List of All Blythe Doll Bootlegs, Knockoffs, Copycats, and Competitors

A few months ago, I found a very useful forum post about classifying dolls similar to Monster High dolls. Here's a link to the article: http://www.monsterhighdolls.com/forum/topics/bootlegs-knockoffs-copycats-competitors-what-is-the-right

Ever since I first started collecting dolls, I tried every way possible to make sure I didn't end up with a fake Blythe doll. Fortunately, I didn't screw up the first time, but I ended up buying 3 for myself to customize. I searched the entire internet trying to find every single Blythe like doll I could find. If I'm missing any dolls, please feel free to comment and I'll post it here. 

NOTE: Although Blythe are very popular, buying fakes may not seem to hurt it's sales, but it can. If you are planning on buying one, try also buying a real Blythe doll to support them (this does not include competitors).

Bootlegs

These are the dolls that you definitely want to look out for. Bootlegs are dolls that are meant to be like the real doll; using the same logo, boxart, etc. Unfortunately, customers on sites such as eBay, spend the same amount of money as the real thing, only to find out it is a fake (and some may never know).

For more information on bootlegs, check out 222am's website on how to avoid them and her experience: http://www.222am.org/category/fake-blythe-investigations/

Knockoffs

Knockoffs are dolls that use the same concept of a real doll and have similar logos, boxart, and molds. They are also very cheap and can even be toxic. In Blythe's case, most have her enormous head, large eyes, and changing eyes.

The most notable Blythe knockoffs are Basaak and Blybe, commonly used for custom practice. Their names are usually mixed up, so they have no formal name. They are listed as CCE dolls on eBay.

Here is a link to a comparison of the two: http://pandorasdolls.blogspot.com/2011/11/basaak-vs-blybe-comparision.html

Another knockoff are the Little Big Eyes dolls from Street Wise Designs in 2001. They were sold in the UK. They have a unique look, but are still very cheap in quality compared to Blythe. 

They are actually rare now, and are on eBay for prices as high as $75. Swan Loves Designs seems to be the queen of the LBEs. Here is a link to her site: http://swanlovedesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/"LBE"

Now we have what appears to be a miniaturized version of a Neo-Blythe called Blyhs. They have their own face and body mold, but can break their tiny necks easily when not supporting the head when changing the eye colors.

The second clone is exactly like Blyh, except they have anime-like eyes and can only "wink", hence their name, Wink Dolls.

These dolls are extremely hard to find on eBay, only appearing once. The only other place to buy them is on Alibaba.com in a bulk (min.order of 3000).

I've found other Blythe knockoffs, but with little information. Here's a list of them.

The one on the right is called Belle Girl.

Another Belle Girl doll.

Blyth

This one oddly has the name Blyh, despite it being a Blybe/Basaak doll.

There isn't any known information about this one, as no one hasn't seen it's box or name.

Copycats

The striking difference between knockoffs and copycats are that copycats are in much better quality. They still stick to being like the real doll, but are a little more creative.

Icy Dolls by Arker make dolls based on largely popular characters, such as Hatsune Miku the VOCALOID or have their own themes such as Liberation.

JECCI FIVE, a fashion store in China, created two models of dolls to promote their brand. The first model Jecci Five dolls had their own face mold and could only open and close their eyes.

The second model is similar to Arker's Icy Dolls, but has a more neutral mouth shape. They are able to change their eyes.

Competitors

Finally, we have competitors. They have similar concepts, but have striking differences. They are meant to appeal the same market. There are lots of new big headed dolls here in the West: such as La Dee Da, Cutie Pops, and the Beatrix Girls. However, a true competitor of Blythe is aimed toward the Eastern market.

Pullip dolls are Blythe's biggest market competitor, since their current companies are located in Japan. They have a big head and large eyes, much like Blythe, but have their own story and purpose, along with other dolls.

Tangkou dolls, released in 2011 by 6th Sense, is commonly called a clone of Blythe. They actually are inspired by both the Blythe dolls and Pullip dolls. They have their own theme and back story.

