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:
- Always ask for proof of ownership, even if it's someone you know or have traded with before.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- If they purchased it second hand or traded, where did they do this trade? DoA? Facebook (and thus, which FB group)? Flickr? Ebay?
- Ask for the username of the previous owner before them, if any.
- Research to know what comes with the dolls direct from the company.
- Does the company send certificates? What do those certificates usually say?
- Does the company use headplates, and if so, what do those look like?
