Laura's DreamDoll/ LDDolls - BANNED FOR COPYING

Looks like artist dolls.

 

Um, I don't know if this qualifies as discussion - but at least one of those dolls, there is no way it's "sculpted" for them. I'd stake any bet that it's Isao, and probably not even modified. Whether you don't get the doll in the photo, or they recast from Volks' headmold, this is very fishy.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lauras-DreamDol...hZ010QQcategoryZ84635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lauras-DreamDol...hZ010QQcategoryZ84635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

It's also clearly Volks hands (either a Volks body photographed, or a recast) on that boy body, he appears in one of the other auctions also.

From the small pics, I don't recognize the other dolls as another company for sure, though.

Sorry, but personally, I think someone should alert Volks to investigate possible copyright violation, and at the very least I would not buy from this person without requesting a LOT more photos.

 

I saw these on ebay this morning and only looked at the girls. I could not tell if they were all the same sculpt or different.
But this boy Ayaka links to is very suspicious looking (ie,an awful lot like a Volks copy) and it looks like the boys at least are different sculpts.

Does anyone recognize any of the other boys or girls as being a copy of another doll?

 

The two Ayaka linked to, I'm pretty sure those are both Isaos. The other auctions don't have very good pictures, but this one looks a lot like a CH Sram to me. *speculation only*

Not to be rude or jump to conclusions, but these days most things cheap from China are either copyright infringements or full of lead, so I'd at least ask for better pictures before buying one of those dolls.

 

Asked. Was told to wait 24 hours. Auctions will be updated with more information and more pictures then.
It would be nice if they are really original as I like the prices.

 

I also asked many questions of the seller and was told more photos (nude body shots and face closeups) would be posted in the next day or so. The seller also confirmed that each listing is a dufferent facial sculpt but that there is only 1 male and 1 female body sculpt.
I ddn't ask about similarities to other companies' existing sculpts - was waiting to see better pics

 

I just came across these on eBay just a second ago, and I completely agree with Ayaka. That's an Isao, whether its the real thing or a recast, the body is most definitely molded off of the Volks SD13 body.

Edit to add: and here's the matching girl body (a recasted Volks SD13 girl body, complete with Jun styled hand): http://cgi.ebay.com/Lauras-DreamDol...hZ010QQcategoryZ84635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem



Sera~

 

boy body pics up now too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lauras-DreamDol...hZ010QQcategoryZ84635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

The legs are without-a-doubt a recast of the Volks body.

 

darn

what about the girl? anyone recognize her body?

 

I don't think there are nudes of the girl body yet. But they DEFINITELY look like copies to me.. especially the boy.

 

so chances are if one of the sculpts is a copy the other 9 are too? (even though I don't recognize them)
well darn

 

Agreed. It looks very much like a Jun recast + high heel feet.

 

With the pictures of these dolls that have been posted now, it is impossible for DoA to allow these dolls to be posted in our Gallery or sold in our Marketplace. As of right now, dolls from Laura's DreamDoll are banned from DoA as bootleg copies of dolls from legitimate companies.

 

Junkets, do you know who the other dolls are copies of? So far I think only one of them is identified (as Isao). I don't know all the sculpts as well as many of the members here, but I think it would be helpful to identify them so we know what to look for.

thanks

added: I'm glad that there are so many knowledgable members here who can help ID bootlegs and copies and help keep this hobby honest..

 

As more information is known about the dolls and which ones were copied, we will update the Banned Dolls listing. However, since thus far both the male and female bodies and Isao Nanjou's head have been identified, we really don't want to allow the company to prey on our members.

Thanks to everyone who has sharp eyes and caught this so quickly.

 

I wanted to comment that I have sent an email to Volks USA, who can hopefully pass the information on to their legal people.

 

Apparently my earlier comment was deleted.

However, I agree that they are copies, and not even very good ones from the looks. When even a non-Volks owner can see that, it's... pretty clear.

