The Facebook debacle & other issues

In the SDL group Danny would give riddles or treasure hunts on his website, and whoever solved or found whatever it was would get a code for a discount. I can't remember exactly as I didn't pay much attention. He also gave out codes for certain items before he released them to the general public, as well as exclusive items only for those in the group. For any of the above, you had to email him your facebook profile to verify otherwise your order would be cancelled.

If there are still codes it's probably in the Appreciation group since most of the more "enthusiastic" fans are there.

31 minutes ago, Zaliayn said:

Just a heads up, the timer was just a website glitch, Danny talks about it in an Instagram post, here:

 

Argh, what with the "customers expect staff to work overtime" stuff again. Seriously, the job I'm trained for has a serious crunch problem... so I'm actually relieved if his staff aren't forced into working late hours! And I'm pretty sure that most people no matter where they work don't like overtime. Really, I wanna see proof of these strawman issues.

A quick heads up on the glitch might have been nice though. I was really worried that the dolls were going to disappear, especially after all the milk skin dolls were discontinued earlier. ^^;

Edited June 27, 2020 by Katsudon
grammar fixes

Smurfette!

Increasing the workload on his employees isn’t the only way to fix the issue of missing release dates. For example, he doesn’t have to add a new item immediately once it’s done; instead of making it available right then, make a post saying that they’ll be available for sale in a week or something. Or just be upfront about having run into issues before the deadline hits. I suspect that the real source of the issue is that Danny determines the release date based on the assumption that everything will go smoothly, meaning things frequently have to be delayed when that doesn’t happen.
 

After Crimson randomly became available with no prior mention and sold out in a couple of hours, I’ve basically given up on ever being able to buy him. Even if I did sign up for email alerts, I don’t check it constantly, and it’s not much use to me if it goes on sale at an inconvenient time for my time zone. Maybe it’ll be doable if he actually does switch to a preorder system, but who knows, since it sounds like his solution is to give even less notice. I feel like I’m better off hoping that Volks eventually releases a DD boy that’s the same size as the SD17 ones if I want Archer.

This is what I hate a lot about how Choo handles complaints. He can't let em go. It feels like if he gets so much as one complaint, he combusts and feels the need to shut down everything. Like, instead of maturely ignoring a couple complaints about a missed release date, he decides that the solution is just no release dates ever again?? It's just an unnecessarily nuclear option that he then uses to paint himself as the victim. Every company gets annoying/ridiculous complaints, that's customer service 101. You just ignore them like a normal person and move on. 

5 hours ago, Tira said:

Increasing the workload on his employees isn’t the only way to fix the issue of missing release dates. For example, he doesn’t have to add a new item immediately once it’s done; instead of making it available right then, make a post saying that they’ll be available for sale in a week or something. Or just be upfront about having run into issues before the deadline hits. I suspect that the real source of the issue is that Danny determines the release date based on the assumption that everything will go smoothly, meaning things frequently have to be delayed when that doesn’t happen.
 

After Crimson randomly became available with no prior mention and sold out in a couple of hours, I’ve basically given up on ever being able to buy him. Even if I did sign up for email alerts, I don’t check it constantly, and it’s not much use to me if it goes on sale at an inconvenient time for my time zone. Maybe it’ll be doable if he actually does switch to a preorder system, but who knows, since it sounds like his solution is to give even less notice. I feel like I’m better off hoping that Volks eventually releases a DD boy that’s the same size as the SD17 ones if I want Archer.

Ah yeah, poor project speccing is the bane of every creative industry. People always forget to add time for things going wrong. Tbh after making so many dolls, he should be able to estimate better. ^^; 

Eek, sorry you missed out on the doll you wanted. Maybe I should give up on Singularity considering the hype for blue skin. Unless I still have insomnia when she's released, I'll miss the e-mail. XD A preorder system would be awesome, and let's face it, most doll collectors are used to that with limited dolls. It just makes more sense to have things time limited than to shove dolls out without warning. (Plus it's good promo. But idk, when does anything make sense!)

do you think this means he won’t say when the blue girls go up either? I think that will make people more upset...

I don’t want his staff working harder than necessary either, but, in dolls and figure hobbies many are used to delays... it takes less time to post ‘product X has been delayed, please wait until I can confirm a new release date’ than it does to type up his big rants.

In one of the instagram posts he said to subscribe to the e-mail notification thing to get notified on release. o_o; but it was a bit of a pain to find even that! I literally searched "blue" on the shop to find the doll product page and notify link.

I mean, hopefully he'll say. It seems like it might be a while..? On instagram he said 3-6 months, but of course there's no guarantees. ^^;

(Yeah, no one should work overtime, or rush. There's science to back up that people become less productive the more they work. So if it takes a long time to make enough blue dolls that's fine by me! I would rather have more dolls and happy, healthy staff, than a hurried release where we're all in a panic. Hey, if Danny is still reading, please make lots of dolls so we can all give them some love!)

