The Facebook debacle & other issues

50 minutes ago, Vampurrr said:

True, apologies for that!

In general I just get weird vibes from Danny with his behaviours. The fact he got rid of his Dollfie dolls easily makes me feel he doesn't strongly believe in it, and he acts like a victim a lot when people call him out on things.

In the end of the day he is an entitled millionaire like the rest of them… 

49 minutes ago, finnleo said:

is there any merit in even trying to hide behind these local traditional concepts.

As a rationalization for nonsense, yes.

4 hours ago, Monty said:

I wonder why Danny isnt using EMS...?

Initially, I think it was due to DHL giving a better rate..? (Like, he isn't concerned about money! But, you know.......)
He's stated that DHL is faster and more secure, and that is why he switched.

2 hours ago, Cas said:

With DHL I often get an email but once it got in spam. Before the use of DHL it was a letter through the actual mail and that was often late and it would get sent back. So it is not always on purpose to "refuse" a payment.

Yeah, that was my thought too.
And over here there's been a sort of reform on customs fees, and for sellers to start properly declaring the items. Like "accessories" doesn't cut it anymore. You have to write what type - "phone accessories" for example - so that the fees could be calculated properly (different fee rates for different categories/types of items). So it did cause items to get returned to the sellers, due to improper declaration forms. Which isn't the buyers fault!
And I doubt culturejapan wouldn't fill out the forms properly. So it is most likely due to being unprepared about sudden extra fees...
If only the website had a simple/to the point section about shipping fees and custom fees, perhaps people wouldn't miss it? 😒

However, I seem to remember that you could refuse packages that had fees, and when returned the company would ship them out again and you wouldn't get hit by fees..?
It was a long time ago, but I wonder if it ever was a thing, or if it was just one store (and hoping you wouldn't get hit with fees the second time around)..? Unlikely that people would still play on it too.

2 hours ago, finnleo said:

Not to say that its not a thing, since even Volks has "doll return bags" for sale, but at the same time there is a thriving aftermarket industry in japan that deals with second hand dolls

I think it's worth noting, for any who aren't aware (as they haven't rolled out an equivalent for DD yet), that Super Dollfies who are returned through the bag service are actually repainted and sold as Adaption Models at specific Volks stores! (I only know Tenshi-no-Sato does this for certain off the top of my head, but Mado and some Sumikas might sell them as well)

Personally, I don't think this is the "hill to die on" so to speak, since this is moreso a Japanese (and other East Asian countries to some degree as well from what I've heard) belief. There's plenty of flaws to point out in his business tactics, but this one isn't it IMO.

13 minutes ago, Yumeiro said:

Initially, I think it was due to DHL giving a better rate..?

EMS was largely unavailable throughout the pandemic, but it depended on the region.

42 minutes ago, Emil said:

"hill to die on"

well, when certain things and theme's become long running and repeating subjects, there is going to be a point when its going to be popped open one way or another.

I doubt anyone is crying tally ho at their screens, and whistling the willhem tell overtune while bashing away at their keyboards trying to make it a bigger thing that it is, since at the end of the day, the less you think about it, the less your head will hurt.

but this perticular plot point still can be categorized as bovine feces, and can be called out as such.

 

EDIT, And by this I mean how these traditions are used for the narratives, not the traditions themselves.

as a sarcastic side note ... did we break a record for the silence in this thread?

Edited March 16, 2023 by finnleo

20 hours ago, finnleo said:

Might depend on the region, over here DHL is a bit finicky as a first time import experience.

Here you get seven days to pay the duties starting from the date of arrival if you want to declare the item yourself. or pay 20 euros on top of the duties to have them do the declaration stuff and somehow extract the duties from you.

I actually find DHL super easy to deal with.

As soon as the package arrives in customs in my country I get a text message (and email) that a package has arrived and I need to pay customs. The text message has a link. I click the link, I pay the amount of customs needed. The package shows up on my doorstep a few days later. If needed I can reschedule the delivery.

My only gripe is that I need to stay in for the delivery because they ALWAYS come by between 12:00 and 13:00 which is when I would normally walk the dog on a work from home day 😂

3 hours ago, Wasabi said:

I actually find DHL super easy to deal with.

As soon as the package arrives in customs in my country I get a text message (and email) that a package has arrived and I need to pay customs.

Their not horrible ... anymore (My history with them goes back to when they really werent a consumer option for delivering stuff, and you didnt even get the option of self declaration and had to pay the service fee).

My oppinnion there was based on a first time experience in importing, and worst case scenarios if contact information is limited (No email, or phone number included in the shipping slip, for instance). thats where their smaller time windows for responses can get a bit tricky.