What I'm wondering is whether anyone has notified eBay? Or is that Volks USA's job to do? I'm just concerned that in the meantime someone might jump at one of the Buy It Now auctions and end up with a bootlegged doll...

 

that's super. If you hear back please let us know.

Also, even though it's obvious that this is a copy, it would be great if the other sculpts could be id'd so we can also notify the other companies. I'm no expert, but the other faces don't look like volks to me.

 

Some of the girls kind of remind me of Domuya dolls, though I could be wrong.

Auction
Domuya Mai

 

it looks like the dolls might not be the only bootlegs....

auction boots

dollmore boots

same dollmore boots, just in sd size

 

Looks like it to me, and gods only know I spent enough time staring at Mai--I almost got her instead of a Sophie.

But pictures = 1000 words, so I got some Photoshop axxn on.

Side by side, official Domuya Mai headmold pics on right and Laura's Dreamdoll on left.


Overlay, 25% opacity...


...and 50% opacity.


I didn't get a precise match because the Laura's DreamDoll has her head turned slightly away from the camera, but those look pretty damn close to me. I was able to line up the eyes perfectly, right down to the slight lazy left eye that Mai aways seems to have in her pictures.

 

The boots seem to be coming from the same manufacturer that made the knockoffs that upset Dollheart this spring. Several other stores carry some of their line, Magic Tailor, Releaserain, Mimiwoo, Jessicahu, and a few smaller sellers. To Mimiwoo and Jessicahu's credit, though, I've never seen the DH ones in their stores.

Somebody please notify Domuya. For two months a legitimate Mai would have only cost $225. Even now, a real one is only $50 more than the fake.
The shipping seems fishy as well. $35 for an SD doll when most now cost $60? Unless they're under-charging, that is a very light doll.

 

FO-02 feet and H-09 and 03 hands, without a doubt. *sigh*

 

I dropped a line to Domuya with a pointer to the auction and will leave it to them to decide. But the photoshop overlay convinced me.

 

Not wanting to spam the thread, but I noticed these dolls on eBay earlier myself, and aside from Isao, the other dolls on offer remind me of other Volks, Luts, and even Dollzone!

Liz

 

I am not familiar with Volks doll. The boys others have identified as a Volks looks to me mighty like the Domuya Mike/Michelle mold. I think I can identify another couple of Domuya faces in the Dreamdoll lineup.

When I first saw these dolls, I thought the artist was just selling the outfits and faceups as hers. Then I saw the non Domuya bodies and I really wondered what was going on. Like, maybe there are a lot of free Domuya heads from the sale they had. I guess I am just naive.

I hope someone has notified Domuya.

 

I thought at first glance that some of them look like Domuya dolls.
Sure enough, Filovirus's pixs showed the likeness.

 

I am not one who would usually get involved in a bootleg accusation, and usually prefer to avoid the torch-wielding mob. But I saw this on eBay earlier today, and was like "Wait a second, that looks familiar.." Can't vouch for any of the other dolls, or the bodies, but that head definately looks like a Volks ripoff to me. And I don't even own any Volks dolls.

 

Stoner Kitty: Erm, is your link correct? O_o

 

No. 0.o That's strange. Fixed though.

 

the more I look at them, the more I see them looking a lot more like Domuya heads than any other, so possibly they are actually Domuya heads that she got a bunch from the sale? I wish they have more photos to really be able to tell, becasue in a way a lot of them do have a very generic look to them that is common in less expensive dolls

 

The Isao-lookalike is absolutely a Volks copy. Some of the others look like Frankenstein'ed assemblies of other companies' parts . . . I also see the Domuya resemblance in some of the other dolls.

Just a reminder that these dolls are BANNED from DoA because of the blatant and obvious copying.

-- A

 

The shipping is only $35 because she's shipping from the United States. She probably isn't using EMS, but rather USPS Priority Insured, or perhaps Express mail. For a doll, that's about the right cost.

 

The seller is listed as in the US but if you check the aution, the item location is in China.
I haven't heard back from Domuya, but I did mention they may want to investigate.

