7/17/2010

Rumor: The Magazine "Haute Doll" May Be Closing Down Production


If you go to the Haute Doll site and try to order a subscription or renew an existing one you will get the message "no products found."
Yesterday the unconfirmed statement that they were shutting down erupted on one of the doll boards and spread like wild fire. Later in the day, HD sent the message that they would be issuing a statement. They did not say when.
I'm rather surprised as I thought the last issue of Haute Doll was one of their best!
I know something went wrong recently with their ordering system during a big event and shortly after that they went on leave for a while.
In spite of the fact that I write for FDQ, I enjoyed most of what HD had to offer. The main focus of each publication is different.
Perhaps they were overextended with the amount of exclusives they took on. We may never know the underlying problem. Right now, we're just waiting for some explanation.

Some of their recent exclusives have been Sybarite: The Cross; Dolci Bambola Giftset and Peak's Woods Goldie.



 While I'm sure The Cross (LE 150) sold out even with it's $820. price tag, I don't know about the  LE60 Bambola for $510.  That's quite a specialized type of doll and I know of just one person who purchased one. The Peak's Wood doll (LE 40 @ $760-$810) is the latest and part of an entire collection of exclusives which included many fashions. When the ordering for those items opened up, that was when their system went haywire.

Previously they offered an exclusive Traveler Innoquii. This doll had to be practically given away she was so disliked. Ditto for the Valia Pivoine whose initial price point was ridiculous, was put on sale and then the W Club wound up having a 2 for 1 lottery on their leftover Valias. 

I always thought those two dolls resembled eachother. In a prior blog post, I parodied a Haute Doll cover which featured Innoqui with my version of Valia whom I named Innoquous.


Now she needs a cover.
Must be the new Abused Woman style.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting.. and kind of sad. I like variety in my collections and my sources of information. I had heard this rumour at Gene's last stand.. it was kind of shocking.. but not really. The doll scene has changed a lot.

    I like both Haute Doll & FDQ Magazines.. I like Haute Doll a little more because it comes/came out more frequently. For all of FDQ's gloss in shiny paper, it often lacks substance or any current information because of the quarterly timeline.

    I have always wondered about the choices of magazine doll Exclusives.. and did the owners of the magazines have a say in what type of doll they got, or was it like the IFDC / Integrity deal.. where you sort of get what you get. With no choice. You just have to hope for the best, and hope the Conventioneers like it.

    I think "The Cross" Syb doll was not as successful as it should have been. It didn't sell out immediately. The price tag may have been a factor. The doll's makeup wasn't a winner for me. I still only have the complete fashion. I also wonder if the gluttony of Syb dolls at the time was also a factor.. a very limited market for expensive dolls can only go so far. Last years Sybs are still on Superfrock's website. Their smaller edition dolls released this week, sold out this week.

    As for Innoquii Traveler.. I liked her taking on the glamour patch/ beauty spot used in a 50's / 60's runway fashion show. She wasn't for everyone.. but she was for me. I like variety. Again too many dolls were produced. She should have been edition of 20.

    As for the Valia leftovers sitting around the office at Haute, I think Integrity may have missed the boat on making her more poseable at that time, as the doll scene had moved to more poseable dolls, earlier. By time "Valia Pivoine" got around to fully pivoting, the doll times had changed. Many of my doll collector friends had hoped Integrity was going to be offering a 16" resin doll, to compete with the Sybs and not a small doll. The AG's from Integrity didn't do it for many reasons. I wonder if this why Haute may have been stuck with some those exclusive dolls. All companies have been left with dolls that didn't sell, in recent years and collections. Look at the sales Integrity has been having. It has been a collector's price tag dream. Probably a doll companie's nightmare.

    The doll scene has changed drastically. Doll companies and magazines will suffer. A friend said to me last week.. "Once we're dead, the next generation isn't playing with dolls. They are into electronics... it's all over." I can sort of see that. Maybe this is the beginning of the end.

    I love both magazines.. with one less, to look at over lunch. It's too bad.
    Good blog post Ms. Gold... I really enjoyed it.
    J.

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  2. @J: The Valia exclusive from HD was fully articulated but by that time, many collectors had jumped ship. Her makeup palette was quite harsh compared to the first two beauties and that may have been a contributing factor.
    Have you seen the "Futurism" issue of FDQ? It throws around ideas about the landscape of doll collecting in the future.
    Terri

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  3. Dear Terri,

    I've just been reading your blogs about Haute Doll magazine closing down and the next FR convention to take place "with" Jason Wu.

    Might it be that they all become too greedy?

    This year's FR collection did not come up to my expectations, and as the sales show, neither did they meet the other collectors' overall response.

    No more handbags, no more stockings, no more Jason Wu, but high price tags.

    Even if you artificially limit the items on offer, you can overdo it. Being unfriendly to customers and selling them low quality goods is one way (Hello Superfrock!), and/or charging excessive prices is the other.

    In my opinion, HD magazine became a quite high prized catalogue, so I stopped buying it. Furthermore, as the manufacturers seem to run out of ideas, all the magazines, even the Japanese ones, only show the same thing over and over again.

    Some day the collector will simply be overfed.

    I am still buying dolls, to my purse's great
    misfortune, but I buy a lot less than before and think thrice before doing so.

    Probably other collectors feel the same, and feel ripped off, so they become more and more reluctant, which in the end makes sales drop.

    If this only made the manufacturers rethink, it would be alright.

    Petra from Germany

    bennobecker@t-online.de

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  4. I am very sorry to hear about HD. I consider it to be an amazing fashion doll publication and I will miss it terribly.
    In addition to its well rounded coverage of all fashion dolls, I will especially miss its articles, photography, and features of the Sybarites.
    This is what I enjoyed most.
    Thank you.

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  5. thanks for keeping me in the loop. didn't know this. and it figures since when i subscribed, it was for the longest length of time.... i have lost $$ on many mag subscriptions now (not doll-related) due to mags folding. it's really too bad since HD is very good as well.

    btw, i always love your wit! (last sentence of post is priceless) (=

    ~i.b.

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  6. very sad to see HD go. I buy both FDQ & HD, I agree with James, HD seems more informative & up-to-date. but I was never a fan of any of its exclusive dolls.

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  7. I've just paid a year subscription on september , I didn't even get one issue and now they are closing? I hope I get a refund for this.....so disappointed.

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