The Facebook debacle & other issues

13 hours ago, BeyondTime said:

That does seem to be how most folks figure out they’ve been banned. 

Is fraud checking a PayPal transaction even a thing? It seems to me like that’s something that happens on the PayPal side and not the merchant, since PayPal is the one dealing with your bank, and the merchant has no way to know if the person who logged into PayPal isn’t you. 

The merchant can check things like shipping address etc. It might be that either the shipping address entered into the shop doesn't match the verified address on the PayPal payment, or that a shop only processes payments if your address is verified. Those tend to be the usual ways people check PayPal fraud...

...in Smart Doll Land though, who even knows what counts as fraud! Your PayPal account gave Danny a funny look? XD

1 hour ago, Katsudon said:

in Smart Doll Land though, who even knows what counts as fraud! Your PayPal account gave Danny a funny look? XD

Address was the one thing I could see, but I think most buyers will have a PayPal address that matches their shipping address with CJ. Unless the system is so picky that a difference between “Main St” and “Main St.” flags fraud.  

Trying to buy a smart doll gives me anxiety, I think I’ll just buy another DD instead. At least I can buy parts in case the doll breaks. I’d be too scared to ask email CJ asking for replacement parts plus it’s like $100+ just for an arm 😑

8 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

Trying to buy a smart doll gives me anxiety, I think I’ll just buy another DD instead. At least I can buy parts in case the doll breaks. I’d be too scared to ask email CJ asking for replacement parts plus it’s like $100+ just for an arm 😑

One nice thing is that if you need a spare arm and you are in the US, Volks USA can just ship it to you by USPS. Same with option hands, busts, stain remover, painting supplies, etc. Saves a lot of money on shipping and it’s probably going to be faster too. 

Volks USA also does lottery for the new outfits and limited dolls so you don’t have to deal with the click wars. They almost always have some nice end of year events too. The drawback is that new stuff takes time to travel to the US, so a new outfit or doll is available from Japan about two months ahead of the US store. 

One problem that Danny has that isn't related to his character is that he makes big reveals before he learns about logistics. He gets publicly exited about something he wants to make before learning that it won't be viable. This is totally understandable human behavior, but it seems to be a repeating pattern with him. Instead of waiting to have all his ducks in a row before making big announcements, he reveals prototypes constantly with a vauge "coming soon". When half those prototypes inevitably don't pan out, he pretends he never revealed them at all and everyone who saved money for the release gets their hopes crushed. Nobody's happy.

I know people who work in toy design and from what they've told me most companies don't make statements about releases they can't keep, barring extreme circumstances (Covid.)

31 minutes ago, IgelFullmetal said:

I know people who work in toy design and from what they've told me most companies don't make statements about releases they can't keep, barring extreme circumstances (Covid.)

Software and video game companies try to avoid that too. If you set an expectation that a feature will be present and then don’t deliver, then people get mad. A good example of set expectation not matching delivery is the Cyberpunk 2077 launch. The company took a beating on that one. 

I wish other vinyl companies likes Volks and Obitsu made darker vinyl tones for their dolls so I wouldn't need buy a SmD 

7 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

I wish other vinyl companies likes Volks and Obitsu made darker vinyl tones for their dolls so I wouldn't need buy a SmD 

This x 1,000,000,000!! T o T Though I wasn't interested in SmD's to begin with (guess being picky has its merits), I wouldn't touch the company with a few thousands yard stick after what I read in this thread... lol

39 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

I wish other vinyl companies likes Volks and Obitsu made darker vinyl tones for their dolls so I wouldn't need buy a SmD 

There's a BJD dyeing group on FB, and someone just dyed a vinyl doll (Obitsu, I think) a beautiful, bright purple. The color was beautifully even, despite the fact that the modder used liquid Rit Dye (for cotton fabrics; synthetic dye/RIT Dyemore would have been the better choice, I believe). The vinyl was even, and the joints came out beautifully. I'll ask for permission to post the photos here, because I was blown away by the results. 

Which means - if we want brown dolls, all we have to do is invest $5 USD in some brown RIT Dyemore, and toss those bodies in a pot of water with some dye. 

I'm still waiting on parts to put together a doll, and then I'm going to try my hand a dyeing the leftovers. To be continued...

4 minutes ago, MaleficentMrsofEvil said:

There's a BJD dyeing group on FB, and someone just dyed a vinyl doll (Obitsu, I think) a beautiful, bright purple. The color was beautifully even, despite the fact that the modder used liquid Rit Dye (for cotton fabrics; synthetic dye/RIT Dyemore would have been the better choice, I believe). The vinyl was even, and the joints came out beautifully. I'll ask for permission to post the photos here, because I was blown away by the results. 

Which means - if we want brown dolls, all we have to do is invest $5 USD in some brown RIT Dyemore, and toss those bodies in a pot of water with some dye. 

I'm still waiting on parts to put together a doll, and then I'm going to try my hand a dyeing the leftovers. To be continued...

Oh, wow, I want to try that, see how it’ll come out.

It would certainly help folks here if there were a vinyl dying guide on the forum. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, SmartDoll is the only option some folks have for getting a doll that looks like them. While some of us can look to Volks and Obitsu, some aren’t as fortunate to have alternatives. That kind of guide would open some doors.

