What’s up on Ebay? It seems to be flooded with reborn dolls that are priced at $45-$90. Most of them don’t look so good either, but one or two seem okay in the photos. How are we supposed to compete with dolls being sold at, near or below cost? The market is bad enough right now without this. I look at a doll for $45. and it makes me angry because I think of all the hours I put in on each one of mine and it feels like my time and artistry will not be worth anything if the market is flooded with these underpriced reborns. Rant, rant, rant…
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I have to believe these are probably China knock-off kits with 3 layers of paint slapped on them and all kinds of used materials for stuffing and weighting. The “You get what you paid for” type of doll. It’s sad, but some people just want to make a a quick buck and seem to think Reborning is where the money is. It is so irritating when people don’t take pride in their work and don’t even realize that Reborning is art, not manufacturing.
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I agree with both of you, It is very sad for the real reborn artists out there, People seem to want what ever they can buy for a cheap price so some of them will unfortunately go for those low priced dolls. I wonder when they get them home if they look at them and think “so, this is a reborn doll, well I don’t see the big deal”. It’s too bad for the wonderful artists out there that do such beautiful work that maybe these very same people will never experience the joy of owning a beautiful work of art. What a shame.
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I wouldn’t worry about them really…People are going to buy whatever they want any how. I tend to price my dolls on ebay a bit lower than most ladies with the same experience because I price my dolls based on what I have in them…so just cost plus a flat fee on top for painting and rooting, not triple or quadruple my cost or a flat dollar amount no matter what my cost are (not knocking ladies at all on how they price their work as that is their business and more power to them - I’d be the first to congratulate them on their sales)…With mine though, if I get a cheap kit or one on sale, the savings goes to the customer. I have never really worried if people are priced higher or lower than me cause beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway…sure there are ladies that just want a cheap reborn for their kids or whatever but they aren’t going to buy a reborn at all if they aren’t cheap anyway so I don’t ever think of it that it affected my sale…an artist has to ask what they are willing to take and I ask what I am willing to take. I have to admit I use Ebay primarily as a contact point to build my customer base so probably have different motives than other ladies??? It has worked great for me though as I have a very nice client base now that keeps me busy enough that I don’t really have to bother listing any more unless I just want to pop my nursery name out there so people know I am still active. Mostly do customs now for previous customers and word of mouth sales…So sweet lady, chin up…and don’t worry…if some one really loves your baby, they will pay the price…and at least you will know that they will really love it instead of just buying it because it was cheap! 
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Alot of these dolls don’t even belong in the reborning section. They’re not even reborn they are just regular dolls. Yes, China has made a very negative impact on reborning right now, and I agree that new buyers of reborns are not getting the quality of a reborn from someone that has put hrs. of hard work and love into their work. Unfortunately Ebay is only in it for the profit so they are not going to keep these non-reborn dolls from China out of this catagory. So Sad especially if a new buyer thinks they are really getting a reborn doll.
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Thanks. I really was discouraged this morning as I haven’t sold anything in a while. I try to price my dolls according to the effort I put into them and the amount of reality they have so some are much less expensive than others, but not THAT much less expensive. Really! $45.?
@westernstarr You strike me as a most honorable lady. I really respect that and I try very hard to be one too. The good reputation that brings you return customers is well deserved. Thank you for being my friend.
I take these friendships on this forum very seriously. I love and trust those of you I have gotten to know and those I will get to know and you are all blessings from God to me.
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@GrannyGwen I hope you don’t think I was including people who start their dolls low at auction. No, the people I was referring to are actually selling at very low bin prices. I am sorry to hear your doll sold for so little. I never do auctions that way. It’s too scary. Sometimes I decide what is the absolute least I would let the doll go for and then set the beginning price there. I’d rather keep them or choose who I give them away to than sell them to someone who doesn’t respect the art we put into them.
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The market is so awful right now. I wish I could quit questioning whether my dolls are good enough when they don’t sell. I know the market is bad but self-doubt is pervasive.
