Kit from China! Who does it look like?

I bought a doll kit on the secondary market from someone in the US. It had no COA but had the artists name stamped on the back of the head. I found out later that it is a knockoff. I now canā€™t reborn it for resale. I love the kit and if I reborn it , I will keep it for myself.
Also there are so many reasons whyt people buy knockoffs other than a cheap price. Sometimes a kit is unavailable because it is sold out. It still is not morally right to participate in the market of illegal sculpts.

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I bought a DK-12 kit from China 3 years ago and no one could identify that it was a copy of any kit. Recently, someone posted that it was Luca, but the pictures donā€™t really match up in the eyebrow area so I am not convinced. The baby sold through my FB page and I never indicated a name for the kit just said it was from China. I am not sure that if I had known that it was a copied kit at that time, that I would have done anything differently. I think as new reborners, it is easy to make a mistake and think it is a great deal. @Leslie76, I donā€™t feel like anyone is putting you down at all and I am sympathic to the fact that you were taken advantage of by the person selling the kit. BUT - the seller didnā€™t say it was Coco Malu, so you donā€™t really have a case to request a refund for ā€œnot as describedā€. Hopefully all the sculptors will quit using NPK to pour their kits and the company will feel the impact of their actions.

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Pia until recently most of us doll artists were not even aware that kits from China were knockoff of someones work. I bought a kit years back that I didnā€™t recognize but thought it was cute. I reborned it and sold it. The company in China stated that they had ā€œin house sculptorsā€ which turns out to be a lie.

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Maryā€¦ how did you come to find out yours was a copy? I have a kit without a COA and now I am wondering.

Iā€™m gonna try to get my money back itā€™s worth a shot like I said it was my own stupid mistake. I should have read The description. What gets me is it says it ships from California but it didnā€™t. I donā€™t no im just really bummed I wanted that kit for along time heā€™s so cute. I just donā€™t like the fact the people are saying people just buy them cuz they are cheaper then the real kits. I just saw a coco malu an grabbed it. It wasnā€™t cheap even with free shipping. Just aggervated with the hole situation. I donā€™t get how they can do that an have them all over eBay already painted an get away with it.

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Anxious to hear if you are able to get a refund. Perhaps telling eBay that the kit is counterfit will make an impact? Keep us posted.

I saw it listed in the FB page and on Ebay. It is Charlotte by Simon Laurens. I wrote the doll artist and asked if the stamp on the back of the head was proof that it was real. She said that the fakes had the stamp also.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Soft-Silicone-Vinyl-Reborn-Baby-Kit-with-Head-Arms-Legs-Blank-Doll-Kit-Unpainted-/271818539854?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f49a5c34e

Thanks Maryā€¦Iā€™m going to search the internet for fakes of my kit. If I donā€™t find any, I guess I can assume it to be original, just that the COA was misplaced.

What kit do you think you have? Not all kits are known to have been copied.

Well I opened a case will keep you updated :slight_smile:

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Good Luck, I hope they give you your money back, there is nothing RIGHT about the people who are pulling this ā€œcrapā€ on unsuspecting buyers. This whole thing is SO wrong. Maybe our sculptors will have to start having their vinyls made in the USA, do you suppose that would stop this, or would China just buy the kit and make them anyway? Iā€™m so sorry this happened to you,

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I believe you are talking about the post I put in at the beginning of this thread, and believe me I WAS NOT talking about ANYONE on our forum! I WAS making reference to UNSAVORY CHARACTERS that are out there and KNOW they are buying a knockoff! I am rather new to this also and like Leslie above I would have NO idea I was buying a counterfeit kit and be extremely upset to have spent good money on something that was not as it was advertised. If you all read this wrong I am so very sorry it was NOT intended as is must have sounded to you all. I donā€™t trust many people and I can guarantee that not all doll makers are scrupulous! There are people out there that would take advantage of any one, specially someone with little experience. We all would like to believe that Doll People are all good (most are) but believe me that isnā€™t always true. I have learned through life experience to ā€œwalk softly and carry a big stickā€. Please forgive me for any misunderstanding that occurred,.

Great idea!

Did you buy it on eBay? There are quite a few counterfeit kits on there. There is one seller over there who is selling painted Coco Malu looking dolls (they claim in silicone) but not using the kitā€™s name or giving any credit to Eliza Marx. I believe there has also been a counterfeit Fridolin kit on there from China also. Reporting these auctions to eBay seems to be doing next to nothing. :disappointed:

So, they are trying to educate the public by having a closed forum so they can name and shame artists that buy these sculpts? In school, that is called a slam book.
There is always a possibility that some artists commission these sculpts to be reproduced. Why else would some be SOLE or discontinued kits? How is the artist losing money on kits that are no longer produced? Iā€™m willing to bet that some of these same people rallying wouldnā€™t think twice of selling these original kits above retail value and not sending the original artist a piece of the profit.

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Dolls So Real has Coco Malu back in stock for $90. I assume she wonā€™t be counterfeit, if someone wants one.

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I am gathering at this point is it best to contain your buying from reputable doll sites? Like BB for instance and the other large sellers. Iā€™m sure they would only have legit kits, right? Is that the only way we are going to know for sure?

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Lot of newbies have no idea that these kits are counterfeit. When I started reborning I bought some to learn on and did not know. I do not feel bad to use some of the discontinued ones; I believe that some of the artists sold the molds when they did not want them any more. I have in one stage investigated the possibility to make my own kits and the manufacturer in China told me that for certain amount they will make the molds, and send me 1000(?) kits, but that the molds will always remain their property. If I did go with that, I would imagine that the kit manufacturer would have full right then produce more kits from my sculpt.

There is well know reborn supply seller in UK who sells the fakes; I wonder why she does not get in trouble, she would be easy one to go after, if the sculpt makers could prove that they really have the sole right for these kits.

From what I have read via internet, Chinaā€™s counterfeiting is so out of control that they just canā€™t keep up to sanction those that partake in it. I, too, have wondered if some of these moldings fall into some type of loophole in the legalities of copyrighting that have allowed them to do it. Because there are too many unanswered questions, I think it best to let those offended parties take the reigns on the situation. Too many are pointing fingers and getting into other artistsā€™ businesses based on hearsay and speculation. If itā€™s not YOUR business, ITā€™S NOT YOUR BUSINESSā€¦Courts and history are full of people who claim to be helping the greater good of mankind. However, most of us are able to understand that we would have been better without them.

I would feel honored if someone sculpted a likeness of my daughter to make a reborn doll.:grinning:

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