I recently sold a pair of Dr Martens boots.
When you think of Dr Martens boots you think of Made in England, UK, Britain, right?
Well apparently not so much . . . My Dr Martens where Made in China.
I had assumed all Dr Martens where made in the UK but obviously, this was not the case.
You see Dr Martens are manufactured in 3 countries: China, Taiwan, and England.
The Made In England versions are supposed to be better constructed & hand stitched while the Made in China/Made in Taiwan are slightly different.
You can still own a pair of English Dr Martens boots, but it will cost you more. 🙁
This got me wondering, why 3 locations?
The answer is quite simple really, M.O.N.E.Y.
Dr Martens were on the verge of bankruptcy but came up with a swift solution of saving the brand.
Which involved lowering the production cost by manufacturing the boots in other countries (China & Taiwan)
I thought the history of the brand was pretty fantastic and it left me wondering about the doll market and the collectors within it.
Doll Companies: Is the Focus Quality or Quantity?
I wondered if doll companies are imploring similar solutions to keep their brand moving forward.
There are doll companies who release a large quantity each year and then there are others who focus on 10-12 dolls annually.
I don’t know if the doll companies manufacture their dolls in multiple countries/locations like Dr Martens but I do know that certain doll companies produce larger amount of a particular series of dolls compared to other companies.
So I want to get your thoughts on the subject of quality vs quantity in the doll market.
Do you like the large volume of dolls released each year (example 21 dolls) or are you the type of collector who likes to have about 12 dolls releases each year?
If you are a long time collector of dolls, in your experience have you notice any changes in the quality of your doll?
If so, what improvements could be made for the next doll?
Let’s Get the Ball Rolling
Post your opinions below!
I also wonder if quantity always means lesser quality. I think it depends on the instance, but I do think too many releases can be bad for companies and the market. Sure, they have a better chance of hitting a doll that someone will like (more styles = more chance you will like at least one…) but when there are so many dolls I feel like the market can become flooded to some degree and dolls become devalued. I feel like for a while ABJD companies were releasing way too many and it just became overwhelming and dolls didn’t hold their value at all and I suspect companies began to not sell as well. VOLKS for example seems to have really pulled back production and accessibility (perhaps too much?) but definitely my most recent limited lottery from them was exceptionally crafted with lots of extra things included. Most likely if they had made 400 of that doll instead of 50, quality and extras would have been decreased due to lack of resources to complete.
Hi Aimee,
So true, so true, about feeling overwhelmed with releases.
Sometimes a variety of choices can debilitate one from making a choice at all.
Like you stated, from a company’s point of view the more dolls they release the higher their success rate on having a winner but there has to be some sort balance.
It’s tough enough to keep up with the releases and manage your dolly budget at the same time.
In any hobby limited quantity holds value to collectors and also creates the appearance of quality.
It would be neat if more doll companies would offer a quarterly or twice a year limited edition doll this would be a fun way to create excitement/buzz in the doll community.
Oh, that’s very interesting about VOLKS slowing down their production.
I wonder if it’s due to what you said, no longer holding there value and didn’t sale well.
If so, kudos goes to them for making modifications.
At least they are trying to find the balance to satisfy collectors and their bottom line.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on Quality vs Quantity and for the insight into ABJDs & VOLKS 🙂
~Kat
I believe in quality before quanity. Especially with the Pullip brand there are so many repeats of the same theme over and over. Alice in wonderland is one of them and steampunk the other.
If you have the same theme year after year just for quanity sake your fanbase is going to roll its eyes and laugh at the inside jokes that develop.
I say that if you condense down to maybe a doll per month, or i dare say one every other month, or a month and a half. We would see a better variety of choices. Also don’t think i didn’t notice the face that taeyangs are hardly ever mentioned anymore? its very sad. they are my favorite part and yet they hardly get a release its almost a miracle anymore.
I do like the fact that they are bringing some of the anime dolls back. ((especially grell in the taeyang body. )) But, we have seen them do some great original work. I would just like to see them do that agian. Or maybe even work on a series that died out. Like the fairy tale series for example.
Heya Johanna,
I couldn’t have said it any better.
I like the idea of dolls being released every other month.
It would be interesting to see how collectors would response to only getting a doll every other month.
