From Customer to Friend: Treating Your Doll Retailer Right

by Lisa A. Lawrence

Over the years, on the doll boards, I've seen people in the doll community both praise and criticize various doll retailers.  When we praise dealers, we name names.  When we criticize them, many don't name particular names, while others either name the retailer or give enough "hints" to make it easy to figure out to which retailer they are referring.   I've also gotten to know quite a few of these retailers and heard their own stories of how customers mistreat them.  In this article, I'd like to share some of the retailers’ complaints, because I think they have some very valid points.   Unlike the doll collectors, who can freely voice their opinions, right or wrong, on the doll boards, the retailers have no such outlet.  It would be unprofessional of them to complain about a customer in a public forum, particularly by naming names.  I have contacted several well-known doll retailers and asked for their "stories."  I have assured them that they will remain anonymous, so that they can feel free to express their opinions in this article.  The point of this article is not to allow the retailers to bash customers.  Rather, I hope it opens some eyes as to some of the problems the retailers face, so that we can all learn how to treat them fairly.  Of course, it goes without saying that I expect the retailers to play fair with the customers, too.

The biggest problem that I see is the public attitude toward retailers.  We tend to see retailers as big businesses that make tons of money and that have a ready cash flow.  It doesn't seem to matter whether the retailer is Macy’s or a neighborhood shop.    For the vast majority of the doll retailers, these assumptions are, quite simply, not true.  Most are mom and pop shops, owned by one or two people, that make a moderate income.  Their cash flow is dependent upon being paid by their customers, and they are constantly playing a balancing act between paying off the manufacturers and coming up with an actual income to pay their own home-based bills.

Pre-orders

Most retailers allow their customers to pre-order dolls and outfits without having to make a down payment.  Because the retailers are taking pre-orders from many customers at once, the dollar amount of the items ordered can easily get to be $30,000 or more. When the merchandise arrives, the retailer typically has 30 days in which to pay the manufacturer. During this time, the retailers immediately ship out the pre-orders to their customers, requiring full payment at the time of shipment for all items sent. The payments they receive from their customers are what they use to pay off the manufacturer by the end of the thirty- day period.  If the customer can't pay them promptly, the retailers STILL have to pay the manufacturer.  Where does this money come from?  Not from the retail store's till but from the store owner's own pocket.

Now, imagine that you are the shop owner and you've just gotten in $30,000 worth of merchandise.  Then you start getting a deluge of cancellations.  Customers call in or, more frequently, email the owner and cancel parts or all of their pre-order.  The owner cannot ship this merchandise back to the manufacturer.  They are stuck paying for it.  They have to come up with the $30,000 to pay the manufacturer within the thirty days or risk losing their dealership.  What happens is that the owners end up paying as much as they can from net store income, while the rest comes from their personal accounts.  This also means that they don't make anything until they have sold the "cancelled stock."

We need to remember that the profits a shop makes... the NET profits... which are often just a moderate amount after paying off resale taxes, income taxes, employees, rent, utilities and other expenses, are the owner’s PAYCHECK.  The money doesn't belong to some anonymous "shop."  It belongs to a real-life person who uses that money to pay the mortgage, insurance, food, day care for the children, etc.  It's no different from having your boss come up to you and say, "I'm sorry, I can't cut you a paycheck today because our biggest client is 90 days behind on paying its invoices and we simply don't have the cash right now."

When you cancel orders after the doll shop has already placed those orders with the manufacturer, you are basically sticking them with that merchandise.  Let's say you run into car troubles, or get laid off, or some other 'unexpected' expense or disaster occurs that takes away your doll money.  While you may be thinking, "Oh, I can't get those beautiful new Sydneys now . . . I have to get a new air-conditioning pump in my car," what you are actually doing is making YOUR problems the shop owner’s problems.  Is this fair?  I think it isn't. Yet it happens repeatedly to shop owners.  What was a "loss of dolls" for you becomes a missed mortgage payment for them.  Frankly, I don't think anybody does this intentionally.  We're so busy taking care of whatever emergency came up, and feeling rotten that now we don't get to buy the dolls we've waited six months for, that we're simply not aware of the effect we are having on the dealer.

