BJD website pet peeves... and aspect favorites!

peeve:
sold out items still have active links and pictures posted.

aspect favorite:
the measurements of the doll given to fit clothing, wigs etc.

 

peeves:
loud bad music that automatically plays when you get on the site
large images that take a long time to load
and again, dolls in amazing wigs and clothes that are not available for purchase

appreciates:
when the photos of the default makeup on the website looks like what you actually receive in the mail or very close to the photo

 

I found one: eyes that just sit there, on the site. The company doesn't show a doll wearing them, and just have a picture of the eyes by themselves.

Also, a Q&A page where every entry is locked. I know some of these pertain to order numbers (and locking those is understandable), but when there's someone asking if something I want will be in stock again? How does locking them help anyone?

Incorrect descriptions of wait time. 1-2 weeks means assembling the order, and doesn't include shipping time (most of the time). Please be more clear about that.

I don't know if this one counts, but it would be really cool to see progress pics if we've ordered a custom face-up or any face-up. It's nice to see how they do it.

 

Peeves: Having something called 'FAQ' that is locked. :/ I've seen this a couple times. It's different than Q&A and should be publicly available.

Too many unnecessary pictures in one column/One LONG picture: I hate scrolling too much. *looks meaningfully at SOOM*

Doll measurements not in a readily accessible place: Sometimes I can only find measurements on the blank bodies/head.

Having sold out items display in the shop portion of the site: This is misleading. These should be put onto another gallery portion of the site UNLESS there are plans to re-release the product or restock it.

I love it:
When the 'parts' section shows off body types and blank heads.

When the shop portion is organized/filtered by doll size. (Especially when selling accessories like wigs and clothes).

Fantasy parts are available for sale in the 'parts' section for us crazy hybrid types. Angelheim does this one. :heartbeat

 

I feel like I'm a perve or something for this one, but I'd like to see uncensored nude shots. I want to see all of what a doll looks like, not a nude shot with 'bits' blurred out.

I would love to see inside shoe measurements!

 

I would like to see realistic poses, rather than poses just to show how posable the doll can be. I'd like to see how far the arm bends by itself, as well as how far the knee can go. I don't need a strange pose showing how the doll can hold it's leg back; I don't think most people are going to pose their dolls like that.

I also dislike it when there are virtually no clothes to fit the dolls. I don't need a full ensemble of different styles, colors, or themes - even a basic pair of underwear, a t-shirt, and shorts would be OK with me. Some dolls are hard to shop for, and while a lot of us like to sew for our dolls, not everyone does. I'm sure there's a small percentage of people who would rather have a clothed doll, dressed in something as basic as a t-shirt and shorts than a doll in only underwear or naked.

Also: not having the height of the doll clearly spelled out on either the doll's individual page, or with the line. It's hard to know how big Fairyland and LaTi dolls are because they don't have a size clearly shown.

Lastly, I'd like to see more possibilities for the doll. Usually, when a company is showing off a doll, they follow one theme. Some people have difficulty looking at a blank head's potential. I like how Iplehouse can show the same dolls with as many as 3 different face up options. I think it can attract more buyers than having a doll in one look. The same goes for outfits; using Iplehouse as an example again, they show the doll in different outfits - again, optimizing the potential of a doll.

 

Peeves:
1) Keeping an item listed that will never be restocked in the same section as in-stock items.

2) Making it difficult to find shipping information, especially at what point free shipping is available.

3) Having a members-only board that contains useful images of the dolls you sell.

4) Naming the lines of your dolls silly, unituitive things that make it difficult to guess the size of the lines by the name alone.

Pluses:

1) Pictures from all angles of doll sculpts, wigs, clothes, etc. Closeups of faces.

2) Labeling the weight of items.

3) Being able to sort clothing, wigs, and other items by doll size.

 

- Not selling heads and bodies seperately (Iplehouse, Volks), or only selling certain heads and not others (Luts)

- Having lots of nice stuff but not breaking it down enough so that I have to go through 15-20 pages to see what you have (Dollmore)

- Not having a lot of standard dolls or only having them in certain sizes (Volks, Soom) (Volks has products for sizes they don't have any basics avaliable for. I know the bigger ones would be expensive to produce but you could have basic Yos at least. And more standard boys.)

- Having amazing expensive limiteds that are only avalible for a short period of time so people don't have enough time to save up for them or to wait for owner pictures to come out (SOOOOOOM) (although they are doing better with the fairies)

- Actually if Volks sold basics with the option to not include wigs or faceups they could make the dolls a bit cheaper and that would be wonderful (I'm sorry for picking on you so much Volks, I really do love you ^^

- Yes, non-face-upped photos. Also bigger and clearer photos.

 

Definitely body measurements! how are we to know what they can wear? and skin color comparisons!! Also for the newbies it would be nice to know what some slang words are like SP head?

 

Having read and agreed with almost all of these, I have a moment of applause to award: Iplehouse. I think it is terrific to be able to look down a doll's page and see him/her with two or three completely different face-ups, wigs, etc, followed by the nude pix. Really gives me a clear idea of what I'd be getting and what I could do with this doll.

