Scam?!

He is also reading this forum.

Creepy. That’s a good reminder that nothing we post is private.

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Off topic used to be locked to members only but it looks like it is public also.

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The wrong way to start a site like this is to offend the entire community of doll artists by #1, posting their work without permission using incorrect information. These are the very people who a site owner would want to list there, right? Good luck with that now. Second error was the flippant attitude when confronted. Doll artists are generally very accommodating and supportive, and more than likely would have gladly submitted photos for content as long as they were properly credited and the information was correct. Not a chance now.

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A bit of good news though: If anyone wants to check out whether or not an unknown site is legit, they will usually Google it. I can guarantee you that this thread will come up in search engines right at the top, so in this sense, being public is kind of good.

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It really looks like someone needs to brush up on intellectual property laws. If the artists don’t want him using their images, and tell him so, he needs to take them down or he could be facing legal trouble similar to “original reborn” lady.

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Aww geez. “Everything on the internet is public” ?! The artist not only retains the rights to the dolls, but to the photos as well. It’s a copyright infringement to use any photos without permission. You can’t even take a photo from the internet and recreate it as a painting.

Stealing photos is absolutely illegal.

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Oh wow! What the heck?

That facebook page has been active since December 2016 as well. We just never saw it til now… Crazy!

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No shocker there. :joy:

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I think all of those pictures have been taken from reborns.com. They all say ‘sample post-not real’ but the descriptions and prices (also from reborns.com) make it look like they’re for sale.

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He has just recently edited the ads to say that. Which is better.

The prices are actually different. But all the wording is exact.

That’s exactly what I was thinking while reading his comments. He’s really going to mess himself over treating people like that. Bye bye to his hopes of having true success with his site now. :nerd_face::joy:

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I definitely think he’s shot himself in the foot, if he is legitimately trying to start a selling site. I would never list on that site for several reasons. First, if he doesn’t even understand basic copyright, intellectual property laws, and the DMCA, I would never trust him to run an online business. He was very unprofessional in his responses to legitimate concerns, which is a good indication of how he would handle concerns from buyers and sellers. Also, the fact that he named his site reborns dot ORG (really??? What type of organization is it? The .org typically implies it’s a nonprofit or charity, although I realize this is not a legal requirement) indicates that he is trying to capitalize off the success of others rather than work for his own success and reputation. No thanks, I’ll avoid this one.

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I second this!

Hi I see you post on here a lot. I wonder if you can give me some kind of guideline as to what I should be will to pay or not pay. Is $1,000 a lot for a flextouch reborn? This would be a full limbs and body doll. What price do silicone dolls start at, and what price would be considered too cheap and possibly as scam?
Thank you.

Be careful with that. From what I’ve read Flextouch is advertised as vinyl and silicone blend. There is no such thing. Vinyl and silicone don’t mix. More than likely a scam. Well made, 100% silicone dolls are very expensive-several to many thousands of dollars. If you want the real deal, you have to pay the price. They are not cheap.

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Not sure what flex touch is.
Silicones are more expensive because the materials are. Also the process is a lot longer.
Normally the artist is also the sculptor. So that person started with a lump of clay. Spent months maybe even more than a year sculpting. Then they make a mold, and mother mold. Then they have to remove the sculpt from the mold. This normally breaks it. Then they have to wash it out then use a releaser, When they are ready to pour into the mold, they have to measure and mix the 2 parts, add flocking, mix well, they need to use a degassing machine. Pour it, move it about to get out air bubbles, keep pouring, let it cure, unmold it, wash it, look for issue, fix any… then they are ready to paint…
(Some people sell their blanks… so others can start their silicone journey here… Macphersons is now selling some blank kits also.)
Then on to painting… which is tinted silicone, multiple layers, matting powder has to be used, so it isn’t sticky in the end, rooting, inserting eyes, etc.
As you can tell it takes a lot to make one. Prices vary on size and of course skill. You can look at Macphersons to get an idea of what a blank silicone costs an artist to buy before they paint it.
$1000 is on the cheap side for a nice newborn size

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Beware that China is doing all sorts of dishonest stuff when it comes to “reborn” dolls. They advertise all over eBay and other places either silicone dolls or silicone vinyl mix (which is not possible). A lot of toys from China contain lead, so it’s uncertain what is in their fake reborns. They have stolen many kits from reborn doll sculptors. Most of these ugly things come from China, even if they use an address in the US. They’re of cheap quality and poorly painted, badly rooted, and lack the realism that real reborns have when handmade by artists in their home. I would avoid any “reborn” dolls being sold directly from China or through a distributor. The baby dolls sold at Walmart that are made in China are usually safe and reasonably priced, as there should be more quality control there.

Avoid the IVITA dolls, too.