I agree smart doll tomorrow looks a lot like me but i just can’t bother with Danny Choo 

10 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

It would certainly help folks here if there were a vinyl dying guide on the four or elsewhere. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, SmartDoll is the only option some folks have for getting a doll that looks like them. While some of us can look to Volks and Obitsu, some aren’t as fortunate to have alternatives. That kind of guide would open some doors.

I've already dyed a resin doll - I do not fear the dye! I'll try to write something up as soon as I can!

2 hours ago, IgelFullmetal said:

One problem that Danny has that isn't related to his character is that he makes big reveals before he learns about logistics. He gets publicly exited about something he wants to make before learning that it won't be viable. This is totally understandable human behavior, but it seems to be a repeating pattern with him. Instead of waiting to have all his ducks in a row before making big announcements, he reveals prototypes constantly with a vauge "coming soon". When half those prototypes inevitably don't pan out, he pretends he never revealed them at all and everyone who saved money for the release gets their hopes crushed. Nobody's happy.

Still waiting for news on that Black Rock Shooter doll...

59 minutes ago, MaleficentMrsofEvil said:

I've already dyed a resin doll - I do not fear the dye! I'll try to write something up as soon as I can!

I definitely would love to see more documentation and info about how to consistently dye vinyl dolls if possible. The thing seems to be that it's a very different process from trying to evenly dye a resin doll as you have two or more types of materials that are visible on the doll (one or more types of vinyl and then hard plastic for joints) so I've seen a lot of people dye their vinyl dolls and not get close colors on the joints vs rest of the body. So at this point, knowing what anyone does to get a good result is super valuable to me.

Edited August 4, 2021 by AlisonVonderland

I think Danny banned me because I tried buying a doll and other stuff, they refunded me. When I sent an email like two days ago asking if I could order again, they never responded. Guess I gotta switch to DDs.

 

edit: I’m not sure if I’ve been banned because the order did go through on my credit card, but it got refunded like a few seconds after.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Guest

42 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

I think Danny banned me because I tried buying a doll and other stuff, they refunded me. When I sent an email like two days ago asking if I could order again, they never responded. Guess I gotta switch to DDs.

 

edit: I’m not sure if I’ve been banned because the order did go through on my credit card, but it got refunded like a few seconds after.

That is weird, if it went through on your card but yet you are immediately refunded it sounds like the store put a block on your card to prevent you from successfully placing an order. I could be wrong but if your card isn't declining it I would imagine it is the store itself doing it.

1 hour ago, QueenAnna said:

I think Danny banned me because I tried buying a doll and other stuff, they refunded me. When I sent an email like two days ago asking if I could order again, they never responded. Guess I gotta switch to DDs.

 

edit: I’m not sure if I’ve been banned because the order did go through on my credit card, but it got refunded like a few seconds after.

Sounds like you are banned especially if they aren't responding to your emails.

 

As horrible as it is, I'd look at it as a positive thing in the end; by banning you he potentially saved you a lot of grief and heartache down the road. I mean, you can still find other ways to get your Kizuna or whatever it may be you want from the store, but I'd see him banning me as "Is this man/company deserving of my money? Absolutely not!"

 

As others have said, you can always try F&F, but that may backfire as well if Iris has no choice but to comply with Danny's 'hammer' list. I'm really sorry that he banned and treated you like this.  

44 minutes ago, QueenAnna said:

edit: I’m not sure if I’ve been banned because the order did go through on my credit card, but it got refunded like a few seconds after.

I have seen e-commerce systems that are designed to reverse transactions based on a set of criteria set on the merchants end. Like exceeding the purchase limit for an item within a time period, so any additional transactions within that time period get processed successfully but are immediately reversed. I’ve seen Japanese game makers use exactly that system to limit how much money you can spend on their games each month, and it works exactly like you just described. I am sure you could implement a system like that to effectively ban people from your store if you wanted.

Since the transaction is being rejected based on PII data tied to a common identity it keeps people from engaging in ban-evasion by creating sock puppet accounts. Your only way around that is new address, new contact info, new name, and a new credit card. Like by having a parent or sibling who doesn’t live with you, or share the same last name, purchase the doll and have it sent to their address.

If you have your heart set on a SmartDoll then I would either look after-market, or find a proxy. I won’t buy from CJ directly, nor would he knowingly allow me to for that matter, but if I saw a Milk Melody pop up at the right time on Mandarake I’d probably buy her. Nothing wrong with liking the dolls. Just keep in mind you will have a hard time getting parts. Advantages to a milk skinned after-market SmD would be the ability to replace the body with a DD or Obitsu body in the event that it broke. Obviously that doesn’t work if you want cocoa or tea. 

I saw a smart doll starlight on mandarake don’t now if she is still there though 

Need to legitimize your shady business practices? Put it on a t-shirt!👏😃👍

9 minutes ago, Mars said:

I saw a smart doll starlight on mandarake don’t now if she is still there though 

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1172298893&ref=list&categoryCode=02011404&lang=en she's still for sale currently, but on a cortex body if that makes a difference. i just saw her, too, and was surprised because SmD usually go extremely quickly.

I’m surprised she is still there.

Speaks to how people feel about cortex - the vinyl dolls always seem to go within a few hours 

1 hour ago, abs2891 said:

Speaks to how people feel about cortex - the vinyl dolls always seem to go within a few hours 

The gaps in the lower torso might dissuade people a bit. Iirc you can’t disassemble the parts to fix issues like that, correct?