Buying a doll despite the 'warnings'.

To avoid long waits and uncomfortable business dealings I waited until a US company started making BJDs. So, I have purchased from Blue Blood Doll (a US company run by Asian artists). I also have purchased through the secondary market. It's just one of my personal choices, and has nothing to do with bad press for companies or countries, or their postal systems.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
Depends on the type of problems and the value of what I want to order.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?Yes. My local BJD dealer stopped carrying Angell-Studio. When I asked why, they told me of many problems dealing with the company, late delivery, poor communication, faulty products etc. However, I wanted an Angell-Studio product so I did a bit of research and took a chance.

What the experience like if so?
Delightful! Turns out the problems had all been temporary, and the company had turned itself around and was now providing superior service. All ended happily.

And lastly why would you buy?
Because they had something I couldn't get elsewhere.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
Definitely would depend on what the problems were. ALL companies are capable of having problems, after all. And there are always some buyers who will be unhappy with things, no matter what. So a buyer needs to NOT PANIC, and to find out as much as possible and then THINK about it... Do Problems Get Resoved? for instance. If so, and I really want the doll and understand the risks that MAY occur (realizing that most cases will be fine), then I will definitely buy! If cases don't get resolved... Do I still want to take a chance? Maybe... maybe not. --Are Buyers Reporting Bad Quality of Resin? or other manufacturing problems that can't be resolved easily?. In that case, I might have to think very hard. Do I still want a doll that may have flaws? Is it worth the price and problems? Maybe. I wouldn't rule it out. ... It's all about making an INFORMED decision and being prepared for potential problems and weighing risks, even with the best companies.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Sure. Lots of warnings don't mean much to me, if they are things that can happen with any company, or if it's something like wait-time (I don't care) or maybe not being that good at communication (again, I don't care-- most companies have to deal with language problems or other things. I could care less about perceived slights and stuff like that. The small stuff doesn't bother me. Only big problems--that would mess with my money and my getting the doll I want). I like to think I buy from reputable companies, despite peoples' warnings. If the company is really bad, I wouldn't buy from them.

What the experience like if so?
Fine. I've been sent the wrong doll-- It was corrected. I didn't get a faceup I'd paid for-- I got my money back. I've had to wait months and months-- No problem. I've had a doll not arrive-- Another was sent out. I've gotten two left shoes-- They sent two right ones. I've had pale spots in resin-- I could overlook that. I've had noticeable seams-- That's life. And these were reputable companies: Luts, Bambicrony, etc. The thing is... I am satisfied with what I got. I love my dolls. I don't feel cheated. I went in knowing the risks and found they were worth it.

And lastly why would you buy?
Because I wanted the product! If I want that doll, I research the company and go in knowing what could happen and I decide to go ahead (or not, but usually I do). I've found everything was worth it. Others might not.

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Currently... RingDoll is having problems filling orders and not being in communication with buyers... There is a doll I am interested in made by them... I'll just wait and see if they fix their current problems and start looking like they are trying to operate in a sensible way... and then make a decision.

 

I knew before I buy from Luts that they had quite a bad reputation a few years back about quality of their resin, but I thought that was a while back and I hadn't really seen much bad review from them recently at the point so I decided to get my Akihito from them.
Another reason is that I was hopelessly in love with their JDF terra :P
People also warned me about their JDF's weird height making it little harder for me to find clothes for him but in the end I believe those reasons are not good enough for me to give him up

 

A couple years ago I fell in love with sculpt of the pureskin Volks solid torso SD10 girl body. I knew about the issues with knee breakage several people had but I bought one anyways. My girl was fine, I never did have any problem with her knees whatsoever, but I was always so paranoid about it! It was one on the reasons that led to be selling that particular doll. I am careful with all my dolls but I really didn't like having in the back of my mind that some people had this problem. It always made me afraid to take her to meetups, dress or pose her.
This doesn't seem to be an issue anymore with the newer dolls (the one I had was from around 2005) so I would like to get one again someday I think, but I'd want it to be a newer one.

