Star Spangled Dolls

It probably wasn't a good idea to come on one of the largest BJD forums online with a new line of BJDs you're trying to sell, then call the community "silly".

 

A few pages back, wasn't it said that their products would be available for everyone (US and other countries), yet the newly revamped site says that their aim is US-only.

How curious.

 

The shipping is still absolutely ridiculous:

"A small handling Fee is included in the $40.00 domestic priority mail shipping price with Insurance!"

...Custom House only charges $38 to mail a 60cm fullset doll from Korea to Wisconsin (USA).

I assume "domestic priority mail" is USPS Priority Mail. Mailing an 8lb box only costs $26.95 with full insurance for $500, which means their "small" handling fee is actually $13.05 -- assuming that their packaged dolls weigh a full 8lbs, which I doubt. My fullset Choa was really heavy (her wig weighs at least a pound by itself) and only reached 7.4 lbs all packed up, and her resin is really dense -- even nude she feels much, much heavier than my friend's Lishe.

 

Hello! Honestly, I've been reading all of the posts, and I must say this discussion has made me very sad. I personally know Aaron, he is a wonderful person. I am so very happy for him that he is able to have his own doll line, a dream come true. He's proud of the flag, likes the flag, and just found it cool to be a part of his company. He had terrible bashing, because of the misunderstanding, so you can't blame his reaction.
This thing went out of control, in my opinion, and I was very sorry to see it. Also - I find it very, very rude to bash his dolls. Not all dolls will be attractive to all people. Different strokes for different folks.......I know many who really like them, the extra feet, hands, etc. But, to bash someone so hard, I think he kept his cool by using the word "silly", not everyone would have been so nice. Just my two cents......but Aaron meant no harm. I'm proud to have him as a friend.....sorry everyone was so quick to judge.

 

Actually, I quite liked the extra feet and hand option parts- I thought it was a great idea. I'm not keen on the head sculpts personally (though really, there are lots of companies with head sculpts I don't like), but the bodies look good- it's just a shame the branding issue was handled so badly. If Aaron hadn't called those of this forum who had concerns "silly" and had been less defensive, perhaps this whole situation could have gone down very differently.

The fact that he seems to be taking issues on board is encouraging- work with your customer base, don't tell them their opinions are wrong!

 

That's all well and good. But him being your friend does not change the fact that he's been behaving amazingly unprofessional towards his potential client base. He doesn't have the luxury of letting his emotions get the better of him, in this case.

And as for the flag issue, there's nothing wrong with being proud of it. No one has implied as much. But such an important symbol should be used with caution. For many, its use belittles what the flag truly stands for.

 

I think this is the big issue here, caution wasn't used when devising the product and the marketing. As has been said, it wouldn't have taken much to have done a test survey to see what the customer population thought. In fact, that survey could have been done here and the reaction probably would have been a lot more friendly, but the problem is that he came out and advertised the product as if it were in its near to final ready to buy state. When someone launches a company they should feel like they've worked out all the kinks beforehand they can because first impressions speak volumes.

 

Regardless of whether he continues to use the flag symbol or not, I still would never send $500+ to company with a website like that. Never. That's how you get scammed. It seems from several members here that they know Aaron, but I don't, so that's no guarantee to me. I can't even tell if you actually have a business license or not. Are you actually an LLC, or did you just stick some letters to the end of the company name for kicks? These are the things that concern me when dealing with a new company, much more than a piss-poor marketing choice (which, it was).

This is leaving aside the fact that the sculpts are not in the proper facial proportions, or even within an acceptable artistic range. They look very much as if they were created by a sculptor who had never studied the human face. That, and the size difference between the heads and bodies, leads me to believe that these are NOT well made enough to justify a $500 pricetag.

/two cents

 

SolarCat, you've summed it up quite nicely. But I've got to add, I find it hard to believe anyone with common sense would call his customers all "silly". One might want to look into seeing if the school where he got his business degree gave refunds.

 

I just read this whole thing, and frankly I found it hysterical. Madonnafanme, you have some nerve.Truly

Sadly, I went to the site out of curiosity yesterday and zipped out of there pretty quick. The dolls are extremely unattractive and look very unrefined. You couldn't pay ME to buy one. Plus, the very first thing on the site I saw was all the American flags. I didn't even want to go any further to even see what the dolls looked like. It was an instant turn-off.

 

The thing is, we're not a group of big mean kids on the playground out to make people cry for the heck of it. We're potential customers trying to let him know that no matter how "wonderful of a person" or proud of his flag he may be, the way he is representing his product, business, and behavior just isn't going to fly here.

Regardless of his personal feelings or intentions for the flag, not everyone is going to understand or sympathize and simply view it as a tacky, manipulative way to sell a product. Aaron's pride in his country isn't really the issue at hand here; it's his need to realize the disappointing reception isn't due to our "silliness". With clever yet honest marketing, he would be able to gain our trust and influence our feelings, but he can't control them. His intentions could be perfectly pure, but trying to incorporate the American flag in such a controversial manner will surely have a negative impact on the success of his business. He won't go far if he chooses to continue seeing things through only one set of eyes.

Actually, if one had a even drop of sense and wanted any chance at selling anything to anyone, he would have been quite a bit nicer. His response was childish at best. Trying to take the spotlight off his actions is no excuse. It's like saying it's ok to let your children use profanity, cheat or disrespect their peers, because at least they're not, like... you know... beating people up or doing something "not so nice". Part of running a business (or better yet, part of being a mature adult in the real world) is learning to use advice to improve, not to take everything as a personal attack.

