Tan DoT are not worth their price

From reading the replies of the other tanned doll owners, I'm getting the impression that they didn't have to pay extra for the makeup. Unless, like dechanique said, it was a custom faceup? I didn't get that impression from the original post though. If that is the case, and a faceup was supposed to be included in the price, then your friend definitely needs a refund.

And to the best of my knowledge, the one-off clothed tanned DOTs never went on sale.

Edited because I'm dropping words like a maniac.

 

Yeah-- you shouldn't have paid at all for the makeup on any fullset DOT or limited tan DOT at all. It was already included as stated on the site:
Make-up : Make-up ( slight variation as it is hand-made, and it's done by DOD make-up artist.)

I also had questioned for a custom make-up and this is what they said:

Dear customer.

Your new address is forwarded to our shipping dept.
Please understand it will have all same make-up as picture shown.

Thanks
DOD

http://www.ecinter.net/frontstore/I...5&mart_id=hoo933&level=&mother_catalog_num=85

and of course-- it is not as it is shown in the picture and neither is it the DOD Artist...
Also, Fullest Black Shall was never released due to a rumor that the clothes were going to be worth more than the doll.. There were only 7 available to the international orders...

 

Dear gods but that is true.... I can sew, but can't seem to do a faceup to save my life. -_- Anywho, back on topic. I agree that a refund should be given for the price of the makeup. I'm not so great with faceups and I think I could have done better than that. Believe me that is saying something. In general, I was satisfied with the quality of my DOC Si when I got him. He posed very well, he was sanded with no seams, and his makeup was beautiful - though one of the eyelashes bothered me and the putty in his head really grossed me out to touch. The 10 week waiting period is normal for DOD. Better communication is definitely needed as they shouldn't just brush off the shoddy makeup job. DOD as a company I like - but in this instance I understand the upset. (Trying to be diplomatic.) I'm sure we can all nitpick almost anything about any doll if we try hard enough.... but it is much easier to do with this one. ops:

 

It seems to me, after reading all the replies, that there seem to be two sets of mistakes here.

DOD Mistakes:
1) Not noting the headcap gap issue. Unlike the seams, you can't see it in pictures and it's not common knowledge to those involved in the doll hobby. Or at least it wasn't until now.
2) The make-up does not match the make-up advertised. This is an issue deserving of a partial refund, IMHO.
3) This one is a bit uncertain, to me -- Not including a box receipt. Of course, if the package was marked as a gift -- which it seems that it was -- then the inclusion of such a receipt would have given away that it was in fact purchased goods, and that may be why it was left out. One can't have it both ways. Either you try to escape all fees with it being a gift, or you include a receipt and take your hit. Which did the buyer want?

Buyer Mistakes:
1) Not noticing that the original pages for Shall said that seams would not be sanded, nor doing enough research to come across this fairly well-known fact about most (not all) tan dolls. English may not be her first language, but as another poster has said, surely if she has been involved in BJDs for so many years, she knows where to find accurate information.
2) Regarding discolorations from the production process as avoidable "flaws."
3) Writing a rather agressive email to DOD, and then being surprised when the response was less than fawning. The concept that the customer is always right and that a business has the obligation to be polite NO MATTER WHAT is not an Asian concept at all. I think the DOD response, while not gushing and apologetic, was appropriate and far less inflammatory than the one sent by the buyer. Had a straightforward request in neutral terms -- "I would like to request a partial refund due to the fact that the face-up does not appear as advertised, and there is a headcap gap that was not warned about in advance" -- been sent, I think DOD would have complied. Instead, they received a vague and a bit histronic "complaint" with no direct indication of what they were expected to do to "fix" the problems.

I am not trying to come down hard on the buyer, by any means. But most of the responses in this thread seem to assume it's either ENTIRELY the fault of DOD, or ENTIRELY the fault of the buyer, and life is never so black and white.

