'Expecting' Gift/Event heads: Have we developed an entitlement attitude?

People definately have entitlement attitudes around the holidays!

I had to deal with annoying retail customers askind silly questions all the time!

"Do y'all have any more sales or freebies? Can you give me a discount since I'm uying X amount?

LMFAO!

 

I bought a Fairyland Cali the Friday before their first event started. I was sure I'd missed out on the head and was kicking myself, especially as I loved the head. Meanwhile, Cali arrived and so did the event head. I've loved Fairyland for doing that ever since and sent them a big thank you via their Q&A. The event head is about to get a face-up, a name and has a Luts body on it's way next week (it seemed to small for a fairyland body or I would have bought one).

I have also bought other dolls during events and sold the head, mainly to offset the cost of the original doll. Even if I sell it for a fraction of the cost of a normal head, it still helps with shipping. Most people who buy the heads are wanting them, I know I would have picked up the Fairyland event head if they hadn't sent it. As both a buyer and seller, I figure it works both ways. It gives people a chance to get heads/dolls they wouldn't otherwise be able to get and gives the seller a chance to recoup some of the cost of their doll by parting with a head or gift that may not necessarily suit their tastes.

I love to shop at Xmas amongst all the company deals and save my money up for it from June as do quite a few people who have been in this hobby for a while. I don't think people will necessarily get annoyed with a company for not doing a special. I noticed Soom don't appear to be doing their Xmas kits this year, but it means that people will probably go for the companies making the extra offers. Of course, Soom are probably so busy trying to get out all their monthly dolls this year that they can't afford to offer the kits. As a Soom MD addict, I've probably helped contribute to this situation. I feel happy they're doing so well as I've thought Soom a wonderful company for ages, rather than resentful we're not getting the cheaper kits. If there weren't any more Xmas specials, then being realistic, most of my money would be spent on other things than dolls at this time of the year.

 

I love Xmas events. It is not because I feel "entitled" but because I can always be persuaded to buy another doll.
I had sold a my Peakswood Goldie to buy a Wakeup Goldie it happened to be around November and I thought I wonder if they are going to do any events. I emailed Pan who happens to be the sweetest person ever and she told me about not only their Xmas even but about their 6th Anniversary. Because of the event I not only got a doll (I purchased) I was dying to purchase but I got my wakeup Goldie(head for free event your choice as a gift). I was only going to be able to buy the head originally. I cannot tell you how happy I was especially since I had purchased a body in a split before to buy Skiya. So now I have both, well soon still shipping.
On another note my Goldie I sold was my Xmas gift from my hubby, he bought me her in June( She was a LE and had to be bought then or I would not get her). He buys me a doll every year and I love that better than if he went and bought me a bunch of expensive clothes or jewelry. I know he is gonna spend the money it mind as well be on something I want, right?
And if someone sells their event head so what, then someone who couldnt order gets a head they really wanted. I see that as a win win.
I wanted to add that Peakswood also contacted everyone who purchased the month before to send them a event head which I thought was so nice.

 

*nods* i get all my beading and jewelry supplies from Fire Mountain, and they always include a little surprise gift with your order--anything from a fridge magnet to findings and beads to a cool tote bag. They're the only USA company I deal with that has ever done that. (--I admit, I think that makes them kinda special; I always look forward to finding it in the box.)

And just to toss in my experience: when I ordered Min from AoD this week, I was delighted to see they were running a free face-up event for December. I would have bought him regardless, but seeing that I could have an unexpected goodie just for the asking definitely put an added shiny bow on the box. Do I feel a little warmth toward AoD now? I'd have to say I do. So, assuming there are no issues with Min, they'll have taken a step toward making me a repeat customer. Which I guess is the bottom line with these offers: of course they're aimed at generating business, but they're also genuinely nice and they do make your transaction happier.

 

Customer appreciation is part of the reason why so many companies decide on events and free giveaways during the holidays.

The other, more likely, reason is to get in favour of the customers and to stay competitive.

If I can get a freebie from one company that I love equally as another company that doesn't offer events, I'm going with the former.
I expect companies to be competitive, especially with so many of them in such a small industry of high retail prices. The companies will still make money, maybe even more with more customers coming for the events.

