Ball Jointed Doll (BJD) Discussion

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Melkor said:
Recasts are when someone takes a company made bjd, recasts them in their own resin (typically very low quality, to the point where it's incredibly easy for the finished product to break), and then sells them for half the price. They also sell them under the pretense that they're "legit", so they trick newbies into buying a cheap knockoff.
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Well there are a good deal of bjd recast dolls or sellers (like chinabjd or S/L on aliexpress) that are actually made of good quality resin. The whole cheap quality argument doesn't apply to all recasts or recasters.
Now a days you can can shit on Fairyland for having constant poor customer support and dolls with thin resin while also charging $300+ for a duck lipped doll.
And then there's the increased customization and resin color choices you can get for a legit sculpt that stopped being available five years ago. I hate to say it but recasts honestly seem like the most appealing way to go for a practice or totally custom doll that you're not afraid to mod and hack apart because it didn't cost four months of rent.
I'm neutral on the issue, but there's defiantly a difference in getting one to look pretty/sanding off it's penis and wiring it up a clear resin body with LEDs
 
KidSparrow said:
Well there are a good deal of bjd recast dolls or sellers (like chinabjd or S/L on aliexpress) that are actually made of good quality resin. The whole cheap quality argument doesn't apply to all recasts or recasters.
Now a days you can can shit on Fairyland for having constant poor customer support and dolls with thin resin while also charging $300+ for a duck lipped doll.
And then there's the increased customization and resin color choices you can get for a legit sculpt that stopped being available five years ago. I hate to say it but recasts honestly seem like the most appealing way to go for a practice or totally custom doll that you're not afraid to mod and hack apart because it didn't cost four months of rent.
I'm neutral on the issue, but there's defiantly a difference in getting one to look pretty/sanding off it's penis and wiring it up a clear resin body with LEDs
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HickoryDickory said:
Because the BJD companies (in general) consist of 1-5 people and it hits them when a Chinese bootlegger can mass produce each doll for less than half price. It's considered a more intimate hobby, especially when the creators are invited to Western cons or decide to stop going due to bootlegs.
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:/
 
Melkor said:
:/
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As a rule of thumb, BJD's made by small makers or those that are already cheap do not, or very rarely, get recasted and sold since there wouldn't be much of a point. I've seen far more company dolls for sale and limited event dolls that are being scalped by second hand sellers. If I ran the numbers then I doubt that buying a recast company doll does them as much a blow as a recast small artist doll would. Recast dolls also lack the whole elitism stigma since you're a broke ass who likes something pretty but has other priorities than saving pennies for a 14cm tall and naked doll at $150usd.
These companies seem to be plagued by bad quality control, shite customer service and been caught copying/recasting each other and the anti recasters don't seem to mind this as they continue to shill their cash and complain.
The debate usually feels like an artsy version of the Games Workshop debacle. But instead of doing something about the sellers bad behavior, you let it go and burn the heretics.
 
KidSparrow said:
As a rule of thumb, BJD's made by small makers or those that are already cheap do not, or very rarely, get recasted and sold since there wouldn't be much of a point. I've seen far more company dolls for sale and limited event dolls that are being scalped by second hand sellers. If I ran the numbers then I doubt that buying a recast company doll does them as much a blow as a recast small artist doll would. Recast dolls also lack the whole elitism stigma since you're a broke ass who likes something pretty but has other priorities than saving pennies for a 14cm tall and naked doll at $150usd.
These companies seem to be plagued by bad quality control, shite customer service and been caught copying/recasting each other and the anti recasters don't seem to mind this as they continue to shill their cash and complain.
The debate usually feels like an artsy version of the Games Workshop debacle. But instead of doing something about the sellers bad behavior, you let it go and burn the heretics.
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For someone who is neutral, you have a very definite stance.
 
HickoryDickory said:
For someone who is neutral, you have a very definite stance.
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Dealing with the BJD tumblr community for so long does thing to people. Dark things.