Your dolls are very very lovely…IT IS the market! The economy is a bit iffy and people tend to snap their purses closed…Right now the market is catering to first time buyers who have always wanted a reborn but could not afford one, those who are new to the industry but nervous about spending the higher cost because they do not truly understand the meaning and value of A ONE OF A KIND ARTIST DOLL, and the other group of buyers are diehard doll collectors…This group of ladies are not worried about the cost particularly but they are looking for the newest, latest (and if they can get it at a bargain, that is an added bonus)…they want ones they don’t have in their collections, hard to finds, sold outs or limited edition kits…Many of the ‘average’ buyers who save and buy the meduim to high end dolls because they only intend to have a few of them and want quality ones are just tightening up the household purse strings…it happens around this time…family vacations, back to school and things like that…it does cycle but I have to say that I think it will be the two groups buying for a while before we see any great jumps in sales…there will be sales…no worries there but they will be a bit slower coming, especially for the older kits unless the right person happens to come along and just love it… 
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I know what you mean Helen, I have sold 2 dolls to the same lady that goes to the doll club that I belong to. I have never tried to sell one on ebay or other sites. I am kind of afraid of all the scams out there. I thought about a doll show. They have a couple around here each year that are nothing I am interested in: Old dolls and stuff related, small shows, NOT anything like the big ones. I usually go, although I’m not sure why. They certainly don’t have anything like reborns or their accessories. I thought maybe I could try one of those shows. Just a thought.
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That feeling is mutual!. I think you are a very lovely lady too and it has been nice meeting you here as well. I have never EVER joined any forums including facebook because I heard some horror stories about some of the women on them. I have never been one to get involved with gossip, back stabbing or cat fights…such a waste of God given time in my opinion…so I watched this forum for a while before deciding to come aboard…it has some very very VERY nice people on here…I have never been interested in just chatting much either but I find myself drawn back often to at least read through all the topics and ladies comments…Great place with great people!..
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I feel very safe on reborns.com I am extremely uncomfortable on ebay. The first three dolls I posted on reborns.com sold immediately, but now I haven’t sold anything in a month and don’t see that changing. But…you never know. The nice thing about reborns.com is that you just pay one fee and that’s it unlike ebay that has a charge for this and a charge for that. I have had nonpayers on ebay, but on reborns.com it’s instant pay or no deal the way I have it set up. I like that. I just get a message in my email that says the doll sold and I take it from there. It’s really easy and nice. You should try it if you haven’t. But, maybe not now, cause the market is asleep. I love the way Starr sums things up and explains the ups and downs of marketing because it is not my forte.
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Starr, we are very lucky to have you here. You always give great information and comments. I for one am glad you decided to join us. I belong to a couple of other forums but they are very slow, not much goes on there. BB is definitely a chatty, sharing and caring forum and I love it. I look forward to reading everyones posts each day, all day long. When you are alone and older it is nice to have a connection to others with interests like your own.
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I’m not alone, but am older and so many people my age feel isolated in some way. It is hard to connect along the lines of interests like this. This forum has filled a very real niche in my life that needed filling badly. I am not a lonely person. I have many friends. But you ladies are my reborn friends and the only ones I have that understand.
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I’m not sure how many people in the UK are on there, but you would be one more!
I noticed these $45 dolls from China yesterday on ebay. It reminded me of when the porcelain dolls where popular and China came into the market under cutting the prices and ruined a lot of business for the other doll artists. I hope this doesn’t happen to the reborn artists. I know by experience that the porcelain dolls from China where done with very cheap products. My cousin gave me one several years ago and I went to clean it with only a water dampened cloth and the darn eyebrows came right off. I have made porcelain dolls and the paint is baked on in a kiln and it doesn’t come off. I can only assume that the same thing is going to happen with the reborn dolls of being low quality. I hope customers realize this when purchasing these dolls.
Don’t know if this would help, but I had an idea about ebay. Like I said before they don’t care what someone puts in the reborn section, they only want the sales, but If some of us reborners would put up some kind of listing that would kind of enlighten the new reborn buyers that the items from China are not authenic reborns then the China items may eventually drop off. What do any of you think?
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I also like Reborncom. I have sold my last 4 reborns on there, and have only had 1 non-paying person, and for some reason all the non-paying bidders I have ever encountered have a _ in the user name. Plus the fact I don’t have to pay the 10% of my total to ebay. I still use ebay, but not as often
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That’s rough! I would’ve been tempted to cancel it, too. You’re doing the right thing, though. I hope the new mommy truly appreciates the deal she got.
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I worry about Ebay also. I was looking at reborns.com last night. I think I will sign up. My Irelyn didn’t sell and I changed the numbers around. I started it off lower to attract bidders, but put a reserve so I would get stuck with a low bid. I also lowered my bin a little. I was also thinking about just doing the bin at a fair price and leaving it. I just got an email from someone on ebay and wanted to know if they just bought the doll and no clothes what would I sell her for. I’m not even sure how to respond to that. The cost of my clothes is miniscule.
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