As one retailer wrote to me: "THANKS for understanding our views as retailers.  You are so right about preorder cancellations.  I don't require a deposit as a favor to my customers.  I would not like my money tied up for months at a time, either.  Then, just when it is time for the products to come in, or even after they arrive and I notify the customer of the arrival, I get the 'I don't have the money right now' story.  I try to understand because I know how things can come up.  BUT when it is the same people every time, it gets harder to believe.  My suggestion to customers is to write down everything that you preorder and keep up with the delivery schedules.  Tonner is good about updating that information on their website.  This way there are no surprises even when things are delayed." 

Doll Quality
When pre-orders come in, retailers ship them out immediately.  They don't have time to open the boxes and determine whether the doll is perfect or not.  Frankly, I don't think it's up to the retailers to do the quality control that is the responsibility of the manufacturer.  It would take them days to check all the dolls and that would cut into their small profit margin.

So what happens when you get a defective doll?  Many people complain to the store owner, sometimes being downright nasty, when the store owner has nothing to do with the problem.  I know as a customer, if I buy something at a store and I find out it's defective, I expect to be able to take it back to the store for my money back or for replacement.  And, if it's a large Macy's-type retail chain, I can.  Such returns and replacements, however, would cause many doll shops to go out of business.  The profit margin on each sale isn't enough to allow returns and replacements.  The store owner would end up losing money on the sale if they paid for return shipping and shipping out a replacement, as well as shipping the defective doll back to the manufacturer.  While you may find it unfair that you can't ship defective dolls back to the seller, that's the reality of the constraints the seller is subject to.

When you get a defective doll, contact the manufacturer directly.  It doesn't hurt to let the retailer know you are sending it back to the manufacturer, as it will help them keep track of what is happening with the dolls and how many are defective.  But don't put the retailer into the middle of a problem about which they can do nothing.  As far as I know, the manufacturers still require you to pay postage to send the dolls back to them.  I find this practice to be unfair, also.  You made your decision to buy the doll based on the initial retail and shipping costs.  You paid your money.  Now you have to pay another $7-10 to return a defective doll?  Personally, I think the manufacturers should send out prepaid shipping labels for all defective dolls.  They are the ONLY ones who can practice quality control, and any problems should come out of THEIR profit margin, not out of the customer's pocket.

Doll Shops

Many doll shops are very small.  When new merchandise arrives, it tends to take over what little storage space the shop has, and most often flows into the shop's aisles, preventing customers from having easy access to the doll displays.  If you are a local customer, even if you have previously paid for the merchandise, it would help the owners out if you could pick up your pre-orders promptly. 

Also, while the doll shop owners don't mind if you scan through magazines to see whether you'd like to purchase them, they don't appreciate having customers read through the entire magazine without purchasing it.  They have to pay for these magazines up front.  While you may think, "Well, the shop only has a few copies, surely they will sell," in fact, the shops are often stuck with what become slightly "used" copies that have remained on their shelves for months, even years.

While looking at doll displays in the stores, ask the shop owner if it's OK to pick up and handle dolls before doing so.  While it doesn't happen often, sometimes customers will go in and completely change a display that has been set up.  The owner may just have paid one of their employees for a few hours of work to set the display up in a precise way.

Doll Shows and Conventions

One retailer sent me these comments:  "When I am doing a show, customers will be in front of my sales table discussing the dolls, and sometimes their remarks are not flattering.  It would be nice if they would save those remarks until they move away from the selling area.  Also, it hurts our business when someone is browsing our merchandise and tells a potential customer, 'Oh, you can get that here or there cheaper.' While it's nice to pass along what we know to help our friends or strangers get bargains, remember that when you are in front of a sales table or in a doll shop, you are directly affecting the owner's ability to make a living.  Save your comments or suggestions for a more appropriate setting."

Doll Shop Exclusive Dolls or Limited Editions

Exclusive dolls are those that the manufacturer specifically makes for a particular doll shop.  Often, exclusive dolls are limited to an edition of 750 or fewer.  There are not enough dolls made to fill the orders which come in. The doll shop who sells the exclusive doll has a monopoly on the doll because no other doll shop is allowed to carry it.  How the doll shop chooses to distribute the exclusive is often the target of controversy on the doll boards, with collectors claiming unfairness in the distribution method.

