April Story SD Boy & Girl Dolls - Part 2

Yeah, about two months. As for communication, I didn't email or post on their board while I waited. I kind of guessed it would be longer than 10 days since they had these two events back to back, but I they never emailed me a tracking number or to let me know the order was even shipped. And I hear from people in the waiting room that they hadn't replied to a lot of emails or Q&A posts for a while, then suddenly started answering a few. My guess is they're answering inquiries when they've completed a batch of orders.

Hopefully you hear from them soon, but keep an eye out for surprise deliveries just in case.

 

Oh thank you very much for your reply, it's very helpful. I really like April Story dolls, I ordered Luna in a second because I love her look.
Somehow, I feel they have to spend more than 10 working days for sure, but at least, they should tell the customer about it on their website.
Anyway, I hope that I can get my doll soon.
Love you ♡

 

So my housemate finally own a bjd and her doll is from the April Story latest order batch. None of us have April Story before so I wanna ask is it normal for the certificate to have typo/misspelled on it?




As you can see, instead of "losing", it only written as "losi"

My housemate joked how people might think her doll is a recast due to this. However, we do wonder will this effect on sale if she's planning to sell her doll in the future?

 

Did your housemate buy the doll secondhand?

 

I can't say about April story in particular but I've seen a few certificates with typos/grammar mistakes/things that don't quite make sense. Same goes for many official websites. Don't forget a lot of bjd companies are on the smaller side and might not have someone that speaks perfect english and they wont have someone thatll spot the small mistakes before it goes out.

 

April Story is one of the companies that isn't recasted because they're already quite "cheap" in terms of pricing so I wouldn't worry about people assuming it's a recast just because of a typo on the COA. I've seen countless ones sold without it.

 

I don't have that typo on my COA and it does not appear hers is filled out. I would suggest she contacts the company for a replacement.

My COA: IMG_20180303_142750

 

Nope. She bought directly from April Story store

We might try. It's pretty hard to contact them. She did try to contact them few times regarding the shipping and they did not respond to her
Actually the certificate is filled out. We blanked it as we did not want anyone to copy the serial number for recasting or scamming purposes

It's true we do think April Story is quite cheap to be recasted, however we do discover Luoligui even do AS recast, so this is quite alarming

 

If you bought from the company directly, I would not be concerned. As @TheSecretRoman mentioned, not everyone outside of an English speaking country has perfect grammar and occasionally there may be spelling mistakes. This portion, "You cannot lend it to someone," seems like it was run through a translator. When CoAs are reprinted, it's highly possible that a small spelling error was made, which is why yours may have that error, and another person's doesn't.

I personally would not question it if I was a buyer. If your friend wants to sell the doll down the road, I would make sure that she has the email confirmation saved and/or screencaps of her order -- and point out the fact that they haven't been recasted (and hopefully not ever).

 

I'm pretty sure I've had CoAs before with typos. As others said, sometimes the company's English isn't that good, but even if your English is perfect, when you're running a company with less than five people, it's still possible for a typo to get overlooked.

As long as your friend can prove they bought the doll from the company, I don't think it will be a problem. Tell her to print out a copy of the order from the website and keep it in the doll's box or with the CoA. If she ever needs to prove the doll is legit and CoA isn't enough, she'll have the proof she bought it directly from the company.

 

Thank you everyone We'll take note

 

I've been trying to get in touch with them for months :/ since Jan. No reply as of yet.

 

The communication issues with April Story makes me real glad I bought my Betty secondhand...


I'm also finally getting around to posting her with both arms tattooed now.

 

What are you trying to contact them about @Tashayarna ? They are notoriously slow to respond to messages but if you've placed an order and haven't heard anything since January you should open a PayPal case if you can. I know that people who ordered just before I did have received their dolls so I'm hoping mine is in the next batch and you certainly should have received yours already. Hope you get it sorted out soon

@IzabethS always lovely to see your Betty! Her tattoos are so pretty

 

Hello everyone
ILICarrieDoll
My certificate is the same "losi". I think it's just a printing error.
IzabethS
Betty is beautiful!
rubydoll
For me, the company did not answer at all. The ordered doll arrived after about 1.5 months of waiting. There were no letters before or after receiving.

