Buying a doll despite the 'warnings'.

I have a list of companies I won't be buying from based on how long people have waited, the lack of communication provided to the customer, and the quality and correctness of the orders shipped. Even if a doll holds some appeal, I'll move on to something else. There hasn't been more than a couple dolls from those companies who I really fell for anyway, and I don't feel like my dolly world will end without them.

 

Oh, how I've been debating this with ringdoll lately. Normally I would say yea, I would...but given the problems going on with RingDoll, I don't think I'm going to purchase from them, which saddens me, as I've had my eyes on a Pan for quite some time.

I did buy my island doll Amy despite warnings, however, about their pose-ability. She is a little wobbly, and doesn't stand very well. But alas, I do love her dearly. Such things can be fixed with a bit of string tightening and sueding whenever I get around to it. =]

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
No, never. If I'm warned, it's not in vain, so I take those warnings and advices into consideration and if I find them trustworthy, I totally avoid the company -or the user-.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
I can't think of a situation like this, but if I've done so is because I disregarded those warnings because I didn't find them trusty enough.

Since I don't recall, I cannot answer properly to the other questions but I hope this was helpful

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It would depend on the reason for the warnings, but I don't really see why not if I really want the doll

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Yep, I bought a Custom House Marco in their Xmas time service event last year

What the experience like if so?
Actually astonishingly good. I only had to prod them a couple of times about it and he ended up arriving with me within a couple of months or thereabouts, which is how long I expect to wait for a company doll. But then, my first ever wait was DoD and my second was held up for months when China had all those blizzards a couple of years back so I guess I'm just used to waiting

And lastly why would you buy?
The reason I bought the Marco was because he was a gift for a friend who really wanted a BJD and the price was too good to pass up - it was low enough that if something did go wrong I was willing to suck up the loss. If the doll was particularly well priced or if I wanted it enough then I'd be willing to take the risk, but it would have to be very calculated and thought out, not just dropping $1k on a doll on impulse or something

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
Yes, I like challenges !

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Yes, I bought a Hoshino Mitsuki from Glorydoll.

What the experience like if so?
Not so bad. I bought him at December 27th and he arrived at March 14th. I think the wait was reasonable.

And lastly why would you buy?
Hoshino Mitsuki was my dream doll. When I saw Glorydoll restocked him, I didn't think, I just clicked on the "buy" button. But I'm so happy with my pretty boy now *-*

 

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

It depends on the amount and the nature of bad feedback given. If a company has a lot of customers complaining about poor quality and bad communication, I will be worried and probably not want to order anymore. On the other hand, seeing a complaint or two about wait times won't usually deter me.

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

Not really. All my dolls come from people and companies with good feedback-- although last summer I ordered a Buddydoll, and things were very slow for the company at that time.

What the experience like if so?

There was almost no recent feedback for Buddydoll (but what they did have was good), and even their Q&A board was a bit of a graveyard. I was pretty nervous, but went ahead with a big order anyway (full doll, floating head, wigs, clothes, boots, the works).

They made me wait a long time (much longer than their site estimated), and the custom face-up I had asked for was really not what I wanted... but on they whole, they came through, and now I absolutely love everything I have from them. I was so sad when they folded, and still feel very guilty for whining about the face-up and some minor things in my DoA feedback.

And lastly why would you buy?

The usual motives: hysterical infatuation and a good price. But bad feedback effects me like a cold, sobering shower.

 

It's funny that you(the OP)mention Glorydoll Louis, because when reading the topic title, I immediately thought of my Louis! I ordered one in spite of the warnings, it was pretty nerve wracking xD But after three months he was home, which isn't even that long considering wait times from companies like Soom, Fairyland and Dollshe(but this was two years ago). Unforunately, his foot broke not even a day after, but when I send photo's to Glorydoll, they send me two new feet, free of charge. They are a sweet company, just a bit slow XD And their English is not very good. 'We will send him last week' ...wait, does Glorydoll HQ have a time machine?! Is the Doctor there?!

But not to turn this into a Glorydoll review..I bought because Louis was unlike any other doll and I wanted him. Also, though there had been warnings about them being slow and such, I hadn't heard of anyone really never getting a doll. I would do it again if it was just the long waiting time, just be prepared and try to 'forget' about the doll as soon as you've ordered, it will come quicker than expected. I'd love to have a Rosette girl, and they have pretty long wait times too! But I wouldn't order from a company that is known to have faulty products or scam people.

 

I don't imagine myself to ever buy from a company with a bad reputation or anything like that. Unless their dolls were five dollars, then I guess it might be worth it. XD But I would try to stick with companies that had no warnings.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It depends on the problems that is warned 6_6 If the problems are something like delays, then it's still a minor problem but if the problem is the quality(product or customer service), sorry, I'm never to go any nearer to that company =_=

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
So far the potential problems that I find out about DOD happens in the past and the current feedbacks from the customers are quite good so there is no reason that I would give up my Petsha n__n

What the experience like if so?
I think trust is important, you have to trust that the company will make you a lovely doll and you'll feel better n__<

And lastly why would you buy?
Because, I love the doll and the company's reputation is fine n__6

 

I think I'm too optimistic when it comes to this. Things do go wrong in companies and sometimes quality control can slip, but that can happen with any product. Maybe I haven't been around long enough to hear all the horror stories so I'm being naive. The only one I've heard of so far is the delays with Ringdoll and I'll be honest I really love their sculpts and I guess I'm trying to say I would buy a doll despite the warnings. This could end badly for me!

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
If potential problems were not really serious (Like lost or extremely too weak BJD), I think I would take the risk.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
I have never heard big warnings about the companies I bought at so I would say "No".

What the experience like if so?
If that happened to me I think it would be hard like the step to take.

