The Facebook debacle & other issues

Oh damn, I didn't know what that only the brave stuff was. Now there's a whole new layer of "yikes".

Even worse, because this is akin to a lucky bag, and usually they are cheaper than the retail price.

Kinda glad that it seems like I'll just about have time to save up for a blue doll though :3

"You see, money is not the name of the game in Smart Doll Land - if it was then I would only make stuff that the consumer wants"
*lists sought-after doll for high price*

Indeed - so why not for the original price then?


I really feel for you guys who really wanted Moonlight... Only to see her listed so randomly, and for that price as well... 😟

 

I'm really really upset that danny saw the aftermarket for moonlight and decided to sell a USED version of her with an old frame for over $2k. He could've done a lottery system knowing how sought after she was and sold her for normal price, but no. As far as I can tell she's not a prototype, and is the same as the others produced at the time. So why sell your OWN discontinued product for double than what people usually sell her for? He has the 3d data for the sculpt, if he wants to print money he couldve just remade her....

 

Mod Edit: Alt accounts aren't permitted under the forum rules. I've left the rest of the post intact, but I removed the reference that might encourage people to create alts to avoid Danny's ban-hammer.

@Ghostgirl14 Yeah, it's just another one of his stupid, greedy, exclusionary moves. It's a shame, too, because Moonlight is the only SmD sculpt I actually like. But sadly, by the time I found her, she had been discontinued. Honestly, I don't think Danny understands how much moves like these hurt his company.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Selenae

I'd be willing to bet I know who bought Moonlight. Can't say I'm anymore disgusted than I already am, but sad because his company won't last forever if he keeps this up. Smart Dolls are beautiful and I love the pretty face ups. I've grown to like the face shape of DDs more, but I wish I could take some of the SMD face paint and put it on a DD. I truly feel horrible for anyone, especially here in this forum that wanted Moonlight. What a slap in the face.

 

Editing to add: Danny can kiss his mantra that he isn't about the money goodbye. Anyone with half a brain can clearly see he is lying. This is taken right from the Moonlight's page that just sold for a cool $2300.

"Do note that prices may start to drop automatically if there are no buyers - you may want to try playing the waiting game but if you do it could be too late. Too late. To stop. Look. Listen to your heart hear what its saying...

In some cases prices may actually start to rise depending on how popular other items are."

So it's perfectly okay to taunt people and hustle them. He sounds like a used car salesman on a back alley.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Deyja
Adding information

When I first started getting into 1/3 dolls, Volks had a more intimidating site, particularly when you don’t read Japanese. Doll bodies have acronyms, buying some dolls include lotteries or click wars or preorders and not all girls are available at all times, plus some are discontinued.

In contrast, Smart Dolls had a very easy site to navigate in English, friendly beginner videos and a staple selection of dolls to pick from in different skin tones. I loved that Smart Doll clothing doesn’t stain and is really well made. 

Over time of course, Volks became less intimidating to use. While I still don’t love losing lotteries, the licensed Smart Dolls sell out fast too. I get the business realities of not being able to offer all characters all the time, but it seems a new girl gets pumped out each month now. Stylistically, I’m not a fan of the semi-real, vintage, trident, centaur dolls. 

And now it’s going to be no notice 24 hour preorders?

If I was starting out now, I’m not sure I’d get into Smart Dolls. It’s not a good strategy to get new customers. And I’m an old customer who is not interested in the direction the company has gone, and that’s without even delving into the issues I have with customers getting shamed for receiving shoddy products.
 

 

37 minutes ago, Cthem said:

When I first started getting into 1/3 dolls, Volks had a more intimidating site, particularly when you don’t read Japanese. Doll bodies have acronyms, buying some dolls include lotteries or click wars or preorders and not all girls are available at all times, plus some are discontinued.

In contrast, Smart Dolls had a very easy site to navigate in English, friendly beginner videos and a staple selection of dolls to pick from in different skin tones. I loved that Smart Doll clothing doesn’t stain and is really well made. 

Over time of course, Volks became less intimidating to use. While I still don’t love losing lotteries, the licensed Smart Dolls sell out fast too. I get the business realities of not being able to offer all characters all the time, but it seems a new girl gets pumped out each month now. Stylistically, I’m not a fan of the semi-real, vintage, trident, centaur dolls.

