Bad packaging and travel damage: how common are those?

For me it really depends on the damage and how it was packaged. In case of the video, I would just inform Loong Soul about what happened (so they can change the packaging) and fix it myself. The part is there. However, if the finger had vanished (sometimes customs opens the box and it can fall out if it's broken) then I'd ask if it was possible to get/buy a replacement. Sometimes the company just offers a free replacement. Or for shipping cost or something.

I don't hear much of this kind of things happening anymore though, these cases have gotten quite rare with how well the companies pack nowadays. It tends to happen more with secondhand.

 

Having been in the hobby for more than a decade and having bought way too many dolls... almost all the dolls I've ever bought brand-new or secondhand from Japan, Korea and China have arrived well packed.

There was only one brand-new doll that arrived slightly scuffed and that was because he'd been opened by Chinese customs... and they'd just roughly stuffed him back inside his box... orz He is the only doll I've got that had ever been opened by customs.

He was fine except for a bit of dirt and a tiny chip on his headcap... The bit of dirt was easily wiped off as for the chip, since it would just be covered by a wig, I wasn't too bothered by it.

 

I've had only one slightly-smashed outer shipping box (the interior doll box was fine, though). I've never had a doll arrived damaged.
I think generally speaking, shipping catastrophes are fairly rare.

 

I've been in the hobby for just over five years. The worst thing I got is the doll box got damaged because the whole package was, for one reason or other, got squished on a particular corner. The doll itself was always fine and I never got a damaged one thus far. But I've had to trash a couple doll boxes because it was just better to go to a flower shop and get a brand new long-box to store the doll in than it was to mummify the original box in tape.

 

I've had one box from China arrive quite roughed up, but the doll itself was extremely securely packaged with like... two layers of super taped boxes over the actual doll box itself, so the doll was safe. Luckily no customs had opened it, that seems to be where a lot of horror stories come from. Also wow that LS doll had so many penises!

 

I've had many roughed up packages, but only once did a doll arrive broken brand new from a company. My Myou body had her shins absolutely shattered, in what was a mix of tight stringing and fluctuating temperatures (mostly cold) during shipping. I let my dealer know and sent pictures, and in a month I had two new shin pieces. I was only out a little time! I really think that most companies will try to make things right.

I've gotten some dolls secondhand that arrived with broken fingers, but both were easy fixes with glue, and one seller refunded me a bit because both hands were obliterated. I had to glue those because his sculpt is defunct and I'd never get the right color hands. The other seller offered to refund, but it was a clean break with a single finger and you can hardly tell so I refused.

 

I've had cardboard boxes come with holes punched in them and some have been crushed. But the doll and it's inner doll box have all been fine. I think doll companies take that sort of thing into account now. But, I'm sure there will times when nothing could had been done. Overall, I wouldn't worry.

 

Usually everything is fine even if the doll is strung incredibly tight. Seems to be a thing more companies do now, no idea why, it makes so much trouble for me having to fiddle with it. But the dolls are generally very well packed, because no one wants them to get damaged.

 

If the doll is new and breaks in transit, the company or dealer has always replaced the part, in my experience. I've had broken dolls arrive from Bobobie, IslandDoll, and Impldoll, and in every case, they have made things right. That may sound like a lot but considering I've been in the hobby for 14 years and on average probably buy and sell 6-8 dolls a year, that's actually not bad at all.

Secondhand is a bigger problem, because then it comes down to the person you're dealing with and if it was insured and/or packaged safely enough for insurance to qualify.

 

Experience with this is going to come down to individual companies, dealers, and new vs secondhand—but my general experience has been pretty good. The worst case scenarios I can recall in all the years I've been in the hobby is a chip around the neck area (in the back, so not really noticeable) of one head I received in a full doll order (which I probably could've gotten fixed or replaced if I'd even known it was a thing at the time), a broken finger, and that one time an acorn got embedded in the outer box of one of my Impldoll orders (the inner box had no damages, and I have no idea how in the world that acorn got jammed into the box like that )

More often than not the outer box will suffer damage, but the inner one and the doll will be completely fine. I've had some come with some minor dings, dents and the like, but have been pretty fortunate not to have any with partially cratered in sides.

 

I have a lot of dolls and I've only had one show up with a broken piece. I'd ordered a doll from DollZone through Mint on Card (back when they existed!) and he arrived with a busted finger. He was packaged fine but the finger was already broken off when I unwrapped his bubble wrap. I just contacted the dealer and they had DollZone send me a new set of hands. The finger was a perfectly clean break so I was able to glue it and it's really not noticeable at all.

 

I'm coming up on 4 years in the hobby now (so a lot less compared to some of the folks in this thread) but I've gotten some really poorly treated boxes, but all of them were heads, not full dolls/doll bodies. One came from Korea and was completely smashed, I think it was left under a really heavy item because it looked like a full leg of a heavy chair or table just punctured the top of the box and crushed the poor thing into resin chunks. I've also gotten some really mangled boxes within the US and one from China but only the head's box would be damaged, the heads themselves were fine.

I'd contact the company or dealer for a replacement part if this ever happened to a brand new doll. You paid for a new doll, not a damaged one. Shipping insurance should cover any damage done during shipping, or if a doll was strung too tightly, the company should correct it's mistake. If you didn't pay for insurance and it wasn't the company's fault most companies are understanding and willing to send you a new part anyways, but probably asks you cover shipping or the cost of the part as well. A doll arriving broken in the mail doesn't mean that it has to stay broken!

 

There are a couple sculpts I know of that are infamous for being broken in shipment. For example, the Resinsoul Mi body (if you don't request the doll come with hands unstrung) frequently loses a finger in transit. I've had the experience as well with the Dollzone 71cm body (as well as a couple other people I know who ordered it). I generally will look up box openings for different bodies in order to learn what is common and then I will try to make special requests to minimize the risk of damage, but honestly those are the only two cases I've heard of.

For packages, the worst I've had is a broken doll box inside a shipper box or a box that got wet with rain. No dolls themselves have been damaged (except for the Dollzone 71cm--I've never bought a Resinsoul Mi body). DFH/DFA, UniverseDoll, and MiracleDoll in particular (I've ordered quite a bit from the companies) seem to have doll boxes (the inner box, not the shipper) which break during shipment. For all of these companies, the culprit is that their boxes have sides that are cut separately in paperboard and taped together with almost a black washi tape. It makes for really beautiful boxes, but because the cardboard is taped together instead of folded, it means they are fragile at the joins. Usually the lid to the box will split along the seams in transit on at least one side. I also had an LLT box that got caught in a rainstorm as it wasn't properly placed in my doorway and under a roof on delivery.

With the exception of the broken finger, I don't really consider these significant damages to doll boxes.

 

This is why I’d always 100% advise getting shipping insurance just to be protected. I’ve not had anything come super damaged yet but I’m superstitious so I just know the one time I don’t, that’ll be the time!