The Doll Forum

haremlover wrote:Well if anyone thinks it's a good idea to steer clear of the Dahlia currently for sale for $900 just because I make saccharin sweet comments about this doll as a result of my own personal experience with one of this doll's sisters, and the experience related in a post above, then that's their loss. There are at least three threads on the forum in which I detail the attractions but as this doll is not one of a leading manufacturer they are rather buried and inaccessible unless one's looking for them.

Then maybe the owner could have done a search for those threads and included them in his sale description. You can always feel free to PM the member and suggest such a thing. If he/she doesn't add that detail then maybe it is because they actually don't want your endorsement in the first place. That is the other issue. Maybe the seller wants to avoid connections with certain members and therefore the seller wouldn't appreciate comments from people such as you and I.

haremlover wrote:And if anyone wants to put legal liability upon me for saying that that's a good doll I'm happy to take a bloody nose and with pleasure tell such lawyers that they'll rot in hell at the same time. It's balderdash.

You obviously have never been in an American courtroom, 90% of what goes on is balderdash. Plus not all of us were gifted large fortunes by our parents so we don't have free money to throw at lawsuits to get them to go away. Now if you want to pass some of that money down my way then maybe I'll change my tune.

haremlover wrote:The reality is that the marketplace is the best place for an apprentice to learn. Where people can see that things for sale are receiving the scrutiny of experienced members firstly they can see the areas in which they can learn need to be scrutinised and secondly brings the wider wisdom of the community to benefit others. Where sales are put sterile of community scrutiny there is much more danger involved and individual members are more at risk of not having noticed something. Their on their own relying only on their own experience which may be limited as well as the experience of the seller likewise.

TDF isn't here to train people on basic sales tactics. By making the sales section "sterile" you keep it from being a free for all. If people are allowed to make positive comments then by the same token people should be allowed to make negative comments as well. If based on my experience I think a doll is a POS then I should have a right to warn potential buyers to that fact. Obviously in my case that wouldn't happen as the two dolls I have are two of the best models available and the only negative thing I could say is that they don't pose as well as others. For everything else they are better than any other doll on the market.

haremlover wrote:It's important to be able to chime in and say on a sale of a doll with a clothes stain that it's not serious on a silicone doll, and rather a problem on a TPE doll with directions for instance to the thread for Ewood's stain remover.

Again this is the responsibility of the seller to provide such information. If you feel it needs including then send the seller a PM.

haremlover wrote:It's also important for those who worry about a delamination being a significant problem for those with experience of the brand to be able to confirm whether it's a problem or not, part of the ordinary of effectively no concern.

It is still a repair that the new owner will have to make or that the seller should fix before selling. Again it comes down to seller's responsibility to list such information. The community is not here to prop up lazy sellers who can't be bothered to properly do their research or ask questions prior to sale.

haremlover wrote:And yes I'll continue to plug the underappreciated Dahlia and say that when such doll comes up at a low price she's a bargain and a gift . . . and if Karpos wants to stick with brand loyalty and ignore my exhortations . . . it's his loss

No, I am ignoring the Dahlia because she is TPE and with my skin sensitivity to TPE she and I would definitely not be a good fit. I refer to manufacturer reputation not brand loyalty. There are certain manufacturer's dolls that have reputations for weak skeletons, snapping necks, too youthful appearances, etc. that I would avoid buying their products, particularly second hand. But if for example a DS were to pop up in my affordable range I would snap it up based on the reputation for quality that they have. This is even though I might never buy a new one due to my preference for western women. So despite the insinuation I am not a blind sheep following the masses but an intelligent person who considers all aspects of a potential purchase.

As I've likely mentioned before, the sales forum is there for the seller, not to educate a potential buyer and/or steer him away to another doll that might be better. That doesn't serve the seller one bit.

If a buyer just steps in blind without any form of research on their end, and then ends up buying the wrong kind of doll, that's the buyer's problem.

As with any purchase, a buyer should spend some time researching the choice of doll he/she is looking at, or post a thread, asking for feedback.

AlexKnight wrote:As I've likely mentioned before, the sales forum is there for the seller, not to educate a potential buyer and/or steer him away to another doll that might be better. That doesn't serve the seller one bit.

If a buyer just steps in blind without any form of research on their end, and then ends up buying the wrong kind of doll, that's the buyer's problem.

As with any purchase, a buyer should spend some time researching the choice of doll he/she is looking at, or post a thread, asking for feedback.

Well stated, Alex. Which is par for you. I like the rule and appreciate a bloviation free zone in the Buy and Sell area. There are plenty of other topic sections in the forum for Q&A.

Perhaps the answer . . . is a sales section where comments can be permitted as well as the existing one, allowing people to choose.



