Maybe.
Here’s the thing about eBay dolls - you’ll never know exactly what you’re getting. It’s almost certainly not going to be what you see in the picture - see below for what was pictured and what I got:
To say I was disappointed when I opened the box was an understatement. You can see similarities if you squint one eye and hit yourself over the head a few times, but the one on the left is (as far as I can tell) a Starpery 159C with the Zhu Lin head. The one on the right? Very much not.
So why’s it still a maybe?
It’s cheap, which is why you’re looking at those dolls in the first place, guaranteed. You saw a Kimber for $600, a WM for $1300. or even a Tayu for $3000+, and in comes an auction site with a $350 doll. It’s a no-brainer, right? The pictures look super attractive…
I’ll approach this from the standpoint of eBay and go into specifics based on that, but most of this should apply to Alibaba or Amazon. It’s worth noting that at least one doll manufacturer (Aibei, I believe) has an official Alibaba store, which may invalidate most of these points in that specific case.
Ain’t nobody got time for reading - what’s the answer?
tl;dr - if you’re not sure if you want a doll and are willing to LOSE your money, go for it. It’s a gamble, but you might be okay with a cheap doll if you actually get it.
If you know you want a doll and you’re just trying to save a couple of bucks, don’t. If you’re still on a budget, get a Kimber - they’re not super high end, but you get post-purchase support and quality assurance on them, which you’re not getting on a cheap doll.
If you want any nuance beyond that, you’ve gotta keep reading. Sorry.
Why should I get a custom doll instead of going cheap?
Post-purchase support
When you order a custom doll, you have someone who presumably gives a damn about your continued business and will at least try to help you out if something’s wrong (like, y’know, the doll being very much not as pictured.)
Take a careful look at the listings, and you’ll start to see similarities. They’re drop-shippers, and often don’t even have insight into what they’re shipping.
There have also been stories about folks not getting a doll at all, but based on the feedback I read, that hasn’t happened recently. People don’t get what they say they PAID for, but they did indeed get a doll and a careful reading between the lines says that they expected a lot more than they got.
You may or may not be able to count on the return policy of wherever you buy from. Consider any money you put into a cheap doll a total loss.
Better quality control
You can generally expect the cheap dolls to not last nearly as long as a good quality one. They’re mass produced, possibly from factory seconds and probably with little quality control. You can expect tight or loose joints, the occasional crack in the TPE (you’re not getting silicone for these prices, no matter what the listing says,) lack of paint/tinting, poorly-sealed love holes, and probably a few more potential issues I’m not thinking of at the moment. There’s at least one story of someone using a doll and hitting the skeleton’s metal waist joint because the hole wasn’t sealed at all.
These things do happen with dolls from better-known manufacturers, of course, but when you order a doll from them you’re getting one made specifically for you. They’re going to take a bit more care to make sure their customer’s happy. And if you’ve got an issue, you know who made it and can hopefully get it fixed.
Knowing what it looks like
I’ll reiterate this - you don’t know what you’re actually getting. I was lucky in that the doll I got looked close-ish to what I wanted (though I wasn’t fond of the height at first - 140cm,) but I’ve seen one story of someone getting a doll that “looked like an overdeveloped ten year old.” Is it likely? Probably not, or once again you’d see a lot more complaints, but it’s a possibility.
Take note of that height I mentioned. Off the cuff, I know that the UK and a few US states have laws that dolls under a certain height are automatically considered to be “child-like.” My listing didn’t have a height, but even ones that do may not be the listed height. Know your local laws, though I’ll note that since the ones I’m talking about are shipped within the US, they won’t pass through customs and you won’t know anything until it shows up on your doorstep.
By contrast, when you order a custom doll, they’ll send you “factory pictures” - the doll’s been made, and they show you how she looks from various angles so you can approve it for shipping. You know exactly what you’re getting.
Better Features and Customization
No, really, the doll you’re ordering is a custom build in 99% of cases (Zelex SLE comes immediately to mind as an exception, though there’s plenty of advantages there even for the price.)
Depending on the exact model, there’s a LOT of customization to be done:
- Different head
- Eye color
- Wig color
- Breast feel (solid/hollow/gel)
- Articulated fingers
- Implanted eyebrows/hair/merkin
- Makeup
- AND MORE
When you get a cheap doll, you get whatever’s in the box they pick off the shelf. Hair, eyes, and even face can all be random. Who knows!
Okay, why WOULD I get a cheap doll?
It’s cheap! Duh.
You can get a cheap doll at the time of this writing for $350, give or take about $50, on eBay. I’d actually encourage you NOT to pay more than that in any case - once you get outside of that price range on the auction sites, you’re more prone to getting scams. Make sure you read carefully, or you might think you’re getting a full doll and end up with a torso.