 

I have to say, although I'm not taking sides, I hate it when a customer thinks they can bad mouth and insult someone and expects the seller/business to be poliet about it.

Though this is a different situation, if anyone at my place of work was to call me names I do not wish to mention, I would have every right to argue back and tell them not to come back, because we don't need customers, who are impatient over some DVDs x_x;

Sorry, that's OT, but as Lizzard said, it's partially both the parties fault. I'm not saying you bad mouthed DOD Kirane! Don't worry, just stating that alot of people here think that even if you said someone a nasty email if they're a business they have to sugar coat everything...

 

on the bright side, you now know what to sell her on ebay for...that was kind. lol!

im sorry to hear about your doll, its a shame.

 

Having worked in the complaints department of a trully abismal broadband company (I won't name names, but they have a website dedicated to their flaws) I agree. You can't badmouth a compnay and expect to be treated nicely in return.

However, I do not think the original poster of this thread was rude. She sent an e-mail expressing her concerns, and yes, she was upset. But any normal person readin that letter would understand that she is dissapointed and upset, and know not to take it personally. I also think the response was unhelpful and did not offer any kind of solution- it didn't even ask what the customer would deam a suitabel resolution- something that is quite common when people make complaints.
Overall, in this one particular case, I do not feel that DoT are dong their best to resolve the situation, and I think that *in this one particular case* the concerns of the original poster are well founded.

 

I agree-- there are faults between both parties.
On the other hand, I think the Black Shall was sold because the skin was much lighter than expected. Which I expected to be darker as well. But nevertheless-- I'm satisfied--- I didn't want it really want it chocolate brown like the Tan Els...

 

Definitely are faults from both parties, but I think the most important thing is we're expecting DoD to use our "customer is always right" policy. It's a cultural thing and we shouldn't expect them to follow the rules of our culture. I'd really hate to see something like this hurt DoD's U.S. relations and image because one day, it might go too far... look at the parting line situation and how the free sanding ended.

 

Wow... I wouldn't have believed that when Kirane posted this thread there would be so many answers (I read the whole 4 pages I missed)
So as Lizzard said, yes, there might be faults on each sides.
The only thing that annoy me a bit on this thread is to say that it's Dora's own fault if she wasn't able to read that the tanned dolls of DoD wasn't sandable. You see, on Luts, which were released after the Tanned DoT, it's written in red on the description and even though the Tanned El et Tanned Lishe are OOS it's still written. So why, if there was a notice on DoD about the sanding problem, has it been removed ? I find it a bit unlogical and confusing. I admit that Dora should have made more searches about the tanned dolls, but as I said (it might be the third time now) how could you have made an inquiry about tanned dolls knowing that the tanned DoT like the tanned Lishe and El were OOS after 20 seconds ?
In that case she could have made an inquiry AFTER the pucharse. But how could have she imagine that her tanned DoT would have those marks ? You see, Tanned El and Tanned Hound don't seem to have this problems, maybe if someone on our french forum about BJDs had opened a thread about the tan problems maybe Dora (who doesn't speak english) would have tried to know more about the tanned dolls and ask a friend to make an inquiry about them. But there weren't such thread about the tanned dolls on our french BJD forum.... Maybe then you have to blame the whole french community not to have pointed out that fact ? But that's not the point I guess.
Another thing that Lizzard pointed out was "Regarding discolorations from the production process as avoidable "flaws." As I pointed out above, Tanned Delf, Tanned Narin dolls or Tanned Hound don't seem to have the same problems.... I saw a tanned El in real last week he is just perfectly done with no discolorations problems. Maybe opening a new thread to compare all the tanned dolls which had been released by different companies might be a good idea and a good thing for all the potential tanned dolls buyers.
I agree with Lizzard that the mail Kirane sent might have been a bit too aggressive but it's hard to stay quiet and polite when you're upset. I can understand that a such mail might have not received the best welcome at DoD and that she shouldn't have had pointed out the custom fees which were a bit off topic. The customer is not always right, that's true but if the complain is fair, they have to make something about it. I mean, when you buy something which isn't like the description you had of it don't you think you have the right to complain ? Maybe her email was a bit awkward and DoD felt agressed by it, but once again she was in her rights to complain about what she felt being a kind of "rip off" above all for the makeup.

