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

Jan 8, 2012

    1. I'm with the people that don't really care about random eyes because I know I'm going to swap the eyes I get out for Soom eyes anyway once I get the doll- I love Soom eyes, and all my resins will some day have either Soom eyes or Volks/EyeCo Metallics, unless Soom starts making metallics in the colors I want :P

      The few times I have specifically asked for a color I've gotten it- but I didn't end up keeping those eyes either because the freebie acrylics just aren't how I want my dolls to photograph.
       
    2. I'm not going to keep them anyways so why bother? I don't care about the colors they come home with since I'm going to swap them for glass eyes. Besides, I actually think it's funny seeing which color I get! XD
       
    3. I always suspected that the "random eyes" thing was a way for the doll companies to rid themselves of surplus inventory. I know that sounds cynical--hey, I'm a cynic--but it's not meant to be harsh or judgmental. They offload inventory that hasn't moved, and the doll owner gets a free pair of eyes. Win/win.

      Also, if you request a specific color, many if not most companies will try to accommodate you (unless you ask for a really upscale, expensive pair, I would imagine).
       
    4. *lol* I've often thought the same when I've received a doll with a not very attractive pair of eyes enclosed! ;P

      I'm not sure WHY everybody here is going on about the eyes being a FREE gift?? When I've bought dolls the eyes (of random colour) have been listed as 'INCLUDED' with the doll.. and *included* doesn't = *free* in my book.

      Personally I don't really care as I'm a Masterpiece fanatic and switch the eyes to MPs as soon as my dollies arrive.
       
    5. I agree with Emby Quinn. There have been a few times that I have liked the random eyes enough to keep them in the doll but mostly I swap them out. Still, it's nice to have extra default/random eyes around as I find that even if I don't care for them in the doll they came with, they sometimes suit another one of my dolls perfectly. And I have found that most companies I have done business with do try to accomodate requests for a specific color if you ask them.
       
    6. because the included random eyes most likely don't affect the price of the doll. if iplehouse stopped including eyes I doubt they would change their price to $594 for an EID woman >.>
       
    7. I would think the cost of the random eyes that's included have been added to the total price of the doll :3
       
    8. I don't think I care either way. Random eyes are usually acrylic so I'd never use them and if they're $6 glass eyes, I still wouldn't use them. Companies generally honor requests if you're that determined to get a certain eye color, but I wouldn't ever expect to stay with the default pair.

      This is a customizing sort of hobby. If I didn't have to go through several pairs of the same green/blue/whatever color eyes for a doll, I'd think something was wrong.
       
    9. I think it's also because as a general rule, companies give eyes that are pretty much worthless on the second-hand market. Look in the marketplace, and most company eyes are priced at $7 or less if they're glass or acrylic (mostly acrylic). I mean, why complain about a $6 pair of glass eyes, when you can buy a pair you want for the same price?
       
    10. I don't think 'random eyes' are left overs that don't sell well, because many companies that offer them with a doll, don't sell eyes seperately.

      And this is exactly why I don't mind that I can't choose what colour eyes my doll gets. I see them as a gift and I think it's pretty rude to be complaining about that.
       
    11. I do understand buying a fullset, thinking a doll will come with, say, green eyes as those are the ones pictured, and then coming with "random" eyes that don't look anything like what the LE/FS eyes looked like.

      On the other hand, I love seeing what peoples' dolls come with, and like others have said, an extra pair of eyes is just that - extra.

      I also know many companies will try and give you the color you want if their dolls typically come with eyes. I think that's always a good way to handle it. But as many others have said, I usually have my own plans in regards to my dolls' eyes - so the random ones are really just a nice little bonus that I can always sell if I don't have a need for!
       
    12. By the same token, all the other extras that come packed along should be up to us to choose too, right? Like the white pillow my doll came packed with. It didn't at all go with his green box. I'd have liked a yellow one. They should have asked me because I paid for it, right?

      And I am going to stand by the fact that eyes are free and I very much doubt that most companies factor them into the price of the doll (those that do are generally upfront about it). The same goes for the random wig. Those are nice gestures that get tossed in. Many companies go out of their way to add in nice extras and, whether or not they list them specifically on the sales page, I always think of them as something I didn't pay extra for.
       
