What do you think makes a doll/company popular or unpopular?

I love JennyNemesis example with music. Sometimes you wonder how certain bands get so popular?

However I'm more into "character dolls". I had characters I've created years ago and I want their resin counterpart. So until I see 'that' certain doll that resembles one of my characters I won't get anything else. It happens that my remaining characters will be two EIDs lol, they're fairly popular now. The rest of the dolls I'll get will be more on the "impulsive" side and what I'll look in them is uniqueness, so I'll try to avoid those overly popular dolls (that everyone has) or dolls that you can't tell apart from each other.

Which is I guess the case with some of the less popular companies. Their dolls are pretty and all that, but I feel is the same old, same old features I've seen gazillion times in the doll community. That is why I have my eyes set on dolls from MSDoll and Dollstown for instance that are highly distinctive and more unique, and I'll plan on getting a couple of heads from there in the future once I'm done with the 'must have first' ones xD.

Hope all this babbling made any sense.

 

I have some dolls from very popular companies and some from not so collected ones such as Dollndoll. I think for me it is what is available at the time. I buy second hand a lot, and as people buy from the "common" companies, they sell on more frequently said companies dolls.

I just like dolls. I don't tend to...care what the companies are I buy from, as long as obvisouly I know they are a decent one or the doll isn't going to snap on me etc. I just see a doll I like regardless of company and think yeah, I like this. Buy.


And...after looking at the companies mentioned I wouldn't mind some of their sculpts.

 

I work in marketing and I am constantly baffled by the Ball Joint Doll industry. The purpose of marketing is to inform the target audience of a product or service that they either need or want, and then provide those products or services. Here's what I see them constantly doing all wrong:

With so many customers in English speaking worlds, their websites are still hilarious examples of Engrish. Does no one in Korea/Japan/China speak English?

With a forum like this one, very few companies seem to take advantage of a ripe marketing opportunity. They could have announcements, special deals, competitions, polls, etc. I've seen a few pop up here and there but not nearly as many as say pbnation, a paintball forum where every week they have a paintball gun giveaway competition by various gun manufacturers. They know the majority of their audience is active on that forum so they know that the cost of their one give-away gun could inspire many more purchases.

Additionally, selling a doll is only an initial, or even one-time purchase for many customers. What do they have to keep coming back to that company for? Even Soom has an incredibly limited line of outfits. If they offered tons of outfits and accessories to keep people coming back to them, they would make a customer for LIFE. Instead you see all these "sold out" outfits that are only FRUSTRATING in the end to see and never be able to purchase.

Continuing this point, often times a company will *never* offer any of the outfits in their sample pictures with the dolls (ie no fullsets.) The original poster mentioned the Fantasy Ari line, with the really cool Elf Witch and Elf-Knight...they are adorable and a great price, and that armor makes them really unique, but they don't come with it and the company does not offer it separately. This is false-advertising, because the companies don't offer, and probably never will offer, the main attraction of these dolls that make them really exciting. If all they are selling are nude dolls than their photos for what they are selling should only be nude dolls.

Now, marketing banter aside--as I just started with the hobby I didn't realize this pitfall when it comes to clothing. I was hunting for dolls that could best portray characters of mine. When I finally found them, Dolkot was offering a brand new glamour body and I just had to have it to go with what I thought would be the best head for my character. She has a long torso, a very large bust, and a nice round rear-end. And since the body is new, has "unique" proportions, and from a unpopular company, there is absolutely nothing I can buy for her pre-made. In fact, sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world that owns this body... Dolkot itself offers ONE (pretty ugly) outfit for their new model body that is completely inappropriate for my character. If I could do it over again, I WOULD get a SOOM super gem instead, if only to insure I would be able to find interesting outfits for her in the future. Which makes me sad to say because I do indeed love my Dolkot girl...I just can't clothe her! And what's really the point of having a doll hang out naked all the time? However, I keep going back to Dolkot's website hoping they have new Model outfits. Here I am, a willing and eager customer, and all Dolkot has to say is "buy more dolls that you can't clothe..."

