New announcements? SAO and Emilia Dollfie Dreams

edit: Just in case your objections are due to you believing that this method of doing things doesn't make sense then um...welcome to Volks!

I'm learning as I go.

Having been in the hobby for a decade now, I'm pretty sure that Volks absolutely hates it when a limited model doesn't sell out immediately. That's just not their business model -- they're a brand built on exclusivity. Having Rin in stock for 6 months was probably viewed as a disaster of such scale that they needed to completely re-evaluate their lotto system (which is exactly what they've done).

 

If dolls being in-stock for 6 months was an "ideal" scenario for Volks, we would have seen a lot more of it over the past 10 years. But we haven't. Instead, we've seen the reverse -- it seems like efforts are always made to ensure there is ZERO left-over stock after the initial release.

Not sure if relevant. But other dolls that seem to always be in "stock" is M.O.M.O and KOSMOS. I wasn't in the hobby at that time but I assume they both also suffered the same fate as Rin/Len/Miku?

 

Everytime Volks comes for a convention they always bring along Kosmos, momo, and Miku. And they are now starting to do the same with Rin/Len.

 

As Cauldroness said, I have huge doubts Volks intention is to have such huge leftover stock. They prefer to have them sell out asap. Japanese people love the "limited" numbers because it makes the item special/valueable. That's how it's always been for them, so having all these dolls leftover must of really hit a number on them. The worst you want for your business is to have an overstock of anything.(hence why we have stuff like the 99 cents store/dollar stores in america, those are all overstock which get completely devalued.)

Not sure if relevant. But other dolls that seem to always be in "stock" is M.O.M.O and KOSMOS. I wasn't in the hobby at that time but I assume they both also suffered the same fate as Rin/Len/Miku?

 

Momo, Kosmos and Miku were pre-order dolls, so they were never designed to be "exclusive" the way lottery dolls are. Having overstock of pre-order dolls probably doesn't bother Volks quite as much as having overstock of lotto dolls (although I think it still bothers them; iirc, they did change some of the pre-order rules to encourage fewer order cancellations?).

Not sure if relevant. But other dolls that seem to always be in "stock" is M.O.M.O and KOSMOS. I wasn't in the hobby at that time but I assume they both also suffered the same fate as Rin/Len/Miku?

 

Momo, Kosmos and Miku were pre-order dolls, so they were never designed to be "exclusive" the way lottery dolls are. Having overstock of pre-order dolls probably doesn't bother Volks quite as much as having overstock of lotto dolls (although I think it still bothers them; iirc, they did change some of the pre-order rules to encourage fewer order cancellations?).

 

Im guessing youre referring to volks usa events. Momo/kosmos arent even listed on the volks int. Site

:/

 

Id probably get a momo if they were :/ :p

 

Im guessing youre referring to volks usa events. Momo/kosmos arent even listed on the volks int. Site

:/

 

Id probably get a momo if they were :/ :p

 

 

Yeah my bad for the misunderstanding! It's only for USA convention events when Miku, Momo and Kosmos comes along.

Volks USA does have stock but a year ago you could personally go to their store and ask if they have any limited girls. Usually they had M.O.M.Os, not sure if you can still do this, I haven't tried.

 

 

I don't think they list their other girls on the main site. As for Volks int, I am not sure if they carry Momo and Kosmos for Dolpa's or events. I know for sure they don't list it on their site.

 

P.S

 

Actually Volks USA was selling M.O.M.O, Kosmos, Santa Saber and V2 Akira in their recent convention booth @ Anime Matsuri 2017 but it wasn't listed at the main site.

 

Im guessing youre referring to volks usa events. Momo/kosmos arent even listed on the volks int. Site

:/

 

Id probably get a momo if they were :/ :p

 

 

Yeah my bad for the misunderstanding! It's only for USA convention events when Miku, Momo and Kosmos comes along.

Volks USA does have stock but a year ago you could personally go to their store and ask if they have any limited girls. Usually they had M.O.M.Os, not sure if you can still do this, I haven't tried.

 

 

I don't think they list their other girls on the main site. As for Volks int, I am not sure if they carry Momo and Kosmos for Dolpa's or events. I know for sure they don't list it on their site.

 

P.S

 

Actually Volks USA was selling M.O.M.O, Kosmos, Santa Saber and V2 Akira in their recent convention booth @ Anime Matsuri 2017 but it wasn't listed at the main site.

 

 

It seems more likely to me that they have reserves specifically for these events. They've had Asuna v1 at cons before, too, and they did two lotteries and a clickwar to "get rid" of their unclaimed dolls for that release. So while they probably do have leftovers from lotteries, it seems more likely they intentionally keep some in stock for events.

