Recast / Counterfeit

"The Recast", what is it ?

 

This word RECAST, is being heard everywhere right now in the BJD community. It is at the heart of lively debates, and it controvert between those who advocate it, those who fight against it, and those who wish not to take part.

The word “Recast” means “re-mold”. It therefore generally refers to resin dolls made of counterfeit, by reference to their creation process.

In order to fully understand the ins and outs of the problem, we need to look at the process to create a BJD.

 

1- Resin BJD creation

Here are, in a schematic and simplified way, the stages of creating a resin BJD by a small creative craftsman.

BJD Création designIt starts with an idea, a project that is developed on paper.

BJD 3d designThen we create the object in 3D. We can opt for different methods: Sculpture, 3d printing, mixed technique...

BJD Création jointsThen begins a long modification phase, adaptation, correction in order to improve the parts.

 


 

BJD Création piecesThe joints must be shaped to be functional, to allow natural poses, while combining the aesthetic and practical aspect.

BJD Création sandingWhen the model looks good, it is sanded to have a smooth and clean surface.

BJD Création stringThen we assemble the parts to check and test that everything works as expected.

Obviously, not everything works at first, and these three steps can be repeated several times until the prototype is finally validated.

This work is long and tedious, and plays a big role, it is at this moment the doll you will have in your hands takes life.

 


 

Once the prototype is complete, it must be prepared for serial reproduction: moulding

 

Recast - Création mouldingWe create a box and insert each piece to mold into a half plasticine imprint. Then we cast the silicone that will constitute the mold.

Recast - Création moulding 2We proceed twice (at least) to obtain a mold that can be opened and be reused to edit the doll in several copies.

Recast - Création castingWhen the moulds of all the parts are ready, the resin must be casted inside to obtain a copy of the prototype.

 


 

Recast - Création openingOnce the parts are casted, they must be carefully removed from the mould.

Recast - Création sanding 2We cut, we clean, we sand all the molding traces to have a smooth and aesthetic doll.

Recast - Création assemblingWe string it, that is to say it is assembled with an elastic band to finally take its final form.

 


 

Recast - Création makeupWe can then make up the doll, decorate her to add charm and life.

Recast - Création picturesThe creator takes photos in order to share his creation with the community.

Recast - Création saleIt is only after all these steps, a long process that can take several years, that you can finally acquire you dreamdoll.

 


2- The "Recast"

NO RECAST

I am not a specialist in this field as I have never had one. There are many blogs and forums where you can find out more about how to recognise recasts with photos.

So, the RE-CAST is the process used by malicious people to take a doll created by someone else, to free themselves from the stage of conception/creation, to make a counterfeit copy by directly re-making a mold. This mold is obviously intended to produce in large quantities the doll stolen from the artist to sell it fraudulently.

They can get the original doll in many ways, by stealing it, buying it, getting it from another buyer for services....

As you will have understood, the «recast» is COUNTERFEIT. It is a malicious action from someone who wants to STEAL the work of another and make PROFIT by selling ILLEGAL copies.

 

 

This raises several problems for the various community players:

 

 

 

Creators

Counterfeiters

Buyers

Community

 

3- Creators

The creators of BJD are dreamers. They imagine a doll, a creature, an object. They spend an inordinate amount of time working on their project without any certainty of success. It is a financial investment but also a moral one. Because during the long months of work on the prototype, the creator receives no salary and is in a very precarious situation. Nor is there any guarantee that the doll will be sufficiently appreciated to generate an income later on. All this time spent working "blank" is the designer's sensitive nerve; it is a gamble on the future. Because the counterfeiter does not need this risky phase. Not only does he not waste time creating, but he only chooses dolls that are already appreciated by customers. It is easy, risk-free, efficient and profitable.

It should be added that small craftsmen often pay great attention to their customers. Not only do they guarantee a quality product made with love, but they also take the time to answer you, to explain and to listen to you. This time may seem like nothing, but little by little, customer by customer, this attention is time-consuming and encroaches on production time. But who cares, the designer makes it his duty to be available weekdays and weekends for his precious client. You want a colour, a shape, he studies your request with interest. You need another month to pay, he holds on, he accompanies and supports you, you have a problem, he answers you without delay... That is the love of your passionate designer.