For example, let's say I own Lisa's Fashion Doll Universe.  Tonner, through much begging on my part, agrees to make a George Clooney doll in a limited edition of 500, which will be sold exclusively through Lisa's Fashion Doll Universe.  No other retailers will be given the opportunity to sell this doll.  Of course, EVERYBODY wants a George doll!  Now, I have to figure out the fairest way to sell the doll, taking into consideration that I've gotten 1500 orders for the 500 dolls I have to sell.

There are several factors in how I make this choice.  Of course, I want to sell George to my loyal customers.  If someone has repeatedly brought me several thousands dollars of business over several consecutive years, I want to show my appreciation for that business by selling them a George doll.  Just this seemingly obvious and simple choice will create anger on the doll boards, with people claiming that I am favoring those who have lots of disposable income to spend on dolls, while they are of very limited means and are thus being punished by not being "rich enough."  What am I to do?

Let's say I have 400 very loyal customers that I decide to sell the George doll to.  This leaves me only 100 George dolls to distribute among 1100 orders.  If I sell a doll to a collector who has never purchased from me before, my "smaller" customers are going to be angry about this.  But what if it's a choice between that new customer and someone who bought one doll from me three years ago?  What if I follow the boards and I happen to know that this new customer is a big spender, and it would help my business greatly if I could get all of their business.  Selling an exclusive doll to such a person is a wonderful way of establishing the contact necessary to turn the customer into a loyal customer. Again, if I sell to this new "big spender," my other customers and those on the boards who don't have a lot of money are going to be pissed off.

Here's another scenario.  Over the years, I've helped many customers get limited-edition dolls that are sold out.  I do this by going behind the scenes and contacting other retailers until I find one who is willing to let me have their doll.  I pay that retailer the wholesale price and I get the retail income on the sale of the doll.  Or I buy the doll at the retail price and sell it to my customer without making anything.  In the past five years, let's say, while I've dealt with many retailers doing these sales and trades, I've established a really good relationship with Aaron D., a person who sells on eBay or who sells by email, but who doesn't have a store or an Internet site.  Aaron D. doesn't appear to be a big player to the public, yet Aaron D. has contacts that allow him access to some really hard-to-get dolls.  Aaron D. has been very helpful to me by selling me numerous hard-to-get dolls at a wholesale price.  Aaron D. nets nothing on these sales because he is selling me the doll at his cost.  I get the full benefit of the income by selling the doll retail. 

In the 1100 orders I have for the remaining 100 George dolls, Aaron D. has requested if he can buy thirty of them from me.  I know he will put them on eBay and there will be a bidding war on these particular George dolls, with Aaron selling them for up to four times more than I'm charging.  While I don't really like this idea, neither do I want to cut off my best supplier for hard-to-get limited edition dolls.  I decide to sell Aaron seven George dolls in order to keep him happy.  Aaron puts the dolls on eBay and people on the boards go nuts, wondering how Aaron got ANY of these dolls, and are angry that the prices go absurdly high.  I get a deluge of angry emails, some from the very same customers who've been the recipients of the hard-to-get dolls that I managed to get from Aaron!

Then, I'll get orders from three other retailers who have helped me get the hard-to-find dolls.  They've only asked for one doll each.  They've done me many favors in the past.  How can I refuse such a reasonable request?  Now I'm down to 90 dolls for 1096 orders.  The process of distribution is far from easy.  It's more accurate to call it a nightmare.

Sometimes the ordering process gets really fun!  I can have a customer who's ordered literally thousands of dollars of dolls from me over the past few years, but who has also consistently cancelled most or all of these orders when the dolls arrive.  This is NOT what I call a good customer.  Hoping to score a George doll, the customer knows that a request to purchase this doll will probably be turned down.  So, they send a pre-order for $1500 worth of various dolls with a George doll thrown into the mix.  Am I going to turn down this large order?  You bet I am.  I know the real intent is to get George and then cancel the rest of the pre-orders!  I'm not stupid!

Please NOTE: There is NO George Clooney doll being made or contemplated by the Tonner Company.  There is also no Lisa’s Fashion Doll Universe.

These are just a few of the problems that doll retailers repeatedly run into.  I'm hoping that, by shedding some light on what goes on behind the scenes at a doll shop, customers will have a better understanding of the dealers’ viewpoint and will be able to have better relationships with them. 

Thanks to the following retailers who helped contribute to this article:  AS IF!