 

OOOH--this makes me so mad. As an artist myself, I have had people attempt to copy my work, but never so blatantly as this. The overlay pics convinced me beyond any doubt, thanks for doing that!!

Let's hope they get nailed to the wall. (The people, not the dolls)

 

never mind. Sorry.

 

Someone told me this happened to their company:

When they got their dolls casted in China, the molds were used (stolen) to make extra copies that were not given to the owner of the original doll. The extra copies are then sold as the original product or Frankendollies in the grey market by the people who used the molds. I'm wondering if this happened to Domuya, using their own molds. I don't know, but it's all possible.

Kudos to you guys for spotting this.

 

@redcountess: None of them look much like DollZone to me. I mean, I won't claim to be an expert, but the faces are totally different looking than DZ ones, as far as style and lip and eye shapes go.

It's really annoying that people do stuff like this! Jeeze! The nerve of some people!

 

Theres a million on ebay like one after another. I feel bad if any1 buys those copies but what can we do about it XX

 

has anyone here actually contacted ebay

 

I think that's for Domuya to do if they decide the dolls are copies. We'd have to have proof that they're copies, where photo comparisons may not be enough. Has anyone contacted Volks about the Isao copy though?

Liz

 

a couple of us have asked the seller for more info and even asked if the dolls are Isao or Domuya sculpts and were given answers that are denials.
I think a couple of folks here have contacted both Volks and Domuya (so far the only 2 companies actually named), but it doesn't look like they've gotten any kind of confirmation or action.
Buyers/viewers have no power to get auctions pulled based on suspicion. The companies that are being copied would have contact ebay themselves and tell them that these are copiesor ebay will do nothing.

 

Minor difference: the inner eyelid of Laura's doll is a gradual slope. The inner eyelid on Volks Isao is very squarish. So it's not a recast of an Isao.

Not to say it isn't a slightly modified recast, though.

 

Beat me to it, jinlin-- I took one look at that boy, & saw the eyesockets are all wrong. The chin/jaw is a little off, too; not quite as square a jaw or pointed a chin. The distinctive Isao-style eyebrows really lead the eye to see a complete Isao face where it's not there. But he's sure painted like an Isao, and they totally stole his mouth and nose. Yeah, could easily be a modded recast.

The boy body is also almost identical to Volks, except that they moved the rib-joint down closer to the hips. I think that's all they did to it! The shape of the hands, the ribs, the belly & the legs are pretty spot-on.

Shame, too-- I had my eye on that Mad Max-y outfit she's selling, and now I won't be seen buying from her store.

 

Really, there are more and more copies actually.

I really liked the Nasheet head, but I wonder which is the original mold ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lauras-DreamDol...hZ010QQcategoryZ84635QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

 

several of the auctions now have head sculpt pics up. The ones that do, do not look like Domuya - the top half of the heads are totally different.

Does anyone have a photo of Isao taken at the same angle as the L DD? I think Jinlin and JennyNemesis are right about the eye sculpt and the chin. It's more a styled look that is copied rather than the actual sculpt.

This whole copycat/alleged copycat thing really bothers me. Right now here on DoA there is one other company that is possibly a copy (with more photo evidence than here) but that is not banned because there are no actual side by side photos. Apparantly that criteria doens't seem to be applied consistently though, and is highly dependent on the company being copied?

 

Banning is at the discretion of the moderators. I don't see a reason to champion for the rights of bootleggers, however if there is a doll that you feel is a copy and want us to revisit it, please PM a moderator rather than stirring things up in unrelated threads.

 

Innocent until proven guilty?

This is not my decision, but since the accusations haven't been corroborated by the offended parties (i.e. Volks and Domuya) and that this community holds so little photographic evidence, I believe it is too early in the process for DoA to ban this company.

 

The outfit is the same one that can be made from the third Volks SD pattern book. It is not an original design .