It's a safe bet that the counterfeiter is not so devoted. Remember, his job is to be a thief, a profiteer. Do you think he turns into a humanist for his client?

It is important to realise that the resettlers are killing the creators, they are stealing their creation, their potential clientele, and drying up the source. For lack of sales, the creators disappear, they no longer create. The resettlers must then attack other creators who are less and less numerous. It's simple, they saw off the branch they are sitting on and just change the branch as they change the stolen creator. Maybe one day they will have killed all the creators and there will be no more creators and nothing left to steal...

In the meantime, the creators are counting on the buyers support to survive, develop, and fight. There will probably always be people out there to buy fakes. Because it's easier to find excuses, close your eyes, and mindlessly consume. But if you want to support the virtuous cycle of our market, you will know that the purchase of original BJDs makes it possible to finance the creators existence, therefore allows them to create new things, to live from their passion and to energize the hobby of BJD.

 

For an artist it is very painful to be copied. Yes counterfeiting is illegal, blah blah blah… but WHY?

Imagine you go shopping.

On your return a family of strangers settled in your house, their dog is trashing your garden, the family is eating your favorite cereal in the kitchen asking you what you do at their home! Not only do they steal your house, they destroy it and respect nothing, but they also claim ownership of this property.

Imagine how you would feel; desolation, anger, frustration, sadness, feeling of being dispossessed of your property but also of the sentimental value it has for you, the impression of being a stranger at home and distress of not knowing how to enforce your law, fear and insecurity because your roof was stolen and you have nothing left ...

Well, the comparison is not at all exaggerated, it's exactly what it feels like to have a creation stolen that you've put your heart into making, that has a hidden personal history, that represents time and investment.

You hear stories on the news about people whose homes are squatted. Everyone is outraged by this. But then they find excuses to justify the theft...

 

If you have empathy and respect for others, if the human has value to you, act conscientiously.

SUPPORT THE CREATORS, VALUE THE BJD LEGIT <3

 

4- Recast companies

For them the goal is simple, select potential dolls and sell them illegally to the largest number.

One purpose in mind: MONEY !

They don't care about the consequences of their market, their only goal is to make profit on the backs of creators.

For this they have a very wide range of potential targets, in all countries of the world. Whether it's a big company or a small artist, everyone is targeted, the more dolls they copy the more customers they will have.

Their advantages: uncontrolled, well-referenced sales platforms, VERY ATTRACTIVE prices.

 


 

ILLEGAL COPIES

These companies operate on a large number of internet platforms such as Ebay, Amazon, Taobao, Aliexpress, Wish, Etsy, Vinted, LeBonCoin, Facebook sales… They also have very well referenced shop sites on the web which contributes to deceiving novice buyers.

Someone who is uninformed in the business, or a totally ignorant loved one who would try to give you a nice present, can very well be ripped off.

If you see a BJD on sale at an unreasonably low price, beware, it’s probably a fake!

The fact is that the BJD community is international and the laws on counterfeiting vary from country to country. Above all, it is very difficult to file a complaint for wrongdoing that took place abroad. These fraudsters take advantage of a complex situation to not be worried and take advantage of the vast and fuzzy internet.

Customs could limit the dissemination of counterfeits in Western countries, but it would be necessary for this to reference the counterfeits sellers or to open the packages to identify them correctly, to know how to differentiate the “real” from the “fake”, everything, she would have to be interested in the BJD traffic...

It is very difficult to make your voice as a creator heard, because for that you would have to register and patent all your creations, despite this, they are only protected in countries which respect the patents. You should know that a large part of the recast factories are Chinese, and that the laws in China are designed to favor domestic companies. International laws are of little value.

If you are not happy, you have to hire a lawyer, who will cost you a lot of money, and start a long procedure, without being sure that it will succeed, to fight against a stranger at the other end of the world.

Imagine that big names like CHANEL or LOUIS VUITTON, who have substantial means, lawyers and an international existence, cannot fight against counterfeits. How can we, small craftmens, win this fight?

Counterfeits are however ILLEGAL.

It is ILLEGAL to produce it, and it is ILLEGAL to possess it!

