The Facebook debacle & other issues

22 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

those utter chaos bundles are dumpster stuff marked up at high prices 🤣

ah that's what that meant.   thank you.    ah yessss.. those chaos bundles of cloth..

On 9/16/2021 at 3:04 AM, Shamrock said:

I'm not sure if this question fits here... i ordered from the SmD and he said in the email...  Like mentioning other owners near me... i dont know anyone in my neighborhood much less someone w/ a SmD... is this uhm normal for first time shopping or EVERYTIME?  should i be worried??? 

 

On 9/16/2021 at 1:42 PM, Shamrock said:

He said at the bottom of his email that I had a SmD owner a few blocks down from where I live (we are renting and just moved into a new area), so I don't know anyone... he asked if I knew them... i told him NO and that we just moved here from Japan. lol so why would I know anyone and I really don't know anyone here.  i kinda thought it was odd 😕because i have never shopped at his store (first time) and idk if he does this often.  i just want my new addition to have some nice things that i cannot get elsewhere. i do wish he had some replacement joints for feet and hands so i can have extra!

idk but i guess he allowed me to order because i didn't get cancelled from SmD world... YET! LOL... (still early)

I'm sorry, he did WHAT?? I haven't dropped by in a bit, but this caught my attention. While I have the luxury of being a recluse and probably the only one collecting dolls within ~100mi in any direction (rip), even I'm uncomfortable at the prospect of being voluntold information about the shopping habits of strangers in my area. What concerns me more, though, sre situations wherein one party might order a doll and have it delivered to the home of, say, a grandchild. It does not take much information at all to find all the information you could ever want on a person, especially in the era of social media. I've had an online-to-IRL stalker before in my past, and I know personally how easy it is to take one piece of information and turn it into the key that allows someone direct access to their target. Given that Danny's target audience this days seems to be wealthy parents and their children, I find this behavior of freely volunteering the information of strangers without the consent of anyone involved to be irresponsible at best, and deeply problematic at worst. While I don't think intentional harm is being done here -- I'm sure it's just another one of those 'are you suuuure you're Worthy of a Smart Doll' tests -- it remains that this is a starkly unprofessional behavior with real security risks for the customers involved. Danny's done a lot of things I subjectively disagree with, and a few things I think we all objectively take umbrage against -- but this is by far the most concerning thing he's done for me personally. Even if it was just a wayward employee and not Danny Choo himself, that person should no longer have a consumer-facing position going forward. There is no scenario in which this is appropriate behavior for a business to take. 

TL;DR don't volunteer the information of strangers to other strangers, what is WRONG with you??

1 hour ago, Mothiraffe said:

TL;DR don't volunteer the information of strangers to other strangers, what is WRONG with you??

Not to mention illegal. Pretty sure that breaches Japanese privacy laws 🤔

1 hour ago, Mothiraffe said:

 

I'm sorry, he did WHAT?? I haven't dropped by in a bit, but this caught my attention. While I have the luxury of being a recluse and probably the only one collecting dolls within ~100mi in any direction (rip), even I'm uncomfortable at the prospect of being voluntold information about the shopping habits of strangers in my area. What concerns me more, though, sre situations wherein one party might order a doll and have it delivered to the home of, say, a grandchild. It does not take much information at all to find all the information you could ever want on a person, especially in the era of social media. I've had an online-to-IRL stalker before in my past, and I know personally how easy it is to take one piece of information and turn it into the key that allows someone direct access to their target. Given that Danny's target audience this days seems to be wealthy parents and their children, I find this behavior of freely volunteering the information of strangers without the consent of anyone involved to be irresponsible at best, and deeply problematic at worst. While I don't think intentional harm is being done here -- I'm sure it's just another one of those 'are you suuuure you're Worthy of a Smart Doll' tests -- it remains that this is a starkly unprofessional behavior with real security risks for the customers involved. Danny's done a lot of things I subjectively disagree with, and a few things I think we all objectively take umbrage against -- but this is by far the most concerning thing he's done for me personally. Even if it was just a wayward employee and not Danny Choo himself, that person should no longer have a consumer-facing position going forward. There is no scenario in which this is appropriate behavior for a business to take. 

