LA Volks Sumika not allowing FCS shopping services anymore?

That would be Canada.

 

Forgive me for asking a stupid question - but those of us who live outside the US or Japan can still order FCS using a shopping service, ne?

I'm a bit confused, I confess - Aimee was offering to obtain FCS on the Marketplace and I had assumed that she was doing it as a shopping service and it was therefore ok.

For me, this would be the only way to obtain FCS as I could not afford the airfare to USA/Japan AND the doll :s

It is something that I have been considering saving up for. However, if it is only able to private customers who visit in person, then it becomes impossible.

Whilst I appreciate the reasons set out for Volks's exclusivity, it is rather hard cheese for those of us living in Europe...

 

I was going to say something like Pirate Wench. Talk about Europeans XD

I kinda understand their policy, they want you to get your dream doll following a very complete process and being very concret about each detail.

But this understanding does not interfere with my thoughts about Volks being "more flexible" about their dolls ^^U

 

LA volks won't allow it, but you can order through a shopping service for the Japanese Volks stores even if you live in Europe or New Zealand.

 

Out of curiousity, from a European's point of view, do you think the LA Tenshi no Sumika would allow someone on holiday to order their own, but get it -shipped- to an American friend's address to be shipped back to them? o.o'

Because if I can time things right, I may end up going to America at some point soon. xD And if I can get to the LA Tenshi no Sumika, I'd want to order an FCS. o.o And I know someone who'd be willing to ship it to me for just the cost of the extra shipping.

Though, if the LA Tenshi no Sumika won't allow that, I'd be better off going to a shopping service. ._.

 

Just so it's clear- Volks stores in Japan still discourage proxy FCS ordering as much as the US store. Volks cannot stop anyone from ordering. All one has to do is just not mention that it isn't for themselves, and have it shipped to their own house.

Volks is mostly concerned with keeping their customers happy, they don't want malicious scalpers running FCS services that rip off newbies (this was a lot more common before the LA store opened, most people complaining now don't know the horror stories from months/years ago.) Also with Volks' FCS policy, they will offer to redo once, for FREE, any face up that isn't to the owners' liking. So when an owner orders not in person, and gets the doll and hates the face, Volks has to take the time out of their own schedule to fix it for free. So, in summation, these proxy FCS orders are just potentially bad for business. Simple as that.

 

It's probably not just the scammers or the fluffy "it's a very personal thing, you need to do it yourself", though both of those figure into it.

I'm assuming an even larger part of it is simply that Volks currently lacks the resources to deal with the number of orders they would get if internet FCS or proxy orders were allowed. The turn around time is already months for in-person FCS; just imagine how many hundreds more orders they would get if it were open to anyone, not just those who could make it to one of their few locations world wide. They're either unwilling or unable to expand staff and resources to keep the turn around time reasonable, so naturally they need to do something to keep from being flooded with orders.

 

This is probably the exact reasoning. They simply do not have the time or the resources to get completely custom dolls out to everyone who would order them. The wait time is quite long as it is, and with more custom orders the more room there would be for error. Look what happens to companies like CP or DoD that allow for some customization when it's peak buying time. The amount of threads complaining about errors in orders doubles at least. Volks takes far too much pride in their work to allow that to happen (Not that the other companies don't, mind) and so keeps FCS orders low. It sucks for those who want to get one, but when you actually do get your special, custom doll you want it to be perfect and will probably get one that is perfect because of this policy.

 

Ehh.. dolls are a luxury item. Honestly, if you're going to spent 1K on one of their dolls, what's another 200-300 thrown in as a plane flight?

I would love to order an F-31 at some point, but unless you are living within 4-5 hours it's completely unfeasable to have to go to the L.A. store to retrieve it. For that, I could order a SATO doll..

 

Reminder - you can have your doll shipped anywhere in North America. If you live 4-5 hours from Torrence, you shouldn't be complaining XD; That's a lot better than a plane ticket.

