The Buying Experience: In-Person vs Internet

Buying dolls online is easy and convenient for sure, but the long wait is definitely not fun. However, buying a doll in person would be wonderful if I lived near a store. I am sure that factors in for most people as well. If there was a doll store near me, then I would rather be able to see a doll, maybe handle it, and also if they had a doll I liked in stock I could bring it home that day. Basically, it comes down to this: convenience rather than driving/flying long distances just to get a doll. However I wouldn't say no to a road trip to one of the stores. :p

 

I love the idea of being able to see a doll in person before buying but that just isn't an option for a lot of us. To be honest I also think that in many ways the internet is better for me personally when it comes to such expensive items. The internet is anonymous, I can go and compare lots of different dolls and companies and take a long time over making (hopefully) the right decisions. This doesn't always work out, sometimes the beautiful doll I fall in love with on the website doesn't seem the same in real life. But I worry that if I were in a show room with an attentive salesperson in attendance I might make a hasty decision I'd regret just as much.

 

I think by the time I want the doll that I see in person, it would be long sold out. Since I like some dolls that are limited.

 

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?
Ordering. I like the novelty of having to wait for my doll (even though I get really impatient sometimes xD). It is also easier because it is just an add to cart and pay system. Less wait time to confirm an order

However, the good thing about buying in person is that you get to check the doll before bringing it home. If you order it online and it comes to you defective, then it's going to be a very long and tideous process getting a replacement. Also, the no wait time is a good thing too! But you'll miss out on the novelty and excitement of waiting for your doll to be shipped you.

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?
For me, it would be the buying experience. A pleasant buying experience determines if you are ever going to order another doll from the same company / site again. And usually, there are times you would want to order dolls from them again in the future. Especially if these dolls are only available on this site. If it's going to be a grueling and frustrating task to order from them, it would me off from ordering any doll from them at all even though it's a dream sculpt. With poor communication, it will also lead to distrust in the company or person handling the sales.

I think it is impossible to live with only one good factor. Having all 3 gives full security and trust on ordering a certain doll.

Which company-type (NOT company) do you think is best: internet only, internet and in-person or in-person only? Why?
Internet and in person. Since they deal both ways, it is most likely they can be trusted by both kinds of consumers.

 

I would have loved to be able to have bought my dolls in person. That way you can see the doll for yourself instead of having only the company photos to go on, seeing as the doll can look very different in person to what is portrayed in the photos.
I think given the choice I always prefer buying in person, especially given the amount of money these dolls cost, but I can't see that happening for me lol
Mind you it is nice to receive the package in the post when you order online The opening is always fun, feels like christmas lol

 

I've always been a little iffy buying in person, because I'm horrible at in-person confrontations (I get all nervous >.<), and I know this sounds crazy, but when I buy online, I feel slightly less guilty than buying something in person, since buying online only requires a click of a button whereas buying in person seems like a bigger commitment. Though I'd like to experience buying in person, I probably won't get the chance in the near future (No stores nearby, and I'm not committed enough where I would fly to Japan/Korea to visit a store in person), so I'll stick with eshopping for now!

 

I don't really like being hassled by sales people - I prefer to take my time and ponder things on my own - so in some ways, buying online is lovely. But I *would* like it if there was a bricks and mortar store where I could check out the dolls in person, or at least where I could buy clothes, shoes and wigs. I definitely wouldn't complain if Volks came to London, for example, as it would open up my buying options.

 

I like both. I prefer buying them online, but seeing them in person is also wonderful. I bought my second doll at a convention, and I really liked being able to look at every inch of him to see that he wasn't damaged and was exactly the way I wanted him to be. Also, I probably saved a lot of money on shipping.
Although I was excited to buy him in person, buying them online is more pleasing to me because I like doing box openings. I think the wait makes you appreciate the doll more.

 

I like buying them online...just so you have more variety and choices to choose from..
and you can always compare the prices...but the problem is...online dolls are usually more expensive...due to the shipping fee..
but anyways, buying them in store is good too..but yea...not everyone can find one in their local town, that's the problems....

 

I would prefer to buy online as salespeople do tend to try to pressure you into buying even if you're just looking for the enjoyment of looking. And that's one thing I can't stand.

Quality of the product is always #1 because it better be worth the price you're paying.

Buying experience is important to me as well because a bad buying experience may spoil/ruin the emotional value of the item you're purchasing. I read in another thread how someone had a bad buying experience when purchasing a much wanted doll and couldn't even get excited about the doll when it arrived because of the experience they had getting it.
Accessibility can be important but I prefer to shop online because I get excited and feel loved when I get a package in the mail, even if its something I ordered, just because I don't get any mail otherwise.

