Tensiya releases Dollshe Tan SA Bermann Il Milione

I don't see why it necessarily has to be an unbiased process. It's a business, but this is also a form of art. I know that I certainly wouldn't be coldly professional about selling off something like that. I can understand people's frustration, but this hobby has always seemed to me like it's supposed to be treated like something special. Not like just going to the grocery store and grabbing something mass-produced.

So to me it makes sense that there'd be a human element and some emotions/thought involved in who wins.

 

I understand perfectly that this is what some people are saying - however, it's not a realistic request. HOW would you have tensiya "fix" hurt feelings? One thousand people bid on eleven dolls - to even consider that nine hundred and eighty-nine of them were rejected by tensiya for personal reasons is ludicrous. They were “rejected” for all manner of reasons in order to narrow down the number. If members really believe that eleven were chosen for personal reasons and find themselves in poor company with the other nine hundred and eighty-nine “rejectees” and are hurt by that there probably is no way to soothe that sort of injury.

How on Earth an “application” that states simply the price willing to be paid and whether or not the payee can wait seven months for delivery being rejected feels personal is a mystery. Even if tensiya had asked for essays and photographic interpretations of how a prospective Bermann keeper deems themselves the most worthy and then chose based on the caliber of such entries, one couldn’t really take that as personal but rather as subjective, right?

 

By making it clear how the decision was made, so people can stop assuming the worst (in other words, stop assuming that they were deemed unworthy in some sort of personal judgment).

It's such a simple solution. I can't see how in the world it would cause any harm to anyone to explain how the decisions came about. Since when is clearing up misunderstandings a bad thing?

That said, I have been asked to bow out since I only watched my friends apply for this release, as opposed to being involved myself, and I will abide by that private request. Congratulations to all who won, no matter how many you have.

 

Wow. I just read all 17 pages of this saga in one blow, and now I think I need a cigarette.

Congratulations & sympathies to all, respectively sorted.

 

tensiya does not owe an explanation to any of us. If some members here are choosing to believe rumours, innuendo, and wild speculation in place of direct, first-hand knowledge then drama is sure to be the result of that. Count me in with the crowd who doesn't think that direct, first-hand knowledge is something, actually, that will be gained by writing to Anu.

The very real and very frustrating fact in all of this is that there are only eleven dolls to be homed. I would love to believe that a mechanical selection process would ease the minds of those who aren't selected...but I'm not so sure that would be true either. It's never a good feeling to not draw the lucky number - regardless of the method of drawing.

 

VERY well put Steph, and I agree with you 100%.

 

There are no rumours... and there is no first hand knowledge. Except apparently for Sabriell's and she's not speaking.

Lizzard wasn't implying in any way that Anu needs to justify herself to us. She was just trying to explain her point of view on why some people are so upset.

As for mechanical selection easing people's minds... I dare say that there isn't a single limited release I can think of that stirs up as much frustration and 'hurt feelings' as Bermann's do. Especially not mechanical releases like Luts dolls. At worst I've seen a few people cursing their internet connections. I never once saw this sort of bantering and bitching after the re-release of Elf El and Lishe. And I heard nothing of the sort being attached to Breakaway and Woosoo. (Now the drama a year or so post their release... >.> that's a different story. lol)

 

Speculation seems to be driving much of the upset feelings that are being voiced on the thread.

There has been drama around other releases - the past two Bermann releases have been done "mechanically" the only way tensiya could manage - first come first served email or "buy now." Both releases generated "drama." Certainly there have been threads in the past regarding the frustration of eluts.com releases of CP molds - one of the major differences in those situations is the number of dolls sold - Woosoo saw two releases and the final tally of dolls was somewhere just below 200.

 

I'll admit to not knowing a whole lot about previous Bermann releases, just the pile-o-drama attached to them. And CP releases have had their share of frustration for sure, but not drama to this extent that I've seen.

11 Tensiya Bermans x 10 releases = 110 Tensiya Bermanns
110 Tensiya Bermanns + 77 Original Bermanns = 187 Bermanns, period.

Looks like pretty Woosoo-esque numbers to me.

So I guess it really is just all about the way and when they're released.

The way I figure, congrats to the winners, my fingers crossed for the 'losers' in the next release. And dramaz to be ending now?

 

Actually there will be about 330 Bermann releases once Tensiya's had their run. There are 77 originals, 33 original SAs, 50 SA heads, 60 Bermann tan versions (DO plus SA head), plus the 77 Tensiya DO and the 33 Tensiya SA.

Though of course, the actual 330 number will dwindle a bit to subtract the Korean-only releases, and plus the fact that Anu and Mr. Kim each own at least one SA and one DO apiece. I'd say less than 130 were made to the international market. I've also heard before that Mr. Kim has made a small number of extra Bermanns for personal friends, but I haven't seen any official confirmation on that.

