Is Taobao a good place to buy dolls?

(I still feel like all my posts are just me asking questions lol.) Iwas on Taobao and I saw some dolls for a cheap price. But I don’t know if they are scams or fakes. Thanks! :3

Now with fake DDs existing, that's always a concern.

On Taobao, it's also common that if you see a price for a DD that looks like a deal, it's because it's not actually the price of the doll, it's a "finders fee" or deposit for some place that doesn't actually have any dolls but will try to get one for you after you pay them.

What I was told awhile back is never buy a DD on Taobao. The fee you see on Taobao is a finders fee and not the price of the doll itself. If they find the doll you still have to buy it at whatever price they have found it for. Pretty sure it was Cauldroness who passed on the advice, and when she says something you can bank on it.

Given the recent recasts I would say the Taobao situation today is much worse as far as DD's go.

Clothes & shoes are usually fine, but the wigs on Taobao can be pretty meh. If you go for those items I'd recommend starting small to get a feel for the merchant's quality.

Edited March 24, 2019 by BeyondTime

The thread with @Cauldroness' post is here:

To be clear, what I wrote above was referring to this; I remembered reading but didn't remember who wrote it. I don't have any personal experience on this, except I'll mention that proxy fees can really add up even if everything else was ok. I've only bought from Taobao once, some eyes and socks/pantyhose, and I ended up paying far more than I expected. Maybe I'm just dense, but the fees always end up being a lot more than I think from the explanations. I've had the same issues with Japanese proxy services though.

Like what the others have said, for full DDs, don't bother buying them due to the risk of getting fakes. Now, another thing is the fact that majority of those claiming to sell full set DDs are essentially proxies themselves, and if you ordered from them via a proxy you're essentially paying up for at least two proxies (if the seller doesn't ship direct to you, which was the case with half of the stuff there).

With regards to the fakes, there's an interesting listing if you managed to snoop around Taobao: pieces ostensibly inspired by Rajikaru's stuff sold by this store called " 动漫宅的福音之路 ". Size-wise, they're even taken from the original in some ways, so it's something to take note of.

Goodness, @BeyondTime, I'm surprised and delighted to see you've found my advice so spot-on. I try to be helpful; it's always nice to see confirmation. Appreciate it!

As to the topic at hand, I strongly recommend folks do not buy DDs (or Azone, Angel Philia, or any of the major vinyl dolls) from Taobao, even more than I did in the past.

We have confirmation of at least 2 fake DDs out there (Miku and Saber), and certainly more are to come. On Taobao, a lot of sellers simply use Volks' official photos even when selling fakes, so you cannot trust the photos. If you order what you believe is an authentic doll and receive a fake, you are going to have a hard time getting your money back. In most cases, the best the proxy can do is communicate with the seller -- they're not going to take back a return if the seller won't. If the seller won't take the return and issue a refund, then your proxy is not going to refund you either and you will be out the full cost + stuck with a fake doll. Even if the seller does take returns, you're going to be out international shipping (both ways), domestic shipping (both ways), and currency exchange fees (twice).

If the seller is selling an authentic DD, then it's highly likely that the low price you see is the deposit only. Usually they don't have the doll in stock; they're going to go purchase it from another shop (like Mandarake), add on their own finder's fee, and then charge you the much bigger price. Almost all of these deposits are non-refundable, so if the final cost is higher than you're willing to pay, you'll be out the deposit. (Again, your proxy won't refund you if the seller won't.)

And that's before you consider proxy fees, currency exchange, double shipping (domestic to your proxy, international from your proxy to you), etc., all of which can make that price a LOT more than you'd expect.

This is my personal rule: (1) If I see a fullset doll going for less than the original release price from Volks, (2) It's not advertised as incomplete, damaged, yellowed, or otherwise defective in some way that would account for the price reduction, (3) I assume it's a fake/deposit only/scam. There a very, very few fullset DDs that sell for less than their release price -- mostly early releases on older bodies that are no longer popular.

I would recommend sticking to Mandarake and Dollyteria, where you can often find surprisingly good deals -- mint fullsets at near-release cost, slightly damaged fullsets below original cost, etc. To my knowledge, neither Mandarake nor Dollyteria sell fakes (and, if they did, you know they would clearly label them as such and show real photos of the doll being sold, not Volks' official photos).

I have a purchased a legit bjd on taobao before, I have always used taobaotrends to make all my purchases, you can see the total price upfront and before paying you can see the fees separately so you know what you're going to pay without surprises later on. Their customer service is great so I have no complains. I have never purchased a DD from there though, my best advice would be to research the seller first before buying, search for their feedback or ask taobaotrends to help you communicate with the seller before making a purchase and like everything in life, if the price sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a scam.

@jazijaz It is totally possible to get legit BJDs on taobao. There are lot of BJD makers who are based in China, and many either have their own taobao account or have official taobao dealers. They have direct connections and are able to offer good prices, sometimes even better than the prices on the English language sites. None of the BJD sellers I've seen on taobao use the deposit-only system that I commonly see with DD sellers on taobao, which is why your proxy was able to tell you the total price upfront. It's a totally different sales methodology.

But DD are only made by Volks, and they do not have official taobao dealers. The only way a taobao seller gets ahold of a DD is:

- Buying from Volks and reselling

- Buying second-hand and reselling

- Selling a fake as a legit Volks product

You cannot compare the experience of buying a BJD on taobao and buying a DD on taobao. Absolutely apples and oranges.

I was sharing my experience, not comparing them. I clearly said I never purchased a DD in taobao and to do research before buying a DD.