The Facebook debacle & other issues

You now have to have 5 or more orders in order to buy chaos items, which is pretty insane considering how expensive shipping and the items themselves are. I own 2 dolls but according these new restrictions I can no longer buy chaos because it's too "risky" according to him 😒

2 hours ago, sunlightandtea said:

 

I follow his Instagram but it seems I'm out of the loop on both of these. Can someone give me the rundown of what's going on?

As far as Interstellar Blue goes, iirc it's becoming more expensive/time-consuming/difficult to make dolls with it, so he's going to increase the price for dolls with/in that skin tone and the strong likelyhood (or basically a confirmation) that the skin tone will be discontinued after this year.

Edited March 27, 2021 by HanaLuka

4 hours ago, monkeypizzasonic said:

I mean, we say that, and people keep buying from them...

I don’t think he’s in any danger of closing. As long as younger kids keep buying his dolls through their parents, his revenue stream is likely to be fine. 

1 hour ago, HanaLuka said:

As far as Interstellar Blue goes, iirc it's becoming more expensive/time-consuming/difficult to make dolls with it, so he's going to increase the price for dolls with/in that skin tone and the strong likelyhood (or basically a confirmation) that the skin tone will be discontinued after this year.

Ugh, that is so frustrating.  I would have loved to own one of those girls, but since they never get a real release I can't. I don't have time to hang on Danny's every post or to stalk the extremely slim aftermarket. I also would now fall into the category of not being allowed to get a chaos item anyway even though I own three Smart Dolls, because I haven't made any other purchases aside from them. I got their spare parts when I ordered them, and Danny's clothes aren't my style for the most part.

I was also really excited about Gemini but don't get to have him either. For him I was stalking posts and had the money set aside and everything, but because I didn't realize he split the pebbles by gender until it was too late, I'm SOL. I still wouldn't mind having him, but I largely lost interest once I realized it's probably hopeless for me.

46 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

I don’t think he’s in any danger of closing. As long as younger kids keep buying his dolls through their parents, his revenue stream is likely to be fine. 

Agreed. Although I'm bitter that I'm just some nobody who doesn't get to have the limited things I like, it seems like he'll continue to run his store just fine with sales of his every day easy to buy stuff. I have met a couple of people irl that only have one or two Smart Dolls as far as vinyls go, along with their resins, because to them it was easier to buy a heavily-advertised-on-social-media in stock model than to try to figure out the releases for other companies. This seems ironic to me, because it's way easier to get a limited release from any other company- it's just that we're talking limited vs non limited here.

@BeyondTime As disconcerted as I am by this trend, it's sadly probably true. And it will likely add to CJ's hivemind, too.

18 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

I don’t think he’s in any danger of closing. As long as younger kids keep buying his dolls through their parents, his revenue stream is likely to be fine. 

Culture Japan also has a lot of connections to a lot of Japanese companies and events.

As unfortunate as his customer and international community image is.

On 3/27/2021 at 1:26 PM, Miabird24 said:

You now have to have 5 or more orders in order to buy chaos items, which is pretty insane considering how expensive shipping and the items themselves are. I own 2 dolls but according these new restrictions I can no longer buy chaos because it's too "risky" according to him 😒

 

This is rather unfortunate. It's already stacked against many people of color to even get these kinds of dolls. I can understand 2-3 purchases but 5 is a bit much.

It just makes it harder to support a creator that actually has some diversity. Unless you are some kind of elite. 

 

How do you know how many orders you have made over the years even..?

No need to worry about it anymore. All the chaos items are down indefinitely or until Smart Doll decides how they would continue to sell them.

5 hours ago, Q_T said:

 

This is rather unfortunate. It's already stacked against many people of color to even get these kinds of dolls. I can understand 2-3 purchases but 5 is a bit much.

It just makes it harder to support a creator that actually has some diversity. Unless you are some kind of elite. 

 

This is a really good point.

This is a bit of an aside, but there is an African American YouTuber who I think was called DollCrazy3000, and her box opening of Sakura Shinguji is what convinced me to get my Sakura. Sakura was my second DD and one of my favorites. Seeing her face is always uplifting to me, so no matter how I rotate my dolls around, she’s always displayed prominently.

I don’t know this lady personally, but I’ve always felt that I owe her a debt of gratitude for taking the time to share her experience with Sakura. IMO, in this rather niche community of doll collectors we benefit greatly by being accepting of new members from diverse groups. Everyone who joins brings in their own experiences and perspectives, and if we shut people out by acting like elitist pricks, we weaken our community. 

4 hours ago, Yumeiro said:

How do you know how many orders you have made over the years even..?

Honestly, that's a great question. I know for a fact that I've only placed two orders myself because I have those in my email, but I haven't been able to find a way to check directly on the site. It's all hidden away for some reason.

