Did your DS-mini arrive intact?

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:25 pm

Hi, I am wondering how many peoples ds-mini's arrived intact, how many broke in the first few weeks either due to light forces or large forces and how many are still fine?

I suspect that shipping damage might also weaken joints, so I am wondering how many failed soon after arrival.

madshagger · Post by **madshagger** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:19 pm

DarkOne wrote:Hi, I am wondering how many peoples ds-mini's arrived intact, how many broke in the first few weeks either due to light forces or large forces and how many are still fine?

I suspect that shipping damage might also weaken joints, so I am wondering how many failed soon after arrival.

Hi DarkOne,

My Eva's spine broke the day after I got her! I was gutted as she seemed to arrive safe and the box had no visibledamage, but i suspect all that thrashing around from the journey might be the culprit. It was just a bit of very light light handling and I head a crack and she went limp in the middle.

Hats off to DS though, replacement Eva on the way, as well as parts to repair the 1st one (though I'm not sure If I have the skills to do it).

I'm hoping the new part/doll has a stronger spine, they are a bit evasive on that topic.

Sigh.

She's such a lovely doll, this was really a downer after a long wait.

Where exactly did yours break, and have you tried a repair yet?

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:59 pm

madshagger wrote:
DarkOne wrote:Hi, I am wondering how many peoples ds-mini's arrived intact, how many broke in the first few weeks either due to light forces or large forces and how many are still fine?

I suspect that shipping damage might also weaken joints, so I am wondering how many failed soon after arrival.
Hi DarkOne,

My Eva's spine broke the day after I got her! I was gutted as she seemed to arrive safe and the box had no visibledamage, but i suspect all that thrashing around from the journey might be the culprit. It was just a bit of very light light handling and I head a crack and she went limp in the middle.

Hats off to DS though, replacement Eva on the way, as well as parts to repair the 1st one (though I'm not sure If I have the skills to do it).

I'm hoping the new part/doll has a stronger spine, they are a bit evasive on that topic.

Sigh.

She's such a lovely doll, this was really a downer after a long wait.

Where exactly did yours break, and have you tried a repair yet?

Knee at 8 hours, Spine a few days later. And same experience as you. The knee snapped when my hand grazed her leg, with less force then would cause the doll to roll over if I hit her other leg (And the other knee survives much more force). The spine snapped from just picking her up from the upper body.

I suspect shipping damage cracked the joints already. Replacement upper thigh is due to arrive tomorrow, replacement spine joint will be sent 'in the next shipment'. Also getting a replacement EVE at a discount but its still annoying.

I will be asking them explicitly if my new doll has a stronger skeleton...

And yes, its double depressing because the doll is so amazing, now I have to wait for repair parts before I can touch her again, dress her for photos, etc.

She WILL be fixed... but every time I cut her I am going to be ruining her beauty and that depresses me greatly. I wanted a doll with a hinge skeleton so it would last and not need repairs, now I am having to repair more joints in the first week then I have replaced in my wire frame doll (different manufacture) in a year. Admittedly for that doll, the joint (neck) had to be replaced after 2 weeks, also due to shipping damage and all I got was a replacement neck joint, no offer for a 2nd doll at a discount (from a different manufacturer).

linux_tyro · Post by **linux_tyro** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:33 am

Mine arrived with a broken right leg and absolutely no packing material. I was insulted that they wanted me to pay a third of the price for a new doll plus $268 dollars for shipping. I agreed to a repair part and partial refund. Doll has been sold at a slight loss. I will never buy from DS again. Ever

hollows+fentiman · Post by **hollows+fentiman** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:14 am

Hi DarkOne
You may have read my posts in the other DS mini Eva topic. Mine arrived with what I thought was 'only' a broken neck so I couldn't pick her up properly. It was only when I got the Si-Poxy and cut her open that I realised she also had a broken left shoulder and exploring further she had a broken back. Sales at DS said she must have been dropped from a third floor building to cause that damage but having now read the various posts I think the skeleton won't take shock damage very well and if the package is dropped or mishandled the joints won't take much more to break. When I received the original package the carrier had it standing on end so if the doll is not securely fixed in the box the neck could easily break if upside down! I did suggest to DS that they designed a bracket to go onto the head and back mounting points to hold the head firm whilst in transit and they thanked me for the suggestion. I've just received pictures of the replacement doll in its package and it looks much better wrapped but I can't see any bracket so I'll let you know if it arrives safely. It should be on its way!

samara78 · Post by **samara78** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 6:26 am

Intact and still in pristine shape.

