Major Problem with Demon Garden

She should have done as the rest and taken box opening pics! Haha Just kidding. Really their service was phenomenal when I bought mine, and it looks like a shipping error INDEED, from the cram and the crack, no one would do that BEFORE hand. Dont know the measures to take there but!

 

I would simply suggest that anyone who really wants to know how the law works in this area (or any other legal area) consult a qualified attorney. Most of the legal discussion posted on these boards is at best an oversimplification and at worst incorrect. For various reasons I'm not at liberty to engage in discussions of it except to say "call an actual lawyer."

 

I'm glad they posted a sale in news, and that there was a link to this thread added to it, because I might not have read this otherwise. I absolutely love one of their sculpts, and their prices are great, but I absolutely will not buy from them after finding out how horribly they've treated one of their customers. I was iffy anyway based on the fact that they were banned for excessive advertising and spam, but this sealed my decision.

I hope everything is resolved for Strawberry as quickly as possible. What a horrible way to begin this hobby!

 

What I don't get is why they're not willing, even now, knowing how much their behaviour has damaged their reputation, to fix the situation. All it would take was a "sorry, we overreacted, we will exchange the head (something that would cost them what? 80 dollars?)."

It would make a lot of people more willing to buy from them again. Like the situation is now, I will make sure to stay away from their dolls, unless it's on the DoA market place.

 

I was also eyeing one of their bodies for my planned Leeke Min hybrid, but no longer. It's rude enough to accuse a customer of being a liar; it's another entirely then to tell a total stranger and someone not involved directly in the situation that the customer is a liar.

"Look how mean she's being to us!" is a very, very juvenile response for a company.

 

I doubt it would even cost them $80. BJDs are hugely marked-up from the manufacturing cost especially ones coming from China, all you have to do is look at what the prices people in China are charged compared to the overseas price.

Just as an example, if you are buying a DZ Orlando (SD size doll) from http://www.edendoll.com/ you will pay $420 USD if you live outside of China. If you are in China or Hong Kong you will pay 2,000 HKD which is actually closer to $257.75 USD (via www.xe.com). That's one heck of a mark-up. So if they are selling them that cheap in China and are still able to make a profit the actual cost has to be pretty low.

 

Count me in as one that had never heard of the company before this and will now NEVER order from them and will be certain to not recommend them to others!

strawberrysodaz You have my sympathies and all the good vibes I can muster for a speedy resolution!

 

WOW! This is awful! Another company that just doesn't get it! This isn't about the dolls, it's about their customer service and how they've treated Stawberry. Stawberry hasn't done anything but ask for advise. Demon Garden has no one to blame for their so-called "reputation" going south except themselves and their own poor behavior and attitude. I know if I have a BJD problem, this forum is the first place I am going to go to ask for help and advice. No company has a right to dictate to me that I can't ask for help on this fourm! (The nerve!) This is a very close-knit community, and one member's problems are easily everybody's problems!

I can't believe such ill treatment from a new company! I think their dolls are lovely, but after this kind of rude behavior towards Stawberry, Demon Garden can forget my patronage. Demon Garden get a clue!!!

I do feel sorry for Stawberry. This was her first doll, which should have been such a happy and wonderful experience. And, instead it's turned into such a mess. Stawberry you have my sincere wishes that everything works out for you.

 

I too am one of the people who will not buy from Demon Garden after reading through this whole thread. This is no way for a company to act.

Strawberry; I really hope this can get at least somewhat sorted out for you asap.

 

What I find to be the most unprofessional thing that Demon Garden has done was to provide Strawberry's real name to a complete stranger on the internet! What a huge privacy breach!

 

Has there been an update with either a resolution or another decision on the part of Demon Garden?

 

^--- I second this question. Has Demon Garden realized their mistake from the last couple of emails and tried to salvage the situation at all?

Regardless of the outcome, though, I hope that Strawberry isn't completely turned off by the hobby and that a new doll will come along that's even more perfect than Beau.

 

wow. to think i was just looking at getting a Beau. after reading through this, DG is on my "no-no" list. shame they treated a customer as poorly as they did, their dolls had potenial to be wonderful. well Good luck to you dear. i hope everything works out in your favor.

 

As long as you point out that you are not a lawyer and it's not official legal advice, it's fine to discuss legal things as concepts, which is all we're doing. I've worked for enough lawyers in different fields to know. I understand that you may think you're limited and you ARE when you could be construed as giving advice, but concept discussion is by no means limited "liberty" in any way.