 

@Shelen I got confirmation that my payment had been received after I'd tried messaging them a couple of times about my payment being pending - I never got an email requesting payment so I paid anyway but it took a while for them to acknowledge it. Dolls arriving without any tracking information being sent seems pretty par for the course. My payment was confirmed 24th April so hopefully not too long now.

 

rubydoll
Focus on 1.5 months of waiting and do not be afraid getting a doll without notifications and letters.
I hope Your doll is on the way and soon you will meet

 

Yeah I try not to contact companies unless it seems necessary - the time they spend replying to me is time they're not spending making my doll!

 

Restrung my Raven yesterday. First time restringing anything! I think I did okay; he's still hard to pose but his hips don't droop when I hold him around the waist/chest, and he can sit up properly and stand now! I'm mostly having issues with his arms now, but I think sueding his shoulders should fix it. And maybe his hips, cause I didn't put the leg string through the crotch hole (who decided that was a good idea??) so his legs tend to try to twist at the hip.

 

Hey everyone!
I was looking on the April Story website and noticed they still have their April Sale prices with a free event head listed. I assume this is a mistake, but I emailed them anyway to ask if they will honor those sales still. I had a few questions, though!
I read that the bodies changed over the last few years and I wanted to know if anyone has the two new female bodies they are selling now?

If so, could I see pictures of them sitting, kneeling, etc? I’d like to see how the knee joint works.

I’d really appreciate it! thanks!

 

Ah the 1+1 box event is here again!!

 

Do all the events stack?

 

I've been messenging them on DOA, via Email and requesting totals vias the PayPal payment system when I sent my layaway payments but haven't heard anything. One was paid off in Dec, the other Jan :l

Can anyone please post a link to the q&a board? I can't directly access it on my tablet without a link I'll try contacting them on there too.

 

@Tashayarna, here you are.
As for me I had a good communication experience with April Story via q&a board (provided that "good" in their case is a regular response to everyone once a week). As I can see they respond much less often now, the last appears was 2018-06-07.

 

Hello Nancy, about your photo, does that mean you don't recommend April Story? I was planning to buy one from them since I love the sculpt but I also want the doll to be able to stand properly without falling off. I appreciate the advise.

- Celina

 

I don't think it matters much how they're strung, but I know mine and several other people's arrived very loosely strung. My boy could stand before I restrung him, but after tightening him up (and eliminating the weird through the crotch stringing and just opting for the one loop per leg) he stands a lot better.

 

Becky.

 

I've still not received a word from them ...... It'd getting quite ridiculous now I love their dolls but it's getting to the point where I wouldn't recommend them as a seller anymore. I've had so many problems with them, and I already own six+ of their dolls

 

Can I see pictures of peoples' Junior girl bodies? Eyeing one for a potential shell.

 

@Yumeko-chan
I love the Junior girl body so much, I have two of them

Spoiler: Doll nudity ahead

She can't stand, but she sits super well unsupported

Spoiler: More doll nudity

Her elbows and knees are double-jointed, so she can do this

And she's super small? Side-by-side with my DIM Kassia (no picture because I don't have her anymore) they almost look like they're supposed to be of different scales...

But don't be fooled by how small she is, her butt is huge. This is the 3rd time I buy underwear that doesn't fit
If anyone has recommendations, please let me know. My girls are tired of going commando

 

The site says the bust has a measurement of 27cm. Is that true, or only true for a previous version of the body?

 

Unless my measuring is very wrong, no, the bust 24cm at most. The other measurements I took are very close to those provided (±0.2cm) except the hip circumference that I measured to be just over 28cm rather than 27.5

I do recall the old junior girl body had multiple bust sizes, maybe they just copy-pasted the sizes from the old body without checking which one they took?

 

Definitely a possibility, which could also lead to some disappointed customers if they were expecting a bit more boobage. Alright then, time to explore the MP!

