Gift items: Should they be sold?

I don't see a problem with selling gift items. If you buy a doll that you have saved for and it happens to come with an item you don't particularily want/need I feel there's absolutely nothing wrong with selling it. I wouldfind it rather unreasonable if the person tried to sell it for more than it's actual worth, unless in the case it is put up for auction. I don't think there's much difference with clothing.

 

If it was a gift- that you didnt have to spend any money to get- then you shouldnt sell it. But if you have to spend money, I dont really think of it as a gift. It has strings attached. It is part of a promotion, a way to get you to pick that buyer and that time to spend your money. And in that case I say its like everything else in this hobby, sell it for what the market says it is worth.

 

I think it is ethical for a person to sell an item they got for free. Honestly, most of the stuff that comes with a doll isn't free, because you had to buy the doll first! So, if they have something that someone else wants, "free" or not, and is willing to pay for I don't see a problem with it. The same goes for clothes, wig, accesories, and etc that might come free as well. Selling it for more than marketvalue is really in bad taste, but again, if someone is willing to pay that price that's their own priority.

I think taking a free head and making a complete doll is not a problem either since folks do it all the time, so I don't think I understand the last question?

 

Mirroring what others have said. I don't see a problem with people selling items they got for 'free' with their dolls because they had to spend a lot of money anyway and the 'free' gift is a goodwill gesture in disguise. Selling the item for what it's worth is reasonable to me, selling it for more is a bit mean. Unless it was done in an auction style..then it's up to the bidders discretion.

 

I can't see there being anything wrong with it. If you don't need it, why not sell it, it's yours? Someone else might really really need it, what then, just give it to them, like someone would ever do that, lol.

 

*Throws pie at double post*

 

While I agree that if you had to buy a doll/what ever to get said item that your then selling then fair enough, sell it for what it's worth, I can't see the harm in people doing it.


It's worth mentioning though that with dolls that come with two heads on the most part you pay for both heads anyway, so it's not like the second head was a 'gift' as such, so that may not be the best of examples.

 

my only thinking is that sometimes a true gift, one that is given to you and not paid for, may have meaning to the person giving the gift.. and I would have to think twice about selling as I would not want to offend the person giving the gift.

 

Well, some call them "gifts," I call them "promotional items." They're an extra incentive for you to buy something and part of that incentive may be recouping some of your purchase price by selling your bonus head, etc. Here I'm referring to advertised free extras, although I still don't see any ethical issue with selling off surprise free extras as well. Unless you're actually a friend of the dollmaker perhaps and the item given to you is literally a gift given out of affection and not a customer satisfaction tactic.

 

Well i would say, I don't find a problem with it really. If u already brought something or participated in something to receive this free gift then i don't find it unethical to sell it.

For example the Juri and Recall heads. I've seen them sold cos ppl don't like them or seen them brought cos ppl want them. It's a matter of trading so i don't find it wrong. If someone gave it to u for no reason at all, u haven't participated in a contest or brought anything, then i don't find it as ethical. But with Dolls it's generally a trade for something else, be it a contest or a purchase.

Ppl sell their unwanted dolls so why not sell unwanted 'gifts' as well. Someone might really want it.

As for the head business. I see no problem with that. U don't really see a point in having a free head rolling around the house.

Also i'm up for selling for what it's worth. Nothing more unless auction. I've seen some promotional heads being sold twice the standard amount before and it's not very attractive.

 

I don't see any problem with people doing that, but sometimes they price it a little too high for my tastes. For me, if i bought a doll and got a free head and didn't want it, I would give it away for free, unless i really needed the money, which i don't see happening- i don't have any bills to pay or anything.

 

I got the Juri 06 head when I bought my Elf El. Thought that had ended when I paid mine off, but I got her anyway. A friend really wanted her, so I gave her to her, because I didn't want her.

But I see nothing wrong with selling it, because you had to spend money to get it. Now, if the company just picked customers who had already gotten their dolls or whatever like a month ago and randomly sent them heads or clothes, then I wouldn't sell it.

 

I don't see why it would be problematic. Why keep something you don't want? It's not a PERSONAL gift given to you by a personal friend or a family member or anything like that.

 

I see nothing wrong with selling an event head. They're called "gift" heads, but as Travesty said, they're more like promotional items than gifts. The idea behind them is getting the head for free, but buying a body for it.

That said, it really irks me when I see gift items like that going for $200 plus. Sell it for fair value, the value of other optional heads from the same company. If the regular option heads are $110, sell it for the same price. Doing more really grates on my nerves, and just makes me want to avoid the auction or sale post.

Other little gift items, like the eyeglasses I got with my Red, I couldn't see selling. In the case of...Let's take the Juri heads from CP. In the case of the Juri heads, one knows "If I spend $xxx, I will get a Juri head." You can request a skin tone, or have it made up if you so wish. Nothing about it is a surprise. You might as well be buying it. In the case of other little items, such as my Red's eyeglasses, I didn't know that was coming. It was an added little bonus. A lovely surprise. Much more of a gift than something I know is coming, something I have planned for. Something where, as may be the case with Juri, I have bought a body specifically to get the event head.

Does that make sense?

 

I've got to agree, I don't see what's the matter with selling 'free' items. As Travesty said, I think of the CP heads as more of a promotional item to increase sales at different times. Sort of like how my bank gave me a stuffed horse plushie and a water bottle when I signed up for my checking account. ^^; For sellers on DoA if I got a free item and didn't like it I'd probably try to give it away or sell it. It makes no sense to me to hang onto something if you don't like it/can't use it just because it was free.