 

I've said my piece, and you've said yours. I prefer to leave it at that, thank you.

 

Yes, I hope strawberrysodaz will continue to update us on this situation. If Demon Garden shows that they are willing to salvage the situation and work with her on this, it would go a long way towards making me feel better about possibly buying from them in the future. I would consider buying a body - the heads seem to have some kind of engineering design defect, but the bodies have gotten good reviews for resin matching with AiL heads, among other things, and I am usually willing to give a company a second chance. However, I do not feel comfortable about giving this company my money, even though a middleman, until this situation reaches some sort of amicable resolution. I keep checking back to see if things have progressed down any sort of positive path or more facts come to light. Please keep us posted.

 

What a mess :\ This is so disappointing, I'm so sorry Strawberry!

DG needs to pull their heads out of their butts and hire a new customer service person. This is disgusting.

 

Just so that DG doesn't take up the "Customs damaged it" as an excuse- if Australian Customs open anything they close it again with special tape, if I recall bright yellow, saying "opened by Customs", and usually a little pamphlet inside giving you a little lecture about what you can and can't import . Strawberry said that the box hadn't been opened by them, so it's not Customs fault.
Dont want to give DG more ammo to shoot themselves in the foot with.
I just feel so awful for Strawberry, it must be a terrible experience for her.

 

opheliafrump - well they don't give us anything here like a pamphlet, but it's VERY apparent if customs has opened the package.

 

I have to say I mail packages all the time, insured for the full amount over seas and have overseas packages mailed to me all the time and haven't had customs open anything I've ever sent or received. I'm in the US ans I don't know how other countries are but do they check every package for customs or is it just ones that "look suspicious"?

 

I was thinking about buying from them, not anymore.

Even if the photos are slightly blurry, I knew that there was something seriously wrong with those images.

Strawberrysodaz - I do hope everything works itself out.

 

As far as packages in The States goes, it also depends on which port of unloading it comes in. Different EMS centers will process packages different.

Having spoken with an EMS manager -and I don't mean the mailman, I mean the guys in charge of packages unloading at major airports -I was told that customs generally aren't interested in packages $350 or under. If strawberrysodaz package was only marked $10, there's hardly a chance customs would've wanted to inspect it.

Of course, it also depends on how the package is marked.

TSA alerts at the time also matters.

I imagine every once in a while they do a random check when TSA is on high alert, but as mentioned before -they will stick a tape on there that is clearly marked something like "Inspected by Customs Clearance."

 

What a terrible experience. I hope things get resolved for you soon, Strawberry. I hope you aren't discouraged with this hobby. I'm rooting for ya~

 

This has also dissuaded me from considering Demon Garden as a 'body source' for my Luts Wintery head. Considering my good experience from Luts, I'm pretty sure I will now return to the source for the body for my poor little head.

The first doll I ordered was a Judith Frost Annette for my best friend, and we jumped around and were horribly excited when she showed up. Took box-opening pics with her birthday present, which _thank goodness_ was a pretty awesome camera from Canon with excellent lenses. Because the Annette's right lower leg was cracked at the top, just a chip, but not one that was easy to repair, from what I was told here.

This was the first bjd either of us had seen, and we did exactly what you did: went to the DoA board and posted about this. I also sent an email to Luts, but didn't hear back from them (noting the recent post on their main page, I now realize their mail's probably been broken forever, whoops!).

Then everyone was like, 'tell them' and aha, there's a Q&A board, and I posted to them. They replied that they needed me to send a picture, and they'd seen my posting on DoA and that I should've gone to them first. I felt so badly, I didn't know any dollie ettiquite about this, so I apologized and sent them the pictures we'd taken at the box opening, my friend's the one who took them and they were quite clear/awesome, for which I was grateful.

And Luts said it had to have happened in shipping. She was, I will say, incredibly well-packed with shipping, but it's entirely possible that things happen. But they also said they would replace the leg, which I thought was quite awesome of them, and this agreement was not 'send us the leg and we'll determine' it was 'send us the leg and we'll send a replacement'. So I got to send the leg back, and another was sent out--with an incredible wig as a gift, and a refund of the shipping costs!