Excuse me there was a Crimson restock?? Dammit man they wouldn't sell out in 20 seconds if you released them more than once in a dog's year OTL

Why won't Volks sell their vinyl boys online. Why won't obitsu bring back their 55/60cm boy bodies. I'm suffering. Anyone know how hard it is to slap a DD head on a resin body? Because I feel like I'm gonna have to get crafty with dye and a prayer at this juncture.

(I'm just salty, don't mind me.)

I love that Danny just has to mention that in Smart Doll Land the only options for fixing the website were to either "disappoint everyone" or make his employees crunch. This is the doll hobby. Some people have waited Literal Years for dolls they already paid for to get released. I literally can't think of a more forgiving hobby as far as delays are concerned. Literally all it takes is "having problems on the SmD Website, please stand by" and people would be chill. 

Why must everything be a story of victimhood with him?

Everything is black and white in Smart Doll land! No shades of grey XD

Edit: I know this is a late edit and a huge afterthought... but I kinda want to switch to the username I use elsewhere at some point. But it feels risky, so I'm gonna wait until Singularity is released (if I can get her). 😧 I wish I didn't feel like I had to be anon!

Edited June 29, 2020 by Katsudon
had more thoughts

At least I know the doll I want is coming up next for pre-order, but man I hate that Danny's basically going the route of resin dolls with this exclusivity. I hope he at least keeps something in stock, because the way it stands you either order your doll right then and there or you lose out on the chance to get them possibly for good, and that sucks -- and plus, newcomers who want to buy something right away will be turned off by a preorder-only system. I respect that they do need to make new products to draw in customers! Its a legitimate point, churn is very real in any industry. But releasing a new doll a week isn't any more sustainable from an R&D perspective, especially if it's true that they go through 100s of prototypes for every single doll. He's furthermore said that the greatest cost he incurs from his business is in R&D of new dolls. From a business perspective, I would cut down my R&D to a manageable level, and focus on releasing dolls I know have a chance to do well -- dolls like the Interstellar girls and Gemini. He constantly talks about employee well-being: it would benefit the designers to have a break from churning out new dolls, don't you think?

 

If I have to pick between Cocoa Chitose and a Dollfie Icon I'm gonna be mighty unhappy.

Judging from the start of the post, I guess if they get enough preorders, a doll will join the main line of characters?

I guess it depends on the type of preorder model. Some companies release the same sculpt several times. I kinda like that system, because it does mean there's a chance of getting in on the next preorder period if you miss one. (With two of my Pipos dolls I just waited for their next release, so it works out okay.) Not too keen on limited one time releases ^^; mostly because I end up buying stuff when I wasn't planning to, in order to not miss out. And that's kinda stressful.

(No mention of Singularity so I guess she's a way off. XD My opinion on this stuff might change if I can't get her haha)

Easy choice for me. Nothing he's shown since Moment and Freedom has even remotely interested me. I don't know if it's because of my growing distaste for Danny or what, and for him to move to a model where 'oh, you have to buy enough so it's not your fault if a beautiful doll gets cancelled!' Is.. Not my favorite.  I get voting with your wallet but maybe, I dunno, slow down the releases a little and work on supporting old dolls?

Edit: never mind. Misunderstood the thingy

Edit edit: nope I was right the first time. 24 hours is not enough time to gauge interest! Give people a couple of weeks or a month!

-_- Don't want to have to camp the spawn for Singularity. (Help!)

Edited June 29, 2020 by Katsudon

43 minutes ago, sunlightandtea said:

 I get voting with your wallet but maybe, I dunno, slow down the releases a little and work on supporting old dolls?

When I first got my girl, there was only 9 dolls to choose from, and for the next year maybe 1 doll would get released a month. Now it seems he pumps more potential dolls out than a pair of rabbits on a hot date. It was too overwhelming when it started and now it just baffles me. The man complains about not wanting to overwork or overload his employs yet he just amps up the dolls. I can remember quite a few things he showed that were 'in production' that never were mentioned again. Maybe his own imposed work load is part of the reason he is so cranky. He's setting himself up for being bullied.

8 minutes ago, Deyja said:

When I first got my girl, there was only 9 dolls to choose from, and for the next year maybe 1 doll would get released a month. Now it seems he pumps more potential dolls out than a pair of rabbits on a hot date. It was too overwhelming when it started and now it just baffles me.

Agreed! And what's even funnier to me is that they're hardly new dolls at this point! The difference between Challenge and Freedom is almost non-existent, or Clarity and Mirai. I get the feeling the reason we don't have blank heads is so that he can keep making the slightest changes to existing face-ups and selling people on entire new dolls. 

If Danny really does read this thread I want to hammer this into his head: blank heads and replacement parts. Chill out with 'new' dolls.

