There’s been a lot of talk lately about questionable Blythes that are currently on the market, even some from reputable sellers. A lot of people are saying that the dolls are fakes/counterfeit and others are questioning if the quality control has really taken a nose dive lately in the production of the Blythe dolls.

The dolls in question have covered a huge range of dolls, from relatively newer models (eg. Urban Cowgirl, Simply Mango, Simply Guava) to discontinued limited edition dolls (eg. Last Kiss).

The differences between the legitimate dolls and the questionable dolls can be both minor or very obvious, but only to the trained eye. Some of the eye chips are a little bit off in colour (amber instead of orange) while their clothes may have slight differences (button arrangements) and skin tone that’s just off enough to make you question the legitimacy of your newly purchased Blythe.

Please note that the year that was molded on the doll parts does not signify that the doll is necessarily a fake – it just states the year that the mold was produced (eg. RBLs will have a copyright year of 2006 on the back of their heads, even if the doll itself was released in 2010).

Questionable fake Blythes are not the same as “factory dolls” or other clones.

• Factory dolls are put together with parts (stolen from the factory where Blythes are manufactured) and are generally not marketed as legitimate Blythes.
• Blythe clones or copies are generally poor in quality, some have different eye mechanisms and ways to open up the head and they use a different ‘name’ like Blybe.

The questionable dolls are being marketed as legitimate dolls and are very close to the ‘real thing’, if you don’t have a well-trained eye. They come with clothing that mimics the legitimate doll’s clothing as well as a box that looks like the real thing.

Some buyers have been purchasing from eBay sellers that have great feedback and the sellers have said that they had purchased the dolls from the official store.

Junko Wong had stated the following in a comment, following someone asking if some Flickr photos were of fake Blythes, on her blog post, Everyone is Asking about… Middie, on January 30, 2011:

This is disconcerting to me because there are a lot of countries that do not have an official Blythe store (my country, Canada, included). If I were to follow this mindset, I wouldn’t own a Blythe doll. This also does not address the problem at hand (either incredibly poor quality control in the factory used for producing Blythe or there are fakes that are very close to legitimate Blythes) and does nothing to help those who wish to own the older releases that are no longer being produced.

If you are looking for a list of official sellers, there is one on blythedoll.com, but all of them are located in Asia.

Please comment below if you have any other information to add or just comments about the whole debacle in general.

For more information (and some photos!), please check out the following links:

• Fake Urban Cowgirl??? Help!!! – thread on Blythe Kingdom forums, membership required.
• The Fake Takara Blythe Galore Flickr group
• Fake Mangos and Guavas dolls on eBay – thread on Bad Dolly Deals

Thanks to Kathy for suggesting that I write about this topic.

Do you have an awesome idea for a brand new article for BlytheLife.com? Maybe you have an idea but don’t have the time to write it up for submission?

All you need to do is suggest an article idea here!

Tell me what the idea is and what it’s all about and it’ll get written up! New ideas are always welcomed at BlytheLife.com and suggestions and contributions are always needed.

Full credit will be given to you for the idea with a link to your URL (if you leave one) and the article will be posted right here on BlytheLife.com

You can comment below with your idea or send an email to blythelife@gmail.com!

First thing, I want to thank Michelle for being kind enough to offer to put this on BlytheLife.com. You might remember who we are; we were the first give away on here – a Rob & Sioux headband set give away. This time we are here asking for a bit of help.

Last year Rob’s little three year old little niece, Alissia, became extremely ill. After several trips to the hospital, doctors decided to perform a CT scan and they found a tumor in her brain. Alissia was flown to another hospital via helicopter and had emergency surgery. It was quite a difficult surgery and later the doctors discovered that the tumor was cancerous. Alissia was diagnosed with a very rare and rapid growing form of brain cancer.

Alissia is very strong and the doctors and nurses are amazed by her. They tell her parents how astonishing it is because most children going through what she is do not have her energy and strength.

Unfortunately, in these past few weeks Alissia has been having very difficult treatments and tests. Alissia will need a stem cell transplant very soon. This is why we’re here. Over the weekend, I (Sioux) set up a small donation site with Alissia’s father and mother and her uncle, Rob.

If you would like to donate or spread the word Alissia’s donation site is located here: For Alissia (4alissia.blogspot.com).

Thank you all so much for your time and generosity

xoxo
Sioux

Earlier this week I was contacted by Vicky who’s looking to find some crafters who make wigs and shoes for Blythe dolls.

Vicky is working on expanding her online shop (based out of the UK) to carry both Blythe dolls and Blythe accessories, which I think it’s pretty cool. Right now her site contains a lot of super cute items, you can check out Chick.co.uk to see what the shop is currently carrying.

If you’re interested in getting some more information about how your potential partnership will work, please contact Vicky at vicky@chicki.co.uk for more information.

Belarus and I would love to do an interview with you!

If you’re a relatively new Blythe/dolly-related crafter, customizer or blogger, I’d love to hear from you!

March is going to be a month all about showcasing the new and shiny talent in the dolly community (as well as tips and tricks for those wanting to start out selling or blogging) and I’d love to interview some people for BlytheLife.com!

The interview process is incredibly simple! It’s a question-and-answer type of deal and most interviews are between 9 to 12 questions long. You get to send me photos of your very best work [with permission from photographers if it’s not your photo(s)] to show-off in the interview post.

So all you need to do is let me know that you’re interested in being interviewed for the March Blythe Talent Showcase here on BlytheLife.com and you can let me know either by commenting before or heading over to the handy-dandy contact form on the How to Get Featured page (and let me know in the comments box that it’s for the showcase).

Looking forward to hearing from you!

P.S. If you are a dolly blogger, please consider submitting the URL of your blog for some awesomely free exposure right here on BlytheLife.com by submitting your URL in your comment on Wednesday’s post.