Established companies can oftentimes get away with this, but then new companies do the same thing and there's just no point for customers to deal with it. Souldoll is another company that is popular and makes beautiful dolls, but their clothing section is full of "sold out" options. So of course my Souldoll sits naked in her box and not only am I getting frustrated, but pretty damn bored of a hobby where I can't get anything for these dolls I spent so much money on!

 

Excellent points JennyNemesis, and well-put. Popularity is a measure of quantity, not quality, and there's certainly no accounting for the tastes of the masses.

Anneke, I believe the reason the English remains so poor is because they are loathe to hire native English speakers (i.e., foreigners). I've encountered some appalling discrimination as an aspiring Japanese-English translator, despite having all the credentials. Over there it's quite legal.

And I hear you about the clothes!! Somebody ought to tell them, or maybe we could start a petition.

 

What factor(s) do you think really makes a doll/company popular? Have I failed to see something that makes those mentioned companies unpopular?

I think that along with exposure comes popularity. But I for one am not drawn to a doll based on how many people own the sculpt. It really depends on if I just like the doll or not. I've always liked doll factory dolls. My first doll was their pet ari popo, the little fox. And though they may not be as popular as most companies, their resin quality seems alright. I think they are popular as far as their tiny animal dolls go, but not the fantasy ari's. I would have bought one by now, but i am a little sad they don't sell her with the cool armor she's pictured in. Another reason for their lack of popularity, is that their focus seems to be on the pet dolls more than the human ones. People like to get their hopes up, and see something new. Doll companies like soom, I keep my eye on because it's like.. "It's a new month, what are they going to come up with next?" I think the popular doll companies are popular because they are always releasing new products, and after a while, they probably have learned what appeals to people.


For you who like/own dolls only from 'popular' companies, do you ever consider buying, or just researching much less popular dolls/companies?

I actully like it when there's not a ton of molds of the dolls I own out there. I don't go for what other people like in dolls, I go for what I like in them. So if there's a mold I just love, I'm not too partial over weather it's a minifee, or a bobobie, or even a soom, or doll factory doll. They all seem great to me. Even with their slight differences. I can't help but wondering why some people avoid certain companies like they are the plague. Some of the more popular dolls, I haven't even taking a liking to yet. I haven't seen a Volks doll I just had to have or anything. I think some companies are just better at marketing then others.

 

Thx. ^^ But what I didn't mention is that we also cannot forget the flipside of popularity: Sometimes something is popular because it IS genuinely great. It's quality, it's beautiful, it's available, & there is a reason that millions of people love it and everybody wants one. Remember when everybody but everybody had an El? El is a beautiful classic sculpt, and he had every good reason to become ubiquitous (immediately before everybody got sick of seeing him ^^). And after finally seeing Avatar, really, it was just as gorgeous as all the hype said it would be. XD It's popular for a reason too!

Except many of these companies are not 'companies' in the same sense that you're thinking of them from the Walmarketing perspective.... Many of them are single-person studios, or small ateliers, or they may be a company with only 1 person per department. When a company's main focus & priority is to MAKE THE DOLLS, to sell their art as it is, chances are they're not going to be in that mindset of "Gee, I'd better make & sell & do other stuff that I'm not good at, just to get more masses of customers". If you think of dollmakers more as artisans, instead, then you won't get so frustrated every time you encounter the Artistic Temperament in business.

I would personally prefer shopping at a doll company who spent its energy only in the areas where it excelled, & didn't waste its effort trying to bring in some new demographic who wouldn't appreciate them anyway. For example, I may lament the fact that Limhwa has stopped making her gorgeous 68cm male dolls-- but she did it for the reason that she wants to concentrate on her new line of 26cm chibi dolls, & needed to make room in her life. So I admire her decision for its dedication to quality & focus.