I also happen to buy replacement parts that the company simply doesn't sell so I suppose i'm indoctrinated, as having a recast hand puts you in the same pit as those with full recast dolls. It's quite a conundrum.
 
HickoryDickory said:
Oh, that explains a lot. Neutral doesn't mean the same thing there as it does in reality.
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As far as I can tell, a "neutral" means you're open to/don't mind recasts or you don't want anything to do with them (anti recast/pro recast). And unfortunately, no, it doesn't.
I mean, why does a hobby about dolls involve virtue signaling, elitism, and Patreon shilling? I got into it for the mods, not a circle jerk of white people asking me why, I a (filthy mudblood), don't have more POC dolls?

It's....its madness
 
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KidSparrow said:
As a rule of thumb, BJD's made by small makers or those that are already cheap do not, or very rarely, get recasted and sold since there wouldn't be much of a point. I've seen far more company dolls for sale and limited event dolls that are being scalped by second hand sellers. If I ran the numbers then I doubt that buying a recast company doll does them as much a blow as a recast small artist doll would. Recast dolls also lack the whole elitism stigma since you're a broke ass who likes something pretty but has other priorities than saving pennies for a 14cm tall and naked doll at $150usd.
These companies seem to be plagued by bad quality control, shite customer service and been caught copying/recasting each other and the anti recasters don't seem to mind this as they continue to shill their cash and complain.
The debate usually feels like an artsy version of the Games Workshop debacle. But instead of doing something about the sellers bad behavior, you let it go and burn the heretics.
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You should bring up that argument to Asella of NobleDolls. iirc she was a one-person 'company' so to speak and gave up making dolls because people were recasting them.

People are also recasting Harucasting's Adori, and he's just a small-time artist who also serves as a casting company.

Those arguments are incredibly obtuse. Instead of buying bootlegs why not advocate for the companies to have better business practices?
 
Melkor said:
You should bring up that argument to Asella of NobleDolls. iirc she was a one-person 'company' so to speak and gave up making dolls because people were recasting them.

People are also recasting Harucasting's Adori, and he's just a small-time artist who also serves as a casting company.

Those arguments are incredibly obtuse. Instead of buying bootlegs why not advocate for the companies to have better business practices?
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Seeing as a good deal of small time artists use Harucasting for their tests sculpts, it's interesting that you would bring up a company with good business practices and popularity in such an insular hobby.
As with most hobbies, the new rooster can and will be eaten alive via recasts or ignored as, like I said, the community is very insular and big companies are usually favored. Her mid size dolls could reach $750 alone because of the work she put in as a newbie, and that price would probably be ignored or shunned by the average collector. Especially when artist dolls have a knack to be a gamble as they may not even stand up on their own. $700 on a pretty paperweight is a lot of money

You're gambling with artist dolls. More or less like a kickstarter.

As for business practices, i did mention that-
KidSparrow said:
These companies seem to be plagued by bad quality control, shite customer service and been caught copying/recasting each other and the anti recasters don't seem to mind this as they continue to shill their cash and complain.
The debate usually feels like an artsy version of the Games Workshop debacle. But instead of doing something about the sellers bad behavior, you let it go and burn the heretics.
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You can't just pick and choose one company to support when the issue involves others as well. And people seem to forget that
 
KidSparrow said:
Seeing as a good deal of small time artists use Harucasting for their tests sculpts, it's interesting that you would bring up a company with good business practices and popularity in such an insular hobby.
As with most hobbies, the new rooster can and will be eaten alive via recasts or ignored as, like I said, the community is very insular and big companies are usually favored. Her mid size dolls could reach $750 alone because of the work she put in as a newbie, and that price would probably be ignored or shunned by the average collector. Especially when artist dolls have a knack to be a gamble as they may not even stand up on their own. $700 on a pretty paperweight is a lot of money

You're gambling with artist dolls. More or less like a kickstarter.

