A first-timer's review (spoiler alert - 5 stars!)

[Jonnonz]

Hello all! Some of you have followed some of my journey with Kiera already, just came in to formalise my review of SL.

Once I had decided I was going to buy a doll, and then settling on the classic 166C/273 "blond lara croft" combo, it came time for the hard part, selecting a vendor!

After having about a dozen tabs open with a dozen shopping carts full of more or less the same dolls and options, I finally picked SL for a few key reasons:

1). widest range of options available at first shopping cart stage.
2). easy site and ordering navigation.
3). an extensive FAQ, tips and care/maintenance section
4). fast response through their website chat function
5). transparent shipping policy (important for those of us that still have to pay import tax on high value items).

I browsed many other vendors, and some were cheaper at first glance, but on the whole, all things considered, for the doll I wanted with the options I wanted, it looked very much like SL would be the vendor for me. They simply had all the available options up, on the website with photos, descriptions, and cost, and it was easily transparent what I would be getting and how much it was going to cost me.

And so, I punched it in.

July 8 - order placed. Received a thank you email giving me clear expectations for what happens next.
July 10 - order confirmed at manufacturer, more clear expectations regrading timeframes etc.
July 12 - received an email giving me a nice rundown of unboxing and cleaning basics, do's and don'ts etc.
July 16 - received tracking number for the glue and stain removers I had added to my order, and also received an email with clothes shopping tips, which was very helpful!
July 18 - received an email about makeup tips
July 22 - received notice that my doll's mold has been broken, it's officially Kiera's birthday! Factory photos are coming...
July 23 - factory photos received, and accepted
July 25 - acceptance confirmed
July 27 - glue and stain remover arrive
July 29 - I sent an email asking about the vendor's experiences shipping to my country, and roughly how much import tax I should budget for. I received a very quick reply that was extremely helpful.
July 30 - main tracking number received - total of 3 weeks from order placed to order shipped! Very impressive!
August 6 - received email with photography tips
August 9 - received unboxing and cleaning email
August 12 - received Kiera.

A total of one month and 4 days from order placed to order received, and combined with information from this forum, and all the tips and tricks from the vendor's emails, I felt confident I had everything I need to hit the ground running, so to speak. Pretty happy with that!

But that's not the end of the story!

Something I miss at factory photo time was that she didn't have standing feet! There were a few other minor issues, her armpit seam was a bit rough, she had a finger poke already, her belly button wasn't pierced as requested, but the feet issue was a bit of a major.

August 12 - I email SL with photos and questions.
August 15 - received email with advice and videos for the minor fixes, an assurance of chasing up on the foot issue
August 17 - confirm resolution,
August 24 - foot bolts shipped
August 31 - foot bolts received - installed later once I built up the courage to start hacking into my beautiful doll's feet.

Every step of the way, Nick and the team have been friendly, helpful, polite and professional. I was immediately at ease knowing that I'd made the right decision for my first purchase, and when the time comes for me to make my second, I'll be straight back.

I highly recommend Silicone Lovers to anybody and everybody.