 

I don't know if i can say that......In fact, there are 5 person who have already had a bermann doll, not 4 person in the 7 winners as we know. I don't wanna point out who is she/he. Because that doll was come from 2nd market. For me, it just shows those people are the one who is really very deeply love bermann doll, nothing else. And i won't to say anything else on this thead again because of my poor english. I feel very hard to read all of your so big paragraph words. It is so pity that i can't express my opinion well. Oh, i regret that i didn't learn English well Anyway, i admire those people who winned this time. And i'll try my lucky to the next/last release.

 

Well, imo, that probably has something to do with it too...? Releasing one batch of 200 (or however many, I don't keep up with CP) is one thing; releasing 11 at a time over like 4 years kind of gets people antsy. It also allows you to fail multiple times at getting a doll from the original supplier which probably = more frustration, right?

Also, re: the Bermann debates, I often wonder if people are reading too much into Anu's letters. It's obvious her English isn't exactly fluent, so although she's basically able to communicate to us, she sometimes says some pretty weird things... and she also makes incredible efforts to apologize to people in often very creative ways, w/ analogies and all, serious. Picking over the wording of a rejection email seems kind of pointless to me when you know the person who wrote it might not actually understand all the connotations of her own word choice.

In any case, congrats to the winners, and many condolences to those who missed out again this time.

I look forward to seeing pictures from you lucky few when these boys finally arrive.

 

I think this really hits the nail on the head. With something like 200 dolls all being released at once, more people are able to get the doll at the original selling price. When the dolls are released in small batches, fewer people are able to get the dolls, and some people can get multiple dolls over the course of the releases.

 

I think also with the Cps, they were sold kinda under the radar. By the time people figured about them- they were gone. There was no huge countdown, or a lot of advertising. When I bought my elf Lishe I could only find one picture of her. The El had happened before that, I wasnt in the hobby then , but the pool of people who wanted on was probably no where near a thousand. And with the Lishe at least there were only 67 lucky winners, since they were sold in sets of three heads for 1 body.

 

I don't think this is feasible with a Bermann release - Anu and her small staff cannot possibly churn out 200 artists dolls at a time! Her company isnt the size of Volks and certainly isn't even the size of Luts/Cerebus....Alex

 

Okay, so I tried to keep my mouth shut and not post again, but well... I can't. In fact, I'm leaving for a week-long trip tomorrow (Friday), and I'm such a crackhead that I'm doing this instead of packing. Guess I'll be pulling an all-nighter, heh.

With all due respect, Sabriel, you're totally missing the point. People are NOT this outraged simply "because they didn't get what they wanted". What people have been getting SO worked up over is the fact that Anu's last four--not one, not two, but FOUR--Bermann releases have been screwed up in some way, involving OVER HALF (6 out of 10!) of the total dolls planned. Even if I HAD won an Anu Bermann at some point, I'd STILL be upset over this. Yes, I know Anu keeps trying, and I know she's not doing this on purpose, and I'm all for giving a person a second chance and the benefit of the doubt. But at what point DO you draw the line?!

We ALL know Anu et al are extremely busy, and we ALL admire and appreciate the detailed and quality craftsmanship of her work, and despite my earlier implications, I've no doubt that she IS a good person with the best of intentions. As an artist there is no question that Anu excels at her job--but as a businesswoman... she's seriously lacking. She apparently hasn't been giving all that much thought to, or is greatly underestimating, how even her seemingly innocuous decisions are having such a drastic and negative effect on so many people. As has already been pointed out numerous times, this extreme degree of drama and bickering does NOT happen with other dolls. Why?... because no other doll releases have ever been THIS repeatedly and poorly conducted.

It's fine to stick up for Anu, that's what friends do. But, as her friend, what harm is there in giving her some honest and contructive criticism? Sure, YOU may've not had any qualms with these last four releases, but as such a respected and prominent member of the BJD community, and as an "ambassador" between Anu/Tensiya and the rest of us, it would be nice if you could objectively speak to Anu on the community's behalf since you obviously have the ability to communicate with her much more effectively than most of us can. In fact, you yourself have asked us to NOT email Anu/Tensiya about this.

That was one of the main reasons we used to need to go through deputy shoppers. Anybody who's been in this hobby for even a short amount of time can tell you what a pain--if not nightmare--it can be sometimes having to ask a question or resolve some issue, big or small, with somebody who speaks/writes little or broken English. And of course, online translators like Babelfish are about worthless, especially when trying to convey any amount of detail.

