feedback for DOLKOT

hi everyone. i wrote to dolkot about my concerns, and included the link to this page for them to see, and they wrote back. here is what i wrote:

"hello. i am interested in buying dolkot able. i think you make beautiful dolls. however, i have heard bad reviews recently about the quality of the resin. here is a link to some reviews:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166632

i am concerned because this will be my first doll, and i want the resin and quality of the doll to be good. can i be guaranteed that the doll will come without cracks, thin spots in the resin, and a nice (not yellowed) color? and if it comes with these problems, can it be returned so i can get a nice one?

i would like to know the answer to this before i buy.

thank you so much! ~ cara"

and this is what they wrote back:

" Hi!

I totally understand your feeling that about us.

However, I'm sure that you won't disapointed about our doll!

So, don't worry about it!!

If doll has any problem, we will change it yo new one always!

Thanks,"

sooo...i don't know what to think.

 

So...has anyone purchased a doll from the Dolkot English site since their move to China that has actually been satisfactory?
I was finally planning on picking up a white skin Dolkot boy...but if he's going to come in the color of the doll posted by arashidono...that's not what I want at all! D=

@orphansparrow: Well, of course they're going to say that, they want you to buy their doll. -_- It seems like they're really trying to have quality, but the factory they are getting their dolls cast at now is falling short of expectation--a fact they are aware of, and not too happy about...yet at the same time they don't seem to be saying anything definite about what they are doing to try to make the factory improve their quality. We're totally in the same boat, now! I want an Abel as well, in white...but I was expecting him to be quite pale like the older Dolkot dolls I've seen. I don't feel that I can buy him until I'm sure that Dolkot has solved their resin issues. I'm rather upset about it, too...I wanted to buy an Abel as soon as he was released but I've been putting off buying him for various reasons...and now that I have the money on hand and was actually planning on placing the order, I see all this. T____T

 

we really ARE in the same boat! i have been saving for white skin abel for months. and now i'm like:

what do i do??!

he was to be my first boy, but, same as you, i don't want to buy him looking like a normal skin-tone boy...

i'm still wondering if i should risk it or not. the evidence for that is not very good though.

 

This is so sad to hear..
I was planning to get a Dolkot junior body for one of my floating heads because apparently the resin would match, but after hearing all of this, I don't think it's safe to make such assumptions. -.- Thanks for the info, guys.

 

The evidence does seem to be against the risk right now...and so, as much as it upsets me, I'm not going to be ordering an Abel until their quality most definitely improves, and I see photgraphic evidence of it.
I've been planning the character for this boy for almost two years, now--first he was going to be a Kiss, then when Abel came out he was so perfect I couldn't believe it. I kept putting off buying him in order to get a lot of limiteds, though, and now that there aren't any limiteds I want for the first time in ages I still can't buy him due to this!
So I guess that means I'm going to keep watching this thread in the hopes that someone can post something positive soon....

 

I'll be doing likewise. I've been looking at other doll molds, but nothing that's currently out suits the characters I have in mind. From the looks of the Q&A board, it seems some people are still waiting on their orders to be shipped. Hopefully we'll hear better things from them. >_>;;

 

What a pity! I love Kiss. I had heard before that Dolkot's resin is weak and/or prone to yellowing (there was the infamous incident of the tan Kiss that turned green after only one day outside). I was waiting for Dolkot's quality to get better, not worse!

I think I'll have to wait longer, but hopefully someday we'll hear reassuring things about Dolkot's quality again. Their sculpts are very beautiful and (as far as I can tell) fairly popular, their prices are mid-range, so I don't understand why they are cutting corners.

 

Oh man, reading this thread is making me feel bad. I have a DK Hara that I purchased last year through Dollmore, just before Dollmore stopped carrying Dolkot products. I have had NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS with my doll.

I was delayed shipping ten weeks by Dolkot who kept jerking Dollmore around, and when I received him he was strung so tightly that the S hook snapped free of the elastic and lodged in his neck when I tried to pose him on the first day I got him.

The resin was a nice colour initially, but it has yellowed significantly in a year, and is closer to my NS Kdoll Karon head in colour than the original pink despite my efforts to keep him out of sunlight. The resin has always been thin and almost translucent at his wrists, ankles, hips, and ears. The ears are reinforced in the paper-thin areas with glue, which I was unaware of until I wiped off his default faceup in October. This concerned me, and I contacted Dolkot about it and they told me it was normal.

Today, I discovered his ankles both are sporting significant cracks; one of which is close to breaking a 2-3cm chunk out of his leg. I have no hope of selling this body due to how horrible it is, so I reinforced the ankles from the inside with epoxy to see if it will be a fix that can last long enough for me to save for a couple of months before I can afford a replacement body.

I love my Hara so much and have absolutely no intention of getting rid of the Hara headsculpt at all. The body on the other hand.... I just want to throw it against a wall. Is it even worth my time to contact dolkot now?? I don't know. I've had this doll for a year, he was my first doll. I have two minis now and a floating kdoll head, and none of the other dolls I own have any of the production defects that the dolkot parts have. Arugh!

 

i'm with you there. i definitely still want him, he is my dream doll, but i am going to wait for a lot of positive feedback before getting him.

i feel like dolkot should know about all of this. i know that it would take them time to improve there production techniques, or whatever the problem is, but i would hope they would want to! if they knew that more people were disheartened by their lack of quality, i would think they would rush to make the necessary changes!

they have such beautiful sculpts...seems like such a waste

 

That's awful that you've had so many problems with your boy. But I wouldn't say you have "no hope" of selling the body. You might have to sell it at a lower price, but there are a number of people like me, who want to practice modding. These people are willing to buy damaged bodies, so you might still be able to sell it and recoup some of your money. Sadly, you shouldn't have to do that though... I would love a Bera someday because she's beautiful, but I'm afraid to get a Dolkot doll after reading stories like yours.