Actually this is exactly what drew me to the company too, thank you for bringing that up. I feel like he draws inspiration from apple in that regard. Very simple, clean website, and what you buy is ready to go right out of the package (having fast shipping helps too, you order it and then you have it so there's not as much time for buyers remorse to set in 😂). I was initially intimidated with the idea of getting custom dolls done because I didn't understand how it worked, or what exactly I wanted, so I would shop around for the smart doll which essentially fit the character best. But with the way things are going, if I have my heart set on a doll then I'm more than likely going to see it discontinued before I can scrape up the funds to buy it. F in the chat for tea Resolute, Journey classic cinnamon, and Eiji.  It doesn't feel nearly as beginner friendly anymore and that is a huge shame.

But it's not exactly friendly for people who are more experienced in the hobby either. I sound like a broken record but blank heads and replacement parts are kind of a must for me now. Seeing how many companies are able to maintain an inventory of those kinds of things makes me feel like it's not an unreasonable request despite what Danny may claim. Smart doll seems like it's in this weird middle phase right now where Danny doesn't know if he wants to cater to beginners and children, or adults who can risk $500 in gatcha boxes and make snap pre-order decisions in a 24 hour period. I hope they can find their footing before things get out of hand. This is the company who got me into this hobby and I really don't wish ill on them.

Also I'm so sorry about moonlight, I know so many people are after her and that sucks so bad. 💔

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by sunlightandtea

@sunlightandtea, that’s a great comparison with Apple. The shopping experience used to be like that.

I know Danny has said sales are better than ever right now, so maybe much like Apple, there are enough hard core fans of the company that the new direction is sustainable.

I honestly wish Danny would go back to making more "geeky/anime" clothes for Smart Dolls. They were more fun and interesting to me! I do like the regular/non-anime clothes he releases for them, but I wished he wasn't going more towards the weathered look for just about everything. And as nice quality his stuff is, I find myself buying my Smart Dolls' clothes from other places like TTYA or 9Nine because I feel I get more "bang for my buck". The things I would have bought from the Smart Doll store within the last year-ish get discontinued without even a Time Sale warning or have a stealth price increase, like with what happened with the wigs. (Does he even sell individual wigs anymore? Or are they a "seasonal"-type of thing now?)

And yeeaaahhh, putting that Moonlight in the prototype garage for sale at such a high price just...doesn't sit right with me, to put it lightly. When it comes to Moonlight,  I can imagine it being very costly to make a sculpt, and I also understand if he wants to "move on" from Moonlight and not re-release her. But I'd think it would be a good idea if he brought her back for one more Limited Edition re-release run...with a proper amount of time for people to be prepared, and no other strings attached (aka NOT make her a Brave option).

Then again, I wasn't keen on the Prototype Garage thing from the get-go (in part) because he put that "Sensei"(? - I think that's what she was nicknamed) doll in there, and I know a lot of people were hoping he'd eventually mass-release because of how pretty she looked. Heck, I would have bought a "Sensei" if Danny had released her.

 

1 hour ago, Cthem said:

@sunlightandtea, that’s a great comparison with Apple. The shopping experience used to be like that.

I know Danny has said sales are better than ever right now, so maybe much like Apple, there are enough hard core fans of the company that the new direction is sustainable.

It's kinda like the same thing that happens in anime industry, where for a show to be considered successful (BluRay/DVD sales-wise), they just mainly rely on the small amount of hardcore fans who are willing to shell out [insert crazy high price here] for the product. I guess even though we are still going through COVID, there must be enough of the hardcore Smart Doll fans who make frequent/weekly SmD purchases for things to be going well for the company (not that I'd want them to fail or anything, of course). I wouldn't be surprised at all if he decided to focus mainly on those fans instead of targeting towards new customers or those with children.

On 7/4/2020 at 2:53 AM, Mothiraffe said:

 

Why. Why can't we just buy something normally. Is it SO BAD to just SELL THE PRODUCT DIRECTLY. Is it entitlement to want to trade money for a specific good? Now people are going to have to stalk the site waiting for that page to update and hope to god they 1) have the money on hand to impulse buy a doll, 2) are able to order the doll fast enough to get it before everyone else does, and 3) get the doll they actually hcking want out of the five hundred dollar lootbox.

