f l e u r f o l k

What is a recast?

A recast is when a recaster steals, buys, or is given one doll, and they make multiple copies of that doll and sell them. It’s like buying a piece of artwork from an artist at a con for $30, then going to Kinko’s and making 50 copies of the artwork, then standing outside the Artist Alley selling the copies for $5 each. Synonyms are: counterfeit, knockoff, bootleg.

What is “pro-artist”?

Pro-artist BJD collectors do not buy recasts. Most pro-artist BJD collectors do not interact with collectors who own or support recasting.

Why are recasts a problem?

Money made from recasts does not reach the original doll sculptor. Most BJD ‘companies’ are just one or a few sculptors and some support staff. They are small companies. When a person buys a recast, that money goes to the recaster instead of to the actual artist. This causes legit artists/companies to lose money, so they may not be able to make as many new dolls in the future.

Purchasing any recast hurts all sculptors, not just the main companies. If you buy a recast of a “big company” (and even the largest BJD company is small compared to toy companies like Mattel), the recaster can turn around and use the profits from that purchase to buy and copy the dolls of other, smaller BJD companies.

Recasts hurt the secondhand market. BJDs are “durable goods,” like a car or a house. They should maintain some value over time, though not necessarily exactly what they were purchased for. Many hobbyists buy dolls, then sell them as their tastes change. This allows people with smaller budgets to find budget legitimate dolls affordably. It also allows established collectors to reasonably expect their dolls to have some value. If collectors have to assume that they’ll never make back the money that they put into a purchase, they’re likely to buy fewer dolls. This hurts legitimate doll artists.

Isn’t it classist/elitist to insist that people buy legit dolls?

It is not. Encouraging people to buy legit dolls, even if they are more expensive than knockoffs, puts value on the labor of the original doll artisans. The sculptors who make BJDs deserve to be paid for their labor. Inventing a doll takes much more labor than recasting. When pro-recast people insist that they should be able to buy recasts at a low price, they are basically saying that their ability to obtain cheap goods is more important than the artist making a fair, living wage.

How can I avoid buying a recast? Check out this post.

What should I do if I bought a recast accidentally?

First, if you paid with a credit card, bank transfer, or PayPal, immediately report that you received a counterfeit item. Most cards and PP will respond with a “chargeback,” where they refund your money and sometimes try to get the money back from the fake vendor. If you bought the recast from a site like eBay or Amazon, report the seller to eBay/Amazon as selling fake goods. If you bought the recast from another hobbyist, contact them so that the issue can be resolved. Finally, post publicly about your experience, so you can warn others about the problem.

What should I do if I knowingly bought a recast, but I want to go legit?

Stop buying recasts. Post about your change of heart, and your reasoning. Put your recasts away and stop posting them (selling or donating them can be problematic). Save up for a legit doll if you don’t already have one. Then, celebrate your legit dolls and be happy that your actions are now supporting the artists who make these beautiful dolls possible!

I’m broke, but I want a doll.

There are tons of dolls available for under $300.

All the cheap dolls are ugly.

You have not looked at these dolls! You can also consider…

buying secondhand

buying an expensive head and putting it on a less expensive body (this creates a hybrid doll)

saving up for your grail doll (check out this thread on earning and saving)

posting a photo of your grail doll and asking for lookalikes at your price point

I can’t participate in the hobby with my one cheap doll.

Of course you can! Your love for your doll is what brings you into the hobby. To enjoy your doll without spending more/much more money, try: taking photographs, crafting a wig, sewing clothes, knitting clothes, writing stories, taking photos for a photo story, RPing with your doll character, creating a diorama or scale props, making eyes, doing your doll’s faceup…

If I don’t have the most popular Minifee, no one will ever notice me on social media.

It can be super difficult to get noticed online, especially when you’re just starting out. This is true for everything, not just the BJD hobby. But starting your collection with a fake doll is not worth it. Instead, try: commenting on other people’s dolls, joining Den of Angels, sharing/reblogging others’ doll posts with encouraging notes, posting your doll photos/ideas/plans, going to a local meetup (after coronavirus is over)… You will eventually build up some true friends in the hobby, which is more fulfilling than just gaining likes or followers.