Once again, Kirane opened this thread to warn potential tanned DoT dolls might have those problems or be disappointed. Maybe she hasn't done that in the most diplomatic way (neither of us are really good at that ;p ) she hasn't opened this thread to flame DoD's work on the other dolls. As she said, DoD made a great job on her Twingkey and on many other bjds. Dod is a great doll companie, the DoT and DoC are amazingly well done, that's not the point. The only thing is that maybe DoD wasn't ready to sell Tanned Dolls, maybe they were too hasty to release them without being perfectly sure about their technique. I don't know. Anyway.... I forgot the rest of my answer ^^;

.... oh ... yes, I don't know why she had to pay extra for the makeup, all I can say was that she hadn't asked for a custom makeup, she just wanted the default makeup.



PS: if anybody has a solution to sand the parting lines and recolor the resin, we would be glad to read it. Thanks ^^ (and I hope having been clear enough, my english isn't that perfect and my thoughts might be confusing ^^; )

 

I just thought I'd clear up something. I noticed that someone said that the Tanned Delfs and Tanned Hounds don't have the same issues. I can't speak for the Tanned Delfs as I've never seen one, but I do have a Tanned Hound. The marks that Shall has on her side where the molds broke are also on my Hound...his heels are also discolored as are his shoulders. On Hound these are smoother than they are on my Shall, but I think that is because Tensiya did sand those areas after the fact. Beyond that, I also noticed that my Shall has a much more consistent color through the rest of her resin. There are a couple of small marks on my hound where the resin is much darker than the rest of him.
I'm not trying to defend anyone here. More I'm just saying the high number of tan dolls released is such a new thing that the companies and the consumres all are a little unfamiliar with how they differ from the normal dolls. Even though they aren't necissarily as "perfect" in some ways as the rest of my dolls, I adore my tans.

 

With my Volks Sunlight dolls, I had read that it was best to have Volks sand them, as they had a spray that would even out the color again somewhat when the sanding was done.

(And while I don't have pictures handy of their seams, they're nearly perfect.)

I think part of DOD's difficulty is that this was a new product for them - and perhaps not as successful an experiment as they liked.

But they have a point - flawed or not, these dolls were instantly valuable for their rarity (and for the artist's name).

I think it's important, especially for people who've discovered ABJD through their fashion doll fandom, to realize there are differences between fashion dolls (finished and perfect in every way) and ABJD (an ongoing hobby) and that their expectations of getting a perfect artist doll for the price are going to largely be unmet. ^^;

I don't mean that as a criticism or from snobbery - it's just the case. More established companies, like Volks, have had a little time to work some of these disappointments out and to come up with solutions. (And again, that's not snobbery, it's just fact.) Smaller shops, like DOD, are still struggling with some of these issues.

I'm sorry for your disappointment, but glad you like the doll. ^_^ I hope you can have her face customized to where you love most everything about her!

 

Just so you know, I agree with you whole-heartedly! I was just making my comment to other people who are saying "So what if someone is rude, you should be nice no matter what".

And I think your email was appropriate, although mentioning what you would like doing (refund, credits) would be nice! ^_^

I've never been a fan of tanned dolls, I guess I'm lucky, the only limited DOT I want is full set Shall.

Though I do like tan Naraes o_o

 

Have you e-mailed them about the refund already? ^^
Please, do this, so I think the problem will be solved.
I understand your friend disapointment.
*hugs* I hope that, even with the flaws, her doll will be able to make her really happy ^^

 

True in Western business practices, but not in most Asian businesses I have interacted with over the last 15 years.