So if Anu announced another public release, where everybody was given the impression that they all had exactly the same equal chance to win, then Anu decided to give them to ONLY her friends, you'd be okay with that??? Sure, Anu can release her dolls anyway she pleases to whomever she pleases, but for the past two years we've all been under the impression that these Bermanns were to be distributed fairly, with NO question or doubt as to who they should go to. And yet, there has been something, some little-nagging-sticks-in-your-craw-wtf-this-just-don't-feel-right-something with ALL of the last FOUR Bermann releases (please see my summary of all Bermann releases, page 14, post #207).

It is very true that, no matter what you do, no, you CAN'T please all of the people all of the time... but you CAN use a bit of common sense to minimize the final number of displeased people as much as possible. Had the winners of Il Miliore been choosen "robotically", had the multiple-doll winners of the Manu/Fogg/Entrager release been limited to ONE doll, had the Hwarang's not been given as "compensation" after the Heimdal debacle that started it all, there would be a LOT--and I mean A LOT--fewer ticked off people right now.

Uh, maybe because, at least here in America, that kind of "business" practice is considered UNSCRUPULOUS and ILLEGAL??? At least... it is if you get caught.

This isn't about the people who were rejected, it's about how--based on WHAT criteria--the WINNERS were selected. Of course 998 people weren't rejected on "personal reasons"--Anu, Sherry and Momo don't KNOW all of the applicants personally.

With so many "unexpected" entries, it's only logical that it would be MUCH easier to individually select 11 winning entries than to individually eliminate 998 losing entries. So if you DON'T put all 1000+ entries in a pot for a random draw, or use some computer program to randomly pick 11 emails, then just how DO you go about selecting those 11 winners from such a long list in only 2 days?

Exactly my point, and that's how it should have been.

On a related note, application "embellishment" was admittedly a supposition on my part--simply one of many criteria that MIGHT be used by somebody to choose a small number of people from a very long list in a relatively short amount of time... in lieu of resorting to a random draw.

For anybody still unclear, by "embellishment" I mean: anything added beyond the MINIMUM information that was asked for. Like, for example, instead of a stopping with a simple "Yes" or "No", saying something like "No, I do not plan to resell because I love Bermanns sooooooooo much and believe it would be a sin to resell something so beautiful, unique, and 'alive' for profit." Trying to personalize an application in such a way strongly suggests the intent to increase one's chances of being noticed and accepted.

Of course Anu likes to know her work is loved and appreciated. Who doesn't? But to let something like a compliment, or familiarity, or sympathy, or whatever have ANY impact on a selection process that is SUPPOSED to be unbiased COMPLETELY NEGATES Anu's initial intention, however poorly thought out, to release Il Miliore via auction.

Exactly! And by NOT clarifying things it only makes Anu look all the more guilty of bias.

Yes... they do... because this is now the FOURTH time that their "business" methods have been called into question. Of course, if Bermann weren't so high-profile they might be able to get away with it, as some other Korean BJD companies occasionally have.

That's the problem: we DON'T know... and STILL haven't been given any explanation. Instead, we are told "it's none of our business..." or we "have no right..." Don't you see, given the gravity of this situation and that this really isn't the first time something like this has happened, how SUSPICIOUS this looks???

If that's the case then why are lotteries so dang popular??? A whole lotta people try for those million-dollar pots every week, and even though 99% of them never win, they keep trying... because they don't walk away with the nagging feeling that they were somehow jipped. But if anybody thought for one second that the lottery winner(s) was choosen by some undisclosed non-random method the prize would be witheld until a thorough investigation could be conducted.

"Regardless of the method"?!?! If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to say a biased choice is just as fair as a random draw.


Whew! Well, here it is, after 9pm and I still haven't done any packing or anything to prepare for my trip tomorrow. Unfortunately, my Mom doesn't have internet access so I probably won't be able to keep up with this thread or answer anybody until next Sunday or Monday (22nd/23rd), but by then things here will probably have petered out, so... *shrugs*

 

Woosoo was 150 pieces, plus another 150 if you count the vamp heads. It's stated right on www.eluts.com

Was released in batches with little announcement, or through Liria. And sold in the middle of the night based on Korean time.

At the time, most people wanted El and were not interested in Woosoo. The dolls sat on the site for sale for hours.

Luts has stated a number of times no more Woosoos.

For a doll not many people wanted at the time, why people are upset now does not make sense. There are many dolls issued prior to a person entering this market, same with all collectables.

To tell people what they can and can not buy or own is not even a debatable issue. People have the right to express their feelings, but to tell others they can only have one Fendi bag, one IPhone, or one WII or one Harry Potter book because other people can't get them...no one has the right to tell other people what they can or can not buy. *excluding illegal substances, which so far dolls are not*

This thread was suppose to be about a doll being issued and for people to say yeah I got one. Instead, it goes beyond what I saw on DoD for the same subject. How very sad.

