The Facebook debacle & other issues

54 minutes ago, MaleficentMrsofEvil said:

I don't think you're going to meet anyone here who tells you not to buy the doll.

At least not because of Danny's practices or rules (yet?). It'd just be from personal preference then.
The dolls are fine.

If it doesn't go too far off-topic, anyone know any other business that in some way bans people for speaking ill (or critiquing, or complaining) of their product online?

1 hour ago, QueenAnna said:

I tried to buy a bracelet and put my new credit card info, but I put a fake name when I was trying to fill out the address when I was trying to buy the item and  I got the automated email asking if I got a doll then I sent a picture of one of the dolls I had gotten. I ended up getting a text from a phone number that said the order from the Smart Doll store was canceled.

That could have been from a fraud detection system. Using a name that doesn’t match the card is going to raise red flags. 

3 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

That could have been from a fraud detection system. Using a name that doesn’t match the card is going to raise red flags. 

I didn’t know, I didn’t even think about that, I know that fabric friends and dolls sends packages to addresses with a different name, sigh shoe child is too strict.

edit: I know I don’t have to sell my Smart Dolls that I got secondhand, but I feel really bad whenever I join smd Facebook groups or try to buy smart dolls secondhand because I think of shoe child finding out and it gives me anxiety.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Guest

18 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

I know that fabric friends and dolls sends packages to addresses with a different name, sigh shoe child is too strict.

A lot of businesses allow that, but it’s still a risk factor for fraud. Danny may be using extra strict filters too.

"The shipping address has to belong to the same person paying for the item."
It's vague enough...

2 hours ago, QueenAnna said:

I know I don’t have to sell my Smart Dolls that I got secondhand, but I feel really bad whenever I join smd Facebook groups or try to buy smart dolls secondhand because I think of shoe child finding out and it gives me anxiety.

Does it really matter if he finds out? You aren't committing a crime, nor are you doing anything immoral or unethical by buying a doll second hand.

As a rule of thumb, if you know the 2 year old in the room is going to throw a tantrum when you do something you have every right to do, you're probably best off just going on about living your life and ignore the little brat as he pitches his fit.

There's a big difference between address + different name and credit card + different name, to be fair. 

25 minutes ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

There's a big difference between address + different name and credit card + different name, to be fair. 

I think in this case the allowable option is more along the lines of your billing address is your winter home, and the shipping address is your summer home, but both addresses are tied to the same person. Based on what Yumeiro posted, you can’t buy the item and ship to a different person. 

3 hours ago, QueenAnna said:

I didn’t know, I didn’t even think about that, I know that fabric friends and dolls sends packages to addresses with a different name, sigh shoe child is too strict.

edit: I know I don’t have to sell my Smart Dolls that I got secondhand, but I feel really bad whenever I join smd Facebook groups or try to buy smart dolls secondhand because I think of shoe child finding out and it gives me anxiety.

Just do what you want man. Its insane to think about people being so scared to do anything like buying dolls secondhand because Danny is omnipresent? He isn't. And you are buying secondhand, so there should be even less fear. So what if he bans you? Half the people in the facebook groups have been banned. A ton of people in this thread have been banned as well. 

Dude, this entire thread is like a case study in narcissistic abusers making their victims walk on eggshells. I’m guessing most people in this thread don’t even know the guy irl and yet he’s still renting space in their heads 😰

Edited November 14, 2021 by ragnamuffin

It's kinda tough having anxiety: I can't fully participate in Smart Doll community because what if I sell to the wrong person, what if I mention what dolls I want, what if I post a photo and get banned. 😂 It would be funny if it wasn't tragic!

I guess the other option is shutting my damn hole, but I'm honestly not very good at that. 😓

Sorry you got crap from Danny again @QueenAnna. I think as long as you're discreet while shopping secondhand it's fine. Danny can't see DMs, and you don't have to mention where anything came from!

1 hour ago, Katsudon said:

It's kinda tough having anxiety: I can't fully participate in Smart Doll community because what if I sell to the wrong person, what if I mention what dolls I want, what if I post a photo and get banned. 😂 It would be funny if it wasn't tragic!

I guess the other option is shutting my damn hole, but I'm honestly not very good at that. 😓

Sorry you got crap from Danny again @QueenAnna. I think as long as you're discreet while shopping secondhand it's fine. Danny can't see DMs, and you don't have to mention where anything came from!

Hi, yes, I guess that’s true, but I want to switch to Dollfie Dreams because the more I look at them, the more I realize they are cuter than Danny’s smds. Danny’s smart dolls are fine but the faces are too flat.

FFD has to follow the hammerlist from Danny. Someone who was banned tried to pre-order a Smd from FFD. The order was accepted at first but they later received an email from Iris that the order could not be accepted as they were on the hammerlist. This only applies to Smds and not other dolls available on FFD.

20 hours ago, Yumeiro said:

At least not because of Danny's practices or rules (yet?). It'd just be from personal preference then.
The dolls are fine.

If it doesn't go too far off-topic, anyone know any other business that in some way bans people for speaking ill (or critiquing, or complaining) of their product online?

