I'm interested in buying a few dolls from Dream of Doll, but I'd like to make sure it's a good and reliable site before I invest a few thousand dollars into it. I would like to know the quality of the dolls and overall satisfaction from current owners, please. As well, when the doll arrived, how was it packaged? Was the doll in a carrier bag, or just a regular doll box? (I'm debating on whether or not to buy doll bags so I can take them with me on vacation and such) Is it safe to use cc, or should I pay by check/cash/paypal? Is the store reliable? Any other general feedback and/or advice is really appreciated! EDIT: I just remembered! What does store credit do? And what is it for?
The quality is great! Their "normal" skin is a little more pale then most companies, but the dolls are gorgeous. I love my DOT Camine to pieces, so I would consider myself an extremely satisfied customer ^^ DOCs are shipped with carrier bags, and sit snuggly between 2 soft cushions/pillows. They currently dont sell carriers for their DOTs. But the DOTs come very securely packaged with much bubble wrap and 2 cushions. CC is safe, and from what I've heard they arent accpeting paypal at the moment. Dont quote me on it though, i could be wrong. The store has been reliabe in my experience. Be patient with replys to emails, like if you want to order clothes. Thet rarely have many of their outfits in stock, but emailing them to add it to your order is no problem. Good Luck ^_^ Their dolls are definetely worth the wait.
Thanks! Yeah... I've heard that the wait is really long... but they have replied to my emails fairly rapidly. There are a lot of outfits I'd like to buy that say "out of stock"... Ah well... I should probably email them about it, huh? ^_^ Thanks so much! EDIT: If anyone else has anything to add, please post! ^_^ I love to hear more feedback.
I agree with Insane-chan....the dolls really are gorgeous and mine came wrapped nice and tight in a really cute box Her resin is pale, smooth, and not shiny at all. The wait was killer but it was worth it
Agreeing with the previous. ^__^ My boy came very nicely packed in his carrier bag, poses like a dream, his faceup is just lovely...the works. I couldn't be happier with him. His resin is extremely pale, but it suits him very, very nicely. My wait wasn't as long as some (I had a bit of a deadline I was chasing and they came through for me, I love them for this very much), but they are more than worth every week's worth of wait. ^____^
I love my two DoCs. DoD was good and polite about replying to my emails. And although the wait could be a little nail-bitting at times, they were worth it. You can tell they are quality made dolls.
Only the DOCs come with carriage bags, the DOTs come in boxes. I have a DOC homme ivan, he came all nicely wrapped up within his bag with two pillows and tons of bubblewrap. beautiful quality resin. I had no problem dealing with them and I paid by credit card. There's hundreds of people on DoA who have ordered from DOD and will tell you they're a fine company
Agreed, the quality of these dolls are just absolutely stunning. However, in my personal experience, the customer service has never made me want to purchase from again ( hence my hounding of the marketplace which finally paid off xD ). While as everyone has mentioned the wait can be horrendous, it was really simply the lack of overall communication that bothered me.
I have two DoC's. Well, I'm selling my twingkey but I'm getting another one with mature body. The quality is just great, they have a nice weight to them, very sturdy, overall I love them. The communication is lacking like others said though, but I have more dolls to get from them, so I'm not that afraid of sending money to them.
I have 2DOT's and 2 DOC's. I love the face sculpts and find the resin to be of great quality. The resin is pinky white, which I love. My DOT's arrived in a box with two pillows and wrapped very securely in bubblewrap. The DOC's arrived bubblewrapped between 2 pillows and in a carrying case.
My experience with DOD have been very good. Shipping time usually vary depending on their work orders. When I ordered my H. Ducan, he was shipped out in five weeks (on time) and with a most wonder face-up. When I ordered outfits later, the order was shipped out the same day I had placed the order (and the confirmation of the payment); since the three items were in stock. The quality of the doll is very good. He is very solid and heavy (my other doll from AS is much lighter). Due to the language issues, they do not always answer questions. But they do reply to you between 2-5 days about your order, when you actually placed an order.
Oooh... hmm. Do they not answer shipping status emails? Or do they not send you any updates? That would get very irritating if communication was cut off and the wait was a few months time.
That's good! ^_^ So if I check with them beforehand to see if everything I want is in stock, it should take less time to ship?
Dolls must be made, they are never in stock. They do not stock them. However, the stock status of other items, such as wigs and outfits, are listed on the website.
