The Facebook debacle & other issues

3 hours ago, Gabihime said:

I wouldn’t say it’s common in the US either.  Based on YouTube visibility, I’d say you’re right.  It seems like he’s currently aiming smartdoll at high profile YouTube targets in the Barbie/fashion doll space, including customizers.  Which is funny, given that there is not an easy way for people to customize smart doll, currently.  I guess he wants to aim at tweens who can justifiably point at their brothers and say “well, his PS5 costs X$!”  Kids in that age group are highly influenced by the youtubers they watch, so it could become the new fashionable trend.  If you’re used to buying only toy line fashion dolls, Smartdoll must seem astounding, even with some minor imperfections.  It would also explain why he’s pushing so hard on semi real sculpts.  He wants that sweet sweet L.O.L. Money.

And I personally take umbrage at the idea that Angel Philia isn’t made for girls.  It’s definitely made for girls who like looking at pretty girls 😉  My friend and I currently can’t stop talking about them lol.

 

Haha I have a huge sweet spot on them too, but my friend pointed that it's more likely that it's gonna be bought from collectors or... Neckbeards from their basement filled with agehao body pillows haha 

 

I'm actually a doll customizer. And wanted to buy cortex exclusively with repaints in mind. But the more I'm digging into it... The more I'm worried that it's actually more designed for people who don't do their own dolls wigs or face ups. More like fully realized characters like monster high, with their own story and props. So I'm afraid that target currently is a girl, who watches her YouTube idol owning one - can get a similar doll without having to go through the actual doll hobby. I mean - I would expect most people who have AP to have other dolls, resin bjd, volks etc. But a SmD owner can be totally out of the hobby and just have a smart doll as a expensive one off impulse buy from YouTube inspiration. It's more entry friendly for parents, kids or teens as a first buy, because it's closer to monster high to buy than actual bjd. Which have plenty of good sides, like more dolls in mainstream. But can annoy more diy focused people. 

Do any of you believe for a second that Danny had several people return their Smart Doll Plus?

 

"We did have a few of folks return a their Plus girls expecting them to behave just like the smaller girls - the reason why I called it Mirai Mannequin at first was to set expectations that there are pose-ability restrictions - but I ended up using "Plus" for consistency."

 

I call straight up BS on that. You couldn't just purchase one, and the waiting list took a couple of years from what I saw in the SDL group. If someone did end up buying one of these expensive dolls and no longer wanted it/didn't like it, they could have sold it in a Smart Doll group for a mint and an incredible mark up due it rarity. I don't blame Danny here for not wanting to offer them due to the current circumstances, but I don't believe for a second someone returned one. Most people would be flabbergasted at the cost to ship something that size back to Japan in the first place. Perhaps 1 person had buyer's remorse, but it just doesn't make sense.

3 hours ago, forged_in_mess said:

It's more entry friendly for parents, kids or teens as a first buy, because it's closer to monster high to buy than actual bjd. Which have plenty of good sides, like more dolls in mainstream. But can annoy more diy focused people.

As a purchase sans associated hobby, SmartDoll would have more to offer than Volks. Volks makes a few standard models that are easy to get, and they make a lot of limited edition dolls that are hard to get. SmartDoll has generally made a large number of easy to get standards, and a small number of limiteds. The fact that one sculpt is used on many dolls different dolls is probably lost on many buyers who aren’t into the hobby. 

4 hours ago, Deyja said:

"We did have a few of folks return a their Plus girls expecting them to behave just like the smaller girls - the reason why I called it Mirai Mannequin at first was to set expectations that there are pose-ability restrictions - but I ended up using "Plus" for consistency."

My personal theory is that someone bought one after waiting for years, and when they received it, realized it didn't move or pose like you would expect a Smartdoll. They probably called Danny out on it, I mean, it's several thousand dollars after all, and then Danny told them to suck it up or return her. Very probably a Japanese customer, because I feel if it had been an English speaking one, we would have seen something on the usual Facebook groups. 