 

The short answer is no I definately would not risk making a purchase from a company that had consistantly bad feedback. It's just asking for trouble.

It is stressful enough trusting large sums of money to a company over seas without needing to worry about being ripped off in some way.

 

Well, I might possibly ask for a Resinsoul Mei for Christmas, and God knows how many warnings there are about one big problem; Elastic. They recommend restringing, or at least tightening, of elastic, and/or hot glue sueding. (All of which I would be terrified to do. o___________O) But I've also heard wonderful things about her, so.... *Shrug* See how it goes? XD

 

Irishta,
I haven't had such trouble with Bobobie. Wait times with both my Bobobies were between one and two months. Shinta was delayed because the face up artist had a sick kid. Of course this is especcially serious witht he one child policy over there and understandable. Communication generally is quick, sometimes holidays are in between or they're sometimes too busy to respond right away. My experience is, also looking at feedback and such, BBB is reliable.

Hello_EvA, yes, that is quite important.

 

Haha,.. well I did


Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
yes

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
yes, from custom house

What the experience like if so?
Well actually it went well. I ordered the mold by an authorised dealer though. So if it would turn out bad at least I'd have my money back. They delivered in time and the dealer had put her together for me.
I can't thank them enough but I must say that a had a few frightening nights still, hihi

And lastly why would you buy?
I was in love with this perticalur mold. I have been searching for the perfect mold for a character and she was it.
I couldn't get her out of my mind. It was either that mold or I had to clay her myself.
Cause of the troubles with CH there werent much gabymolds on the secondmarket as well.
I am lucky, some are still waiting even though they ordered a year before me.
I don't regret my choice at all.

 

It depends on the warnings.

When I got into this hobby it was normal to wait 3-4 months for a doll, so long wait times are something I can live with. Manufacturing faults or shoddy customer service really put me off, though, because I am a magnet for bad luck and I wouldn't want to risk it.

The only time I have bought from a company I was warned about in some way was when I first got into the hobby and was told that Dollmore clothing was sub-standard in quality. I dithered about ordering from them for a while, and then eventually tried it. I was lucky: by then they had improved standards, and while Dollmore clothing will never be as top shelf as, say, Dollheart, it is good value for the price paid, and I was happy with my order.

 

I was like this with Leekeworld. I was semi-all set to buy from them around Christmas because I fell in love with their wig selection. Later on (because I didn't get any doll stuff for Christmas after all) I noticed people were discussing a Leeke wig someone had purchased. Many people were saying that Leeke's quality had gotten much poorer, and a lot of their stuff is hit or miss now.

As much as I love Leeke's wigs, and their selection of other accessories, I don't want to buy from them until I see more reports of constantly good products being put out again. Unfortunately, most of the people around me find my doll hobby foolish, and I'm more or less trying to walk a tightrope; I'm doing my best to provide these people with as many positive instances as I can, so that they can't have their beliefs reaffirmed with one or two things going bad. Ordering doll clothes that turn out to be of poor quality, or a hassle to fix, will only reaffirm their beliefs that this hobby is stupid/a waste of time and resources.

AKA: Accentuate the positives.

 

The problems with certain generations of Pullip and Taeyang dolls are rather infamous. Everyone knows that it's only a matter of time before the ankles break on the boys and the wrists snap on the girls. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying two of the most problematic ones. When you fall in love with a doll there is nothing that can stop you from truly wanting it right? ^^

 

While I have yet to buy a doll from a company that I've heard anything bad about, depending on what the "warnings" were, if I wanted it, I'd buy it. Long wait time? No problem. I've already spent the time on layaway or saving, I can wait longer. Good chance of missing or damaged dollie? Nooooooope! Company thats resin yellows badly? I'm pretty ok with that as I like yellowed dollies more generally. Company thats resin is potentially hazardous? No way!

It all depends on what the "warnings" are.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?

Depends on the problem. Long wait times don't phase me- although the poor person running the DM split might have something to say.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?

No. I don't like to gamble. I mean if people aren't dolls *coughRingdoll* then I will wait. I have taken chances on new companies and those with little or no feedback though.

