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The Buying Experience: In-Person vs Internet

Feb 15, 2010

    1. Then I wonder, what's it like at an AMERICAN Dolpa? Is it just as crazy, or is it more toned down than the Japanese Dolpas?

      One of the reasons I dislike Volks is because they make it so hard for me to get their dolls! I truly like some of their sculpts, but all of them are the LIMITEDS, and even my current dream-that-will-never-happen is an Irvin... I was in the hobby when he was released, but I couldn't go to the event to get him! I know that convention-exclusive limiteds are really nothing new in any big hobby, so I live with the fact that I will have to shill out crazy amounts of cash to have my Irvin secondhand someday. But it doesn't mean I have to like it!

      As for stores, I love the idea of going to a store and coming home with a doll. If I ever get out to California with the family, I may go to the Volks store there (although I've heard it's not that great). I think that a mix between both - online and an in person store - is a great thing and I wish more companies could do it. But unfortunately they aren't popular enough, don't make much money, what have you, and can't. Oh, if only Dollmore had a store in the USA - I'd probably build a tent next to it and just live there. :lol:

      All in all I wish more companies could make stores AND have online shops, but know it's not realistic at this point in the hobby. I also don't have a problem with shops that do all of their business online, because it's one of the easiest ways to get customers. Hooray for the internet! And finally, I wouldn't like a company that ONLY does business through a physical shop or something like Dolpas; if just because it makes it harder for me to purchase their dolls, especially if they only have a store in an Asian country. I like flexibility.
       
    2. It is actually extremely easy to acquire a Dolpa doll if you live in the US, directly from Volks at retail price at a usually much higher success rate than you would see if you had actually gone to the Dolpa in Japan. Every Dolpa, VolksUSA holds an online lottery. All you have to do is fill out the order form online and wait. If you win, they email you, you pay, and a few months later the doll is shipped to you. And if you fail there, there are two American doll shops that have their own lotteries in the same way, and if you fail there, Volks has international online After Events that are held the same way several weeks after the physical Dolpa. North Americans have it pretty damn lucky.

      There haven't really been any American Dolpas in the same vein as the Japanese ones. The NY Dolpa will have a limited doll that generally has a set number in its run, and attendees are able to enter the lottery to buy one. As far as I can recall, I've gone to all of them, everyone who put in for a particular limited has been able to get one.

      Don't lose hope on getting Irvin, he wasn't a success when he was re-released and he remained for direct sale on the Volks site for quite a while, and his resale value is pretty much retail if you keep your eyes open. Good luck on getting him!
       
    3. I think I remember seeing an Irvin lottery, but I thought you had to go to a Dolpa to actually participate. Dunno why! but thanks for shedding some light on it - if there is ever another Dolpa doll that I fall in love with I may not have to worry as much.

      in which case, I do like it when companies have that option. More options means more chances for people to spend money at their establishment. :) And who doesn't like more money?
       
    4. Yes, but your original post talked about buying a doll in person and Volks in particular valuing the in person experience. I think it's important not to discount that this also entails trying to get a LE at a Japanese Dolpa or a Sato event which is oftentimes not even close to a pleasant experience.

      I bought my first doll in person at Akihabara and have ordered *LOTS* of Sato FCS since 2005. Both were fun and enjoyable experiences. However, not all buying dolls in person is fun, getting my Yo Tenshi Yuki at a Sato event was just plain miserable and I got an awful sunburn.

      And yes, I know the Japanese tend to like LEs... oh sakura ginger ale how I miss you and I already miss the dark chocolate raspberry+passion fruit KitKats and one can still find those... but actually, I think a lot of Japanese have begun to grumble about the lottery system as well. I think they too find it painful and unfun even if it is pretty par for the course.

      I tend to find Japanese Dolpas exhausting and I can rarely make it to the end. Even if I just want LE outfits, it generally involves getting up at some gosh awful time to wait in line. (That and it is usually my 3rd event in a row since SCC is usually the 2 days before during Golden Week, and SCC makes Dolpa look tiny.)

      US events are nothing like Japanese events. US events are low key and fun and generally around 300 people or so. It's just not comparable. To me, despite they're being called Dolpas they definitely seem more like the "Tea Party" moniker Volks was originally using.