And since it's a private sale and he can't just add a rant to the product page, he just canceled them completely. It makes sense from a financial perspective, if they cost so much money and time to make and several people have wanted to return them. After all, he's too busy throwing money into new telescopic stands no one asked for to hire more people to deal with this situation.

4 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

As a purchase sans associated hobby, SmartDoll would have more to offer than Volks. Volks makes a few standard models that are easy to get, and they make a lot of limited edition dolls that are hard to get. SmartDoll has generally made a large number of easy to get standards, and a small number of limiteds. The fact that one sculpt is used on many dolls different dolls is probably lost on many buyers who aren’t into the hobby. 

I agree, particularly for the western market.  SMD seems calibrated exclusively for the western market, while Volks remains inescapably Japanese.  There are going to be people who are going to find the aesthetics of the semi real smart dolls to be just what they want, especially with the strange attitude of western consumers aggressively disliking things from Japan (there is a huge war on moe culture at the moment, and you see this attitude of disassociation with things from Japan really often in one of my other major hobbies, video games).

in fact, a disassociation from the Japanese/Anime aesthetic to appeal to a wider audience is one of the reasons I’ve been nervous about SMD, since as collectors of anime dolls, we presumably want to collect more anime dolls lol.  The current semi real sculpts are very reminiscent of customized monster high dolls, and even the current fashion doll playline market has finally realized the appeal of big anime eyes on those faces.  Dolls like Hairdorables and Rainbow High make that abundantly clear. (I know I personally wanted Ever After High to have cuter faces, more the way they’re depicted in the animated specials, so I definitely get it).

A huge number of the owner pictures being flashed on the SMD shopping site right now are of happy families holding smart dolls, with mostly kids being featured as the owners.  I just went and did of a build your own American Girl, for comparison, and she runs about 200 complete with outfit and accessories.   That’s still a pretty big jump, but probably feasible for a young teen or tween as a big birthday or Christmas present.

New or single doll owners are also less likely to complain that “standard models” from SMD don’t actually seem that standard, in that things do get (somewhat) abruptly cancelled.  They’ll simply buy what appeals to them at the moment, with less concern about a particular model.  They’re also usually not buying to shell characters.

I have to say, if I was a tween now, stuck at home in the West Virginia countryside with only youtube for companionship, and I didn’t know anything about the vinyl hobby at all, I would be desperately into smart doll and pester about it until the cows come home.  I wouldn’t get one, of course.  My folks were extremely traditional and would not have dreamed of buying me such an expensive doll.  But some parents will.

Especially for teen/tweens, some parents are going to be relieved that their kid just wants an expensive doll, rather than a car, or cosmetics, or clothes, or some other more “grown up” item.

I feel like SmD is far more friendly for begginer than Obitsu, volks or ap. Totally. SmD website is clear, witty, interesting and very western. 

Anyone understands the point of this post? He's just mocking potential/existing customers who want to buy things from him? I'm confused. There's not even a word about developing apparel, it's just "I won't make clothes for my male dolls. YOU make it if you want it".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF_4JzVBEXz/?igshid=1dfdhfvmlre7l

 

That makes it feel like he’s definitely watching our discussions, considering we were just talking about that exact topic.  Thanks bro.  Whatever makes you feel good, I guess.

2 hours ago, LuluChan said:

Anyone understands the point of this post? He's just mocking potential/existing customers who want to buy things from him? I'm confused. There's not even a word about developing apparel, it's just "I won't make clothes for my male dolls. YOU make it if you want it".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF_4JzVBEXz/?igshid=1dfdhfvmlre7l

 

On the one hand, pretty sure this means he's been watching this thread and is "calling us out" specifically; because there's really no other explanation for why he's bringing this up now, or why he's making fun of people for wanting doll clothes for dolls (I am almost certain that he's only acting like this because he sees us as "haters", and if this had been brought up on one of the facebook groups full of "fans" that rabidly agree with everything he says he would have been a lot more open to the idea.)

