Pre-Orders

I'm not sure where it was initially posted, but Danny is now having new releases sold through pre-orders to both gauge popularity and prevent the hazards of keeping a lot of dolls in stock at a time. Some of it is described in this post:

It seems like now there is a more limited time to determine whether a doll will be discontinued after release if it does not make the cut. From what I can tell, this could allow for more releases more frequently, but with potentially fewer actual dolls sold of each model if it isn't popular? For those who want to buy Smart Dolls secondhand for various reasons, this might be a hurdle in getting your dream doll, depending on the amount of dolls produced and then resold for whatever reasons. On the other hand, it seems there's been a lot of new releases waiting in the pipeline so this might speed things up a bit for the one(s) you've been waiting for!

Thoughts?

 

P.S. I love Dauntless!! But I do worry about whether I'd be able to get her or other dolls that are released in this method since I'd either have to have the funds on hand or search secondhand with the constraints I mentioned. Though maybe I'm not being properly optimistic about the popularity of releases, or maybe people who rush into a pre-order might be more likely to change their mind and sell secondhand, etc. It certainly does feel like it will have some sort of affect on how Smart Dolls are acquired, and by whom, in the future, but I really don't know the numbers so I can't really comment.

 

 

EDIT: Apparently release dates will no longer be given for non-licensed dolls, but as far as I know the pre-orders aren't quantity limited? So I guess it depends on whether they're open for enough time for everyone who wants one to make a purchase. I do feel this puts people who save up over the long term at a bit of a disadvantage, but I can see the merits of being able to have more releases and have things run smoothly for the company in terms of what's in stock. So idk.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Starwaia

I think the idea of a pre-order system isn't bad, but the way he's implementing it is. What I would like is:

- Some sort of advanced notice of when a doll is going up - even just a "this is a list of what's going up sometime next month" would be nice. 

- Preorders should last a week at the absolute least. 2-3-4 weeks would be best. 24 hours is just ridiculous.

- If you have to have short pre-order windows, maybe consider implementing some sort of layaway system? Even just a short layaway would give a massive advantage over certain other companies who have none that they are currently trying to compete with...

If even small indie dollmakers can manage to do all these things, there's no reason a bigger company like SmD can't.

When I looked on the preorder page for Dauntless it did say she was both time and quantity limited. ^^; So a doll could be gone in like an hour if she's popular enough. It's... not good. And does nothing to aquire new customers because 24 hours isn't enough time to build hype or spread promo info.

Edit: we're talking about this a lot at the moment in the debacles thread if you're up for it XD 

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Katsudon

On 6/30/2020 at 2:31 PM, Katsudon said:

When I looked on the preorder page for Dauntless it did say she was both time and quantity limited. ^^; So a doll could be gone in like an hour if she's popular enough. It's... not good. And does nothing to aquire new customers because 24 hours isn't enough time to build hype or spread promo info.

Edit: we're talking about this a lot at the moment in the debacles thread if you're up for it XD 

 

While I agree that the pre-orders should be up for longer, he does show the doll for months before it's released and he also always announces when the next release will be (albeit with a brief window, we're talking like a week max). It's all a matter of if you keep up with his social media or not which isn't something everyone can do lol.

 

Also the doll isn't just up for pre-order and gone forever. If she's popular they build up stock and keep her on the store.

Edited July 7, 2020 by lucidium

Uhm, he didn't announce a release date. He literally says in his insta post that they won't announce release dates and (in an earlier post) to sign up for e-mails to be told when the preorder is open (not when it is going to open, but when it is already open).

A doll is gone forever if she doesn't sell enough. So saying they aren't gone forever, and then that they need to be popular enough to join the main line, is a circular argument. I don't want to gamble my chances of getting the doll I want on her selling enough to reach the main line, so feel pressured into scrambling to get the doll before the timer disappears or the doll sells out. Sure I'm not the only one.

Basically I'm hypervigilantly checking my e-mail and looking at instagram every day for even the slightest hint of the Smart Doll I'm after. 😕

I wouldn't be surprised if leftover preorder stock ends up in 'only the brave' (but this is speculation on my part that there would be leftover stock, and that it's not worth listing a small number of dolls on the site when you have a lucky bag) ^^;

Edited July 8, 2020 by Katsudon

Cocoa Chitose Multiverse preorder is open:

https://shop.smartdoll.jp/products/smart-doll-chitose-multiverse-cocoa

 

Also, a page with information regarding preorders (I don't know if this link was already posted here or not):

https://info.smartdoll.jp/en/posts/about-cj-preorders

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by Zaliayn
added another link

Wishing I had infinite money because Chitose is pretty cute ;o;