Kagamine Rin & Len & New Miku outfits!*pic updated*

People are passionate about the dolls especially since the first male body is *finally* announced. It's pretty diasappointing to see its lotto only when the other Vocaloid DDs weren't. I had my hopes up but now I know I'll have to get it secondhand because of the depressing winning rates with their lottos. I was also curious about whether we'd get a pre-order doll this year. Doesn't it seem a bit late to randomly announce someone else? I don't know what to really say about Volks regarding this new info except wow....

I suppose that in addition to being disappointed, we're also, well, confused. It seems like Volks is passing up a huge revenue opportunity by making these two lottery. We're basically sitting here, "Volks, why won't you let us give you money?!"

 

In short, it's a LOT easier to accept something you understand. . .

I thought it was going to be a preorder since they did both mikus as a preorder, and with this being the first boy it was going to let them test the market with how many orders they got, but now its not the case....ugg...at least im trying to sell stuff before hand maybe that will help but at the same time i havent won a lottery since 2013... so if i even win one i would be amazed...Im going to enter for both....but Im pretty sure my odds arent very good.

I'll enter as well, but at this point, I basically enter for everything with the goal of seeing how high I can push my losing streak. Losing both Rin and Len would make it 0 of 15!

I have no interest in either of these guys if someone wants me to enter the lottery to help them out. I've never won a lottery but it certainly couldn't hurt for me to try.

On a happier note, it's likely we'll see a rerelease of them in the future. I would personally love to see Append releases later down the line, and Rin's Meltdown costume would be a must-have! It's just a shame that the twins don't have official Snow designs, so we likely won't have a set to match Snow Miku.

In short, it's a LOT easier to accept something you understand. . .

I wonder if it's as simple as "we need a DD to put out as part of Summer 2016's collection, and this set is the only licensed characters that are far enough along in development to meet the production schedule." It could be a business-related reason like that - which they wouldn't disclose in public ever, of course.

I'm still holding out a shred of hope that eventually they'll offer a full preorder release. If they don't, well then, i'm getting really sick and tired of these emotional roller coasters. The few projects I still have in mind, while I would prefer to use actual DD bodies, for consistency and quality sake, I'm starting to lean a lot more to Smart Doll or Obitsu, simply because I can no longer deal with Volks apparent business model.

 

I, and I'm sure many others in the hobby, am too screwed up emotionally (a big part of why I got into DDs) to tolerate being jerked around like this. I know Volks isn't doing this to personally attack me, but I'm at a place where I can't help but take it personally. This is a hobby full of artistic and passionate people, and I know there are a lot of others who feel similarly.

To me, its no surprise that the twins are lottery and not pre-order. They aren't super popular characters. For the last few years, all of the pre-orders are iconic or near-iconic characters. I am sure Volks will have a surprise preorder this year that will be much better than the twins. I was pretty surprised with Sheryl and Ranka.

Well, I may have just had a fit of snarkiness, but Danny just posted about the first anime Smart Dolls and had this to say:

 

but want to let you know that I plan to make a load of Miho (enough to go around) so say goodbye to buying dolls on auction sites - sorry!

 

 

Danny has stated before that he didn't want limited dolls, since he started as a DD collector and knows the heartbreak that Volks can cause.

 

And below that was a poll asking what characters people wanted to be made into Smart Dolls so I added the Kagamines. Dunno if it will make any difference but my experience with the Smart Doll Boy it doesn't hurt to voice my opinion when asked.

 

Volks, you really screwed up.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Unless the "surprise preorder" this year includes another male DD, I can almost certainly say that I will not be ordering. I just can't think of any female characters that I would really care for other than having a nice vinyl boy! I know there's Eiji, but I'm just not a fan. If I don't win the lottery, I don't think I'm going to be springing for any more Books dolls this year. Which would save me some money. Maybe I can finally get my scooter. ;P

I have no interest in either of these guys if someone wants me to enter the lottery to help them out. I've never won a lottery but it certainly couldn't hurt for me to try.

 

Just updating, someone did already take me up on Len if anyone still wants me to enter for Rin for them!

As someone who's never won a lottery, a lottery hold no interest to me. I probably won't enter for either.

 

I am pretty surprised like everyone else though, I mean, Miku has been released so often, she might as well be a standard Doll. we will never know the real reason behind their choices, could be literally any number of things.

 

I wonder if we will get a preorder this year?

I'm only interested in Rin but now that it's a lottery I'll probably try for both & if I get Len use him to pay/trade for Rin.

I'll be entering for Rin.

I'm so disappointed that they aren't getting a pre-order. I have never won a single lottery with Volks in all the years I've been collecting Volks (BJD) dolls.

When I found out it was lottery I almost flipped a table. For these two it seems like a preorder would have been best - heck it would have secured buyers to get both most likely

 

 

Only way I could be pacified at this point is if they announced Luka was a preorder. Other than that, again...

 

 

Volks, quit making it so damn hard for me to love you. love=money.

I was talking with with a friend and she mentioned that its maybe because volks is stuck with so many mikus from pre orders that went unpaid that they decided not to have pre orders

 

I was wondering if this was the reason (or part of it) as well, if it was then it would make sense that they require payment up front for the preorders in person at the Dolpa and why they would be reluctant to do the same for people outside of Japan since it's hard to know what consumer protection laws they'd be up against in other countries if people wanted a refund later on.

It's probably true that I am am taking it too personally like crappyshawshaw said, but the thing is, I feel like this is especially a blow because I really want to join this hobby. It probably seems weird to a lot of people that I post this much on this forum, and that I've gotten to know so many of you, without even having a DD of my own. (I mean, I have a smartdoll and pure neemos but that's not the same) It's because I just really wanted Rin to be my first one all this time. I'd considered now and then getting a Miku or Snow Miku - half because I kind of regret not getting them back when they were new and half because I was so impatient to finally have a DD, but I still really want Rin to be the first one. I really want to be a proper part of this with you guys so for me it's a big blow.

