Gift items: Should they be sold?

Well put. My thoughts exactly.

 

I agree with bunnydots. These things that Luts and other companies give us are promotional prizes. They are trying to bribe you to buy. If you don't need or want these items, it only makes sense to sell them.

 

Agreeing with you and lots of other people saying related things

Selling free heads is fine, nearly everyone does it, but the price should be started at an honest value.

 

I disagree that companies are trying to "bribe" us to purchase things. We are not talking about western or U.S. companies here. If we want and can afford them, we purchase the dolls. Period. The companies don't have to give us anything. We'll buy their products anyway. They are doing so out of courtesy, because they appreciate the fact that with all of the choices available to us, we have chosen to purchase one of their products. Too, Asians have an interesting "spin" on dolls -- many believe that the products they make with their own hands become imbued with spirit.

I think we are looking at the fairly complex issue of gifts from a not-particularly-culturally-informed perspective based largely on the mores of U.S./Western consumer culture. I understand -- I spend a great amount of time teaching my students to consider foreign perspectives when evaluating a foreign practice. And while I would agree that it is most normal for people to look at something through the "lenses" provided by their own upbringing, I do think it's myopic to apply this particular frame of reference to the issue of Asian gift giving.

 

I'd like to point out that the "gift" Luts heads aren't worth $150. Lots of people are saying that it's okay to sell them at "regular" value. The "regular" value of the head at the time of purchase is $0. The other CP heads are in the $150 range, but the gift heads are FREE.

I'm not saying that people can't sell what they want, but personally, I like to get a break every now and then. Being able to purchase a doll/accessory for a really low and fair price is so rare.

I remember the sellers who are fair and give me a break.

If you got a gift head or a doll in a lottery, why not make someone else's day and sell it at a reduced cost? (or have a give-away) Some awesome members have done this.

Also, I think it would be great if sellers had lotteries like Volks. Many people could try to win an item at its "regular" cost. It's like an auction, but instead of the price going up and up because of many interested buyers, the price would remain low and only one of the buyers would win.

I understand why people sell free items. It's wonderful to have extra money. Sometimes people really need it. But if you don't need the money, then why not make someone else really happy? Not everyone can afford to pay inflated prices.

 

As awesome as a giveaway of a freebie/gift is, I think a seller's rationalization in selling a gift head at regular price is, "I have this doll head, but I want a different doll head." So they sell it at regular price, despite having gotten it for free, in order to offset the cost of the new head--to the seller it's like a trade-in, but it's still just a sale (or a ripoff?) to the buyer.

I'm not saying it's necessarily ethical--it's just a hypothesis for why someone might sell what's essentially a free head at regular cost.

Giving away gift eyes, wigs, clothes, and so on, I'm all for that--I'll give away the freebie Dollmore eyes i've gotten, for example. There's something about other doll parts that gives one pause for some reason. Perhaps because we know how expensive they can be when purchased.

 

Give away, I can imagine how flooded the PM box would be if they did that and how many disappointed people there would be. I think they did pay for it in the sense that they bought items at a time when the head was included IF you spent x amount. Being in the world of marketing I see this all the time you try to give a end date to encourage people to order NOW. Because if they don't order now maybe they will change their mind or buy something else. This is what limited's are all about too you force their hand with an end date.
Yes it also comes down to the basic fact that someone will profit, what happens if the person you gave it to turns around and sells it 6 months later? you feel bitter? you feel fine? these dolls do change hands.

 

I didn't win the million dollars in the lottery, but I can get over my disappointment. I don't think worrying about the disappointed people is a reason not to give something away.

Yes, it's a marketing ploy. I get that. BUT, Luts is not tacking an additional $150 on to an order for each head. The heads are given away at no additional cost.

And if a person decides to sell something in the future, whatever. People can't expect everyone to feel the same way about things. You could plant flowers and someone could come along and pick them. No one can control what happens around them. But that's not a reason to stop doing what you feel good about.

 

I think that people get wrapped up in the idea that dolls are somehow different than any other item. But they are just dolls.

If I wanted to get rid of my couch, and I knew someone who needed one, I would give it to them. If don't personally know someone who needs it, I put an ad in my local paper and sell it, probably for a low price. Whether I got the couch for free, or whether I paid for it is besides the point.

Same goes for dolls. If I personally know someone who wants the head/doll, great, then they can have it. If not, I will put it up in the marketplace. I wouldn't put up a post advertising a free head/doll, and have my Inbox blown up by people who would never read my posts if I weren't giving something away. That probably sounds more harsh than I mean for it to sound.

I have gotten MOST of my dolls secondhand. I paid what I felt was fair. I don't see how anyone is hurt by this arrangement.

 

Julie M:

That is an interesting and valid point to be certain. There is an asian tradition of gift giving which may or may not be completely understood by western consumers. When shopping in Japanese boutiques or bookstores, customers are sometimes given another small item in addition to their purchase. One thing to consider however is that at least in the bjd community, there are auctions for these "gift" items, and occasionally even for the sei tenshi, posted on Yahoo Japan. They are placed up for auction by asians (for the most part) and purchased by asians (for the most part). Based on that, to suggest that asian recipients of these items would never consider selling them, isn't entirely true. I'm not saying that it might not be frowned upon, but it is apparently done from time to time by non-westerners.