As for business practices, i did mention that-


You can't just pick and choose one company to support when the issue involves others as well. And people seem to forget that
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You ignored my question. Why spend money on recasts when you could instead advocate for better business practices?

ETA: It does suck that larger companies have bad business practices and issues with quality control. I still don't think it's right to make bootlegs that are--most of the time--more fragile than the real thing.

Recasting artist dolls is a shitty thing to do as is, because most artist dolls are made by small companies.

It all boils down to theft and intellectual property laws. A lot of companies can't sue recasters because most of the time, the recasters are in different countries, which makes it a huge convoluted issue because laws differ from country to country.

Like, okay, if you want to buy recasts? You do you. But that doesn't mean I'm going to agree with you, let alone interact with you. It's not petty in the slightest. I don't support theft.
 
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Melkor said:
You ignored my question. Why spend money on recasts when you could instead advocate for better business practices?
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It's a matter of "why bother?"
If folks are happy to keep buying from the worst of the worst then why make a fuss?
They obviously don't care about spending money on the chance of getting rubbish goods and choose to make excuses on behalf of a franchise that obviously doesn't seem to care about the customer. Then again it varies based on the company.

People make statement or choices with their wallets, and it's obvious that advocating for an imposibility is a fruitless venture.
 
KidSparrow said:
It's a matter of "why bother?"
If folks are happy to keep buying from the worst of the worst then why make a fuss?
They obviously don't care about spending money on the chance of getting rubbish goods and choose to make excuses on behalf of a franchise that obviously doesn't seem to care about the customer. Then again it varies based on the company.

People make statement or choices with their wallets, and it's obvious that advocating for an imposibility is a fruitless venture.
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That kind of attitude is why recasts are even an issue.

You want a quality product that's legitimate? Then work for it. Advocate for it. Shit, write letters.

If you can't afford dolls from big companies like Soom? Save your money. Budget. Buy a fucking resinsoul or bobobie. Look on the secondhand market. Layaways are a thing.

There are cheaper alternatives. People just feel entitled to have dolls from large companies at a fraction of the price because they want expensive shit, and they want it NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.
 
Melkor said:
That kind of attitude is why recasts are even an issue.

You want a quality product that's legitimate? Then work for it. Advocate for it. Shit, write letters.
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I'm not going to advocate for people who show no interest in helping themselves. Especially with the players include tumblrinas with hurt fefes.

I think you're ignoring one very important thing. Everyone is different, the economy is is the gutter, and money is the only real privilege that exists.

You can't force people to settle for the "cheaper" option. It's like spitting in their face and calling them poor.

The second hand market stopped being reasonable since 2010 as people feel entitle to get the price they paid back. Or you spend $400 for an item that smells like cat pee and is covered in pubic hair.

It's gotten so bad that people are legitimately using their disability checks to buy dolls. It's like seeing folks on welfare with mustangs all over again. Oh, poor you can't afford rent or vet bills but yout just spent a grand on two chunks of resin? Better shill your PayPal account.

The gimme gimme excuse is useless as well. That's simply not true for everyone. The person may be a blue collar average Joe who would just like something pretty and not a major price for an item that only has decent value it it's limited.
An antique China doll would be cheaper and have more resale possibility than some BJDs.

Maybe the bigger companies should be like resinsoul. But they won't, they have seniority.
 
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KidSparrow said:
I'm not going to advocate for people who show no interest in helping themselves. Especially with the players include tumblrinas with hurt fefes.

I think you're ignoring one very important thing. Everyone is different, the economy is is the gutter, and money is the only real privilege that exists.

You can't force people to settle for the "cheaper" option. It's like spitting in their face and calling them poor.

The second hand market stopped being reasonable since 2010 as people feel entitle to get the price they paid back. Or you spend $400 for an item that smells like cat pee and is covered in pubic hair.