 

I can understand why they wouldn't allow this, but honestly. California is across the COUNTRY for me. D: I really could NEVER EVER afford that, unless I won the lottery or something. XD Although my dad's friend goes out tehre a lot, and we could have it mailed to her house... XD;

I still love Volks and all, but this is really discouraging... >_< Can't we just have a Volks store on the west coast, midwest, AND east coast? XD It'd make it easier for everyoneeeeeeeee. Oh well. T_T

....I hate the east coast. XD -runs to California-

 

Frankly, a plan ticket to japan would cost me &#163;800.

I'd take a reputable shopping service anyday.

 

:/ That's like saying all doll companies should be relocated to the states for the ease of non-Asians. Sure, it'd be wildly conveniant for us customers to have a ton of Volks stores here. It'd be conveniant to allow online FCS orders. 'Cos... you know... we have to have everything handed to us.

It would not actually be conveniant for everyone. It would be very, very inconveniant for Volks. Very inconveniant. And frankly I'd like to see fewer Volks stores and have more difficulty ordering their products than to see them stretched thin over the US and lose quality :/


Someday I would like to own a Japanese Bobtail cat. There are relatively few Japanese Bobtail breeders in the United States. Most catteries won't ship live animals. I don't rag on the catteries because they aren't conveniant for me. If I want one, someday I'll have to make the trip to buy one in person. That's the way it goes.

 

I think no matter what Volks says there will be people willing to do FCS service. I can understand the issue with Volks not wanting services to take orders b/c of dolls being sent back for face-up changes, but that can be avoided if enough information is provided such as a photographic reference. Really I just see whay somebody should have to go through a Sato service and pay $200+ when they don't even want any Sato only options, especially when there are people in the LA area willing to take FCS at a much more reasonable price. So long as Volks isn't turning people away there will be FCS services.


A friend and I are auctually seriously thinking of doing an FCS service. I'm thinking of saving up for either a BW Kun or F-08 and going to LA next summer. We live in Georgia so LA is a long way off and one hell of an expensive trip, but if we took like 3 FCS order each and charged something like $50 then we could put that money toward gas and we wouldn't have to worry about two plane tickets, just gas for one car. I think it would be a good situation for the people ordering also as they'd know that the fees were legit and not some jacked up price where the cash vanishes into the ether or the services pockets... Of course we'd want photographic reference for face-ups, like "the eyes in this pic and the lips in this one," kind of thing so it's less likely there is a screw up or miscommunication. We'd have to have them all shipped back to us and then to the owners which will cost extra in shipping, but I think most people would consider it worth while. I'd get my doll and so would 6 other people, a good situation all around for everybody involved.

 

FCS is a lot more involved and difficult than people seem to assume, there are a lot of options that can easily be misunderstood..for example, one, FCS white is called "white", "beauty white" only refers to the oldskin white and the Pureskin LE white used with Kohya, Sachiko, Sasya, etc. I think unless you're someone very experienced like Cassiel or Ria_ria, you should think about leaving FCS to the future owner themself, so if something went wrong it could only be their fault.

 

Does this mean that I can't get my uncle to place my order for me? (he lives i CA)

 

he could order it but he cant say its for you and he better know damn well what hes talking about and what he wants.

 

You can write detailed notes for your Uncle on what parts you would like and provide pictures for the faceup. Also, be available in case he needs to call you for more details.

 

That will kind of give it away that it's not for him

Have an extremely specific, well-ordered list of everything you want and any possible question that could come up, and make sure your uncle sounds convincing.

 

Yikes, it sounds like it's a crime or something!

I kind of wonder about that though...I mean, if it seems like he (or hypothetically any perosn) doesn't know what he's talking about, I kind of doubt whoever is taking the FCS order is going to pounce on him and go, "A-HAH! You're ordering for someone else, aren't you! Well, you can't, I'm cancelling your order!" XD

For one thing, I'm sure that many people who order FCS are very nervous and/or excited when the time comes, and might end up fumbling for words or sounding like they don't know what they're talking about. The workers at the LA Sumika are people too and I doubt they'd do anything so rude as to directly ask a person who seems nervous in the midst of ordering FCS, "Are you ordering for someone else? If so, you can't."