TL;DR don't volunteer the information of strangers to other strangers, what is WRONG with you??

Sucks that if you want to buy the only high quality dark skinned anime dolls on the market you risk getting doxxed by Jimmy Choo's son. 

Edited October 8, 2021 by IgelFullmetal

53 minutes ago, IgelFullmetal said:

Sucks that if you want to buy the only high quality dark skinned anime dolls on the market you risk getting doxxed by Jimmy Choo's son. 

thou shallth not talk shite, about thy shoe sama, or thy dolly shallth not be in thy shopping cart & i shall ask about thy neighbor's purchase to see if thou are worthy of thy dolly 🐼

Edited October 8, 2021 by wishbearstar

2 hours ago, Mothiraffe said:

TL;DR don't volunteer the information of strangers to other strangers, what is WRONG with you??

Honestly sounds like he asked it in the off-chance Shamrock was buying for a banned user.

1 hour ago, Meowjima said:

Honestly sounds like he asked it in the off-chance Shamrock was buying for a banned user.

Somehow that’s even worse. He’s like Big Brother of the doll world…

I was talking to someone online about SmDs and they got banned because they tried to place a order twice, the orders got canceled, tried to email Danny, but he never got back to them, so when I told them they were probably banned, they said they hope they weren't, but I already knew they were cause it happend to me. They said all they did was post pictures of the dolls on instagram and they were happy with the stuff they ordered. Posting pictures of the dolls on instagram can get you banned now?? Everyone is right, if you want a doll, you gotta keep a low profile. I got a SmD secondhand, but I'm afraid to post pictures of her even though I'm already banned.

 

Edit: I was in a SmD facebook group and saw Danny in the group, I freaked out, blocked him and left. I didn't know he had 2 facebook accounts. Why is owning a Smart Doll so stressful? I wish Danny was a faceless CEO, imo it should be about the dolls not him, but he wants to be the face of the brand lol.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Guest

On 10/8/2021 at 2:00 AM, Mothiraffe said:

TL;DR don't volunteer the information of strangers to other strangers, what is WRONG with you??

I was already uncomfortable when he posted that world map with pins on it where Smart Doll customers lived. I gave my address purely to be used for shipping. Using my personal data for a cool marketing posts is not what I signed up for (even if it is anonymous).

On 10/8/2021 at 5:23 AM, QueenAnna said:

but he wants to be the face of the brand lol.

At his core he’s an influencer imo, his goal has likely always been celebrity.

6 hours ago, Wasabi said:

I was already uncomfortable when he posted that world map with pins on it where Smart Doll customers lived. I gave my address purely to be used for shipping. Using my personal data for a cool marketing posts is not what I signed up for (even if it is anonymous).

Holy smokes, I’m shook, he keeps track of where his customers live?

1 hour ago, QueenAnna said:

Holy smokes, I’m shook, he keeps track of where his customers live?

In and of itself that’s not unusual. Any database used to transact business with customers is likely to have demographic reports delivered along with the system. Even if reports weren’t delivered with the system it’s pretty easy to write those reports. With SQL the query to get that data would be absurdly simple: 

SELECT DISTINCT city, state, country

FROM customer_address; 

Slightly more complex if you want to limit it only to a customer’s current address. More complicated if you want to show a count of how many customers in each location. In any case you may be able to return that data without ever linking your query to rows in a customer identity table.

Keep in mind that the query above doesn’t return your address; it’s just looking for each unique city state and country combination in a table. 

10 hours ago, QueenAnna said:

Holy smokes, I’m shook, he keeps track of where his customers live?

That is not unusual. And even useful for a business. there are lots of reasons to keep the data of your sales transactions/customers. That is totally normal, and analysing that data can be very useful for a business. For example, making a map of where your current demographic lives can be a way to determine where to focus your marketing efforts, whether it is to strengthen your position in regions where you already have a lot of customers or attempting to reach new customers.