 

Yesterday I wrote up a rather lengthy complaint and posted it on the Q&A board on the Dolkot site. They're responded to everything posted except mine, but it could just be because it was long and English isn't their first language. Keeping my fingers crossed...

 

yes, i would give it some time. they took a few days to respond to my questions. i think they probably don't have quick answers for these more difficult questions. as someone in this post has said, it may not be dolkot's fault (ie: the actual company and artists), but rather, just the people doing the production of the sculpts in china. because, before the move, they didn't seem to be having this many problems. still, they of course should fix it.

 

I'm not sure I should write here because I don't have a Dolkot doll yet - but the thing is I doubt I ever will have it. In the end of March I ordered a LE doll from them (right before it became known what really big problems Dolkot has... lucky me ) Anyway, I thought how it could go wrong. Their LE dolls are one of a kind, it means the doll is already made, has a face-up, clothes and everything. Well... it's nearly four weeks now, and the doll is still not shipped. I asked them on their message board twice when they are going to ship it. At first they said April 14-15, then, when it long passed and I asked again, they said yesterday. Well, today nothing is shipped yet. I'm not trying to be difficult but I don't like being lied to. It looks like they just say a random date in future without even planning to ship. And I really don't understand why it should take four weeks to ship a doll that is in stock. If the doll had to be manufactured, I would wait absolutely patiently. But how much time do they need to take the box with the doll that is ready and ship it? I find it suspicious, really. Like they don't have that doll, sold it or lost it, but they don't want to tell me that not to lose face. Okay, maybe I am paranoid. Anyway, I'm going to write them once more today - and if the situation doesn't change in a week, I think I'll try Paypal dispute. What can I say... the guy who answers on the message board is always very polite. But being polite is not enough; I want my doll and at least I don't want being lied to.

 

Hello,

I've been searching for a second doll and USD550 is a LOT of money. I think that Hara is a beautiful mould and wanted to start saving for her until i saw this board. I have a feeling that Dollkot doesn't really understand the size of the problem with non korean buyers. Maybe what we can do is send them an email and tell them how many people actually liked their dolls but will refuse to buy them until they show improvements, to let them know how much business they are losing out ?

I have two Korean friends, maybe I could ask them to write something for us.

 

That would probaply(?) make them understand the situation.

i've been saving for WS bera for the last 3months now, and i _was_ supposed to order it in a week from now or so... im not sure anymore.
the character i need bera for, really has a white skin, so pinky/yellowish is not an option. and well, seems they really have a mess in the company atm.
*sigh*

i also posted on their Q&A board and asked about restocks and orders.

They gave one response, and it was pretty much "i'm so sorry,but i cant give you a specific date of restocking."
so uh, they didn't even reply to all my questions.

it saddens me, since bera is one of the Very few female molds that have appealed to my tastes. and dolkot has such beautiful molds in general.
If things truly were better before the move to cghina, shouldn't They realize it too... these cases with the resin cast and colour have really given a bad image to the company.

i'm still not sure should i take the "risk" and order a the bera. it would be nice to see if they have made a better turn, or is the situation still the same.

well then, let us see how this thing continues.

 

I don't know when they switched to Chinese production... when did that happen? Because I got my doll through Dollmore in early 2007, so it was shipped to me from Korea (where Dollmore are).

This sounds very much like what I went through with them. I ordered through Dollmore, who were told the blank doll would be sent to them immediately and it would ship in a week. My order was delayed--- by Dolkot--- five or six times before he finally shipped ten weeks later. They would just neglect to send out shipments, and there were other people at the time having the problem with Dolkot. This seemed to ultimately lead to Dollmore discontinuing Dolkot products in their shop. I hope you get your problem resolved, I know what you're dealing with!

 

From the looks of it, Dolkot have used production in China for a while, but seem to have moved their offices there too so they don't have to pay for shipping to Korea for the assembling...Not a good sign either way~

I still haven't received any news from them about my doll replacement parts yet...Considering the problems, I don't even know if he's worth keeping anymore even though he's supposed to be 'brand new' =__=;

 

Oh No! My heart is breaking! I fell in love with Dolkot dolls, Bera is my favorite. But now there's no way!!! I will ever order from them. It's so sad that these beautiful dolls will be passed up because of crappy casting/ resin quality. Really, when I saw Bera I got so excited and now I could honestly cry. I am so sorry for everyone who had such a bad experience. I don't know what I would do if I pulled my dream doll out of the box and she was cracked, yellow, and had rough shiny patches.

 

i also am seriously in love with bera, i LOVE her, and i really dont like too many girl molds....i had my heart set. but this thread worries me....i suppose you could always just order the head and get a different body? that would be better for me as i dont like the knee joints, but i think i may have to do that.

 

I wanted to get a WS Bera from Dolkot too, but I've read your comments, and now I'm pretty unsure about what to do.
Bera was perfect, because I was looking for a female doll with full lips, beautiful body and round face... But now, I feel that I could be very unlucky if I risk the purchase.
This doll is supposed to be a present from my parents for my graduation, something special.
But how special it could be, getting a doll below my expectations, casted with yellow skin and sculpted very badly.
Now on the Dolkot's homepage they state that "Everything is finished in the new office" but what does it mean? They now could assure quality and satisfaction to their customers?
Still, I'll wait till the situation improves, if there are any improvements. I can't imagine another doll for the character I have in my mind.

And for you, who got damaged dolls, you have all my understanding. It hurts me to read such things!