Company Reviews

[Min]

Hello, kind ladies and gents!


I thought it could be nice to have a thread dealing with company reviews, concerning their communication quality, service, shipping, and so on.

This would be helpful for anyone doing a little research, particularly those of us (especially me, hurr-durr, self-interest) who haven't had contact with that many companies.

Suggested information; company name, company location, English skills and speediness for communication, comments on service, production and shipping times, boxing (i.e. how the doll is prepared for shipping), general impression, quality of services (sanding/faceup/bodyblush, etc.) and anything else you want to share

[EDIT]: Of course, dealers and companies selling accessories are also welcome.

Speedy shipping? Helpful employees? Praise!
Botched faceups? Unresponsive to questions? Complain!


Hope this sits well with everyone!

(starting an unbidden thread is a little uncomfortable, like sitting down in someone's house without being asked to... *shiver*)

[Ruva]

Hi!

I'm new to the whole BJD world and just bought my first few dolls. I haven't received them yet so I'll only have a little information.

Companies: Makie Doll and DollShe

Makie Me

Makie Me is a company who lets you customize a base 10 inch ball joint doll. You can change color, eye size, shape, color, chin, cheeks, etc. Once you're satisfied with your Makie and want to make it real, your Makie will be made using 3D printers and mailed to you.

It's a UK Company located in London. Seeing as how they speak English communication was pretty easy. There was only one teensy problem. The mail service they usually use didn't deliver to my address. I got an email asking if there was an alternative address I wanted her sent or if they could use another service. I appreciated the heads up very much. Production time wasn't bad I think. Just one week from when I ordered, to when my Makie was shipped. I can't say anything on boxing or the actual product since it hasn't arrived yet. So my general impression of them so far has been good.

DollShe

DollShe was established in 2003 they are located in South Korea. From what I've read they're an old and much loved company, pioneers of extra large ball jointed dolls. They were first company to develop the 70 cm doll I believe. I bought my first doll from them. At the time they were having a promotional discount event on their new doll Grant Phillippe, so I decided to order him on layaway. It being my first time ordering a doll, I had a lot of questions to make sure I didn't make any mistakes ordering. Response time for a question was about 2-3days. I think they go through questions every few days, response time depends when in their cycle you make the question. To my relief, the person answering my question wrote in good clear English.

Not too long after they had another promotional event for another new doll Aramis. I couldn't resist and put him on layaway too. I made a mistake when ordering and accidentally ordered two heads. I wouldn't have even known if DollShe hadn't emailed me asking if I was sure I wanted the two heads to both be in the same color. I explained the issue and DollShe was very understanding and adjusted my order and the corresponding price to the correct amount. Looking back on it they could have ignored the slight oddness of my order. I don't know if that's normal for doll companies but it definitely shows they've got their customer's interests in mind. I'll update with my thoughts on packaging and production time when I get my dolls.

[Min]

ResinSoul

Location: Shenzhen, China
Communication: Really rather good, no misunderstandings. Professional and relatively quick replies to questions (a day or two, depending on what time of day it was sent), with helpful answers.
Product quality: ResinSoul dolls are great. No specks, no sanding marks, no seamlines, no gaps in the headcap. Blastin' value for money. After two years, one of my dolls (in white skin, no less) is still flawless.

Comments: Nice and friendly with quick service. Though the pictures on their website are few and not very flattering for their dolls, they're happy to take extra pictures for you if you ask them. They're also happy to take orders by email, like custom orders with matchups between different heads and bodies, as well as parts not listed separately on the website.
Some may think their faceups are bland, and they are. They're very light, subtle, pretty natural-looking and of pretty okay quality. They're good if you want your doll to be versatile in style and color, and a faceup is only $10 - which means you don't have to feel bad if you decide to take it off . In preparation for shipping, the doll is put in a protective plastic bag, wrapped in a cushion, zipped up in an individual carrying case and then shipped in a regular, plain brown box with "RS" printed on top. In my experience, production time is about a month or less.


Alice's Collections

Location: China (though orders of Souldoll are shipped from Korea)
Communication: Wonderful. Quick, helpful and with excellent English.
Product quality: Good, same as others (guess most dealers get their items from the same sources). Nothing to complain about here.

Comments: They deal for a lot of companies and have a smaller selection of wigs and shoes, as well as a good selection of eyes. Communication is very friendly and polite, which makes them a pleasure to deal with if you have any questions


Dollmore

Location: Seoul, South Korea
Communication: Good. Moderate English skills, possibility for misunderstandings because of language. I'd recommend avoiding unnecessarily fancy or unusual words, to make yourself easier to understand.
Product quality: So far, so good. I got some small things as well as a few of their little pink, house-brand eye cases, which are awesome.

Comments: Amazing selection. Apart from the plethora of dolls, there's a flood of clothes, accessories, furniture, tools and materials for customizing, etc. Ships with EMS (at least to Europe and the US), which is pretty expensive, and cost seems to dependent on weight.


Angelesque

Location: Cambridgeshire, UK
Communication: Very friendly and helpful. Excellent English, obviously.
Product quality: Good! Bought a dang lovely wig that's to die for.

Comments: Friendly, trustworthy dealer for a good selection of companies. Offers clothes, shoes, wigs etc. as well as eyes and a selection of items for protection and maintenance like wig caps, s-hooks and elastic. Especially great if you're in Europe, considering times and costs for shipping. As long as you speak okay English, there's no language barrier to worry about. Quick shipping.

(PS: I shalt make the longest of posts in all the lands!)

[she_flame]

I also give praise to Angelesque! She's been wonderfully patient with all kinds of questions I've bugged her with.

Also, Min, you might be interested about dealer called Satonya, as they are too swedish (lower postages and easier communication).

I have no own experience dealing with Satonya, but my friend ordered Doll Chateau girl through them and all went fine.

[Min]

Also, Min, you might be interested about dealer called Satonya, as they are too swedish (lower postages and easier communication).

Nice, I had no idea. Thanks for the tip!

[OkamiKodomo]

I also would like to second the reviews left for ResinSoul, and add a bit to that. They are willing to do layaways, and they don't technically have a time limit, so long as payments are made in a timely fashion. According to Sun, most customers pay off their orders in three months or less, but they will accept longer time frames. They will sell any piece of any doll in any color, separately. Their turnaround time for orders is fantastic, so for those of you too impatient to wait more than two months, I highly recommend RS. It's also easy to find owner pictures of their sculpts, that aren't company photos, as those pics don't do their beautiful dolls any justice.

For My Doll
Website: http://www.formydoll.com/index.php
Products: FMD deals mostly in wigs, with a stellar selection of styles, and colors. The quality is on the upper level of mid-range. Not as nice as Monique wigs, but far nicer than Leeke. The wig caps are made to match the hair color, so they won't show, and the hair is thick, and fairly soft. They're a bit stubborn to style, but not impossible. They have a huge selection of in-stock wigs, and a pre-order section as well.
Shipping: They offer EMS shipping now, so it's only a few USD to ship a single wig to the USA, but of course, EMS does take a few weeks to reach its destination.