The Facebook debacle & other issues

9 hours ago, MaKayla_Panda said:

This is purely speculation and anecdotal, but a possible reason as to why SmDs are so popular with Americans. If you compare SmDs with most major brand fashion dolls in the US, they're pretty identical in terms of have 1)Premade/Stock Characters with a back Story and 2) An exclusive line of apparel made "only" for them. Most people in the hobby I know were very into dolls as children and I wonder how many of these people simply see Smartdolls as just...large Barbies. I took my Dollfie Dream to work and one of my coworkers said it was insane to get such an expensive "Japanese Barbie". If you're marketing to a young teen and they randomly show their parent a Smartdoll, they're probably going to liken them to Barbies or American Girls (in terms of price point, not looks). Yes, these dolls are based off of anime, but even people super into anime have never heard of Dollfie Dreams or Smartdolls, so the only form of reference most Americans have are the more popular fashion doll brands. Despite having all this read tape on the website, there will be people who buy these dolls WITHOUT doing any kind of research on vinyl dolls at all. Danny tries, but there is simply no way to avoid stupid people and he's really hurting his brand by trying to do so. 

Re: the Barbie comparison - people treating them as "expensive version of the Barbie I can pick up at Target for like $15 for my kid", and not "expensive version of collector edition/silkstone Barbies which maybe you take out of the box and display nicely somewhere but you definitely do not give to your kid until they're old enough to know how to take care of nice things", which is more accurate.

And yeah, the disclamers need to be more obvious and not titled things like "why you shouldn't buy this", and even then some people still aren't going to read them. They would need to have a survey saying "are you familiar with ball jointed dolls?" and then send people who aren't an extra guide in different languages explaining how to care for the doll properly, and EVEN THEN there's going to be problems.

28 minutes ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

"why you shouldn't buy this"

I think this actually functions as reverse psychology.  He only pictures of perfect looking dolls on the website, but then puts up a "definitely don't buy this" rant.  It's like a forum post titled "Don't read this!"  So of course, people buy anyway, and then if a product is actually defective then apparently it's your fault for buying.  I'm actually kind of surprised Danny didn't actually send out some real pebbles for 50,000+ yen to some of his lootbox gamblers, and then point back to his disclaimer if they were upset.

edit: clarity

Edited May 3, 2021 by That_Dollfie_Dude

10 hours ago, AlmySidaKay said:

It's been at least 6 months to a year now that the website has been like this. I doubt anything special will happen.

That's the thing 😆 I'm waiting for some kid's doll to break outside of warranty, and for any drama that might come of a parent not realising that dealing with Danny Choo is like walking on eggshells in a minefield where the floor is lava. There are a couple of super negative reviews on trustpilot, and I wonder if more will appear on that or similar consumer sites. I don't think parents will find sites like this, sadly.

Or maybe people will be too rich to care and just buy a whole replacement doll. I dunno.

🤔

1 hour ago, Katsudon said:

That's the thing 😆 I'm waiting for some kid's doll to break outside of warranty, and for any drama that might come of a parent not realising that dealing with Danny Choo is like walking on eggshells in a minefield where the floor is lava.

I'm a lot more worried that the spectacular will involve a kid getting hurt.

@BeyondTime Argh, yeah I hope that doesn't happen. It's frustrating because the dolls being in the hands of very young kids is so dangerous, but there's no way to contact regulators without speaking Japanese. 😕

I know they say to switch to the closed hands if giving one to a small child, but that's not going to stop a kid pulling the hands off and maybe choking on them. Actually might make it easier. That toddler strength is something else.

11 hours ago, Yumeiro said:

 

Is that a trap? ... I think its a trap? ... could be a trap .... ?

 

23 minutes ago, finnleo said:

Is that a trap? ... I think its a trap? ... could be a trap .... ?

 

He makes it sound like you are selling a car and need to provide the new owner the car facts as well as the vehicle VIN. Holy freaking A! I think he should take a blood test of every owner. Can't be too careful these days.

