Dollshe Discussion - Part Thirteen

@SteamWitch - Oh I love him!

@nocchios - Oh he looks pretty cute in the blue!

 

Robin getting ready for the night. He plays a shy boy very well.

 

Thank you, poor boy sat in a drawer for so long before he made his debut. I really like how his tail turned out, using plastic doll armature makes posing wonderful.

 

For those asking about what fits a Mystic body they are close to SID guys, but taller so certain adjustments have to be made. Like short pants use tall boots.

 

Can someone tell me please if a Grant 28m head would fit on the pure body? Anyone have pics? Thank you.

 

I haven't had Thorne out for a while so he is going steampunk for a bit. I'm going to change this up so he isn't a copy of Alistair, I have enough steampunk props to do it.
Thorne fulllength by SteamWitch, on Flickr

 

@Dino - It would absolutely not fit. I'll take a photo for you tomorrow, but basically the neck hole in the Grant head is HUGE while the Pure body's neck is super long and skinny. I've tried it before and it looks utterly rediculous.

@SteamWitch - Ooh he's looking very dapper in that outfit.

 

Thank you so much!!

 

Hey everyone ~haven't visited in a while - wow.... Hope everyone's good!

So I was wondering if anyone has ordered the Natalie Portman Order-Made bjd and has heard any news? I ordered mine over a year ago and haven't seen any updates at all. And the Q&A has been M.I.A. for awhile. So yeah at this point I am super curious. I did put through an email to the webmaster and hopefully I'll hear something this next week. Thx! I hope the project doesn't get canned, she looks super cool and I've been really looking forward to her.

 

I gave in and ordered another, even tho I'll be waiting for like a year. Gotta have that super-villain. :P

 

Ugh, Flickr's being a pain in the butt and not letting me upload the photos. I promise I'll get them to you asap.

 

From his FB page, it looks as though Mr Kim is currently heartily invested in some animation/cartoon character thing. If I were to speculate (which I am clearly going to) I would say that this is probably good news for completed sculpts, as the casting team can probably get on with things without being hassled. However, not so good for unfinished sculpts, as he seems to find it difficult to complete (the curse of the perfectionist) and, as he has now moved onto The Next Big Thing, the incentive to complete is even less than usual. I suspect everything is sitting there with just the last, tiny bit left to do before moulds can be made and they can be cast. And yet he won't sit down and do the last, tiny bit.

 

Maybe there's also the 'letting go' of your creation. finish it, wrap it up, on to the next idea.
that's why I like a deadline for my work. otherwise, I'm futzing with three things at once, nothing getting done for months.
currently a gift project for a friend sits three feet to my right, half-finished. I'll get around to it. (she should be hounding me!)

and which sculpts are complete? the big question. no fashion Khan seen yet. no Adonis. No Natalie or the sexy woman....no Diana....

 

Ahhh, yes, the projects that languish forever. I have/had one of those. A friend asked me to knit her a bolero several years ago. I started on it and got the back and 1 sleeve done. Then I fell and ended up with tendinitis in my one forearm and knitting severely aggravates it. The friend it was for actually passed away last year so it sits on the bottom shelf of my coffee table in an unfinished state.

I fully intended to get onto the metal leafing of Mkhai today but I feel all meh and will likely just continue ploughing through the episodes of The Croods on Netflix.

 

As far as I can remember, we have seen Diana completed and apparently ready to cast, but not seen any casts. And we have seen nothing at all of Natalie and Monica. No Fashion Khan and have we seen Fashion Leo? A huge backlog, all dating back to that manic period of starting things that we said at the time would end in tears.

And, yeah, I also have things to finish (as someone on here knows ). I start things then get distracted by the next thing. At least I do in my hobbies. If I did that in my business, I would be out of work...

 

No grown Aramis. No Tom Cruise sculpt. All work on realistic sculpts seems to have stopped when he started on the Manga series and then he seems to have lots interest in sculpting dolls altogether. I am crying in my beer, All those broken dreams. Well, I do hope he gets back into it and finishes someday. If I did this at my job, I would be not only unemployed and unhireable but homeless and wandering the streets most likely.

 

My feeling is that, when an order reaches the one year point, the customer has a right to the doll tout de suite or a refund. If he has no intention of completing the portrait heads, he needs to refund the people who bought them on trust. That I have given a one year timescale for this is a sign of how much we have let Dollshe get away with. In reality, the point at which you may reasonably claim a refund is the point at which production time exceeds the stated timescale. I have no idea what production time fiction is on the site, but many (most?) of his orders are probably way over it.

It is all such a mess.

ETA: The timescale for dispatch is "around 50-60 days" from order. So, that is two to three months. I am now past the three month point with my 28M body order, so I would feel well within my rights to cancel the order at this point and demand a refund. Those of you who have waited over a year for a product that appears to have been abandoned have more than a right to do the same.

 

@Dino - Here you go! I popped one in a spoiler so it wouldn't stretch the page too much.