3 hours ago, demonmiko said:

Honestly, that's a great question. I know for a fact that I've only placed two orders myself because I have those in my email, but I haven't been able to find a way to check directly on the site. It's all hidden away for some reason.

I'm under the assumption that it's something you'd have to keep track of on your end, or contact them directly and see if they would tell you how many orders you've made with them. Although admittedly I'd be kinda scared to do the latter, in case that somehow gets you the "I'll make an example of you and/or ban you from the shop" treatment. ^^;
 

 

7 hours ago, HanaLuka said:

I'm under the assumption that it's something you'd have to keep track of on your end, or contact them directly and see if they would tell you how many orders you've made with them. Although admittedly I'd be kinda scared to do the latter, in case that somehow gets you the "I'll make an example of you and/or ban you from the shop" treatment. ^^;

Yeah, either that or you get banned for making an order for a chaos item, when assuming you've made 5 orders, but are only on 4, or something. (I can just imagine some flash-sale of sought-after parts happening, and people taking the chance, and then getting banned)

Or you will get banned for standing in his way.

It’s cute how Danny seems to believe that banning people from his store will stop them from purchasing his merchandise. They can just buy through a dealer like Fabric Friends in Maryland, or through the secondhand market and eBay. The last two options actually hurt him more because by purchasing secondhand, he doesn’t see a single penny or yen of that money. He keeps this bullshit up, he’ll end up tanking his own business in the end when enough people get fed up with his holier-than-thou behavior and stop supporting him. He’s too emotionally passive-aggressive to run a business the smart way. He’s treating all customers exactly the same way he accuses some customers of treating him and his staff. Double-standard much? But, never mind that. Logic and common sense have CLEARLY left the building. 

33 minutes ago, Stormlight said:

He’s treating all customers exactly the same way he accuses some customers of treating him and his staff.

Who knoes if his staff is getting the same treatment as the bad apple when they are on his bad side?🤷🏻

2 hours ago, Stormlight said:

The last two options actually hurt him more because by purchasing secondhand, he doesn’t see a single penny or yen of that money.

This isnt quite true, since Fabric Friends would need to buy the stuff into their stock from culture japan, so the place does get a slice out of that, unless they have licenced production locally of items, where I'd assume the company still gets a licence fee for each item sold.

also the ebay sales have already added to the companies bottom line, here its just a question is the middle man seller taking a slice of the action or a hit on value.

The only situation where I'd see things actually supposedly hurting the companies bottom line is a wardrobe sharing group, who all buy a variety of stuff and mix and match accordingly from within the group pool as they see fit -- if you can make this sort of thing work.

Or what will hurt most, vote with your wallet, and dont buy from them in the first place. Share smartdoll hashtagged stuff on platforms with dolls wearing anything but culture japan affiliated stuff.

Also I feel like having to put on the Zebra striped baseball catcher referee outfit on again, since some things are getting a bit too speculative.

Either we get screencapped proof that someone has been banned from the store for submitting an order for a limited sales item with good faith that they didnt know they didnt meet the requirements, or it has not happened.

Speculation is good an well, but this is nearing onto what beondtime awhile back quoted as something that is slowly snowballing from pure speculation to "quoted fact"

 

But to keep things on balance, I do find it sort of interesting how we've gotten to this point, considering the whole starting ethos of dolls for everybody without limited edition sales and such, if I recall correct from the starting models -- a thing which got the company loads of good faith and traction off the line. Also how the vinyl dude came into existance because of possible customer wishes, only to be a bit of a quirky thing to get.

Anyways. keep it cool, and just watch the diaper dumpster bonfire from a safe distance with your marshmellows and popcorn.

Edited March 31, 2021 by finnleo

3 hours ago, finnleo said:

This isnt quite true, since Fabric Friends would need to buy the stuff into their stock from culture japan, so the place does get a slice out of that, unless they have licenced production locally of items, where I'd assume the company still gets a licence fee for each item sold.

Fabric Friends is not secondhand though...

3 hours ago, finnleo said:

Speculation is good an well, but this is nearing onto what beondtime awhile back quoted as something that is slowly snowballing from pure speculation to "quoted fact"

I think it is more the fear of being banned that is the point. Like, how many are willing to risk it?
It is a good reminder that it is not a fact, but just as good to remind people that it could be.

3 hours ago, finnleo said:

This isnt quite true, since Fabric Friends would need to buy the stuff into their stock from culture japan, so the place does get a slice out of that, unless they have licenced production locally of items, where I'd assume the company still gets a licence fee for each item sold.

Right. Which is why I said the last two. Fabric Friends is a store. But the secondhand market—INCLUDING the used dolls on eBay—does not pay Danny again for another sale. If enough people just start buying dolls that had been already purchased, instead of through the company or a dealer, Danny will eventually start losing money.