I have absolutely zero issues with Smart Doll keeping and analysing their customer data for their own internal use. Whether that is marketing ("where to market?", "who do we market to?") product development ("what products are popular?", "what should we develop next?") or just plain funsies ("look everyone, we sold x amount more than last year, well done!"). 

I DO have an issue with taking personal customer data and publishing it without their consent. Especially when it starts to approach levels where it can be used to identify customers.

With personal data I mean things like age, gender, address, etc. Stuff that can be used to identify me. "we sold 100 Smart Dolls this month" is not personal. That tells us absolutely nothing about the amount of dolls per purchase, or where they went. "There are 10 Smart Doll customers living in Canada*" is already more personal. "There is a Smart Doll customer living in your neighbourhood" is a major no go.

*country chosen at random

2 hours ago, Wasabi said:

With personal data I mean things like age, gender, address, etc. Stuff that can be used to identify me. "we sold 100 Smart Dolls this month" is not personal. That tells us absolutely nothing about the amount of dolls per purchase, or where they went. "There are 10 Smart Doll customers living in Canada*" is already more personal. "There is a Smart Doll customer living in your neighbourhood" is a major no go.

As someone who works for a school in the US, we are required to collect and report demographic data to some organizations. 

For example:

We have to report demographic data to the state and federal governments in order to establish our eligibility to receive state and federal funds. 

We have to report data the organizations like the American Bar Association in order to maintain our ability to offer law programs. 

Danny has to have the ability to provide whatever information the government of Japan requires him to provide as a part of maintaining his ability to operate a business.

That said, the requirements imposed on my employer are there to ensure tax dollars aren’t being misused. There is a huge difference between the intention behind the data that we collect, and the intention behind the data that Facebook collects. Their “messenger” app tracks your calls and text so they can gather data and sell it to anyone who meets their price, so those businesses can in turn target you with ads, which is pretty disgusting imo. Never make the mistake of thinking that “free” really means no cost to you. 

For some reason a certain percentage of the population thinks that because something hasn’t been expressly outlawed it’s not wrong.

What I’m really getting at here is the act of collecting demographic data isn’t inherently evil, rather it’s the intended use of that data that describes the difference between good and evil. 

I've been lurking on this thread for quite a while. As time passes, I'm appalled and heavily disappointed that things have progressed so badly with Smart Doll. I started following the brand around the time Harmony was produced (in that weird purple-gray color.) I also recall when DC reassured customers that certain models would not be discontinued (Mirai Tea/Gaia being one that I had a fondness for.) I also miss Resolute. Glad to see Starlight is back but after that, my trust began to wane. Previously, my concerns were more on a moral and personal level, especially after the BLM incident and he deleted a comment I left on IG in regards to that post. Unfortunately now it seems to have spread to a business level. (Gotta say I REALLY hate that he took away the option to include a full outfit set with your doll upon purchase.) 

I was so close to ordering one of the semi-realistic models this year but by that time I was nervous about whether or not I'd be interrogated at check out and would somehow say the wrong thing that would deny me a doll. It had gotten to the point where I thought it was only worth it if you were getting the tan or dark skinned dolls (since no other company seems to be open-minded enough to do so.) Now I can't bring myself to do it and it genuinely makes me sad (especially since I'd been collecting items here and there for the doll.) It would have been my first vinyl doll. In fact I thought it would be a good starter for me into the world of vinyl. It's a shame that DC pushes potential customers away with his nonsense. 

Fortunately when I started to question things I found this forum and I feel like at least I'm not alone in my observations. It has been valuable in helping me decide what to do.  However, I'm beyond shocked at how much things have gone down hill; the cult like following and devoted fans, the strange and uncomfortable choice to use children in the marketing on the website, the constant immature digs on social media and now the ban hammer! And suddenly this news that he might be asking around about other owners in the area. It's concerning and creepy the amount of tabs he keeps on people. 😰

Guess it's time to turn my gaze to Dollfie Dreams. 