Spoiler: Grant on 18M Pure

DollShe Grant on Pure body by Liz, on Flickr

DollShe Grant on Pure body by Liz, on Flickr

 

When I ordered the body for my boy last year during the mould sale, the stated time frame was 6-8 weeks as the moulds were already done/ready to use and the sale was (supposedly) limited to 100 pieces. It was close to 4 months before my body was delivered, which is wicked fast for Dollshe but double what was promised. It was even in a standard colour (Pure oriental) and not something difficult like coloured resin.

I understand very well about the way the Muses work. I deal with the shifty little S.O.B.'s daily in my writing. But, if you've made promises/have a contract for certain products, and I certainly consider taking payment for things as a binding contract, then you have a legal obligation to hold up your end of the deal. To say that people eventually get their doll (a year or more down the road in many cases) is still not right. It's well beyond the time limit for a PP dispute. It may be beyond the time limit for a CC chargeback. I know Dollshe has been good to refund those to cancel their orders but still.

This wait time is the biggest factor in my not clicking on the buy button for another Dollshe. Honestly, if he has such difficulty in meeting reasonable wait times, then he needs to think of scaling back somewhere. Whether its to cast only his products or open order periods like other companies do or simply don't post sales for dolls that aren't even finished being sculpted yet (I think that's the biggest issue), he needs to change something about his business model.

 

I've had companies (Ringdoll, for example) take 6 or 7 months to finish an order on a fullset with intricate details, wig, faceup, clothing, accessories and added items. It seems like such a long time, but compared to a naked, unpainted Dollshe, it's a miracle.

We all agree about the scheduling, the long sales periods, etc. But, Mr. K doesn't seem to get it. Surely someone he works with has pointed out his business plan (or lack thereof) isn't working.

I have yet another 30% coupon, and I just know I'm going to want to use it sometime later in the year. But, not unless some resin comes home first.

And I still don't see any remarks on the Dollshe site or posted on a doll board, Insta or anywhere about who won free dolls with their December order.

Fashion Khan 10+ months

 

All true @Iron_Dog, which is why I will no long push the buy button on the Dollshe site no matter how good the sculpt looks. I can find one that will satisfy my doll/character needs with a company that keeps its promises.

 

Yep. Even if I had a coupon (and I don't have any dolls on waiting with Dollshe), I'd be extremely hesitant to hit buy just because of the position he's put so many customers in.

Not gonna lie, I'd LOVE to have a fashion Saint in espresso ebony. However, the wait times turns me off big time. I've also no idea who he is, so I'm rather safe until the day arrives when I figure out who that handsome guy is as I won't buy a doll until I know what character he is. However, when that day does happen... I'm so very screwed.

 

Thank you so much for help, for the pics and going out of your way!! I really appreciate it!!

 

This business model is absurd. It would never fly in the US, or really in any free market economy with competition. Trust me. I grew up in the Communist Bloc in the 70's and it's not dissimilar. Dollshe doesn't care about you. Why should they, if there's a waiting list? They're the only game in town and they know that if you really want one, you have no options. In fact the difficulty of acquisition and the exclusivity makes them even more valuable and sought after in some peoples eyes.

I hereby suggest ALL Dollshe customers with overdue orders cancel and demand refunds. Take your business elsewhere. West Virginia and Oklahoma school teachers have done it in the last month. There's a long world history of standing up to corporate greed and indifference. So stand up for your rights as consumers. As contributors to a thread called "Dollshe Discussion" on Den of Angels, we have unbelievable power. Yes we can collectively "bargain" and make things happen. If Dollshe cares about their reputation and solvency, they will see my post (and perhaps some cancelled orders) and fix the problem tomorrow.

A Dollshe was my first love, and I could buy 1000 of them. But I never will, simply on principle.

 

Thanks for the input...
I mean...I have known about 'wait times' with Dollshe but this time is just a bit weird...the 'no news' and the 'no Q&A' board... It's really the first time I've ever felt skiddish about an order from him. What's with not communicating anymore? I don't get that...And there used to be updates at least, in the News section. I'm bumming out...
I guess I'll just hang out and see...but if it's approaching December and still no word, I don't know...I might go for the refund.

 

The wait list is pretty depressing to look at. All that black text, with arrivals so few and far between. I’m sure in some instances contributors have forgotten to return and update their entry, but still. Perhaps if we all start making unbearable nuisances of ourselves we could get the point across. A thundering chorus of squeaking wheels...

I ordered in early December, so I’ve hardly spared a thought for my package yet, but maybe I should just on principle alone. They currently hold in hand the largest lump sum I have ever dropped on this hobby, and there is no other situation where I wouldn’t hold someone relentlessly accountable for delivery with that much money. Why am I just accepting this? We’ve just decided to make a long-distance move in October, and as far off as that seems now, I’m wondering if I may not have my dolls in hand by then. “Worrisome” doesn’t begin to describe it.