Post by **LoneRanger** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 7:45 am

linux_tyro wrote:Mine arrived with a broken right leg and absolutely no packing material. I was insulted that they wanted me to pay a third of the price for a new doll plus $268 dollars for shipping. I agreed to a repair part and partial refund. Doll has been sold at a slight loss. I will never buy from DS again. Ever

Eva: Received in mint condition and still is.

Eve: I received NO doll, offered NO replacement just a partial refund. I would have been happy to have been made the same offer and would of done it.

I hope she arrives safely in her new home!

Like that song goes It's all about the box, the box, it's all about the box.

Eva (Blossom) was so snug it was hard to get her out of it. I had to work my hands under her body and pop her free.

brayton · Post by **brayton** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 11:27 am

My Eva is fine, although I was a little afraid when I 1st opened up the package. I make a very conscious effort to be very carful and gentle with her. I feel any doll will last longer the less you handle them, even though any of us want to handle them, which is why most of us have them. I wish the vaginas held up better.

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:52 pm

Well this has been a rather interesting result.. I knew more then 1 DS-mini had reported failure but.. I never thought it was going to be 50%~.

Exactly why has DS kept shipping these I wonder.. and why do they expect us to pay (1/3rd retail+S/H) for a 2nd one when clearly the 1st batch was not fit to survive shipping...

Post by **LoneRanger** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:36 pm

The answer is obvious - with 30+ points of articulation, you need to vacuum pack her into a clear plastic shell like the stuff hanging in every store. Put her in an even smaller box and fill every space with tiny foam pellets just like the Styrofoam peanuts.

I haven't seen the box they use now, but the one my Angel (SanHui) was cardboard, but like a 1/2 inch thick. It was a PIA to recycle (all has to fit in that little square box). That is the kind to use or even a thin wood crate, how much could it cost, compared to what was thrown away for shipping multiple dolls.

The carriers made out the best in all these deals.

haremlover · Post by **haremlover** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:44 pm

linux_tyro wrote:I will never buy from DS again. Ever

Please don't be quite so final in your mind about this.

I have three DS dolls in England, one in France and bought one for my Dad and is now with member Samurai. All five dolls are very wonderful creations and give much pleasure.

The DS mini was a departure from their norm in terms of a plastic rather than a metal skeleton. Whether they will be able to build on their experiment only they can know but their metal skeleton ladies are nothing short of exceptional.

Best wishes

Harem

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:47 pm

LoneRanger wrote:The answer is obvious - with 30+ points of articulation, you need to vacuum pack her into a clear plastic shell like the stuff hanging in every store. Put her in an even smaller box and fill every space with tiny foam pellets just like the Styrofoam peanuts.

Nope. Just need to pick a better plastic. they have already upgraded to 'nylon or something' according to john.

I don't get why they ever used a brittle/cheap plastic to begin with. There are plastics you'll find running 100,000 miles in your engine as gears.. and plastics you'll find in cheap toys that snap in a week.

Iv got plastic shelfs that support a hundred pounds on skinny little plastic tubes.. Iv got semi-flexable Tupperware tubs that you could drop from 10 feet and would be fine...

And then I have rigid plastic containers that I have shattered with a drop from 2 feet, while empty.. and rigid plastic parts I have thrown across the room without a scratch. Ask yourself how many times you have dropped your TV remote and how many of those have cracked.

Millions of large plastic devices get shipped from china every day. Very few of them arrive broken.

IMO this is all down to a very poor choice in plastics for the first run of DS-minis, rather disappointing from a company who prides itself in quality on every other aspect of their dolls.

PS: its 33 points. I counted them. 35 for a full sized DS (full size DS have 2 joints per shoulder instead of the DS-minis 1)

DarkOne · Post by **DarkOne** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 3:49 pm

linux_tyro wrote:Mine arrived with a broken right leg and absolutely no packing material. I was insulted that they wanted me to pay a third of the price for a new doll plus $268 dollars for shipping. I agreed to a repair part and partial refund. Doll has been sold at a slight loss. I will never buy from DS again. Ever

I likely will still order from DS as I don't see any better company to order from that I can afford.. but I likely won't be pre-ordering any new designs in the future that is for sure. Not until they have been delivered and any bugs/complaints worked out.