On the other hand, Gemini looks hella good in that bikini and I kinda want a bunch of people to start putting the SmD girl clothes on their boys now because it'd be fun (and because I feel like Danny would get confused if people started having their male dolls do sexy crossdressing unironically) (#weeeeeconfusethehetrosexual).  

Hey Danny, we can only sew clothes for boy Smart Dolls if you release them! The boys I mean, not the clothes.

4 minutes ago, Katsudon said:

Hey Danny, we can only sew clothes for boy Smart Dolls if you release them! The boys I mean, not the clothes.

Preach lol.

@Sandy

Not wanting to be the moderator police ... but, that approach has been deemed off limits on this forum.

This thread has a legit reason to be around, getting it locked wont do anybody favors.

There always will be a space between what people want and what companies sell, and I see a lot of it in bjd. But I just understand that I might not be a demographic for particular dolls. And with SmD I feel like it's more for trendy young people who buy most of their stuff. I don't buy doll clothes or wigs or eyes, I make them. So I don't really need a doll with face up or wigs. 

But! I don't expect company to change their ways to suit me. For a mom who is hearing about "I want mirai" from months - picking SmD will be far easier. I would love to see SmD expand, so they can also cover more demographic like older crafters, but I know that it's impossible to please everyone, so I don't really expect company to change their ways. 

Dolls have names, stories and treats like monster high which makes them more appealing for younger girls. It's a particular character, not just some "sculpt a-2". 

 

8 hours ago, Gabihime said:

New or single doll owners are also less likely to complain that “standard models” from SMD don’t actually seem that standard, in that things do get (somewhat) abruptly cancelled.

That's a recent trend. I was looking back to when new dolls went up and were rarely discontinued.

I'm amazed the male dolls haven't been discontinued.

4 hours ago, LuluChan said:

Anyone understands the point of this post? He's just mocking potential/existing customers who want to buy things from him? I'm confused. There's not even a word about developing apparel, it's just "I won't make clothes for my male dolls. YOU make it if you want it".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF_4JzVBEXz/?igshid=1dfdhfvmlre7l

 

It's just "feeding the troll" to react at this point
 

17 minutes ago, forged_in_mess said:

I would love to see SmD expand, so they can also cover more demographic like older crafters, but I know that it's impossible to please everyone

But I am sure we could all agree that a gatekeeping approach is not the way to go in either case

6 minutes ago, Yumeiro said:

It's just "feeding the troll" to react at this point
 

But I am sure we could all agree that a gatekeeping approach is not the way to go in either case

I agree to both points.  I was just surprised by his direct attention.  I’m sure our intention on this thread is to talk about our own thoughts and feelings regarding the brand and the various developments as things change over time.  I’m saddened by both the high control and the gatekeeping aspects, definitely.  The reason I’m in this hobby is because I liked vinyl anime dolls, so I naturally want more opportunities to buy the dolls that I want.  That’s a very normal reaction for a normal customer to have.  Somewhere along the line, this seems to get disconnected on the way to SMD.  That’s unfortunate, but it seems there’s no helping it.

4 hours ago, LuluChan said:

Anyone understands the point of this post? He's just mocking potential/existing customers who want to buy things from him? I'm confused. There's not even a word about developing apparel, it's just "I won't make clothes for my male dolls. YOU make it if you want it".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CF_4JzVBEXz/?igshid=1dfdhfvmlre7l

 

Danny's jokes don't always land in these posts.  Many people have trouble expressing humor via text.  I watched one of his YouTube videos last night, and he came across as a friendly, silly guy.  The snot bit is getting kind of played out and cringey though, in my opinion.  

I'm going to play devil's advocate (Unicron's advocate?), it seems like he's trying to give options for SmD boy clothes from other makers, which is great.  Between the pandemic shutting so much down and his own disinterest in making SmD boys, it's no surprise he's not making them.  Hiring more staff sounds like a solution, but that's easy to say, and anything but easy to do.  Getting applicants and interviewing takes a long time, and then for the few who make it through that, there's a training period.  On top of that, if someone is applying for your job posting, they are most likely applying elsewhere.  So you might have a great new hire, who is quickly stolen away by GSC or another bigger company.  (My mind goes to health care, but I suppose that's not an issue in Japan, unlike my country.)