 

Ok guys, not to cause panic or anything but the korean site of Aprilstory just posted notice saying they will be closing on august 31st.... I just used google translate to red what it said cause they haven't been replying to the english site's q&a s...

korean text here:
안녕하세요.
오늘은 두가지 슬픈 소식을 전해 드립니다.

첫번째 - AprilStory 국문사이트 운영 중지
샵 운영 인력 부족과 사업성 악화로 AprilStory 국문사이트의 운영이 종료됩니다.
AprilStory 국문사이트는 오는 2018년 8월 31일까지만 운영이 되며 이후 운영이 종료 됩니다.
(A/S를 위한 게시판은 8월 31일 이후에도 계속 운영 됩니다.)

두번째 - 인형 판매 종료
현재 AprilStory에서 판매되고 있는 모든 구체관절인형은 2018년 8월 31일 이후 원형사와의 계약이 종료되기
때문에 모든 타입의 AprilStory 구체관절인형은 판매가 종료 됩니다.
구매를 원하시는 분들께서는 8월 31일 이전에 구매 부탁드립니다.

샵이 영원히 문을 닫는것은 아니랍니다.
빠른 시일안에 새로운 인형들로 다시 찾아뵙기를 소망하며, 궁금한 내용은 질문 남겨주세요.

 

Hyakkiyagyo: Thanks for this update. I had an inkling this was coming. Makes sense now that they weren't active on their Q/A for a while.
Here's the English translation (Google translate):

Good morning.
Today, we have two sad news.

First - AprilStory Korean site is down
AprilStory Korean site will be shut down due to shortage of shop manpower and deteriorating business.
AprilStory Korean site will be operated only until August 31, 2018 and the operation will be terminated.
(The bulletin board for A / S will continue to operate after August 31st.)

Second - end of doll sales
All of the spherical joint dolls sold at AprilStory now have contracts with prototype companies since August 31, 2018
Because of all the types of AprilStory spherical joint figurines will be discontinued.
If you would like to purchase, please purchase before August 31st.

The shop does not close forever.
I hope to see you again soon with new dolls.

This has happened before, just as it is mentioned here, and they did send out the dolls still on order then, and later came back with new dolls.
There's also some comfort in their statement that you can still order the sculpts they have on their site until the Aug 31st, when they will be discontinued, as the molds will no longer be their property from that date. This too, is what happened then.

I'm still waiting for 2 dolls (Samantha and baby Sunny).

 

Ah thank you for the translation! I am waiting for my Raven from them as well.

 

I'm still waiting for my Hannah who I ordered back in April. I would be more alarmed if AS didn't seem to go out of business then reappear more often than a tween declaring they're leaving Instagram forever. It is a shame they're struggling though because their sculpts are lovely.

 

THis is up on the english site too. I wonder if they are still taking any form of layaway with the closing, or if thats now riskier to do? Shame, cause im torn on ordering their new senior body.

 

Ow, so sad news. I wanted to order Betty with her sleepy head version in Autumn/Winter, but now I'll can't do this

 

@jack_sea don't you have until the end of this month?

 

@IngieBee no I'll should pay my study, so i can't buy her now

 

Aw, yes, definitely more important, @jack_sea and when you are ready, you will likely be able to find her on the second hand market. If it's meant to be, or if you really are determined and ready, just keep checking and it will happen

 

I apologize if this has been asked, but are SD13 clothes ok for the Junior girl body, or is she too slim?

 

I'm sorry, @Yumeko-chan, I don't know the answer, hope someone will chime in

 

Hello again everyone :3 Last news made me thinking about purchasing from April Story. Not 100% sure if I'm gonna place an order but maybe... So now I'm collecting information and would like to ask about some things.
1) As I can see, it is possible to order doll from "senior" section, but on "junior" body. If someone had this experience, please tell me if junior body too small for senior head or not (I mean, are proportions OK)? Any photos of this semi-hybrid, please?
2) Currently I have my eyes on Lily (senior girl). Any home photos, please?
3) As I can see from this topic, it is problematic to receive order, company do not respond to messages and so on. Is the situation same now?
4) I have not understood if there is an ability to choose breast size for junior girl body...
5) How much is shipping cost for one SD?

sorry for tons of questions)

 

I just got a volks sd16 outfit in the marketplace and it fits perfectly, except the bustier was a wee bit loose as my girl is med bust. Not terribly noticeable. I don't know if this helps, but it makes me think they were mindful of the volks "established" clothing size???