Is it just me that finds this unreasonable?

Def. not just you! I wholesale gave the absolute heck up on EVER buying a Smartdoll, because just reading about how to acquire the dolls gave me bloody anxiety, and apparently it's only going to get worse!

14 hours ago, AnjoRaivando said:

Def. not just you! I wholesale gave the absolute heck up on EVER buying a Smartdoll, because just reading about how to acquire the dolls gave me bloody anxiety, and apparently it's only going to get worse!

It's not too bad buying ones which are in stock. It's just disheartening if you have an eye on anything up for preorder o_o;;

I mean, first time buyers get the "why are you buying a Smart Doll instead of something better" trap question. Which is a bit scary (was afraid my doll wouldn't ship heh) but if I can pass the purity test, anyone* can.

*well, almost. Just lay low until you get your doll haha. Yeah it shouldn't be like this.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Katsudon

22 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

I mean, first time buyers get the "why are you buying a Smart Doll instead of something better" trap question. Which is a bit scary (was afraid my doll wouldn't ship heh) but if I can pass the purity test, anyone* can.

Oh my gosh, I have n e v e r heard of this are you serious? Is it like a text box or something when you go to check out? What on earth?

20 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

I mean, first time buyers get the "why are you buying a Smart Doll instead of something better" trap question. Which is a bit scary (was afraid my doll wouldn't ship heh) but if I can pass the purity test, anyone* can.

I haven't ordered new since a few years (I preder my dolls second hand) so that makes me wonder. Is the question suring the order or as an email afterwards, and if you don't answer "correctly" your order gets canceled?

Asking because if it's the latter I wonder how that works with the 24h preorder period. Will newcomer's preorders get cancelled automatically? Will they have additional time to answer and if they don't, the doll never gets made?

Even if it's on the website, if you fail the test and need to reorder, would that work? Since their emails are often, understandably, one or mors days later? So you would miss the preorder window?

Or maybe there's no "purity" questions for preorders? 

At this point I'm just very confused as to what is policy and what is myth tbh.

It gets e-mailled to you afterwards. o_o it might be avoidable if you fill in the "where did you hear about us" or whatever it is question when ordering... but I didn't, so I got it via e-mail in the middle of the night haha

I really wish it was a myth and I didn't have to write a short essay on why I want to give a dude 60,000¥ -_-

Edit: it's after payment happens anyway, so any new customers will have at least have paid for the doll before having to answer questions. Presumably if you fail, you get refunded and hit with the ban hammer (see a bunch of pages back where that happened to someone.)

Edit edit: this is what they send you...

 

Edit edit edit (endless edits): Link to the post where a guy failed to answer this right and got banned, although it was a slightly different situation.

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by Katsudon

@Katsudon After payment, I see. I was doing an experiment with another email to see what popped up but obviously I didn't go through with the purchase. If I ever do purchase again I'll be sure to be on the lookout for that.

But I still never received anything like this even after making my first purchase, which was a year ago at this point. The whole thing is just unnerving.

Edit: But reading that email doesn't really give me the feeling you had to answer that second question. It seems like you could have just sent back 'hey my address is correct, thanks.' I could be misreading it though and missing context.

Edited July 6, 2020 by sunlightandtea

Tbh after reading about the other guy on here, I didn't want to chance it XD

(I really hope this doesn't get me banned from the shop. I still want more Smart Dolls! And I'm so glad that I bought one. Wish I could share the joy with more people though.)

Edit (every post I  get worried about being banned. XD Maybe I should keep quiet until Singularity comes out)

Edited July 6, 2020 by Katsudon

56 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

Tbh after reading about the other guy on here, I didn't want to chance it XD

(I really hope this doesn't get me banned from the shop. I still want more Smart Dolls! And I'm so glad that I bought one. Wish I could share the joy with more people though.)

Edit (every post I  get worried about being banned. XD Maybe I should keep quiet until Singularity comes out)

He can't ban you if he doesn't know who you are. If you are in the Facebook groups, just avoid mentioning doll names if they are unique and don't use the name you go by here anywhere else (i.e instagram). I've blocked Danny on all social media, but that wouldn't stop his extreme loyalists from trying to find out who you are. You don't need to keep quiet.

