LoveDolls quickly got my attention. Not gonna lie, the overall lower prices compared to others were one of the main reasons. But even beyond that all the available extra customization options and the overall presentation of the page was just inviting. The few reviews on TDF were also alright. Offering only Jinsan made brands (WM, YL, OR, SE, plus some custom options as well) was no problem to me as I already settled on those anyway. Plus their custom Katie Reed head was very much to my liking.
Then it was time to actually choose a body. There was a lot to choose from among the WM bodies. With some new ones being announced while I was making my decision. I had a few favorites at the time (e.g. WM156H, WM172D, WM167 Fitness) but then I somehow broadened my horizons and stumbled upon SE167E. It quickly took the first spot so I did a bit more research on that alone. Altough at that point I was pretty much decided and the more I saw the more sure I was. Especially thanks to the Bianca model whose promo photos might have convinced me alone.
Fun fact, I found out the mold should get updated to adjust the LHP. I contemplated a bit whether to wait or not as there has been no progress update on it for a few months. Being new to this I had no idea how much the LHP would actually be an issue for me. If at all. But even though it would not change my decision I contacted SEDoll directly to inquire about the update progress. I got a reply that it is still being worked on but that it should be coming soon. Well, "soon" could be interpreted in many ways and I decided to put it aside and rather start looking how to customize the body. Surprisingly I got another message just two days later that the updated mold is finished and ready for order. No reason to hesitate at this point. A few days later they mentioned it even here on TDF and I was sure I made the right choice. Though strangely not because of the LHP but because of that awesome underboob shot. See viewtopic.php?f=532&t=135176 for details.
Choosing the heads took a bit of time as well. There is just so many of them. WM#159 and WM#233 were strong contenders along with the SE elf head and a few others. But in the end I went with SE69 and the aforementioned Katie Reed.
As for the other customizations I kept it fairly simple and normal I think. Medium tan, gel breasts, standing feet, updated skeleton, body detailing, some extra wigs. Added the flight case for storage to be shipped in and some other minor stuff. With all of that decided and quite sure it isn't an impulse buy (even though midnight was approaching) I was ready to make an order. There were some issues along the way but everything got resolved one way or another and it ended up well in the end. Let's take a look at the timeline:
- October 28 - ask SEDoll about status of the mold update, to be ready "soon"
- October 30 - surprise, updated SE167E is ready for order
- November 3 - place an order, I almost gave up in the middle as paying by card kept failing but it went smoothly when paying by PayPal
- November 6 - Adam confirmed my order, asked for some details and let me know to expect a delay of about two weeks due to high demand on the body (no surprise there for such an awesome one)
- November 19 - the two weeks are almost up, I should ask about the progress
- November 21 - got an update, apparently previous orders had problems and everything got pushed back, I should expect another week of delays, Adam offerred me some freebies as an apology (even though as a vendor and not a manufacturer the delays are not his fault)
- December 2 - decided to wait a bit more just in case but it is almost another two weeks, forward with another inquiry about progress
- December 3 - who is this beauty? is it early Christmas? factory photos received and oh damn she is just perfect! although, wait a bit, maybe I should change the toenail color, also the Katie Reed head should be coming the next day
- December 5 - or not, apparently it did not come out well and has to be remade, ok, stuff happens
- December 17 - I guess delays come in two-week periods now, let's ask again
- December 19 - yes, the Katie Reed head is ready, somehow it slipped through, although the wig and eyes are wrong - back to fix this minor issue; Adam apologized and again offered some freebies
- December 21 - now she looks perfect, let's get her shipped; some unfortunate news as well, the extra wigs I ordered are no longer available so Adam refunded me for them
- December 26 - package shipped by UPS (learned about this later when I got access to UPS tracking)
- January 2 - wow, package is already in my country (Czech Republic if you are wondering), did not expect it to be that fast after all the production delays and some reported waiting times from others
- January 4 - got tracking number, let's keep that refresh button busy; and some back and forth with Adam about import and tax documents but he took care of everything
- January 7 - passed the customs, I guess it should be here any day now (even more so considering that the UPS warehouse/center seems to be just around 50km away from my place)
- January 8 - hmm, it is friday, getting late, UPS status still says "In Transit", I guess no fun over the weekend and I will have to wait for next week, ...but wait a moment, is that a UPS truck driving by my window? yes it is and it is coming to me, she is finally here; ...oh damn the box is heavy, ...let's open it up, ...hmm, weird, some things are missing, but damn she is awesome in the flesh; contacted Adam about the arrival and we agreed on refund for the missing items, possibly some miscommunication back in China but in the end just some extra items I can do without
As for the missing items, there were some small ones and a major one. The TPE sample I can do without and the mouth with tongue customization is also not necessary. Especially now that I don't see it as that interesting anymore. The thing that disappointed me a lot more at first was that it arrived in standard shipping box, without the flight case. Definitely a bummer at first. I wanted to use it for hiding the doll if necessary when someone comes over. But let's be honest. I live alone with virtually zero social life. I am a loner through and through. So it might not get as much use as I originally thought. Also now full of excitement from having her here in the flesh I am thinking: "why should I even hide this beauty? they would eventually find out anyway" But I kinda expect to cowardly chicken out and hide her somewhere anyway in the beginning when it comes to it. But that is for another time. As for some storage options, I guess I can always look for some alternatives locally. And it was not exactly cheap either. With the refund I got a considerable amount of my investment back.
I should also point out that I did receive various freebies or extras as I was promised. It is just hard to say what came from where. There were some WM essentials, some SE accessories, an extra wig and a few other small things. With all that stuff I did not ask for specifics.
So what can I say about LoveDolls itself? How do I feel about it now after all those "mishaps"? I think it is definitely a safe choice. Adam is a nice guy. He responds on time and whenever anything unfortunate happens he provides an apology and suggests a solution or compensation. Looking back I am genuinely happy with how it all turned out. Though sadly I have nothing to compare against. So take this as you will.
As for the doll, she is awesome. There is definitely a learning curve but that was to be expected. Things like posing, moving her around, taking care of her, etc. Her weight of over 40kg is slowly less and less of a problem to me. With correct pose moving her from one place to another is actually rather easy. Though at the same time I am still struggling with properly getting her from lying/sitting position to standing and back. Still haven't figured out the trick for it. And if she isn't in the ideal pose for carying that same over 40kg weight is mighty unweildy. The constant trying to be careful to not break anything might have a role in it as well. It also surprised me how time consuming a hobby this could be. Pick some clothes, get it on her, try different poses to take a few photos. The hours just fly by but I am enjoying every minute of it. And those gel boobs. I just need to squeeze them at least once a day.
On the other hand I already managed to have a few mishaps of my own. Mostly due to my own beginner stupidity and partially to not being careful enough I guess. Sadly, I already managed to stain her. I did read about it but never did I imagine that it takes so little time. Once while moving her I put her down on the couch in some wrong way so that her head ended up going off and rolling to the other side of the room, stumbling across some gym equipment. Thankfully and amazingly there was no damage but it really scared me. I am now detaching the head whenever I move her around. Besides that one of her nails came off and some of the nipple / vagina color seems to have come off. But otherwise she is still in great condition.
Now for some pictures, to give you a taste. I will likely add more later on. For now a collage of multiple pictures to not spam with too many of them.