Having both internet and physical access to a store is the best way to go as some people may be close enough to just walk in and get what they want. It would be silly to live down the street of where a doll store is and you can only order it online and have to pay shipping fees just to have a doll delivered down the street.

Internet is not for everyone, just as a physical store to walk into is not for everyone.


I bought my ResinSoul 27cm "Ni" doll at an anime convention a few weeks ago and I felt a little pressured when deciding what doll to get because the lady was staring intently at me and my hubby was behind me watching as well and being in the limelight is one thing I can't handle well so I didn't get to fully examine the doll on the spot and take time to think it through. When I got home with her I noticed a bit of scraping on her scalp and around the ears like she was sanded but they didn't try to smooth the sanding out but its nothing hair can't hide.

Not only that but she called it the wrong doll and gave me the wrong measurements (though their measurements don't vary much). She said it was Bao but when I went onto the ResinSoul website, Bao is male and has pointy ears and a different face and my doll is female with human ears (Ni).

 

I always preffer to see something in person and handle it whenever possible, but with BJDs that just isn't a choice in my area. I probably wouldn't spend so much time staring at pictures on a website if I could just look at the darn thing up close from every angle!

But, I have to admit, I really do love getting packages in the mail!

 

I really like both. I don't mind ordering online, and for me it is very convenient. I can't usually go to a place where I can see the dolls I am interested in beforehand, so ordering online allows me to at least have the option to purchase that item. I'm already in another hobby where international overseas orders are usually not allowed, and I hate having to negotiate with and pay the fees of shopping services. There's a lot of room for error. I much prefer actually placing the order directly.

However, I found out over the past weekend how marvelous it can be to purchase something in person. I attended a Volks Dolpa, where they were selling a doll I have wanted for a while--Super Dollfie Nono. The employees at the table opened up the box to let me see the doll. She looks very different in real life--the photos on the website hardly do her justice. I didn't have to worry about poor quality or photo editing, because what I was seeing was how she really looked. I knew that nothing was missing or damaged, as well. The staff also answered a myriad of questions; I didn't have to wait for an email or message board response. In the end, it was such an enjoyable experience that I went ahead and purchased the doll even though I hadn't been planning to at the start.

I like it when companies have both options--it's really the best of both worlds!

 

Yes, I'm another fan of the in-person Dolpa or Sumika buying experience that Volks brings... Just at last weekend's Dolpa, I was faced with a gorgeous almost-three-hundred-dollar Pure Drop outfit whose assembly was a complete mystery to me. Normally I am good with puzzles, I mean in 1982 I was one of those sixth-graders who could solve the newfangled Rubik's Cube in ninety seconds, but I do get stonewalled by Pure Drop. A zillion layers, a trillion pieces, and which one pins onto which part that ties on and tucks under, does this go upside down or the other way, wrap right over left or left over right, tie above or below the under-layer, yeek! But Ms. Shino took the whole outfit apart & showed me how to put it together again, & then put it on a model doll so I could see what went where on the actual body. She patiently waited till I understood it all, then waited awhile more while I made my decision, then re-folded all the pieces back into the package for me.

I have dropped some big-bucks on complicated outfits that don't come with instructions, many times before, because it's the Internet & that's just the way it goes-- but I sure do appreciate it when I don't have to! Buying in person is a nice luxury when it's available.

 

I would love to but in person but am unaware of anywhere you can do that in the UK where I live.

 

I would love a physical store to go to!! It would be so much easier than tracking stuff down all over the net! The closest thing I've come to this was at anime conventions... but only for doll clothes. I also wouldn't mind buying a doll from people at doll meet ups in person... I just never really have the money when I go to one and someone is selling one... I guess I like both the net and in person. But it sounds really exciting to have a physical store!!

 

Being newbie status it would help me tremendously to see the sizes in person, feel the weight and joints and interact with the dolls. However from a shopkeeper's point of view the general public ( in America) might be very hard on these expensive and delicate dolls.

 

After today I think I will only buy face to face if I can help it...

 

I really would love to buy from a shop, but that's not possible where I live. Oh well, the internet's amazing for getting you things you could never normally buy form a shop.

 

You know, I just had a thought. Why couldn't the doll companies offer/sell samples of their resin? Not the liquid resin, but maybe little coin size dollops of each color. I'd even pay a reasonable fee for it. Since most people aren't near a store that sells ABJDs, wouldn't it be nice to see and feel the resin before you buy a doll?

I doubt it will happen, but it's nice to dream.

 

in europe there arent doll shops. only some dealers. So my answer is "i buy on internet"
if i can, i always prefer to buy directly from the Company. i like my doll as "new" i mean, like im the first person touching him except the company folks. i buy second hand only when i can't buy online myself - such limited volks or old limited or in splits.
i would like to go to dolpas and other expo to see a lot of dolls. but here there aren't so many conventions or big meetings.
But not to buy.