And the way word is spreading about him slamming the ban-hammer down left and right (whether he actually is or not is totally beside the point), how many people are going to risk that happening to them? Why go through all that hassle when there are ALWAYS used dolls being thrown up on the market? It’s just easier. 

Apparently Danny has cancelled all production of boy dolls to rework the body? I've heard the boy bodies tend to have problems, so probably a good idea to fix em, though I shudder to think how many months/years it could take for the body to be remade, given how low a priority the boy dolls have always been. 

1 hour ago, Stormlight said:

Why go through all that hassle when there are ALWAYS used dolls being thrown up on the market? It’s just easier. 

Side question- where are all the used dolls then? If the answer is on IG tags or Facebook, I personally don't consider that to be a robust aftermarket since I find newer social media stressful and avoid it. There are almost never any Smart Dolls for sale on Mandarake or forums, and when I check eBay on occasion I don't usually see used listings, just new ones. I'm also a bit leery of buying a used Smart Doll on eBay anyway, since it could have belonged to one of the entitled kids who got bored,  and might not be in great shape.

8 minutes ago, whisski said:

Apparently Danny has cancelled all production of boy dolls to rework the body? I've heard the boy bodies tend to have problems, so probably a good idea to fix em, though I shudder to think how many months/years it could take for the body to be remade, given how low a priority the boy dolls have always been. 

Ugh, I really hope he actually does bring them back. Vinyl boys are so difficult to obtain and I don't understand why it has to be that way.

3 hours ago, Jezrah said:

Side question- where are all the used dolls then? If the answer is on IG tags or Facebook, I personally don't consider that to be a robust aftermarket since I find newer social media stressful and avoid it. There are almost never any Smart Dolls for sale on Mandarake or forums, and when I check eBay on occasion I don't usually see used listings, just new ones. I'm also a bit leery of buying a used Smart Doll on eBay anyway, since it could have belonged to one of the entitled kids who got bored,  and might not be in great shape.

Ugh, I really hope he actually does bring them back. Vinyl boys are so difficult to obtain and I don't understand why it has to be that way.

I’ve seen plenty in several of the Facebook (anti-recast) sales groups I’m in, either in the standard BJD groups or the SmD/DD groups. So, just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. I just got a milk-skin Twilight head myself, to put on the milk skin body I also purchased secondhand a year or so before, so I know they exist and it’s a good demand for them. They sell quickly as long as the owners price them reasonably. I’ve seen a few on eBay although honestly I don’t tend to look for bjds on eBay as a general rule due to the recast problems. But as far as I know, SmartDoll hasn’t been hit with that problem yet.

And I hear you about the vinyl boys! Sucks that they’re so limited now. I started buying SmD in the hopes of attaining a boy someday, but naturally about the time I start buying them is about the time he started limiting them. And they don’t seem to sell on the secondhand market nearly as often as the girls. 😫 One of these days!

Edited March 31, 2021 by Stormlight

9 hours ago, finnleo said:

Also I feel like having to put on the Zebra striped baseball catcher referee outfit on again, since some things are getting a bit too speculative.

Either we get screencapped proof that someone has been banned from the store for submitting an order for a limited sales item with good faith that they didnt know they didnt meet the requirements, or it has not happened.

Speculation is good an well, but this is nearing onto what beondtime awhile back quoted as something that is slowly snowballing from pure speculation to "quoted fact"

That's a very good point, let's try to keep the forum from turning into a source of bad rumors.

5 hours ago, whisski said:

Apparently Danny has cancelled all production of boy dolls to rework the body? I've heard the boy bodies tend to have problems, so probably a good idea to fix em, though I shudder to think how many months/years it could take for the body to be remade, given how low a priority the boy dolls have always been. 

I wonder how long he could put it off, as Naruto should be due a release. (Not that anything is stopping him from using the current bodies)

Going off-topic slightly - Anyone remember if he's said anything about the "body type" (if he really wants a distinctive difference between the genders)?
He changed the feet of the guys, to a smaller size, so that they can use more of the girl shoes. Just curious if there is a chance for the boy bodies to have similar measurements as the girls - like with Dollfie Dream. A masculinization of the girl body, basically. They'd be able to share more clothes that way too.
He said something about making a buff body for his superhero line, right..?

- Do SmD recasts exist? I would think that'd be a lot harder to do with vinyl, unless they're making molds and recasting them in resin.  

- Maaaybe he'd be more excited about making cool big buff boys than anime pretty boys? And we'd get them more? IDK.

- Maybe we can petition Obitsu to bring their taller boy bodies back. Or at least offer boy chest option parts to fit taller girl bodies.

- It is weird that on the resin side of things there are companies who sell pretty much nothing but tall boys and do just fine, while on the vinyl side boys are rare as heck. Maybe because a big chunk of vinyl dolls still tend towards the "cute anime girl" vibe?