For me, I actually get a heads up text message as soon as the parcel registers in their system, and the customs declaration option also comes in at some point while the box is en route, the only annoyance being a 24 hour respond window which they didnt disclose at one point, but now do. But for me I sort of have to cross my fingers I inputted the email address for the cargo info correct, since there isnt any confirmation for that, but so far no issues.

The arrival information can be a big whollop of information, that might seem convoluted, although here you mostly only need the tracking number, and on occasion the freight handling number if the declaration gets tossed into human scrutiny and the customs official is feeling nasty.

I havent declared anything with their service so wouldnt know how the experience differs with paying their fee, and how you give the needed info.

But even after all of this, I still would say from a finnish stand point EMS service is a better option for first time declarations, since there is one layer less of inputs needed.

On 3/16/2023 at 11:45 AM, finnleo said:

as a sarcastic side note ... did we break a record for the silence in this thread?

Dust off the chalkboard. We're back to 0 days since the last Danny Choo incident.

I'm gonna say it...

 

I... feel a bit uncomfortable with the maps.. Not that it is not cool to see how spread out the collectors are all over the map and such but more that it is pretty detailed where the dots are. I wonder if the EU privacy laws allow this for the EU maps.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Sebby

On 3/16/2023 at 3:14 PM, BeyondTime said:

He's made clear on a few occasions that making money on all of this is not his priority. If you look back over his comments on protecting his staff from being victimized by "the entitled" you'll see his comments on his lack of concern over how profitable his business is.

I didn't know, is he Santa Klaus now?

So why not lower the price of his doll and doll's clothes XD......

As side note in Italy we have 22% of vat and in addition  custom fees starting from 150 euro.

16 minutes ago, 3lysa said:

I didn't know, is he Santa Klaus now?

It's been speculated, and I stress the word speculated, that his business is really just a way to pursue his own hobby and make things he wants to make. I have no idea if he is really being truthful about not caring, but it does make some sense in light of his policies and his seeming lack of concern about starting public controversy around his business. 

2 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

It's been speculated, and I stress the word speculated, that his business is really just a way to pursue his own hobby and make things he wants to make. I have no idea if he is really being truthful about not caring, but it does make some sense in light of his policies and his seeming lack of concern about starting public controversy around his business. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he create the Smart Doll concept because he was mad that Volks declined to make an official Mirai Suenaga DD? IIRC, they said that Mirai wasn't a recognizable enough character and wouldn't sell well with their market. If that's the case, I can definitely see why he's unconcerned with money or controversy.

12 minutes ago, fishbuttz said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he create the Smart Doll concept because he was mad that Volks declined to make an official Mirai Suenaga DD?

I believe that is the story. 

53 minutes ago, fishbuttz said:

but didn't he create the Smart Doll concept because he was mad that Volks declined to make an official Mirai Suenaga DD? IIRC, they said that Mirai wasn't a recognizable enough character and wouldn't sell well with their market.

if I recall correct, he offered Mirai as a possible collaboration character during his factory tour of Volks' doll department, and they declined.

I also dont think Danny's original tour article went into detail about why they declined, only that they just said no. I think we (or at least I did) speculate in the thread that a web-blog mascot probably wasnt going to cut it when Volks was putting stuff like Lily-Saber out the door around those times.

I never saw the Azone tour thing, but after that things started to spark and the project was put into motion of making his own thing. I can only speculate that maybe even Azone said no to Mirai, and that was enough to go "hmphm!"

If figure.fm or doll.fm or whatever his main blog was at the time can be accessed via wayback machine, you might be able to find the original stuff.

 

53 minutes ago, fishbuttz said:

I can definitely see why he's unconcerned with money or controversy.

Sarcastically speaking, One might think that there is some kind of feedback loop with those two things related to this subject matter.

Because the attitude changed gradually over time. But I guess it boils down to if income is still in excess of whats needed to pay the bills and toys despite the shinenigans. shinenigans will continue untill they get to that point where the income wont cover things, and given how things are going we probably are a long way before that point is upon us, if for instance an established customer base in one region of the world is enough to support things and bluntly not having to bother with new customers from that region anymore.

Edited March 20, 2023 by finnleo

The more I think about it the more ludicrous the ban is. If he wants to limit first time AU customers out of fear for them refusing custom fees… literally all he could have done is actually research what those fees were. Literally any research or asking his Australian fans could have told him that customs fees only happened for purchases over 1000 aud. If he absolutely must punish everyone in a group for the actions of a few again….why wouldn’t he just limit first time purchases to UNDER 1000AUD…? That’s still going to get you a doll and some clothing (unless the exchange rate takes a dive again). (Of course this is also all moot if you use EMS, which I’ve never gotten fees for)
If the idea of a company having to research all the fees of a country sounds silly, it’s way less silly than banning an entire country, but what do I know, I don’t live in smartdoll land.