 

In France: “The possession of counterfeits, like to sale, constitutes an offense. Sellers and holders of counterfeit goods can be sanctioned for this. Criminal penalties can range up to a fine of 300,000 euros and three years in prison. "

 


 

FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

In order to deceive the consumer, counterfeiters, like any self-respecting scammer, use very elaborate procedures to make up their product in order to pass it off as a real one.

In addition to stealing the doll reproduction rights from the artist, the counterfeiters also counterfeit the doll boxes and certificates of authenticity.
Il est très simple avec la technologie actuelle de scanner, reproduire et dupliquer un document. C’est pourquoi il est recommandé de ne pas poster des photos haute définition des certificats de dolls en 2nde main. Les contrefacteurs peuvent très facilement utiliser l’image pour l’attribuer à leur création volée.

They also steal photos taken by users to reuse them on their sales pages, tricking the customer into believing that this is the doll they are going to buy. Oubviously the doll that will be delivered will not conform to the photo since the photo is stolen. This practice is used because before, the thieves directly used the official companies pictures. When they saw this was an obvious signal of fake dolls, they figured out a way to pass their traffic off as a second-hand sale with stolen photos of buyers.

The apotheosis of fraud is concluded with brand theft. Some of them try to create fake Facebook and Instagram accounts, in order to pretend to be the artist himself. They even go so far as to register the creator's trademark in their country (which is perfectly legal in China, for example). The thief can then sell the product as an official trademark since he has declared it legally. Trademark registration is an expensive process that is not affordable for SMEs. It is necessary to register and therefore buy the trademark in EVERY country in which the author wants to be protected, which you understand is quite impossible financially. Once again, the only recourse is to go through the legal system, which is also very costly, with no certainty of success.

It is essential to be aware that this clandestine network operates like a large-scale mafia network. I leave it to you to imagine what the funds collected by the counterfeit trade are used for...

 

PRICES

And this brings us to the heart of the matter. PRICES. Some people make the WILLING choice to buy a counterfeit in the first place because the price is considerably lower than the original.

It is very difficult for a buyer to understand the value of the desired good. It is normal, the one who buys does not make, he therefore does not realize the object cost.

 

BJDs are sometimes very expensive collector's items, and it is obvious that in a “discount” society we systematically try to spend less.

They are expensive because they are expensive to produce, and the creator also needs to feed himself at the end of the month. So he must take into account the time of work provided.

In an original BJD you pay so :

  • The litres of silicone that were used to produce your doll
  • The litres of resin that make it up, but also those that have gone to the trash in debris, casting frames, missed pieces, pieces with bubbles, bottom of cups, etc.
  • Small materials, elastic, wire, magnets, paint, etc.
  • The designer’s investment to provide you with a quality object: vacuum, sander, compressor, small tools (pliers, consumables, etc.)
  • The creator's working time, which amounts to hundreds of hours. If the designer charged for the time actually spent on his dolls, no one could buy them, yet he adapts to his market to find a reasonable balance. And the labor force, linked to the cost of living, is much higher in Europe than in Asia.
  • Charges and state taxes because your craftsman is declared and therefore pays operating costs.
  • However, years of experience, testing and refinement do not count towards this price.

It’s true that in the end it may no longer be in line with your wallet, and the Recastor knows it!

The counterfeiter sells a BJD (recast):

  • Stolen, so no labor time or material to charge for the creation.
  • Dont il n’a souvent même pas payé l’original.
  • Produced in factory in very large quantity which allows him to amortize the costs on a very large number.
    (Don’t worry about the investment costs in the factory, they were funded by the thefts decades already passed)
  • Manufactured using underpaid labor (often in China or Taiwan ...)
  • Which costs him little in raw materials because he uses lower quality materials that are potentially toxic and dangerous to health.

YES IT WILL SELL A CHEAPER COPY, that's a fact. It is then up to you, the buyers, to know what you want to finance, support, and why.

 

5- Buyers

It’s very simple to close your eyes and say, “Never mind, I’m just a drop in the bucket and I’m not going to change anything by myself.”

Many see only the end result, their bank account. And I can understand. Why spend a lot of money for something you can have at a low price.

