Another Studio / Another Secret Feedback [ALL]

* What did you order?
An Orchid head.

* When did you order?
October 5th

* How was the communication?
Good.

* How easy was it to pay?
Easy with PayPal.

* How long did it take to ship?
I received a tracking number on the 18th of November. (ANother Secret posted in their news thread on DoA that all blank heads were shipped out on the 15th, but the "Certificate of Birth" that came with the head says the head is made on the 17th.)

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes! It was sold for a very good price for an artist cast head and there aren't noticable flaws in the outer surface of the head.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
When I opened the box, I noticed there was no bubble wrap around the head. It was "naked" in a plastic box with some plastic and bubble wrap on top of it. The carton box, in which the plastic box was put in, was quite battered. The head had suffered scratches during transport.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
I emailed a photograph of the scratched head to ANother Secret and asked if they could do something for me. They emailed me photographs of how they had wrapped up and packaged the head, which was not how it had arrived to me so I asked ANother Secret to check with the postal service if the box had been opened during transport. ANother Secret checked with their postal service, but the postal service claimed the box had not been opened during transport.
ANother Secret offered to send me a new Orchid head if I would ship my damaged head back and pay for shipping. Since I can try to sand the scratches I decided to keep the head.

* Would you order from this company again?
Yes, but maybe I'll ask for shipping with insurance. I didn't pay much for shipping this time.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes.

 

* What did you order?
Alice head.
* When did you order?
17th February
* How was the communication?
They responded quite quickly.
* How easy was it to pay?
Really easy.
* How long did it take to ship?
The head was shipped on 17th of March and they gave me the tracking number on 21th.
* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes, correct price, and beautiful mold.
* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yep.
* Were you satisfied with the product?
Totally.
* Would you order from this company again?
Without hesitation.
* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
I prefer buying directly from small companies to support them, but if it was a limited head, yeah, I would buy second hand.

 

What did you order?
Mr. Wolf head

When did you order?
June 16, 2011

How was the communication?
Excellent. I received confirmation of my order, confirmation of my payment, and a shipping notice.

How easy was it to pay?
Simple through Paypal

How long did it take to ship?
Shipped July 14, so less than a month, and well within the 30 business days quoted.

Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
He's got a few rough spots, but nothing I can't smooth out. Nothing unexpected with a small studio doll.

Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes

Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes

Would you order from this company again?
If I liked the head, yes.

Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
If I liked it, yes.

 

* What did you order?
Mr. Wolf and Little Red heads

* When did you order?
16th June 2011

* How was the communication?
Very good.

* How easy was it to pay?
Easy with paypal

* How long did it take to ship?
28 days

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
yes.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
yes. The box arrived a bit smashed because the inside was so empty, but luckily the heads were not damaged.

* Would you order from this company again?
sure

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
yes, but I always prefer to order from the artist

 

What did you order?
Gerda head (blank)

When did you order?
January 22, 2012

How was the communication?
Great - they answered all my questions within 48 hours and emailed me with the tracking number once shipped.

How easy was it to pay?
Placed order via email, received invoice and paid using Paypal.

How long did it take to ship?
31 days - shipped on February 18th, got the tracking number on the 20th, received on 22nd. Quoted time was 40 business days.

Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes - the head is smooth and clean, the resin feels solid and the sculpt is detailed.

Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

Were you satisfied with the product?
Definitely!

Would you order from this company again?
Yes, if I liked the sculpt.

Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes, but I'd prefer to order directly from the company.

 

* What did you order?
Shadow King head.

* When did you order?
15 July 2012

* How was the communication?
At times good, but it became more sporadic. I had to initiate contact on multiple occasions after the head was returned to them.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy.

* How long did it take to ship?
The initial head shipping was within the expected range, it shipped on 31 August (or that's when my tracking number was mailed to me). HOWEVER, the head didn't arrive. It reached US customs and was sent back, I contacted USPS, and they said the return reason would be stated on the package. I pinged the company, and eventually (28 September 2012) I was told the head would be shipped to me again. It took until 17 October 2012 to inform me of why, they claim the head had been damaged in transit, I have no reason to disbelieve them. But the head was never sent again. Their claim is that they can't send the head out of the country with EMS. I've asked for it to be shipped via other methods, to countries other than the US, etc. It doesn't matter. The company's communication was sporadic and vague, but finally I was told in mid-January of 2013 that they would ship after the Spring Festival, which an internet search told me would be after 10 February 2013.

On 2 March 2013, I see a new head posted up for sale by Another Secret, without any magnets included, but they don't reach out to me or communicate anything to me since their mail in mid-January? Of course I email them asking what's happened, whereupon they aggressively tell me that they offered me a refund multiple times--they were apparently content to ignore my situation until I came back and asked them about it, this was when I learned they'd been unable to remove the magnet from the new head they'd been trying to ship me, but hadn't bothered to mention this to me. I find this horrid. They would've likely let me sit forever unless I hadn't posted to their discussion thread and emailed them again. I finally took the refund, they were so unpleasant, and they in turn posted our thread transaction up to their discussion forum. I consider that quite rude, but I stand by what I said in my mails to them, I wanted the head and I didn't trust them to get it for me. It turns out that mistrust was earned.

So no, I can't really put a 'how long' on 'never' in terms of shipping.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
I haven't the slightest idea, sadly.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Unknown. I can assume the head returned to them by US Customs was too damaged to look like the head in their pictures. I've never been shown pictures of the head they claim was made to be sent to me subsequently, so I don't know if it existed at all.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
I was satisfied to have it sent to me, but no, I'm not in any way satisfied by this.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
The company lied to me. So a refund from them was literally the least they could do for me, and they've done that.

* Would you order from this company again?
No. Their sculpts are lovely, but they are not honest people.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
I actually might consider that, but unlikely. Any sculpt can be recast, and I can no longer trust the original source. They have no means of addressing issues for their customers that I've seen after waiting over half a year for nothing.