Ordering Anywhere to buy second hand April Story?

4S dolls had a really rough period about .... a year or two ago, but i did get my dolls after the long wait and i love all three of them. :P
they aren't doing faceups with their dolls any more so i think the wait time should be shortened quite a bit. although that's a shame since their faceups are very very high quality and just as beautiful in person, imo. (my current icon is my april story stella~)
i personally haven't heard anything negative about them recently, and i'm pretty sure they still offer layaway so i would personally try buying from them again.

if you're really set on secondhand they pop up on the marketplace from time to time, but most of the sculpts they're selling now are all pretty new, like within the last year or so, and with the fire/warehouse disaster they had with the long wait times a while ago i think people have probably been a little hesitant to buy from them, so i'm not sure if any of the newer ones would pop up. you could try putting up a wanted ad in the marketplace, but in my (personal) opinion, i would just buy directly from them. :P

good luck with finding your diana! :>

 

I bought from them in December and received my doll in February, while they were promising 10 day waits. It...was not at all a pleasant experience, but the doll did arrive and she was beautiful, no flaws at all. They will be discontinuing all of their current dolls within the next few days, so if you do want her, you might want to go for it. Just expect to wait a few months, definitely not 10 days, and you may have to nag them for correct shipping info/tracking.

 

good luck with the marketplace!!
but yeah, i don't know any dealers for april story?
and you'll probably have a bit of a wait from them. although i always just assume that the base wait time for a doll from any company will be 2-3 months no matter what they state, so that makes it a little easier on me. :P
it would be really nice if they did manage to ship in 10 days though. :>

their customer service was always very nice to me and allowed me to change the colour of the resin i wanted halfway through my layaway. ^^
but yeah, as cloakedschemer said you will probably have to check up on your order a few times. :P

 

Just keep an eye on your Paypal window to file a claim, and if you're getting close to it or they're breaking a lot of promises, file it. I had to. I wasn't near the end of that time frame, but they promised several different shipping dates, gave me a fake tracking number, then stopped replying to messages. I filed a claim and within days, I had a working tracking number and she was home about a week after that.

As far as I'm aware, everyone who ordered did eventually get their dolls, some just had to threaten with claims or legal action (though I don't think anybody actually hired a lawyer, just said they would if they didn't get the doll by a certain date--this person had waited about a year and was too late to file a claim). Most of the year long waits were people who ordered around the time of the warehouse fire. Wait times are better now, just nowhere near as good as they promise.

So if you plan to order, go through paypal, if they give you trouble or take far too long to ship, file your claim and keep it open until the doll arrives (because if you close it, you can't reopen it if the doll never arrives or arrives broken or wrong doll). Hopefully, it won't come to that, but I'm suggesting it just so you can feel safer ordering and know you will get either your doll or money in the end. You won't be out both.

 

oh man, i hadn't heard about anyone getting a fake tracking number??! how is that even possible...?? x___X
but yeah, that's probably the best advice for ordering through them. :0
that's odd though, they were always so nice to me and always replied within a few days to a week..? and i did order around the warehouse fire sale.

but yeah, i'm pretty sure every did eventually get their dolls, so if that's your main concern, i wouldn't worry about it. it was kind of stressful because they did give out like three different shipping dates. perhaps i'm just a huge pushover when it comes to dealing with doll companies? (actually, i know i am, i've been told this by friends xD; )

 

I don't know, really. All I know is that they said they shipped her and gave me a number that never worked. My post office confirmed that it was not a real tracking number. When I asked April Story about it, they gave me an excuse about the warehouse, then later told me the doll had not shipped at all because they had problems with her resin. They were polite in their emails, never aggressive or rude, just...not always truthful. That's when I became upset and no longer trusted them.

In the end, I did receive a very nice doll, so it all did work out eventually. They are a legit company, they're not scammers, they just need some work on their customer service practices. I feel like with the aesthetic and quality of their dolls, they have potential to be a very successful company, if they step up their service.

 

Good luck and congrats! I think you'll love her once she's home.

 

oh that's wild, i don't think i've ever had anything like that happen..!! 0___0;;;
i can understand why that would put you off, oh geez..!
i feel like a lot of bjd companies have weird customer service practices, but that seems a bit over the line. x__X

that's the best way to do it!! congrats on ordering her, i hope you get her without any trouble!!

 

I saw a Diana for sale on instagram! FennBJD is selling her I think!