What the experience like if so?

I haven't tried it yet.

And lastly why would you buy?

Well, if the problem the company is happening is average then there isn't much to worry about. Things like disappearing off the face of the planet- not so much....

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It depends on what the problems with the company are, and how much I love the doll i'm looking to buy.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
I actually did purchase a head from Glorydoll, even after reading their terrible reviews.
I also ordered from Ringdoll right when their orders were starting to go bad, so... I ran into problems despite the company having good reviews at the time :/

What the experience like if so?
For Glorydoll, it was a little less painful than expected. I ran into problems making the bank transfer to them (their paypal wasn't working at the time), but my wait time wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Overall if they came out with another sculpt I fell in love with, then I would go through the trouble to order from them again.

With Ringdoll on the other hand... I ordered a Shao under the assumption (judging from wait times at that time) that he would be my first doll. 5 months later after countless problems with postage and customs sending the package back, he actually ended up being my 5th doll. His head was also significantly more yellow than his body, and they sent me the wrong size eyes with him. It was such a nightmare I would honestly not go near them again with a ten foot pole.

And lastly why would you buy?
Like I mentioned before, if I loved a sculpt enough, I would probably go through the trouble to get my hands on it.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
If the problem is quality control, then I prefer to buy some dolls from certain companies on the secondary market (where the problems are clear and not a surprise). If the problem is waiting, then I can deal with that without any problems. If the issue is non-delivery of items, poor customer service, poor communication, or overall lack of quality, then I won't buy from the company.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Yes, I have done so several times (Glorydoll, Spiritdoll, etc) and I have also bought from small studios who had no feedback at all. Sometimes even a reputable company can eventually run into issues, but as long as they aren't prolonged (e.g. Dollfair, CCC, etc) and show changes for the better then I think it's a good sign.

What the experience like if so?
The experiences with each was fine on all accounts. Sometimes the communication was strained, but in the end I got the items within the properly stated turnaround time. The quality of the items wasn't lacking and I got replies to messages eventually.

And lastly why would you buy?
If I want the item badly enough and I know what the quality will be, then I don't mind waiting at all.

 

It all depends on what the warnings are. If it's related to quality of product, then I would not buy the doll. There are so many companies out there with so many different sculpts that I am sure I'd be able to find another doll I'll like just as much. I worry and stress easily, so setting myself up for possible issues with a doll company is just not worth it to me no matter how wonderfully beautiful the doll is.

If the warnings are about wait times only, I'd get the doll, if the wait is under 4 months. Anything over 4 months is unreasonable to me. A lot of companies that went bad started out with longish wait times and the problems just escalated from there. I wouldn't want to risk it. I can always get the doll once the company catches up and wait times improve; or, I can find another doll to buy - there's always something on my wish list, so that won't ever be a problem

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
I don't mind semi-long wait times, but if they're over 3 months, I would be less likely to buy a doll because I've noticed that I'm somewhat fickle and I hate to lose interest before the doll even gets here. If people aren't getting their dolls or the quality is bad, I would avoid them. Also, if I have doubts about a company but still want to buy one of their dolls, I'd buy through a dealer if possible.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned? What the experience like if so?
Right after I ordered Pan and Valo, Ringdoll started having problems with communication and shipping speed. I believe it took about 5 months for me to get my dolls. Pan was in great condition, but I think they may have used different types of resin for my Valo's body and head plus his face-up wasn't like promo pics/other owner pics. However, the Valo head was free so I can't complain too much.

And lastly why would you buy?
If a company has something extremely unique, I might buy it despite warnings.

 

There are so many doll sites out there with horror stories on all of them...I would consider the quality of the doll and reputation of the company. As far as a wait time...I would wait as long as it takes if its what I really wanted. The dolls are not cheap, and if impatience is one of your weaknesses, then you may have to give up quality for instant gratification. Not always tho. I got a doll head from DT in less than 3 weeks and it is magnificent. Its a scary passion, but oh so rewarding.