 

Probably a little of both tbh.

If dolls being in-stock for 6 months was an "ideal" scenario for Volks, we would have seen a lot more of it over the past 10 years. But we haven't. Instead, we've seen the reverse -- it seems like efforts are always made to ensure there is ZERO left-over stock after the initial release.

To be honest, I'd love if Volks always had plenty of extra dolls for a few months after an event. I'm sure they'd sell. People are definitely buying Rin and Len; Rin's out of stock now. I just try to look on the bright side of whatever the real situation is (ei, accepting that I'll need to save $$$ ahead of time if I ever dream of entering a lottery now).

Having been in the hobby for a decade now, I'm pretty sure that Volks absolutely hates it when a limited model doesn't sell out immediately. That's just not their business model -- they're a brand built on exclusivity. Having Rin in stock for 6 months was probably viewed as a disaster of such scale that they needed to completely re-evaluate their lotto system (which is exactly what they've done).

And if that's really true it's honestly kind of upsetting to me :c the Kagamines are probably my favourite DDs Volks have ever made and it just makes me sad to even entertain the possibility that they'd consider them any kind of disaster or failure. (Even if its not the dolls themselves, but their release method I assume).

 

It's just a huge shame if they really are getting rid of these Dolpa exclusive preorders before the actual lotteries after only trialing it twice, not just for the benefit of people who are in a position to get those guaranteed preorders but for people who are on the fence about entering the lottery because all they haveto go by are Volks photos. Since Volks official photos are rarely good enough, if it turns out they like the actual doll better than they expected it's probably too late by that time. Like I can't even count the amount of people who personally told me that they weren't even going to enter the Kagamine lottery until they saw my photos of my preorder Rin and how glad they were that they did.

 

(On the plus side me and others who live here/have a volks store near enough to be convenient can share photos if it helps out anyone on the fence for lotteries. Hopefully Kirito and Asuna make an appearance in the Fu kuoka showroom soon - I can also take Dolpa pics but as that's the day before the lottery period ends its not much notice. If other people can share pics too that'd probably help cos the more pics the better. always happy to enable lol.)

I read back a bit and I didn't see anyone mentioning this, so if I'm repeating what someone already said, please forgive me.

 

Looking at Volks International at the entry for Asuna, it seems the lottery entry will open on April 22. This will extend to May 7. Results will then be announced May 18th to May 24.

 

I think everyone's current understanding is payment in full is being required at entry time. So, if you enter on April 22, it's theoretically possible on paper you could lose and not have the chargeback entered until May 24 from the information presented on the listing page.

 

In credit card land, it depends on if this is a charge or a hold. I think the implication is that it's a hold with the full charge occurring at the time of a win result. I have no idea what it would be if you used Paypal linked to a bank account. I would assume it would be an ACH from the account of the amount in full with a later refund.

 

Now, as for Rin.

 

I think the Vocaloid limiteds are an exception to all the normal limited rules. They're almost standards. That's not meant as a disparaging remark, so no one get bent out of shape.

 

I don't think Rin and Len were overproduced as grossly as is being believed. I think it's possible and maybe even probable they were overproduced a bit, but I think their current availability status was planned. It's the classic collector trap. Pretend something is extremely limited and lure in buyers. Thus, that's why Rin and Len were originally lottery dolls: to imply an ultra limited nature and lure in a load of initial sales.

 

Everything has been more available lately. Before early 2015, I had been wanting to get into DDs for a couple of years, but every single time I looked even the Standards were out of stock. And forget buying clothes. Compare that to now where every Standard is in stock, and the clothes from the last two events are still almost all in stock. I haven't even lost anything on a lottery in a few events. I think the last time I didn't get everything I entered for in a lottery was the February event last year.

 

I'm a pretty average customer. I've hardly ever been on the unusual side of the consumer spectrum. I'm not the guy who bought tons of 1985 Star Wars figures or who even had the foresight to buy those stacks of Final Fantasy carts for the NES when KayBee had them on sale for 25 cent each. I don't think I've got here as DDs are on the way out and people have lost interest. Quite the opposite. I believe I've got here as DDs are booming and Volks is stepping up production and working on trying to make them more available to their true customers.

 

Is this whole prepay for a lottery entry ham fisted and short sighted? Yes.

 

They should probably do a lottery fee system. Maybe you pay a $150 deposit for the lottery entry, which also counts as partial payment of the doll itself. That way they'd still get to look at payment methods and prevent entries based on that, but it's also non-trivial enough that pawns of resellers might balk and it would cut down on multiple entries.