You don’t know if you want a doll
This is the big reason in my opinion. I wasn’t sure if I’d like a love doll in the first place. Sure, I could’ve gotten a Kimber, but I didn’t (and still don’t) find her attractive in the first place. $350 was less than I’d spend on a trip to a strip club, and I figured it was worth the gamble if I either didn’t get a doll and couldn’t do a return, or got one and didn’t like it. I’ve been blue-balled for more than that.
You know you like cheap dolls and want a harem
I’ve heard of a couple of folks who take this approach. Cheap though they may be, you can literally get 6 cheap dolls for the price of one quality silicone one. Of course, if you fall into this category, you probably already know the pitfalls of buying cheap dolls.
Alright, you’ve scared me away from getting an eBay doll but I’m on a budget - what do?
Get a torso or a Kimber. I can’t speak specifically to torsos (other than to say that quality ones are inexpensive,) but Kimber dolls are mass produced in a single design - by a known manufacturer. This is important for a few reasons:
- It gives them economy of scale - making 100 dolls at a time all based on the same pattern is cheaper than making a single customized doll for 100 different people/vendors/etc.
- You know exactly what you’re getting. Kimber’s gonna look like Kimber.
- Tested and trackable material - you know the TPE used is of a specific and consistent quality.
- They offer a warranty - it’s got restrictions like any warranty, but it’s better than what you get off an auction site.
I got a cheap doll and I don’t like it - HELP!
Okay, a couple of tips:
Wigs, clothing, accessories, and hairstyle can change the appearance of a doll
If it’s an appearance thing, get a couple of cheap wigs and some clothes on Amazon. You’d be shocked at how they can change your doll’s appearance. I actually don’t like the first picture I posted of my doll because I think it makes her look a bit too young, but the tape measure makes me laugh - with that said, you can see below for some of the things I tried.
For what it’s worth, the second image with her sitting in the chair is the look I’ve mostly settled on.
Remember that it’s cheap
If you don’t mind the idea of a doll but you don’t like what you got, it’s served its purpose - take a look at manufacturers of custom dolls and see what they have to offer. Making allowances for professional photography (the pictures are almost ALWAYS better than what you actually get) and TPE vs. Silicone heads, what you see actually is what you’ll get.
It’s too heavy!
If you got a doll on eBay, it probably falls into the 22-32kg range (that’s roughly 50-70 pounds,) though it might be more. Give yourself a month of learning to move it around before you give up on it. I was absolutely wrecked for the first month of having a doll, but I eventually gained some muscle and learned how to move it around effectively. It’s part technique, part muscle.
You’re not used to it yet
From personal experience, give yourself a week or two to get used to the doll. My doll was super weird for me because of her height - I’ve been quoted as saying “I like short women, but not THAT short.” I eventually got used to it, and came to appreciate the advantages of the smaller size. In fact, I later got a taller doll (163cm,) and don’t like it nearly as much. Give the poor thing a chance.
Getting rid of it
Looks like you rolled the dice and lost. It’s too heavy, too short, one of the legs fell off, it fell on your cat and caused an awkward vet visit. No shame in it, and you went into the purchase expecting this. Right? No matter what you do, clean it up and sanitize it first if you’ve used it. From there, you’ve got a few choices:
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Some folks will take dolls in for free - they can use the TPE to repair other dolls. They may be willing to pay for the shipping to get it to them, or even pick it up from you for free.
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You can try to sell it. Be honest with your listing, including the source. Given that resale value for dolls tends to be about half their purchase price, you’re probably not getting much from this - but it might be better than free. Keep in mind that shipping a 60-70 pound doll in an awkwardly-shaped box is not cheap, and you’ll need to account for this.
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If you’re not comfortable giving your name/address to folks, you can get rid of it. PLEASE do not just toss the doll in a trash bin - that’s how you get (admittedly funny) news stories where folks think they see a dead body and call the cops.
You’ll need a Sawzall with a metal-cutting blade, a good heavy knife that you don’t mind dulling, a few trash bags, and more than a few hours.
Slice all the TPE material off the doll, making sure you don’t leave any bits that are immediately identifiable (e.g. don’t just cut off the breasts and toss them in the bag.) BE CAREFUL - you’re cutting through weird gummy material that’s not like anything you’d normally cut with a knife. Always cut away from yourself, and stop to sharpen the knife a bit if you feel it start to get dull. Needless to say, this isn’t going to be an easy or particularly safe process.
After you’ve got most of the TPE off the skeleton, chop that up into shorter pieces with the Sawzall that you can toss in a trash bag or recycle. Keep in mind that the skeleton’s frame is made of fairly thick steel - you’ll be hacking at it for a while.
Final Notes
Hopefully this gives you some insight into the things you can expect with a cheap doll. If I had to boil it all down to a single statement, it’s caveat emptor - buyer beware. Good luck!