Yet the craftsman could not pay his raw material cheaper He does his best to live from his passion in his country and has no choice.

 

YODA AGAINST RECAST

THE BUYER HAS THE CHOICE, this is his greatest strength.

*He has the choice to buy a copy that will not cost him much. He can therefore buy without feeling guilty about his expenditure, buy more things, spend without frustration AND finance a network of swindlers. All this in the knowledge that he is robbing a creator by buying an object of dubious quality or even dangerous to health. This object will be considered an illegal disgrace. It can never be appreciated by the community and will therefore be admired in secret only by its owner, or placed on a shelf, without any possibility of resale. It is a trash item. The profit made by the rescuer will be used to finance the theft of another creation, and then the buyer is no longer a drop in the ocean.

OR

*He has the choice of buying an original doll, called a "legit" doll, which he will wait to buy for a little longer because he will have to save up. He will have a valuable object that he can share with everyone, and resell later when his tastes have evolved. He will have been a link in the virtuous chain by financing a creator, who thanks to him, will be able to create other things, to lower his prices and he will have participated in decongesting the market of the pollution of copies.

Many dolls can be obtained cheaply second hand. These are still original dolls, some owners lower the price to finance another project quickly. This is a great opportunity, and it restores confidence in the market where currently people are suspicious of everything and everyone and have to prove the origin of the dolls, because of the recast and the fear it generates among buyers.

 

If unfortunately you, as a little informed buyer, have been the victim of the recast, you can:

  • Report on the shopping platform the ad as "sale of counterfeit product"
  • Notify the artist who is the object of the theft / or the community for help
  • File a complaint / report the fraud to your bank to cancel the payment / request a refund on the shopping platform for the sale of a counterfeit product
  • Do not try to resell the counterfeit item to get rid of it or make it profitable, it’s sad but it’s lost.
  • Do not make the same mistake twice, you will always find help in the community to advise you on safe purchases.

 

RECOGNIZE A COUNTERFEIT

Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method for unmasking a recast. However, there are some things that should alert you to the possibility of a recast and set off your BJD alarm!

  • The platform is known to sell "fakes" (ebay, aliexpress ... or info given by seasoned collectors)
  • The ad does not include the specific name of the model and its company
  • The ad mentions several sizes (sd, msd), several models, several brands in the same title (ex: minifée fairyland soom sd msd doll ..)
  • The resin color, or the texture is not the same as on the official site doll
  • The advertisement explicitly presents the product as RECAST or COPY
  • Joints / body parts seem to fit poorly into each other
  • The finishes (interior, holes ...) seem unprofessional
  • The mark on the back / in the head is different from the original
  • The mould details seem attenuated (shallower hollows, veins and small volumes almost disappeared ...)
  • The seller cannot provide any authenticity certification document (original box, certificate, proof of purchase from an official seller, etc.)
  • The price is substantially cheaper than the original

If some of these points are difficult to perceive for an untrained eye (difference in colour, moulding, resin...), the other points should definitely arouse your suspicion. The price is an invariably effective indicator, even if you can find counterfeits at the same price as the original. In this case, be vigilant about the presence of authentication documents and the origin of the item. If the seller pretends to divert your attention, to have forgotten the name of the model or the purchase site, do not be fooled. You are dealing with a swindler who knows exactly what he is doing. And be careful, it's better to miss out on a potential bargain than to be ripped off!

6- Community

The discussion about recasting in the BJD community is often very violent, animated by anger and misunderstanding. This discourse is frequently stirred by events that scandalise the community.

We need to differentiate between substance and form and to think intelligently about what we say.

First of all, it is necessary to state a fact: in the official community, recasting is not tolerated. This is because everyone has understood that this is the beginning of the death of our passion. No one will create a BJD anymore.

There is obviously a community for recasting, including people who only see the financial aspect and people who have been violently rejected by the official community. This has made their choice lean towards the dark side. I feel sorry for those people who didn't see the struggle behind the words.

I am not a pacifist for my part on this subject, and I will not endorse the recast being myself a creator.