If they suddenly don't then I think it's normal to feel offended. Like you have said, if a child finds no Christmas present one year, but this gets a present every year, this child will be VERY ANGRY at the parents.
It is normal for relatives and families to give gifts, and has always been in some parts of the world as far as civilization goes. Suddenly stopping means either A)that relative have come into trouble and is too poor B)that relative no longer wants to please you. They don't care about you anymore and don't want to spread the cheers.

Expectations, YES. If companies don't have events, the consumers will still buy their goods, but they will wonder why there is nothing special this year.

I don't understand why you wish someone will lie to you about how the business companies and consumers interact... It's normal even for companies to give gifts to employees to give the employees a reason to keep working for them. So why not in the doll industry?

 

*thumbs up*
well said. Couldn't have put this in better terms.

 

People are going to have different motives for paying attention to what events, gifts, or special offers going on at any given time.

It's the way many people shop for everything -- if I have to replace my television, I wait for a sale, or some special offer with an added warranty or something similar, to do it.

I've heard the argument, "But it's art! It's different!" Well, let me tell you, in the jewelry business my mother and I have on the side, we have customers that come to our studio show and sale every year to pick up things they've seen through the year specifically because we have extra sales and discounts on certain items then, and all of those pieces are one of a kind bits of art, too.

Businesses are trying to sell their product, be it art or tupperware. Having special sales or giveaways is a great incentive to draw in customers. There were a few purchases I made during the events this winter because of the added perks. In one case, a better price on something I planned to buy anyway and would have had to do the same amount of work with either way (Soom Xmas Kit). In another (Souldoll Ignis) it was a matter of getting something -very- nice extra with the purchase that would have been costly, and out of my price range if I waited to buy later rather than buying now. (That dress is a stunner, and I really wanted it -- but the price for it separate is pretty much what I expected, and I wouldn't have been able to justify spending that for it.) Getting it free because I move something I know I want up on the wish list? Sounds like a great deal to me -- and that means this month, Souldoll got that cash instead of someone else who didn't have an offer that was as appealing, or any offer at all.

Yep, it does make a difference -- more to their bottom line than mine, in the end. Would I still buy from these companies at other times with no events or special pricing involved? Absolutely, and I have, gladly. But when there are a number of things on the wish list that say, "You want to bring me home some day," ones that have incentives will take priority. Limited quantity/order periods can do it, and so can, "...and if you pick me from the long list of wonderful things you dream of, you'll also get a bonus!" be it in the form of a lower price, a sale discount, or a present that comes with the purchase.

I don't think we're entitled to any sort of special offers, personally. That companies do it is smart business sense, however, because they know exactly what I'm describing -- when it comes to the battle for limited funds, appealing temptations help.

From that perspective, though, I don't know how much of this is a matter of expecting something for nothing, and how much of it is trying to plan out purchases. If you have an idea that there may be extra incentives to buy at certain times, it's not unreasonable to wait for those times to come around as a customer. Sure, there may be some of us with genuinely unlimited funds, but they are likely very few and far between.

 

I think your question goes with many things not just dolls. It opens up a debate in philosophy. Rhetorically: What makes you think that you are entitled to all of your money? Why not donate? Is there a good reason you are entitle to it?

So as to my thoughts, I think this issue has a broad spectrum. I believe someone has to find a good reason to why they think they are entitled to freebies. I believe that people can become too accustom to yearly promotions.

 

I actually liked how people received event heads and usually out of the blue. I wouldn't mind actually getting one and sometimes hope but I'm not really expecting it. I know a lot of people wait for when that event does happen in order to get one but for me, if it happens, it happens. It's more exciting to see what I could get as a free gift whether or not it be something I'm hoping for. But to bug the company like that? It's really nice that they do it especially with so many orders. So to be giving out some at all is really fantastic! But for people to want the event heads over their dolls... I dunno. ^^; I wouldn't be able to put my doll on hold just for a head, as thrilling as it is to get one. Then again, I like to be surprised instead of knowing.

 

Yeah, my thoughts exactly.

Personally, I love events. My first full doll was an event head. I bought a body, wig, and eyes, which cleared the price minimum for recieving the head. It's awesome to get the chance to get a doll that I love just as much as a standard doll, for much less than normal. It's not like I'm getting it JUST BECAUSE the sale is there, like it's a "gimme" as my mother says, I'm getting it because I'm fond of this company's dolls and want one, and the event makes my plans a whole lot easier.
If people "expect" a gift, there's nothing wrong with that. If the company is known for giving gifts during certain periods, then of course they'll "expect" something, or even be dissappointed if they don't get a gift. As long as they aren't DEMANDING or being outwardly unconsiderate in their dissappointment, then it's not a bad thing.