Banning or blocking customers who ask questions, even if the answers are buried in the massive wall of text he expects them to read, is just flat out crazy, though.  An FAQ page with short, concise store policy and procedure answers would be better.  Save the whys and wherefores about how the policy came to be for another section.    It looks like the Before You Buy section covers a lot of this, but it's very design philosophy heavy, which distracts from the quick reference to shipping prices, return policies and the like.  It's boring stuff to write about, sure, but it's important and might even cut down on emails asking for the same stuff.  

12 hours ago, Gabihime said:

in fact, a disassociation from the Japanese/Anime aesthetic to appeal to a wider audience is one of the reasons I’ve been nervous about SMD, since as collectors of anime dolls, we presumably want to collect more anime dolls lol.  The current semi real sculpts are very reminiscent of customized monster high dolls, and even the current fashion doll playline market has finally realized the appeal of big anime eyes on those faces.  Dolls like Hairdorables and Rainbow High make that abundantly clear. (I know I personally wanted Ever After High to have cuter faces, more the way they’re depicted in the animated specials, so I definitely get it).

 

I have to say, if I was a tween now, stuck at home in the West Virginia countryside with only youtube for companionship, and I didn’t know anything about the vinyl hobby at all, I would be desperately into smart doll and pester about it until the cows come home.  I wouldn’t get one, of course.  My folks were extremely traditional and would not have dreamed of buying me such an expensive doll.  But some parents will.

Especially for teen/tweens, some parents are going to be relieved that their kid just wants an expensive doll, rather than a car, or cosmetics, or clothes, or some other more “grown up” item.

Have you seen the dolls in the western market now? LOL dolls sets can run hundreds and those Poopsie rainbow surprise things, are 80 bucks a pop (and worse during Christmas). Parents are so willing to splurge on toys for their kids now! I never even got a Barbie when I was a child (which explains my dozens of BJDs and Vinyl dolls right now...)

But yeap, I don't think its too far fetched for western parents to pick up a SmD for their kids for Christmas when the website is so easy to buy from. Even more so when the DC line comes out, whereas Volks website is unbearably tough to navigate, even for me the Mandarake aficionado. 

12 hours ago, Gabihime said:

in fact, a disassociation from the Japanese/Anime aesthetic to appeal to a wider audience is one of the reasons I’ve been nervous about SMD, since as collectors of anime dolls, we presumably want to collect more anime dolls lol.  The current semi real sculpts are very reminiscent of customized monster high dolls, and even the current fashion doll playline market has finally realized the appeal of big anime eyes on those faces.  Dolls like Hairdorables and Rainbow High make that abundantly clear. (I know I personally wanted Ever After High to have cuter faces, more the way they’re depicted in the animated specials, so I definitely get it).

At least to me, the semi-real dolls aren't really that different from some of the more realistic DD sculpts like Rise or Kos-Mos; they're kind of a midpoint between the anime sculpts and resin BJDs.  I don't think it's necessarily departing from anime/Japanese influence, just a different "art style."

3 hours ago, Galvatim said:

Danny's jokes don't always land in these posts.  Many people have trouble expressing humor via text.  I watched one of his YouTube videos last night, and he came across as a friendly, silly guy.  The snot bit is getting kind of played out and cringey though, in my opinion.  

I'm going to play devil's advocate (Unicron's advocate?), it seems like he's trying to give options for SmD boy clothes from other makers, which is great.  Between the pandemic shutting so much down and his own disinterest in making SmD boys, it's no surprise he's not making them.  Hiring more staff sounds like a solution, but that's easy to say, and anything but easy to do.  Getting applicants and interviewing takes a long time, and then for the few who make it through that, there's a training period.  On top of that, if someone is applying for your job posting, they are most likely applying elsewhere.  So you might have a great new hire, who is quickly stolen away by GSC or another bigger company.  (My mind goes to health care, but I suppose that's not an issue in Japan, unlike my country.)