It's gotten so bad that people are legitimately using their disability checks to buy dolls. It's like seeing folks on welfare with mustangs all over again. Oh, poor you can't afford rent or vet bills but yout just spent a grand on two chunks of resin? Better shill your PayPal account.

The gimme gimme excuse is useless as well. That's simply not true for everyone. The person may be a blue collar average Joe who would just like something pretty and not a major price for an item that only has decent value it it's limited.
An antique China doll would be cheaper and have more resale possibility than some BJDs.

Maybe the bigger companies should be like resinsoul. But they won't, they have seniority.
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Except the hobby isn't for everyone.

It's a money sink. If you can't afford dolls and instead opt for crappy bootlegs, maybe you shouldn't be in the hobby in the first place.
 
Melkor said:
Except the hobby isn't for everyone.

It's a money sink. If you can't afford dolls and instead opt for crappy bootlegs, maybe you shouldn't be in the hobby in the first place.
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And there's the elitism. You can't have × because × is only for those who can afford it.

The "bootlegs" are literally made out of the exact same resin and have been shown to better than the legit once in awhile. An event possible by those who are willing to admit they have a recast and who then compare it to a legit. In short. The RESIN is the same and it still depends on WHO you buy from. Chinabjd on aliexpress is still the best and no 1, seller for recasts. So that should tell you something. For me, it says that there aren't that many American buyers because most of the traffic is from places such as Russia and France, who have high ass import and customs fees.

Every hobby has bootlegs, and you'll never be rid of this one's, as 1) price 2) the BJD fans and infiltrator's autistic screech is too loud and 3)there are no alternatives. None. The market has been cornered by the East and its too small and unknown a hobby to generate much growth which would in turn, increase the amount of cheaper dolls.
 
KidSparrow said:
And there's the elitism. You can't have × because × is only for those who can afford it.

The "bootlegs" are literally made out of the exact same resin and have been shown to better than the legit once in awhile. An event possible by those who are willing to admit they have a recast and who then compare it to a legit. In short. The RESIN is the same and it still depends on WHO you buy from. Chinabjd on aliexpress is still the best and no 1, seller for recasts. So that should tell you something. For me, it says that there aren't that many American buyers because most of the traffic is from places such as Russia and France, who have high ass import and customs fees.

Every hobby has bootlegs, and you'll never be rid of this one's, as 1) price 2) the BJD fans and infiltrator's autistic screech is too loud and 3)there are no alternatives. None. The market has been cornered by the East and its too small and unknown a hobby to generate much growth which would in turn, increase the amount of cheaper dolls.
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It's not elitism--it's common sense.

If you can't afford it then maybe the hobby isn't for you. There's nothing bad about it.

One person I know explained it better in this analogy:

"If I were to go to say, Nordstrom, and saw a purse or a handbag I liked but it was $140, would I buy it? No. There are other places such as TJ Maxx or Marshall's that sell those same brands for much less.

I could go to TJ Maxx and buy a purse by the same designer in a similar style for a fraction of the price--let's say $30. That's a better deal. It's a matter of where you look--you don't have to rely on purchasing bootleg purses; just look in different stores and find something similar in a more suitable price range."
 
Android raptor said:
Another great way to make people salty is to put an "expensive" head (volks, luts, etc) on a "cheap" body (bobobie, etc). I remember some years ago there was a hybrid thread on DoA that generated glorious amounts of salt from shit like that.
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That would involve buying both dolls and putting the head on the other body. That's some expensive shit posting just for one iota of drama that may not even get a good deal of attention. There's more likely a chance that people will form a hug box for "creative freedom" .
 
KidSparrow said:
That would involve buying both dolls and putting the head on the other body. That's some expensive shit posting just for one iota of drama that may not even get a good deal of attention. There's more likely a chance that people will form a hug box for "creative freedom" .
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Some companies sell only bodies and only heads.

Also, you can purchase parts on the DoA marketplace and other places, like BJD FB groups.
 
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