Last week I posted part one of the "Bad Reborning" episode on Colliii TV. This week, Petra and James discuss some of the aspects of what they found in the doll from the first episode.
~View part 2 here~
If you missed part one, here is the link:
~View part 1 here~
I am frustrated, but not surprised, with the feedback from these shows. Of course, I have not seen/heard all of the feedback but from what I have seen/heard tells me that there are a lot of upset ladies over the revelation of what is considered to be bad reborning. Guess they still want to follow the old practices and put out less than quality reborns. They think that Petra was picking the doll apart too closely. Harrumph! No she was not. The doll was priced at approximately $500 USD. For $500 the doll should be nearly perfect.
Is that a bad reborn in my opinion? I would not call him a "bad" reborn but he sure is not a high quality one. I have seen so much worse and have seen appalling things in dolls that sold for $1500-3000! He seemed to be weighted well and moved nicely, however, I would not desire sand in my reborns. The plastic pellets in the limbs do not bother me. I use them in the bodies of some of my newborns and in the limbs of my toddlers and have no fear of them melting. The application of the eyes is terrible and I do understand how hard eye placement can be! But one should work and work at it until they get it right. I love my babies fingers and toes so the lack of the nail tips would bother me. His overall skin tone is alright. He does not have a lot of depth but he looks cute. And the hair~EWE! Another example of purchasing inexpensive, adult mohair and not taking the required bazillion hours to root it. Would I buy him for the price that he was sold for? No. Could I have seen the flaws in him in the auction? Probably. I am a reborn baby connoisseur. I spent 3 years watching the reborn art evolve before I ever tried my hand at it. I read every word written in the auctions and closely viewed every picture....for three full years. I did not buy any dolls during that time but the ones I have bought over the last 4 1/2 years are exactly what I expected~I knew the good traits and the flaws of each and every doll and I came away a happy and satisfied customer.
If an auction does not show close up pictures of the dolls hair, eyes and skin tone, pass it by or ask the artist for clear, close up pictures. So much can be hidden with pictures. READ the description~and read between the lines too. You should not HAVE to read between the lines, but it's best that you do. Make sure they are being specific in what "high quality" products they are using. Is it high quality sand or glass beads? (ps~there is no high quality sand...sand is sand. It's dirt!) Collectors, it's up to you to carefully evaluate the doll that is being considered. Read every line and view every picture. Of course, in all integrity, the artist should promote her doll just as it is, the good with the bad, but in today's world, that just is not going to happen and...some ladies are just starting out. They borrow terms and words from the more well known artists in order to present their baby better. Do I think it's honest and a good way to promote? NO! But it happens.
We all start somewhere and I recall some things that I did in the beginning that made me think, "Huh, is this the right way to do this?" and then I moved on to, "there has to be a better way!" I found the better ways and changed what I was doing and today I change things as I and other artists find better ways and better products to use. This art is forever changing and evolving~that said, there are so many resources available for the beginner to get off to a very good start. Many of the old tutorials need to be thrown out. They are sorely outdated. Even when I started, my knowledge was already beyond the current tutorials available at that time. I pretty much taught myself and graced my knowledge with a whole lot of common sense.
Petra and James talk about a business license. In my state, I do not need a business license to operate. I do have a Federal Tax ID and my business is registered. I personally have not allowed returns as most of my business used to be via eBay. eBay is a great selling place and I have met many wonderful customers through eBay. But, there are a lot of nutty people out there too! Oh my, the questions and comments that have come through and also the people who bid, buy and don't pay are there by the hundreds! I chose not to accept returns to prevent "buyers remorse" from those ladies who overspend and then get into trouble with spouses. It happens...a lot!
But I have always clearly warranted my dolls for the life of the doll. If anything should go wrong, I will fix it. I think this is a good policy to have. I have never had to worry about misrepresenting my dolls and I cover every little area of the doll in the eBay auctions. Some people say I am a bit wordy and too honest~LOL Huh..what a revelation!
So ladies, if you are reading this and you have your panties in a knot over the Bad Reborning Exposed series, please, I beg you to re-evaluate what you have learned and to take your reborning to the next level. Together, we can create a world where every reborn is a good, quality purchase.
