As you may have heard, Elfdoll has unceremoniously, and rudely, cut off its retailers.
Phrases such as "biting the hand that feeds you" and "cutting off your nose to spite your face" come to mind. Unfortunately, by the time the director of Elfdoll figures out that cutting off its retailers was the wrong thing to do, it may be too late for recovery. And the director may never actually admit she was wrong.
This latest in a series of what I see as bad decision-making on Elfdoll's part may be the one that sounds the death knell. Many, many people don't want to buy directly from Elfdoll's site for various reasons. I am now one of them.
Elfdoll doesn't currently offer layaway, but if it wants to survive, it had better start doing so, pronto. However, that won't appease the folks who want to actually see the dolls in person before making such a substantial financial investment. Nor should it. A large part of the reason Elfdoll has made it this far is precisely because of its retailers. The retailers made possible seeing the dolls in their resin glory before purchase. They offered layaway and helped with troubleshooting doll misfunctions. They interfaced with Elfdoll to get replacement parts when needed. They hosted BJD meet-ups so people could share their doll creations, and newbies could join in. They generated a lot of positive buzz for Elfdoll while not making a whole lot of profit.
Don't blame Rainman for this or for Elfdoll's rude putdown of Ms. Cholong on its website. He has been freelancing for the company the last several months, and doesn't have much if any say in day to day operations. The responsibility for these decisions lies squarely with the director and her staff. They have not done themselves any favors by acting in such short-sighted and mean-spirited ways.
I love the BJDs made by Elfdoll, truly I do. I own several myself. But considering Elfdoll's recent actions, I won't be buying any more of its dolls. I don't wish to further support a company that treats the people who have spent so much time and energy promoting their products, like dirt. Elfdoll no longer deserves my business. I hope all of you will join me in not buying their dolls. Sometimes you just have to stand up for what is right, and hope you will be heard. I hope Elfdoll hears us, loud and clear.
I have been a big-time customer of Elfdoll- on their site and from various US retailers. Their dolls are the largest part of my bjd collection.
But.... no more.
There are plenty of doll companies out there who are delighted to take my money and I will be more than happy to swap to a different company so that I can use a US retailer but also so that I can give my hard-earned money to a company who doesn't treat its customers, retailers and employees/associates like crap!
vicki
Hey Kathy
I saw this on one of the doll boards and thought I'd share.
Here is just another example of a satified customer. (cough cough, NOT...)
Here is my 'favorite" quote from the Japanese dealer "...However, we must now ask that you look elsewhere for your hobby supplies."
..."
http://terrigoldphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/hobby-link-japan-bad-business-practices.html
Finding out about all of this has made me decide to never ever buy Elfdoll.
(Like other people I depend on layaway to get the dolls I want....anything else just would not be possible in this economy....if a doll company does not offer layaway, I do not buy from that company whether I want the doll or not)
I just bought an elfdoll head... Bad to hear it.. I just don't want to buy a body because it is really ugly in my opinion
(for that price!!)(sorry)
I want to ask you if you know if I could put my head on a different body, and if so witch ones? I was thinking about the Notadoll Lab Creations body, but I am not sure if the skin will be fine. Could you possibly know what kind of "brand body" I could buy? I have surched a lot online but It seems that a lot of people stop buying the elfdolls.
I hope you can help me I am desperate,
stephanie
How about the wonderful notion that you have to be a member of their site in order to buy? Oh, I neglected to mention that they state on the site that "We're sorry but we don't take any new members". Jeez, can you alienate your consumer pool any further Elfdoll?
Indeed! I was just trying to look up some past purchases for an inventory of all the stuff I've amassed and came across that message. Quite an amazing concept: a private doll business that takes no new members! Hope they have fun with themselves!