Scammer Warning and a Note on Scams

So this message has been circling around, and seemingly only to European collectors. There may have been some non-Europeans that have gotten the message, but so far this is all I've seen.

Screen shot from Etsy, via Issy BJD

This is a good opportunity to discuss warning signs of scammers, especially because some of them are far less obvious than this. I've discussed Safe Buying and Selling practices many times on this blog, so I won't go into that, but you can read the posts relevant to this topic here.

Name Dropping: The scammer tries to associate themselves with someone with high popularity, followers, or fame. This could be a company (such as claiming to be a representative or employee) or a person (claiming to be a famous collector or in collaboration with a famous collector). This is to ease you into comfort with a name fo someone you "know" or are familiar with. It gives the scammer an air of legitimacy.

Monetary Reward: Offers an unrealistic amount of money for the object they're desiring. In this case, they're asking to "rent" a bjd for $100 plus more if you send extra things. They can purchase their own BJD for around $100, to be frank, so they've no business renting yours. They may offer a deposit of a ridiculous sum of money, but be unwilling to send it "Friends and Family" or only want to send you money after you send your portion.

Method of Contact: If they've contacted you on an account not openly related to BJDs, like your personal facebook or Etsy, find out how they got the information. Never give out your real life name or address to these people. If they are claiming to be from a company or a specific person, forward their message onto that company or person and see what they have to say.

Google them. Google any names or information they've used in their message. See if anything pops up. the vlogger mentioned in this message is demonstrably mentally troubled (no offense is meant by this, and I wasn't sure of a more delicate way to address this. My mother is mentally unsound as well, so I have nothing but empathy and compassion for this person), but may not even be aware this person is using her name.

This person will prey upon the desperate and the new, and hopefully no one actually thinks this is legit. Pass this information around. Protect your community! Safe collecting everyone. 

Rrabbit Clothing Review

[Note: At the time I took pics, I wasn't planning on a review so they're pretty bad quality, lol. Since then, everything has been mixed up in my doll stuff boxes, so eventually I'll take better pictures. You'll have to deal with these for now. XD I'm also having major format issues with Blogger today, so if anything's weird I apologize. ]

English Site: http://rrabit.com/rrabitstore/rrabitshop/

I ordered during Chinese New Year, so I'm a little shocked this shipped when it did. Here are a few pics of the items I ordered:

The Dangerous Decline of the Secondhand Market- What that means for the future of the hobby.

There has been a decided decrease in the purchasing power of the average BJD hobbyist thanks to the decline of the secondhand market. We can no longer purchase a doll knowing we cannot recoup most of our costs and turn around and reinvest the money from that doll back into the market.

The large majority of doll collectors, I'd wager, do not have the financial freedom to just purchase full cost dolls willy-nilly. Sure there are some people, perhaps those with large incomes and/or no dependents to care for who can buy several full-price mid or high range dolls a month, but they're uncommon. I'm not qualifying this or saying those with more purchasing power are better or worse than someone with less.  It's simply a fact. It's a fact that most of the doll collectors I know depend on their ability to sell a doll to buy a new doll. I know only 3 doll collectors on a personal basis that do NOT have to sell to buy. They may choose to do so, but they're not required to do it. The point is they're honestly a minority. This piece is concerned with the purchasing power of the average doll collector and what the reduction of that power is doing to the market and thus the future of the hobby.

There is this sense of haggling and deal making in this hobby that has gone beyond respectable. People are wanting top of the line dolls for Walmart prices- and they're wanting them now. No one wants to pay $450 for a minifee, so they begin to search secondhand. They hope that they can snag a good deal- maybe $350 with no long wait time….. then they begin to search for one for $250 because it's not mint in it's box… because another human touched it…. because how dare the original owner hope to get $400 for that minifee?

Iplehouse EID Woman Review and Poses

[As an additional note, Lahela is for sale. If you're interested in adopting her shoot me a messaged on facebook or tumblr. Due to her damage and Iplehouse's shittastic resale value, I'm asking $600 plus shipping.]

Mold: Iplehouse Lahela, Light Brown Skin, large bust option, no mobility legs

Note: Lahela is only available through Iplehouse's Full Custom System, which is available the first ten days of each month I think.

Site: www.iplehouse.com, however I received her in a trade.