 

More harshly, they could charge for lottery entries and have that charge be non-refundable. I don't think they'd want to do that, but if every scalper had to piss away $50 just for one uncertain chance to get a limited, I think it would cool things quite a bit. (No, I don't endorse this. I'm just thinking out loud and playing devil's advocate.)

I don't see this as an interest free loan. Volks may place a hold on your card for the amount, but they don't actually have it. I guess I'm okay with this new method as it's really similar to the ones used in my model train world with build to order and such.

I read back a bit and I didn't see anyone mentioning this, so if I'm repeating what someone already said, please forgive me.

 

Looking at Volks International at the entry for Asuna, it seems the lottery entry will open on April 22. This will extend to May 7. Results will then be announced May 18th to May 24.

 

I think everyone's current understanding is payment in full is being required at entry time. So, if you enter on April 22, it's theoretically possible on paper you could lose and not have the chargeback entered until May 24 from the information presented on the listing page.

 

In credit card land, it depends on if this is a charge or a hold. I think the implication is that it's a hold with the full charge occurring at the time of a win result. I have no idea what it would be if you used Paypal linked to a bank account. I would assume it would be an ACH from the account of the amount in full with a later refund.

 

I'm going to repeat myself:

 

You don't really pay the item until you win it.

 

-----------------------------------

From Volks:

*Once the winners have been selected, payment will be settled via credit card or PayPal.

Orders will be cancelled and, consequently, payment will be also cancelled in case of loss.

*If you use a pre-paid card or a debit card with credit function, money may be temporarily deduced from your account as you complete your entry.

Money will be reimbursed in a few days in case of cancellation.

Inquire the card issuer regarding the reimbursement time.

-----------------------------------

 

I preordered a collectors edition (game) from a store on a website once and they did the same. I had to enter my Paypal information and they "reserved" the payment. But I didn't have to pay right away. The money was taken when they received the item a few weeks later.

 

I think Volks is doing the same thing. Can't hurt to ask them, but at least with Paypal I'm pretty sure your not actually pay them until you get the winning notice. (They will charge you on May 18 or something)

 

Its not a loan and you don't really pay them if you enter the lottery on April 22.

 

[Edit]: I already messaged Volks just in case and will inform you when I got an answer.

I'm going to repeat myself:

 

You don't really pay the item until you win it.

 

-----------------------------------

From Volks:

*Once the winners have been selected, payment will be settled via credit card or PayPal.

Orders will be cancelled and, consequently, payment will be also cancelled in case of loss.

*If you use a pre-paid card or a debit card with credit function, money may be temporarily deduced from your account as you complete your entry.

Money will be reimbursed in a few days in case of cancellation.

Inquire the card issuer regarding the reimbursement time.

-----------------------------------

 

The volks statement you've quoted, leaving out the big red bit before this smaller print, strongly suggests it will be a full credit/debit card purchase, which will be reimbursed if you do not win the lottery.

 

And to repeat, some people, win or lose, will have to have the funds available in one way or another before May 7th which is the deadline for the lottery entry for Kirito and/or Asuna, or anything else on the lottery blocks.

 

Personally for me, how my payment to Volks works, I would have to have the funds gathered before that date. So either way, temporarily I would have to have money on hold during the lottery period.

 

Is this a problem? -- For me, technically it is not, since I never had taken part in a lottery unless I am 120% sure I can get the money to pay for a possible win. The issue now is the time to get the money has been shortened, and understandably people are cross about that.

 

And also people, who are in a similar situation like me, do not like having money on hold without any guarantee that they win.

 

This holding of money might not be a problem for some people, but it can be for others.

They also literally stated that the money literally comes out for people who use a debit card - not everyone uses a credit card. If this keeps up I doubt I'll be able to participate in this hobby much whatsoever once I'm back in australia unless it's preorder dolls, cos I need that notice and will more than ever before with both a crap exchange rate and shipping fees to deal with. Cos of those latter two that was a given anyway but this is just an extra nail in the coffin.

The volks statement you've quoted, leaving out the big red bit before this smaller print, strongly suggests it will be a full credit/debit card purchase, which will be reimbursed if you do not win the lottery.

 

And to repeat, some people, win or lose, will have to have the funds available in one way or another before May 7th which is the deadline for the lottery entry for Kirito and/or Asuna, or anything else on the lottery blocks.

 

Personally for me, how my payment to Volks works, I would have to have the funds gathered before that date. So either way, temporarily I would have to have money on hold during the lottery period.

 

Is this a problem? -- For me, technically it is not, since I never had taken part in a lottery unless I am 120% sure I can get the money to pay for a possible win. The issue now is the time to get the money has been shortened, and understandably people are cross about that.