I have gone on record, and I will say it again, NEVER buy anything directly from his shop. He has a history of leaking customer info to other customers (ie, telling new buyers that other people in their neighborhood have bought dolls from him.)

I am growing a bit tired of the design of DD dolls (I am a lover of smaller eyes and nostrils), so I recently got into resin BJD's, but I felt that something was still missing.

I have been on the fence about ordering a semi-real SMD so far, but I finally gave up and ordered one: the nostrils and the alluring smiles were too difficult to resist any longer. Things went smoothly, and the doll has been posted. I am happily waiting for it to be delivered.

Truth be told, as I have read several bad feedback about DC behavior, I have been feeling quite torn on the matter for a while. 

Therefore, I wanted to discuss the thing with you, guys, because I am missing a couple of the pieces of the puzzle to understand why this thread has 107 pages. I have the feeling that this whole situation is like a dog trying to bite its own tail - nothing good comes out of it.

DC *does* seem petty, and his ways of conducting business is questionable under several points of view, but due to the fat that the dolls are objectively pretty, very many of the people who are questioning him, still want to get his products. I don't really understand this kind of dynamics. We all agree that DC doesn't have the easiest personality to deal with and is way too involved in the dynamics of this community, but his rules are pretty clear.
If you want to buy his products, it is understandable (not agreeable, but in place nonetheless) that he wants it to happen under his own terms.
So, why buy the stuff, if you don't like his rules? Especially given that his rude behavior and "anti-entitled" customer service (which I 100% disagree with) aren't a news...

I am not defending DC, and I don't particularly like him, I am genuinely trying to understand.

@Bellatrix Many of his rules are not clear. He makes them up as he goes.
If you have an issue with the doll you are about to get, don't be surprised if you'd be semi-publicly shamed as one of the "Entitled" and then have a new rule put in place because of it. That kind of stuff... I don't think that's ok behavior.

And why buy the stuff then? Many can't - which is discussed in this thread. Just writing in this thread seem to get you put on the ban-list - I hope you'll be ok (remove as much info. of your location and what type of doll you got is highly encouraged).
But the dolls are fine. The clothes are fine. All the stuff is fine. - The eyes are the best quality I've come across! But I don't like how he's treating others, or his person, or his rules. - I think some are worded very wrong, but I can abide by them. I don't think it's fair to be banned from buying his products, because you dislike, or wish to discuss the nature of his rules.

Basically, I want his products without any of his drama. (He is a public person, and if he can't play nice or accept that not everyone is going to worship everything he says, or his views, maybe he should keep the irrelevant stuff and passive aggressiveness away from his business/products, instead of putting blame on others when things doesn't go his way.) And this thread is good at keeping up with his antics, so you know what to watch out for. But it, no doubt, looks terrible for those not here from the beginning...
So I think this thread is helpful.
I WISH it didn't need to exist, or be this long - if only it could have ended with "but things are better now" on page 1, but since they aren't, everyone is free to voice their thought on what he's doing, whether they agree with is or not.
Pretty much the point of a discussion forum... Get new ideas, or ways of looking at things.

4 hours ago, Bellatrix said:

Therefore, I wanted to discuss the thing with you, guys, because I am missing a couple of the pieces of the puzzle to understand why this thread has 107 pages. I have the feeling that this whole situation is like a dog trying to bite its own tail - nothing good comes out of it

The 107 pages is probably due to the ongoing nature of the thing. There is always some new controversy around the bend. 

Part of the problem stems from the fact that this is Danny’s personal brand, and in some ways when you buy a doll from him you’re buying into a relationship of a sorts with Danny. If Danny feels disrespected, then he ends the relationship, and when you think about it that way it’s pretty normal. 

I’ve said this a few times before, in my opinion he’s not a toy maker as much as he is an influencer who also produces toys. When he feels personally attacked he puts the person on “ignore” the same way you would on a social media platform. Understanding that won’t make people who he has banned happy, but it does help explain why critical comments get you banned from his brand.

It’s a different model of business from the shopkeep who you give a predefined quantity of cash to, walk out of the store with a specific item that you want, at which point the relationship with the shopkeep ends. My guess is we will see more of this type of thing as influencers use their cash to branch out into other areas. The way they do things as influencers will likely become part of their model for running other businesses, and their businesses may all be centered on themselves as a core part of the brand.

21 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

Based on what Yumeiro posted, you can’t buy the item and ship to a different person. 

I've actually done this myself before, bought some arms at Fabric Friends and had them ship the arms overseas. I did it as my half of a trade, and that was only a few months ago. You only raise red flags fraud-wise if your BILLING address doesn't match the card, the shipping shouldn't matter. Especially since people buy stuff and have it shipped to friends all the time, it's very common for Christmas presents.

Granted, though that purchase was only a few months ago, a few months seems to be a VERY long time in Smart Doll Land. Perhaps the rules changed since I did that.

49 minutes ago, Oculae said:

I've actually done this myself before, bought some arms at Fabric Friends and had them ship the arms overseas.

Some places, probably most, are totally fine with the idea of you buying a thing and sending to someone else. It appears that this violate’s the rules at SmartDoll, but that may not apply to Fabric and Friends. 

