I take issue with the term 'Random Eye Color'! Do you?

Well, some companies do that. Also, with random wigs. When I got my first doll from Unidoll, I left them a note on the order form, saying that I knew the wig was random but it would be so great if they could give me a black one. Black it was. With my Akando, I asked Iplehouse whether they could make the random eyes green ones - and green they were. Not really my taste, though, so I replaced them but it's the effort that counts, right?

 

if you want specific eyes with your doll then go ahead and order them. I think of the random eyes as kind of a gift which the company does not have to give away with the doll. So if the color is a major issue, then order the pair you want with the doll...

 

I agree with this, it makes me a little sad that people are moaning about something that is a FREE gift. If companies feel it is too much hassle they might stop doing it. I saw one company stop doing a resin colour because they got fed up of complaints, even though they where minor like not sanding that resin colour, because other people complained about sanding marks.

So basically if people to make too much of a fuss about eye colour companies might not include this FREE (can't stress the FREE and the fact they really don't have to enough) gift any more.

 

but, IS it free? no one can say for sure whether a doll company factors eyes into their own 'profit margin' for what they are going to make from a doll, especially if it's a company that makes their own eyes etc. a great way to make people feel like they are getting value for money is to work out that you will make a profit by including extra items Y and Z (like eyes, wigs), tell them it's "free", when in fact you had factored that into the plan and will still make money off the transaction.

also, ABJDs are the only dolls i've ever really come across the assume eyes are a "luxury free item with your order"

- Pullips, while usually in the $100~$200 range so much cheaper than many BJDs, can actually be as expensive as $1000+ if you want to buy an older edition or limited edition Pullip. They always come with eyes and a wig.

- Dollfie Dreams, unless you order a completely blank uncustomized unpainted body (which many people don't, since most DD collectors seem to prefer the pre-made character dolls, even if they customize those) always come with eyes. They also always come with a wig and outfit * (i am of course not referring to buying them second-hand where these things may have been removed)

- VMF50 Dolls which retail for about $400~$800+ always come with eyes.

- Azone 50 dolls, which retail for about $500~600+, come with a wig, outfit and painted on eyes- which might be less expensive than glass, but still requires artistic work (wouldn't this be like getting a free simple face-up if they were BJDs?)

all the dolls i listed are non-resin, but are made by asian companies, and are or can be within the same price range as an ABJD*if not more, especially in the case of rare Dollfie Dreams* and all of them come with eyes by default.

i think it is wrong to assume that eyes are "free", even if a company tells you they are "free" there is a fair chance that providing "free" eyes has been budgeted for and in fact added to the cost of manufacturing the base doll.

edit - i already said some of the things in this post a few pages back, but i wanted to give examples of all the non-BJD collector dolls where eyes aren't considered some "extra" thing but are part of the base package as a given.

 

Well I can assure you that even if the doll companies would stop giving out the free eyes, they wouldn't change the price of the doll abit. So in this sense I at least consider it as a "free gift". Besides, not all BJD companies give the eyes with the dolls...

 

that doesn't actually counter my point though, if they stopped giving out eyes but kept the same price, they would just be making more profit per doll production and no one would be any the wiser.

 

I really don't think you can compare a basic BJD to a character Dollfie Dream. A character Dollfie Dream would be more like a limited full-set BJD that you can buy as pictured: including eyes, wig, clothes, maybe props and a face-up. And THOSE usually are way more expensive than a basic one by the same company.

 

Yes, from a commercial standpoint, nothing is ever free. From a non commercial buyer's standpoint? The price will not change whether you have the eyes or not, so you might as well consider them free.

I'm not sure what your point was meant to show? Whether the eyes are 'free' or not doesn't matter at the end of the day, as long as you get eyes when the company says you're meant to receive them.

I believe people were saying that you (general) shouldn't complain about something that's essentially free because commercially, these eyes are worthless and people shouldn't get into a tizzy over $6 eyes. It's really like complaining that your air freshener is pine flavour when you wanted lemon, and the car dealer is all "Dude, you just bought a car? Y U complain about air fresheners?"

 

Dollfie Dreams are sold by Volks and any DD limited fullset is sold the same as any Volks SD resin limited fullset, complete the character specific faceup, eyes, wig, and outfit. It's really not analogous with buying a blank, standard doll, who are the ones who come with the random eyes. Volks standard dolls themselves don't actually come with random eyes. Their standards all have specific eye and wig combos and only come with those specific eye and wig combos. A blank DD does not come with eyes or a wig or anything besides the body. You have to buy the head separately and those do not come with eyes. The DD standard character models are the same as the SD standards and have specific eyes and wigs they come with.

The random eyes are not really free as I am positive the companies do factor in the slight cost to the pricing of the doll, but it's such a negligible amount in comparison to the rest of the doll that it's easy to understand why people do view them that way. Companies are not shipping high quality eyes, and they're usually lower quality glass or acrylic that cost around $5.