(Incidentally, Luts' gift is still my friend's fave wig for Odette, her doll, so it was doubly appreciated, I do have to say )

Now, to my mind, this was awesome customer service. They were communicative and great every step of the way, the new wig made me cry, and I've felt much more comfortable sending gobs of money their way for clothes and the like since then. But Luts is way more established than a company like Demon Garden. I don't know, are they more established because of their good customer service, or they have good customer service because they're well-established?

Anyway, I was told once in a previous job that was customer-service oriented that if a customer has a good experience, they on average tell 4 people about it. If they have a bad experience, they will on average tell 20 people about it. With the internet, I think this number may be horribly skewed, but maybe not. I see in the Buying/Shipping Qs and Advice board the two threads that are 10K+ are this one and another one about problem dolls. We are inclined as a group to learn about things we want to avoid, to listen to the 'horror story' experience, which means, IMO, Demon Garden needs to look a lot closer to home for the 'responsible party' for this kind of publicity.

.hlp

 

Judging by the responses so far, this company has lost several sales from the publicity. They could have replaced the doll by now and been done. One doll as a loss. Now they have a stain to their reputation. It is horrifying that someone would have a first time bjd experience like this. I highly recommend Bobobie as a comparably priced company with great dolls and good service. Of course, it all comes down to subjective taste in dolls too.

 

I'm quite distressed reading everything DG has done and you can certainly add me to the list of peeps never to buy their products, which is quite very sad because I'm sincerely in love with their head sculpts and think the bodies looked awesome...

Also, has anyone else noticed the exchange rate for one of these dolls? Cuz I assume it's almost (or is) $400 aud, which is NOT cheap. To think she would damage something that costs that much, within seven HOURS of the box being delivered (not opening it, just DELIVERING) and then ask for a REPLACEMENT to somehow scam the company? My god, at least apply some logic to your reasoning Demon Garden.

Demon Garden: You could have avoided this whole mess by sending a new head. You would not have even NEEDED to send a headcap if you are that stingy. But you didn't. You just became immature and buried your head in the sand. For Shame.

OP, I seriously hope this doesn't turn you off the hobby. you probably could always haunt the marketplace for a floating head or something :/

 

Actually Luts has had some customer service "issues" in the past - I'm sure you could dig up the old threads so I won't rehash them here. In particular they've had a couple of reps who seemed less than helpful. BUT it also seems like they quickly took steps to replace the person or train someone else and in general address the problem. I made two separate purchases from Luts within a six-month time frame and I noticed a very definite improvement in the service. So, I'm happy to buy from them. You can't expect a company to never have a problem, I'm just interested in whether they care about fixing it when it happens or whether they continue to blame it on the customer.

 

Lets see, by my count...that's 17 lost sells, due to their actions. Me included in the count.
I was thinking of getting one after i get my rao, but not now, I'll just go back to aod or bobobie.
It seems to me like this is just a company that wanted in on the cash cow called "Ball joint dolls" and their not in it for the dolls, just money.
We want a company that cares about the dolls, not just money.

I'm so sorry strawberry, there is no excuse for the way they have acted. Not all company's are like this.
My dad works for a big company that makes freezers for labs all around, and if a costomer says something is wrong with the freezer, the company takes it back and gives them a new one, and these freezers are not cheap to make. But it's better to take the loss of a few hundred than to have a bad sell on your hands. Labs have to have alot of the freezers for stuff, so if one is bad and isn't fixed the lab will never buy from them again and could tell others.
My dad's company takes alot more of a loss, than Demon Garden would take in sending strawberry a new head, or even body.
It's just shows that china does things different from the USA or other English speaking countries.

 

Hearing about bad customer service from a company makes me wince.
While In china they may have different business practices, but how could they expect to have a successful international business if they won't respect the Western code of conduct for customer service?

In my opinion, They should just sell in their Home country only if they are going to be so rude and unresponsive to western buyers.
Bann them from DoA I'd say.

 

Oh, Kyoko, I think it's going to be way more than 17 in lost sales. This thread has had over 16,000 hits, and believe me the people who did not post are going to remember the information in this thread, and shy away from a company that has such deplorable customer service practices.

If Demon Garden wants to save face, they should ship Stawberry a new head immediately with an apology!

 

Strawberry, honey, I am sorry this is happening and I'll check back here frequently. I am glad you have people near by that will help you in this. I recommend talking to your credit card company and seeing what they have to say. Documentation is key, get a nice camera, and then send duplicates of everything not only to them but to your credit card company. I think part of this may be because the member was banned and its a little residual sour grapes when they saw you turning to us for help. While I disagree with how they have handled this, I can understand that they are human.