Banning or blocking customers who ask questions, even if the answers are buried in the massive wall of text he expects them to read, is just flat out crazy, though.  An FAQ page with short, concise store policy and procedure answers would be better.  Save the whys and wherefores about how the policy came to be for another section.    It looks like the Before You Buy section covers a lot of this, but it's very design philosophy heavy, which distracts from the quick reference to shipping prices, return policies and the like.  It's boring stuff to write about, sure, but it's important and might even cut down on emails asking for the same stuff.  

Yeah, I think he's just trying to be funny about it, but it comes off badly.  Partially because he has a pretty snarky sense of humor, which doesn't always come across well over text, and partially because he's made so many "Ha ha, I don't care about haters! Let me write several paragraphs about how much I don't care" kind of posts that any mention of complaints comes off as defensive.

I actually genuinely enjoyed reading SmD websites entries about company philosophy and how dolls are made, and enjoyed the witty humour too... But I truly like sense of humour, and believe that it can diffuse plenty of bad situations. I'm not from easily offended type, so I'm as well not really looking for nasty intent in every joke. 

 

I would like to simply hear about reasons for some decisions because I'm curious. As a small business owner I learned that very often decisions are looking different from point of view of customer and business owner. So I'm just curious why cortex isn't available for normal customers, but just ones who are returning for example. Maybe it's just a way to honor existing customers, as being VIP with access to chaos? Don't volks have some kind of VIP too? I know bjd companies hold vip dolls like Popovy sisters for example. 

1 hour ago, forged_in_mess said:

I'm as well not really looking for nasty intent in every joke.

But when it is constant "jokes" at the expense of customers, isn't it hard to turn a blind eye to it? You don't have to be offended to acknowledge that it is a problematic behavior.

13 hours ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

On the one hand, pretty sure this means he's been watching this thread and is "calling us out" specifically; because there's really no other explanation for why he's bringing this up now, or why he's making fun of people for wanting doll clothes for dolls (I am almost certain that he's only acting like this because he sees us as "haters", and if this had been brought up on one of the facebook groups full of "fans" that rabidly agree with everything he says he would have been a lot more open to the idea.)

On the other hand, Gemini looks hella good in that bikini and I kinda want a bunch of people to start putting the SmD girl clothes on their boys now because it'd be fun (and because I feel like Danny would get confused if people started having their male dolls do sexy crossdressing unironically) (#weeeeeconfusethehetrosexual).  

Not gonna lie, if I could get my grubby mitts on an extra milk Eiji Kai head, I'd use it to make a drag queen altet ego for my boy. He's undeniably gay, it just seems fitting somehow, lol.

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/designed-for-smart-doll-only
Oof, so this is new, an entire page to tell people they are not going to sell SMD apparel to anyone who is going to use it on other doll brands.

5 minutes ago, sumdude said:

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/designed-for-smart-doll-only
Oof, so this is new, an entire page to tell people they are not going to sell SMD apparel to anyone who is going to use it on other doll brands.

Well, it actually makes sense. If something causes returns then it's more issue than income. And with PayPal or other credit based companies, they can easily stop providing services if someone have too many disputes. 

 

15 minutes ago, sumdude said:

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/designed-for-smart-doll-only
Oof, so this is new, an entire page to tell people they are not going to sell SMD apparel to anyone who is going to use it on other doll brands.

Pardon my French but what the fuck

 

Edit: this feels again like he's watching us, because we were also talking about the fiasco of the girl who ordered for MDD and how he cancels everything where people tell him it's not for a Smartdoll... 

But mostly I'm just shocked at the gatekeeping, elitism, and saying everyone who buys other dolls is dumb (since apparently they can't read a disclaimer or understand how his dolls have a different body type). 

Edited October 7, 2020 by LuluChan
I'm shook and didn't want to double post