 

I meant that he should sound convincing because it will just make everything go more smoothly. And yes I'm sure people fumble words, but it's different if you just forget what number baby pink Zouks are as opposed to not knowing the difference between SD10 and SD13 boy bodies or anything obvious like that.

 

FCS is definitely something that ought to be done in person, if just for the experience. It was definitely a huge help to be able to see *both* the molds I was waffling between next to my Isao to see the relative sizes, and seeing the one I decided on in all three skintones to be certain that yes, I wanted the white skin and not the normal or sunlight. (Though the sunlight was tempting, certainly, heh.) I even ended up ordering eyes in a colour I never thought I'd want because in person in the doll they were so different from the pictures I'd seen.

And yes, I was nervous. XD;;; When it got close to my turn I was just about shaking. X3;;; And then we got started and I just settled down to having fun. (Amusingly, my makeup description was something that you COULD have phoned in, though we still filled in the 'gloss/no gloss' and 'lip lines' fields.

But yeah, there's a big difference between doing it yourself and just picking options. Indeed, most services I've seen don't even ask for the answers to such questions as whether or not you want lip lines or gloss, if you want the eyes glued in and how if you do, if you want the lashes glued in or how you want the tension. These are all on the forms but I never see them asked! So things can get confused between you and the service, especially if little details like that aren't asked - Domuya was one of the most recommended FCS services back when they did it, but Lukas still has the wrong colour eyelashes, which isn't even one of the 'hidden' options. ^^;

They really do try to make things as specific as possible - I just asked for my boy to be painted similar to Isao version 1, and like I mentioned we still filled in the fields for lip lines and gloss to make sure to note that yes, it should have liplines because Isao does and the lips should be very glossy. (Bailey even grabbed Ephram to make sure! XD )

So it sucks, yes, if it's not convenient for you to get down there - It's not convenient for me either and I live in the same state, just a good 7 hours away, but if you get a chance it really is better to do it yourself, all touchy-feely 'personal' things aside - You know best how to describe things and you can make sure that nothing is getting confused during the process. (They go back over everything again when you finish to make sure that everything got written down right)

So yeah, having done it both ways, through a shopping service and in person, in person is definitely the way to go.

 

Oh... good point!

But he's a family member... Would Volks USA would be ok with him helping out his niece? They are nice and very understanding. If he were to explain, I'm sure it would be OK.

 

For me, currently, it's more like 800-900 for a plane ticket.

 

Eer... while they don't allow shopping services, technically, I can't imagine they'd have a problem if your uncle told them he was buying the FCS doll as a gift for his niece/nephew, should he feel the need to tell them anything about why he's buying it.

 

My Dad went to Volks USA to order my F-02 back in March for me (b-day gift) and they almost didn't let him order her. They ended up calling me about a dozen times with suggestions and questions I hadn't answered. My dad said the first call was because they didn't want to have him do the order for me...so you may need to give a phone number so they can ask you questions.

 

i'm not sure if this has been said, but i just thought i'd add my thoughts on the situation--mind you i don't own any Volks dolls, so this is just the impression i've gotten from peripheral experiences. it seems to me that in general the company and especially the FCS service, is about customer service. they're looking to give their customers the ultimate in a doll shopping experience, and thus offer the full choice. i can understand them wishing to keep this service very limited and very personal, as choosing a doll is a very personal experience, as others have mentioned with itty bitty tiny details, and possible misinterpretations and the like.

we americans are a demanding bunch, aren't we? it's rough not being able to get what we want, but again as others have mentioned, if Volks were to open a bunch of stores, it's likely their customer service would suffer no matter how hard they tried. and i think that might be the crux of the matter--they're a customer service oriented business, and that's most important to them.

::shrug:: just my opinion. i can see both sides of the coin though. i'd love to have a Sato F20, but I don't think I'll be going to Japan anytime soon.