I feel like I should be offended, but it’s so silly I can’t be. I do feel bad for the AU smartdoll fans/potential fans (especially the ones who are doing -everything right-, but I also can’t sympathise with still wanting to be part of this circus. Also… I feel like I bring up the fake inclusivity every time I post here but the idea of people who meet all his other criteria for sexy marketable diversity being refused because of their nationality is an odd message to send.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Monty

On 3/22/2023 at 4:51 PM, Monty said:

I don’t live in smartdoll land.

I feel like someone should hang a sign on the outside of the SmD office building that says "You are outside the asylum."

On 3/22/2023 at 9:18 PM, BeyondTime said:

I feel like someone should hang a sign on the outside of the SmD office building that says "You are outside the asylum."

& Were fresh outta nuts.   get it? asylum nuts.. no.ok 

Edited March 30, 2023 by DollyDearest

Wow! I've been really busy and distracted lately and this thread is still ongoing!

I'm not surprised that the Smart Doll fiasco with the creator is still not good and not very consumer friendly.

I've moved on from Smart Doll products and SmD clothing from the official shop since then.

I'm sticking with Volks DD for sure.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by ZandurFox

Did anyone see his new post with the "example" of what people who say he can't take criticism are supposedly really like? It's the mistranslation thing all over again, to drum up rage in his fanbase against anyone who offers criticism as compared to people sending him outright profanity. I'm sorry he's had to deal with people like that too (assuming the screenshots are real)  but painting any criticism as harassment and hating is... well, something he's always done, I guess, but I can imagine random Smartdoll newbies not seeing the other side of things and being effectively trained to assume now that any criticism whatsoever is like THAT. I should probably go outside and touch grass I guess but it really grinds my gears with each successive thing happening right when I'm feeling somewhat interested in new Smartdoll stuff- a useful reminder, I suppose, but I worry that the fanbase is going to lap this up and get even more cult like (don't trust any "outsiders" they're probably Entitled- we're not quite there yet, at least). I've been having trouble connecting with my Smartdolls for other reasons as well, but dammit I want to love them and not feel ashamed of it and this is making it a lot harder. It feels like I have to choose between being self conscious and embarrassed about even posting my dolls in the current climate or fully drink the kool-aid and follow Danny's line (if I'm not banned already). I'm glad DollDreaming is a good community but I'm nervous to post more about my dolls in case I get linked to my other doll pages and drama comes to me(or I get banned, if I'm not already- and maybe it should be like ripping off a band-aid. Can't feel conflicted about cool new products if I'm not allowed to buy them anyway...)

1 hour ago, Starwaia said:

Did anyone see his new post with the "example" of what people who say he can't take criticism are supposedly really like? It's the mistranslation thing all over again, to drum up rage in his fanbase against anyone who offers criticism as compared to people sending him outright profanity. I'm sorry he's had to deal with people like that too (assuming the screenshots are real)  but painting any criticism as harassment and hating is... well, something he's always done, I guess, but I can imagine random Smartdoll newbies not seeing the other side of things and being effectively trained to assume now that any criticism whatsoever is like THAT. I should probably go outside and touch grass I guess but it really grinds my gears with each successive thing happening right when I'm feeling somewhat interested in new Smartdoll stuff- a useful reminder, I suppose, but I worry that the fanbase is going to lap this up and get even more cult like (don't trust any "outsiders" they're probably Entitled- we're not quite there yet, at least). I've been having trouble connecting with my Smartdolls for other reasons as well, but dammit I want to love them and not feel ashamed of it and this is making it a lot harder. It feels like I have to choose between being self conscious and embarrassed about even posting my dolls in the current climate or fully drink the kool-aid and follow Danny's line (if I'm not banned already). I'm glad DollDreaming is a good community but I'm nervous to post more about my dolls in case I get linked to my other doll pages and drama comes to me(or I get banned, if I'm not already- and maybe it should be like ripping off a band-aid. Can't feel conflicted about cool new products if I'm not allowed to buy them anyway...)

I haven't visited the Smart Doll website and his social media accounts like Instagram for a long time now. Nowadays, I just follow some Smart Doll collectors and fans on Instagram. The man who created Smart Dolls gave me creepy vibes after I'd found out the truth about him and almost all the negative testimonies from doll collectors in this thread and plus Reddit.

I had to sold my Smart Doll Cortex Mirai (Failed Marketing Experiment) to a new home last year, when DC's store doesn't support Cortex and the Milk skin anymore. Therefore, getting replacement parts for a discontinued version of Mirai from the official store is no longer possible is a huge turn off for me.

Rediscovering Dollfie Dream from Volks was a huge win and I'm grateful for getting into it.