I would like to point out again that the buyer's email did not indicate that a "fix" was being requested. The letter does not ask for a refund or a return, and it starts out by simply stating, "I want to tell you what I think of the DOT LE Black Shall."

To me, that sounds like simple feedback, not a request for arbitration. In other words, it just sounds like, "I didn't like this, here's why, I won't buy from you again, and you may want to consider changing these things in the future." Nowhere does it indicate that the buyer is expecting anything from DOD other than perhaps an explination -- which DOD then provided. It may not have been what the buyer wanted to hear, but it WAS what they asked for.

As I understand it, neither side speaks English as a native language. That makes it very hard to communicate properly. Perhaps the buyer didn't intend to come off quite so agressive -- and perhaps DOD didn't mean to sound dismissive. Tone is hard to judge sometimes. But one thing is clear -- when the potential for confusion is present, one must be VERY CLEAR about what one wants in order to get an appropraite response. And in this case, I don't think the buyer was terribly clear. (I can understand why not, but there it is.)

I feel awful saying that, because it sounds like I have negative feelings toward the buyer in this case, but really and truly, I don't. I know how horrible it must feel to be disappointed in something you looked forward to so much.

 

I don't own a DOT or any DOD doll, but it was my impression based on the various BJD news sources I read that information about the tan releases was made available a few weeks in advance of the release. When I (and others) suggested that she might have wanted to research, I think it was intended to mean research before the dolls came into stock. Others have noted that while Luts tans don't appear to have the problems, most others do, and that was known well in advance of these dolls' sale. (The Luts tans weren't even released at the time the tan DOTs were, anyway, so that's a moot point.)

Just trying to clarify.

 

Kiane, did you actually pay an extra fee for the face up? When I ordered Dea's tan Camine, there wasn't even an option on the page for paying for a face up, so I'm not sure how this was possible.

If you paid for it, regardless of quality, you should ask for a refund because it ws to be included in the cost.

As for the bad face up... send them an email with comparison pic's of Treelores old Tan Shall (hopefully her new owner wont mind). Tell them the quality is obviously different and request to send the head back for a new faceup for free. That should solve things as they generally seem receptive. (Their email wasn't rude, from my American understanding of English.)

 

I understand this all too well. DoD customer service, in my opinion, is as good as mud. I have many friends who are getting into BJDs and love Mi. My standard phrase is "Yes, DoD makes beautiful dolls but they are complete jerks." (In your case, however, the product wasn't even beautiful.) DoD gave me three weeks straight of headaches. They threatened to cancel my order, demanded things of me without so much as telling me everything was OK with my order and then it would take two or three e-mails being sent with the same question before they would respond. For me, dealing with DoD made me feel like they were doing me this HUGE favor by letting me give them my hard earned money. I still think their dolls are beautiful but would buy them second hand only. So, I am not really suprised at their response to you. I am suprised, however, by the quality of the product they sent you. Like others have said - it is inexcusable, end of story.

 

You know, it's interesting to see how DoD's customer service has changed since I ordered from them...(what, two years ago?) I asked many questions before ordering my Mir (my first BJD,) and they answered even the silly questions within one day of my emailing them. When she shipped, they did accidentally send the wrong pair of shoes with my order, and I emailed them politely and offered to pay the shipping, and then they mailed me a free wig and the pair of shoes I'd ordered along with a handwritten apology on a stunning little postcard. I said all over the web that they had fabulous customer service because when I ordered from them, they did.

I think some of this is just DoD's growing pains. It's difficult to become as popular as they have overnight. They seem to be trying very hard to meet the demand for their dolls without going out of stock a billion times for a month or two at a time. I'm not saying that excuses mistakes, but it does help explain them. As Janne has said, some of the other companies had more time to straighten out the kinks in their manufacturing and customer service processes.

I do hope, though, that this matter gets settled to the satisfaction of both parties. As others have said, I'd hate to see DoD's reputation ruined because in most cases they really do make a beautiful product.