      I love buying dolls through VolksUSA. I love buying dolls through Rochelle and Debra, and I tend to not worry about the fact I'm not getting to see the dolls in person first, probably because I truly appreciate it versus the alternative. I'm going to the GW Dolpa this year. If I want any of the LEs am I going to wait in the lottery line? No, I'll put in through VolksUSA. I would personally rather have a pleasant buying experience overall, which sometimes means buying my dolls via the internet.
       
    5. I would love to be able to walk into a store and buy a doll...... I would even settle for a store that sold clothes or wigs.... even accessories.... anything!!!!!!

      We dont have any stores that I am aware of in Sydney, though I have searched a fair bit (any sydney siders, fee free to correct me otherwise)

      My next holiday I plan to go to Japan and adopt a daughter or son while Im over there. It will be awesome to pick her/him out in person!!!!
       
    6. I must be a rarity because my first doll was bought in Dolls and Friends when it was open. I went into the store, got to look feel and hold the dolls before I bought. However as my mum drilled into me art history/curator habits I was a bit wary of actually picking any of them up. But that was almost the fun. Being in what seemed like a glass shrine to the works of art, or in this case dolls.

      But somehow I far preferred to actually see and observe the dolls in person than when I buy online. I realized that many of the dolls where completely different from their pictures online and that I would never want to buy them. If Dolls and Friends was still open I would much rather buy from them over any other store because I could really see what I was getting.
       
    7. If you had a choice, would you prefer to buy dolls in-person or over the internet? Which type of buying experience do you feel is better and why?
      I love the convenience and anonymity of online shopping. I don't have to browse a shop sheepishly and feel guilty if I must skulk away not having bought something.


      Which is most important to you: accessibility, quality buying experience or the product? In your opinion, can you have one without the other? Is the buying experience a part of the product or should it be?
      The product is the most important thing, and reliability of the company is nice too. It's not fun to send $$$$ off into cyberspace and wonder if you'll ever see anything for it! I'd love to do Tenshi No Sato, but only on a regular day... no mad crazy event crowd scene for me, please! Besides, my doll might get traumatized in such a press!
      A quality buying experience to me is a great product and competent conscientious service. I don't need a swanky shop, expensive gimmicky packaging or shopgirls pretending to be my best friend.


      Which company-type (NOT company) do you think is best: internet only, internet and in-person or in-person only? Why?
      Hmmm.... Well I want to say Internet Only, because I think they have the lowest overhead that way, and maybe it translates into price, but really I'm not overconcerned about price, only quality. I'm mentally comparing and contrasting my two favorite companies Volks and Dollstown. One has a shop, garden, cafe and hosts events, and the other has only a couple of artists and an online venue. Both are wonderful in completely different ways. It really just comes down to who has the doll/sculpt I want and do they provide decent service! The rest is not *so* important to me.

      Raven
       
    8. I absolutely agree with you. I ~hate~ the limiteds buying system in Japan. I can't argue that the internet is a better option. Is it part of the buying experience? Perhaps for some, but not for me. At the same time I dislike the limited option for another internet company for the reason that they sell out in seconds. Neither the in-person or internet experiences are pleasant in those situations ~for me~ but everyone is different.

      I agree that the US event is probably more enjoyable (for you and probably for me), but the US and Japan events are catering to a very different customer. As a result, there will be large differences. Personally, I enjoy the cultural differences because it helps me see a side of Japanese society that I don't get to experience in everyday life. It's the positive of an otherwise possibly negative experience.

      So, in my wordy way, I agree with you ;)
       
    9. If you had a choice, would you prefer to buy dolls in-person or over the internet? Which type of buying experience do you feel is better and why?
      The chance to buy at a store is always welcome. After all, these things aren't cheap. I'd feel much more confident with what I'm buying if i can actually see it up close. Unfortunately, the community in Singapore is probably too small to support brick and mortar dollfie shops.

      Which is most important to you: accessibility, quality buying experience or the product? In your opinion, can you have one without the other? Is the buying experience a part of the product or should it be?
      Product is definitely the most important. Everything else is moot if I don't even like what I see. I would place buying experience as second most important. After all, accessibility could usually be fixed by shelling out more money at yahoo auctions, but the other two are priceless.

      On the topic of limited editions: I think it's good. After all, isn't this hobby about creating your own unique dolls? It helps that the sculpt you're using is not obtainable unless people are willing to "shill out crazy amounts of cash".