BUT it is unthinkable to solve the problem with violence. Hate only leeds to hate. This is the purpose of this article. Explain, make understand the ins and outs of the subject so that everyone is finally able to choose in their soul and conscience. Some will always choose the wallet, others will choose to support us. For those who did not know, you now have the elements to choose, we cannot "not choose".

Sometimes you own a recast by chance/mistake, a gift made by someone who didn’t know, or a purchase made when you’re not familiar with the hobby…

For those, kindly, I advise you to inquire, to talk to those who can teach you not to make the same mistakes again.

For those who choose to fund the counterfeit industry anyway, you are hurting artists who struggle day in and day out to create the originals of the copies you buy. It's sad, but everyone is free to choose. The only wise advice I can give you is not to advocate it, you have made your choice, let others do the same.

 

SOME EXCUSES FROM CONSUMERS IN FAVOR OF COUNTERFEITING, a word to say...

  • The model I wanted is no longer produced / no longer available yet I want it
  • Or it does not exist in "such" color yet I want it that way

I think the world of BJDs is rich and wide enough to know that when you can't buy one model, you'll find another just as pretty and satisfying soon after. Moreover, BJDs do not provide food, shelter or safety, so it is quite possible to be able to do without a BJD without serious consequences.

 

  • The recasts are of better quality than some official companies

Some companies are indeed victims of their success and the quality of their product suffers slightly, however this does not justify buying counterfeit.
Just because you work slower than your office colleague doesn't mean that your boss fires you and your job is worthless, or that you don't have other more important qualities ...
The product is not right for you, do not buy it.

I will not speak of "quality" when speaking of recast. The manufacturing process alone causes a loss of quality in the details, the interior is often very damaged, the holes and the posability degraded. When it comes to the quality of the resin, you have not done a chemical expertise proving that you are not intoxicated by a material that has not passed basic controls.

In addition, I remind you that apart from the few companies whose quality you consider insufficient, there are hundreds of designers who provide quality products made with passion and love, and who pamper their customers like royalty. Don't put everyone in the same bag.

 

  • The date of the preordering did not suit me financially, I could not at the time
  • The company does not offer payment in several installments

BJDs are a luxury hobby. I don't buy Ferrarri or Porsches if I can't afford it. There are lot of affordable legit designs that don't justify subsidizing a network of scammers. Creators invest a lot of money before they can even sell their product, so it's understandable that they can't afford to wait longer with funding support. The customer must manage his wallet, the creator too. The payment facilities are a favor done by the seller, and never due.

 

  • Artists charge too much for their products, they laugh at us to make a profit
  • Being recasted means the product is popular, so it is already selling well, it won't make a difference.
  • Or it means that the product is popular, the artist should be honored that we want to copy it
  • All artists are necessarily inspired by someone, we just have to say that the recaster was inspired by them and no longer make a drama out of it!

Let me be clear, those who claim that creators get rich at the expense of customers are ignorant. First of all, the purpose of starting a business is indeed to create wealth, but this money is actually used to pay the rent, to eat, to invest in order to create. Those who persist in believing that the creator's margin is disproportionate, I wish them to be able to compare the recaster's house with that of the craftsman he steals! And for the remaining holdouts who wouldn't take my word for it, just look at the number of resellers and designers who have been forced to go out of business and shut down. If these people got richer they wouldn't have been forced to stop. Who is the recent bankruptcy recaster?

  • The "legit" community is just a bunch of elitist, grumbling bourgeois, let less fortunate people be alone.

To those I have nothing to say. Talking to a wall is no use, it can't hear you. It is so much easier to blame others than to question yourself. Excuse the creators for needing to eat, it is quite obvious that it is elitist to eat, to have a home. What is elitist is to have such contempt for the consequences of one's actions on those who suffer from them. What is elitist is to believe that we are better than those who fight for their rights, that they are idiots and complainers !!!

These arguments only serve to raise awareness of those who support the counterfeit / recast movement. No excuse justifies an offense.

 

Thank you for reading <3

7- Lexicon

BJD : Doll

Recast: Counterfeiting, illegal copy

Pro-artist: supporting artists/creators

Pro-recast: Who supports counterfeiting

Legit : Original, modèle autorisé, officiel

Community: People connected by their passion

String: Soft with elastic

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