Trying to Understand the BJD Industry

I agree. It comes off as the defensiveness of people too heavily invested to be objective.

 

For once, my silver tongue has turned to lead. I just read through 6 pages, and right now the only response I can articulate is "Jesus Baldheaded Christ".

 

Thank you. This is what has irritated me since the start of this thread. When even the Mods respond with what could be construed as inflammatory verbiage, there's a bit of an issue.

 

Or it could just be that different people have different ideas as to what their consumer rights are. Not everyone is going to expect or demand the same kind of service or quality. Just like different people have different ideas as to what they consider quality. Just because some don't care that every resin batch matches or not doesn't mean it's because we're(generally speaking) allowing these companies to walk all over us. We're not robots that are programed to all want and expect the same thing. One mans trash is another mans treasure. If something doesn't hold up to your standards(general you) that's fine, but don't expect me to feel the same way.

 

Yes, well at least you can melt it down for the silver when the world's supply runs out in about twenty years. We are perfectionists, but I truly hope no one ever expects us to achieve it. It's just a benchmark to strive for - like aiming "through" a target you are hoping to strike in order to give yourself more momentum - not a reality!

I used to think that my dolls would gain value over time, because that's how the market behaved back then. But years later the market has been flooded, we are spoiled for choice, and there really isn't so much focused demand on one particular doll sculpt. I don't think that demanding more perfection out of the doll makers I chose to buy from will have any impact on their future value past a certain point. I already don't buy dolls that I feel are made from cheaper resin, are poorly engineered or badly proportioned. I have high standards. I do know the casting process firsthand. I do run my own business. In my day job I also deal with multinational companies who manufacture and ship every kind of product - including paint! - and I understand exactly what factors can make or break a business that creates tangible items. There are certainly BJD companies whose business acumen is appallingly bad and I try to steer clear of them, but sometimes I put up with it because I understand that what I am buying is a particular person's art. Unless that artist is lucky enough to have a trusted business partner to run the logistical aspects, we are stuck dealing with someone who is an artist, not a business person. More frequently than not, those talents don't overlap or are at least not equal priorities.

 

Considering what the slights against them were that they consider poor customer service - ie, Iplehouse closing sales to move which to me is a positive as it means they are not taking orders they can't fill - I don't think the OP was getting at this at all. It definitely reads more as someone who expected one thing based on experiences with completely different purchases, and received something else and are now pissed off they didn't do their research. Or well, doesn't even seem to care to want to make research but are still pissed off about the purchase.

If the very nature of the item bothers you, it's probably not the item for you. These are irrevocable things. The dolls are made of resin. Resin yellows over time. It is difficult to resin match over time, and the one company that does it well is also the largest company who does all of their casting themselves so they have much more control over it. Most dollmakers don't. It is not unreasonable in my eyes to purchase items some time after your original doll purchase and them not be perfect matches. Not only has the original doll probably changed colour somewhat, you are now dealing with a new batch of resin. I fail to see how this is us being swindled and failing to stick up for our rights as consumers. They got a refund for their purchase because they were so unhappy with it. That was good customer service, especially since I don't see the company in the wrong. Unless of course these mismatching feet were some crazy insane colour, but I doubt it.

I won't take poor customer service from any company I deal with. I bought one of the first Bambicrony coloured elves. The ones that turned green in 2 weeks when they were advertised as coloirfast and not as french resin like they were. I was LIVID. I sold the doll, left Bambicrony poor feedback, and have never purchased from them since. To this day, I will tell anyone I know who wants to buy from them my experience cause it still chaps my ass however many years later. There was a thread where people encouraged someone who recently received a shoddy tan doll from them to fight for her money back, and I think she may have succeeded.

 

Oh, I think a lot of the posts were done with a sense of humour. Let's face it. Down the track, when his great nephew goes to sell yellow banana special - we're gonna be the type of people buying said precious collectible. I don't know anything about collectible art, but I'd tend to think it isn't a good sign when its most devoted collectors roll around the floor snickering with laughter at the thought of it becoming a valuable commodity. My first thought was the porcelain would be a far better medium. Porcelain face-ups are baked on and lasting, the material doesn't deterioriate and down the track the dolls will probably be worth more, I'd think simply because as a medium it will be getting made less and less often as plastic takes its place.

In that same link hugobopp posted, there was a list of most valuable barbies - a no 1 barbie was valued at $8000. That teddybear was created as an expensive bear with diamonds etc and I believe that amount appeared to be its original sale value. I'd want to know what its resale value was.

As to whether companies should provide us with better service, more reliable resin colours etc - sure. But anyone who has been in this hobby for a while seems to slowly progress to the stage where they're simply happy when the doll arrives undamaged. I personally think that the companies have trained us to be so used to horrendous service and waiting times that we're grateful when we get adequate service. It's evil I know, but when you want the end product, what are ya gonna do?

 

I have wondered about wait times, and being pretty new in the hobby, have the wait times in general gotten shorter or longer? If they've gotten longer I wonder if this may be due to factors like a growing number of hobbyist, but the companies themselves possibly not getting any bigger, or the fact that many companies (I'm assuming Korean, and Japanese) have moved from doing in house casting to shipping to China for casting which would add to wait times. I'm genuinely curious here. ^_^

 

It varies company-to-company. My waits have been much, much longer than usual. Whereas I've seen some companies ship some dolls within days. I wish there was some consistency, but alas. That is the hobby.