Clothing Options:

The Iplehouse stereotype is that they all end up dressed like "sluts" (I hate this word) or look like Barbie dolls. That's a sad circumstance largely based on the fact that there is very, very little in the way of custom clothing for these dolls unless you want fantasy or evening gowns. Casual wear in the affordable price range is hard to find, and mostly only on Iplehouse's site itself.

I am working on a What Fits thread which will be here when I get it done.

Taobao Agent Review: Final Notes

I absolutely cannot recomend Taobao Ring enough. They are my agent of choice from now on. My order arrived quickly (as quickly as possible once the USPS got ahold of it anyway) and shipped quickly from China. Everything was accurate, or as much as I cared.

There was one mistake: the rose leggings were supposed to be 1/3 but the seller sent 1.6. It wasn't worth arguing, as I'll just do it again for the larger size too because they're that cute.

When your order arrives, there is an option to click "arrived" and move the order to your past orders list. They also immediately ask you to provide feedback on the order, which I did.

Taobao Agent Review: Taobao Ring, Part 3

Okay, here is Part 3 of my experience with Taobao Ring. I'm being detailed with this and doing so many posts on this because ordering from Taobao can be stressful, and so can be finding a new, trustworthy agent. Feel free to ask any questions I haven't answered so far.

Note: This post was done by checking out their mobile site, so things might look slightly different on desktop.
Additional Note: Taobao Ring will not knowingly purchase fake or bootleg goods on your behalf. This applies to recast dolls, parts, and replica Lolita items, among other things.

A few things seem to be missing from my order, and I'll update when these get fixed! They're very friendly and accommodating, so I'm honestly not too worried at this point.

First, they updated me to let me know via email that they'd ordered my items. When I check on my account screen, I see this cool notification:

You can click on multple orders to see their status and to see which items they're still waiting on.

CYA- It's that important.

CYA- Cover. Your. Ass.

I recently had a negative experience regarding recasts as legit. The poor gal thought, with good reason imo, that an item I sold was in fact recast. They were not, but I ran into trouble proving this. In order to spare you the headache in the future, learn from my mistake.

Amaranth's Rules for Trades and Sales

Buyers:

1. Always ask for proof of ownership, even if it's someone you know or have traded with before.
2. Always ask for more pictures, even if you're happy with what you see. Don't be afraid to ask them to take a photo with the item next to a paper with your choice of text. 
3. Always ask for proof of legitimacy EVEN IF IT'S SOMEONE YOU KNOW. That's fine and dandy, but how do you do that and what should you ask for?
1. If they are the first owner, ask for receipts from the company. Screenshot the purchase screen. Most companies keep records of sales for several years. Fairyland still has the record of the first purchase I made from them 4 years ago.
2. If they purchased it second hand or traded, where did they do this trade? DoA? Facebook (and thus, which FB group)? Flickr? Ebay?
3. Ask for the username of the previous owner before them, if any.
4. Research to know what comes with the dolls direct from the company. 
1. Does the company send certificates? What do those certificates usually say? 
2. Does the company use headplates, and if so, what do those look like?

How EMS Works and Tracking *USA BASED*

For some reason, you cannot get detailed tracking info through EMS Track Trace for packages leaving China. They say they cannot full integrate China due to technical reasons. So for contrast purposes, I'm going to post screen shots from an order placed with a Korean company.

I've edited my tracking numbers for privacy, as well as the detailed city information where applicable.

Most things you get from outside of the country will come without tracking, or EMS with tracking. This post covers how EMS works, how to track it, and what the updates mean.

FAQ

What is EMS?
EMS is Express Mail Service. The US equivalent is Priority Mail International. It's expensive as hell, and all packages over a certain weight and dimension are required to be sent Priority Mail out of the States (this is why postal charges for mailing things out of the US start at a minimum of $30 usd).

How fast is EMS?
EMS is pretty fast. It usually takes around a week at most to ship from the origin country to US customs. Sometimes, weather, holidays, or other issues can cause shipping delays. Packages from Korea tend to arrive in the States within 3-5 days after acceptance at the origin post. Packages from China tend to take 5-7 days, occasionally more.

On Scammers, and why it's not your crusade

Here's the thing- for as long as there have been replica dolls there have been a few assholes selling them as legitimate dolls.

Recasters often provide fake paperwork and fake headplates. Scammers may have used these to sell recasts as legit.

Why this isn't your crusade: A scammer can use a legitimate set of papers or plates to sell a recast as legitimate. Are you going to tell a company to stop producing these things? In my opinion, the reason FL is one of the top recast companies is because they have no papers, no plates, no logos on the dolls.