 

@silent I only have a Hannah head she's actually pretty big compared to my other SD dolls. However if I remember correctly the Junior body has similar proportions just shorter legs so the head should look okay with the shoulders. If you read through this thread and the April Story waiting room you will get an idea of their customer service. I didn't have much communication with them, had to prompt to confirm they'd received my payment and the wait time was a lot longer than the ambitious 10 days stated on their website. Junior body only has one breast size. I think it's because it's a single part torso. Shipping cost depends where you live. For me in the UK ems zone 3 it was $53. I think you have to put stuff in your basket to get a price.

 

@rubydoll thank you!

 

I kind of like Emma and her funny cat lips... Argh.

 

I'm confused, are they still stopping their production? Was it extended?

 

Looks like you can order dolls until the end of November. I'm thinking of going for it, in spite of all the dire warnings in the waiting room.

 

By the way, this confuses me a bit too. Few days ago I found someone on another BJD forum telling that April Story were saying the same about end of their sales until 31.08. That forum is in russian language and link to official site is already not working so it's problematic to prove it here. This looks strange, but I guess that company has solved their problems then but can't handle with them now. But who knows, maybe the deadline will be moved again?

 

They're very inconsistent with their announcements and communications in general. I wouldn't recommend buying from them (had my own personal dolly nightmare at one of their last "we're discontinuing everything, have 50% off" sale thingies), especially not when links have stopped working.

That being said ... my poor Ana (Adrienne) has gone extremely floppy, and she has this funny stringing where her lower legs have different string than the rest of her (because of the heel legs option), so just tightening her string won't work as that would pull the hooks in her knees up into her upper legs (and / or get them stuck in the joints). Any tips on how to restring those girls?

 

I've tried to register but site does not allow me. Pages with dolls are all working, but when I try to register or open my cart I see only blank page or "ERR_CONNECTION_RESET" but my internet is working well. I've tried different browsers but it didn't help. Anybody knows what to do?

When this event was? Strange if they have it too often.

 

That was almost three years ago, winter 2015/16. Apparently there was a fire in a warehouse next to where AprilStory stored their moulds, and there was significant smoke and water damage to their things. They had a big sale, including that "1+1" box event thing, and I ordered two dolls which arrived in December of 2016 - literally three days short of a full year's wait.

 

And their site tells about 10 days... omg

Hell, now I can fill registration form, but when I click "join", strange message in korean appears, google translate says that it means "spam". God, literally, so many things demotivate to make an order from April story... Still I want one of their dolls, but really, all these problems, other customers' complains, etc only demotivate.

 

Hello All. I was hoping that someone on this thread could help me.....

I am looking for a girl that is shaped like a Volks SD16 girl. April Story seems to have (or had) something that was close. The current 'senior girl' from April Story is only 60cm. Was there an older model that was taller and closer to the SD16 measurements? Was it discontinued?
I'm just confused by all the options.

 

Their senior girl is taller than 60cm. I'm currently in the process of cutting my girl's legs shorter so she is a bit closer to the height I was expecting!

BJD Girl Bodies by Rubydoll Chaos, on Flickr

April Story is on the right. She standing next to a 60cm Mirodoll. I can't measure her now as it's pointless since her surgery!

 

Looks like she's on the same body as my Adrienne ... who is 62cm tall, or so my yardstick claims. Same height as Iple EID:

 

Sounds about right @Jany - I got the body for a different head who sits higher on the neck and she was very close in height to my Impldoll Star boy at 65cm. Link to the pic here:

Heilan and Sereniel