My order with Silicone Lovers was placed on Dec 31st 2022, so even though I have tried my best to be concise it is still a very long post - if you choose to wade through this post maybe get a cold one now... Cheers!
My order was slightly more complicated than normal, not due to the doll itself but owing to the fact I live in Central America and needed to find a vendor who was happy to help with the importation processes. Shipping items like prosthetics or similar requires a permit from the health dept. here and as I am not a national I would ordinarily need a power of attorney to obtain the permit via UPS upon landing. I started discussing options with Louie at SL and he said he liked a challenge and would happy to help with the process. (This was Nov. ’22) He would check with Zelex to see if they would supply a delivery service as I was interested in a 170 Inspiration. At that time I was under the noob impression that I only had until the end of year to take advantage of the Holiday ‘promotion’ ie. 2 heads, gel this and that etc. as Danny advised they would keep it open a day or two longer for me. Zelex came back after several weeks saying they would ship Express, paying the customs charges etc. in advance for an additional $450. I still had a few questions re. makeup options but with only days until the promotion ended I took the plunge on the 31st Dec as communication had been good and their TDF rep. seemed solid.
I did not pay due to working out the best payment method and other questions relating to the spec. until Jan 25th 2023 - the ‘promotion’ had now changed into a New Years promo… humm maybe I didn’t need to rush after all.
My order was ‘custom’ in that I initially requested GE46-6 makeup on a GE95-2 head. Everything else were standard options. I requested an invoice in GBP (my PayPal is linked to a UK acc) but received a PayPal invoice in USD. Knowing that Chinese New Year was looming and there was already a backlog of orders from the holidays plus CV slowdown I paid the invoice in USD. I was surprised find another invoice the next day in my inbox for GBP. I emailed Louie and brought this to his attention and he said I had paid in full inc. shipping. He said he could see the USD payment and would investigate the GBP invoice.
The next day I see a factory photo on the forum for a 'Scarlett' head with GE46 make up on a light tan head and it doesn’t look how I imagined so I reach out to SL and request the custom makeup is cancelled and just go with the standard finish for both heads, except for a long blonde wig on the ‘95. I include photos to confirm. I receive a note that the factory has been informed. I also get my second ‘new order confirmation’ email. I think this is odd but put it down to a back end process at SL.
Weeks go past. I am told the order may be delayed due to CNL, it should be a little over a month, I am fine with that. I chase it up in March as I receive a payment reminder from PayPal for the GBP invoice. Danny will look into it. End of March I am asking where are the factory photos? 12 - 15 days away I am told. I chase them up again mid April and still no photos, they promise to check with the factory. I remind them of the PayPal invoice, again they will investigate. I receive a new ‘order confirmation email’. I email Nick and say I have a ‘new order email’ and he is confused as no new order has been placed. I request that he stops the message thread as when you get a new order note from SL it triggers new a stream of emails over the following week giving you ownership tips… helpful the first time, not so much the 3rd!
I finally receive a photo of one head (without eyes) GE94-2 to check my ‘custom’ eye makeup. The photo I supplied was of a standard GE94-2 so I was confused but said it looked good to me. In the background of the photo there is a GE95-2 with eye makeup being applied. I was never a huge fan of the heavy eyeshadow so take the opportunity to ask "if that is my GE95 in the background, please could you soften the eyeshadow to make it more subtle”. "We will inform the factory" is the response. I enquire about the PayPal GBP invoice as I receive another ‘unpaid’ demand from PP. The reply is that “Upper management is looking into it”
By the end of May I have seen many orders on TDF placed later the mine and being received. I am loosing faith in SL as I read others having difficulty communicating with them and the fact that they have not addressed the PP issue, plus I am still getting new order emails all giving me cause for concern. I note that I am running out of time to apply for a PayPal dispute for the Paid USD invoice so I reach out again complaining that I was promised full photos in 12-15 days at the end of March and that I would like to cancel the order and request a refund if I don’t get them by the end of the week.
I receive and apology and a note that the doll is ready, just a day or two more (yet more ‘new order emails’ flow in I am up to 12 batches now!). They say Zelex moved premises and had staffing issues that caused the delay. That may be, but why did they not reach out to me? Another 2 weeks and I do finally receive basic factory shots! The eye makeup is still standard on the ’95. The eyes are very dark on both so I request photos with light blue eyes on both and the long blonde wig I had previously requested. Nick says he will check what happened to the eyeshadow - though I never hear another word about it.
I now have two weeks until my PP dispute window expires. No new photos, no update about the eyeshadow, just the standard issue ‘new order’ emails and another demand from PP. I complain and say I have totally lost faith in SL at this point and the idea of attempting importation with them is just a nightmare for me with all the possible ramifications. Remember, for me it was always the importation that posed an obstacle as it could potentially involve a in person appointment at the health dept. office 5hrs drive away to release the item in a worst case scenario. I am getting quite anxious and feel I may have chosen the wrong vendors.