 

I've followed this discussion with interest, came near to posting a couple more times, then thought "Nah, my point's not worth making." Here's a thought that I've been having, and it was actually an assumption that I labored under until recently, too. The phrase "fair and/or equitable" has arisen repeatedly in reference to the distribution of Bermanns. When has Anu ever stated or implied that her role is to ration the Bermanns? As I stated, I also once assumed that Anu's enterprise was to give people a chance to purchase a Bermann at a pre-secondary market price, and from that assumption, also extrapolated that this chance was to be distributed among as many interested people as possible, but it was my own mind that was making this false assumption. I see now that Anu is an artist who is using this enterprise to share her artistry via the vehicle of Bermann. I don't know many, if any artists, who tell a patron that once they've purchased from them, they may never purchase again.
In this particular selection process, there was never an implication of objectivity. Quite the opposite, this was to be a subjective selection by the artist. Criteria for selection were not stated at the outset of the "competition" and thus agreement to their absence was implied when one submitted the application. In my opinion, the only part of the application process that I found a bit disingenuous, was the bidding aspect and putting a cap at $2000, but making the statement that lower bids would be considered. I'm sure Anu and Sherry must understand the popularity of Bermann, and that they would be flooded with top dollar bids. Had they been more up front about the price at the outset, I think it would have allowed people to weed themselves out of the process early on (as it did me--handwriting on the wall, and all that. . .) and spared Sherry, Anu, and many anxious customers some agony. That's my two cents, and gosh, I hope y'all get tired of Bermann one of these days, so I can have my chance at him, lol.

 

Oh yes, for sure. 8D I wasn't suggesting Anu do something as drastic as release 200 full set dolls at once. It would be ridiculous to ask that of her, even if she had that many left to release. I was only saying that the way she releases Bermanns in batches over a long period of time is causing/compounding the drama... but there's not much anyone can do about that.

Also, Kim: have you tried contacting Tensiya directly and asking them what their method of selection really was? I'm not suggesting you take your anger out on them, of course, but so many people are just so upset either at Tensiya or at you, and it's all over assumptions. I know Sabriell says not to contact them, but honestly, if she's not going to spill the details, well. Tensiya is a business, they have a 1/1 Q:A board... it's what it's there for... XD; Whether or not one gets a straight answer from them is another question, but like. Has anyone (besides Sabriell) tried? It could help un-upset some of you, who knows. I can't see how it could make things worse, anyway, as long as everyone's polite.

 

Kim said
"It is very true that, no matter what you do, no, you CAN'T please all of the people all of the time... but you CAN use a bit of common sense to minimize the final number of displeased people as much as possible. Had the winners of Il Miliore been choosen "robotically", had the multiple-doll winners of the Manu/Fogg/Entrager release been limited to ONE doll, had the Hwarang's not been given as "compensation" after the Heimdal debacle that started it all, there would be a LOT--and I mean A LOT--fewer ticked off people right now."

I so agree with this Kim, and will state it again, a simple blind draw lottery would have avoided ALL of this.

Of course, we can't change how Anu decides to sell her dolls, and, if we accept that there will be hitches, that each system might not work well, and that given the popularity of this doll, his limitedness, and the hyper-demand for him, and decide to try for one anyway, we just sort of have to accept that the odds are against most of us getting one.

I lost it after Hwa Rang. He was the one I wanted the most, and because I didn't even try for Heimdal (he was WS and I didn't care for the costume), I didn't even get a chance to try for Hwa Rang. I wrote Tensiya a long letter at the time, explaining why offering Hwa Rang as "consolation" wasn't fair to those of us who had been trying for many editions before ( I tried for both Valentino and Hu Die Meng), and basicaly got told that THEY thought offering him was fair, and that's just the way it was.

It bothered me enough that I became jaded at that point, and decided I wasn't going to try again (and I haven't, I got my Bermann through a wonderful person who approached me with the doll).

So it sort of boils down to, having to accept that Anu uses flawed sales methods, that don't work well, and taking your chances anyway; OR deciding not to play. I decided not to play.

I am a HUGE appreciator of Anu's absolutely flawless work. I would have loved to have gotten a DO. But, the drama, angst, frustration, paying for then waiting 7 months et al of buying a Tensiya Bermann are WAY too much for me.

I am always very happy for the winners, whoever wins these beautiful dolls. I admire your fortitude, diligence, and against-all-odds perserverance, but because of all the problems associated with getting one, I feel doubly bad for those that try so hard, and never get one. The saddest part is, it really didn't have to be this way, at all. A simple and sincere apology to the losers of Heimdal, and then moving to a simple blind lottery with the next release, then sticking to it with subsequent releases, could have avoided ALL of the drama and hard feelings.