      Which company-type (NOT company) do you think is best: internet only, internet and in-person or in-person only? Why?

      Hint: having more options is always a good thing.
       
    10. If you had a choice, would you prefer to buy dolls in-person or over the internet? Which type of buying experience do you feel is better and why?
      I prefer over the Internet. In such cases, going to a dollfie shop overwhelms me because there are just too many choices and things seem random and all over the place, albeit I have only visited a few such places in that forgot-its-name seven floored building in Akiba where the Volks showrooms are located. (Kotobukiya is on its first floor) -- the choices spread out all over the place went right over my head. I would prefer everything in a list.

      * I do agree with Arcenciel that here in SG, the community is too small to support physical shops and even so if there are, they would be hustled into a corner of another shop rather than a shop on its own.

      Which is most important to you: accessibility, quality buying experience or the product? In your opinion, can you have one without the other? Is the buying experience a part of the product or should it be?
      Accessibility. If the product can't be shipped to you, or you have no way to obtain that product; quality buying experience, type of product becomes all moot. Even in our globalized community, with Internet, with deputy sellers -- the amount of ready-cash you have in your hand is your main point of accessibility to all the dolls available everywhere. I would count 'buying experience' more towards customer service and support. Good service enhances the experience.

      Which company-type (NOT company) do you think is best: internet only, internet and in-person or in-person only? Why?

      A company-type that has all options and without charging extra administration fees to it.
       
    11. I'd love to be able to buy in person, but unfortunately it isn't to be :(
       
    12. I'd love to buy in person, so that you don't have to worry if the monetransfer went okay, if he/she didn't get lost in the mail or broke of stugg like that, there is a store a few hours from where I live, bit most of the time they don't sell the dolls I want.. So I have to buy through internet anyway.. but for wigs an clothes it's okay.. though I order on internet a lot to because then I don't have to travel for hours.. xD
      Though I never had any trouble with internet buying I still worry a lot about if everything is going well.. *sigh*
       
    13. I second this...looking forward to picking up Namiko from them. In fact, being that I will be in the LAX area I will be very tempted not to visit Torrance Tenshi no Sumika and pick her up this weekend.
       
    14. Personally, I would rather lose a doll via the internet, even if it sells out in seconds, from the comfort of my own home, then lose a doll after schlepping to a venue and waiting in line a few hours. One took up minutes of your day another easily took up several hours.

      I enjoy the cultural differences between the US and Japan too. However, I think if you asked most Japanese they would say they do not "enjoy" trying to win a LE doll at a Dolpa. They do it because they do not want to pay a scalper and it is a way to insure you get your doll. (At original price and without tax, that 5% does make a difference on say a SD-17.) And one could argue waiting patiently in line for something is really not so different from what many people do every day at DisneyWorld.

      It's not that I don't partially agree with you, I just feel like since you personally are not interested in Volks LEs you're only focusing on the positive side of the Volks buying experience in person.

      Of the dolls I've ended up keeping, the majority are LEs I've won through VolksUSA and are not dolls I bought in person.
       
    15. I would adore~ to be able to buy from a store. Getting to see and (I hope) hold the doll before buying is just so~ much better! You already get a connection with it and it makes it easier to know if one doll is better then the other since on the net you can only do so by trying to find owner pics xP

      I do not really know.... I've only been buying from internet since I do not think I will ever see a BJD shop anywhere near my city.... Customer service should always be good though. Buying is great, but if you have a questions its best to have a good and fast answer ;3


      Both. I would not mind if it is internet only, but in person only would be bothersome for those who do not live near where their shop is. If its both then its absolutely sure the company would have more clients and everyone would be happy =D
      And its even cooler when someone who lives near the shop can take pictures of the dolls for those who cannot be there > w<
       
    16. I'd -love- to be able to buy in person, but I don't think there are any stores around me that sell BJDs. The tactile experience is important to me, especially when it comes to things like sizing. You can tell me a doll is 58 cm tall but until I actually hold her in my hands, that sounds HUGE (and it probably will still seem huge even then!). I'm still trying to figure out exactly which doll I want for my first one, and I've only ever seen a BJD in person briefly, once, and he totally wasn't "my style" of doll. Oh well - it'll make it that much more OMG SPECIAL when I do have my first dollie in-hands.

