March 2009 Archives

It seems like there are more new BJD companies all the time. Pluto Doll and Dragon Doll are just two of the newest mentioned on Den of Angels; surely there are even more being formed even now.

With the economic downturn spreading far beyond the U.S., there are fewer dollars being spent on non-essentials such as dolls. How will the new companies-or even older more established companies-survive?

The answer to that is, not all will. Sad as that may be, I think it's actually a good thing for the BJD buyer. Why? Because it will serve to weed out the companies that are only marginal as far as quality, customer service, design, and price. If you have only a certain dollar amount to spend on a doll, are you going to spend it at a company with a reputation for being slow, having poor communication, or even too new to have any reputation at all? I think most folks right now are too leery to risk potentially losing their money buying from such companies.

My advice to new (and established) BJD companies: use this time as the opportunity it is to outshine your competition and possibly speed their demise. Offer stellar customer service by rapidly responding to questions and concerns. Ship only good quality product, and do that as soon as possible after purchase. Make production as rapid, effecient and cost-effective as possible. Replace defective parts as soon as requested by the buyer.  Be competitive in pricing. (Right now there's a fair amount of difference in the value of the dollar vs. the Korean won, but many companies are loathe to lower their prices to more accurately reflect that.) Approach American and other retailers about carrying your products-the more people actually see the dolls for themselves, the better off you'll be. Be friendly in tone with your customers and retailers and lose the arrogant attitude so many companies seem to have. Consider participating in BJD conventions in the US and elsewhere. Think "outside the box" in promoting your business and in your doll sculpts.

Do these things, and you stand a chance of weathering the current economic storm and even coming out ahead of your competition and in your customers' hearts.

It's always fun to see new dolls when they are introduced. Certainly as a doll store owner, seeing the new dolls in person for the first time was always a thrill. That was part of what made owning a doll store fun.

The not fun part was having to deal with the cancelled pre-orders or layaways that inevitably occurred when new dolls were introduced.

We all change our minds sometimes. Being a collector myself, I tried to be sensitive to that when folks wanted to cancel their pre-orders for the new Elfdoll, for example, to pre-order the newest Elfdoll. Some folks would change their minds more than once if something newer still showed up. Eventually we had to put a stop to those "repeat offenders" by limiting the number of times their orders could be changed without a restocking fee. Each time an order was cancelled or changed, time had to be spent undoing the transaction and doing a new one, and of course it made keeping inventory straight and knowing order quantities difficult, to say the least.

The other part of the "dolly bandwagon" is perhaps more familiar to you. There are folks who jump on the latest doll trend repeatedly, no matter what the new doll is or if they even like it. If everybody else is getting a Mini-Fee, for example, then they are also determined to do so. Call it a dolly version of keeping up with the neighbors. It's a way of attaining or maintaining status, or fitting in with the rest of the crowd. We saw this with the Unoas, then the Narae, then the Pukis, and now the Mini-Fees.

Feel free to break away from the crowd and get a doll just because you like it. Avoid it if you don't. And please keep the sanity of your favorite doll store owner in mind when pondering which dolls to order, just as a matter of courtesy. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

More Chinese companies are now making BJDs, and other Asian BJD companies are having some or all of their products made in China. How important is it where a doll is made?

I'm sure that for the purist collectors, only BJDs made in Japan or Korea will do. There's nothing wrong with that. Japan is after all where BJDs began. It could be reasonably argued that dolls made in Japan or Korea are higher in quality than those made in China.

For those collectors driven by necessity, by price, dolls made in China are often more affordable. Certainly the quality of Chinese-produced dolls has improved, at least for some of the companies out there. Of course there has been a learning curve  to be endured by both company and consumer while each company (hopefully) learns from its mistakes. Some companies are better than others at listening to feedback and correcting problems.  

My position is, the Japanese and Korean companies should be upfront about whether they are having dolls or doll parts produced in China. Let the customer decide whether to buy them or not based on having the correct information.

Case in point: CustomHouse. They have admitted to the Bisou line being produced in China. But considering the price of the Ange line specifically, the recent half price sale they had, and the fact that ALL of the resin felt and looked the same, at least while we were selling their BJDs, I have to conclude that all of their dolls are most likely made in China. Why not just come out and admit it publicly? If they have, and I missed it, please let me know.

Another case in point: SoulDoll. As far as I know, they haven't admitted to their dolls being made in China, but a reliable source says they are. You'd think their prices would be lower though.

I think companies won't admit their dolls are being made in China because they're afraid of losing customers and they're afraid customers will think their prices are too high.

But, I could be wrong. In any case, I just wish companies were more open and honest about their dolls.

And speaking of high prices, I freely admit to owning two of the Tonner BJDs. Nobody made me buy them. But why were they so bloody expensive, considering their origins in China?? $550 for a 16" fashion doll is no bargain compared to what Dollmore or Ficon charges. I have to wonder how many people didn't buy them just because of the price.