Hujoo and other BJD (ball jointed dolls) with big heads and eyes can also be considered a competitor to Blythe. 

I hope my list can be useful to people. It took me about a month to find and research all of the dolls featured. Thanks for reading!

December UPDATE

I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog, but if you do, I'm sorry I've haven't posted in a while. I've bought a total of 8 dolls so far, with me having 6 with me right now.

The newest ones I bought were two Tangkou dolls from their warehouse in Canada. They took a week to arrive, and I'm very happy with them. I got them together for a total of $79.99.

The French Tangkou is my favorite doll from 6th Sense. She has red eyes instead of the normal dark grey ones. She also came with strawberry scented hair.

My Dal doll arrived in September. After a month of having her, I got a little tired of her. My grandma is to buy her from me for my cousin.

I bought two Blyh dolls for customization. Each were $7.99 plus $9.98 in shipping. Depending on which one steals my heart, is the one I'm going to keep. The other I will sell on eBay. 

This is my collection so far for 2013. In 2014, I plan on buying Tangkou China, Aussie, and hopefully England; a Little Big Eyes doll, and a Icy Doll. I'm also planning on selling my Blythe doll, Bohemian Peace. Comment if you are interested.

My Dolly History

Hello! I'm PinkyMaggie. Although it says that I am 14 years old, I'm actually 13 turning 14 on the 7th of September. Since I'm a doll collector, I should probably talk about how I got introduced and my collection. I won't be able to show my entire collection in this post, but I will soon. So let's get started!


Before all of this happened, I hated dolls. I though they were creepy and ugly. My first dolls were Barbie dolls, which I destroyed with joy because I was not a girly girl back then. To this day I still don't like Barbie dolls, as I like to look for abstract ones.


During my tween years, I became a huge weeaboo (a person OBSESSED with Japan). I started to like Vocaloid, and Hatsune Miku became my idol. I started looking around the Vocaloid Wikia for merchandise that I could possibly buy (which ended up being a fake Nenderoid). Then I stumbled upon Pullip and Icy Dolls. I thought Icy Dolls were creepy (which I still do, but the customs are lovely). Here's how the Icy Doll looked like:

Okay, she actually looks sort of cute in this picture. But the others like the Liberation doll looks really grumpy.

The Pullip version of Hatsune Miku, however, caught my heart! Everything about her was perfect to me. From the hair to her tiny little boots, I knew I wanted her. But then came the price. I didn't have the money, nor did my parents.

While searching for other Pullip dolls to see if there was one I could afford, I often would stumble upon a different type of doll: Blythe. At first, I though she was really creepy! But then I started to look at more pictures of them, and they grew on me over time. The custom ones were my favorites, and my favorite customizer was Erregiro. This is his custom doll Kumiko.

After researching non stop, I finally got the chance to order my first Blythe doll, Bohemian Peace. She was $134 but was worth every penny. I bought here in late November 2012. I kept the name Blythe.

I lost her guitar though, I can't seem to find it anywhere.


My second Blythe doll was decided by using a poll that my family did. Since I chose Blythe, I wanted them to chose, and I ended up getting Nicky Lad! She was $118, but came with horrid box hair. I did hair treatment, but her hair still suffers to this day. I also kept her name, Nicki.

When I bought my third doll, I wanted to start customizing. I didn't want to spend $110+ on a doll that I might ruin (even though I'm an art student). I ended up buying a Basaak doll, a Blythe clone from Thailand, for only $40. I named her Mable. Because I don't have the original picture, I'll show you a photo of her (and my other dolls).

Mable's hair is much shorter than it originally was because her hair was so choppy!

My new doll, which just came today is the Dal doll, Satti. Over time, I grew to like the other dolls in the Pullip line rather than Pullip herself. I will get her in the future, but Dal was so cute! She was on sale on Amazon for $60 plus free shipping (I have Amazon Prime). She does have a name, which is Truffles, but I refer to her as Dal.

Soon I will be uploading photos of them, and video reviews, too! I hope you look forward to my blog and thanks for reading!