I jest of course so reply isn't required unless anyone sees value in taking it seriously

Best wishes

Harem

I understand the stance currently taken but there are times when one sees the system not working very well.

http://www.dollforum.com/forum/viewtopi ... 28&t=62286 is a 2003 tin silicone doll which one assumes has a limited lifespan for a price that one would expect to pay for a platinum silicone doll of indefinite but long lifespan and seeing http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=130&t=64566 one can appreciate the vulnerability of new people coming across things where collective wisdom would be helpful.

There are times when a seller is unrealistic and the only sign to a newbie is that the advert lingers. But that in itself is not a good indication as there are other sales that have lingered merely for lack of encouragement.

No need to reply. I'll simply retreat into my grumbling corner. It's painful however.

Best wishes

Harem

Dear Sir, Madam, I have been trying to post an add on, sales TDE, but It never get's posted. I have been a member on the doll forum for over one year and have posted over 5 posts since being a member. i have followed all the templat rules to post my add, but it never shows up. can you please help me?
Kind Regards, zacaxel55

I don't see any posts of yours in the queue, have you submitted your post, or have you just written it, and then closed the window or clicked on another page?

After submitting the post, you should get a message saying your post has to be approved by a moderator, or something like that.

Hi everyone!
I need some useful information on how to sell a doll on this site...Could anyone help?
Thanks!

Hi adriansatriani, most everything you need to know you find in the header above the threads of the sales section, especially went you click on the link to the sales template. There you can read up what information is asked and what pics you have to add to get your sales thread approved.

Chris

I've just seen that http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=128&t=64249 Special 163 TPE Doll with 2 heads for sale and http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=128&t=58325 Selling my Dahlia are dolls still hanging around for months and months for sale.

Whilst I can understand that formerly some sellers might have felt under attack when queries were raised, I'm wondering if the hustle and bustle of the free-for-all in the banter of the For Sale columns drew better attention to dolls for sale and whether as a result dolls for sale shifted faster before the rule change . . . ?

In the old days as a newbie one possibly might have a better feeling for
a. the reputation of the seller and
b. the desirability of the doll
by bystanders cheering or jeering from the sidelines.

If the two dolls above aren't sold by Christmas, undeniably compared to before, there's something wrong, as before dolls never hung around for that long . . . and if so this change might then well be worthy of review.

Best wishes

Harem

haremlover wrote: If the two dolls above aren't sold by Christmas, undeniably compared to before, there's something wrong, as before dolls never hung around for that long . . . and if so this change might then well be worthy of review.

I was actually thinking about this myself. I have an idea for a compromise that might work. Set a time limit of, let's say three months and have the sale open up to comments from other members. Now obviously three months is just a random choice of time frame, but the idea being that if a doll doesn't sell under the new rules in a certain time period that maybe it could use some additional help. Just an idea I was thinking of that could bridge the two schools of thought.

I don't think the change in the rules is causing sales to sit any longer than before.

The fact that particular sale is sitting as long as it has, is because there's a lack of recent pictures, the seller's inability to take recent pictures, and only offering local pick-up.
That severely limits the amount of potentially interested parties. And those that might be interested, are repelled because the seller can't provide new pics.

With that special doll, the sale is only a bit over a month old. And considering this is a doll with special upgrades, selling for close to new-price, it needs the right kind of buyer to put down that much money for a 2nd hand doll. Plus, the doll is located in Hong Kong.

If the inability to discuss things in the sales forum was the direct cause of dolls not selling, there would be many more sale threads stuck in limbo.

The large majority of sales get sold without any discussion taking place, which shows that sales don't need discussion to find a buyer.
If a sale needs discussion by non-interested parties to get it hyped up enough, IMO, a buyer is no longer listening to his/her mind, but is following the hype created by other people.

Yes - I can understand the points above . . . but

haremlover wrote: In the old days as a newbie one possibly might have a better feeling for
a. the reputation of the seller and
b. the desirability of the doll
by bystanders cheering or jeering from the sidelines.

This is a factor which is very helpful to inexperienced people, spreading expertise of things to look for and potential pitfalls, as well as seeing new dolls as they're aged, and thereby getting a better idea about the qualities of dolls available brand new.

A problem occurs specifically with Dahlia as she's not a brand that is commercially marketed to people through a manufacturer's own section on the forum - so that people have less of an idea of what this doll's about. It's in cases like this where experience of an enthusiast such as myself who has also experienced one is vital to bring it its qualities forward from a perspective independent of the seller.

If someone doesn't have a lot else to do, an analysis of average sale time before and after might be helpful in keeping the issue under review. The bouyancy of the market for new dolls will be affected by the ease of getting rid of one if and when one wants to, and the health of the For Sale thread is an essential part of what we all enjoy.

Best wishes

Harem

I applaud Alex's willingness to discuss and defend business decisions ad nauseam. Not that discourse is undesirable or unwelcome, rather that patience bordering on sainthood is commendable when addressed topics are re-presented anew like a river that never runs out of water. And to think all the effort is done as an unpaid volunteer.

TL;DR. Thanks, Alex.