Elfdoll Feedback (ALL)

[Anwyn]

* What did you order?
Tinydoll Kai, outfit, eyes

* When did you order?
June 5, 2011

* How was the communication?
Not very good. It takes a while for them to respond to anything

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy via Paypal

* How long did it take to ship?
Finished my final layaway payment on Aug 31, 2011 and heard nothing from them about it for 3 weeks. After numerous attempts of contacting them, my Kai was finally shipped and arrived on Sept 30, 2011. (more details below)

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
This is complicated. I expected the complete package at $270 and in the end got a $240 doll. (more details below)

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Sorta. Didn't get everything I was expecting from the package.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
I'm satisfied with the doll as it is. She is very beautifully made. I'm not too happy with the process.

This order didn't come without problems. During my layaway, they changed the package items of the doll to only include the doll only without the wig and the outfit. The price of the package was dropped to $240 as a result, but I was still charged the original $270 for just the doll only. In addition, they did not include the outfit I ordered, but stuck in two free gifts, probably as a substitute. I do appreciate the gifts, but I would have preferred that they let me know about the outfit being out of stock instead of assuming that a free gift would be enough (I really wanted that outfit). I get that things change and I can totally understand the mishap with the price and package changing for the TinyDolls, but it's still disappointing nonetheless.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
I contacted them about the missing items and the extra charge and they responded in 4 days and "refunded" me for the missing items (by sending the money through PayPal as a separate transaction, and not an actual refund, so I was charged $2.50 in transaction fees for the "refund" by PayPal. Not a big deal, but kind of like throwing salt in the wound). It's not a perfectly resolved situation, and I'm not 100% happy, but at least it was resolved.

* Would you order from this company again?
Definitely not via layaway ever. Maybe as a single order, but I wouldn't be able to afford huge lump sums sadly.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes, if it's a good enough deal.

[TheFontBandit]

* What did you order?
Three blank Rainy girl heads from the end-of-year "yellowed stock" sale.

* When did you order?
November 26, 2011

* How was the communication?
Good. Received emails to confirm the order and to notify of shipping. (Emails did end up in my spam box, but that's the fault of my email service, not Elfdoll).

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy, Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped on December 5th.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Very much so, considering that the end-of-year sale had very low prices.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes. The dolls are beautiful, and if they are yellowed, it is only a very little. I do not have any other new Elfdoll resin to compare them to, but they are not noticeably yellowed in any way.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
n/a

* Would you order from this company again?
Yes.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes.

[PenguinCheese]

* What did you order?
A Soah on Pinup body, plus three heads and some extra hands and feet.

* When did you order?
October 5th, 2011

* How was the communication?
Good enough, received email confirmation of everything and generally got answers from the Q&A board within 3 to 5 days.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy, Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped on December 5th.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Definitely. Soah is very loosely strung which was likely to protect her in transit. All three heads come very very close to matching the body. (Resin mismatching happens pretty often with Elfdoll from what I've heard.) Two of the heads were from the "yellowed" sale and they are both perfect.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Definitely. The resin was extremely shiny but that's not really an issue. No seamlines whatsoever, anywhere.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
n/a

* Would you order from this company again?
Definitely.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes.

[Alewife]

* What did you order?
Won, Aden, Hazy and Lydia heads on their closeout event.

* When did you order?
Nov. 26, 2011

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?
Directly.

* How was the communication?
Very good. Elfdoll doesn't mail out shipping notifications, but the site updated promptly, and they were quick to answer a question I posted on the Q&A.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy through Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
Received Dec. 9, 2011, so two weeks.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Very much so! Although Elfdoll was selling these heads as "yellowed stock", they seem to be in perfect condition with no yellowing.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes, very happy with the heads and service.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Definitely.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes.

[DaughterofEden]

FINAL EDIT, 1-26-2012

I ~ L O V E~ Elfdoll. Their dolls, their people, and their service. Mine is a very happy ending story. Got my LovelyDoll with her two faces today. She was my second winter order just a few days after a huge order and their stories were tied together so I'm posting it here.

Everything perfect and little extras on top.

* What did you order?
1st order was over $1,200 = a LOT of stuff! During the year end sale

2nd order was $412.92 = Lovely doll with Yumi and Dami faces

* When did you order?
November 27,2011 ...
...and again on December 28, 2011

* How was the communication?
I am becoming concerned. I reported the missing items immediately-- when first order was received. My email was on Dec. 24, and answer was timely...received on Dec. 26 -- BUT IT WAS NO HELP. I received this response: "Okay, I'll check with the production team. Hugs, Oka

I've written about this several more times with no answers. Quick response to my second order, but completely ignored my questions about the first order.