Some recasters are now offering boxes. Scammers will use these to sell recasts as legits…because scammers are scammers and that's why they will do.

How Customs in the United States Works: An Unoffical Guide for Doll Owners

I am not familiar with the customs of other countries, but I'll definitely be researching more into that to hopefully write about in the future. For now, this post is about US Customs, what they do, why we have customs, what items can be taxed in the US and what can't, as well as how long you can expect a package to take once it enters customs.
It will probably have some errors, and I'll corect these as I find them or they are pointed out to me. Do you  have an experience with customs? Share it in the comments below. 

What is Customs?

Customs is an agency that intercepts all packages going into a country. The full agency name is the office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).They inspect the packages, sometimes opening them, to ensure that the items coming into the country are legal or fall into a taxable category.

There are 329 ports of entry in the United States. It is at these ports that US import and export laws are enforced. There are also 20 field offices that seem to do most of the processing of packages, based on what I can tell from the CBP website. For me, because I am in the Western US, most packages pass through Customs in California before heading to me.

Amaranth's Guide to Fairyland (under construction)

*Updated 1/19*

Some of the information about Fairyland is just plain confusing, and it was confusing as hell for me when I first got into dolls too. Some of you may have even tried finding this info on FL's site, but found it too overwhelming.
 

I've put in as much information as I can recall off the top of my head, and I will update as I find out more.

I do not know much about the smaller sizes. I'm more versed in Minifee and Feeple 60, since I own both. 

To find a specific section, either search the blog or click Ctrl/CMD+F and type in one of these keywords: Wigs, Eyes, Clothes, Hybrids, Tiny, MSD, YoSD, SD. You can also search the specific sculpt or size you are looking for (example: Chloe or Minifee).

I hope this helps. It'll still probably be a TL;DR situation, but it should at least help newbies get a better handle on the information out there about Fairyland. It can definitely be intimidating!

Edit: Do not ask me how much these dolls go for or where or how to buy them. This is to help doll collectors be aware of what is and is not available recast currently. It is also to help the new fairyland fan find their way around this amazing company.

Taobao Order Box Opening

This is my third taobao order. I thought I would show you some pictures of what I ordered and give reviews of the items and the shops. My total for this order was: US $117.80 (699.49 CNY), and that's with agent fees. The shipping cost for this order from them to me was an additional $30. Only mentioning this so you can estimate shipping for yourself.

Also, I will post pictures of the items with/on the dolls when I get around to unpacking them. I'm still moving so the only doll I have on hand is Hugin, and he refuses to model purses….

*Edit: I went and pulled Jack out of his box, so he's going model the purses, whether he wants to or not. Pics of the wigs on a doll to follow.*

First a review of taobao trends:

Taobao trends is really nice, and really great about communication. They aren't so great about paying attention to sizes though. Often I have received wrong sized items, but it's usually not too big a deal, and it's usually only like one or two things out of every order. In this order, it's the shoes and the blue Happy Chamille wig.

I may try a different agent next time, just to see what the differences are in terms of service, agent fees, shipping, etc. Taobao trends isn't bad, by any means. You just have to be really specific.

On Scalping

There is something in this hobby referred to as "scalping"…usually this is someone complaining that the seller is charging a higher price for an item than that someone thinks they should. 

Take this recent confession:

http://confessionsofthebjdkind.tumblr.com/post/51317121650/it-literally-disgusts-me-how-much-people-are

From Stephensmithfx.com

Firstly, anything that is rare, limited, or sold out is bound to go up in price as the demand for that item exceeds the supply. It's simple economics.

Secondly, why would someone charge lower than market value or nothing at all for such an item? Aren't they entitled to receive the value of the rarity of that item?

 

Thirdly, the market dictates what an item is worth. You can post a doll all you want but if the price isn't what the market is looking for it will sit there for months, even years, waiting to sell until you lower your price.

Fourthly, this is what scalping is defined as: "Someone who purchases large quantities of goods (usually tickets) early with the sole intention of re-selling them at a higher price at a later date (closer to the event)." [Urban Dictionary.com]

Commitment in the doll world- a major issue?

Let me preface with this: I am in no way ungrateful to pretty much everyone I have dealt with in regards to my face up shop. You guys have given me a wonderful opportunity to paint dolls, see sculpts I've never gotten to hold before, and to expand my portfolio and build my reputation as reliable and trustworthy. Thank you also to everyone who has ever bought or sold from me. This post is not about you- you know who you are. It's not really about anyone in particular.