 

Yeah, I can see how all those factors can affect how quickly any given company can get a doll out. Thanks for your replies. ^_^

 

I'm not even going to touch on resin, other than to mention (sorry if I missed this earlier) that it's primarily used because it's the only material that's practical to cast in small quantities but which has any sort of durability. Plastics require machined molds in the tens of thousands, and other easy materials aren't rigid or are too brittle, like plaster.

However, I think the companies (i.e. Volks since they're the only major game in town) have been screwing up pretty badly in the vinyl market, and are only just now realizing what they have, and who their customers are. Unlike art-piece resin dolls, where low volume, imperfection, and exclusivity are part of the draw, people buying vinyl dolls largely don't care how many identical others are out there. I think they need to use a pre-order model more and make however many get ordered, rather than the lottery system, where the only effect is that they lose dozens of sales to scalpers and the used market.

 

cosplayshots: They do international preorders for limited DDs also from time to time, people just pay more attention to the resin here I think. I'm pretty sure they would know who their customers are especially in Japan where DDs are much more crazy popular. Exclusivity also adds prestige to the sculpt in some cases. Some people take that very much into consideration, which I'm sure Volks also knows.

 

I haven't had a chance to read all of this but just wanted to point out that as a UK consumer, the example you chose, The Gap is quite a poor one. The Gap were on the point of collapse not so long ago and cited in a business section article I read that their huge International expansion and failure to adapt to foreign markets was probably the underlying reason for their financial woes. The Gap opened in the UK back in the late 80's (I think) and yet failed to put UK/European sizes on their clothing for years, presumably thinking that "foreign" consumers should research US sizing? They also failed to train their staff to explain those sizes to the UK/Euro buyer and after the first rush of novelty their sales fell dramatically and by the time they resonded it was a huge uphill struggle to win those buyers back. I guess that's an excellent example of a company being complacent and failing to take into account what foreign consumers expect?

Back to dolls, I kind of see both sides. Yes a company taking £300/£500 of my money owes me certain things as a consumer and I am happy to report that apart from two bad experiences Dollfair (US Company) and Domuya (Chinese?) I have always had great dealings with BJD companies. I had a resin matching problem with a Peakswoods White Skin product but, instead of complaining LOUDLY, I simply wrote a polite email and got an immediate and polite solution to my problem.

I agree that Iplehouse has website problems but they also have a huge and loyal fan base, so where is the problem. If Iplehouse was that bad then the customers wouldn't stay with them. You keep referring to BJD dolls as a Luxury item, which is correct to us the consumer, we do not need them and they cost a lot = Luxury, in my book. BUT they are not a Luxury item like a Prada bag, just for example. The designer bag is a luxury to me and also to the company that created it because their profit margin is huge. This is where BJDs differ as the profit margins on these very expensive items is low because they cost so much to produce. Forget the amount of time and skill that goes into making the original sculpt and creating and maintaining the moulds, the raw material to create each cast is very expensive too.

 

Ummm, I think you need to go really read his/her posts again. The issue isn't whether or not to speak up if you're having problems with a company, or about having low expectations. His/her problem is that he/she doesn't have any real understanding of the hobby, the dolls, what to expect, etc. People should expect good customer service, IMO -- companies should be responsive, they should deliver the item as advertised, if there is a problem they should fix it in a prompt manner, etc. These things DO matter, and with all the choices out there these days, a lot of people will go elsewhere if they really feel they got burned.

However, expecting a mass production type result from handmade items is quite frankly ridiculous -- it's not going to happen not because the companies want to send inferior products, but because handmade items are a whole different beast. Likewise you can't expect the same results from resin that you would a completely different material. And since when was closing for a little bit to move bad customer service???

There's also a fundamental lack of understanding about the bjd market that is not good for someone who is only seeing them as a money making venture. In other words, this person doesn't have a leg to stand on here. The lack of critical thinking is coming from the OP, not the people responding to the thread.

 

Go back and read the posts -- I know for a fact there is more info on resin in there. I wrote some stuff myself, and it's not just look and feel. However, if you would prefer a doll made out of a different material, there are plenty out there, so why complain about it here? I guess I'm not understanding what it is you're hoping to accomplish.

And yes, in it's liquid form resin is icky stuff -- that's one of the things that make it a difficult medium to work with. It has it's advantages though. Go...read...inform yourself -- you're in sore need of it

 

I'm sure that if such a chemical compound exists we can see it being brought into use in the near future. The BJD scene is still a new one, relatively speaking, so it is logical to think that as product availability changes, so will the mediums used by these artists. This is not yet an art form at it's peak, like teddy bear making might be considered to be, and things are still changing and improving. As it is, though, I know of nothing else that could do the job (as yet) that is widely avaliable and cheap enough for both large and small scale production. You don't seem to be grasping the idea that these are small companies- they don't have the capital to invest in new material research that, say, Hasbro does.

Out of interest, though, why are you asking us all this, instead of approaching the BJD companies directly?

We have already told you all that we can as *customers* of BJD companies. If you find the information we are giving is not answering your questions- or (as I suspect is the case) you simply do not like our answers- the next logical step is to approach manufacturers and ask them. We can only tell you what we know as collectors and doll enthusiasts, and in few cases as artists using the medium. We cannot answer hypothetical questions with any certainty or reliablity, and it seems that what you are looking for is either an argument (which alas, some people have given you) or an answer that makes your personal view of the BJD market 'right.' And that is not something we can give you, I'm afraid.

 

Isn't that what you wanted? In order to "understand the BJD Industry"?