* How easy was it to pay?
Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
First order was quick enough, but NOT COMPLETE.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Some of it was from the "yellowed" sale, but they are OK.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Definitely. I JUST WANT THE REST OF WHAT I PAID FOR.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
They refunded money [$35] for one head that was missing,
but these other more expensive items are being ignored. Missing items equal about $350.

I know they are busy.
***--> I just need a message FROM them saying ~
that {we're swamped...whatever...} and that they will get to me when they can <--
I would feel better. Being ignored, after their one response message that did not apologize or confirm anything about my missing items has caused me some worry,,,

* Would you order from this company again?
Right now, doubtful, even though I am a "GOLD MEMBER" with them.
I HOPE to order from them again, but it depends on how this all works out.
I WILL EDIT WHEN I HAVE MORE INFO FOR HOW IT IS SETTLED.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes. Beautiful dolls. I am more disappointed at the prospect that I will never receive the dolls that I haven't gotten, than losing the money. Though I wish I had the money if the dolls are gone. There are other GREAT Doll Companies.

2011 was my first year as a collector of BJD. Maybe I am over reacting? It concerns me that the Elfdoll site shows every last thing as sold out, currently. Maybe they are just catching up with that year end grand sale. Should I relax and trust they are going to get to me?

I checked out this thread before sending my second order for the Lovely Dolls. No complaints or concerns were being expressed. So, I'm not sure how to react.

EDIT ON 1/13/2012
I heard from them. There has been a long Korean holiday. I did begin a Paypal complaint process because my time [45 day limit to bring up an issue] is almost over.
I hope I will receive missing items soon. Sounds like they did a thorough check through the huge order I made and have collected all items missing. I was sad to start a formal process and I will be very happy if all can be smoothed out in the end. I did miss some notes from them, evidently, which might have kept me from filing the incomplete shipment complaint with Paypal.

But still, in 2 days I would not have had the opportunity to bring that pressure to get everything settled. And I don't have the dolls yet, just a promise they are on the way. Plus calming words from Oka which I appreciated. I still don't know if I over-reacted, but I can {and will} set everything right for them if I did.

EDIT: By 1/18/12 ~ All is well. They had a long holiday which was why I was not getting answers back to my messages. And that caused my alarm. They were exceptionally precise with getting every item to me. That was a very complicated order of well over $1,000 and lots of small things as well as full dolls. Any item they could not send to me in perfect condition they refunded the money. They also sent some nice gifts of apology. I was getting somewhat harsh toward the end, so that was extra kind and polite of them.

*****I will definitely buy from them again!! I already have a LovelyDoll with Yumi and Dami faces on order.

R E L I A B L E ~ C O M P A N Y in my opinion. ~Already knew they have beautiful sculpts.
Looking forward to seeing what they will show us in March 2012.

[sdrcow]

* What did you order?
A Rainy Yuan on Pinup body. (Normal Skin w/Faceup No2)

* When did you order?
November 24th, 2011

* How was the communication?
By the time it was all said and done with, the first Q&A message was responded to fairly quickly. The last 6 took them a 2-5 days to respond to. Most of the answers / information I received was very vague or contradictory.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy, Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
Honestly I have no idea, they told me she was shipped at three different time for three different reasons of waiting.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes, she is a marvelous doll! I'm not unhappy with the product at all. The only thing I will do is sued her neck some and restring her. (Restringing seems very popular with the Elfdoll bodies I've noticed).

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes I'm very pleased with the doll itself.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
The part I wasn't satisfied with was not the product, but the service.

* Would you order from this company again?
Nope.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Sure?

* Other comments?
I had major issues getting a straight answer and at points I was lied to. Possibly not intentionally, but none the less it was done. I given three different shipping dates, earliest being Dec 15th 2011 - I received my doll January 6th, 2012. They told me the first ship date failure was due to a refund of hands that were duplicated in ordering (I wasn't sure if fist hands came with or not). Which was fine, but near January 1st I received a notification from them saying they had to refund me for the lipstick hands because they were no longer in stock - she had already been shipped - so they waited to tell me this, I didn't get the hands I ordered, and obviously refunds don't stop them from shipping dolls out so why did they tell me that the first time around?! -
Long Rant Short I went through many contradictory messages and some that were ignored, I had some that said they would 'quickly check' for the answer and then never got back to me...
I do realize that I ordered my BJD near the Holidays, which is fine. I understand a company getting backed up, my issue was that they told me a certain date that they did not meet... three different times. Don't lie and tell me this when I'd be fine if you just told me that you were backed up.