Just gonna leave this here...

 

@BeyondTime LOL! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought about the soup 😄

Honestly, I can't say I would recommend Smartdoll to anyone at this point, and that makes me sad to say. It's just not worth the stress and possible chewing out and/or ban from Danny over something like needing a replacement, or asking a simple question. It's completely absurd, and frankly unacceptable conduct.

As I've said before, Smartdoll cannot exist on skin-tones alone. The company needs a good reputation to remain in business, and in Japan Danny is not doing well, since most Japanese doll collectors view him with distaste after he slammed Volks repeatedly. And now, he is being viewed negatively internationally as well. I wish Danny could see that his behavior and his ego are harming his business, but quite frankly I'm not sure he cares.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Selenae

@Selenae He's probably aware of where he stands with Japanese collectors. I think he doesn't do the address confirmation or the "our stuff don't fit other dolls, are you sure you want to buy?" email with Japanese buyers. There's a tailor in Japan whom I frequently commission for my dogs' clothes, and I got her to help me purchase some items since I was banned. She doesn't know who Danny is or what Smartdoll is, but she said when she ordered, it was shipped and she received it within a few days. No weird emails or anything.

Edit: As much as he likes to sneer at the Japanese culture of providing good customer service, he's probably aware that doing so openly within Japan is not a good idea for him, especially since he consults for the government.

Edited July 7, 2020 by bbotss

@bbotss Really? I had no idea he consults for the government there. Interesting. Anyways, I guess I shouldn't be surprised he doesn't pull that email crap with Japanese customers, but it still rubs me the wrong way. I just don't understand how someone could actively dissuade people from buying from their company and not expect it to have negative repercussions, but I'm not Danny.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Selenae

26 minutes ago, bbotss said:

@Selenae He's probably aware of where he stands with Japanese collectors. I think he doesn't do the address confirmation or the "our stuff don't fit other dolls, are you sure you want to buy?" email with Japanese buyers. There's a tailor in Japan whom I frequently commission for my dogs' clothes, and I got her to help me purchase some items since I was banned. She doesn't know who Danny is or what Smartdoll is, but she said when she ordered, it was shipped and she received it within a few days. No weird emails or anything.

Edit: As much as he likes to sneer at the Japanese culture of providing good customer service, he's probably aware that doing so openly within Japan is not a good idea for him, especially since he consults for the government.

Ever since someone pointed it out, I have taken to using google translate (flawed as it is) to see the difference between the Japanese and English text in places.

It is... revealing.

13 minutes ago, Selenae said:

I just don't understand how someone could actively dissuade people from buying from their company and not expect it to have negative repercussions, but I'm not Danny.

Poking my nose where it might not belong again, but since this seems to be a re-occurring question.

I return to my original comparison of Danny going all Ferrucchio Lamborghini back in the day, and to me it would seem that while he has gained a respectable western customer base, to me he hasnt quite established himself enough to be a peer to volks, or maybe even Azone for that matter in terms of a doll manufacturer.

So what do you do when you are failing on that front? .. I think he's now trying to instead be Enzo Ferrari who back in the day openly ridiculed his customerbase (lamborghini included) for buying his products, but managed to get away with it on the basis of exclusivity (The legendary quote "if there is demand for 400, make 399 to gaurantee sales").

So to me it feels like an artificial PR stunt in a situation where he cant be the most prestigious, but he can try and make everything seem like its the most exclusive brand.

Also, any publicity is just that -- publicity.

All this hubbub created on forums and other social media gets his name and BRAND (obligatory RCR reference) out there, sort of like the ProMac rediculous wheel upgrade -- to the point where I do genuinely feel sympathy to the people who have actually been wronged, but I do also wonder if some things have been planted posts just to spice things up.

So the more this thing spins around, the more exposure he eventually gets, and the more he might be inclined to go down this route since the 0G fans will cheer him on his way to fame and glory.

 

 

@Selenae Yep, he frequently posted about cabinet meetings (to which he always brought a Smartdoll along) before the pandemic. I'm just surprised that his actions online have escaped their notice so far.