 

In my experience Tenshi no Sato is a lot more ritualized than the more common Tenshi no Sumika. I told them I was getting it for a friend (true) and they had no problems with it whatever. And the Sumika I went to didn't have any problems with my coming in with 6 orders of FCS (obviously they weren't mine). However, since one of the people I did this for scammed me of half of her FCS price, I certainly won't be doing this again.

I think so long as you don't walk into the LA Volks with 6 orders, and have it sent to your own address (re-mailing it isn't that expensive after all) there shouldn't be much of a problem.

Of course, I am all for buying a plane ticket to Kyoto and having a wonderful experience to go with your new darling. Every time you see your doll you will have your fond memories of Kyoto (which is a gorgeous city and worth visiting on its own) as well as the Tenshi no Sato experience which is extremely hard to describe.

H

 

Everyone must remember this too, your not placing an order for a doll, your adopting a child. That's how volks sees it.

I plan to take the train from FL to CA and place my order then for a graduation present to myself! >^^< Though I've heard of to many stories of people getting the wrong things when ordering from anyone off DoA, even Aimee.

Though maybe we should hope that Volks can grow and perhaps put more stores in other countries and what have you.

~suppi

 

see now how they are acting about this fcs thing makes me not even want to considder anymore volks dolls. yea they are beautiful and i love them and all, but this is the age of the internet they kinda need to get with the times and make this more avalible to people...... thats kinda ridiculous they wont let anyone place an order for them aside from the person the doll is for. thats kinda that elilitist mentality i dont like about volks.

 

I really think, and most people posting seem to agree, it's more about quality control than elitism.

 

That's great and all, but that has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. If you want to complain about how Volks is teh suxx0r, you're better off doing so in a blog or something. Comments like this only serve to have the thread locked.

No offense.

 

Yes, please, enough with the anti-Volks sentiment. They don't do this specifically to piss you off as an individual or to be 'elitist', but so it will come out right. :-/

(And if you're getting such high fares, Rynn, you're not looking far enough in advance! You don't book flights the day before you take them. ^_^;;; Leaving September 29th and coming back October 1st it'd be $481 for the plane fair from the Greenville/Spartanburg airport to LAX. If you were willing to go to Charlotte it'd be $252 from there to LAX.)

 

That and I think they are having a hard enough time keeping up with current FCS orders as they are now. If they opened it on the internet I think they would be overwhelmed. They aren't ready for it. Maybe they'll never be ready for it. People seem to forget that despite being a well-known BJD company, they are essentially still a pretty small company.

 

So a month or two in advance, huh? Ok, I must have been doing it too soon to that day's date.

 

You know what? Ask someone who's done an LA FCS order for a copy of their order sheet. Think about how you would fill it out. Send to friend. It'll work. Everything I specified went on that sheet, so it gives a very good idea of what's on the makeup portion. And everything else can be picked out ahead of time from websites about FCS.

I don't think it's as hard as Volks makes it sound. They keep pressing the "it's your special special angel" angle. Too bad your special angel can't fly you to LA for free.

 

Actually, the FCS process is more difficult than just filling in a sheet with what you want.

What you don't understand is, the faceup artist needs to understand your order - and the Volks employee must fill out your order in a way that will be translated properly. This means that throughout the entire faceup procedure you will be asked time and time again to clarify or explain to make sure that the faceup artist will understand what you want 100%.
I've got a ton of OCs. Even people I've RP'd them with for years don't understand the vision in my head. If it's you giving the FCS order, you can be sure that your doll will come out looking exactly the way you want.

 

I'd like to add to idrisfynn's argument - anyone who's seen any part of the 'welcoming ceremony' offered to Volks owners and their dolls should have no trouble believing that Volks as a company truely believes these dolls are special - special enough to warrent a plane trip to LA or Japan.

 

I have a question:
Will Volks allow a person to order a FCS for someone else if is a FCS doll without make-up OR with a volks default make-up?