Write them a concise letter with crystal clear photos and ask them that if you return the item, if they can write and sign a letter regarding this transaction.

*Send the doll back only after you take no less than twenty good photos,
*then bide your time.
*If it is not addressed, file fraud. if they do not return the doll nor your money, then it is fraud and you have rights. I worked for a bank and I had to deal with this quite a lot.
*Also, place a confirmation of receipt tag on it, and
*tell them that they have 10 business days from receiving the item to make their clear and informed decision and provide a tracking number back to the states before you file fraud.

 

Yeah, your right, far more. And after all strawberry's been through, shipping had better be free. To and from!

 

One of my LJ friends got a DG Beau and I was so amazed by how adorable he was! The body seemed amazing for the price also... but with this, I wouldn't buy from DG ever. It really does seem like the "evil-customer-service" virus is going around this season.

So yeah, add another lost customer to the tally.

 

If something goes wrong and a part is broken, you have to be sure the company will replace the part. There is no point in ordering from the company. Everytime a hand or a leg gets broken, and you can't get a replacement, it's just not worth the risk.

I also really wanted a body. But I won't spend money on a company that refuses to send out replacement parts for broken dolls.

 

Yes, they're actually better than paypal. They're quicker as well, just contact Visa/Mastercard services with your bank and explain what has happened.

 

I am sorry to read about the problems you had with Demon Garden. I do think that it really is rude of them to be like that with you.

I do think a majority of this problem was a language barrier thing, the first few posts didn't seem as I felt she was making them out to be while reading back through this. Yes once they get into accusing her about this thread is definitely when I am on the customers side with this one. Yeah there is a language barrier and different countries have different opinions about customer service but personally working in a job where it's like 'do whatever you have to to make the customer happy' i am appalled by the later customer service. Refusing to refund the customer just because she made this thread asking for help and opinions is ridiculous.

I personally don't want to deal with the company itself after reading this

However!

If you do indeed like the companies dolls don't let their behavior deter you from getting the dolls. As stated before elisa_maza had a much nicer experience with Happyhouse (link to happyhouse site). If I liked the DG dolls enough I myself would probably work on getting the doll through HappyHouse, rather than just resorting to not getting the doll.

 

Exactly. If we crucify every company that ever does one transaction wrong... we wont have anyone to buy from.

However wrong this is, which it is, I had a great transaction and the customer service was phenomenal when I got mine.

My Basil is so handsome, too. And the bods are great for the price. Hey, people still go to Jalapenos in Scottsdale, even though their service is beyond horrible. Every time.

I urge you to make the decision without bias, because, as I said, ALL doll companies have had one bad transaction (At least) and a few of us had great experiences with DG. Is it worth the risk to you? If you go through a reliable seller like happyhouse, you will probably have less risk. Of all the people who have bought theirs, there is only one bad transaction.

However, I am not justifying what they did. It disgusts me that they didnt own up. IF you send him back, take VIDEO of the packaging and the sending THERE at the post office. Or, dispute with your credit card if you can. I would, if it was me.

 

As you say, everyone makes mistakes. It's just a matter of time before the superbest company goofs up.
A company's mettle isn't tested by being perfect, it's tested by how they handle their mistakes.

A good company makes no bones about correcting a mistake, and they do so without undue delay and politely.
A bad company does the DemonGarden thing.

I have encountered problems in transactions with very respected companies such as Volks and Leeke. They behaved very well, and I happily buy from them again and again.

Indeed!

 

Has there been an update to this? It's been a few days and I'm interested to know whether a Paypal/ CC claim was filed, whether Demon Garden took any action, or whether there are any new developments.

 

here ya go

 

Thank you, sorry I missed that but it gets hard to root through the thread.

Good luck with the credit card claim. I wish Paypal cared more about transactions other than eBay, one of these years customer outcry will force them to do so.

 

This is horrible! I am so sorry this had to happen to you Strawberry. Especially for your first doll.
I had a few problems with my first, but the company was very polite and fixed everything. No questions asked, just a few photos.

I wish you luck, and will be keeping a close eye on how this turns out.
Put my name, on the no buy list.

 

The issue for me is not that Demon Garden screwed up or the courier somewhere damaged the doll, the issue is that Demon Garden continues to blame strawberysodaz. I fully support them in wanting better pictures, and a chance to examine the doll themselves, but the accusations of lying and purposeful damage completely eradicated any desire I might have to give them a penny of my hard earned money. Even a reliable dealer as a middleman can't change the sour taste in my belly over this.