So far, the most American quality I find about these dolls is their ability to make me feel like I'm reading some ridiculously annoying tabloid dribble about Britney, Paris, etc being the loud American and throwing a drama queen fit.

 

ETA: Turynn covered it all more eloquently than I.

When you are starting a business, one of the worst things you can do other than not know your market, is to get defensive with your customers. If he can not separate himself from critique and opinions, he won't be in business long. You have to have a thick skin and most importantly, you and your product have to appeal to your customers, not alienate them.

How he reacted was not how a proper business person behaves and it will give people no confidence that he will run his business professionally. What if someone had an issue with something, what if they wanted to return something defective, what if they didn't like something - it looks like, he could potentially respond in a defensive, unprofessional manner.

Not only that, but his friends are jumping in. Having friends then post defensive posts coming to his defense is NOT going to help his business at all nor this situation, it only makes it worse and even FURTHER alienates his customer base. Behavior like that will only make a potential customer feel even more unsure about ordering from him, because they won't feel comfortable about bringing up issues - his buddies will jump in and defend him and he doesn't behave professionally to begin with.

The best thing he can do, is start over on the face-molds to make them more appealing, market them better, ask his friends to stay out of it and prove that he can be a professional.

 

Just took a look at the site. These dolls are the unfortunate victims of a poorly managed marketing ploy, bad site design, and unflattering photos. The factory sample photos are much more aesthetically pleasing, and along the same style as AoD dolls. I agree that the price is a bit high, considering their origin. Even DIM doll's Memory Line, self-professed as manufactured in China, is less than the price that these dolls are being offered for. ($375 vs. $450)

I'd recommend a new site design, to re-consider their prices, and to use the factory samples, which show potential; their own photos are rather unappealing.

EXAMPLES comparing Factory Samples and "Star Spangled Doll" photos:

Daphne
Factory Samples: 1, 2
SSD photo: 1

Flora
Factory Samples: 1, 2
SSD photo: 1

It's not that I'm ashamed of the use of the flag, or even that I find its use offensive; it's simply tacky. In a hobby where the main means of sharing and enjoying dolls is through the internet and photographs, these two elements are vitally important, and a certain degree of class and taste are necessary for success; unfortunately, those two elements seem to be slightly lacking in this venture.

 

The name doesn't really offend me much. It's generic, doesn't mean much. The sculpts do- these aren't finished products. Kali looks as though he was sculpted off of a Cro-Magnon picture than a real human. The bodies aren't bad, and the extra parts are a nice touch- but they're WAY overpriced, the heads are hideous, and the over-the-top "watch me wave my flag" bit is annoying. (Were the prototypes even made here in the US, or were they all done in China too?) And calling the people you're marketing to 'silly' is just plain... well, silly. I doubt you'll have much business after this, if any.

 

I just find it funny that no one deleted these posts i always get deleted for even trying to be remotely critical. Im not really interested in these dolls, but it is there company and whether we like it or not they can slap whatever symbol they want on the doll.

 

It's their company, sure, and they do have the right to put whatever the heck they want on the headcap, but we as the customer have just as much right to express our dislike of it.

 

Friends showing up to your defense to speak how wonderful you are is not going to help this situation. We are still waiting for a name on the company/factory he is partnered with and that keeps being ignored. That to me screams "shady" as does this entire setup.

And LilTigre he has stated very openly that none of the process of making the dolls was done here in the US. They are chinese through and through with a very patriotic flag stamped all over them to make them oh so american.

 

Perhaps it's time to rethink the way you criticize?

 

... ugh, I was afraid of that. People just don't seem to think things through. The road to hell is paved with good intentions... and while his intentions may have started good.. they kinda stink of brimstone now.

 

All the same, it says quite clearly on the site that they will no longer be using the American Flag on the headcaps. He's even changing the name of the line of dolls! Doesn't that count for anything at all here?

After six pages, I think everyone needs to really chill and stop repeating the same things over and over. Give credit where credit is due, here... he is trying to incorporate your concerns into things and he is trying to make changes, yet you keep launching the same attacks at him and seem to ignore the fact that he's trying.

He's a human being and as humans, we make errors in judgment and we make mistakes. We have to learn from them and grow and you see that he's stopped responding to comments here. He's changed the website three times and that's still not enough, is it?

Now I can understand concerns that the prices and shipping are too high and maybe he'll address those concerns later. As for the doll sculpts themselves, I can see great potential in them. From what I've learned in this hobby, stock photographs can often be misleading. Calling them ugly is just about as childish as him calling your concerns silly is. It goes both ways, you know.

There are plenty of other things out there to take offense to and seriously, I think this has gone too far. For the majority, I'm not too sure though, we're all adults here. Here we have a classic example of someone finally realizing their dream and sharing it with the public only to be shot down instantly. It's really sad. He seems very proud of his work and this is his dream and your comments are turning it into a nightmare for him. Can you stop and think of how he must be feeling?

The only person hurt here is Aaron. You're crushing his dream... and he's trying, I mean, what more do you want from him? An apology for trying to realize a dream? I wouldn't count on it. It's so sad... all he wanted to do was share his excitement, though perhaps he was a little misguided in doing so.

Just let it go.