Really? You keep coming back to a company for more dolls, because you love what they do. I keep coming back to Volks & Iplehouse because I'm addicted to their dolls, I love their sculpts & bodies & general aesthetics. Even if they didn't sell a single stitch of clothing, I wouldn't care because I love their dolls. You don't have to sell EVERYTHING at only 1 company.

Sure, you can investigate all you want -- but never be surprised if the answer DOES turn out to be "because it's just the way of the world". It's really amazing how often that turns out to be true.

 

Of course, there is also deserved popularity. And linking these two ideas together, I think "deserved popularity" is what happens when an artist expresses herself and people recognize her genius, whereas "annoying popularity" is what happens when a company seeks to exploit a fad or fixation of the masses in order to make the most profitable product possible.

 

I think it has to do with how many people own the dolls. I know for a fact that I won't buy a doll if I can't find a single owner's picture. Especially here on the forums, People may not think a doll is popular, but if there's at a few owners, then it definitely counts for something. Tons of people have Dollmore and Dollzone dolls, and I think the increase could be due to the fact that so many people have them, and so many people are posting pictures, it encourages others (certainly me) to look at the dolls more carefully. How many times have you seen a gorgeous doll in the gallery or the marketplace only to discover that it's a really common sculpt? I know I have at least a few dozen times.

 

Still, someone has to take the plunge and be the first. My two (current) prime wishlist dolls are from a relatively new and uncommon company (only five or so people on DoA have sculpts from them at all), and no one has one in the size they are yet (one of them was only announced yesterday and the other is still relatively new), but from the little others have said about the company's other dolls and what I see as an honest commitment to customer satisfaction and quality, I'm willing to risk it. Yeah, I could end up having a really negative experience with my first dolls, and I'd like to know some of the other potentials of the sculpts, but I'm willing to risk it for sculpts I love and companies that, so far, I am developing a fair amount of respect for. It's people taking those kinds of plunges that are a huge first step in a company becoming popular (not to say I will make this company popular, just that they never can be popular if no one takes the chance in the first place).

 

Yes, there are early-adopters and there are wait-for-peer-reviews shoppers.... Just like with any New Thing (ipads, electric cars, unheard-of bands) a less publicized/less popular doll company is another one of those things that splits humanity right down the middle. ^^ Some will jump right in, and others will wait.

I will & do buy dolls without owner photos, in a heartbeat. It has to be a sensible gamble, but I do love a gamble. You do your research, but you still listen to your gut & remain willing to take the odd leap of faith.

 

Oh, this drives me crazy, too! I'm always excited to come across a doll site that offers everything -- lots of outfits, eyes, wigs, etc. I was shocked and amazed when I recently chose my next doll to put on layaway and found a wig, eyes, clothing, and shoes all from the same company that I liked and were appropriate for the character. I typically like to make my own clothes, but often it's because I can't find anything I like or can afford! But, like jennynemesis said, a lot of these companies are very small, only a couple of people running things, and I know how hard it can be to keep on top of a small business. Casting and finishing is really time consuming, so I can understand why some of the companies don't bother too much with the clothes and accessories. Not to mention, just because a person is creative and skilled and has a good product to sell doesn't mean they're any good at marketing.

 

Just because someone's primary goal is to produce and share their artwork doesn't mean they should ignore the primary goal of running ANY business (large or small) which is profit. After all, profit allows them to hire more artisans, expand into other areas they might otherwise want to do, and spend even MORE time doing what they want to do most. If they didn't want to make money with their business than they wouldn't be selling their dolls to an international market on the internet. All companies, even mega-giants like Wal*Mart, started off as a small company with a unique, successful, and focused business plan... I doubt if you told these artist "hey, want to make more money?" they would say "No thanks." Dollmore, Luts, and all the rest of the doll company giants did it right, and I don't think many would argue their doll's quality decreased just because they offered more complete doll packages to their customers.