5 hours ago, Bellatrix said:

If you want to buy his products, it is understandable (not agreeable, but in place nonetheless) that he wants it to happen under his own terms.
So, why buy the stuff, if you don't like his rules?

IIRC when this thread started the long list of rules weren't even there. This thread documents how & why these rules came to be. Unfortunately a lot of these rules were made by Danny shaming these customers publicly through his social media. Those customers have been able to share their side of the story in this thread.

This thread is 107 pages of, 

1. What???
2. Why??
3. Really?? 
4. Wait a few weeks, then go back to 1.

It's gotten to the point that people have are rightfully afraid of sharing their dolls and thoughts about them on social media. Even if you try to be a good, no-hassle customer and want to keep buying stuff from the store for your doll, you can still be cut off.

This is such a weird thread to follow because at the core of it, it's always about someone who just wants to enjoy dolls.

I see the situation a bit clearer, thank you all @Yumeiro, @BeyondTime and @foo  I see your point. 

I don't mind the idea of being banned, I am not a hardcore fan and I am usually good with one or two items, but I hope that my simple presence in the thread doesn't lead to it. Sure as heck, I won't cancel any of my info over here in order to not be traceable over there.

Truth be told, I just find the whole DC-customers situation very sad. And as collecting dollies is a hobby that brings me joy, I just find upsetting all the bad vibes around the matter. This toxic relationship with "Entitled" customers is so unnecessarily dramatic..  

Edited November 15, 2021 by Bellatrix

It is a little strange to me Danny treats his products as completely unique pieces and feels like he has some rights over them even though he sells them to people. They're unique as a product, of course, but he's not involved in the actual process of manufacturing, he pays people to make the dolls he designs, it's not like they're one per design either and it's not like he can't re-release things as he sees fit. Even then, he seems to have a weird gatekeeping over the dolls and feels the need to curate who owns them, something I've only seen with artists that make very exclusive and unique pieces, but even with those, it's something that's very narcissistic in nature. 

On 11/13/2021 at 11:17 PM, BeyondTime said:

That could have been from a fraud detection system. Using a name that doesn’t match the card is going to raise red flags. 

If I read this correctly. In case you are moving to another address you could have your order canceled because the information has changed? 

On 11/14/2021 at 2:19 PM, Bellatrix said:

I am growing a bit tired of the design of DD dolls (I am a lover of smaller eyes and nostrils), so I recently got into resin BJD's, but I felt that something was still missing.

I have been on the fence about ordering a semi-real SMD so far, but I finally gave up and ordered one: the nostrils and the alluring smiles were too difficult to resist any longer. Things went smoothly, and the doll has been posted. I am happily waiting for it to be delivered.

Truth be told, as I have read several bad feedback about DC behavior, I have been feeling quite torn on the matter for a while. 

Therefore, I wanted to discuss the thing with you, guys, because I am missing a couple of the pieces of the puzzle to understand why this thread has 107 pages. I have the feeling that this whole situation is like a dog trying to bite its own tail - nothing good comes out of it.

DC *does* seem petty, and his ways of conducting business is questionable under several points of view, but due to the fat that the dolls are objectively pretty, very many of the people who are questioning him, still want to get his products. I don't really understand this kind of dynamics. We all agree that DC doesn't have the easiest personality to deal with and is way too involved in the dynamics of this community, but his rules are pretty clear.
If you want to buy his products, it is understandable (not agreeable, but in place nonetheless) that he wants it to happen under his own terms.
So, why buy the stuff, if you don't like his rules? Especially given that his rude behavior and "anti-entitled" customer service (which I 100% disagree with) aren't a news...

I am not defending DC, and I don't particularly like him, I am genuinely trying to understand.

I hope you enjoy your doll.  When he came out with molds that had nostrils and had subtle faces, I was in love (though I still like some of the anime-style girls.) I only wish there were more options than to order from Smart Doll to obtain a doll in that style (only other ones I can think of are Angel Philia.) For me I was just too afraid to try and risk ordering in case I say something to upset his nibs. Anyway it's already been said by others better than I could. Yes he sets the rules but he also keeps changing them as he goes along and makes his brand more exclusive. To me that's very strange business practices (like discouraging potential customers not to buy because we might *gasp* find a flaw in his perfect creations. (The wabi sabi excuse kind of irritates me considering this isn't really what it's meant to be applied to.)

Not to beat a subject to death as it's already been answered, all in all, I don't think it's bad vibes to question and critique the practices DC enacts. In all fairness, DC puts a lot of this on himself. I was a big fan of how he ran his business and it felt so approachable compared to Volks DDs (or perhaps just more accessible since his site was in English and it was more "ready to buy".) I think there would be less negativity around him and his company if he had stayed on the good path he was on instead of taking a severe detour. Lastly I just hate that those who do wish to speak their minds in a measured why are now demonized and left hiding. I was glad to find this forum because I was feeling alone in how I felt. 

If someone buys a smart doll secondhand but they need replacement parts, it’s probably going to be hard to get them from Danny right? I forgot what I read on this thread.