A Question for Those Who Host Splits

How I normally decide what pieces in a split are worth is by comparing the items to similar things listed on the marketplace at the moment; if there isn't a more appropriate price listing from the company themselves, that is.

For example one, let's say I was hosting a split for a fullset limited PukiPuki from Fairyland and I only wanted to keep the awake face, eyes and wig. That leaves the body, the sleeping face, optional hands, outfit and shoes. The total for everything is $270 plus shipping. Fairyland lists their PukiPuki bodies for sale on the site alone for $120, so I'd list the body from the split as a little bit lower than that, simply to entice someone to joining (let's say $100), or I'd list it at $120 but include the optional hands with that quote.

Then I'd count the outfit and shoes together as one item for simplicity's sake. Again I would check Fairyland's pricing on their normal edition clothes to look for a reasonable comparison price. So I find one, we'll say the clothes and shoes are worth $50 together, as that seems to be the range Fairyland would put such a set up for. If the buyer wants to split it up further, they can do that. It makes it easier on me than if I'd listed the clothes and shoes as two different parts of the split. It's not always necessary or sometimes even possible to be able to find a buyer for each single piece. Now we have only the sleeping face left. Fairyland lists their extra winking faces as around $30, so $35 sounds fair for the sleeping face (without face-up, if they want the face-up they will need to pay the extra fee Fairyland lists to have it done) to me and I'd list it as that much.

That leaves us with $65 for my items - the normal face, eyes and wig. Fairyland wigs are normally around $20, so I'd list mine as that much. The eyes are worth about $5 according to Fairyland, so I'd list them as that. And finally, that would leave my awake face as $40 (without face-up, if I wanted one I'd pay the price Fairyland lists for it).

I think it's important to remember that when hosting splits, according to the DoA marketplace rules you also have to list the prices of the pieces you're keeping, not just the ones you're selling. I'm pointing that out here for future reference because I see a lot of people skipping over that rule in the splits section and not only is it against the forum rules but doing so automatically makes many people think you're keeping that secret to try and get them to actually pay for the full cost or the majority of the cost of the doll and it will likely stop people from joining.

For example two, let's imagine a company who doesn't sell parts separately or nude dolls. A company who only sells fullset dolls. I'd look on the marketplace through the dolls category of that size, through the eyes/wigs category as well as the clothes/shoes category and see what similar things I could find from the same company. If that wasn't possible, such as if there was nothing on the marketplace from this company that is a valid comparison, then I would merely divide the pieces into groups and try to give each group a reasonable price.

As for who pays shipping, that can be done however the split-hoster wishes. I normally have everyone, including myself, chip in a equal percentage of the shipping to me and then everyone pays their own shipping to themselves from me. Though I'm sure there will be times I'd rather just pay the shipping by myself to be generous to my split-buyers, specifically if they were already pitching in lots of money to help me afford the split in the first place. I wouldn't with a $270 split like mentioned in example one with the PukiPuki, but if it were a more expensive purchase like $400+, I'd probably just pay the shipping fee myself and be thankful for everyone who joined to make it where I could afford the pieces I wanted all the easier.

That being said, there really is a lot of different ways to host splits and what works for one person might not work for others. But I hope this was helpful.

 

Yeah, good questions delgadina.

Recently I wanted to join a Soom split on Shale and after looking at all the split offer I gave up T____T. Rikka_Mika seems to explain everything very well but not all host split thinking like you.

I get very confused when it comes to split and shipping fees.

Okay I want to get some clothes from soom only , after looking around I found that clothes = 87 plus EMS = either $5 or from whatever shipping price split up from Soom to the host split plus the cost from their place to my place.

So if they are in US or EURO then I will paid extra shipping fees from soom to their place and from their place to my place. Also some of them charge extra EMS for every single item like eyes and wigs. So if you order clothes, eyse and wig then you will have to paid extra shipping for every single item.

The conclusion is I will get longer wait from one place to another and paid double shipping as well. Also the host will get all the extra store credit as well, not we right?

I noticed that in Soom MD order they don't charge you extra shipping for adding clothes hair, wig, eyes or optional extra body. I am making a mock order for MSD from Soom to Australia and the price alway $45.50. So if the host get like a body + head + all extra stuff and sell only clothes, shoes, eyes and wig. Shoudn't you pay for the shipping from Soom to you and we paid the shipping from you to us.