All the collectors I see have 10+ dolls, and I don’t have any. I’ll never have enough money.

BJDs have been around for over 15 years! Most ‘big’ collectors have been in the hobby for ages, and have put their ‘fun money’ for all that time into dolls. Additionally, many hobbyists are adults with full-time jobs. Your collection when you are first getting started isn’t going to look the same as the collection of someone who has been into BJDs for a long time. More importantly, your dolls are about *you,* not anybody else. Instead of comparing yourself to others, spend time working on your doll story, crafting, photography, etc. You’ll feel much happier!

More about the problems of recasts…

BJD sculptor FreakStyle talking about why recasts are problematic and more about how recasts hurt sculptors.

Infographic: BJD sculptor Creature’s Dolls explanation of how artists work harder than recasters.

Volks’ statement, published after a recaster tried to copyright the name of one of Volks’ sculptors.

Repost of Fairyland’s statement against recasts.

Repost of sculptor Fifth Motif’s statement against recasts.

Explanation of the costs of producing a doll (as a response to complaint about doll prices).

Video: Adam Savage from Mythbusters explaining the problem of recasts (he talks about garage kits but the concepts apply to BJDs).

Video: Why replica Lolita dresses are a problem (concepts apply to BJDs).

Another hobbyist explaining recasts.

Author Maggie Stiefvater explaining how book piracy hurts authors (reblog).

Author Seanan McGuire explaining why secondhand book sales aren’t a problem.

Why secondhand BJD sales are a not a problem.

For new purchases…

Find out if the doll is currently for sale from the company, or if it is a limited doll from the past. Some companies sell limited dolls for a short period of time, and then don’t sell that particular doll again for a while. If you know that a doll was a limited release in March 2015, but it’s currently April 2020, you shouldn’t expect to find the doll new. Move to the secondhand purchases section!

If possible, buy directly from the company. Most BJD companies have English websites and allow you to order directly from them. The prices on the English websites are usually listed in USD. Occasionally the price in dollars is a bit higher than the price in RMB or won or whatever, but not by that much. It is *possible* to order directly from the company from eBay or Taobao, but it’s also possible to get scammed that way (http://geminick.tumblr.com/post/82377046814/a-story-of-fraud-please-repost), making it not really worth the amount of ‘savings’ you might get. Some companies offer layaway, and others have dealers that offer layaway.

Check out the dealers listed on the company’s website. Some BJD companies have dealers in the U.S. or E.U. Sometimes dealers have layaway, and shipping may be less expensive. Only dealers are allowed to sell dolls as new; other sites selling the dolls might be fake.

Look at the price listed on the company’s website. Expect to pay that price. The original price is what you need to expect to pay for the doll you want, if you’re buying it new from the company or from an official dealer. If you’re interested in a doll that costs $400 new from the company, a website listing it for $150 is not selling a legit doll. Just like you know what an iPod should probably cost, you know what the doll should probably cost. An extremely discounted price from a website or dealer is suspicious.

Avoid Amazon, Alibaba, Taobao, eBay, and other unmoderated marketplaces. Many recasters list their dolls on these sites because the websites get a lot of traffic, but there is no oversight to check if the dolls are legit. Yes, it’s possible to find secondhand legit dolls on these sites, but it’s much more likely that you will be scammed. If in doubt, post about it on social media and ask experienced hobbyists.

Avoid listings that have conflicting information. A listing that says something like “Volks Soom 1/3 ¼ BJD Fairyland Minifee Luts” is fake. A doll can’t be both 1/3 and ¼ scale. Volks and Soom are two completely different companies. This keyword spam is used by recasters to bring their fake dolls to the top of search results.

Avoid listings with warnings that the faceup will be “similar”. Default faceups should look like the company’s original release photos. Pictures of a doll with a faceup that is blurry or not like the company photos are suspicious. Warnings that the faceup will be “similar” are suspicious.

For secondhand purchases…

Make sure the doll’s resin color was offered by the company. Especially for tan or fantasy color dolls, make sure the company actually produced the doll in that color. Gray-skinned resin Volks dolls do not exist, for example. If the seller says that the doll was dyed or painted, ask for progress photos.