5 minutes ago, Deyja said:

He makes it sound like you are selling a car and need to provide the new owner the car facts as well as the vehicle VIN.

there are a few reasons for asking for the original ID that amusingly go with the vehicle identification number thing, meaning that if there have been minute changes to things over the years to reduce some back and forth messaging, and if they might have new old stock of vinyl shell pieces from a certain batches for a better match ...

but the cynic in me is driven to think to the following one's,

A) to know where any given doll is at the moment. (Now I am imagining a giant spreadsheet of all the doll configurations that have gone out the door...)

B) the ability to see who originally sold the doll to the aftermarket.

 

but in anycase, at least this is some kind of aftermarket support proclamation... I guess.

1 hour ago, finnleo said:

Is that a trap? ... I think its a trap? ... could be a trap .... ?

 

The cynical part of me also read that as a trap. As in, please tell me who sold you the doll so I know who to ban if i feel like it.

@finnleo @Jezrah I agree, the way it's worded definitely feels trap-like.

It may also help identifying scalpers, though..?

More likely to identify people who sold their pebbles because they either got a duplicate or a doll they realised they didn't want. Or to extend bans to people who have bought from other banned people? Or I have no idea! It's scary the amount of control which is exerted over these dolls. 😨 I haven't seen enough scalpers to justify this kinda thing. But then again I have terrible luck with the secondhand market.

10 hours ago, finnleo said:

B) the ability to see who originally sold the doll to the aftermarket.

This. The cardinal sin.

I saw activity in this thread, and I assumed it was about the bacteria issue. Im surprised it hasn’t been brought up, yet! 

apparently someone received a smart doll with a vinyl bacteria living in it... full story here

https://true-bjd-confessions.tumblr.com/post/649375402070065152/for-those-who-know-which-i-assume-is-all-of-us

Edited May 4, 2021 by littlecherishdoll

15 minutes ago, littlecherishdoll said:

I saw activity in this thread, and I assumed it was about the bacteria issue. Im surprised it hasn’t been brought up, yet! 

apparently someone received a smart doll with a vinyl bacteria living in it... full story here

https://true-bjd-confessions.tumblr.com/post/649375402070065152/for-those-who-know-which-i-assume-is-all-of-us

This is from last year, right? Also, as far as I know, this is a vinyl + humidty issue, not a Smart Doll issue. If it was their vinyl in particular, all Smart Dolls would have this bacteria living in them. It's probably the climate where people who got it live.

As far as I remember, it wasn't even new dolls from the company, and the people affected were able to treat their dolls with the help of that Facebook post, and they are now "healthy".

Edited May 4, 2021 by LuluChan
Added more info

I just saw it this weekend, and I hadn't seen it mentioned at all in the thread, so I assumed it was recent, whoops! Here's the part in the link in case you don't want to click:

Quote

For those who know which I assume is all of us, you cannot remove mould  from vinyl, it spreads, it stains, and Danny did not offer replacements  for these spoiled goods. How can you run a luxury company like a street  stall and get away with it? This is unacceptable for a new product. 

 

6 minutes ago, littlecherishdoll said:

I just saw it this weekend, and I hadn't seen it mentioned at all in the thread, so I assumed it was recent, whoops! Here's the part in the link in case you don't want to click:

 

I saw that part, yeah, and it is absolutely not true, both about the bacteria and the affected dolls. I wish the Confessions blog had fact-checked this before spreading false information and scaring vinyl doll collectors. A simple google search gives you all the information on the bacteria, how it starts and how to treat it. Also, searching "pink bacteria" on the big Facebook groups yields that post and others from people who had this issue and how the treatment went. Heck, most of it is even on the screenshot they posted, lol.

https://www.instagram.com/p/COeZXC8hG8d/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

People in the comments complementing DC on his "customer service". Even though he can't seem to tell the difference between "being rude" and "politely asking legitimate questions".