 

But that doesn't mean I'm not getting her or I won't be a part of it with you. I just have more hurdles now, most of them monetary, but I am definitely getting Rin no matter what. It's just a bummer that I'll likely have to pay so much more than I ever anticipated. I'm at least lucky that whether I win a lottery Rin or buy her second-hand I'll definitely have the money then. Having that kind of money earlier than August 20 (first big pay day) though was just sadly never an option for me, I'm barely scraping by on current income and recently got bombarded with dental bills and still need to manage to actually scrape enough together for the move back to Japan. So in my case it's not that I lacked foresight to start saving early in case this happened, it's that it just wasn't possible on my current income (and everything being saved is for the move) but will be with my new job.

 

Others have it a lot worse than me of course, for various other reasons they dont have/cant get together enough DD money in a few months and my heart goes out to you guys. I know how it feels as I had to miss out on every single Miku preorder (including Snow Miku) for this kind of reason.

My friend and I want each one of them. I wish this was a preorder. Guess we will try for both on both side. Volks always astound me with their irk to make the bad choices. I am sure they know people wants them! I wouldn't mind that much if there was a Dollpa in the US with the same benefit. But alas no Dollpa in the US...

 

Hopefully this is just a lotery to gage the demand and then make a preorder. At least since people can get them at the dollpa, the lotery will be a little more accessible.(just a little bit)

 

Wish I could attend the Dollpa.

I'm surprised that they're lotteries simply because Snow Miku was a pre-order. They had just finished an absolutely giant pre-order run with the first Miku, and then they did it all over again for a snow variant. On the one hand, they can re-use all the production lines (most of the outfit is cut to the same pattern, it's just different fabric), but OTOH it's just Snow Miku...

 

Ultimately it's not up to Volks to decide to do a pre-order or limited run, the licensor needs to support & fund that. It's not like Crypton said "hey let's make Rin & Len pre-orders" and Volks said "nah, we just feel like doing a lottery." I would like to believe though that Volks would work with the licensor to produce enough for Volks' customers. At least with Melty & Sasara they produced a lot of them. Instead of putting the unsold ones up for sale in a clickwar they also just kept giving out winning entries, but they haven't done that since.

 

Someone probably already paid for the pre-order project this year (like, getting production ramped up), and I wouldn't be surprised if it's an actual male DD, instead of DDS like Len.

 

Maybe Koyomi from Monogatari Series, with Kiss Shot as a DD and Shinobu-chan as an MDD.

I watched Kizumonogatari Part 1 when I was in Kyoto, it was good.

I have to admit, if this had been the state of Volks back when I first started being interested in DDs, I probably never would have joined the fandom.

 

I won the first VolksUSA lottery I ever participated in. And the second one. And the third one. And I remember being so desperate for Rise when she came out that I convinced two friends to enter the lotto with me because I couldn't bear to not have her -- and all three of us won!

 

My second DD -- the doll that made me fall in love with DDs, the one that really made me a true DD collector -- was a pre-order doll. Without her, I'm 100% certain I wouldn't be in the fandom today. Even with her, if it hadn't been so easy to win lotteries early on, I probably still wouldn't be the DD fan I am today. I might have just given up from the frustration and gone back to resins!

 

Now, I laugh about my ~flawless~ 0 of 13 Volks International losing streak, but I can do that because I already have 13 dolls in my collection, only 5 of which were purchased on the 2nd-hand market (and that doesn't account for the dolls that I won via lotto and later sold). All-in-all, I've gotten 10 dolls directly from Volks. The idea that someone would be able to get 10 different dolls directly from Volks these days is pretty laughable. You'd have to order EVERY doll from EVERY pre-order from the last 5 years to be guaranteed 10 dolls from directly from Volks.

 

So I really understand the high level of frustration -- for people who are trying to get in the hobby for the first time, for people who haven't been in the hobby very long and are building their collection, and for "old-timers" who remember how easy it was to get into the hobby in the first place.

 

Especially when it's a major event like their first boy doll. Their first DDS was a pre-order. Their first DDdy was a pre-order. But their first boy is going to be a lotto???

At least with Melty & Sasara they produced a lot of them. Instead of putting the unsold ones up for sale in a clickwar they also just kept giving out winning entries, but they haven't done that since.

 

Volks USA kept giving out winning entries for Dear SD recently. I almost missed out because my winning email went to spam, and they even sent me an email to make sure I still wanted it and gave me a little extra time to pay. Winners kept rolling in for a few days later, and afaik they never posted them up for click war.

 

There was another lottery going on at the time, and they didn't do the same for that.

Cauldroness, I feel your pain! I've entered loads of lotteries and only won a few. I haven't gotten a lottery DD from Volks since 2013. So far I was able to get dolls I really wanted at fair rates from this forum or at less fair rates from the auction sites, mandarake, etc. The good exchange rate the last few years made scalper markups easier to stomach, but now it's back to 2011 prices again. My collection isn't going to grow as fast from this point but I really feel bad for folks whose favorite anime/game characters are getting released as lottery items.

 

I think some polite emails/fb comments nudging Volks Int and Volks USA to give international fans a chance to get these dolls would be worth a shot. After all, they had no idea folks in the US cared much about DearSD until they saw the crowds going gaga at the LA Dolpa.

I really doubt that this will be the only time Volks will be releasing Rin and Len. Let's wait to see what Volks will do. I'm praying that Volks USA will be offering lottery also (would be ideal if they did pre-orders) so we can have a higher chance to getting them.

 

I mean they took forever to announce the twins, this can't be the only time they will be available to be purchase. ._.;