 

I have to agree with this. Nothing can justify the horrible way in which they handled the situation with strawberrysodaz. Even if you go through a better "middle man" like HappyHouse, it's still money and support going to Demon Garden... and that makes me throw up in the mouth.

 

Wow. I think DG's mistake here was getting angry about the postings on DoA rather than using their heads and thinking, "Gee, maybe we better replace her doll so she'll post nice things about us in the future and we won't continue to get reamed on that forum." No matter what their reasons are, good business sense would suggest it's time to take a small loss rather than suffer continued bad press.

 

Good luck hun! I hope everything works out.

 

you've got a plan and you know what you need to do. *hugs* hope it all works out! stand firm.

 

Good going honey, tape photos on a piece of paper to fax them -snuggles- don't you worry!

 

*raises hand* I'm one of those 16,000 lol. I've been following this thread and made a decision to never buy from them ever just based on their attitude and customer service. I don't care how beautiful their dolls are, if the people behind the dolls are this way, I want nothing to do with them.

Good luck strawberrysodaz!

 

Was just ready to place and order for a D&G doll and decided to check out DOA before ordering to read any feedback and came upon this thread...well I am another lost customer for them. For sure.

 

I'll tell you this, I'm going to point everyone who wants a Demon Garden doll right to this thread Or at least give a slight overview. God, way to lose tons of customers!

I have to say, I was a little wary about the company from the beginning (wow, call it intuition?) but this is seriously appalling. Especially for a new company, you'd think they'd like to make a good name for themselves.

I really hope that this doesn't discourage you from the hobby! It's impossible for me to think that this will go unresolved, and don't count this little mishap as your first doll! (seriously, I'd be crying at this point) There are some lovely doll companies out there that have MUCH better customer service and really care about your happiness I hope everything gets resolved and your perfect doll comes home to you without any spite or bad feelings!

Well... at least you're a martyr and people are seriously rethinking buying from them anymore XD

I wish you the best of luck!

 

Count me in as one of those who will no longer consider buying from Demon Garden. This is so awful, especially for a first doll. I really hope you get this all sorted out, and then find a new lovely doll. ^^ You deserve it!

 

I'm doing the same thing. If anyone I know tells me they're thinking about getting a Demon Garden doll, this thread'll be the first thing I show them.

 

Yes, please don't be discouraged from getting another doll elsewhere in the future. I got a doll from Soom, and the foot and leg were broken, but they sent me new pieces at no charge, and they did not question me at all about it. I did send pics right away, and they weren't great, but they still believed me, and never put the blame on me. They were never rude. They took care of it. So even though things do occasionally go wrong, not every company is as rude as the one you bought from. Good luck on getting this resolved, and having a better experience in the future.

 

Wow, I'm sorry your having so much trouble with DG, Strawberrysodaz. It's such a shame and I hope this whole thing sorts itself out to your satisfaction.
I have a DG Basil, who only arrived just over a week ago, but was damaged in the post. Thankfully nowhere near as severely, he'd only lost a couple of fingers, but DG were nice as pie and sent me new hands really quickly (I paid shipping, but it wasn't much). Mine really had been treated like crap in the post, his box had split inside the packaging because of a really hard corner impact at some point en route (dropped from the fusilage of a plane onto the runway by the looks of it), and it fell apart as I unpacked him. After seeing your pics I'm really greatful to whatever gods happen to be passing that he made it fairly unscathed.

 

I think i have just sat and read this whole thing from start to finish & must say how sad i am for Strawberry to have to go through all of this, especially with a first doll!
Not only did your long-awaited friend arrived damaged you are now being blamed, questioned, and having to go through what sounds like an awful lot of trouble to prove that you have not just abused your boy on his first day ay home! What awfulness...
I have seen other peoples DG dolls before & thought some were quite pretty, but with customer service like that i wouldn't even consider bringing one home with me; this has been quite an eye-opener.

Good luck with everything Strawberry- i hope it works out!
& i agree, don't be discouraged away from other companies

 

AOD was wonderful to me, also Denver Dolls Emporium was GREAT to me. 9 e-mails and i was just shopping around! She even helped me come up with some names for an upcoming dolly.

 

Wow, what an awful experience! Count me out as a customer, too. I really hope this works out for you! We're all behind you.