(also stop using pop culture references to deflect from your "zero tolerance for questions" policies, it's not cute 😉

12 minutes ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

 Even though he can't seem to tell the difference between "being rude" and "politely asking legitimate questions".

This is the biggest problem.  Yes, I realize that "the public" can seem like an overwhelming mass of idiocy.  But he continuously equates all questions with the worst of the the worst.  He also takes everything as a personal attack.  What's the big deal if someone asks about their order.  Customer support can just remind the person that it hasn't been 15 days yet.  No need for constant venting on Instagram about how you have the power to cancel orders, to customer beware.  Know your place!  Beg for dolls!  Muahaha

On his post about the climate, I was happy to see someone asking about flying.
He immediately deflected and turned it all on the person instead! It was a simple question, but Danny treated it as an attack.
I don't know how he can stomach sitting and going through every comment ('cause they sure can be bad), and then stalk through their profile, on all his social media platforms and then blocking based on the number of Smartdolls you have/don't have*. No wonder he's cracking...
But when you got a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.
I still think it'd save more time to just answer those customers, or send a link to their order FAQs, instead of having to rant so much.

(*I have an account with no Smartdolls on that I used to ask a question once, and got blocked. Another who asked the same one did not - and they had several dolls posted)

23 hours ago, LuluChan said:

This is from last year, right? Also, as far as I know, this is a vinyl + humidty issue, not a Smart Doll issue. If it was their vinyl in particular, all Smart Dolls would have this bacteria living in them. It's probably the climate where people who got it live.

As far as I remember, it wasn't even new dolls from the company, and the people affected were able to treat their dolls with the help of that Facebook post, and they are now "healthy".

Whew, this is useful to know in general! I'll make sure to keep a careful eye on dolls and toys just in case. I'm not sure that it gets that humid here, but it's always good to know what can go wrong. Glad that it's fixable too!

1 hour ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COeZXC8hG8d/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

People in the comments complementing DC on his "customer service". Even though he can't seem to tell the difference between "being rude" and "politely asking legitimate questions".

(also stop using pop culture references to deflect from your "zero tolerance for questions" policies, it's not cute 😉

The worst thing is that I can understand people being anxious about shipping. 😕 Especially if it's someone's first doll, or they had to save hard for their doll. People really just want to know that their dolls are okay, and their hard earned money is safe. It's a bit harsh to punish people for being eager. CJ please hire someone to deal with queries like that, or direct people to a shipping FAQ!

(Mortal Kombat is rubbish. KoF and Virtua Fighter foreveeer!)

On 5/3/2021 at 9:13 AM, That_Dollfie_Dude said:

I think this actually functions as reverse psychology.  He only pictures of perfect looking dolls on the website, but then puts up a "definitely don't buy this" rant.  It's like a forum post titled "Don't read this!"  So of course, people buy anyway, and then if a product is actually defective then apparently it's your fault for buying.  I'm actually kind of surprised Danny didn't actually send out some real pebbles for 50,000+ yen to some of his lootbox gamblers, and then point back to his disclaimer if they were upset.

edit: clarity

My husband and I discuss target audiences with advertising a lot and aside from the clear appeal to temptation ("Don't read this!" "Don't buy this!") the SmD website reads to me like a Rolex advertisement. Fun fact: Rolex doesn't mainly advertise to get new clients, they tend to advertise to celebrate people who have already bought Rolex watches so those customers feel validated in their purchase and feel like they're in an elite group. So, IF you can read through all the text and guidelines and IF you make the purchase and IF you stay in DC's good graces, then CLEARLY you are a discerning individual with good taste who survived the gauntlet and has the right credentials. In short, You are one of the Chosen Ones and all this rigamarole validates that "Yes! You made a good purchase!".