 

Peeve: Limited forms of payment. I'm old enough to remember when credit cards were considered a bad idea, and I certainly don't want to give out my personal info to Paypal. I paid for my doll by cashier's check and would prefer to continue to use paper if possible (such as International Postal Money Order). Failing that, I'd use a wire transfer. I'd like companies to give us as many ways as possible to send them money.

 

no one has mentioned this, and this really bothers me: when sites have clothes and accessories on their dolls in pictures for another item they are selling, and do not indicate whether it is an item they sell, whether it is another company, or anything at all! they don't even have to say what company (although that would be ideal), just saying "shorts not from our company" would stop me from hunting for them on their site!

and not listing which doll is modeling a wig/clothing item! so many places do this. if they didn't have the license to say which doll it is, i doubt they'd be able to display them? or if you don't just sell wigs/clothing, and don't want people buying other companies' dolls, only use dolls you sell as models. and if you don't sell a doll in that size, the other company isn't even competition, tell us who the model is!

i agree with so many of the pros/good things!!

 

Limited shipping options... I mean... Dollmore has a lovely bed I'd like to buy for my dolls, but the shipping alone for EMS is THREE TIMES the amount the bed is priced at. I don't really want to have to wait around so I can "buy in bulk" to justify paying close to 30 bucks (or in the bed's case, over 60!) in shipping costs... especially since when things sell out, they usually take a long time to remake and restock. Give us an airmail option...and them if we want something insured, we pay for that.

Also, I'd like for more companies to offer photos of their sculpts blank (like in Iple's custom doll system). I like getting to see the facial structure of the mold and imagine it the way I'd like it to look, and it is easier to envision it when the head is blank, plus, if I can get that image in my head, the chances of me wanting and thus eventually buying the doll skyrockets.

 

When a doll is offered in several skin colours I demand the company to show me the doll in every available colour so I can make the right choice. Especially for new dolls this is very important when there are no owner pictures yet.

 

Most of my faves and peeves have been covered by others but here are some of my other pet peeves:

1) "Hidden fees" aka Paypal fees especially on most China-based websites. I once spent so much time looking at a doll and deciding what to get with it and when I was sure it was within my budget, I went ahead and bought him, only to realise upon checkout that they charge Paypal fees, which caused me to exceed my budget. It was too late to back out by then and I can only blame myself for not doing complete research. I don't know if they even mentioned it on the doll sales page but I was still a newbie then and I wasn't expecting it because the Korean company I bought from previously did not charge additional Paypal fees.

2) One-price-fits-all shipping, especially when a company puts a base shipping fee that does not take into consideration the shipping destination. I'm pretty sure shipping just one small wig to my country does not costs $22. For stores where there are more possibility of people making smaller, non-doll purchases like wigs only, offering registered Airmail option would be a big bonus too.

On the plus side, I don't really have much problems with the major doll makers' websites (Soom, Crobi, Luts, etc). But I like shopping carts that remember what you've added and I love clean website design like Souldoll's. Additional product gallery and sculpt/resin/body comparisons like Iplehouse does for some of their dolls is also another plus. Generally, I tend to be more understanding towards minor flaws and even not-so-good English as long as they don't copy and paste the text from another website, so you end up reading about ink-jet printer cartridges rather than dolls.

 

Hmm... Good things:

-More than one shipping option so that you don't end up paying something ridiculous for the shipping of a small item. >_o
-Easy to navigate websites
-Websites with a 'shopping cart' buying system
-Good customer service and enquiries answered quickly.

Bad things...

-No blank head photos
-Lack of eye and wig sizes listed with dolls...
-Doll lines with weird names so that you can't tell what size they are.
-Forum ordering system (and to a lesser extent email ordering system)
-Lack of understandably translated things.
-Not saying what items (clothes, wig, eyes, shoes) appear in a doll's company picture, where they're from and if they're still available. This frustrates me.

 

I have only a little experience with doll sites and I tend to keep to the major ones (FL, Iple, LeekeWorld, LUTS) most of the time...so I only have one pet peeve...

[Next] means next page...not next ten pages....

 

What is the hardest for me is what a lot of you have mentioned is not being able to see face and body! How does one know if they want the doll if you can't see the face or body! I'm new to these wonderful dolls but I will say that most of the sites I've been on I can understand.

 

My Main Pet Peeves regarding BJD websites:

1. Some are extremely hard to navigate and irritably confusing
2. If I can't filter by available/sold-out. I do NOT want to go through pages and pages of soldout items, until I FINALLY find an item that is actually available
3. As an extension of 2: Why are websites doing this? I as a potential customer get absolutely no joy out of looking at items, that are sold out and I'll likely never be able to get my hands on. If anything it's highly frustrating
4. A lack of body-pictures: The body makes for a large part of the doll - literally. So it'd be nice to actually have a decent idea about what the body looks like. At least if there is a separate sales page for the body (where the photos are hosted) - make sure to link it from whichever head you're selling. I don't want to have to wade through multiple pages, until I finally think I have found the correct body that belongs to a given head.

 

Pet peeves...
Only showing fully styled & painted dolls but not the blank head or body.
Not providing all of the basic measurements; example, foot size is missing.

Most everything else is more of a grumble and makes me less likely to buy the doll. Of course if I reaaaaaallllly want something then I post to the QA or email and ask.