Doll Companies' Selling Tactics: Does it influence your buying decision?

Recently it definately has affected my buying habits. I sort of had it in my head that I wanted a certain sculpt for some time, but felt no urgency to buy until the recent news of it's discontinuation.

I didn't have to think long before jumping out on a limb to get him.

I DO prefer to plan out my doll buying, and I don't like having to make snap decisions like that, but under the circumstances, I realized I really did want to own this particular sculpt, regardless of the business decisions of the owner.

 

sometimes it may be strategic, sometimes it may not.

for example, last year, for my first doll, i wanted a kid delf somi. she was out of stock so i just assumed she'd be coming back in stock since no announcement was made. this was around july/august.

so i went ahead and got a kid delf jeong head with the money instead, and planned to get somi at a later date.

somi never came back in stock. infact, months later, they announced it (this must have been around december) that is no selling tactic. if they HAD announced it, i would have bought her there and then, but they didnt. i cant see what profit that has for them. furthermore, jeong was discontinued, but her head was available in the option parts for a long time.

honestly, i dont know what to think of it. i'm sure LUTS had their reasons but...why cant they tell us? it would certainly clear things up.

and now with afghan from dollshe possibly on the ropes im in the same situation i was back then. i didnt realise 3 of my 9 planned dolls would be discontinued. and that isnt much of a tactic either because i just didnt have $600 in the few weeks notice that was given. and even then its cryptic as to whether she's coming back or not.

now i find myself wanting to buy all my dolls quickly becuse im afraid theyll be discontinued. i dont even want an afghan right now, she's the last doll in my story, but if she is discontinued the longer i leave putting up a WTB thread the less chance ill have of getting her.

maybe they feel its ok because they werent big sellers in the first place? (somi/jeong/afgha) but that just means they were and are harder for me to aquire now. as far as i am aware there is only myself and one other person who is active on the boards and owns a somi. i feel lucky i had one offerd to me in the end but anyone else who wanted her is going to have a very, very hard time

 

I don't like to be "pressured" into buying something, but if a doll I really wanted was going to be discontinued I'd buy it, even if it was a selling tactic, even if I was a bit aprehensive about it or not ready yet. Even if I don't like how a company acts I'd still buy dolls from them. Yes... it sounds awful, I know, but I'd regret not buying the doll of my dreams because of something like that.

I see the situation in a practical way, if the product doesn't sell enough it's discontinued... if they want to keep a doll limited to increase its value or make it more "special" it's a tactic like any other... so what? It's a business after all, no matter how emotionaly involved people get it's still a business. They need profit to keep providing us our lovely dollies, they need to have trump cards to remain competitive. Like the french say: C'est la vie!

It hasn't affected my purchases yet but it could...

 

Well it certainly DID affect my buying plans. I'd planned to get a Dollshe Van, I had fallen hopelessly in love with it, and I *had* the money for it. But then they discontinued it. And I just didn't want to start this hobby with a discontinued line of dolls. What if I needed a new set of hands or whatever at a later time? and just couldn't get it.

I know that MAY happen to other companies as well, but again, since this was my first ever doll, it had a huge impact on what I eventually chose to buy.

I still want Van though *sigh* as much as I love Sevvie, there was something special about Van.

 

Sure - it has affected my decisions. At one point I started worrying Catsy would be discontinued, so since I had always wanted her I bought her (soon after she was discontinued). Bambicrony Elves are available for such a short time - it sort of forces you to act if you love one. And Unoa orders need to be planned for (in my case by not buying other dolls). All different situations but all definitely affecting my buying.

Carolyn

 

It has actually affected my buying. I wanted Ani elf twins in BW from Luts and they are gone. Luts in general has sliped from my favor lately because of some of their policies. But that's not to say I'll never buy from them again.

I think it does leave a sour taste in consumers mouths when too much of this happens.

 

I greatly dislike a lot of practices used by doll companies regularly. (the practices mentioned here, among others I will not mention for the sake of brevity.) And it does affect buying patterns, both mine and many of my friends'.

The way the market is always changing, and promises made by companies is broken (We will eventally release... -and item is never seen. or We will never release... - and then the item is released shortly after. or This is a standard and will remain available - and suddenly discontinued.) If there is something you need or want, this practice forces people to buy right away. It has caused me to buy dolls I could have and maybe should have waited on as quickly as I could so as not to loose them. Many of my friends have also picked up the habit of "see good doll, buy NOW as it might not be there tomorrow." This is fine when we all have the money, but it's sad that everything has to be a flash descision. I know it works for the companies, but it's still not what I consider an ethical practice.

Now, I'm looking for bodies for 2 of my heads, and I refuse to be brought in by these techniques. I'm waiting and if the things I want are discontinued, then that company just lost my sale. If they come out with the right body at the right time, they will make a sale.

