How to identify a rerooted pony?

[Mismatch]

Good morning, ponies,

So I recently got a comment back from a purchaser explaining that while the ponies I sent her were very nice, two of them appeared to be rerooted. 

The problem is, I don't actually know how to reroot a pony.  I really kind of wish I did, since it's gorgeous some of the results, but my one attempt to do so with a curved quilting needle (really.  Don't ask) resulted in lots of bandaids.  And the ponies that she believes to have been rerooted I actually bought ages ago at yard sales, but that's just my word.

So... how can you tell if a pony is rerooted, so that I can advise potential buyers of this beforehand? 

[Baby Mischief]

Stalking this one..

[Galactica]

I don't know how you'd know unless you removed the head- since some people re-root with the needle and thread method.

I also think it would be unfair for a buyer to expect you to know-  If it is a regular common pony or lot- I think the most you could do is be honest about what you do and do not know about the ponies (state that they were purchased or found so you don't know if they have been altered).

I guess for a Nirvana it would be worth taking a peak inside their head or body (since the heads aren't glued on) - factory tails have washers, and factory root jobs look like they were sewn in with a machine- there is a stitch line that is impossible to copy (try looking at a pony that you have).


Oh- I would add- that if the buyer is not happy, it doesn't really matter if it was your fault or not- ebay will require that you offer a refund.  Tell the purchaser if she is not satisfied she can return it (at her expense) for a full refund of what she paid to you. (per ebay rules you don't have to pay for return shipping)

[Mismatch]

Actually, I almost always remove the head to check to ensure there isn't any rust inside, and in both cases, I remember removing a rusty tailwasher.  It's possible that scrubbing inside the head messed up the hair on the interior of the pony or loosened it from the factory stitching. 

At any rate, I advised the buyer to please send me photos, and asked her if she'd like to send them back... it's a bit of a hassle, but if it is something that other collectors find to be an issue, I'd prefer to be educated about it so that I can avoid any future difficulties.

Post Merge: July 23, 2013, 12:51:02 PM

Oh- I would add- that if the buyer is not happy, it doesn't really matter if it was your fault or not- ebay will require that you offer a refund.  Tell the purchaser if she is not satisfied she can return it (at her expense) for a full refund of what she paid to you. (per ebay rules you don't have to pay for return shipping)

Ummm, this was a private transaction at the Arena...

[Galactica]

Oh sorry! I misunderstood!

[ponylady]

What exactly makes your purchaser believe they were rehaired? And can you provide some pictures from your sales, just to get an idea on what ponies we are dealing with? 

[Mismatch]

What exactly makes your purchaser believe they were rehaired? And can you provide some pictures from your sales, just to get an idea on what ponies we are dealing with? 

Umm, I'm not sure yet what makes my purchaser believe they were rehaired... I sent her a pm asking her how I can identify rehairs and she hasn't responded yet.  Here are pics of the ponies though...

http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/Catsocks005/library/Streaky#/user/Catsocks005/library/Streaky?sort=3&page=1&_suid=137461115861203339680262354343

http://s1119.photobucket.com/user/Catsocks005/library/Baby%20Starflower/Baby%20Starbow#/user/Catsocks005/library/Baby%20Starflower/Baby%20Starbow?sort=3&page=1&_suid=1374611072466021482621649051697

Let me know what you think, and I really appreciate you guys taking the time out to check up on this for me

[Eldarwen]

Well to me they dont look like rehairs at all.. But im just looking at the condition of the hair, it doesnt like dollyhair or anything like that.

[tulagirl]

Honestly, I don't consider myself an expert but, those do not look like rehairs to me at all. I am curious what other people think.

[himmie]

They certainly do not look like re-hairs to me. Nothing on the outside would lead me to believe that the hair is not original. If I received them, I would not even think to look inside.

[SilverRains]

Those look like ponies that were played with and cleaned up. The hair looks like it was kinked and tangled a lot in the past. It doesn't look 'nice and clean' like a rehair does.

If you look at rehaired ponies like the ones in this thread, there's a particular straight 'clean' look that they all have, and I don't see that at all in the pictures you've showed.

I think the only way to know for absolute certain would be to look inside the head, but from the outside these don't look rehaired, at least to me.

[Yuitsu]

Hi! (I have pm'd Mismatch back)

I bought these. The ponies look like they have the reroot tool and glue method of rerooting done. There is no sign of it sitting flat against the head as with a factory root anywhere. I'm not sure if I can get a camera shot but I'll try.

Additionally, Starbow actually had a knife taken to her neck at some point. It's not very noticable,  but it's not something you'd do to a pony unless you were rerooting or taking a washer out. o.o;

Neither of the girls necks were sealed and look like they have had some 'assistance.'

I'm happy to keep them etc but I've had a patch of getting ponies with undisclosed rehairs which is very frustrating.

[Galactica]

They really don't look at all like re-roots to me, and I've seen plenty (surrounded by army of customs). 

It doesn't surprise me though that Starbow may have had a knife taken to her head to remove the head and look inside- is the washer original?  It's common for rust or gunk to be in international ponies).  The baby heads are really hard to get off sometimes.

[Teddy]

They don't look like rehairs to me at all, either. The hair looks genuine and is exactly the proper length and amount of aging to it. Like others have said, if they'd been rehaired the hair would be much more "clean" and shiney, you know? Just stating what I see.

Also, Mismatch said above that she did remove these ponies' heads to remove rusty washers in the past. So that would be why the heads appear to have been removed.

[himmie]

Didn't Mismatch say that they opened them, cleaned inside and removed the washers?