The Facebook debacle & other issues

9 minutes ago, forged_in_mess said:

And with PayPal or other credit based companies, they can easily stop providing services if someone have too many disputes. 

You have to be running an outright scam for that to happen to business accounts.

Return market is a huge thing right now. Major companies offer free return with no reason. I was raised in more backwards European country, internet came when I was about 15 for more common use. And most purchases were final, unless they broke. You couldn't return stuff just because it didn't fit... Your fault as a customer to not check dimensions. There were even plenty of cases where seller made a mistake in the listing and then they were obliged to sell Mercedes for 1.000 instead of 100.000 or customers buying a picture of a expensive computer. 

Now Amazon offering one day delivery (check what is that doing to workers and how this "NOW" mentality is hurting other branches of business) and return with no reason is pushing it as a new online sales standard. 

Now there is plenty of customers who buy emotionally or without deeper thought because "they can always return it". So they don't see the it as a final. Plenty of my work friends order 10 pair of shoes and return 8. Someone needs to pay for shipping back, and products cannot often be sold again at a full price. So company lost money, didn't gain anything. 

When you have huge companies like Amazon - they will pay peanuts and overwork stuff, not cutting Jeff Bezos salary and make up for the losses. But if you have a small artisan business... You don't have option to cover those loses easily. 

I don't understand it with Chaos items, that they need to be sold only to existing customers. Maybe it's also option to cover returns? (but I thought that there are no returns on chaos items? But I guess if someone would open a dispute with PayPal about product not being as described it still could be pushed for return?)

Belated to the party, but.... I honestly find better male clothes than female clothes half of the time.  I've had a lot of defect/issues with clothing I've bought for my girls.  Male clothes from third party sellers also tend to be cheaper, anyway.  Not to mention the only SmD apparel item Ive ever used frequently are the jeans tha came with the older apparel set, because they fit one of my boy resin dolls really well.  Which is funny, since people have mentioned the SmD girl jeans do not fit the boy bodies.

 

With the newest semi-real sculpt Dannny has teased, I kind of hope they offer it on a cocoa male body, at the very least?  Or just bring back a more masculine face sculpt.

Somehow Smartdoll has managed to have a major issue that no other doll company has encountered, despite doing the exact same thing. Somehow Volks and Parabox and every other company can sell clothes that may not perfectly fit other dolls and have the potential to stain without being inundated by returns. But not Smartdoll. It must be because of their superior design philosophy, not that they’re turning one or two issues into an excuse for more gatekeeping.

I can definitely see people being annoyed about being expected to disassemble their doll to change clothes, though. No matter how easy it is, it’s still pretty inconvenient to take the head off. Although I’d think the people most impacted by that would be younger owners who aren’t familiar with the hobby, which seems to be a major part of their target audience.

Yeah, my doll isn't getting taken apart. I prefer clothes with closures at the back (or front if appropriate) just because that's what I'm used to. XD plus that means less wear and less chance of breakage.

Edit: and clothes with closures are more accessible - no need for ableist rants about how people shouldn't buy things if they don't have the strength/dexterity to disassemble a doll. Yeah, I still haven't forgotten that. 😕 Not saying that they need to change the clothes, just the attitude towards people who might need to get clothes elsewhere for practical reasons.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Katsudon

lol, that video.  I just felt like it was an obvious thing, at least for most vinyl dolls considering they usually have more anime-like proportions and larger hands/feet?

 

And by saying this, I don't mean to attribute every last comparison with the person (especially in light of a lot of recent accusations/re-emerging accusations), but I feel like Danny might handle his company/get too personally involved in it like Jeffree Star does with JSC.  As in, they'll take a little bit of minor criticism and blow it way out of proration/lash out at people complaining while ignoring some far more glaring issues with their brand.  I just wish he'd take things a little less to heart sometimes and use it as learning opportunities to get eitter, not bitter.  His articles are actually good and interesting reads when they don't turn into ranting about the ~haters~ and/or talking down to people.  It's like... we know your dolls/clothes/products aren't perfect.  Most people are going to be happy to buy them anyway.  There's also some weird irony in offering patterns to your stuff/inviting people to mod/make SmD stuff using his designs but being seemingly anti-hybrid, specifically Volks..... especially considering how much he gushed about Dollfies in the CJ blog ages ago.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Meowjima

2 hours ago, Tira said:

Somehow Volks and Parabox and every other company can sell clothes that may not perfectly fit other dolls and have the potential to stain without being inundated by returns.

mm.. well lets not forget the third party sellers dealing with selling doll items (though mostly azone/obitsu, but the occasional cuties thing), like AmiAmi, and HLJ.

edit...

Something thats racking my brain a bit is that, is there some intentional hyperbole approach on people on any given discussion platform making comments in the lines of "I wish the fit was better, but whatever".

But eh... business must be good.

 

edit2, toned it down a bit..