Really, it's not one company. A lot of them are doing this: discontinuing, releasing what they said they never would... and those things give me pause when I think of ordering a new doll. My trust in the doll companies is all but lost, honestly. I love my dolls, but there is an increasingly large number of companies I would prefer not to do business with.

 

Yes, but not in the same way as mentioned above.

When I buy a doll, I want to choose the wig and eyes. Companies that indicated random wigs or eyes immediately make me question if I wanted to buy from them. I don't want to keep around some ugly wig and a pair of shoddy eyes I will never use. It's a waste. Granted, I will buy new wigs, and most likely new glass eyes for some dolls, but that's not the point. I'd rather pay a little more for quality glass eyes and a nice wig than for some randomness that makes me guess what will arrive.

As for dolls that go out of production, it's unfortunate in some cases, but I always try to think that it will mean that a new and better sculpt will emerge. Sometimes it does, but sometimes it doesn't. Either way, the general "look" of BJDs often results in a lot of overlap between companies so it is entirely possible to still get that look from a competitor.

 

I think it really effect buying decision of people who have some intension to buy that particular to-be-discontinued doll. However, for people who do not think of buying that doll anyway --> there is no need to buy it right?


Building on from ur topic:

I'm not sure if this is really one of doll selling tactics for doll company or not but it does not seem to be a good tactics at all since it's not long-term. Companies can build volume during the announcement period but what about the next 6 months or 1-2 years later - they cannot sell their discontinued line again.

Well, probably the discontinued line is not so good in term of sales and return on investment? Probably companies might think that they discontinued some line so they have more available time and workers to do best sell line and having more sales from more orders ^ ^

 

I think that so far, it hasn't changed my plans for dolls, but I can see where it might in the future. When I go to buy dolls(or anything really) I have to wait a while, and try to talk myself out of it before I buy it, so if it was to be discontinued I'd be upset (as I am with the dollshe boys), but I know that in the end there'll be other dolls that I love, and it's probably my fault for waiting so long. In the end, I feel like...as much as I love them, they're still just dolls and it's not worth bankrupting myself, even if I am going to kersplode without it.

That being said, my doll habit has influenced other people's spending. My poor friend keeps having to put off his next doll purchase to make sure that he has money for my birthday doll head when the migidoll order opens, and I'm starting to feel really bad. I think the whole taking orders at only a certain time thing is genius as a marketing tactic, because it really does force people to plan their money for your release, instead of just having a few impulse buys here and there.

 

Chibyakko has brought up a sore point w/me: the unreliability of these Asian bjd companies. Here in the US, & thru most of Europe, if a company posts notice of intent to do something, they follow through ... because they MUST. But Asian companies seem to have no such standards to meet or adhere to, and no penalties if they don't, so it's nothing but unregulated chaos, dependent on the goodwill of the owner(s) of the business entirely for honoring business transactions. A good example is a recent purchase by a JS forum member, who ordered a doll in a certain specific resin from one of the companies - & they sent her a French white skin doll, and made NO apologies about it, nor did they offer to refund her money, or to give her a discount. It wasn't a mistake; the only one of that model they had was this one, so they just up & sent it. No attempt to contact her to ask if she would take it anyway, nothing. Just: here it is, be glad you got it, now go away. WTF? I find it hard to believe none of these Asian countries where most of these companies operate have NO standards or restrictions concerning consumer rights at all. I mean, I don't expect it from someplace like North Korea, to be sure, but from China, Japan, & S. Korea, I certainly do. Yet these companies all act as if they operate outside the law of consumer rights. What I don't understand is, why is it tolerated? Surely their Asian customers don't have the same lassez-faire attitude towards how they're treated, any more than US consumers do? Or is this an attitude on the part of the companies specifically oriented towards their non-Asian customers, because they know these customers are too far away to readily access anyplace to complain about their business practices, or force them to honor them? I comment on this only because a point was made in a previous, long-ago thread that indicated Asian & Western customers have entirely different viewpoints, the Westerners feeling, for example, that a company that advertises X doll should at least have them in stock, or cease advertising them, while the Asians seemed to feel that the more difficult it was to get something, the more status it had, and they didn't seem to object to mercurial business dealings on the part of these companies.

Comments from anybody in Asia more familiar with these issues then I am?

 

There is more than one company right now that is pumping out a new doll every week it seems like. They are all gorgeous and I would love to have each and every one of them, but there is just no way for me to keep up at this pace.

This has affected my buying in one particular way, in that...totally unable to keep up with the pace of the new releases, I try to find personal flaws in the new releases so that I won't want them. Those that I continue to desire are the ones I need to plan for getting.

Right now...that government check for $600 can't come fast enough!

