As a doll lover, there is nothing worse than receiving a long-awaited package and opening it to reveal a product that is nothing like what was advertised. It’s a lesson learned more than any of us would like to admit. As our mothers likely told us, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
It seems like this experience is on the rise of late; disappointing doll lovers all over the world are online fraudulent companies cropping up through web searches and social media offering products that appear to have great value, but what arrives is something that ruins the doll experience. This time of year sees a big increase in this influx of scams. As we approach this season of giving, we want to make sure you are getting the high-quality premium baby dolls you and your loved ones deserve. Over the years, these companies have stolen images of baby dolls from Ashton-Drake and other legitimate companies and artists, utilizing them for their advertisements with the promise of getting an Ashton-Drake baby doll for a too-good-to-be-true deal. Let’s just say Buyer Beware! Thousands have fallen for these scams so if you have been one of the many affected by this, you are not alone.
When you place an order from any place other than Ashton-Drake or other legitimate doll companies, you may end up receiving a low-quality knockoff – if you even receive anything at all. Knowing some of the distinctive features in our carefully hand-crafted artist dolls will help assure you are getting what you expect, at the highest quality. Check out the video below featuring a comparison of our very own Katie baby doll alongside a baby doll purchased through a site that used our photography to illegally sell a knockoff version of Katie. Spoiler alert…. you won’t believe what you are about to see!
When looking at the two dolls, note that the real Katie has hand-rooted hair. Hand-rooted hair is carefully woven with a few strands in each tiny hole to make it as realistic and lifelike as possible. Her haircut and hairstyle are also baby-like and age-appropriate. The imitation doll has machine-rooted hair which requires the holes to be further apart with more strands, making it far less natural looking. The Ashton Drake Katie is a superbly handcrafted So Truly Real® doll with irresistibly soft RealTouch® skin which is made of 10 different ingredients. Katie’s skin is firm but soft to the touch with a little “give.” Her “skin” is also a custom Caucasian vinyl color to give the appearance of realistic skin. The color difference with the knockoff displays a grey, pasty translucent color which is also cold and much harder to the touch, wiping out the “snuggle” factor that is such an important part of the baby doll experience.
There are significant details around Katie’s nose, mouth and eyes that were lost on the imitation doll. Katie has a dual-core head that helps hold the details sculpted into RealTouch® vinyl and is a standard in a high-quality premium doll. This is an important feature to Ashton-Drake because of how it makes the doll feel both in realistic looks and in weight. Katie among other dolls is also weighted in the bottom so she feels real when she’s in the nook of your elbow. The head of the imitation is a thin vinyl with no dual-core head and some sort of polyfill. As you can tell by the squeeze to her head, it easily folds under the pressure. The polyfill in her body makes her stiff and immovable. Katie has weighted legs and bottom to attribute to her realistic feel. Her armature makes her poseable which is not an important feature in the knockoff baby doll.
Lastly, a signature of the sculptor can be found behind Katie’s neck along with the copyright from Ashton-Drake Galleries. Artistry is one of the most important and unique factors of a high-quality doll. Knockoffs are stealing these sculpts from the artists that have brought them to life through their gifted hands. Every time one of these copies is sold, the artist that created it suffers, not unlike pirated music and videos. Truly a travesty that these works of art are being stolen in this way.
Choosing a baby doll is a very personal experience. The only way you can be assured that you are getting the best possible value for your money is to demand the features we have shared here. Give only the best this Christmas and visit www.ashtondrake.com to find the perfect gift for yourself or the ones you love. You will be glad you did!