Many hugs to you all!
~View part 2 here~
If you missed part one, here is the link:
~View part 1 here~
I am frustrated, but not surprised, with the feedback from these shows. Of course, I have not seen/heard all of the feedback but from what I have seen/heard tells me that there are a lot of upset ladies over the revelation of what is considered to be bad reborning. Guess they still want to follow the old practices and put out less than quality reborns. They think that Petra was picking the doll apart too closely. Harrumph! No she was not. The doll was priced at approximately $500 USD. For $500 the doll should be nearly perfect.
Is that a bad reborn in my opinion? I would not call him a "bad" reborn but he sure is not a high quality one. I have seen so much worse and have seen appalling things in dolls that sold for $1500-3000! He seemed to be weighted well and moved nicely, however, I would not desire sand in my reborns. The plastic pellets in the limbs do not bother me. I use them in the bodies of some of my newborns and in the limbs of my toddlers and have no fear of them melting. The application of the eyes is terrible and I do understand how hard eye placement can be! But one should work and work at it until they get it right. I love my babies fingers and toes so the lack of the nail tips would bother me. His overall skin tone is alright. He does not have a lot of depth but he looks cute. And the hair~EWE! Another example of purchasing inexpensive, adult mohair and not taking the required bazillion hours to root it. Would I buy him for the price that he was sold for? No. Could I have seen the flaws in him in the auction? Probably. I am a reborn baby connoisseur. I spent 3 years watching the reborn art evolve before I ever tried my hand at it. I read every word written in the auctions and closely viewed every picture....for three full years. I did not buy any dolls during that time but the ones I have bought over the last 4 1/2 years are exactly what I expected~I knew the good traits and the flaws of each and every doll and I came away a happy and satisfied customer.
If an auction does not show close up pictures of the dolls hair, eyes and skin tone, pass it by or ask the artist for clear, close up pictures. So much can be hidden with pictures. READ the description~and read between the lines too. You should not HAVE to read between the lines, but it's best that you do. Make sure they are being specific in what "high quality" products they are using. Is it high quality sand or glass beads? (ps~there is no high quality sand...sand is sand. It's dirt!) Collectors, it's up to you to carefully evaluate the doll that is being considered. Read every line and view every picture. Of course, in all integrity, the artist should promote her doll just as it is, the good with the bad, but in today's world, that just is not going to happen and...some ladies are just starting out. They borrow terms and words from the more well known artists in order to present their baby better. Do I think it's honest and a good way to promote? NO! But it happens.
We all start somewhere and I recall some things that I did in the beginning that made me think, "Huh, is this the right way to do this?" and then I moved on to, "there has to be a better way!" I found the better ways and changed what I was doing and today I change things as I and other artists find better ways and better products to use. This art is forever changing and evolving~that said, there are so many resources available for the beginner to get off to a very good start. Many of the old tutorials need to be thrown out. They are sorely outdated. Even when I started, my knowledge was already beyond the current tutorials available at that time. I pretty much taught myself and graced my knowledge with a whole lot of common sense.
Petra and James talk about a business license. In my state, I do not need a business license to operate. I do have a Federal Tax ID and my business is registered. I personally have not allowed returns as most of my business used to be via eBay. eBay is a great selling place and I have met many wonderful customers through eBay. But, there are a lot of nutty people out there too! Oh my, the questions and comments that have come through and also the people who bid, buy and don't pay are there by the hundreds! I chose not to accept returns to prevent "buyers remorse" from those ladies who overspend and then get into trouble with spouses. It happens...a lot!
But I have always clearly warranted my dolls for the life of the doll. If anything should go wrong, I will fix it. I think this is a good policy to have. I have never had to worry about misrepresenting my dolls and I cover every little area of the doll in the eBay auctions. Some people say I am a bit wordy and too honest~LOL Huh..what a revelation!
So ladies, if you are reading this and you have your panties in a knot over the Bad Reborning Exposed series, please, I beg you to re-evaluate what you have learned and to take your reborning to the next level. Together, we can create a world where every reborn is a good, quality purchase.
Many hugs to you all!
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