 

OT, but I just wanted to reply to this. Not everyone in every hobby (goodness, especially this one) is rich, or can actually afford to pay for their own hobby. In fact, some of the people in this particular hobby appear to either live off of their spouse's earnings, or their parents' earnings (either by getting money from them to pay for their dolls, or by living with them and only using their own money for dolls and not bills, etc.).

A lot of people don't live that way; a lot of people are college kids (who buy dolls with their extra loan money or who buy the most inexpensive dolls they can) or they are full-time working peoples who use their entire checks for food and rent, and only get $50-$100 per month for doll/hobby spendage. :/

To be honest, the only reason I have my girls is because of one person's kindness and because of a little thing called 'Paypal Buyer's Credit.'

And really, $500 for a doll is a LOT too, not just the $1,000 for the plane ticket. @_@ But really; it's either $950 to get someone to go to Sato for you, or it would be a total of $1,800+ to go order the doll at Sato/LA yourself - most people would say, 'DUH, I'll spend the $950!'

For me, a roundtrip ticket, hotel, and rental car to LA would cost: $400 per person
Then you have to factor in food: Two days worth, and assuming you get fast food the whole time, it's about $50 per person
And parking fees: God knows in LA, probably $30 per night

And, well, that's assuming that nothing goes wrong with the booking, and that's probably without tax (which would most likely be another $100).

I'd, personally, be bringing my husband along with me; so my total for going to LA, including one SD boy doll (I dunno how much exactly they are, so I'll just guess $1,000): $2,060 >.>; That's included the guess at taxes, which would actually probably be more, and prices were taken from Orbitz.com using the least expensive flight, hotel, and car rental bundle.

With $2,000, I could get my dream girl, and two boys (all SD sized, mind you) of the non-FCS (possibly non-Volks) types; or I could get 2 FCS SD's; or probably 2 FCS MSD's and an FCS SD; I think you can see where this leads..

I DEFINATELY agree that FCS is a special thing, something that I would love to be able to go and do; but when I can get more dolls versus one trip for ONE doll, that's when I say, 'Sorry, Volks, maybe someday.' ;_; Especially since I'd have to save up probably for two years just to have the $2,000 to fly over there; for one doll - until the day they put the actual SD Ken/Mika or SD Jun T. heads and swarriko legs into the FCS, it's just not going to happen for me.

Granted, my husband does want to go to Japan one day. When we save enough to go, I'm definately going to be either buying a doll from them, or ordering an FCS from Sato, so long as it can be shipped to me. >.>; 'Cause I won't be able to afford to go back for one day to bring it home. @_@;;;;;;

 

I filled out an FCS order. So yes, I know what it's like. And I was rather surprised. I just don't think it's as detailed as a lot of people make it out to be. The makeup is the only part which requires a lot of detail, and yet it's still all communicated verbally. Makeup requests are noted by the Volks employee making black pen marks on a blank dollfie head drawing. Volks doesn't have so much as color swatches at the store to help us out; I have to hope that my idea of what "peachy pink" is is the same as that of all the people who are involved in the making of my doll. Heck, even after FCS, I still have no idea what my doll will look like, exactly. (It didn't help that they didn't have a wig in both the same style and color I wanted to see, so I had to use my imagination. o_O)

I guess it depends on the client. If one is willing to take the chance of what a faceup will look like when ordering from a site like Luts or Dollmore, one is willing to accept a few details being off after using a buying service. I'm all for it being an option.

 

Those of you who have problems or questions should email Volks and let them know that there isn't any way you can travel across the country to order your dream doll. Ask them very nicely if you can have your friend order it for you. If they realize that someone isn't scamming, then they will probably say yes. I can't imagine why they wouldn't allow you to if you asked ahead of time.

