"Birth" and "Death" certificates for dolls

This is a really clever idea. I do not often sell a doll, but next time I do, along with any other paper work (CoAs and the like) I'm going to add one of these. Thank you for the neat and useful cards idea.

 

That's such a good idea! As a newbie, this also gives me a good overview of what buyers might want to know if I were to sell a doll. Thanks for that!

 

A very good idea and it will probably be very helpful for a lot of people...

... but no good at all for people like me who have been meaning to keep a note of such details for the sixteen or so years I've been buying BJD's but never remember to actually do so. The closest I can get to dating the arrival of my dolls is to check the timestamp on the first pictures I took of them. It's rare for me to rememebr who/where I bougth them from or the name of the facup artist (If I kept the faceup they came with, and knew the name to begin with) or anything like that.

The few that came with certificates (many more didn't have them back in the "olden days" of BJDs) don't have them any more - I never got into the habit of keeping them (though there are probably several "somewhere" around the house which I may come across at some random point) and many of the second hand dolls I bought "back in the day" were from people who never had, or didn't keep certificates either and some bodiescame from people who kept the certifiate along with the head etc.

Teddy

 

I've seen some faceup artists include a "certificate" when they send the finished work back to indicate the work was by them and it may even have a date. Always seemed like a nice added touch. Though I don't keep super extensive track of my dolls, I do keep a file I update once a year (or more) of sculpts and info on each doll along with photos of the doll and what all the doll has such as COA, box, or extras. This is sort of my 'insurance' that if something happened to me then a loved one would at least know the value of my dolls. But also if I ever forget like who a pair of hands belongs to or what a COA looks like for a sculpt then its all there in the pics. A recent thing I'm including is tracking down a dolls prior owner's and including that info as well (if able) so in the event of selling/trading then it's some added confirmation to origins.

I may just have to incorporate these cool birth/death certificates now too!

 

I haven't bought or sold anything secondhand, but this is a really neat idea! I'm saving this for the future for sure, thank you so much for sharing with us!

EDIT: The future being approx. 30 mins. later as it turned out! I'm going to fill these out now. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to be more organized!

 

I inherited a blank "Personal Doll Inventory" book from my grandmother & then have purchased several more.
There are more details in the descriptions (eyes, wig, clothes) that I don't fill in but it's been handy for keeping any info I learned about the dolls along with the manufacture & purchase info. I end up referring to them often when my memory needs a nudge when posting about them.
The other thing I'd suggest is adding a photo so if you forget or someone else has to use your records later it's easier to know which actual doll goes with which record. We printed small closeups of each of my dolls which I cut out & glued in place. (But I need to get inspired to do that again for recent acquisitions & all my other doll collections which didn't get as much attention when I made their books)

For doll history, I've usually checked feedback threads for the seller, where the doll may be mentioned when it was purchased by them & then sleuthed back through the past sellers feedback to learn a bit more of a dolls history. With the site update the oldest information is probably no longer available but with sales in the mp it's still a good way to check the recent history of a doll. ;}

 

I am one of those compulsive record keepers I have a ring binder with self-made printed out forms for my dolls that I put all the details in anyway. (I also make notes of all the work/mods/ esthetic I did on the doll, all the items they came with, and more useful stuff, so it's all in one place.) When I sell on the MP, the sales form asks for all these points anyway, so I probably won't use another print out form additionally. But for people who find record keeping more or less annoying^^ or sell on other platforms, these forms are surely handy!

 

I love these. I will definitely be using them.

 

{nods} sounds familiar... but I've got over fifty BJD now (not to mention a houseful of other - of-topic - dolls) and had some that didn't stay so... I've got no hope of remembering details.

I don't keep the boxes - not enough space to keep boxes AND display dolls.

Teddy

 

Pretty much - I mean one Christmas (some years ago when I had far fewer) I put all my BJD's together for a group photo. It took so long to set up and then dismantle again afterwards that doubt I'd ever do it again. It would be like that only more-so to make any record worth having for each doll.

Teddy

 

I do have a doll inventory binder with most of this information.
I love your idea of birth and death certificates. I may create a
variation for myself. I will probably add a place for the face up
artist for those dolls with an artist faceup. Only about 1/4 of my
dolls have custom face ups but face ups by recognized artists
can enhance a doll's value so ought to be noted. Great idea.

 

A good idea, although it would also be good if have a single document where you list the names of all previous owners. How many owners does the typical doll go through, do you think?

 

Let's keep in mind that recording information about a doll is very different from recording information on people.
As long as it's just screen names being recorded and people can chose if they want to add their name to the list or not, then maybe...
But as soon as you start to register other people, even for the most benign reasons, you take on a great responsibility around where that information ends up. Keeping a list for your own benefit is one thing, but if you then send that information on to someone the previous owners have no control over it starts to get complicated. This gets even worse if the doll is sold internationally. Depending on how much information you include, a list like that may not even be legal.
So, in short; don't get carried away.

 

I don't see the problem. It's a simple list. This doll was previously owned by Janet Jones
and Sally Smith. We're not publishing a dossier here....

 

It also is a paper list not an electronic database. Antiques sometimes come with provenance and lists of previous owers.

Teddy

 

It's such a great idea!! and I love these beautiful certificates! Thank you!

 

This is a wonderful idea, and I especially love the actual birth certificate-style border you used! This was the extra push I needed to actually take more detailed records of my dolls, thank you!

 

As a newbie I think this is an awesome idea and would be so helpful. Especially faceup info so that we could know if it’s a company one or not and who the artist is.

 

I love the idea! thanks for sharing!!!!