 

I dunno if a doll is given as a gift, not a promotional anything, then I'd be disinclined to part with it. If I won a doll flat out in bingo or something like at a Volks dolpha I would only sell if it was something I already had. Like say I won a SDC Arashi - I'd probably sell him because I have one. But if it was a Sei-Tenshi or a SD16/17 boy he'd be MINE mine mine mine and I'd never sell him.

 

I am not suggesting that an Asian would never sell a gift they'd been given. Western consumer values are pervasive and have infiltrated many cultures. What I am suggesting is that there are many more ways to look at this issue than the ones that are predominantly in evidence here.

 

I would never buy a doll just because it came with an extra head that I could sell. I think it's ok to sell anything that is not useful to you or you no longer want.

 

I don't think it's a problem at all if the seller sells the item for a reasonable price wich is set by the company. Usually gift items are items that the company usually has for sale.
I sold the hands that came with a sleeping head I bought from Luts. I looked up the price for hands and put them in the market-place with the same price as luts would sell them for.

 

I don't have a problem selling gift items, if I get stuff I don't need I pass it on to others. By the same token, I don't complain if I give someone a freebie they can't use and then decide to sell it.

I don't think it undermines the concept of "gift". You still gave something, and the other person still got something... even if they decided to "trade" it. The largesse/surplus remains, even if it is transferred into money or another item...

I think the giver is remembered fondly, whether the gift is kept or passed on.

I hope that made some sort of sense ^_^

Raven

 

I dislike the sweeping assertion of "Asian values" - every country in Asia is very different and the general trend for societies in each country is also different. Korea places a high value on getting the best possible deal, Japan on keeping the peace even if it means giving up some value. There are dozens of countries in Asia where values of this kind are extremely different and I think it is culturally insensitive to lump them all into some kind of doughboy of values - this happens all the time in Western media and it makes me rather irritable.

Another cultural value showing is the "Western" value that the customer drives the transaction and controls its outcome (also a Korean value on the part of customers, but not on the part of business owners, which leads to some interesting situations, *laugh*).

I would like to note that to say there is no promotional value in the "freebies" represents a naive viewpoint - as a consumer I certainly consider the value of the full package when deciding what to buy from whom, and there is a great deal of competition among companies in the doll production market. Where I have enough for one doll, whether in a choice between two companies I like one is offering a lovely giveaway is going to definitely sway my purchasing decision.

And in saying why not do what feels good and give it away, it assumes that feels better to a person than perhaps making the difference to the doll they have been saving for. I am seriously playing devil's advocate on that one because I love giving things away, but just because I do doesn't mean I expect all others to share my feelings on it - and there certainly is no ethical obligation for them to do so.

Becca Alice
-Raised in Japan

 

The original question in this thread has to do with the people who receive the promotional or gift items, not the companies that give them. Thus, the values of the "Western consumer culture" validly apply insofar as the person doing the re-selling is in fact FROM a "Western consumer culture." As an American, I'm not going to take the perspective of a Korean when it comes to selling any gift item I receive--and I really can't, because I'm not Korean. I think it would be really interesting to hear how other cultures view selling free items, but I don't think those of us not from those cultures need to frame the conversation with those cultures in mind in this particular case.

 

Hypothetical situation similar to a Lutz special (with evened out prices to make it simple):

A special is 2 heads and a body for $300, normally one head and a body is $300, a body is worth $200 of a regular full doll's price, and heads are worth $100 of a regular full doll's price. So basically in the special, the buyer is getting $400 worth of stuff for $300.

I feel that the special is not a full doll plus free head. The special is (in this example) just a 25% savings. I think it would be more fair if the person sold the head for ($100 -25% = $75) plus 1/4 of original shipping (since the head was 1/4 of the value) + local shipping. This would probably put the delivered total cost to the head buyer at $95, a savings for the buyer and still a nice profit for the seller.

Unfortunately the heads offered in the Luts specials are often heads that cannot be gotten separately other than through resales. So a lot of people flip them and charge as much as a person would pay if they could buy the head separately from the manufacturer (heads are more separately at Luts), and seller ends up with a big savings on their own body and head.

If I were the one who bought the special set, and sold one head, I would sell it at a fair price.

Carolyn

 

If it's mine-- I can sell it. However I got it-- if it's mine and I want to sell it and there is a buyer willing to pay for it, I don't see anything wrong with selling it. If it's a big demand item, I don't see anything wrong with selling above retail either. I've never gotten lucky enough to get more than retail on anything-- but if I could? HA!

Same thing if I give someone a gift. If they don't want it, I always tell them to feel free to sell it and get something they really want or trade it. Won't hurt my feelings because I gave it to them to do with as they wanted.

Once it's yours, it's yours! No strings attached.

 

gifts are different. If someone buys something discounted and then sell it after the promotional time i don't see anything wrong with it.

But a gift from someone that u kno and it's a gesture of thought then that is a different issue.

Something given for promotion and something given for thought is completely different value. Promotional goods can just be sold