4/21/2010

It's Alive aka Contains Limited Edition Mold


No, I'm not talking about Frankenstein's monster tonight but I do feel as if I've been reading a scary book.
I may be the last to know but there's mold in them there hills and on some of the Real Estate Agnes dolls.
The dolls may have been boxed with damp hair. No one is saying exactly but the pictures and descriptions of the location of the mold growth leads to that conclusion. Most of the mold is on the back of the jacket at the seams and under the arms. This Aggie has longish hair and if it were damp, that would be a likely place for mold to grow. And it's not just one person's doll. It's a bunch of them.
Here is a copy of the response someone posted on a doll board. I hope I don't get arrested by the doll police for posting this here. It does contain useful information which should be made available widely.
____________
“Thank you for your email and we are sorry to hear about the issue you are having with Agnes’ jacket.
Remember that all of our dolls spend several weeks on a boat before reaching their final destination and humidity levels vary each time depending on the weather. With this said, we do incorporate the little silica gel packs in all of our products to control the humidity levels, but sometimes it’s not enough. The mold issue can be solved pretty easily however. May I suggest that you please try to soak Agnes’ jacket in cold water, adding 1/4 cup of white vinegar and a small amount of dishwashing detergent, soak for 20-30 minutes, rinse thoroughly and let it air dry flat overnight? (Make sure not to wring the water out of the jacket and let it dry flat on a white towel so it doesn’t get deformed). If this doesn’t work, please contact us again and we’ll see to it that you are sent a replacement jacket, but we would like to ask for your collaboration in this matter as this issue, although a sad inconvenience, is fixable. Also, to make sure that no mold remains, please leave your doll’s box open to air it out for a few days to eliminate all traces of humidity.
As for the doll, please try the vinegar and water solution and see if this removes the spots.
Please let me know how it goes and thank you again for your collaboration, everyone at Integrity appreciates it.”
Regards,
________

You bet they appreciate it. The letter minimizes the problem. No one wants a $200. doll that has to be washed because mold is present. Oh, and thank you for the lesson on weather and humidity levels. "Sometimes it's not enough"? No shit, Sherlock.

Anyway, I kind of feel sorry for Integrity Toys. It's like someone has it in for them. One problem after another coming out of the factories, i.e. over-processed hair, ill-fitting shoes, stained bodies, cracked bodies, nuts and bolts....endless problems. Isn't anyone looking out for them over there in China regarding quality control? There's a missing link somewhere.

In a very short period of time Integrity Toys has amassed a large, fanatically devoted market of which I am a part. Did it happen too fast? Their main talent, Jason Wu, is probably way more occupied with his human fashion business, and rightly so. He deserves to soar to whatever heights he can. But I miss the consistently wonderful dolls.

Well kiddies, nothing lasts forever. Even resin dolls have their issues. I had a photography professor who used to say, "If you want archival, work in stone." Where is Michelangelo these days?

Credit to James for second half of title of this post.

9 comments:

  1. Terri, this was very well written, with terrific commentary, and, overall, very insightful. Thank you so much.

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  2. Thank You for the warning. I always enjoy your postings and your "tell it like it is" style.
    W.C.

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  3. in·teg·ri·ty

    adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty

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  4. feel same with you. and it's a $200 doll not a $20 barbie........

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  5. Integrity's "solution" shows that they don't know their customer very well. And who wants an outfit that smells like vinegar??

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  6. I have felt the magic finger on quaility control has been missing for years.. this incredible.

    Suggesting that people keep and wash the dolls and clothing items is pathetic. Would Integrity staff keep them for their collections? I doubt it. This makes the dolls worthless. Certainly would be an interesting eBay product discription:
    "Contains Limitted Edition Mold"

    I think they need to replace every doll, pronto. $200.00 is indeed $200.00

    I always enjoy the honest reporting, Ms. Gold.
    Stay well .. and stay from these dolls!
    J.

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  7. @James....LOL! I love that and I would like to use that as the title of this post so I'm stealing it!

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  8. One the doll was overpriced simply based on the fact that she was limited and Agnes. Two I doubt Integrity have enough of them laying around to replace all of the moldy Agnes. A good alternative would be to offer the owners of the moldy baroness the opportunity to trade her in for another exclusive.

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  9. Hi my name is Damian and i guess i was the first person to get the Mouldy doll. I actually recieved it AT the convention and addressed the situation the day after . I was sent a replacement doll and you can see photos of her on my facebook page, she was worse than the original doll i sent back to get replaced.

    http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165219&id=616718955&l=1c7ac4f762

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