 

22 minutes ago, ladyandlion said:

I was so close to ordering one of the semi-realistic models this year but by that time I was nervous about whether or not I'd be interrogated at check out and would somehow say the wrong thing that would deny me a doll. It had gotten to the point where I thought it was only worth it if you were getting the tan or dark skinned dolls (since no other company seems to be open-minded enough to do so.) Now I can't bring myself to do it and it genuinely makes me sad (especially since I'd been collecting items here and there for the doll.) It would have been my first vinyl doll. In fact I thought it would be a good starter for me into the world of vinyl. It's a shame that DC pushes potential customers away with his nonsense.

If you really want a SmartDoll I’d suggest checking out Fabric and Friends. Since you have no history with Danny you won’t be on any global ban list, and I really doubt F&F will hassle you. Just in case though, don’t post what you bought or are thinking of buying here on the forum until the doll and all the Mirai brand goodies you want for her are in your hands. Now that you’ve posted criticism of him he might ban you if he can figure out who you are through your purchases.
 

33 minutes ago, ladyandlion said:

Guess it's time to turn my gaze to Dollfie Dreams.

Volks dolls are really beautiful in person, and the folks who run the company are nice. You won’t find shortages of outfit options either. 

10 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

If you really want a SmartDoll I’d suggest checking out Fabric and Friends. Since you have no history with Danny you won’t be on any global ban list, and I really doubt F&F will hassle you. Just in case though, don’t post what you bought or are thinking of buying here on the forum until the doll and all the Mirai brand goodies you want for her are in your hands. Now that you’ve posted criticism of him he might ban you if he can figure out who you are through your purchases.
 

Volks dolls are really beautiful in person, and the folks who run the company are nice. You won’t find shortages of outfit options either. 

Thanks for letting me know. I'm still hesitant but it's nice to know about the options. And yes that makes sense. It's the smart thing to do. I wouldn't dream of using the same usernames or emails if I were to do so either. ...can't say I like the feeling of sneaking around to try and get what I want.  But...something something "when needs must..."

Hehe it's nice to remember that Volks actually seems to care about their customers. It's been a very long time since I've dealt with them but it was all favorable. My first doll was an Standard SD Nana and a little later I got to experience FCS from Sato (which was nerve wracking but it all worked out.) I'm thinking of getting one of the standard SDs again (Mai or Nico) but as I said I remember getting Haute Doll (omg I'm ancient) and seeing articles about the new Dollfie Dream and I remember loving how posable they looked. If I got a DD it would probably have to be custom as I can be picky about faces. So I'm looking around here and IG to get a sense for what I might enjoy. (I already commented about how much I LOVE the FFXIV Y'shtola ) Are DD moodboards a thing? Lol

On 10/9/2021 at 10:23 AM, Wasabi said:

I was already uncomfortable when he posted that world map with pins on it where Smart Doll customers lived. I gave my address purely to be used for shipping. Using my personal data for a cool marketing posts is not what I signed up for (even if it is anonymous).

HE POSTED A WHAT-

it makes me laugh because Danny wants everyone to kiss his behind and wants everyone to follow his rules. I kind of understand the Smart Doll fans only praising him because they don't want to get banned. I was reading reviews on TrustPilot and decided to write my own review, I don't really care If Danny reads it and knows who I am because I'm banned so it doesn't matter to me anymore. I blocked him on social media, but only cause I was paranoid that he'd find my accounts. I know I spend a lot of time in this thread but that's because I need to buy clothes for my dollfie dream doll and pay someone to do her faceup, but once I get that done, I'll be more active in the Dollfie Dream threads.

19 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Volks dolls are really beautiful in person, and the folks who run the company are nice. You won’t find shortages of outfit options either. 