The problem:

Flakiness. People in the doll world seem to have problems with commitment.

Fluff: Concept for my Future Doll Chateau Alberta (legit)

Did a rough sketch while feedin' the baby last night. I was trying to decide between two dolls on my wishlist, either a recast Soom Zinc centaur or a Doll Chateau Alberta. I've sold enough crap to put either one on layaway.

It was a tough call. There are many dolls on my wishlist, but I'm sort of burnt out with my minifees. I am into the bigger and more unique dolls right now, so I defnitely wanted something weird or with fantasy parts.

I thought about a little Ada...she's just so weird and cute. Then I decided to just try to get the Alberta. I missed out on the body I wanted that was such a good deal, due to a buyer backing out (future post coming on flakiness in the bjd hobby).

So here's my concept sketch for my Alberta.

I will definitely need a floofy wig by Natrume. I have one on my F60 Chloe. Just need to pick a color. (must. resist. pink. I have too many pink dolls.) No idea about eyes or a face up or anything. I only know she'll need a corset, bloomers, and little boots or ballet flats.

I'm thinking she'll be a little neo-Victorian fairy thing. She will probably not be a specific fairy tale character like most of my other dolls (she'll be like Zoey, who is just Zoey and doesn't fit the theme).

Possible name ideas: Fortuna, Fable, Whimsy, Sidhe, or something like that.

Recasts and Fake Certificates or Headplates

Recasts sometimes come with fake certificates or headplates. The recasts that do, that I know of offhand, are Iplehouse, Soom, and Volks dolls. This is not a legal discussion, but just a helpful guide.

*new info added at the bottom of the post*

Volks are probably the number one recast doll, perhaps possibly tied with Soom. The recasters often include fake plates with Volks dolls. The metal plates can be determined as forgeries fairly easily (though I don't have access to a legit Volks for further detail this should help):

Plate reads: 1012/DP24

• Plate is ill-fitting
• Plate is of low quality
• Plate lists a Dollpa that never happened or won't happen until a future date
• Plate lists a Dollpa that does not correlate with the Volks doll (a year when the doll wasn't produced)

Here is a pic of my fake Volks' plate (I did not make this plate, nor do I even know how to find them).

Jack and Jill, Double Box Opening: Legitimate Fairyland Feeple 60 Mirwen and Chloe plus other stuffs

(The lighting is really bad in my house despite the sunlight, so apologies for the weird lighting in the pics. I decided against doing a video, since I figured I'd have to cut and pause every five seconds for the baby.)

So I ordered these guys around tax time this year. With no pressing obligations, I was able to do a dream order without feeling guilty. I got two Feeple 60s and all the Valentine items to go with them. After nearly three months waiting, they arrived this morning!

I woke up early to wait for the postman. I figured he'd show up with the slip in hand, ready to just leave it and take off without having to carry the package (I don't blame him, the box is heavy!). He was surprised when I opened the door. He had the form already all filled out and everything and was a bit annoyed he had to go back to the truck for the box.

The box, by the way, was huge.

How Choose a Doll

Really, no one can tell you exactly how or what doll to choose. Yet, people still ask all the time. So I've decided to put together a small guide to help those of you who want some help.

There are a few places you can go for handy links. DoA has a list of dolls under $300 as well as a database full of sculpts and companies. Be sure to check these out.

FAQ: Items to have on hand for your first doll and What is a Box Opening

This is another question I find frequently on forums. I've put together a simple list for those who are interested. It's just my opinion, and nothing is really mandatory. I will add to it as I think of more things or get suggestions. Hope this helps!

You'll want basic things to clean and maintain your doll.

• Mr. Clean Magic Erasor or other magic sponge
• Isopropyl alcohol (for cleaning smudges and stuff)
• Elastic- not a must, but handy especially if you're buying second hand
• Eye putty- not a must, but handy to have

FAQ: Ordering a Doll From a Company or Dealer

How do I buy a doll?

Buying your first doll can be really intimidating. It's a lot of money to shell out at once, plus a long wait…it can be scary! The following post should help you feel better about purchasing a doll.I'm including some screenshot of the process for Fairyland, but it's the same basic process no matter where you shop. All screen shots are of FL's page. I've merely used them to illustrate the points.