Quote

If Danny really does read this thread I want to hammer this into his head: blank heads and replacement parts. Chill out with 'new' dolls.

As an addon to that, Blank Heads and Replacement Parts we can buy individually and not in 200 dollars packs of potentially useless-to-the-buyer cruft. The fact that I've considered buying Chaos Bundles of spare parts "just in case" is a testament to how little I feel secure i dealing with Culture Japan in case something breaks down the line. But what I need is spare elbows, not a trio of spines. And its not entitlement to want to be able to buy those elbows, it's literally just me wanting to give your company money for the items I need, instead of gambling on the world's most expensive lootboxes for a chance at the getting thee item I need. 

I used to hate when people said that Smart Dolls were cheap because they all used the same face mold, but back then the face ups were varied enough to tell the difference between dolls. Now there are so many being released that some really look the same. : / It seems when Danny is told something he reacts in a very impulsive way.....

Edited June 29, 2020 by Mame

42 minutes ago, sunlightandtea said:

blank heads and replacement parts. Chill out with 'new' dolls.

Let's not forget that he's not driven by money.
New dolls are less of a strain than replacement parts and heads on both storage and employee health. /s

As a business major, it's definitely interesting to see some of his business strategies. It's no secret in business that the cost of acquiring a new customer is WAY more than the cost of keeping older customer. Depending on the business, new customers spend more money at once, and then make several smaller purchases of time before they may eventually stop buying. Of course, one way to extend the customer life cycle is to release new dolls to keep them coming in, but also you could sell accessories and maintenance items. In Smartdoll Land, this would be spare parts, blank heads and body stockings for example. Some people may be very frustrated that they have to spend $200USD to get doll replacements and they may not continue to buy from Smartdoll. All of this is hard to say without official marketing research. At the end of the day, they are a bunch of ways for Danny to tackle the Customer Acquisition and Customer Life Cycle. It seems that he's focusing on creating acquisition and creating new girls versus focusing on older customers and doll maintenance. 

1 hour ago, sunlightandtea said:

Agreed! And what's even funnier to me is that they're hardly new dolls at this point! The difference between Challenge and Freedom is almost non-existent, or Clarity and Mirai. I get the feeling the reason we don't have blank heads is so that he can keep making the slightest changes to existing face-ups and selling people on entire new dolls. 

If Danny really does read this thread I want to hammer this into his head: blank heads and replacement parts. Chill out with 'new' dolls.

I cannot give you an exact quote or even the source, but when I got my girl around 2018 he said somewhere on the website "These girls will always be around and not limited" and then made a negative comment about how Volks limits their dolls. Coming from the world of Pullips who released tons of dolls too quickly and some were limited, this made me feel good and secure knowing that the current Smart Dolls sold would always be available (or at least a long time).

Classic Mirai gone. Classic Kizuna, Chitose, Ebony, Julia--poof, gone. Some of the girls he sold like tea Kanata were gone within a month or two. 

I agree too. All the dolls with a face mold look the same. Different curve of eyeliner and a different wig in milk, tea, and cocoa, and then cinnamon. I know that is good for some people, but it was another push to leave the brand. Some of the new girls are very pretty, but I prefer the older girls because they had a certain sweetness and character.

I  never understood back then why he wouldn't sell spare parts or blank heads and now even bodies. Now, I know better. He's not money driven yet you have to pay $200 dollars for a spare part (in merchandise) if your girl breaks.

this is just my opinion/fear, maybe it’s wrong, because maybe his really is the best system for him, and also I don’t understand the new order system well.... but I keep thinking about scalpers. I know Danny is against scalping, and I saw somewhere he said he tries to prevent it. but making them even more limited for less time, seems a recipe for scalpers. For example scalpers who have the money to drop upfront, and then buy up many dolls to resell. 

Im concerned this will happen with the blue girls...’panic buying’ and scalping. I hope it doesnt, or he has some way to prevent it.

@MaKayla_Panda 

Quote

it's definitely interesting to see some of his business strategies.

Not a business major by trade, but raised by auctioneers here -- isn't it fascinating to watch Danny work? He reminds me a bit of Offer Shlomi (the ShamWow Guy), not in style but in efficacy. Danny preaches an ethos of like... farm-to-table dining, but for luxury dolls. He makes a point of telling us where the dolls are from, how they're made ~artisanally~ by Japanese craftspersons, that the cost is justified by knowing you're supporting small, local companies, etc etc. He's a bit like Apple in that regard- 'Only the Brave' will buy his product, look how different we are from other companies, we offer the superior product and all of that, too. He's also managed to weaponize his fanbase, intentionally or not. To anyone who isn't caught up in that culture, Danny saying "since So Many Complained" about x or "Since we disappointed So Many People" with y is so transparently bullshit- but to the people who don't have reason to doubt him, they rush to assuage his ego that he's doing just fine and in fact, can do no wrong. It's a bit like youtuber stans in the worst way, because white many stans of problematic youtubers are often on the south side of twitter's age to join restriction, most of Danny's fans are grown adults trying to protect a 50yr-old man's feelings. To quote Matilda's father in the titular Road Dahl book, "people don't buy a car, they buy me!" Smart Doll is intrinsically linked to Danny Choo now, and the cult of personality he's created. (Which is why so many people struggle to justify buying them, because much as we love the dolls... Danny himself is divisive to say the least.)