But I definitely do agree that if they are so limited in their abilities to make just their doll sculpts that their primary product is suffering because of attention wasted on other things like clothes or props that they need to refocus their efforts. However, this doesn't mean that they should continue listing "sold out" merchandise in their store that they have no plans to ever reproduce, or depict their dolls with amazing costumes and outfits that they never offered in the first place.

 

If you're studying marketing then I think you would understand another marketing method which is to create a sense of urgency by making something limited. This works especially well for a small company that cannot afford to put so much money into large amounts of stock that would be potentially lying around. To make a limited production and say "This is it, no more after x amount/time" makes it more likely people will jump in and take a chance because if they don't, they'll miss out.

Soom is a good example of this, and I think people forget that Soom's popularity is relatively new (as in the past couple of years). Their dolls weren't that popular until the zodiac dolls, and even then people were loathe to take a chance on sculpts like Vega, Beryl and Sard. It wasn't until people saw the owner pics of Beryl and Sard that there was a huge regret, and Heliot and Amber were so popular because people thought they may never see another hooved doll from Soom again.

Iplehouse is another company which wasn't really popular until the EIDs came out - they found an unfulfilled niche in the market, and people were willing to take the chance because there was nothing like that out there. These are things which can make a company popular - providing something no one else is.

I'm one of those people who takes the plunge on a sculpt without owner pics. Half of my dolls still barely have owner pics on DoA, I can count the owners on my hands. Some people need to feel reassured that their purchase will be right, and others are willing to give it a chance. I'm just lucky every chance I've taken with doll purchases has turned out for the best.

 

With my experience in trying to purchase dolls, I've had hideous luck with trying to order dolls directly from the company overseas. So, I tend to take reputation very seriously when I decide to shell out the funds for a doll. I think newer companies have to find some brave souls who get those first orders and vouch for the company to get folks willing to take a chance.

I also think exposure is so key. I've seen waves of different BJD flow through my pages of flickr friends. There are many lines where I see one doll in someone's stream, and everyone falls in love and has a doll from the same line as quickly as they can find one to bring home. It isn't copying, but being made aware of the options out there. I do have some lesser-known dolls, though in my cases, they're discontinued or canceled molds, so even when people do ask, I can't really point them anywhere--they rarely even show up in the MP here.

 

I dont like buying a doll from popular companies, it just means that there are many people having the same dolls as you do....
Im not sure what makes a doll company popular, maybe the photos they present on the website? and the quality of the doll, but most people ignore that....as long as the doll is pretty then that will be fine....

For me the attraction point of a doll company is if the doll is unique and differ from others, that make me want to have it.
One example which been mentioned already is Msdoll. I quite like their doll and I have one as well.

 

Anneke- Yes, businesses aim to make a profit, but for any material product they sell there is first a cost to them to manufacture or stock it. A lot of BJD companies really are small, and I honestly don't think they all want to be the next Luts or Dollmore either. If they think it's better to concentrate their funds on dollmaking (because that's where their primary talent and interest lies) rather than stocking clothing or shoes then I think that's a perfectly valid choice. I am perfectly happy to order clothing and wigs for my dolls from separate websites, and I don't always end up with a huge shipping bill because there are often group orders open for the popular clothing/wig/shoe/etc sites. Actually, even though all of my dolls were bought from companies that offer things like wigs, eyes, clothes, etc. I almost always end up finding something I like more from another site. It's nice for a BJD company to offer all of that, but if it's something their customers don't like then it'll probably sit in their office/warehouse/spare bedroom gathering dust and not making back their original investment in its manufacture, thus leaving them with less money to reinvest in doll sculpting and manufacture.