I don't know but that's the way I think how it should work ^^. Sorry if I offend anyone.

 

I'm quite of the same mind when it comes to Soom. Before entering into a split, go into the site yourself and do a mock order, make sure that the numbers add up so you can speak relevantly for that company. I caught someone trying to host a split a few weeks back who hadn't been listing the price for the head they wanted, and they would've paid something like $15 for it. So it's just so much better to be fair. If you see adding the wig/eyes don't add to the price, then you can at least ask the split leader about that at the very least.

But I think the most important thing to remember, and I've seen it happen in the forum as well, is that a split leader should be able to cover if a split member backs out. It's happened on a split I'm on now, and the split leader was able to make up the difference, which is a good feeling to have!

.hlp

 

That's why I am alway do a mock order first to see the total shipping prices with and without all the optional part. Even if they listing the price they paid for their stuff correctly and fairly. They may also overcharge you for the shipping prices as well if you don't do a mock order.

I saw this split from Soom to USA ony cost 54.8 with all optional part but the EMS shipping charge for every split part adding up to around $70. Which overchage you quite a bit.

heidipay: Your split leader seems to be quite good for making up the difference, may I know the name in case I may join the split in the future ^^.
Thanks

 

Generally when I'm hosting a split I'll cover the shipping from the company to me, unless I'm not getting the largest part. For example, if I'm getting just the head and some clothes/eyes/wig/whatever and someone else is having the body then I'd split it proportionally based on the weight(ish) and size of all the items. So that the person getting the body doesn't have to pay over-the-odds shipping from Asia. However, I don't actually mind paying a small amount of shipping from the company to the split host no matter what items I'm getting. As long as they're paying some of it too, it's still going to cost me a hell of a lot less than buying the item myself would.

It's customs that I always find the bugger. In the UK we get a fair bit of customs charged on our items coming in, and I never really know how to split it. I've tried covering it all myself, but when you're only buying a dress and a pair of shoes paying over £100 for customs on other people's items is a bit much Most people are really good about covering their fair share, it's just a matter of working out what everyone's piece is worth and how much customs is going to be for them. Which doesn't always make sense since customs are slapdash with their calculations at the best of times -_- So most of the time I just end up splitting it evenly

As for the prices, I generally look at other split threads and just copy them If there aren't any then I do as Rikka suggested - look up on the site/at similar items to find out I'm really shocked to hear about people charging more than actual shipping costs or paying only $15 for a head That's really terrible - as leanson said, you're getting the store credit for other people's items so you shouldn't be greedy >.<

 

I don't host splits, but I would like to give my input as a participant. I've participated in a few splits here on DoA in the past years and here are my thoughts on pricing.

I do not mind if the host of the split pays less for her part than the participants. First, the host takes on a big responsibility just by being the host - accepting others' money, making sure everything is ordered correctly, inspecting the items upon receipt, packing up individual pieces securely for shipment to their owners, etc. Second, it's a huge hassle and time sink being the host - answering emails from participants, communicating with the company, packing up multiple boxes, driving to the PO to ship them out and so on. Personally, I feel that the host has to be compensated in some way for her services - why should she work for free in order for me to have the convenience of getting exactly what I want out of a full package and/or saving on shipping costs from the company? I have never considered being a host simply because it's just too much work and too much responsibility for me to be comfortable with and I appreciate very much when someone decides to take on the task of organizing a group order.

Ultimately, being part of a group order saves me a lot of time (no need to find buyers for parts of a set that I have no interest in) and money (shipping costs from the company are split among the order participants). Given this, I do not mind at all if the host pays less for their items - it's only fair, in my opinion.

 

I agree with Anna in this problem. I think the split host can't overcharge, but if the shipping charge is divided quite fair (because the split host have to do the things Anna mentioned above) then it's up to the other members to decide whether they want to enter the split or not. Sometimes, if the split is hosted outside of USA, then the host has to calculate custom tax as well, and include it in the total. I host several splits myself, and the split members join because they want the items, and they don't mind paying the fees, as long as they get the items without having to buy the entire doll/fullset. Moreover, the split participants can ask the host to ship to them via Priority Mail or other cheaper methods (as most cases in my splits), saving them more money and hassle in the process. ^^ And as Anna already mentioned, the split host has to do a lot of things, and has the most responsibility... All participants should be happy with the arrangements and results in the end. ^^

PS : I am a very happy split host, by the way. I love packaging things. XD