And it's so interesting that he's managed to inspire such a following (and a periphery... less hatedom, more 'fed-up-dom' to boot,) because divorced of Danny, looking purely at the dolls, they are wholly... average.

That's not a bad thing. They're in keeping with the design trends of the hobby as a whole. They're decent posers, they're decent quality, they're decent aesthetically (even if a bit divisive on the facial sculpts.) There's nothing inherently bad about them, and their quirks help them stand out for the same reason Obitsu's soft tummies (better posing) and Volks' incredible secondhand creator market help them stand out. If it wasn't for Danny, the biggest complaint there would be about Smart Doll is that the price of all the accessories is apeshit and that getting the doll you want is a struggle given how rarely Danny re-releases some girls (SEE: VOLKS TAN, VOLKS BOYS, DOLLFIE ICONS ON PARTICuLAR, THE FUCKING LOTTERY SYSTEM VOLKS WHY DO YOU HATE ME-) 

The dolls, the PRODUCT, is industry acceptable and occasionally exceeds expectations. This intensively antagonistic marketing...strategy...? Isn't necessary to drive revenue. If Danny didn't dump so much into R&D'ing a trillion dolls a month he wouldn't even need to be so aggressive at the consumer life cycle- I mean look in this thread, the one place where his detractors feel safe discussing their discomfort with him. Even us still mention the dolls we'd like to get from him! I'm planning to get Cocoa Chitose and Reflection and Sana at some point myself! It's fascinating to watch Danny work because he pours so much of himself into his projects when honest to god the product could stand on its own and he'd have more customers if he eased off the "don't buy our products! we'll only disappoint you! don't be a sheep!" mantra. I mean I got interested ni Smart Doll in the very beginning when the product photos were just dolls standing in poses in their underwear looking into the distance because Danny refuses to put their eyes in facing the same direction due to his 'golden triangle' design ethos that's not what that means Danny but okay!

It's just... it's so much. I would literally be a Smart Doll customer to this day if Danny wasn't so aggressive about trying to convince me not to be one. Instead I have to scrounge around for secondhand girls on the aftermarket like a giant isopod on the seafloor trawling for a whale fall in the darkness.

1 hour ago, clearcat said:

Im concerned this will happen with the blue girls...’panic buying’ and scalping. I hope it doesnt, or he has some way to prevent it.

Honestly, scalpers are inevitable on any limited good, especially one as in-demand as this hobby can be. For many of us who have been banned from the store (not me yet as far as I know!) scalpers and the secondhand market are our only shot at buying anything anyway. Ironically the dreaded secondhand market that Danny despises has been the best thing to ever happen to Smart Doll, because now we can finally buy replacement parts directly off ebay (which I continue to do, y'all who buy and resell chaos bundle pieces for reasonable prices are the real MVPs.) But this means that yeah, the Blue girls and likely the Centaur if that ever gets released are going to be expensive. Maybe only a few hundred dollars more, maybe way more than that -- which is why it sucks so much that he's going to have such intensely short pre-order periods. I often have whole weeks where I can't use the internet because of where I live losing electricity or service. Even Volks lotteries last longer than that.

I don't have high hopes over here 😕

Recently some youtubers with a large following have started to make more Smart Doll related content, and, I don't know... I just feel bad seeing them buy the products without any knowledge of the bad business practices, DC's  attitude, his cult like following ect. All of this could have been easily prevented  if he wasn't so easily upset, and didn't have an ego the size of Jupiter....

Regarding customer acquisition, having a short preorder period is not going to help that. If anything, it makes it more difficult. It takes time for information to filter through. For example, I became a new customer of two different doll makers recently, both with limited sculpts, and both with a preorder period of 3-4 weeks. I was not there at day 1. I only found them through talking with a friend.

Which tbh is the same way I found Smart Doll. And I never would have been able to make the decision to buy a doll that fast. I have to think it over, even if it's just for a few days. I almost never make a snap decision like that.

(I really hope the blue dolls won't be too expensive. I really want one and there's a ton of interest. I hope I can scrape the money together. Honestly, if Singularity isn't popular enough to become a non-limited doll, it will actually disappoint people, for real, not just in Danny's imagination. I'm really sorry for fixating on this one doll XD )