I imagine it would build a great anticipation and excitement within the community, with collectors anxiously awaiting news for the next release.
It’s a shame that the other family releases have been dwindling . . . and poor Byul (her last sighting
was Jan 2014 :O)
But there may be a glimmer of hope for Taeyang since its his 10th Anniversary after all.
Hopefully Groove Inc will deliver one spectacular boy this year!
Thanks a bunch for sharing your thoughts on Quality vs Quantity,
Kat
I had to check but they are the original Dr. Martens, the big chunky boots. They have such weird sizing (different from Australian sizing) so I remember it was a matter of trying on the different sizes to find out which one fit.
Hi Alasse Carnesir,
The sizing was wonky for me too.
Since I normally wear a half size, I went for the small end.
They were a bit tight.
I thought the more I wore them they would loosen up . . . but they didn’t XD
It’s interesting, but I don’t think that Quantity always excepts Quality. They are not mutually exclusive. In the case of Pullips, which I buy, you can break down the number of pullips produced in a year by the number of designers involved as well. The Bandai (sailor moon) releases would have been one designer, then there are the creator’s label dolls (Alura/Laura, Sheryl Design, BTSSB), that have multiple artists involved, and then there are Groove’s in-house designers for the normal releases (Alice in Steampunkland, Sweeet Eve), and so you’ll get at least some range on the perceived quality of each release. For me the Sailor Moon dolls were of low interest, because I knew they would be similar in design, and details important to me, like the face up, and clothing design were likely to be less detailed than that of a creator’s label doll. But overall, I didn’t feel there was a drop in the perceivable quality of the Creator’s Label doll, due to the existence of the Sailor Moon dolls. Also, I didn’t consider the overall quality of the company’s product line to be diminished due to the higher volume either. Another thing to note is that the expanded line up for 2015 brought in a large number of new customers due the the cross brand labeling. One could consider that even though some may prefer the more detailed dolls, the “quality” of the simpler Sailor Moon dolls was actually in their being an official licensed product. So in fact the quality overall still maintains from a specialized collector standpoint.
Hi Kathryn Dodd,
That’s a fresh perspective on sorting the releases by designers. (Bandai, Creators Label, In House designers)
I never thought about looking at Groove’s releases like that.
I wonder if that’s one of the methods they use to decide which doll to announce next.
That’s good to hear that there wasn’t a decrease in quality despite having many creators in a single year.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on Quality vs Quantity,
Kat
That’s a tough question, because I don’t always have the money to buy a doll when it releases and a lot of dolls I’m interested end up with much higher prices on the market after the supplier stops selling them. So part of me likes higher quantities because it gives me a better chance.
But of course, I’d really rather have quality. I like to take my dolls out for photos and I’d rather feel secure I’m not likely to have any mishaps! I also feel when more dolls are released within a year that some of the dolls start to really look alike? That might just be me, though.
Hello Kas!
You bring up an interesting point about the dolls looking the same after a awhile.
I think that’s something doll companies may want to pay attention to and start making adjustments.
Staying original and creative is a challenge so I wonder what they could do to consistently offer a variety of dolls.
Maybe they could try offering different texture (material) of hair, updates to bodies or maybe something as simple as providing more accessories with dolls.
Thanks for sharing your opinions on Quality vs Quantity,
Kat
I didn’t know that about Doc Martans. I, like you, assumed they were all made in England. I know I paid a pretty penny for mine a few years ago. I should check where they are made…
On the subject of dolls and quantity vs quality … I would prefer fewer releases and high quality dolls as opposed to a lot of doll releases a year. I feel if a doll company is more focused on churning out a lot of dolls, a drop in quality can often happen which is not so good for the company or the customer. I am happy to wait for months for a new release to happen particularly if I know I am going to be getting a high quality doll.
The other thing to note (for me at least) is that if companies are constantly releasing dolls, I’m not able to buy as many because I need time to save the money for the dolls and replenishing doll funds is a slow process.
Hi Alasse Carnesir,
I agree there is a potential for companies to lose sight of quality especially if their main focus is churning out dolls.
I understand the waiting for the dolly fund to replenish, if I had an endless supply of cash I could handle all the doll announcements. 🙂
Oh cool, what type of Dr Martens do you own?