They do send you shipping notice when the order is ready. They may not answer your shipping inquiry so fast, if your order is not ready for shipping yet (such as asking at 4 weeks mark.)
I agree with the others here. The quality of the dolls is fantastic. Despite the DOTs not being packed in carry bags, they are securely packed in boxes with lots of protection from bubblewrap and the two thick pillows. Both my boys arrived intact and undamaged. Getting a response to your email can be a problem, but I think this is more a language thing than disinterest or deliberately bad customer service. I've always had a response from them, but patience is the key. Emailing them every couple of days to let them know they haven't replied doesn't help the situation. I've used Paypal and wire transfer to buy from them and the only problem I encountered was my own fault for forgetting to include the Order No on the wire transfer document. But the problem was sorted and my doll arrived promptly (two days before Christmas!). DODs dolls are gorgeous and well worth the wait while they are made, and their faces made up.
Oh! That's right! For make up, what do they mean for the specific colors? Is it for the whole face color hue, or just the eye lining color?
The makeup colors are like hues not just the eye color. So instead of having the normal default colors for the lips and cheeks as seen in the photos, you can get them in a brighter pink tint or a neutral brown. There are from references of these choices in the picture request forums, I believe.
I've had lots of dealings with DoD. No problems to date. They have massive issues with a number of email hosts (Hotmail, AOL, Mac etc) which gives rise to even more complains about customer service. I'd suggest using Gmail as there doesn't seem to be any problems there. The dolls themselves are packaged very well and I personally love the resin colour and quality of the craftsmanship. The wait can be typically longer than some companies but now a days it looks like many are shipping at that 4-5 week mark like DoD. I can safely say that DoD has not been the longest wait time for doll (even with the extra 2 weeks Canada customs held my first one). My volks was a full 13 weeks and now my Unoa will be about 4-5 months as well. The store credit is credit you get once your make your purchase AND DoD has shipped your order. That credit can go towards future purchases (helps offset the shipping eventually XD) For instance I have $42 in credit. If I bought another DoC say the shipping is about $50 and that credit knocks out most of that when applied during checkout. It takes a while to build up though. Currently own 3 DoTs and 2 DoCs and very happy with them all.
An off-DoA-DB is kept here to help database the different face-up theme choices Dream of Doll offers. It isn't complete, though has examples of both DoCs and DoTs, and gives a great general idea. As an aside, I'm hoping to be able to order my DoT Shall this week -- she'll be my first doll!
I have had several orders from DOD and never had any problems. I ordered some out of stock clothing from them and got it in three weeks. My DOT Ducan took five weeks to arrive, which is a pretty average wait time for any doll I think. He was very well wrapped, in perfect condition and he's absolutely gorgeous! His resin is a light pink and the face up is amazing. I couldn't be happier with him. Their stuff is so worth it. About the payment, I used Paypal before they stopped accepting it, so I don't know about CC, but everything went through just fine. There are some bad stories about DOD, but I've never had an issue, and they are very friendly!
Thank you everyone! I am definitely thinking of buying some of their stuff. It looks so pretty! Does anyone know an estimate of shipping price to the US? o.O I hope it's not too much... and do we have to pay tax?
I just did a mock order for an E-an and shipping was $86.14. (ouch!) I have ordered tons of stuff from overseas and never had to pay a customs tax or anything else like it.
Shipping the DOC's is around $64 I think, but I've never had to pay for taxes or customs (I'm almost positive we don't have to pay either of those in the states). I'm sure someone else has already answered this (I didn't read the whole thread, sorry...^^; ) but the DOC's (msd sized dolls) come with carry bags. the DOT's (sd sized dolls) do not. And even if you only buy a DOC body you get a carry bag anyway! I've bought 3 dolls from DOD and I love them all dearly, they're a terrific company, in my opinion. ^_^
also the customer service of DoD is excellent!! In a group order I ordered some Dot wigs, however they were made more on a Doc size. Within 36 hours they replied to me. Dream of doll apolagised for it in a very polite way and told me to keep the wigs. They remade them in the Dot size and a week later shipped two new wigs to me.
Can anyone give me any more info about the bank transfur? I tried to send one but my bank could not. They said they needed the phone # and the bank address and the swift #. Any Help?
I used bank transfer when I bought my boy... You should order first then after that you'll receive a order form to your email. It's written there their Bank address and swift code. It's better to print that out and gave it to your bank...