 

Also as an aside to an old topic a couple pages back re: apologies: I was one of the people who commented on DC's insta about the whole he/she/shim thing and said that terminology is offensive and a more accurate term would be non-binary (without delving too deep into the myriad genders and terminologies in non-cis and trans individuals). He did actually apologize directly to me, something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware." It was short and brief but again, just a reply to a single comment. It seems like big public apologies where everyone can see (without digging) is a lot more unlikely and unlikely to be without posturing.

On 5/4/2021 at 4:42 PM, littlecherishdoll said:

I saw activity in this thread, and I assumed it was about the bacteria issue. Im surprised it hasn’t been brought up, yet! 

apparently someone received a smart doll with a vinyl bacteria living in it... full story here

https://true-bjd-confessions.tumblr.com/post/649375402070065152/for-those-who-know-which-i-assume-is-all-of-us

Late reply lol. 
It kinda started living a life on its own on TBC, but the whole "they came from the company like this!" or "DC sells moldy stuff" is not true. I did some digging when I posted this and sure there were a few dolls from the same buy-period, but also a 2016 mirai and some from 2019. So it couldn't have come from the company as the bacteria grows pretty fast. The 2016 and 2019 dolls would've been a pink blob if they only noticed it now. Overall it were like... 6 or 7 dolls in total and with the first person who noticed it it had spread from doll to doll. 
It is really a humidity issue. And it can be any type of humidity. Like, I dumped Ky in a backyard pool once with no issues afterwards but I had an oldschool doll in a room with a window open during light rain and it did get something similar. It could even happen from having it in a damp cloth for a little bit. It honestly mostly comes down to being unlucky. 
Also! The post states that you cannot remove mold from vinyl, which is also untrue. This is removable, it just takes time. (and it still is not a mold, it is a bacteria...) As I said in the post, anti-bacterial soap works wonders and kills the bacteria. Then stain treatment. But anti bacterial soap is most important. Even better to let it soak in it for a bit. 

 

Apparently people just think I am talking BS there, judging from some of the comments on that TBC post, but I worked in a microbiological lab in a marine biology institute, and whenever the boats came back with this issue we got to fix it. This stuff is honestly absolutely gorgeous in a plate, it's really a cool magenta red ish bacteria, it just sucks if it is in your vinyl stuff :'D D*mn I miss that place. 
 

Edited August 3, 2022 by Sebby

@WorldofBJD yeah, as much as I am a downer in this thread, I am pretty sure that Danny's QC isn't so bad they'd sell moldy dolls. (The only situation where I could forsee problems is if a doll was bought on a long layaway - and that would be Fabric Friends' fault, not CJ, as they're the only ones who offer long layaways and are responsible for storing the doll during that time.)

I'm guessing that the TBC crowd are too swayed by the image of the dolls being shoddily made, which is pretty convincing. o_o I posted before but I'll mention again, that I first joined this forum because I wanted to know whether Smart Dolls really were poorly made, because all the posts about bits breaking and stuff made me afraid to buy. But my doll is fine. So far no problems, and no regrets! (I have a lot of sympathy for the person who got the very wonky wig, and the person who complained about the shoes, just because that was a legitimately crappy situation handled badly by Danny. And the repercussions have been never-ending!)

But yeah XD I'm used to seeing people rescue vinyl type dolls in all sorts of states! A lot of the solutions for staining etc are the same as what I saw people in the Blythe community use way back when. 😄 So I believe you 100%!

(Sorry you end up getting messages about every little blemish on a doll. The information on the bacteria is super helpful though! So if you decide to keep the post up despite everything, I'm sure it'll be a lifesaver for anyone who gets the same problem in the future.)

Edit: oh, it occurs to me just to ask, does the bacteria likewise appear pinkish or reddish on darker vinyl? XD just because you've seen it on things like boat seats, which presumably aren't the same colour as light skinned Smart Dolls. Just in case! And thank you for the science! :3

Edited May 10, 2021 by Katsudon