 

And also people, who are in a similar situation like me, do not like having money on hold without any guarantee that they win.

 

This holding of money might not be a problem for some people, but it can be for others.

 

I explained how its probably done with Paypal. (I will post the reply from Volks when I get it.) Of course its different for the credit card, thats why I copied it. But your not really forced to use the credit card, if you can use a method were they won't ask for the payment right away. Thats a plus for Paypal. Fact is: you will need the money on May 18 in that case. So its not a big difference between May 7 and May 18.

The way you subscribe it (paypal) sounds the same way as reserving money on a CC and not actually charging the money till the payment is finalized... and I'm pretty sure they don't mean that

 

The issue with the credit cards is the payment dates on that card... even if you lose, you might need to pay the full bill first /before/ Volks reimburse the payment and you're also stuck with conversion rates etc. And yeah they charge you on Monday morning (most expensive time) and probably reimburse you on Friday (cheapest day for them), so either way you lose money as a customer this way.

I explained how its probably done with Paypal.

 

I see no difference in using paypal or a credit card with this wording.

 

As far as I can tell you will need the payment ammount on your usable paypal balance by may 7th at the latest, no matter how you have set up your paypal account, according to this text, it will be charged the same as any other payment method.

 

if you lose, they will just cancel the payment, and the only bonus with paypal is the 60 day refund without any excess hastle.

Ok, if you must pay rigth away explain this sentence to me:

*Once the winners have been selected, payment will be settled via credit card or PayPal.

 

Why should they write it like this, if you have to pay right away? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

Ok, if you must pay rigth away explain this sentence to me:

*Once the winners have been selected, payment will be settled via credit card or PayPal.

 

Why should they write it like this, if you have to pay right away? Doesn't make sense to me at all.

 

 

OK this is what I assume it means.

 

-You pay in full for the lottery entry.

-They take a "hold" on your money. Meaning it's (MAY OR MAY NOT as volks stated) deducted from your account.

- They mean "settled" as in, they will not refund the money if you win and it's an agreement + finalize any payment if the funds were only placed on 'hold' from your card holder.(I'm assuming they also will charge shipping costs once you win or for the lottery entry.)

 

The print clearly states that if your order is cancelled(A.K.A you lose the lottery) they will reimburse your money.

 

I am sure there will be cheeky people attempting to refund their entry when they win. So this serves as a security measure.

 

 

The problem with this, is that my card holder deducts payments by default, so if I enter the lottery it will auto charge me regardless. I won't be seeing that money until the lottery results come in, only to be heartbroken that I lost the lottery and it will take at least 3-5 days for reimbursement.

To put it in perspective it's just more salt to the wound.

And if that's really true it's honestly kind of upsetting to me :c the Kagamines are probably my favourite DDs Volks have ever made and it just makes me sad to even entertain the possibility that they'd consider them any kind of disaster or failure. (Even if its not the dolls themselves, but their release method I assume).

 

Given all the outfits they are making for them I doubt they are considered a failure in and of themselves, even if having too much leftover stock was a failure.

 

Awhile back they did release a Cinderella girls outfit that was in stock on their website forever. I can't recall the name but it was red, and had three sets of accessories that could be interchanged to tailor the outfit for Rin Shibuya, Mio Honda, and Uzuki Shimamura. After that the next Cinderella girls set for all three, 'My First Star,' was a preorder. That might support Cauldroness' hypothesis that Volks is changing its payment model to better fit its business model.

 

I love having matching outfits for my Cinderellas, but I can see how Volks might not want to make enough to accommodate the hard core IM@S collectors then have a pile leftover.

 

I will be curious to see if wins go up after this change. I don't like the idea that this makes people enjoy the hobby less, but I do hope this sticks it to the scalpers.

 

And I say that even knowing most of mine are after market. XD

 

But... losing the doll you really want while some guy wins 3 to sell on YJA hurts the hobby.

 

[Edit]: I already messaged Volks just in case and will inform you when I got an answer.

 

Cool. I don't really have a dog in this race. It's just that there seems to be a lot of confusion on the matter, myself included. It's definitely something that could be explained better. It's just my nature to speculate about things.

Volks new policy by Shoujo Magic, on Flickr

 

 

Yeah ..... :/

That instructional image is pretty clear.

 

I do still plan on trying my luck for Asuna though.

Oh well, no Asuna attempt for me. Good luck to everyone else that joins the lottery!

I don't think I'll be entering for Asuna, either. This change to the payment system kind of puts me off, and I really only want hed because of the elf ears.