Edited October 7, 2020 by finnleo

He's going to alienate even more people (if that were possible) that have both Dollfies and Smarties with these purity test questions. Can you imagine if Disney decided to stop people at the gate asking if they had been to Disney World before only to be denied entry and refunded if they weren't purchasing a specific park pass (i.e a full Smart Doll in Danny's case)? I just cannot fathom why you'd treat anyone like that. If someone bought clothing from you and wanted to make a slingshot out of a bikini, what business is it of yours what people do with their purchases? I'm just -- baffled.

@Deyja also if Disney World had a big sign outside saying that the rides aren't fun and sometimes there's dirt in the rooms and if you get injured it's your own fault and 2 years ago someone got food poisoning so now they no longer sell food on its own and wouldn't you rather go to Universal Studios? Apparently people who like the Harry Potter bit are elitist and not the customers we want...

I could go on XD which is terrible 

Doesn't it feel a little disingenuous to say that the reason he tells people it's "only for smartdoll" is because people complain when they buy for other dolls? Isn't the actual reason that he doesn't want his apparel on other dolls in the first place? So not only can you not purchase chaos items without first owning a smartdoll (new, from his site) but you also can't buy clothes (that absolutely fit other dolls, because I've seen it in person) without owning one first too? No other company cares what doll you put their clothes on, even if it doesn't fit perfectly. Not Volks, not Azone, not seamstresses for resin dolls. 

A lot of the company philosophy posts that have come out recently feel like thinly veiled digs at people who collect other dolls and/or wish the company were more friendly to its supporters.

If he wanted to avoid frivolous returns he could just charge a restocking fee for non-defective items. The buyer is still on the hook for return shipping too. 

I wonder if he's not so much put off by returns as he is seeing SmDs sold second-hand.  Which is such a common thing in the BJD community, I wouldn't see why anyone could be mad at it.

Now I'm wondering. What if I buy a Smd with the intention of dressing her in other brands' clothes? Do I have to return the doll as well, or does this nonsense policy only apply to apparel?

By his own logic, he should be asking that question too, and it should also be a reason for a cancel/refund. What if I buy Volks clothes, they don't fit perfectly, and I complain to him and ask for a refund, since I'm such a problematic customer??? /s 

28 minutes ago, Kotone said:

Isn't the actual reason that he doesn't want his apparel on other dolls in the first place?

People have posited that this is his motivation, but I don't know if there are actual social media posts or Culture Japan pages that would serve as evidence to support this hypothesis. The statements that his stuff is for "SmartDoll only" could be read as elitism, or it can be read as a statement of fact regarding the design elements.

Given that many doll / outfit makers seem to have no issue with selling outfits that fit a range of dolls, it does seem like much ado about nothing.

23 minutes ago, Meowjima said:

I wonder if he's not so much put off by returns as he is seeing SmDs sold second-hand.  Which is such a common thing in the BJD community, I wouldn't see why anyone could be mad at it.

There's actually a blurb in the Warrantee section of the Before You Buy page regarding this that I found interesting.

So in other words, secondhand itself isn't an issue if it's a matter of someone bought the doll with the intention to keep it but wound up selling it. Things happen, people fall out of love with the doll or need the money, etc. My roomie has one such doll--actually, she's been posted on this forum--and while Danny did send an email to confirm she had a Smart Doll after she purchased some accessories, he had no problem completing the order when she explained the situation and sent him a photo of the poor mishandled Kizuna she'd bought secondhand. He was even willing to give advice on how to help restore her, though she was in rougher shape than he anticipated so it didn't quite work. It was an overall very pleasant first time experience with him and the company and is what led to a series of other purchases through the official site.

... I wonder what would happen if someone did nark on a reseller, though, lol

Edited October 7, 2020 by Zippercore
spelling isn't my forte

20 minutes ago, Zippercore said:

There's actually a blurb in the Warrantee section of the Before You Buy page regarding this that I found interesting.

So in other words, secondhand itself isn't an issue if it's a matter of someone bought the doll with the intention to keep it but wound up selling it. Things happen, people fall out of love with the doll or need the money, etc. My roomie has one such doll--actually, she's been posted on this forum--and while Danny did send an email to confirm she had a Smart Doll after she purchased some accessories, he had no problem completing the order when she explained the situation and sent him a photo of the poor mishandled Kizuna she'd bought secondhand. He was even willing to give advice on how to help restore her, though she was in rougher shape than he anticipated so it didn't quite work. It was an overall very pleasant first time experience with him and the company and is what led to a series of other purchases through the official site.

... I wonder what would happen if someone did nark on a reseller, though, lol

What Danny describes there isn't reselling, it's scalping.  Just like scalping tickets or store exclusive action figures on eBay.  Scalpers buy up product at retail, to control the market and profit off of it.  

1 minute ago, Galvatim said:

What Danny describes there isn't reselling, it's scalping.  Just like scalping tickets or store exclusive action figures on eBay.  Scalpers buy up product at retail, to control the market and profit off of it.  