 

And that's why you take pictures and colour swatches yourself in advance. I've done quite a few FCS orders for friends, and I learnt that the more specific you are, both with description and pictures, the more exact to your vision your FCS will be. So you take pictures and colour swatches with you, and then describe using those to aid the description, and you give the pictures to Volks to keep. It makes the makeup part of the ordering take awhile, but you get it right, and that's what counts. For all the FCS orders I did, Volks never disappointed a single customer's wishes -- in fact, I had a large number who said "I can't believe how perfectly right they got my vision!"

 

I felt the need to reply to this really quick to back up Cassiel; back when I ordered my Sato FCS Cassue, I sent along a couple pictures what I was looking for, and a small description of his personality.
He came back more than perfect, and I wouldn't change his face for the world. So I think it's just a matter of how specific you are during the order (because I'm sure they get orders where the owner has no clue what they want in a faceup, so they're used to taking generalized orders too).

 

My point was that the margin of error doesn't go up hugely for a third party filling out an order, so we actually agree here.

Ideally I wish they'd get one of those computer programs like some hairdressers have to give you haircut previews, so you could see what the doll will look like...

 

Why would they spend money on that when thousands of people are satisfied with their current system? Anyone who understands Volks face ups styles and quirks can predict how it will turn out. If they don't know a lot about Volks they can come here on DoA and look up FCS/Volks face ups or go to one of the several Volks guides in English on the internet now.

 

Adding to what Cassiel later responded...sort of... regarding sending proper info with an order..

I certainly understand the pride Volks takes in their dolls, and the desire they have for each doll to be absolutely perfect by the owner's standards. Frankly, I am thrilled they make every effort to not just satisfy their customers, but make them truly happy.

However, not all of us are idiots (referring to people who can't seem to order corrrectly); we know precisely what we want in a doll. I have ordered/purchased custom clothing for my dolls that was made to my specifications. When I commission someone for clothing I include fully detailed sketches, colors, and any other special details. Any item I have ever commissioned has come to me looking just as it did in my mind.

Considering too that I only commission seamstresses with superb abilities I can honestly parallel that with FCS. Volks is a remarkable company. Their artists are phenomenally talented. If photos, color samples, sketches, and/or the like are submitted with an order I have every confidence that a Volks artist can bring my doll to life the way I envision it.

Commenting on the costs of flights and dolls: I live in NY. Even 6 months out a flight would cost at least $400 for me (Orbitz middle of the week prices). Not only do I have to consider the cost of a plane ticket, I must also consider hotel costs. I will have to sleep and shower somewhere in CA. I suppose I could take my own food with me to cut out another expense, but a taxi or rental car would have to be factored in as well. My expenses are adding up quickly. How many days would I need to spend in CA? Hopefully no more than one.

So..... taking all this into account, I vote for letting someone order for me since I do not foresee online ordering becoming available. If Volks won't accept a signed waiver from me assuring them of my utmost faith in their abilities then my ordering friend will have to lie. I don't agree with lying, but my options are slim. The travel costs could buy me a completely separate doll they equate to so much (just trying to paint the picture), and therefore that is not an option for me.

I also vote for a No Returns policy.

 

Maybe you're not living that way, but it doesn't mean other people aren't. -_-; Okay, so I'm not so poor that I don't have running water, but only $10/month of my money goes to dolls - and that's to pay off the credit line, not to buy new things. The rest of my money is rent, food, car, furniture, and student loans. (NH's rent is pretty close to as horrid as SF's, except that our minimum wage is still $5.50/hour.)

Granted, when I'm eating nothing but rice and canned veggies it's because we bought something with our money other than food (like fronting $50 from our budget into paying for the deposit for a doll).

But honestly, I can't just 'pull large amounts of money out of someplace.' I wish I could, because then I could go to my girlfriend's wedding or pay off my paypal credit; but for me, it doesn't work that way. It's hard enough for me to save up $300, because then all sorts of expenses like to jump up and bite me - like suddenly being forced out of my home; so all the money I got from college went into savings and I wasn't able to buy anything for myself with the money.