 

Well, once I ordered from luts and got a free wig. When I ordered again, I did not get a free anything (both were just clothing orders). I wasn't upset or offended that I didn't get anything the second time at all! I think it's a nice suprise when a company includes something extra for you, and shows their appreciation of you as a customer, but they can't always afford to do it, nor do they always have extras in stock.

It's like with another hobby I am in... Tarantula keeping. I ended up with 40+ tarantulas once because every time I ordered, I'd get extra spiders, so it kind of ballooned. Its commonplace of breeders in that hobby to put freebies of more common or less expensive spiders in your order as gifts. I don't know of any hobbies outside of BJD's and bug keeping, in which you get little freebies and extras in orders more often than not.

I don't think it's really appropriate for someone to get upset if they aren't given a freebie in an order. After all, it's just a kindness to you as a customer that is sometimes possible. That it's ever possible at all is really awesome. I think folks should be really grateful that companies will do that at all, let alone as often as it seems to happen!

 

I was really disappointed that Soom didn't do a summer event this year. I only started the hobby in February, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I saw summer sales coming and going from all the other companies and was on pins and needles waiting to see if Soom would do something extra special. I guess since all they really do are limiteds now anyways it would have been difficult to coordinate a summer event giveaway if you didn't already want the sculpt the begin with.

 

I think some of the companies may have painted themselves into corners with events, as now threads often seem to be have a certain amount of complaints about what was/wasn't offered, the rules, etc. I have bought during events, although only on one occasion to get the actual event head (from LUTS). Some event stuff is really cool, like the sword and shield I got from Fairyland (which I have no earthly use for but my grew-up-on-fantasy heart won't let me get rid of ), but for the most part it's things I don't want. It's sweet of Dollmore to stick in postcards and free acrylic eyes and such, but for the most part I'm going to have to get rid of it. One-use stuff like crackers or facial masks I've appreciated more because it's just a nice little touch without requiring me to store anything.

Expectation is fine, and politely worded questions to the company about when they'll be holding events are just fine, too. I think the Korean companies might do themselves a favour by having BBS where the answers to the questions can be seen by all . . . I do find it gets tiring when people seem not only disappointed by event offerings, but indignant. Going "meh, nothing for me this time around" doesn't bother me at all. The "omg, why don't they have this thing that I specifically wanted!" or "why do I have to pay so much to get this free thing" comments get on my nerves. I don't even know if that's a fair reaction on my part or not, but they do. Companies are doing this to get your money, yes, and foster good feelings, but they can't actually read your mind and give you exactly what you want all the time . . .

 

Just a side note, I gotta ask if you've ever seen my doll/Christmas list? I have a lot of items I want, but know that no one's ever going to get me every item on it. So, whether it's predetermined, it's still (to quote Forest Gump) like a box of chocolates; you never know which ones your gonna get.

But more to the point: I don't think it's a sense of entitlement. I think it's a false sense of expectations.

Hear me out. If we keep getting a reward for doing X, then we'll naturally expect a reward for doing X. It's conditioning. If companies never gave people heads, we'd never expect to get "a head". But because some people have gotten heads in addition to their orders, I think it only natural to expect a head again.

But if we go and tell the company "I've been coming to you for years, and I want something free", well that's kind of snobby. I'm sure a lot of people have been going there as long as (general)you have, and aren't asking for stuff. Maybe the store would like to give you something, but it just isn't in the budget to be handing free things out? This is what I would classify as a sense of entitlement.

For me, I've never gotten a free head (so jealous!) but I have gotten free stuff, and I know that a lot of places do give free stuff if you spend X dollars.

But they spell it out for you.

Take Dollmore, for instance. They have a chart and everything that says if you spend over $300 you get something, and so on, and so forth. I'm sure Dollmore isn't the only one, either.

On the other hand, if Dollmore suddenly stopped doing that without telling anyone, I'd be bummed. And I'd consider that justifiable because they didn't tell anyone they were not doing it anymore. I think it's a company's responsibility, in this scenario, to inform the customers.