That Friday I get the long awaited photos with the new eyes and wig. The doll looks great. SL tell me Zelex will compensate me with free wigs. I have the weekend to make a decision; should I run the importation gauntlet or decline the doll and pursue a refund? Having waited this long a watched others take delivery (with ever growing doll envy) I decide to say if Zelex can get me a tracking number by the following Friday morning, my time, I will accept. Nick is confident Zelex will ship mid week but definitely by Friday. Wednesday passes with nothing, Friday morning arrives and I have 2 hours to make a PP claim or loose the option.
Frustratedly I write to both SL and Zelex saying I am now forced to make the PP claim. Please do not ship the package. I open a ‘item not received’ claim with PP and explain all the above and that I also have an erroneous GBP invoice outstanding.
The next morning I have a shipping conformation from UPS for the 1st of July and a note form Nick saying it was shipped on the 30th (even though both the UPS and SL own order tracking states the 1st July). The note also says the item has a "declared with a value of $650 and if customs contact me do not send them my invoice, contact SL for an invoice -
". I thought the whole point of me paying $450 was to get customs paid upfront and not attempt anything that would attract attention / damage my standing with the Hacienda! SL tell me Nick made a mistake and that it was probably confused with a TPE product! 1. Can someone please tell me what 51KG TPE product does Zelex make for $650? 2. IF it is a mistake how do I know what I ordered is now on route?! 3. Why the smilie emoji in the message for a mistake? I replay with this and am told it was a policy mistake and they have now amended their policy. Not wanting to risk being seen to attempt to defraud the customs and duties office here, I reach out to Zelex and request they contact UPS to return the item. I also contact UPS and explain there is a dispute open and to please return the item before it leaves Hong Kong. I don’t get a reply for Zelex. I will spare you the rest but to say the package arrived despite the best efforts from UPS: USA,UK,CA and HK! Miraculously, the day after I file a dispute with PP the GBP invoice is cancelled by SL. Why did it take 6 months to work out how to do this?
The package arrives after 4 weeks in transit (the Hacienda never even stopped it!
) It has obviously see some rough handling/been opened as you can see by the photos, but I have no choice but to accept it as it is signed for by a Mike Wils (similar, but not my name!) and left at a UPS hub. I do not have the funds nor documentation to return it in any case. Turns out the doll has been dropped on both the neck and the feet. The neck bolt is stuck at a slight-diagonal 90 degrees and the (hard silicone) foot has a puncture to the heal. There are also cuts and grazes to the thigh, both shoulders and neck. I'm not sure I received a doll with the gel butt option I ordered as it feels quite firm and others have described it as 'needable'. That afternoon we experience very bad storms that take out the power and internet in my location for the next week. When I do get back online I see PayPal needs me to escalate to a claim or it will close the dispute. I say the item is received but it is damaged and attach photos. The next day PayPal closes the claim as the item was delivered and says I cannot open a claim for damage as the 180 days since purchase has now expired. LOL!
I do my best to free and manoeuvre the neck bolt with the hanging hook but it is pinched so tight I can feel the metal flex as I apply force. I am concerned if I attempt any more leverage it will bend or snap entirely.
I submit a damage report to SL and send photos. They tell me to “massage” the damaged areas and they will send a tube of glue. I am also sent a video of how to straighten the neck.
I have sent a video of me attempting to straighten the neck and more photos of the damage as after all this trouble a tube of glue and a beat up doll is laughable. To me if Zelex were a car it would be comparable to decent sports car or similar. Would I be happy if I bought a new Porsche, only to take delivery with the front and back caved in and upholstery torn, then when I complain they send me a bodywork repair video and a tube of glue? Nope, I would not. Just because dolls are still considered relatively niche items does't mean we should tolerate broken merchandise upon delivery.
There was no additional packaging (this doll was not bolted - for better or worse who knows) for my additional $450 and they knew they were sending to a new ‘untested’ location. I have requested a refund or a voucher for a replacement torso that I could redeem sometime in the future when Zelex sorts out their packaging, as I fear if another was sent as it stands it would meet a similar fate. It's been several days and I have had no response from SL, I don't know if Zelex is aware of any of this.
I just want the whole sorry farce to end! I am now on my 21st ’new order received’ message thread, with a brand new thread started for the tube of repair silicone they have sent!!
I read positive things about SL on here and maybe I just fell through the gaps somehow, but for me, this has definitely been the worse customer experience of my life.
I don’t blame Zelex as the product that was dispatched is of great quality, but they absolutely have to get to grips with the packaging, especially when dealing with more irregular locations where extended warehousing is a possibility. It’s a real shame after all this time and money I can’t even see what she looked like assembled.
If you made it this far thanks for letting me share my tale of woe with you! It was at least helpful to speak about it. I hope to one day become an active member of this community as from my lurking over the past 8 months I know you are a considerate, passionate and interesting group of people with a wide range of creative talents. For now though, I will go back to “massaging the cuts and grazes” until my glue turns up!
NB. Zelex kindly included 2 sets of blue eyes and 2 wigs as free gifts - plus there was no charge from SL for the glue!
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