      EDIT: #$&#$*! Think Pink! is like half an hour away by train. And is open tomorrow. Today. Argh. It's 4 AM. They open in 6 hours. I'm still awake! Must sleep... then must convince husband to watch the baby so I can go tomorrow. Must also drug husband so he doesn't realize how much money imma spend on dollies.

      I guess there is something about buying online that makes it seem like less money, too - if I was buying in person, I'd go with a wad of cash. Buying online, I just type in my husband's credit card number and it doesn't seem so much like "real money". For someone like me who grew up extremely poor and has a real problem spending hundreds on something that isn't rent, food, or utilities, that "distance" from the money is a good thing. I don't think I could do it if I had to hand someone several hundred in cash, even if we can easily afford it.

      When I get around to selling my own dolls (if I ever finish sculpting the first one, that is, and can get her cast...) I'll be selling primarily online, though if a serious prospective buyer wanted to meet me for lunch in Amsterdam to take a look in person, I'd totally be up for that. If only so I can squeal about dollies with someone who understands. ;)
       

    17. Again, I completely agree. But, I don't see doll collecting as lining up for a limited at all and feel people who do it are, um, kind of silly. No doll is worth that much hassle, in my opinion. If fewer people did it then Volks would be motivated to change things.

      If it isn't fun for me, I don't do it. No exceptions. If someone doesn't like crowds, doesn't like long lines, etc. I would never recommend a Dolpa to them. But, on that note, if they love dolls there are often collectors in line at Dolpa's who are more than willing to share their love of dolls while waiting in line, so I would argue it is very much different than Disneyland or Universal Studios (two places I have never and will never go, because I don't line up for things that I don't consider fun).

      I understand what you are saying, but I'm getting the impression that perhaps the limited dolls themselves may be why you go to Dolpa rather than the enjoyment factor. Please don't take this the wrong way, but by supporting the Dolpa's system you only encourage Volks to continue doing the same thing year after year. In essence, you are participating in a system you are criticizing for making you unhappy even though your actions - and your wallet - support it.

      Life is what you make it. Dolpas are no different.
       
    18. Japan's a densely populated country. If you want almost anything popular or desirable, you're going to end up lining up for it. Even if you're going to events you have tickets for, you're going to end up lined up and waiting out front at some point. I'd say the average urban Japanese person is used to the idea of waiting in lines. I've never gone into a limited line at a Dolpa, but I've spent an awful long time in lines for various reasons. Not everybody here has a computer at home, (although they're catching up on that) so the limited line might still be their best bet. Also, if you're lucky and get a good number, you walk out that day with the big box. Whether braving the limited lines is worth it is entirely up to the individual, and I don't think less of anyone for choosing to try it or to avoid it. I'd personally do it to get an LE I really wanted, and I'm generally REALLY jealous of my time. However, if I'm willing to spend a huge chunk of money on a doll that I intend to keep and fuss over for years to come, I'm also willing to spend some time to attain it. I also think it must be pretty satisfying when you succeed in getting what you want that way.

      That said, Dolpas are hardly the representative way of buying in-person, so I'll stop rambling on about them now!
       
    19. I get the impression that the whole Volks shopping experience in Japan, whether it be lining up for Dolpas or going through the "omukae" ceremony, is targeted at a Japanese customer base, not Western. Given that they sell a lot in Japan it only makes sense that they'd set it up the way their Japanese customers will enjoy or at least tolerate. I personally think the entire thing is silly but I don't live there, I'm not the target audience. I am just happy that they have VolksUSA lotteries as well as Y!J and the marketplace here, so I can get the dolls I want without having to spend a lot of time and money participating in a shopping experience that would really put me off.
       
    20. I would love to be able to doll.shop in person. But living in a largely "doll-less" country is not so bad as long as there is internet. I just got the courage up and ordered my first BJD (Dollstown; whose site was great to order from once I had looked up the DOA tread on the subject also they were writing good English and answered any queries straight away).
      I have ordered other BJD things too (by phone and internet) from Think Pink, very great service also from them and as good as being there in person.

      Being a long time collector also of antique dolls, I kind of built up a customer/friend relationship with my regular dealers and always preferred to go back and shop with those (they would always let me know if they got something special for my dollcollection, which was great...) and I knew who to trust and some that I would not buy from.

      I'm kind of glad that there are no "real life" doll-shops in my near vicinity as it would mean that temptation would be even closer (if that makes any sense....)