How long is too long waiting for an expensive bjd?

Personally I would wait as long as necessary if it meant my doll would turn out better. Dolls are an artisan craft and making them takes time. Although in this hobby, longer wait times for a better-made product isn't always the case...*coughSOOMcough*

I don't think I could pay up several hundred dollars and then wait a YEAR for the result, though. ^_^; I think six months is probably my limit. I have enough hobbies to keep my occupied for that long...

 

I actually wouldn't mind either of them if that means getting my doll home quicker. The longer the wait, the more I fear something will go wrong during the process.

For me, a two month wait for a doll is pushing it. The waiting time is the main reason why I buy my dolls mostly in the market place.

 

I'm on day 99 of my wait at the moment and it does seem a bit too long. I can understand anything up to 75 days, but now it's starting to get on my nerves. It's more than 3 months now since I ordered and I just want to be assured that everything is running smoothly.

 

Have very limited experience with ordering dolls from the manufacturer.
Fairyland was fine, just seemed like a long wait.

Felix, on the other hand, was just short of a nightmare.
If it wasn't for the dealer I ordered from who knows if the dolls would have arrived.
Some who ordered directly from the manufacturer are still waiting............ over 200 days if I remember correctly.
Still no dolls and no firm answers on date of delivery.

Guess what worries me the most is that when you pay with paypal, for most the way to pay, the PP system only covers you for so many days. After the time runs out paypal cannot care less what happens.
The manufacturer has your money and .............

Know reputable companies may never be a problem but what assurances do you really have?
CCC did just fine and now there are buyers who are waiting for dolls already paid for long ago.

 

I wish each company would give a shipping date when we place our order" "You order the doll. We take your money. We intend to ship the doll in May of 2011." Then I could make an INFORMED decision over whether I wanted to enter into the contract. Instead, they odten state, on their websites, "soon." "Soon" is not an opinion. Reasonable expectation of "soon" is somewhere in the area of 7-10 days. I always ask for a delivery date when I order the doll. I repeat my question - in writing - on the Paypal payment. I write them nice emails. I leave polite queries on their Q&A board. If I am ignored, I am done.

In the US there is a mandatory delivery time of 30 days or the order is null and void and an immediate refund is due the customer. This is the law for all internet orders - no matter where the company resides. If the company does not contact the customer before the 30 days have elapsed and gain written agreement from the buyer, they are legally liable for a refund.

How long is too long? If you've received zero communication, too long is when you are running out of buyer protection with Paypal in 60 days. What's the right way to pay? From now on, I will only use credit card payment via Paypal to offer myself an extra layer of protection. Ideally, all full payments should be held in escrow by a third (absolutely trustworthy) company. This escrow is transferred to the company as long as they deliver within 30 days or have written permission from the buyer to delay - AFTER the proof of delivery is issued. Otherwise, the customer has a right to a refund from the escrow company after 30 days. In the meantime, if a company ignores my repeated attempts to communicate, I am out of there. I learned the hard way!

 

I honestly don't mind the waiting. The longest I've had to wait was 3 months, when I ordered from Rosette Doll in 2008. They were a brand new company with no reputation, and for a long time those of us who ordered didn't know what was going on with our orders. The dolls were stated to take 2 months, but it wound up being 3 or longer--something that wasn't too much of a surprise when it was realized they were were a subsidiary of SOOM, queen of the Long Wait Times. (CustomHouse is king.) I wasn't too bothered, but the communication could have been better. It improved near the end of the wait, but was spotty at first. The communication really concerns me more than the waiting itself.

However, I generally expect to wait for any made-to-order product. I almost think of buying a ball-jointed doll the way I think of pre-ordering something. (I once placed a reservation for a winter coat in the summer and waited nearly 5 months for it to arrive--thankfully in the winter.) For example, if I were buying a non-stock sofa I'd have to wait several months. I think it's applicable to the manufacturing situation, so I'm not bothered by it.

However, my patience only extends to purchases from companies. I would never wait that long for a doll from an individual--there's too much risk of fraud, and I'd have less recourse in the event that something went wrong. My bank is more willing to intervene on my behalf if I have more "official" purchasing paperwork.

 

I just recently had a situation regarding "how long is too long". I ordered a "Christmas doll" in November/December of last year. I'm saying Christmas doll because there were Christmas trees in the background. By May it was 6 months and I was ready to give up. Fortunately, Denverdoll was willing to work with me and I ended up purchasing a beautiful Souldoll Jang Hwa instead. Six months is too much for me at least.
Also, does anyone know how long Paypal allows you to wait for purchases as part of their Buyers Protection Policy? I have a concern that with this economy and with the fact that we are all accustomed to waiting lengthy periods of time for our dolls, that perhaps a company could completely go bankrupt and disappear while we are happily biding our time in a waiting room....