[Alanaia]

What did you order?
Lovely Dami O/E

When did you order?
27th of January, 2011

How was the communication?
Awful. It took them two months to send out my item, and I only heard from them once. It was sent back to them because of soe problems with my post office and they never sent it back to me. I wrote them a lot, and they said they would check with the production team, but I never heard anything from them, they said the same when I wrote them last week, a YEAR after I ordered my Dami, and I haven't heard from them yet. So I never received her OR my money back.

How easy was it to pay?
Easy, paypal.

How long did it take to ship?
Two months, and after she was sent back, one year, and still waiting!


Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
N/A


Did the item look like the sales pictures?
N/A

Were you satisfied with the product?
N/A

If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
N/A

[Cynthia in FlintHills]

What did you order?
Several items of Lovelydoll and Rainydoll clothing and shoes. There was no indication on Elfdoll's site of any lengthy wait time for the clothing and shoes. I would have expected to wait for a doll, but based on my experience with other companies, I thought this order of small items would probably be processed and shipped within a few weeks (if not sooner).

When did you order?
Early February, 2012 (the order was eventually cancelled, so I don't have the exact date any more)

How was the communication?
Appalling. Elfdoll never acknowledged receiving my order, never updated my order status on the site, and never replied to my Q&A board message until I opened a Paypal dispute just before the 45-day deadline.

About a week after I opened the dispute (~55 days after my order and payment), Elfdoll did finally reply to me through the Q&A board. The reply still didn't acknowledge that Elfdoll had my money, even though I had Paypal's proof that the payment was completed. It seemed strange to me that Elfdoll hadn't cancelled my order for non-payment, if for some reason they truly didn't notice that my payment arrived (even though I DID include the order number with the payment). Instead, it seemed that Elfdoll took the money but ignored the order . . . then acted as if they didn't know they had the money OR the order. At the point all of this crystallized in my mind (about ten days after I opened the Paypal dispute, or nearly 70 days after my original order and payment), I decided to cancel my order instead of waiting or arguing. Elfdoll eventually refunded my payment, after several more days' delay.


How easy was it to pay?
Easy by Paypal.

How long did it take to ship?
Never shipped. I cancelled the order after nine weeks.

Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
N/A

Did the item look like the sales pictures?
N/A

Were you satisfied with the product?
N/A

If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
Elfdoll did refund my payment in the end, after I opened a Paypal dispute.

This was my first attempt at ordering from Elfdoll (after all these years!), and I was disappointed that such a well-established dollmaker would be so unresponsive and unreliable to deal with. I had always admired Elfdoll's work, and looked forward to ordering from the company someday, but . . . I don't think I'll try it again.

[sketchy]

* What did you order?
[Rainy] Yuan head in Normal Skin

* When did you order?
May, 27, 2012

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?
Directly from the company.

* How was the communication?
I didn't receive an order conformation, which I would have liked to have. The order information is listed in the account information and most people seem to post in the FAQ section to get extra verification which I did and got a reply. I received an email telling me it had shipped, though.

* How easy was it to pay?
Easy, I used paypal. However, because of the lack of conformation email or even an informal invoice, it seemed a little weird. Posting in their FAQ section and receiving a quick answer alleviated most of my worry.

* How long did it take to ship?
I got the shipping conformation email on June 11th, and the package arrived June 15th. Much faster than I had ever expected!

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes. $100 plus shipping is pretty reasonable, and while there is some thinness in the resin, overall the head looks great!

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yep!

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Like I mentioned before, there is some thinness. The eye wells seem a little thin, and the left side of the mouth is thin as well, but nothing I'm overly concerned about.
Of course you want what you buy to be 100% perfect, and when its not its a little disappointing, but its not anything that would lead me to be dissatisfied.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
If the occasion arose, sure. But it depends more on their products and less on their customer service. While their process was a little awkward for me, everything went very smoothly and I had no problems.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes, as long as it was well cared for.

[Jany]

* What did you order?
[Rainy] Yuan head in Snow Skin, a miniature laptop and 3 wigs.

* When did you order?
10/24 2012

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?
From the company.

* How was the communication?
Depends ... my order status on the page updated fast enough, I'm still waiting for one answer on the Q&A**. I knew not to expect an order confirmation / invoice, so I just sent the money and got a shipping notification a mere week later. I had a question before ordering and it took a week until I got an answer.
**Got the reply today. All in all, communication appears slow but steady.

* How easy was it to pay?
Paypal, so - very easy.

* How long did it take to ship?
I received the shipping notification on 11/08 and the package came in today (11/14).

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
I guess so, even though I can't really tell yet (this is the first doll (head) I ever saw in person).

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Yes.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes, Yuan is lovely. But ...

