it can peel if if you pop it in the freezer. Super glue us a bit more tricky but i think you could use isopropyl alchol or acetone but be careful with acetone as it can weaken the resin.

 

That's what I'll do. It just feels like not loving the ugly puppy lol

 

It was extremely disappointing! For now, I've just kind of put her out of my mind, since the sadness about that doll is still so strong and I think that is clouding my judgment too much to start looking for a different option yet. I'm focusing on a different group of dolls for now, and I'll probably come back to her once the negative feelings fade and I'm ready to try again. I just don't want to rush and make another bad decision because I'm not thinking clearly.

 

Oh good, I am glad you got the joints to move! Oh yes, I now look at all the joints and thinness of the limbs vs height and head size etc. I learned the hard way on that one!

 

faceups can conceal wierd sculpt quirks like I remember there's one souldoll sculpt where the faceup conceals the wierd molded eyebags he actually has. Which isn't great.
Not a surprise i'd be happy with.

It can also alter the perception of the colour of the resin depending on how it's blushed, can change the shape of lips or eyes too.

Glad you got your doll moving again! what a relief.

 

There are in some places! There's Denver Doll's showroom and Fabric Friends & Dolls in Maryland. I don't know if Junkyspot ever had a physical storefront. Another thing to look forward to are the sales rooms/tables at cons!