I got an email from reborns.com. Apparently Dave went To DOTWE and has plans for more changes, including a verification of artists that requires providing a driver’s license or passport; selfie that matches ID; last 4 digits of SS#; being PayPal or Stripe verified; verifying email address, mobile phone number and mailing address. Dave will hand verify the information and if it all passes muster the artist will get a blue checkmark. He claims this will give buyers more confidence that they’re dealing with a real artist. I say it won’t make a whole lot of difference. I hope he doesn’t make this mandatory because I’m not giving him all that, particularly when my dolls don’t even show unless I spend additional money.
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The whole give your personal information for a checkmark thing has been going on for a while now, not mandatory so far. It’s also not making a bit of difference with sales
I won’t be participating in this program.
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He must have sent it to every member bc I got one too.
No blue check for me either. 
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Yea, I got that email. Not doing that blue check thingy. It doesn’t make any difference. People can look me up on Facebook and see I been around in this business 22 years. That speaks for itself. I did meet him at DOTWE and he was very nice but honestly a bit of a “different” individual.
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Every time I hear “blue check” it makes me think of Twitter/X and their blue check.
Dave is a copycat 
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Does this mean a bit nerdy and weird? Lots of developers are like that. 
This is exactly how I feel. I’ve been painting for 10 or 11 years now, so look me up. Ask around in groups too if you are so inclined. If anyone is up to no good or even if they do shoddy work, they will say it.
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I hate to say it, but he’s actually quite likeable in real life. We met him at WCDS and saw him again at DOTWE. (Personally I think those of us that he has met in real life should get to skip the verification process. He knows we are legit.)
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Just a note here not everyone can go to doll shows and personally meet Dave some can’t afford it and some have medical constraints and some aren’t comfortable in crowds, all should be equal.. It would not be right to give someone a pass just because they met Dave, hoping it does not become mandatory to do the “blue check”. That is such personal information which is no ones business to require us to divulge to be able to sell on the site. Just my opinion I am legit and have been for over 11 years on his site and should not need to prove it. Okay so I’m blunt and honest LOL.
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Agree
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I don’t 100% get the point. If we have been selling there for 10 years, we aren’t scammers. A strong sales history and reviews, more evidence we aren’t scammers. Many of us have social media, so anyone can scroll that and see a solid history. I can be seen chatting with my actual customers; no doubt it’s the same for other artists.
If all else fails, there’s PayPal, yet one more layer of protection. In my view we are taking more of a risk here than anyone else is since PayPal often sides with the buyers, plus they can see everything about us while we sometimes have no idea who we are selling to.
Prime example: I got contacted on reborns by someone with no buying history. She seemed fine, so I arranged a payment plan, she paid a deposit. Word got out (no idea how) and I was contacted by a person on FB who wanted to warn me about this lady, providing all kinds of proof of games that she has played to get dolls at steep discounts or for free.
Am I missing something here?
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Yes pretty much. He is definitely a nice guy. He remembered me from our conversations where I had asked him things. I think he truly is trying to get to know us. I don’t agree with all the site rules but I do agree he is a likable guy.
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I’m glad to hear he seems like a nice guy!!!
Even tho his over obsession with trying to please everyone’s whims on that site are sometimes annoying 
A nice guy who tries too hard is easier to put up with than the image of him to be only out for the money
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I’m not saying anything about Dave personally here, but I have worked in all kinds of environments, including corporate, psych hospitals, even a prison, so it exposed me to a wide variety of people. The most manipulative, money hungry, lying, con-artist, high level thief types were some of the most charming and likable people you could imagine. They would have to be or they wouldn’t have been very successful.
Even more off topic, but those who are psychopathic are even more charming than that.Ted Bundy was good looking, highly intelligent and charismatic. He would pretend to be an authority figure or wear a cast and pretend to be injured in order to exploit the empathy of women.
Fortunately most of them don’t rise to this level of violence, but they all are insatiably greedy. And since they lack empathy, there’s nothing to stop them from exploiting others.
Women can be this way too, but there are 3 times as many men in this category.
I can rattle on with this topic for hours, but will stop here.
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Ewwwwww…….that is SO freaky 
I guess it’s basically true tho…..even the devil “appears” as an angel of light……
We have been warned.
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That is a great example.
I didn’t mean to hijack the thread with this, but I feel so moved to spread awareness whenever possible, especially in the doll community, where there are so many good people, many of whom wouldn’t even think about this kind of thing.
It’s the reason you see news stories about little elderly ladies who have gotten their life savings drained, all because they fell victim to someone smiling, charming, and helpful. It’s heartbreaking.
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The take I got from Dave’s email was that everyone was giving him ideas and suggestions and he is going to try to implement them.
His biggest fault is he tries to appease everyone but enough is enough. Stop changing things!
No checkmark for me. No way, no how.
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Off topic too but this reminds me of my mother. Everyone loves her. Everyone is charmed by her. She is sweet and charming and kind. But that is her public face. Shes also the person who used to beat me with metal handled fly swatters and would drink enough to pass out in the middle of the yard.
Thats the tough part. People believe her public persona and when I tell them the mask comes off when no one is watching they don’t believe me. Until she eventually slips up in front of them.
Manipulative people are super charming. Its disgusting.
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Exactly! I mean, don’t most scammers, especially in a hobby situation, tend to not last? Don’t they scam and then go on to find something else to scam? I’ve been around for 13 years and have a lot of feedback on eBay going back far as a seller. And I have some reviews on my FB doll page. Plus good reviews at his site. There’s no way in Hades I’d ever give him any of my personal info. Not even if I met him in person would I. He doesn’t need that and I’m not going to be part of it.
Yep, was going to say the same. As a nurse I’ve met a lot of different people and worked with a lot. Some of the most charming are the smoothest in negative ways. I have a few in my family who are like that. You forget and think you can trust them, but then you find out the hard way you shouldn’t have. Pathological personalities.
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I’m beyond sorry that you understand everything in my post for this reason. 
The effects of this type of situation are almost beyond words. You had to survive the initial abuse, endure long-term effects like PTSD, then most likely you had to deal with it alone or with minimal support. Since outward perception is that she is wonderful, it’s likely that people minimized the extent of your abuse, tried to make excuses for her, or maybe they didn’t believe you at all, which is its own form of trauma. They are usually professional victims as well and can turn it on like a light switch, which confuses people even more. I’d be surprised if you didn’t question your own sanity at times
Of course some of this may not apply to you specifically, I just know the type and how it commonly plays out.
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I completely forgot that you had this background. You definitely understand this on every level possible.
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