    13. I've been waiting for someone to come up with this topic, you are a LIFE saver!

      Anyway. Whenever I look at dolls that I 'MIGHT' buy, I always read the part where it says "RANDOM EYE COLOR" and it's always bothered me. you know, when they say that a pair of eyes come with it(fractured into the price of the doll) we should be allowed to choose the eye color we want to come with them, I had having to pay extra for the color that I want with MY expensive doll. >_<

      ugh, sorry for the little rant but it really bothers me. D:
       
    14. Honestly, it doesn't bother me at all. As many people have said before if you are bent on a certain color you can ask in the request/comments section of the order form. Many companies will try their best to honor your request for color if they have them in stock. I know Iplehouse has always been pretty good about trying to accommodate. Some companies do not sell eyes separately so it's extremely nice for them to even add them in at all, and in that case probably do not have every color of the rainbow in stock. I think that it would cause trouble if companies let you chose by default because a few people always ruin it for the rest and there would be people who became extremely picky and would send requests that were very vague ("Um...I'd like green eyes, but not green green, not dark you know? Kinda light but not all green. Maybe a hazel look, but not too brown.") and they would become angry if the company couldn't complete their overly specific request for a pair of eyes. Said person would cause a fuss just because they have a silly sense of self entitlement and it would cause the company a lot of pain and hassle all because they didn't send over the correct shade of color for the eyes. I think random isn't a way to be shorting anyone, I think it's just the safest way to be about things like that so it doesn't give a large opening for problems to be had. Random is just simpler and could cause the least amount of problems (in my opinion).

      I do not mind one way or the other. I seldom use the eyes that companies give me as permanent eyes. They usually are nothing more to me than a placeholder until I find the perfect ones for my doll.
       
    15. I don't care about the color of the free eyes at all, because I have much higher standards for the eyes that my finished dolls wind up with than the freebies that come with them. I also like having a relatively robust collection of eyes in various ranges of quality and materials so that if I get a new doll or an unplanned doll I have something I can play with to see how I like shape and color. Plus they make great freebies for dolls that you might sell, or gifts or trade items.

      However, after doing some comparison math, it turns out that Soom actually charges for their random eyes in their standard Super Gems. I find this really frustrating because Soom has an incredible selection of silicone eyes, which are my personal favorite brand for eyes. If you have to pay an extra $30 for the standard Super Gems for the eyes, then you should get to chose the color. I think they must be the only company that charges for eyes and then doesn't let you pick the color.
       
    16. I agree with this. I don't think the eyes are free, if they are listed as part of the doll package. I consider eyes to be free when it's specifically listed as "free", or, are not listed at all and the company includes them anyway as a gift. But, ultimately, you are paying for those eyes, just like you are paying for the box and the cushions and the packing material. Though, the cost of those eyes in the grand scheme of things probably only adds a few dollars to the cost of the doll, considering that I'm sure that the companies get those eyes at wholesale prices.

      However, I also agree that if it is stated in the description that what is included is a "random pair of eyes", then the customer is aware up front, and, of course, is always free to to not buy that doll, if eye randomness it a big deal.

      The deal with these dolls is that there are certain options the company will let you choose, and certain options that cannot be chosen by the customer. If a company lets you pick eye color - great; if not, that's how their doll package is designed and it's up to you to accept the package as is or to pick another doll from another company.

      All "you"s used above are general, and are not referring to any one individual in this thread.

      Interesting! I didn't know that. Now, in this instance, I would find it very frustrating, since I'm no longer paying for $6 acrylics, but for a $30 silicone pair. Either let me choose not to purchase the eyes, or, if I must purchase them to get the doll, then let me choose what I want.
       
    17. The reason I call the random eyes 'free' is, if I asked, say, Luts, to NOT include the eyes, they will not drop the price of the dolls. So, for those who are offended by the word 'free', how about we say 'not charged extra for'

      (I've not bought a standard Super Gem, so I have no idea about their eye policy. All I know is the Super Gem MD boy I purchased does not come with eyes)
       
    18. Hmm, I think the OP means he's not enamored with the practice of bjd companies not giving you a choice of eye color rather than the this practice being called "Random Eye Color".

      (Yay for misleading thread titles...)

      I don't have a problem with this practice (or what they "term" it either). If I get a pair of eyes I can't use (however it happens) then I put them up for sale or trade in the marketplace.
       
    19. I agree that companies should let you pick the color of your eyes. Mind you, while I don't mind having the wrong color temporarily in while I choose the proper eye color, it still bugs me that you can't pick the color you need when ordering the doll. Especially with all the extra options for other things that are offered.
       
    20. Forgive me for going a bit off topic, but I find this, as a concept, completely ridiculous. Stereotypically certain people from certain places have certain eye colors, but that is not the standard by any stretch of the imagination. I have a neighbor from Ghana who has the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen and a friend from Japan who has naturally blue eyes.
      The implication (whether intended or not) that doll companies are being subtly racist by not including 'ethnically appropriate' random eyes I find both hilarious and slightly offensive.

      Besides, I always assumed that free eyes were a companies way of getting rid of backstock and I enjoy the opportunity to test drive other colors in my dolls with minimal financial investment.