Not to gush about Volks in the SmD sub, but I second this! Every time I pull out one of my DDs (which isn't often enough) I'm incredibly taken by how much life they have in their faces, moreso irl than in photos. I have both DDs and SDs (recently got my hands on a DearSD....most beautiful doll I've ever handled) and you can really tell that Volks cares about making beautiful, quality dolls that make an impact on their owners. 

I have one SmD at the moment (haven't posted about her anywhere for obvious reasons- she's not finished yet anyway lol) and I absolutely adore her but Volks dolls really just have a magic to them that is hard to find anywhere else, but I prefer not to compare the two brands too much- they really are so different to me and have their own charm. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Mizuumi-no-Otome

15 hours ago, Mothiraffe said:

HE POSTED A WHAT-

Behold, in all of it's terrible glory:

 If we are to believe the wall of text, these are orders from April 2020. So it goes a good deal beyond what I remembered (I thought it only showed counties and all Smart Doll orders over a larger timeframe). But nope. This is a good deal more detailed.

Again, I am fine with a company compiling this data for their own internal uses. I am not fine with this being posted on social media. 

^
COOL THANKS I HATE THIS SO VERY MUCH. I'm sure this violates at least one country's data collection and privacy standards, surely? I hate this. 

5 hours ago, Mizuumi-no-Otome said:

Not to gush about Volks in the SmD sub, but I second this! Every time I pull out one of my DDs (which isn't often enough) I'm incredibly taken by how much life they have in their faces, moreso irl than in photos. I have both DDs and SDs (recently got my hands on a DearSD....most beautiful doll I've ever handled) and you can really tell that Volks cares about making beautiful, quality dolls that make an impact on their owners. 

I have one SmD at the moment (haven't posted about her anywhere for obvious reasons- she's not finished yet anyway lol) and I absolutely adore her but Volks dolls really just have a magic to them that is hard to find anywhere else, but I prefer not to compare the two brands too much- they really are so different to me and have their own charm. 

You're right. They both have their charms.

In order to stay on topic, I will say that I was attracted to Smart Dolls because I really did find DC's business model to be intriguing. It seemed very efficient. I suppose it felt more streamline if that makes sense? I liked that they came packaged in smaller boxes as well as an accompanying tote bag. The clothing was more everyday casual. Quick shipping. The "ready out of the box" feeling appealed to me as someone who is a newbie to vinyl. Plus (slightly unrelated) there was far more supplemental material, YT guides on how to assemble etc and generally just more videos by customers featured. Because of that I got to know the company and the dolls fairly intimately (where as because Volks is primarily a Japanese brand sometimes I feel I can't get all of the information I need just from the company itself without doing a little digging or coming to a forums like this.) But now a lot of the things I enjoyed about the company have been turned upside down and made it too frustrating to deal with.  

"Smart Dollmination" ew? His posts are so cringy I'm about to turn inside out. Anyway I don't know if he's allowed to post the location of customers legally but it doesn't feel right. I have my own qualms about data collecting. I only hope this isn't going to come back to hurt anyone. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by ladyandlion

Well, since we're all back, let me poke that bear...

Anyone still a member of the SmD FB groups? Hear of anyone in the northern Ohio-ish region getting their doll order cancelled?

No reason. Just idle curiosity.

😈😈😈

5 hours ago, Wasabi said:

Behold, in all of it's terrible glory:

 If we are to believe the wall of text, these are orders from April 2020. So it goes a good deal beyond what I remembered (I thought it only showed counties and all Smart Doll orders over a larger timeframe). But nope. This is a good deal more detailed.

Again, I am fine with a company compiling this data for their own internal uses. I am not fine with this being posted on social media. 

I'm a member of a discord for another doll brand, and we have a google map thing that people can pin their location/city to if they want. But that's voluntary -  which honestly, if DC had just asked SmD owners if they wanted to add their city to a map, he probably would have gotten a decent amount of people doing it anyway and then we wouldn't be having this problem.  

(also weird America-centric maps lol)

Edited October 11, 2021 by monkeypizzasonic