 

That is certainly a possibility. This is my third time ordering from Dollshe and I have to say it's certainly more fraught than the first time I ordered with the initial fashion run because of the lack of communication, endless sales, and the fact that we still haven't seen Diana and these other sculpts that should have been through production. I believe the last time someone asked about Diana they said she would be shipping around or before now and I didn't believe they would stick to that timeline and so far they haven't.

Two things that would really make this whole situation better is to update the estimated wait times to say 1 year or more so anyone who is ordering now knows what they are getting into from the beginning and for him to be more active on his FB page or post more on his blog like he used to so we can all have some more transparency into what is going on. It is kind of frustrating that 5th Motif orders are being fulfilled while some of his own company orders are over 14 months old.

 

Not a problem at all. I hope they were helpful!

 

There is a problem with the demanding our money back if dolls are overdue: you do not get the dolls. And I do want my dolls. I want them badly enough that while knowing about these waiting times I still ordered. And there really is no way not to be warned about these waiting times. It has been the same for years.

I have two orders now: one from last year September, sculpts that were already being produced so I hope it won't take a year. And last week a body for a floating head. Also not a new item for Dollshe. That is a thing I do keep in mind: I do not order dolls that haven't been taken in production yet. Cause those take forever.

I received news on the September order this week: they should ship within a month.
Last time I got a message like this one it happened just as they stated. Then I received my Arsene about a month later...

Still very happy with him.

For all those that do not dare to buy new from Dollshe I would recommend keeping an eye on the second hand marketplace.

 

The 2nd hand market is a good option if you're looking for something fairly standard (as far as colour goes). I think the prices 2nd hand are currently comparable to buying new, which is good news for people who don't want to wait forever and a day to buy directly from Dollshe.

My problem with the 2nd hand market and my wants/needs is that I'd dearly love a fashion Saint in espresso ebony (despite not having a clue of who he is, which is directly in violation of my House Rules) and the chances of that specific combo popping up are fairly small. But that's also good as it prevents me from spending money I shouldn't and bringing home a doll I have zero clue about who he is.

 

Not to enable or anything:

 

@Cyador new people to the hobby who go to the website and order have little way to know how long the wait time will be unless they are members of forums where there are Dollshe threads. I mean even those of us that have been ordering have no idea how long the wait time will be,it is a mystery.

Every time someone asks me about where I got my doll on IG I make sure to mention to them that it could be as quick as 3 months if you're lucky or longer than 13 months. And it really is disingenuous to still have those wait times listed as 30-60 days.

 

Yeah I agree dollshes current wait time practices are shocking and unacceptable but I also really want my doll, so I personally won't be demanding a refund unless it truly seems like he won't deliver. But this doll is a grail, so maybe for others taking a stand would be less agonizing. Like cyador, dollshe did finally reply to my message and claim my order will be done next month, we'll see, at least they replied I guess. They should revise the wait time to say "up to a year" and be honest about it though, I wouldn't complain if they were truthful about it.

 

@petiteballerine Liar, liar, pants on fire! You are too (and your boy is gorgeous and what sealed the deal for the espresso colour for me).

I don't exactly have a leg to stand on when it comes to enabling. I have been the direct cause of at least 2 people getting into the hobby and have been the cause of at least 6 doll purchases. So... yeah. I'm gonna slink off to my corner now.

 

Wow, still hard to see everyone waiting on their dolls for this long, but I am no better, I have yet to free my Erica Snow from her forever sleeping box, been trying to clean up before I do let her out, then I have to find a space for her to sit on my doll bench that is over crowded as is.

 

@Iron_Dog - oh, I had no idea....(pants flaming.....)

this is a very old photo, unpainted, not alluring at all, unless you like deep, dark, espresso...on soft, silky fabric.....



......gotta go sit in some water.....(hisssssss...)

 

@petiteballerine Okay, now you're just spamming the gorgeous. I'm okay with that.

It really is a lovely colour and there's so few companies that do resin that dark. It's a lot like the result I got from having Dak dyed blackest black. He turned out great and he looks midnight black but if sunlight hits him juuuust the right way, you see these uber dark brown tones with a hint of gold to them. Your boy gets the same sort of effect, doesn't he?

 

Its honestly sad to say but dollshe has left a very bitter taste in my mouth. I ordered in may (grown bernard on the pure body in pure fresh), havent heard a word. I hate saying it but i will never buy another dollshe doll. Not new, not secondhand. I dont feel like supporting a company that cant even support itself will help anyone. In september we were told that grown dolls would be shipping out. Its now march, where are those dolls? Why does he continue to give false hope that things will get done?
I unfortunately will seek a refund if it gets to the one year mark. I cannot justify having several hundred dollars floating in mid air for a year in lieu of a doll.

 

Wow!!! In this color I have not yet seen men, he is incredible!

 

Just got my shipping notice. On the tan Arsene which I received already. In February 2017.
But they do promise to ship my fashion grown Aramis, little Krishna, “this week.” Breath held......

 

@Therealwalter that just shows how the Dollshe time/space warp is so very warped. I crossed my fingers for your Aramis shipping notice.