 

Regardless of what the doll companies are spitting out, it does not aggressively influence me. I don't buy on a whim; I research, compare, and make sure what I'm after is what I want. A doll company might release something I plan to buy at one point or another, but that is hardly a deviation from the normal process of buying a doll. More dolls being released means to me, more selection. Perhaps another side effect is that while some people are pulled into this trend, that the feedback they leave can possibly expose untrustworthy companies before I have to fret about them. So generally, the effects of these 'buy now' tactics benefits slow, reasoning me.

 

I think most of that is a gross blanket stereotyping of all Asian doll companies based on one bad experience that your friend had. Not to mention that looking at "Asian countries" as one gigantic entity overlooks a lot of complexities of each individual nation you're referring to.

I think there's a bell curve when it comes to just about anything: there will always be a majority that are in the middle, with a small number on the high end of the scale with outstanding reputations, and another small number at the other end with a lousy reputations. Not to say that those companies that knowingly deceive their customers are excused because of this trend, but we all know that no matter what, there's both good and bad out there.

While I can't speak for companies in China or Korea, I can say that in Japan, customer service is a HUGE deal for companies, to the extent that it dictates how one even speaks or gestures to a customer. This isn't to say they're perfect, but it's far from the unregulated chaos you speak of. The most important thing in a sour transaction, mainly, is to civilly communicate your problem and what you'd like done to fix it, without resorting to insults or capslock rage. And if you can, email the company ahead of time to confirm that the doll you want is actually in stock -- I think that despite the popularity of dolls overseas, a lot of times it seems that the English-language websites for some companies aren't always as up to date as the native-language versions.


Back on the main topic, somewhat, I've been trying (unsuccessfully) not to get attached to any more dolls on company sites. I'm a little put off my the way that Volks has practically become Limiteds-only, but I don't think that would stop me from one day getting one of their FCS dolls. And really, it's all up to the company to decide whether they'd like to continue producing a doll or not. I'm mostly happy with smaller companies, because, as BunnyDots said, you tend to be ale to communicate with them more, and they're much more accommodating.

 

I dislike the big mysteries behind many BJD companies. You never know what will be released and when, so there is lots of missed opportunities due to not having enough money at the right time, or not being online at the right time. I have become an extremely cautious buyer and find myself second-guessing and over-researching when a new doll comes out. But by the time I am ready and able to buy a doll or item it has already sold out, and there is another mystery as to whether it will be stocked again or gone forever. This tactic is great for the company since it creates a panic rush to buy the doll, but it leaves out those who couldn't afford it at the time or weren't on the website during the sales period. These companies seem to cater towards those who will easily buy something on a whim, which is a very dangerous practice.

Because of all this, I refuse to buy limited dolls. I will only go for the basic ones and hope that the limited ones I like eventually become basics. (But then again all basics are limiteds in their own way, right?)

 

I'm not from Asia, so I can't speak for them.

However, what you've mentioned has not been my experience. No matter what country you buy from, if you buy often enough statistically speaking you will run the chance of a bad experience--My worst customer service experience in this hobby was with a US company, so you never can tell. You also tend to hear about the bad experiences, since people need and want to vent about them or ask advice. However, there are far far far more successful transactions going on than bad.

These also tend to be small companies and may not have the resources as larger companies do. I'm not making excuses for poor customer service--customer service is important. However, I don't think the issues are as wide spread as you imply.

Also wanted to add: Outside of this hobby I've run into bad customer service at the post office, at restaurants, and at stores--it can happen anywhere.

 

Do you count "having extremely excellent & seductive stock-photos" as a dirty selling tactic? If so, then yes. If not, then no, selling tactics don't affect my decisions too much. When I really want a certain doll, they don't have to make any future promises to me... they barely have to have very good stock-photos. I know what I want, so I'm already sold. Advertising & sales-patterns are moot, by that point.

I never care if the doll I'm buying will be restocked in the future, or if it'll be cancelled in the future. I don't think it's any company's responsibility to care about how we feel when something sells out or is discontinued... if I snooze, I lose, and that's business. They're not responsible for my indecision, my connectivity, my finances, none of it. Nobody owes me that doll. If you won't be online at the time of sale, grab a friend to try for you. If you miss the sale event, stalk the secondhand market. Even better: wait about 2 months, then stalk the DOA marketplace where flocks of those limiteds will appear, as soon as X% of owners have gotten tired of them. All that time spent lamenting business-ethics could've been spent finding that doll somewhere else.

(But don't get me wrong-- there's always time for a quick little venting scream of "Waaaaah!!! He's sold ouuuut!! Now I have to go on YJ!!" ^^)

Uh, yeah, exactly. That's half the thrill of the hunt!

But the Chase isn't in everyone's blood, I suppose.

 

I have a list of dolls I like, if one is no longer available (for any number of reasons), then I either move on or find it in the auctions.
And sometimes, this can be a good thing, as when you have to go the extra step to get the doll you want, you think more about what you really want and give yourself time to find other dolls that fit better.
Really, a company can only pressure you if you allow yourself to be pressured.