For Volks and Sei-Tenshi (the first thing that popped into my mind since I'm going to the NY Dolpha) I don't see the problem of selling the angel you win either. Sure, a lot of people be glaring daggers into your back for winning something they really wanted and then selling it, but once again if you have no desire to keep it I don't see why you shouldn't sell it. (If it's a Sei-Tenshi sell it to me for cheap though! ^^)

As for sell price, I say sell it for whatever people will pay for it. If someone wants to sell a Juri head for $1,000 more power to the seller! I think it would be way overpriced, but hey, maybe there's some rich millionare who really wants a Juri head that would buy it.

 

-I have to agree with you on this, when I got my 05 Juri head around this time last year i believe, it was an auction, and i paid 180 for the head, with the luts default face up, and that included shipping. Before that auction, i saw people trying to sell them for like 200 with no face up at all, that kinda irked me.

 

In my opinion, if you are given a promotional item by a company, of course you can sell it. It's yours. Do what you want with it.

In regards to price, as far as I'm concerned, an item is as much as a person or people are willing to pay. End of story.

 

Is it ethical to sell gift items, like free event heads, or free dolls? What about a doll which comes with two heads?

Basically, there's no one to stop someone from doing whatever they wish with dolls and doll parts they own. That's slightly different from the question of how ethical it is. So what are the "rules" on this? Some companies may have wishes, one way or the others. Others do not. It's like getting a gift from anyone. It's not "nice" to re-gift it or sell it on ebay... but it's done ALL the time and most people don't think it's a horrible thing to do--but is actually practical. Most people can't keep things lying about that they don't want, and some need money for serious (as well and less serious) reasons.

To me, it may be something that isn't really a gracious thing to do. But on the scale of bad things, it's really, really low!!!

I'm the owner of a Juri X-mas Head. I BOUGHT it from someone. So I participated in their selling it. I think it would be silly of them to just GIVE it to me! This is America and we operate in a market economy, after all. No one was twisting my arm to pay money for a gift head. I could have ordered a gazillion dollars of stuff from Luts and got one myself if I had the money and was more organized... so it was my choice to wait and buy a head later. And I wouldn't have had a head otherwise, so I'm GLAD someone sold the head!

I did have money to buy lots of stuff from Luts the next year (augh--but it was a lot of money!) and I happened to get a Nanuri head. As much as I appreciated getting the head, he didn't fit into my dolly plans, so I sold him. I didn't sell him for a lot... Just for around the price of a head, maybe less, so it wasn't as if there was scalping going on (plus the fact that there were a lot of Nanuris running about on the market, so it wasn't inflated anyway!). I didn't mind getting back some money I paid for shipping.

I hate selling dolls and parts and stuff, so I'm never the kind who'd be in the market to make money anyway. But even those who see a way to make some cash--it's their decision, I think. And while somethings may be "nice" or "not so nice" about some sales, it's not something that can really be frowned upon in our general society.

In our doll society--some things are worse than others... Lots of buying at retail and selling of limiteds for super-high prices, maybe. But selling gift items... That's pretty small-change, I think!!!

Should the seller only sell the extra parts at the price the item would usually sell for, or accept higher amounts? Is this a concern for free gifts that are not dolls, such as clothing, and if not, why the double standard?

It should all be treated the same way and the market should set the price. People are not forced to buy things high (although some would say they are, because they want the item and can't get it any other way). But so far, that's the way things work. Someone has something for sale and another wants to buy it. I dislike ticket brokers--but I actually have paid horribl prices for concert tickets before, because I wanted the tickets and couldn't get them any other way! And the brokers are legal, much as I dislike the idea! I try not to use them... but my own ethics sometimes slide when I want something!

Basically, ethical or not... selling of doll stuff is legal. I guess DoA can make some sort of rule about these things, but then the sales will just go "underground" (as in, get done between friends off DoA, or go on ebay with no problem). I don't think DoA or the community at large has the right to do some sort of "shunning" of such activity. It'd be wrong to be a sort of morality police... and pretty impossible, too! For instance, the community or whomever would have to decide what cases are right and what is wrong. And what if someone had severe financial need and was selling a lot of things, including gift items??? Would you tell them they are being unethical, then?

I don't think it's important enough to make it an issue for a group/community. I think if individuals want to decide it's bad to sell/buy such items, that's up to them to act on it individual.

What about someone who uses a free item to make something new, such as a complete doll out of a free head or a new outfit with a free clothing item?

It's their property now... Not the property of the company who gifted the item. --That's another argument in favor of what I'm thinking... If an item truly IS a GIFT, that means there should be no strings attached! If an item has strings/conditions, then legally, the company would need to have the buyer sign a contract to say that the item wasn't all theirs, that the item was still belonging to the company and the company says it should not be sold buy the buyer!!!

Anyway... If someone can mod their dolls (and that has LONG been a big part of the BJD community!), then they can certainly do what they wish with the parts--make a whole dolls, whatever.

It would be contrary to what has been established as a huge precedent to start making restrictions on modding and customizing and frankensteining or whatever. Besides... it's only logical that gift heads should become whole dolls and items should be put together with other things. And, given the aforementioned arguments, the owner has the right to also sell these items, together or separately or whatever. And the ethics can't be truly decided to be poor in such a case, since it's so much a part of the BJD world--of of common sense, and of the market economy, etc...