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
... one of the three wigs I ordered is missing.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
** I left a note in their Q&A section about the missing wig. I hope to hear from them soon. I got a refund today.

* Would you order from this company again?
Probably, if it was a nice sculpt. It depends on how the "missing item" thing turns out, though. I'll update here as soon as they reply.
I would not bank on all listed items actually being in stock - I wasn't notified that one of the wigs I ordered was out of stock, they just sent the other items. So I probably would not order very important things without making sure they were definitely available. This does not concern doll orders, just accessoires.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
I guess I would, if I really liked the sculpt.

[Water Tree]

What did you order?

Lovely Yumi and Dami complete dolls

When did you order?

December 08, 2012

How was the communication?

Elfdolll answer questions every week, sometimes slow but quite stable.

How easy was it to pay?

Paypal, no fuss.

How long did it take to ship?

56 days after my payment, they shipped it out. EMS takes 4 days to arrive my country.


Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?

Great

Did the item look like the sales pictures?

Great

Were you satisfied with the product?

Indeed

If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?

NA

[GoodbyeKitty173]

• What did you order?
…Tinydoll "Hiro, " outfits and extra feet (shoe) parts.

• When did you order?
…October 22, 2012

• How was the communication?
…Not Good: Two days after I ordered I still had not received a bill from PayPal, so I sent payment, anyway. That was probably a mistake, but I wanted to get my payment in while the order-period was still active.

• How easy was it to pay?
…Paypal – And in the area marked "Messages" I made sure to include an itemized list of what I was ordering along with all of the catalog numbers.

• How long did it take to ship?
…At the time of this post, I still have not received any of my order.

• Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
…I have other Elfdoll products, and I have been very happy with them.

• Did the item look like the sales pictures?
…They always have in the past.

• Were you satisfied with the product?
…N/A

• If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
…When I input my order number, I get the message of "Payment Received"; It has been that way since December. I have sent eMails from my computer to "Oka" (?) at their customer service address, but have yet to receive a response. I can't ask a question at their website directly because my password doesn't seem to work any more.

• In Conclusion:
…I understand that the world economy is tough right now, and that companies that offer "luxury services" have to be extra competitive. However: It worries me that Elfdoll has just wrapped up another order period (which included tinydolls) without having fulfilled all of he requests from the previous session.

From now on, if Elfdoll has any new products that interest me I will only buy through authorized dealers who, in theory, should have a better relationship with their vendor, or through the secondary market. Otherwise: I will conclude all dealings with Elfdoll.

[Sicktress]

* What did you order?
[Rainy] Vivien head only

* When did you order?
1/18/2013

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?
Directly from the company.

* How was the communication?
Their website's message board style communication is a little odd, but they were quick to answer questions.

* How easy was it to pay?
I wish I had used Paypal, but I tried PayGate. Took 5 days to clear.

* How long did it take to ship?
It shipped on 1/24/13 and arrived on 1/30/13.

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes! She is gorgeous!

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
I thought the pictures didn't show her features as well as some members on this board.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
YES!

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Nope/

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
YES!

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
YES!

[midspace]

* What did you order?
13 items, including various clothes, shoes, accessories, and resin parts.

* When did you order?
8/Jan/2013

* Did you order directly from the company, or through a distributor or dealer?
Directly from the company.

* How was the communication?
Order process was straight forward.
When the order took longer than 6 weeks, I prompted them on their message board.
I'm still confused why I am prompted to enter an email address on their message board when submitting a question, but when they respond there is no email.
I'm forced to check the message board daily to find if there is a response to my query.
After finding a response, was advised 10 days, and that they were waiting on two items. After waiting 14 days, I prompted them again, to be informed it would ship that week, which turned out 3 days later on the Thursday.
Understandably, ElfDoll did post on their site during this period an apology regarding their casting team, and have since hired a new casting team to improve their production. As I had two resin parts in my order, it was delayed solely because of that. (The two items that they were waiting on were the 2 resin parts in my order).

* How easy was it to pay?
Paypal. Have used it every time I ordered from them without issue.

* How long did it take to ship?
72 days from order to Shipping notification (Item lodgement date as per the EMS tracking)
6 days to arrive. (Customs were a little slow)

* Was the quality appropriate for the price, in your opinion?
Yes.

* Did the item look like the sales pictures?
Most of the items but one were accurate and as expected. The one exception looked a little faded in comparison to the photo. Item photo and description list it as 'Pink', but the item looks very washed out IRL.

* Were you satisfied with the product?
Yes.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
None. Everything that I ordered was present and perfect condition.

* If you weren't satisfied, how did the company solve your problem?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Yes.

* Would you buy this company's products second-hand?
Yes.