Find out how the company marks their dolls. Many companies have identifying marks on their dolls. This can include headplates, names, numbers, or stamps sculpted inside the head or inside body parts, L and R markings, and more. Logos and marks in the resin should be relatively deep and clear, with some variation. Some companies have magnets to include option parts. Some dolls do ship with seam lines; find out what’s normal for the company you’re interested in. Abnormal would be a double seam line, which indicates that a doll with a seam line was recast, and the second set of seam lines is from the recasting process. If the doll is missing the company marks, or they’re abnormally faint or blurry, that’s suspicious.

Look for imperfections or abnormalities. Some dolls are recast without the faceup from the original doll having been removed, so the lips are fattened by gloss. Details can be lost in the fingers and toes, and in the ears or the nostrils. Some companies do ship dolls with ‘snowflakes’ (small white resin marks), but large pits or bubbles are problematic. Ears that were pierced by default but are closed on the sale doll are suspicious. Dolls that were released by the company with magnetic hands but have hook hands instead are suspicious.

Look for paperwork and boxes. Find out what the company’s boxes and packaging look like. Few legit companies send their dolls in plastic clamshell packaging, like what children’s toys come in. Most companies have a distinctive box and packing style. Find out what that is. Some buyers do throw their boxes away. But if the seller can’t explain why they don’t still have the box, and they don’t have box opening pictures or some other signs of legitimacy, that is suspicious. The older the doll you’re interested in, the less likely that paperwork was provided. Ask around to hobbyists who have the doll you’re interested in to find out what the original paperwork looked like, if there was any at all. Bootleg paperwork does exist for some companies, but that doesn’t mean that paperwork isn’t valuable. If you’re buying from the first owner, they should be able to provide you screenshots of their order on the company’s website, or they should be able to explain how they bought the doll but can’t provide screenshots. The seller should be able to explain why paperwork is lacking if there should be some.

Look at clear photographs of the doll for sale. This isn’t just to protect against recasts, but to protect yourself from buying a doll that is dirty or damaged. Sellers should post bald shots of the head face-forward, and from the sides. There should be photographs of the head plate, if the company installs headplates. There should be nude photos of the front and back of the doll’s body. If the seller has these pictures but they are grainy, blurry, etc, request better pictures. Not all of these photos might be in the listing. However, if the seller can’t provide them when asked, you should probably pass.

Find out about the past of this specific doll. If the seller doesn’t state whether they were the first owner, ask. If the seller bought the doll secondhand and says so, see if you can trace the ownership back to the original buyer. Lots of dolls can be found on the DoA marketplace by searching for the sculpt name, so you can see if there is an obvious previous owner (or more than one), a split, etc. Sometimes you can’t get back to the original owner, or any previous one, so ask the seller if you need to.

Investigate the seller. Look at their feedback thread. Look up their past posts about the doll they’re selling. Are there box openings? Meetup pics? Anything? Basically, use those internet-stalking skills you developed on your high-school crush or whatever to investigate the seller. This is important whether or not the doll is suspicious! Not everyone on the internet is good at being responsible when it comes to money, packing, shipping, and being timely, even if they seem very nice otherwise.

If you end up with a doll that you think is a recast…

Post pictures of the doll and what about it makes you think that it is a recast. Ask the opinion of experienced hobbyists, including showing them the doll in person if that’s an option for you. On DoA, this has to be in the “Ask the Moderators” forum. On your own social media, you can post as you like. You may find out that your doll is fine! If lots of people agree with you that the doll probably isn’t legit…

File a claim with PayPal / your credit card company / your bank Even if the time limit has passed! Explain that you were sold a bootleg, counterfeit product marketed as a legitimate product (put it in terms of brand: you thought it was Fairyland Brand, but it is a knockoff).

Post negative feedback. Start a negative feedback thread (on DoA, in the forum/group where you bought the doll, etc.) and a public social media post about the transaction. If someone has scammed you, they don’t belong in the community, and you deserve to get your money back.