As for sold out clothing, if you go to a human clothing store do you expect them to have the exact same stock as last year? Or the same stock in December and June? Limited clothing sets allow for new sets to be produced after they sell out, which means more variety in general. It also creates a sense of urgency, as kawaii_mon pointed out. How often have you seen someone bump a non-limited doll down in their to-buy list because they don't want to miss out on a new limited? It's the same with clothing, wigs, you name it. Leaving it up on their website seems to be more as reference material, since a lot of people do look back at sold out sets to see what came with them, to find a name to post their WTB, etc.

Showing the dolls in fabulous clothing that the company doesn't offer... I guess it's kind of a bummer, but it happens in advertising of all varieties. Heck, my box of cereal shows milk and lots of fresh fruit which isn't sold by Kellogg's (not to mention the nice bowl it's all sitting in), the posters in the window of my local hair salon show professional makeup on the models that they don't offer, and I wouldn't be shocked to find out that a new SUV doesn't actually come with two bicycles or a kayak even though they were right there in the TV ad. The purpose of advertising is to make something look as attractive as possible, which often involves bringing in some outside products to give a suggestion of how the advertised product will look when used in real life. As long as it's clearly noted somewhere what you're buying and what isn't included, I don't see what the real issue is. In some cases, the outfits shown were actually available when the doll was new, but have sold out since then or were offered as a special introductory fullset. To expect a company to retake all of their photos every time an outfit sells out is a bit silly, don't you think?

 

I'm a huge Angelsdoll fan, more so than for any other company I've encountered, and they barely register on the hobby's radar. They are amazing dolls, at a really appealing price. They have every reason to be a huge hit.

So... why aren't they popular? I wonder sometimes if their sculpts, while stunningly beautiful, are just too distinctive - they certainly don't look like every other doll out there - and that's fair enough, when there's a certain aesthetic that's popular. But there is also a huge barrier for new companies out there to overcome, the "You must research! You can't buy a doll unless you've seen lots of owner pics and handled it at meets!" thread in fandom. I'm not knocking them for that, it makes sense when these are big purchases. It does makes it hard on new companies.

What factor(s) do you think really makes a doll/company popular? Have I failed to see something that makes those mentioned companies unpopular?
It really varies by company. Familiarity - I really do think this, not only in terms of brand recognition/safety but a familiar aesthetic. Sometimes doing something different that is really fab, too - c.f. Iplehouse's big beauties, Tinybear's unique dollies, Pukis or the Soom monthlies (name makes me laugh, it's like a dollie menstrual period). The older companies such as Volks and Luts/CP-Fairyland have the advantage of what is a long time (in this baby hobby of ours) and lots of people loving and sharing pictures of their dolls. And a lot of people like to buy clothes rather than make them, so standard measurements appeal to that kind of hobbyists, and put them off, say, the Impldoll or Rosette dolls which have absolutely lovely proportions but don't fit into the major doll clothing brands that they want their dolls to wear. Bobobobie/Resinsoul captured the lower price end of the market by consistently delivering appealing sculpts at a much more affordable price. And Customhouse may have squandered their "old, safe company" cachet lately, but to compensate, they just keep having sales (fell for that myself.)

For you who like/own dolls only from 'popular' companies, do you ever consider buying, or just researching much less popular dolls/companies?

In the end, I'd always rather take the risk, and I have to admit that less known companies are actually more appealing to me because of that factor. It's like discovering something really awesome that no one else knows about. It actually means I'm more likely to buy from, say Facodoll or 5stardoll or Cutie Angel, almost just to find out what their beauties are really like, than I'd be if the same sculpts were offered by more familiar companies. That being said, I understand why other people feel differently.

But it's worth mentioning that "researching" the less popular companies is almost impossible. I've only ever been able to find ONE picture of the Facodoll girl I like, on a Chinese blog. So if you feel happier researching before dropping big money, you're a bit stuffed. It's a vicious circle.

 

Yeah but it can be a TON of work to do all that extra stuff, and if they're making an OK amount of money just selling the dolls, then it might not seem worth it to expand. Some people would rather be content with less money than stressed and rich.