Thanks BlueSand I placed an order but never got an email from them. And I ordered on Sep the 2nd. I've sent them an email asking how to pay but have gotten no responce.
i bought the new DoC boy body 2 and i'm satisfied with the shipping time... i've set about 4 weeks minimum for shipping; ordered on 10th Aug, shipped on 11th Sept and received a few days later... the body came wrapped in a bubble-wrap, then two pillows (tied like a candy... XD), more bubble-wraps and finally the carry-bag... i love the bag so much!!! DoD has replied to my emails usually within 2 days and because of language boundaries, sometimes their replies does not really "fit" the questions i have for them... overall i'm still happy with their customer service... emailed them to let them know i'm paying through PayPal and asked that they reply when confirmed... once paid i let them know again and they reconfirm... an email was sent to me when the body is shipped... love the resin... smooth and a very nice shade of pinky white... the seams are not noticeable but you can sand it if you want...
here's their information for Wire transfer Payment information -Name of Bank : SHINHAN BANK -Account Number: : 961-71-002738 -Beneficiary: : KIM EUN HEE -Address of Bank : MOK-DONG 11TH BRANCH,SEOUL -Shift Code : shbkkres -Bank Tel. : 81-2-2648-792
Thanks again BlueSand. That is different from what I found on their web sight. I'm glad my bank would not send it now. This is what is on their web sight: CHB[cho Hung Bank] [Account Number : 96103004553&*Mok-Dong 11th Branch,158-771&*CHOHKRSE&*&*] Beneficiary(Payable to) : dreamofdoll
Ooh! That reminds me! Do they presand the parting lines and molding lines for you or do you have to do that yourself?
That much for shipping to the US? That's horrible... But we don't have to pay customs or taxes... that's good at least... xD The shipping cost is really making me hesitate on buying their dolls... Is it the same for other doll companies as well?
the shipping cost is high at most companies unfortunately. You can cut costs and offer to do a group order though :P It's slightly less to Canada however you run the risk of canadian customs XD I think it's a fair trade off
Shipping is high across the board, from any of the doll companies. My Shiwoo-SS was almost $80 for shipping. Part of it is the size of the package; these things are big, and they're heavy. Part of it is that they ship EMS. It's spendy, but it lands your doll on your doorstep fast and it's insured and trackable. Much safer than tossing it on a plane and crossing your fingers. My DoC was about $65 shipping, if I recall correctly.
Uhm... I think it works against you that you're in the States ^^; You're far from Korea so mileage covered is more. ^^; Shipping for a DoC to Manila is 30USD, but that's because we're closer on the map overall. ^^;
The shipping is actually economical, compared to UPS World Express, FedEx or DHL. Shipping international is very expensive to start with when shipping by air. EMS has made shipping with USPS much cheaper and better I think. I have no complaint. I bought a CD from Taiwan and the starting shipping fee is $25.00. I just recently bought three back issues of Dolly Dolly, shipping cost was about $50.00 for 3 magazines.
the one I posted is what I used to transfer my payment and they receive it after 3-4 days... If doing a bank transfer tell the bank teller to put this "payment for order #_________" as NOTE in your bank transfer... that will ensure that DOD will be informed that that money is the payment for your order.
I have two boys, one DoT and one DoC. Really love DOD's pinkish resin color, which will fade to a nice slightly peachy/very light pink (?) pale tone with time. The doll's posability are fine, but compared to Luts dolls (I also own a CP Kid Delf Bory) DOD doll's poses aren't so fluid, and are somewhat limited I think. The bodies aren't sanded. The dolls arrive packed to high hevens with bubble wrap and 2 cushions, in a nicely designed sturdy box. As for their customer service, it defenately have much room to improve imho. DOD is a bit inconsistant with communication via e-mail, can be super quick replying once every other day, or going on to 3 weeks w/out a word. On a side note, if you are interested in some of the limited dolls -such as full set Elf Ira, full set Petsha, or full set Elf Yen- which are sold out on their official site, they *might* still be available on Y!Japan (last I checked) through Dream of Doll's official Japanese licensed seller, and he does ship international. The other regular dolls: Ducan, Shall, I-an are also available. The wait will be much shorter too, as the dolls are ready to ship on hand. If you're interested, I can send you the link. ^^ Hope this helps!