 

Hmm... well, I can see in a way that people are developing a sort of attitude towards receiving gift/event heads or other free items, but I can somewhat see where people might be coming from.
I mean, damn, these dolls are expensive, surely I deserve a free pair of socks or even a whole 'nother head! xD

But I do think it is somewhat snobbish for people to go about declaring that they deserve such an item. Yeah, sure, you *have* paid enough money to deserve a little something extra, but taking advantage of that just so you can make a quick buck (a quick buck that the very company you received that item from gave up just so they could reward you for your patronage) is a bit... almost rude?

 

I agree.

When I ordered my first doll from Dollmore, I knew I'd be getting something - and I ended up with a lot, I think. A lot I didn't expect. Am I able to find use for any of it? Crackers and stuff like that, yes, but otherwise, no. Not to say I don't love that I got stuff.

It's just that I'd rather not sell any of it, even though I'm not going to do anything with my rose soaps, for example. They're pretty, and I don't want to use them. Like the post cards, and the journal - they're too cool to use.

 

The Christmas season in general is a little lost on me, to be honest.

I mean, I'm one of those people that loves -giving- gifts, but is a bit meh about receiving them. If I want something, I'll go out and get it myself, and I always feel a bit rude about asking for something. That said, my parents have learnt this and often just give me some money and say "Go out and buy what you want for Christmas, then we'll wrap it and put it under the tree." It circumvents my uncomfortableness about receiving presents, lets them feel good because they've got me something, and lets me feel good because it's something I want. As for giving gifts - if I see something at any time of the year that I think X person will want, I generally buy it then give it to them. So the idea of a time specifically designated as the time to give and receive gifts just leaves me a bit puzzled.

The above being said:

To me, doll companies are companies. As much as people want to believe that they're Mom and Pop corporations, at the end of the day, they are companies working within the bounds of their cultures to sell a product. For example, in the Japanese culture, gift-giving is common. You give someone a gift when you go to their house (usually food.) They give you something back to say thankyou for that gift. You go to a store and they might give you something little to say 'Thankyou for buying from my store!" They, and some other asian cultures, have a strong gift-giving tradition.

So as much as it's nice to get something from a company, it really is just another marketing strategy, that stems from the culture. The shop that gives you a present to say "Thankyou for buying from my store!" is actually saying "Thankyou for buying from my store, if you come back, you'll get another freebie." It's something that encourages custom, and return custom as well. This may just be cynicism talking, but I doubt that some companies would get as much custom as they did if they didn't offer something alongside the expensive product they were selling.

As for the customer. If they know that a store is going to be giving something out, they're more likely to buy there. It's like those "Buy two, get one free!" campaigns that stores run. You get something extra for what you've paid, you're more likely to both buy it, and buy more of it than you otherwise would, because your psychology says 'I'm getting a bargain!' If you know a company has an event that occurs at a certain time each year, you're likely to plan for it. And if that event is, say, spend over 'x' dollars and get 'y', then you're more likely to spend over 'x' dollars on stuff you don't really want or need in order to get 'y'. (e.g. I'll chuck in a wig and a few pairs of shoes to break the money barrier.)

At the end of the day, companies only exist to get people to buy their product. They do whatever they can to do so. If people come to expect that a company usually holds an event at a certain time of year, it's only because companies have done so in the past.

As companies depend on consumers for their continued ability to exist - well, I think the consumer is entitled to at least the ability to enquire if an event is being held, so they can plan their purchases around such an event.

 

Well, if freebies are offered, then it would be wrong if you didn't receive them.

But if the company has not offered them, or changes how they offer them in a future event, or fails to predict exactly what each customer wants to receive free . . . well, then I can see people being disappointed, but I don't think in that case the company has done anything particularly wrong.

This isn't just event freebies, either. I've always been taken aback by rather strong negative responses to event LE offerings and such that go along the lines of: "They didn't come out with the exact size and gender of LE that I wanted!" They really can't hit the target every time, folks . . .

 

It has happened to me that a company promised extra free items in a surprise bag during an event, but forgot to include the free stuff. I felt it was almost rude to ask if they could ship me the missing free stuff as the free stuf is kind of like a present and it would be like inviting people over to your birthday party and then ask them were their presents to you are if they didn't bring any. You expect presents, but are you entitled to them? In my case the company offered to ship the free stuff with my next order, so I think no more of it.

I would ask for a refund for items I paid for, but didn't get. Still, it would be kind of hard to refund money for something I paid $0 for.