 

It's hard to wait, for sure, but having had a custom house order that was 17 weeks (which was short compared to what it could have been from them!) I'm here to say it really is bearable. You think about other things, then remember that you have a doll coming home and it's nice. I like the wait, it gives me time to plan and know I made the right choice. ^-^
I'd say anywhere over 6 months would be really, really difficult but then again~ as long as you get what you spent your money on, right? classical musicians can wait a year for a piano but if it's what they fell in love with, it's worth it.

 

ashburyblu - I believe you have 60 days from date of purchase to file a claim with Paypal. Credit cards (including ones you use for funding a Paypal payment) give perhaps 90 days but I think it can be longer than that depending on your circumstances. This discussion motivated me to check on my Paypal claim - by phoning them. The company (Everpurple) did NOT ship my doll until after I filed the dispute with Paypal. By then it was too late for me. Since I had an order with Arcadia for over $1,000.00 for the Everpurple boy's body I needed to make a decision. Everpurple did not respond to any of my messages - nor did they communicate at all - until I contacted Paypal - at the last possible moment for doing so. Sixty days is too long to go with no answers and no responses and from a website that had a notice posted by the end of March that they were not shipping any more dolls. I finally raised them from the depths by filing a claim. It was then that they decided they had shipped the doll. They said they would have a tracking number in a week. ??? I did not believe them - but by then, I arranged to purchase a different body and had notified Arcadia of the change in body-type. Thankfully, Arcadia was very understanding and I had "caught" the change in time - before they started cutting. The new body (SD13) arrived from England almost immediately and it is perfect. I also had the leasure of "meeting" a lovely member of DoA who was exceptional in dealing with our sale.

The only thing that was missing was my money from Everpurple. As the rose from the deep, they not only informed me they had (finally) shipped the body (with no tracking number) but they were insistent that I cancel my claim. I wrote to them (for the umpteenth time) to say I would cancel my claim when they issued a refund. All I've heard since is utter silence.

Well, the doll did arrive but at that point, I refused delivery. USPS sent the body back. Luckily, Everpurple submitted a tracking number (at last) to Paypal. I continued to track the parcel and knew it had arrived back in Korea on 7 May. Mission completed ... except Paypal was still "reviewing" the case. after you raise a dispute to a claim with them, there is no place to enter additional information. Thanks to this thread, I called them. They were very nice. When I gave them the website to track the package (as USPS stops tracking once the package leaves the US) they saw it for themselves, issued the refund immediately and I have already transferred the funds to my bank. I feel so much better now. I really felt victimized by Everpurple. I know they are now Aria but the Paypal address is exactly the same. I would NOT do business with them at all because of my experiences, but I would urge anyone buying from them to use a credit card for their Paypal transaction. I found out from my bank that an instant transfer from one's bank account is not covered. (I would have had coverage if I had even used my debit card.) I don't know where to post this information about Everpurple/Aria in order to warn others but had I waited over 60 days, I would have had no protection at all since Paypal was my only option.

Again, I don't mind waiting - if I am told up-front there will be a wait AND there continues to be good communication. With Everpurple, their website looked shut down. They had removed all of their contact information, had no inventory and would not answer me - through their Q&A board or through email. Then they posted the message about no longer shipping/selling dolls. The corker was they didn't even communicate - to me or to Paypal - for over two weeks that the shipment was back with them in Korea. I'll be sticking to companies I know and that I can trust - like Volks, Alice in Labyrinth, Dollstown, Leeke, etc.

I think Everpurple either went bankrupt or was in some sort of trouble. Aria opened up - with different inventory - shortly after I ordered. I had to do a search in order to find out that both websites had the same contact addresses. i think you are reasonable in being worried about bankruptcy. Didn't the Felix Brownies have troubles? It might not be bankruptcy but it could be a property rights issue or whatever.

I've learned my lesson. I'm just thankful to have a refund from Paypal today. I wonder if we need a place to keep a list, by company, of current waiting times - sort of a rolling data bank. We could then see how it is going for other members and make better decisions. With Everpurple, they did have a good reputation and then they just disappeared. How long and how many others were in my same position? I am horrified about your story over your Christmas doll. Six months is definitely too long to wait - especially if we have no communication. But congratulations on your new Souldoll!

 

I don't mind waiting for my dolls as long as it's within the time range specified by the company, give or take a week ahead. If the listed waiting time is 2-3 weeks and my actual waiting time is 2 months with no sign of a shipping notice, then there's a problem, especially if the company does not send or post a notice to let me know there is a delay and when to expect my doll. Fortunately this doesn't happen often, and for the one/two times it did happen I had to pester the company for some kind of update which I hate to do.