I'd love to get that link! I purchased from Higashi once, but it was personally at his shop in Hiroshima and he's the loveliest person I've ever met, even if he can't speak English. If I could, I'd prefer to buy all my DoD items from him better than from the company, just to help him with his bussiness!!!
Ooo they have some of the limited? I'd like the link as well...I'm planning on heading out to Japan in a few months >:3 As for the posability DoC vs MNF the new DoC bodies have a lot more range of motion than the MNFs, but I personally like the overall look of the body on the MNF (but then the DoC is still cute XD) two very different bodies though so it's difficult to compare...
Here you go! http://openuser.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/user/godon40 And it looks like he even have the new outfit and some sold out ones too. =D The DoC new double joint body vs the Kid Delf double joint body- I think I prefer the KD one. It's much more natural in pose? Can do slouches and "S" curve easily. Though the joint in the upper arms of the KD are a bit awkward looking... also what I really like are the sculp of their legs, the knees and muscle are amazing- so is the flat back of the leg, unlike DoC's rounded back of the legs, which makes their legs stick out at an angle when sitting down. XD ETA: Woah hold on a sec. Last I checked remember he did ship international?? Sorry for the misinformation! Perhaps try contacting him, I'm sure something can be worked out.
Also it's actually way cheaper to use DoD directly.. His price are more expensive than their own site.. He has Pitts there for 600 (instead of 535) and Wigs are 5 dollars more. And if you look at E-an she is 705 dollars from DoD, yet her price is here around 800. And the limiteds are around the range of 1200 dollar which is quite the price increase. Plus if he doesn't ship ship internationally anymore, please be aware you gonna need a shopping service and it will hard your wallet very hard.
I've just got my first doll from DoD and i'm very happy with him - he poses like a DREAM (I have a fantastic shot of him playing with the dance mat at Telford Expo - standing on one leg!) and his 'skin' feels lovely. He came with his default eyes held in with putty - they're plastic but looked very nice (although i've changed them for a pair of glass ones I bought for Paige since they suit him slightly better) and a SUPER gorgeous default wig (which i love love love). He did come in a wicked DoD carrying bag which i've found to be uber useful already (in the 2 weeks i've had him) and have carried him around everywhere ^_^ It also has some random pockets n stuff on it which i use to keep clothes and accessories in which i think is great ^_^ They also sent me a pair of spare hands and some velcro to hold the wig in place (although it fits perfectly so i haven't needed any as yet!) and... i think that's it! But I can't remember Oh and the pretty purtle cushions tied together with ribbon which i keep in the bag to cushion him from knocks while he's being carried ^_^ I paid with my debit card and faxed my details to them - to date i've had no problems with that method other than workingout how to use the fax machine!! Personally, I don't know if they still have Paypal so myself i'd not use that method unless you have NO protection on your card (like me ) since it's not worth losing all that money if you've sent it to the wrong paypal account... Which dolls are you getting? Good luck with your purchases, i look forward to seeing pics of them!! And feel free to message me if you have any more questions that i can help with (not likely ) since i'm more than happy to oblige ^_^ Oh yeah, and i sent them lots of e-mails about my orders (Si w/ faceup) and they replied pretty quickly and nicely and were surprisingly good at deciphering my randomly bad and vague way of writing
I just bought my first doll from DoD and I had a wonderfully easy transaction with them! What did you order? - DoD Dream of Child Si with default faceup. When did you order? - 25th July 2007 How was the communication? - Fantastic, all my e-mails were answered well and within a maximum of 48 hours, although usually it was closer to 12. How easy was it to pay? - Simple, I paid with my debit card! But the only complication was I had to fax (or e-mail) my id and card and stuff over, and i don't have a scanner or a fax machine and i got confused working the one at work. But they were very understanding that it was gonna take me a while to get it to them. How long did it take to ship? - He was shipped within 5 weeks, although customs stole him and it took a little longer for me to actually get him (but that's not DoD's fault). Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion? - Most definitely. His faceup 99% PERFECT (one tiny unnoticeable mistake on his eyelid), he poses like a DREAM and the resin is beautiful to the touch. I love him Did the item look like the sales pictures? - Yes Were you satisfied with the product? - VERY