 

armeleia, I have no intention of "stirring up things in unrelated threads". That was not the point at all. My point was that there are so few photos regarding these dolls that it's very difficullt to say with any certainty that they really are copies and not just similarly styled (intentionally).
I also realize it is at the discretion of the mods, but given no real photos or even agreement by the company being copied, to me it still seems a bit premature.
It has nothing at all to do with championing the rights of bootleggers - I can assure you I am as much against that as anyone here - but I think hasty decisions with not enough evidence go the opposite way to hurting companies that in some cases might not be doing what they are accused of. And I was hoping that even at the discretion of the mods had some kind of objective criteria attached to it.

Since the decision was made, there have been additional photos posted in some of the auction listings and the photos of the bald unpainted heads don't look a thing like the ones they are supposedly copies of. Have those new photos been reviewed? Or does that not matter once the decision is made? Has either Volks or Domuya replied and said that they believe them to be copies?

I don't know what the truth is with this company - some of the "evidence" appears to support either side. I just don't think there's near enough to make a final conclusive judgement.

 

The hands, legs, and even the penis sculpt of the Isao-clone also strongly resemble Volks (to the point that I originally thought it was an OUTFIT for sale on a VOLKS model.) The ribcage is different, although the really weird stretched-out anatomy makes me wonder if it's a resculpt rather than a completely original part.

Companies don't always respond directly to us (for example, with Lolidoll, Luts posted something on their bulletin board rather than responding to our e-mails directly), so we have to use our judgment independently sometimes. Please be assured that banning a company is not done lightly or without the input of all of the moderators.

Thanks,

-- A

 

The ribcage on the girl body looks oddly scooped out, I wonder what that's about.
What I find funny is that all the parts on the same doll have different levels of detail.

I very much doubt that the mods would ban a doll company without careful consideration, so I trust the decision. There are always other places to discuss dolls if one wishes anyway.

Ashbet makes a very good point. Asian businesses are unlikely to make a statement that will directly cause other businesses to lose face. It protects themselves from losing face. They just cannot be impolite. These companies prefer to ignore your e-mail than to have to tell you no sometimes. When we eventually see the news item warning of copies it will not mention any names. We can't presume that just because Volks and Domuya are not kicking up a big fuss that they don't think they are being copied. I cannot imagine either company would do something like that, even though to westerners it would seem like the first thing to do if you were the company being ripped off.

 

I haven't had a chance to come back and post about it, but I did email Volks and did receive a reply. It was fairly brief, but they informed me that they will look into it. I also suggested that they contact eBay.

 

To me the boy body looks like a volks SD10 boy body thats had the bottom bit sliced off and smooshed onto a SD13 bottom half... But theres definatly no doubt in my mind that the hands, feet and legs are most definatly volks copies.

Rachie XX

 

oh wow..
before they carried the laura's dream doll..i ordered some shoes from them on ebay, not knowing that the store was copying...
the shoes where cheap and really pretty...
are they copies too, or banned?
i will not be buyng from them again, now they are obvious copieing, but i kinda wnt to know more since i already bought from them...
am i still alowed to post pictures of my dolls with the shoes bought from their store?
hugs lamira

 

Umm, well, I am no longer 100% convinced that the Faux-Isao is an actual recast. I don't have any brightly-lit shots with their faces at the exact angle, and I can't do that transparency-paste thing... but I have this snapshot that's at a similar angle (Isao v.2, on the left), which shows that the eyesockets & eyelids are different, even at a glance.



Even the nose, which I thought was a complete copy, no longer looks 100% the same to me. Isao's is a wee bit heavier towards the tip, with more of a ski-jump shape, and Mr. Faux Isao has more slitty-lookin nostrils.

The mouth still looks like a copy to me, though.

So I'll let Volks do the percentage-resemblance determination.


(*Are we supposed to be posting these in any Discussion thread for this? I searched & didn't find one yet, so, here.)

 

The shoes should be okay to post here, but I'd like a definite answer too. I also bought a pair of boots and a pair of shoes ( they actually sent me the boots twice.. D: ) before the dolls were posted.​