Well, yes, lmao. The terminology is a little off, but I figured it's probably because the word "scalpers" throws off the tone of the whole post, hence the need for the extended clarification.

4 hours ago, Zippercore said:

 

... I wonder what would happen if someone did nark on a reseller, though, lol

Resellers are a really, really horrible problem in general, and while SmDs haven't reached Dollfie levels, it's still bad.

7 hours ago, Kotone said:

Doesn't it feel a little disingenuous to say that the reason he tells people it's "only for smartdoll" is because people complain when they buy for other dolls? Isn't the actual reason that he doesn't want his apparel on other dolls in the first place?

There is the possibility that CJ is doubling down on back when Volks came knocking at their door about demanding making items incompatible -- which they sort of had every right to do considering at that point CJ had released Mirai and Chitose, the latter being a more direct faximily of a Volks head (Akiyama Mio), and Mirai if you squint a Yuki Morikawa-alike (This is my opinion, not going to change it, and not willing to really argue about it).

So maybe a "If I cant have this, your peeps wont get that either."

38 minutes ago, finnleo said:

which they sort of had every right to do considering at that point CJ had released Mirai and Chitose, the latter being a more direct faximily of a Volks head (Akiyama Mio)

I have both a Chitose and Mio, and while I can see a superficial similarity with the expression, the two sculpts are nothing alike when you examine them.

Sorry, I know you don't want to debate this point, I just had to compare them to see. 

 

 

11 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Sorry, I know you don't want to debate this point, I just had to compare them to see. 

Argue, not the same as debate ... since things can get a bit out of hand quite quickly on subjects like this.

The thing is still a matter of initial impressions, hence why I used the word faximily -- I know its not identical, but heavy impressions are there on a item that was released when that perticular source head was somewath desirable and pop... also current chitose is sold with short silver hair, when the first edition had long black hair, at least if I remember correct.

(Ironically, if I were to get a smd, it would be this ... just because a mio is still a bit on the spicy side of aftermarket prices... and I have a thing for "silver haired spinsters")

So these were my first thoughts when I saw the heads in release form as I mentioned, so if I did that, so probably did others -- perhaps moreso people that were scrutinizing the upstart that had been at their factory not so long ago.

11 minutes ago, finnleo said:

also current chitose is sold with short silver hair, when the first edition had long black hair, at least if I remember correct.

I wonder if you've mixed up Chitose and Kanata? Shirasawa Chitose, the Mirai Millennium character, has always had silver hair while Hoshikawa Kanata has long black hair and glasses. The current Chitose Multiverse shares a headsculpt with Kanata, the F6, but also is drastically different from the original to the point where she doesn't resemble the character at all. It's a shame that the F3 head was discontinued, but I can understand why with the headcap being so much different from the others. 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Zippercore
completely missed a sentence aaaaa

4 minutes ago, Zippercore said:

I wonder if you've mixed up Chitose and Kanata?

Quite possible.. in any case im refering to the second head the company released ... chitose in the current lineup just happened to strike a chord with that memory, and so went with that knowing about the whole peculiarities of refreshes and whatnot CJ release shinenigans..

19 minutes ago, finnleo said:

So these were my first thoughts when I saw the heads in release form as I mentioned, so if I did that, so probably did others

When I read your prior comment I could see the similarity between them in my mind's eye without even looking at the dolls themselves. That's why I had to get my lazy butt up and compare them. Weirdly, the eyes somehow manage to look the similar even though Chitose's are teardrop shaped and Mio's are more of a square shape.

Chitose's mouth sits on a flat plateau, and Mio's is at the apex of a triangle. The face-ups don't really explain the similarity either.

I can't explain it any other way than two different sculpts with a very similar expression. I can totally get how they can be seen as a faximily in spite of the differences.

It’s a funny and strange thing about dolls in that two heads can actually have pretty dissimilar sculpts and even non identical faceups, and yet still create the same impression.  I’m a visual artist and I still often have to make redlines of sculpts to pick out the differences.

Since anime characters (particularly moe ones) tend to fall into basic categories for design (like the five most common eye shapes) it makes sense why this is.  So rather than looking at each individual part of a doll to understand similarity, it’s best to look at them as a whole, keeping in mind proportions, sculpted expression, etc.  What makes characters feel similar is their overall impression, particularly when they don’t have hair (or wigs on in the case of dolls).

I’ve been doing a lot of direct comparisons lately because I’ve been evaluating sculpts for reshelling and I have half a dozen for this particular character (with a very decided expression) that might work.  None of these heads is a copy of the other, necessarily, but the similarities are very clear, or I wouldn’t have picked them out.  These are the kinds of heads you need to make a doll with this sort of design and expression.

I imagine that’s what’s going on with the similarities.

Like, Mirai and DD06 probably aren’t the same on inspection, but if you wanted to make a girl with that type of design and expression, they would both be reasonable options.