Edited March 28, 2023 by ZandurFox

2 hours ago, Starwaia said:

Did anyone see his new post with the "example" of what people who say he can't take criticism are supposedly really like?

I didn't, so I checked out his Instagram, but didn't find anything like that. I caught up on some of his recent posts though and I found this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpZMLL0yaaG/ 

Very innocuous, just talking about the Evolve frame. However, Danny also specifically asks for feedback, and I quote:

"We value brutal feedback the most, as it helps us improve the product design.
Just to reiterate - we are not looking for just yays - we need the nays too 😉"

I like to believe in the best in people, so here's hoping he reflected and grew and that leaving negative but constructive feedback doesn't make you end up on a banlist 

Edit: 
Just found the mentioned post! It was on twitter, hence why I didn't see it on IG lol

 

Honestly, I don't even think the mails are that bad. The person is clearly agitated, yes, and I find them to be more hostile and rude than necessary (like, getting angry usually doesn't help in solving a problem), but it's not the obscenity filled hate mail that I expected after reading the post above. At the same time, I don't think it's that outlandish to not sell to someone who is giving him attitude.

I'm not sure I see this as Danny saying everyone who criticizes him/SmD is doing it this way - more that there are rude people he/the company deals with who hide behind the shield of 'criticism'. 

TLDR: Not a big deal imo.

Edited March 28, 2023 by RetroKanojo
Found it!

45 minutes ago, RetroKanojo said:

"We value brutal feedback the most, as it helps us improve the product design.
Just to reiterate - we are not looking for just yays - we need the nays too 😉"

 

19 hours ago, RetroKanojo said:

I didn't, so I checked out his Instagram, but didn't find anything like that. I caught up on some of his recent posts though and I found this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CpZMLL0yaaG/ 

Very innocuous, just talking about the Evolve frame. However, Danny also specifically asks for feedback, and I quote:

"We value brutal feedback the most, as it helps us improve the product design.
Just to reiterate - we are not looking for just yays - we need the nays too 😉"

I like to believe in the best in people, so here's hoping he reflected and grew and that leaving negative but constructive feedback doesn't make you end up on a banlist 

Edit: 
Just found the mentioned post! It was on twitter, hence why I didn't see it on IG lol

 

Honestly, I don't even think the mails are that bad. The person is clearly agitated, yes, and I find them to be more hostile and rude than necessary (like, getting angry usually doesn't help in solving a problem), but it's not the obscenity filled hate mail that I expected after reading the post above. At the same time, I don't think it's that outlandish to not sell to someone who is giving him attitude.

I'm not sure I see this as Danny saying everyone who criticizes him/SmD is doing it this way - more that there are rude people he/the company deals with who hide behind the shield of 'criticism'. 

TLDR: Not a big deal imo.

It bugs me because I suspect I know the issue here, and it's not actually related to entitled consumers who are out to get him because he cares about his employees. It's a new customer reacting badly to being messaged by the company owner about their purchase, which probably includes more of the "we're not perfect so don't buy our dolls if you can't handle that!" rhetoric. Both his reverse psychology sales tactics and having the standard anonymity of online purchases removed are off-putting, at least to me. This person overreacted, but it reads like belligerent posturing because they felt threatened by his approach. Canceling their order was his way of asserting his dominance, so it's posturing all around.

Still not as off-putting as his response to the scam site being "lol if you buy anywhere but these dealers you're an idiot" and "try to make our brand less popular so we won't be used in scams." It was obvious that he was super offended by the idea of people thinking $100 was a reasonable price for a Smart Doll. Except these kind of scams target people who are unfamiliar with the product, so they don't know how much it should cost... 

7 hours ago, Tira said:

It bugs me because I suspect I know the issue here, and it's not actually related to entitled consumers who are out to get him because he cares about his employees. It's a new customer reacting badly to being messaged by the company owner about their purchase [..] 

Yep! That's exactly what I assume as well.

"T" ordered something, got a mail asking them to confirm their address and some 'test' questions like, idk, 'Why are you buying a SmartDoll?' and the rest is history. Now, whether or not one should have to 'jump through the hoops' of such a questionnaire is.. debatable, but if a person actively wants to purchase something then they kinda just have to suck it up and answering in a hostile way and then being surprised they got denied service is.. yeah. It's not like they couldn't have simply made something up on the spot either, if privacy was the issue. Again. Should they have to do that? Probably not. Do they need to be rude about it? Well, that's just kicking the hornet's nest, really.

That being said, I've never ordered anything myself, so I can't say how 'extensive' the 'screening process' is or whether it includes them trying to 'warn' you one last time what a terrible idea it is to make a purchase lol. But again, at that point..