Okay, now here's a defense for the younger ones: A lot of high school kids/younger aren't allowed (by law or parents) to make money; and a lot of parents won't give their kids any money even if they do chores, so how are you to expect them to 'pull large amounts of money out of someplace' when there's literally no way for them to make that money (especially for those who's parents don't particularly like their dolls).

If I had gotten into SD's in high school, I would NEVER have been able to buy any, or even be able to pay for any accessories other than cheap acrylic eyes. I couldn't get a job in the town I lived in, and when I was about to get a job, finally, my parents forbid me and locked me up in my house the rest of the year. I couldn't ask my parents to pay for a doll, because we could barely afford $100/month for food for the three of us (Ha, I spend about $200 a month on just two of us if I can afford it @_@;;;; ), there's absolutely no way they would or could have given me $900 for a doll, the most they ever spent on Christmas presents was $500 total.

Not to mention that no parent that I know of would pay for their kid to go to LA and get a doll; at least, my mom definately wouldn't have. When she can get food for more than a year for the amount of money it would take to fly me there and pay for a doll, I don't think it would ever be a possibility.

FCS is a grand thing, but it doesn't mean that it's actually a possibility for everyone in this hobby, and it doesn't mean that there aren't poverty level people in this hobby (heh, yea, I don't make much, but I work hard).

 

I just feel like Volks is making their dolls less and less accessable (there are very few standards, and now that FCS is so discouraged...). It makes me sad because even though the dolls coming out of Volks are gorgeous, fewer people are getting to experience their dolls. It's a matter of money and accessability, and I think though it's important to make the dolls special and unique, that shouldn't necessarily mean that you have to go to LA to order it, or can only order during certain ties.
I hope to get a FCS sometime in the future, but I'll have to place the order myself when I make it down to LA in the future, simple because I don't want to pay someone hundreds of dollars just to relay an order.

 

I'm sorry for the mix-up. I meant that those people who are genuinly in tough situations. ie: Sick, caring for the sick, out of the country. People who have no other choice but to either live without their dolls or have someone place the order for them. You could also state that with having a 3rd party handle it for you that you would wave the right to send your doll back. Don't say that the 3rd party is a shopping service or whatnot, but say that it's a friend of relative who will be handling it for you.

These are some of the sweetest and most passionate people in the world, so it's not like they aren't humans or are without hearts. They will see that there are exceptions and as long as there is an agreement before hand and it's obvious that someone isn't scamming then I see no reason why they wouldn't allow "friends" to order it for them. Especially when they won't be fearing that it'll turn out incorrectly.

 

Like numerous people have already said: Volks may not have the manpower to churn out doll after doll for everyone who has a credit card and internet service. They choose to focus on quality rather than quantity. At least, this is how I've interpreted their policy.

And perhaps you mean that FCS Ordering Services are discouraged, ashlyna? Not FCS itself. But aside from FCS, you may still order their other dolls for yourself.

And Lizzegirl, it is very easy for someone to walk into Volks and claim that they are ordering a FCS for someone who is a relative or sick, etc. But at the same time, Volks employees aren't going to grill a customer who they suspect is ordering a doll for someone else. It only becomes really suspicious if the same customer orders, say, six dolls at each visit every few weeks.

I'm just a little irritated and find some complaints hilarious. I think if you really want an FCS, then you won't let Volks policy stop you. I think someone who desperately wanted an FCS but understood that Volks FCS is only available through their Sumika or Sato stores would either put their money into a reputable FCS ordering service or find someone else who knows what theyre doing [knowledgeable of BJD dolls and the process] to order their FCS doll for them. And if you're going to have someone else order a doll for you, then make sure you find genuine FCS doll order forms, fill them out to your own specifications, include printouts of photos and examples of what you want [mainly when it comes to eyebrows, lips, and makeup]. I think someone who really did want a FCS doll wouldn't waste a lot of time complaining but work their way around the policy, come fully prepared, and get their doll any way they can.

Or maybe theyd just save up enough money to travel to the store and order the doll themselves.