There's just so much mystery and secrecy in what goes on to cause delays in doll production that I wish people wouldn't have to ask and ask when their orders will be shipped and clog up Q&A boards.

 

I have been waiting since January for a Lati doll vampire fullset. They are always slow but the dolls are wonderful. But that being said, I only wait as I know they are a reliable company.

I waited 4-5 months on Custom House Ai dolls when they were 1/2 price. They are cute dolls but I won't order again. The first doll was fine but the second one came with her eyes in a bag and no eyelashes at all. For heavens sake in all that time I think they could have finished her as eyelashes on a doll that small are going to be difficult. I'm thinking about taking her to BJDC 2010 in TX and getting some help.

You must be careful that you are purchasing your doll from a reliable company. I did get a really poorly made doll and fortunately the seller refunded part of my money. I believe they found a new source for their bodies as that was the problem. The head sculpt and faceup were wonderful. This seller is still making dolls and doing a great business. I would have no problem recommending this Seller to others.

Paypal is a great comfort to me as they do stand behind you as the Buyer. If a company cannot deliver and does not respond to questions that's when you file a claim. But as long as you verify feedback for the companies and communication is kept open I would be okay waiting 4-6 months. But I will not wait any longer than that.

 

I'm an impatient type of person, so I appreciate fast shipping (like Dollmore). But I would say around 2~4 months is the average waiting time that I hear of, depending if there's any body blushing, face-up, sanding, etc.
When buying, I would prefer the wait to be around that time, or less.
6 months would be a long wait to me, but if I really loved the doll, it would be worth it.

 

I've been fortunate that wait times for all of my dolls except for my most recent one have been a month or less, sometimes much less. The DZ Feilian that I purchased through DDE just arrived today after almost 3 and a half months wait. There is just no way I'd have wanted to wait that long for all my dolls but I'm okay with it happening every so often.

I think that part of good customer service is getting products to customers within a reasonable period of time, but I guess what constitutes "reasonable" is open to a lot of interpretation. I know these dolls are not mass-produced and faceups are all done by hand so it makes sense to allow for more time for that. But I think that if any company routinely makes customers wait for longer than about 2 months, I'd be reluctant to purchase directly from them. I was interested in dolls from one company that seems to have notoriously long wait times so I was luckily able to find what I wanted in the Marketplace here and circumvent the long wait that way.

It's really all up to way any one person will tolerate but two months would be about my limit for the most part.

 

Most companies have their wait time listed on the page describing the doll. I doubt that anyone in the US would legally be able to obtain a refund under this law because of this. The purchaser is fully aware of how long they must wait. Also, even with SOOM, they've now implemented a 100 business day waiting period once the MD is paid in full. Even though this is a longer wait time than most, they've still covered their butts, so once again the law would be null.

 

Kiyakotari - here is a link to the Federal Trade Commission's information on this:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus02.shtm

Tallenvyaere, You are correct. If the company gives adequate notice that they will not ship for 100 days - by letting the buyer see this restriction before paying - then the 30 day rule does not apply. But, on the other had, if a company advertises they ship in 72 hours - and don't - the customer must receive notice and consent to their tardiness - or the contract is null and void. In this case, it is much shorter than 30 days. In other words, the company must give notification and follow it or they have exactly 30 days to either deliver or notify the customer there is a change and they must obtain the customer's permission to continue with the contract. I agree that getting one's money back from a foreign company might be just but could be difficult. However, the FTC regulates all commerce that occurs within the US and could, ostensibly, prohibit a foreign company from conducting business in this country.

In the case of Everpurple, the only information I had was they would ship "soon." And you are very correct - but even SOOM must ship within 100 days or they face the same restrictions. Without specific customer consent, they cannot hold the contract beyond 100 days. I'm happy to wait - as long as I know, preferably up-front, exactly how long I am waiting.

 

6+ months is too much after you've paid in full. Anything up to 6 months seems reasonable to me, and you need to learn to be patient unless you can make everything yourself. Most everything in this hobby requires a wait time to receive.

 

As long as they keep in contact I'm fairly happy. I ordered December 31st from customhouse and I'm still waiting but they do respond to emails (sorry, a little longer), but at least they do respond. Felix doll were awful, they ignored direct customers totally. After you've had a bad experience with one company, it's easy to get paranoid about the rest.

 

IMO the real issue is after 3-6 months any protection you had from paypal is null. Making that system super falliable
also doll complanies have a rule of cannot cancel, but there is no rule for haven't delivered