And lastly why would you buy?
Because I really love and want to own the BJD I would be going to buy.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It really depends on what the problems are. Long wait times really don't bother me; I can be patient so long as I know my order was successful and my dolly is on his/her way. However, if I hear a lot of horror stories about dolls arriving broken after being poorly packaged, or missing parts, or having poor resin quality ((bumps, bubbles, etc.)) I may have to rethink it.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
I haven't, but I plan to.

And lastly why would you buy?
A while back a saw a thread posted about problems with a company that involved seam sanding on a tanned doll and several people seconded on the thread saying they have had "quality control" problems with the same company. However, the mold I had my eye on is so interesting and handsome that I simply cannot resist. That, and I had not planned on buying a tanned version so the seam sanding issue really would not apply.

 

Well, I didn't realise how stubborn I could get about dolls, until I saw lati white basic Belle! Despite EVERYONE telling me that the lati white was horrible for posing, and everyone suggested getting a different body or hybrid with pukipuki etc, I still went ahead and ordered her. Yes, even after hearing all those opinions, I guess I'm just too in love with how tiny she is. The doll hasn't arrived yet, so here's to hoping I won't be regretting my decision too soon! (though I kind of am expecting to regret hahah, if that makes sense. But I'll still love her all the same!)

 

I'm not really fond of buying things I haven't seen. With BJDs, that's just how it goes, and you are paying quite a lot of money for them too. If I'm going to entrust a company with a heap of money paid in advance, I want to be as sure as I can that they will deliver. So no, I wouldn't buy from a company of which I know that it is a bit dodgy, or doesn't wrap its items properly, or doesn't have decent quality control.

Like others have mentioned, waiting times are a different matter. It suffices to hang around any BJD forum for a while to know that a) you aren't going to receive a pre-ordered doll within a week and that b) even if there is a standard waiting time, you have to live with the fact that it may take a bit longer than anticipated for your doll to make it to your home.

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
When possible, I prefer not to. If buying second-hand is an option then I'd rather go that route 100%. However, it's not always possible...for reasons explained by my experience down below.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Yes. A few months back I ordered a Wong kitty from Camellia Dynasty. The company was at the time going through some customer service trouble and at first I tried waiting it out to see how those issues got resolved. Actually, I don't remember if they did get resolved, but I eventually made the plunge and ordered her through email once they were restocked.

What the experience like if so?
I let the company know that I was interested in one of their kitties (they were out of stock at the time), and communication was somewhat prompt. I got a reply maybe a week or two afterwards, letting me know that they would let me know once they were back in stock. Sure enough they let me know when they were, and I ordered. Long story short: even though they told me the waiting time was X number of weeks (might have been 2 or 3, I can't remember exactly) I actually waited a couple weeks longer than that estimate--that was the only worst part of the transaction. The whole experience was actually fairly smooth otherwise.

And lastly why would you buy?
I had no other choice. I think the sculpt was still considered completely off-topic at the time and I wasn't expecting to see it appear on Ebay and what not, so my best bet was to risk it and order through the company. I'm very glad I did, too.

 

I would heed warnings about quality, if the dolls fall apart etc, and be cautious about communication warnings. Sometimes people over react, sometimes the company doesn't have someone who understands English very well or a faulty translation service. That being I've pretty much dealt with a local dealer for my dolls but I just sent back a doll for repairs and the company fixed him for free and sent him home via overnight shipping.

If it's general not liking the brand/sculpt/look stuff they can sit on it. Had I gone with the "don't buy that ugly thing" opinions I wouldn't have Xavier, wouldn't have entered a photo contest, wouldn't have won the twins, and wouldn't be celebrating our fifth anniversary together.

 

Really depends on the warning I guess. Sometimes there are temporary, like the rush period during the festive season so the quality control drops. So I will just buy it after all that mad rush. And if there is one horribly bad feedback about on seller and 20 excellent feedbacks, I'll just assume there is an unknown third party invovled that remains a mystery to this day and go ahead and order.
I'll probably cry my eyes out if I receive something terrible. But I will set reasonable standards so I won't get my hopes ccrushed for no reason. Fixables are well, fixables. And who knows, fixing the doll can let me bond with her more, can't it?

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It depends on what the warnings are. If it's something like "a long wait time"; I'd have to decide if I was willing to wait. Long is such a subjective term that one person's unbearable wait might be situation normal for someone else. I've preordered dolls before and had between 1 to 6 months of waiting between a debut and the dolls shipping, so it's not a new thing for me.

If it was something like shoddy workmanship, horrible packaging, bad communication or past problems with nondelivery; then no. I don't have so much $$ laying around that I'm willing to risk throwing it away with nothing to show for it, so....

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Not so far.

What the experience like if so?
N/A

And lastly why would you buy?
It would have to be a combination of not being able to buy the doll anywhere else and the warnings being "minor".

 

Would you buy from a company after being warned of potential problems?
It depends on the problems. This also goes for dealers or sellers. If the issue was something not too bad and I HAD to have the items (doll or accessories) then yes, I would. But if it is something serious, like bootlegging dolls, quality issues, poor packing/shipping, horrible customer service, extremely long wait times (anything over 3 months is too long for me), then no. I work too hard for my doll money to throw it away on a doll that may show up broken, falling apart or not at all.

Have you ever bought a doll from a company despite being warned?
Not a doll, but I have bought from a seller that had a negative feedback/warning thread here.

What the experience like if so?
In the case of this seller, they were nothing but nice, excellent communication and I got my items and freebies with them. It was actually one of the best transactions I've ever had. They only had issues from one buyer (if I remember correctly), so I'm thinking that may have been a personal issue and not a problem with the seller.

And lastly why would you buy?
I would only buy if he feedback was regarding slightly longer wait times or something very simple. Anything major, like I listed above, I would not buy, probably not even second hand.