 

I agree with Feliara i think she covers my point well. The companies are stating it is a free gift, so if they did take them away. They could keep the doll at the same price and say: "Well the eyes where a free gift," and to be honest no one could really prove other wise.

Plus i should imagine the fact that the eyes are random keeps the cost that you say they are taking into account lower. Because they would just use eyes that they had a lot of and couldn't shift any way. If they had to get new eyes in to cover the order of what someone requested then it would bring the cost up.

Plus Khell made a very good point, full sets do cost a lot more then the basic dolls and they come as is a lot of the time any way. Plus even though you are spending a lot of money you get the eyes, wig clothes etc. as pictured.

I really don't see the problem of buying eyes for a doll if you want certain ones. Because people have even pointed out they request colours, got the colour the requested but still didn't like them. If you buy what eyes you want then you know what you are getting and what they look like. Plus buying an extra pair of eyes is nothing compared to what you have just spend for a doll. The car analogy i think high lights this very well. What is an extra $6 when you have just forked out $100s for a doll?

Plus a pair of eyes that the company could easy take away, and keep the cost the same is better then none at all. I really feel people have nothing to complain about with this argument. I really do.

 

I really do not get it either it is something that really bothers me when looking through to order them. I mean it is nice that they do give you eyes but at the same time what is the point if you are getting a roulette spin. You either get lucky, have to buy a different pair, or trade.

 

I was under the impression eyes were included in the price? I can't imagine they could let that much free stuff go, it would make their profit smaller, idk. I don't really care, it's the difference of a few dollars.

I've never requested a certain colour though, once I just bought them from the company along with the doll for an extra £3 or whatever, in case the defaults they came with could be used for another doll.

I'd like an option to be able to say what colour I preferred, because sometimes until you get the real eyes in it's nice to have your doll in at least the colour eyes they're meant to have, just makes it easier to bond.

My one doll came with these really washed out light yellowy eyes and they did not look good with her tan coloured resin and if I hadn't bought a different colour pair along with her to replace them I probably would've had trouble thinking of my first doll fondly for a long time.

I don't know, I'm just typing crap as I think, I don't really have strong opinions when it comes to this. I'd like an option to choose but it's not the end of the world that I don't.

At least randoms give you an idea of what size to get, what colour might look good if you're not sure what colour you want yet?

 

It actually kind of bothers me.
One of my girls came with the whole "random eyes" thing and I just thought "Oh it'll be ok she'll just have boring eyes, I'll order some after she arrives" but she came with RED eyes! o__o
I opened her and it scared me a little haha! But I've just learnt to order some with them now since I've never really been to fortunate with the whole random eyes thing. (another time one of my dolls came with really bright blue eyes with no pupil ((and i really dislike no-pupil AND unnaturally bright eyes)

 

i agree!!! i wish they'd let us choose! i have no use for the pink eyes that came with my doll now i must spend money on an extra pair of eyes the right color >_< i still don't see a convincing reason for the company not to be able to take requests on eyes as long as they have them they should let us choose

 

Well, as it's been stated - you can just ask the company you're ordering from nicely whether they could give you a pair of eyes in the colour of your choice. Most of the companies will try to do so. On the companies' websites, it's also clearly stated you'll get RANDOM eyes. So it's not that unreasonable to expect - well, random eyes. Knowing that, one can always order a pair of eyes of the preferred colour. They don't HAVE to put eyes in the dolls. Or send random wigs with the dolls. Or chocolates. Or any of the other small gifts doll companies tend to send to their customers with their dolls ...

 

If you read through the thread, you'll notice that it has been mentioned many times that companies DO try and accommodate customers' requests when it comes to the color/size of the random eyes - all you have to do is ask; they may not always have the color that you want in stock, but if they do, chances are you'll receive exactly what you want.

 

It really doesn't matter what their profit percentage is, because the price of the doll itself isn't going to change. Therefore, it honestly might as well be a free gift. They can decide at any time what they want their profit margin to be, there's no set limit. So really, it honestly is a free gift. I doubt with my whole heart that they calculate the price of eyes in with the doll.

Pullips and dollfie dreams really are in another category. Pullips weren't made to be customized, they can be and many people choose to do so but they're more of a "set doll". Meant to be kept the way it is. Same with dollfie dreams (non standard). Things that are meant to be a s can't be compared with a totally blank doll. :/

P.S.: Didn't mean to call you out like that, Your post was just the first I saw and read.

 

Im terrified of getting pink or yellow eyes. You're right. Why couldn't we just choose our eyes? That's the one thing about IH that really bothers me.

 

You can choose the eyes - buy them in the colour you want/need The eyes that doll companies send are just place-holder eyes, they're there so you can start playing with your doll as soon as it arrives, but these dolls are intended for customisation. It's expected that you'll have your own preferences in eye colour and material that eyes are made of.

 

I think it's great they give you free eyes I just wish they would give glass ones instead of acrylic but I understand that glass costs more so it's just coll to get free eyes. I would always purchase a pair of eyes I wanted at the same time and a wig.