It is so easy to fall down rabbit holes in the doll world, isn't it? Well, I've fallen down another one. A really, really big one. Bigger, even, than I suspected the first time I wrote this review (more on that in a sec). It all started with my wonderful Patron Katrina's suggestion that I look more in-depth at the Blythe universe. I haven't purchased a Blythe doll in about ten years, and I've never written a formal review of the brand, so this was an excellent suggestion! Today's review will not address authentic Blythe dolls, though, but rather a few of the enticing imitations that I stumbled upon by accident.
As some of you might recall, the first version of this review featured an imitation Blythe doll that I purchased from the shop that sniped Gina Garan's old website and is named after her iconic book, This is Blythe. Because of the shop's familiar name, I thought it was selling authentic Blythe dolls. It's not. The doll I ordered was nice, but once I realized she was an imitation and started to research her background, I found many vendors selling the exact same doll for significantly less money. I stated this fact in my post, which was apparently not okay with the shop--nor was my talking about their competitors. They asked me to edit the review to remove all mention of other retailers, and also any reference to DBS--the company that makes the dolls. In hindsight, their request was ludicrous...and suspicious. I went along with their demands for a while, feeling icky about it the whole time. But when I (finally) put my foot down and refused to edit and lock the comments section (!), they abruptly threatened to sue me--using private information that they'd obtained from my purchases. That's not nice. A quick Trustpilot search revealed that they have a history of threatening similar nonsense to other customers (including two fellow bloggers). I dislike bullies, so I didn't want to imply endorsement of this shop by featuring their products. I would advise avoiding this shop at all costs. After considering my options, I decided to delete the old review and write a new version using equivalent, much less expensive items that I bought from other retailers. And it's a happy ending, because I had so much more fun this time around!
I didn't want to delete the old review without replacing it, because looking at imitation Blythe dolls is an important part of a bigger series of articles that I'm planning. This is quite an exciting (and nerve-wracking!) time for the authentic Blythe brand because Hasbro recently severed its long-term connection with Takara/TOMY (the manufacturers of Blythe dolls) and has entered a new relationship with Good Smile Company. Good Smile has a wonderful reputation in the figurine world (they make Nendoroids), but they do not have an extensive resumé in doll making. So everyone's been waiting anxiously to see if the new Blythe dolls will be as good as the old.
Today's review will include an in-depth look at a girl I bought from Blythe Homes (an AliExpress vendor), and a more cursory look at a few similarly-priced dolls that I found at various other places. I'll also throw in some terminology, market observations, and thoughts about what it means to be Blythe. At a later date, I'll follow up with a review of an authentic Takara-made Blythe doll, and then compare her to a new Good Smile Company doll. Are you ready for a review re-do? I hope so! Here we go again:
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| Imitation DBS Blythe doll from Blythe Homes, $35.20 (outfit not included). |