 

I've done two FCS orders for myself. Both took an hour to take. And right now, it's taking Volks two months to "manufacture" my doll. Usually that's how long it takes unless it's over a holiday (a Christmas or New Year you normally have to add a month).

If you want an FCS doll, DoA has some very nice people that can get you one. Aimee, here on DoA is one of the fine FCS Sato buyers... she can get you one for a small fee.

Here is Aimee's for sale and information thread.

Sato sells the exact same dolls, in fact MORE OPTIONS (sunlight skin all year round, unlike LA that has a limited sun right now of the sunlight skin). If people want to buy one of Volks lovely dolls (and they are worth every penny) then go to Aimee or one of the other FCS buying services. I'm sure there are others (Cassiel, you do it too, right?).

If it's cheaper to come to the Torrance store, then come. I'm sure they would be more than happy to see you.

But as so many wonderful people have said already, Volks doesn't allow "buying services" or other people to come in and buy for others for numerous reasons.

+ Quality Issues
+ Scalper Issues
+ Quanity (if they opened it up online they probably couldn't handle the volumn)
+ The total "volks FCS experience"

How will Volks be able to tell the difference between, "I am buying this doll for my `friend'" when in reality it is some sclapper... yet again.

The details on a FCS are incrediable depending on the type of doll: skin type, hand type, feet type, leg length, color of wig, style of wig, color of lashes, body type, and then you get to explain the personality of the doll to them after you show them make up. Because the personality matters.

It is the entire experience that you are buying, and frankly, you better get something for that $1000+ for a SD13, right? Hey, you are creating a little bundle of joy and it should be the ULTIMATE doll. They want to get it right! How many doll company's that you know care THAT much about it? I can only think of one other doll company that does, and her dolls take two months minimum to get... and people scream and scream for her little b-boys. (No comment on that.)

BTW, you CAN get a FCS with no make up. You don't get any sort of discount. I think someone asked down the thread.

I think someone else made a comment about trying to make these dolls easier to buy for the public. I'm going to sound like an old fart now, but I remember over four years ago how the only way to get ANY doll was to fight for the ONE doll that would accidentally pop up on Ebay. I'm sorry, but nowadays we are so spoiled. You can go on the volks website and buy dolls! You can go on Ebay and buy dolls and DOLLS. There are over 40+ manufacturers of dolls alone. I remember when it was one and they only had like three models available and everyone was fighting to just get those. It is so much easier to get these dolls.

The buying services alone are SO Much better now than they used to. Volks can barely keep up with the demand they have, or so it seems when they have to lottery off their dolls, I think they are making these dolls as "available" as they can.

Hopefully I don't sound rude, but just because LA doesn't do it... really isn't the end of the world. We have options. People just have to use them or not use them. Up to them if they want to, as always.

So, if you have a cousin, friend, whomever that is going to buy a doll for you and you insist on going through LA, just have them prepared with every detail imaginable (pictures are perfect, even pictures of people will work). Personally, I would go through Aimee. She knows what she's doing, she can get the paperwork done, and there shouldn't be any screw ups. But that's just me.

And I apologize... hopefully this didn't go off topic or sound rude. I just kept seeing the same information and no one really pointed out the links to the buying services.

Good luck everyone!

--Mercy

 

That pretty much sums it up. We all make our choices based on what we are or are not willing to do.

For those in other countries who want to travel to LA, I am happy to receive boxes and forward them on their way to you.

Lisa

 

Ahh (^^)''' that is soo true (at least for me)!

I've been thinking about how I would like my FCS boy to be for at least 3-4 years before I was able to sit down in a sumika to order him. I thought I knew what I wanted since I had been thinking about it for so long, but there were so many decisions to be made. I was trying to be quick but ended up taking one and a half hours to complete my order .

I really feel bad that people are having trouble getting their FCS. However, if people are giving up on getting one completely, then I don't think they want one enough (+_+)'''.

If the sato shopping service fee costs less than the plane ticket and hotel fees then I don't see a problem in saving up for one. Just hang in there guys!