Yay! I'm throwing in my feedback too... What did you order? - DoC new boy body 2 When did you order? - 10th Aug 2007 How was the communication? - Answered my emails within 2 days at most and was very kind to let me know that they'll be expecting PayPal payment and again emailed me when they received payment. How easy was it to pay? - I knew CC would be a hassle since I wasn't sure if my debit works for oversea charging... So I used PayPal and was fairly easy to work it with them... I had emailed them earlier to ask for their PayPal address... How long did it take to ship? - Shipped within 4 weeks, and reached in 4 days... Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion? - Love the resin and the posing-ability!!! Sturdy and not too heavy... I just LOVE it! Did the item look like the sales pictures? - Yup, though maybe because of the lighting the site's skintone always look a lil paler... --" Were you satisfied with the product? - Absolutely!!! ^_^
Thanks so much! ^_^ I really want to buy a doll from them, but I don't want to spend so much money for shipping... T_T We'll see how it works out though... Well, I'd like to buy a Homme Ducan, Sha, Si, E-an, and if possible the Lahoo and Camine fullsets. If not, then just the regular Lahoo and Camine dolls. I also want to buy 7 of their outfits and 10 of their shoes... I'll have to save up a lot of money... xD
since i only got the body, no they don't do seam sandings anymore... but i heard that they at least DO sand the seams of the head... you can sand the seams if you want to... it's not really noticeable and since he usually wears clothes, it's fine... ^_^ just waiting for Alexius' head to come and claim his body... hopefully today, or else i'll have to wait till Monday since AusPost don't do deliveries on Saturdays...
High shipping costs are something that comes along with the hobby -- but believe me, they're worth every single penny. ^__^ Yes, the heads come sanded. My boy has no seams on his head, but noticeable seams on his arms and legs. They aren't -horrible- though, no sharp edges, nothing you'd notice unless you were looking straight at it/touching it. I may sand them later, if I'm feeling ambitious.
I'm planning on saving up for my second DoD doll, Petsha. Anyway I was wondering if the standard version of her still comes with the extra pair of hands.
So it's like $50-60 for shipping a DOC to the US? Would it cost more in shipping for two dolls? I want to get Too and Bee-A and it would suck if that meant an extra like $30 on shipping XP And they take like 4-5 weeks to get here? That's not too bad. I've never bought a BJD before, anything else I should know? The total cost is just the listed price of the doll + shipping, right? Do they charge $40 per doll for makeup, or could I get Too and Bee-A both done for that price? It'd also be really nifty if I could get a different site that shows what the makeup looks like in different colors... People have been linking to one but it doesn't have a lot of photos on it. I was hoping for Bee-A in peach and Tender Too in light brown.
Don't Too and Bee-A come as a set? Try a dummy order if you want to be sure of the shipping cost. Just go through the process, but bail out once you get the shipping cost. Have you tried asking in the BJD-opedia for examples of different makeup?
Eh... I think I'll have it shipped to China... it's WAY cheaper... xD then I'll bring it back to the US... xP (I'll be going over there next summer anyways, so it won't be too bad) Oh! Is the shipping time the same for every country? If anyone has had DOD ship dolls to China for them, could you tell me how long it took? I'd like to order in time for it to arrive when I'm there. ^_^
That's a very risky way of shipment to be honest.. A shipping times fluctuate very heavily and one doll can take 7 weeks to arrive while others take only 5 weeks. If you are not staying there for long it is not an adviceable option.. If you are not there when the doll arrives it can be even more expensive than the shipping is now. Honestly, $50 isn't that bad, as it enables you to track the package and see where it is and the package is also insured.
Echoing this. Unless you're staying with friends/family and you order the doll enough in advance to get it there -before- you arrive, this method is probably too risky to be worthwhile. Dream of Doll's lead times tend to be longer than advertised on their website, and they can fluctuate wildly. My doll took 5-1/2 weeks to ship. Someone else who ordered theirs at the same time took much closer to 8 weeks. I'd pay the shipping costs for the added security and certainty, personally.
Yeah they do, that's why I think it would suck if I had to pay a lot of extra shipping :/ I hadn't asked yet because I'm still gradually hunting through the galleries before I start a thread :X
The only complaint that I have for DOD is that they've never EVER replied to my emails! :[ Otherwise, my baby was packaged nicely, in a complimentary carrying bag! No complaints on shipping and paying. We paid with by credit card, not even paypal! Oh and sometimes, they send you an extra 'something'. I remember ordering 2 S-hooks for hands, and they send me 3 :]
