Chargebacks, Catrina's Yahoo Posts, Bimong

First I have some great news! One of the members who filed a charge back through their credit card company was refunded! Once again I will say this: If you paid with a credit or debit card through Paypal you can still call your bank or credit card company and file a charge back. You can do this by either going to or calling your bank OR you can call the number listed on the back of your credit card. It's very easy. 


Secondly, I had a conversation with Bimong tonight on Skype about the Dollfair orders that he is very kindly sending out for people even though he did not receive full payment from Catrina for the orders. He has said that some dolls should be shipping out as soon as next week. I will also be helping him file a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office over the next few days, as he is owed the most money and I hope that it will spur them into action. I will keep you updated as best I can in regards to doll shipments from him. 
PLEASE keep in mind that even though Bimong is kind enough to do this, that as the person who accepted your money, Catrina is ultimately legally responsible, if you have not already please FILE A COMPLAINT with the Ohio Attorney General's Office.... THIS WILL HELP FUTURE PEOPLE AVOID FALLING INTO THE SAME TRAP AS YOU. People not doing anything against her in the past is what got us to where we are today with this mess, now is the time to stop her once and for all. 


Lastly, Catrina who is posing as "Jo Ross" has a Yahoo! Group running for Limhwa, all negative posts about her or Dollfair are promptly deleted and I fear for the people who are currently ordering from Limhwa. 


Here is her most recent post, which contains nothing but more excuses... and it HORRIFIES me that she would still continue business like usual when she still has so many hurt and distressed customers who she still owes around $15,000 in refunds to. One of the members of the Narin thread was awesome enough to add up all the order amounts and this is the approximate number. Bimong has reported that there are no legal actions being taken against him by Dollfair, so most of the post seems to be a blatant lie, but I will post it here for everyone to read. 


The post, made by Catrina on her Yahoo! Group (thank you to the person who has kept me updated on the Yahoo! Group situation)


Hello xxxxxxxx,

Limhwadoll in Korea has no connection to Bimong or Narin Doll. In fact the two of them have never gotten along well. we have been working with Limhwa now for 5 years and everything has always been fine and her work is always impressive.

Due to legal actions we have been forced to take against certain persons in Korea, we have been asked by our lawyer not to comment further. There is a lot of misinformation out there and it's hard for me not to be able to say anything. 

Due to all the refunds we issued, our merchant Visa/ Mastercard got unhappy about all the money they had to pay back... 
and so we were forced to switch to a new merchant system with a local bank. So good news is we can soon take payments by Discover as well as Visa and Mastercard. Bad news for me was that the merchant system we had for six years locked me out of the database when it switched. So I am waiting now for hard copies so I can resume shipping some overdue items (none of which are Limhwa as you know).
In the past, we never needed to refund more than a handful of things per year, so you cannot imagine what a headache this has been. 

But I want to assure you everything has been fine with Limhwa and as usual her orders arrive and are beautiful. 

Limhwa orders taken before the next ordering period starts take the longest to arrive. We are just about to begin a new ordering period which will last one week. 

Limhwa dolls can also be seen at IDEX later this week and will be featured in the Doll Reader Debut of Dolls issue being unveiled at IDEX. 

thank you
Jo Ross

Apology for Lack of Updates

Hey all! 


Just wanted to say I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I've been sick (but functional) for the past two weeks and the last week it got pretty bad, but I think I'm on the road to recovery now. We're still digging into the Dollfair issues, but I got slowed down by the plague a bit! :P 


Currently I'm trying to find more information out on what is going on with Limhwa and Dollfair. Some customers appear to be getting dolls that were ordered back in October, but there's been no word from the actual creator of Limhwa on whether or not everything continues to go smoothly. I am concerned about Limhwa because they seem to be the only company that Dollfair has not burned bridges with yet. 


There is a Yahoo! group here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/limhwa/ where "Jo Ross" (most likely Catrina) has posted:

"Hi everybody
My name is Jo Ross, and I'm the customer service manager for Limhwa Doll international.
Joan Nopriadi did customer service for many years and I am trying to fill her shoes.. it hasn't been easy. There is so much to learn and so many details with each doll to memorize.
We're going to kick off a special event this week for Limhwa Doll, with a secret treat for insiders here on the Yahoo list.. we will also be offering some special discontinued dolls for sale. Details on this coming later today.
If you have any questions please ask.. I'm going to check here and see what you need to know about!

thanks so much
Jo Ross
Limhwa Doll international
customer service"

It really bothers me not only that this is most likely Catrina, but also because Dollfair is going out if it's way to possibly do special events for Limhwa customers while there are 30+ people who ordered Narin dolls from her that are still awaiting refunds. 

Anyways in response to "Jo Ross" a Yahoo! group poster said: 

"How are we to know this won't turn into another fiasco as is happening with the Narae/Neferti orders? I have emailed you concerning an order I have not received since last June of 2010 and have been repeatedly ignored. I would like to order more products from Dollfair, but since the other problems haven't been resolved with your other doll lines it is questionable."

The above post got deleted from the Yahoo! group and I believe nobody has heard from Jo Ross afterwards. 

Any help looking into this would be appreciated. Bimong has given me the address for the artist which is: limhwa1004@paran.com


Perhaps if more people write to her she will reply and we can find some answers! 


Again my email address is here: lydiangroves@gmail.com if you have anything you would find useful to post here! 

Comments from an Ex-Dollfair Employee

Got this email from someone who used to work for Dollfair. I want to post it because it shows that those who have been lied to and hurt by Dollfair are NOT alone. 
I really appreciate the person who wrote this to me, so thank you. Everything we find out gives us a better idea of what is really going on. 


**************************************************
I just thought I would drop you an email about Dollfair. The work you have done compiling all of the information is very wonderful, and I admire your dedication.

I worked for Catrina for a period of time, and won't disclose the period. I can safely say that there is a good bit of bad blood between her and I. In the beginning when the store first opened up, I worked with three other people. By time the store opened I was working with one other person. Not a month later, the other person she had hired quit. The conditions were very suspicious. 

Catrina was always very big into bragging about how successful she was. I recall vividly bringing a friend  into the shop to show her the dolls, and ended up helping her with orders- while I was off the clock. I was there for an hour helping her and she proceeded to tell me that she had decided to take her daughter to France and that it was just too bad that I would never be able to afford to go nice places. Then she called her up on speaker phone in front of me. 

Catrina has always had habits of lying about things- I know for sure that she would frequently lie about furiously packaging up big shipments, because it would be her sitting on the computer while I packed things up!  I actually wasn't paid in cash- I was paid in merch while working with Catrina, and she would gladly tell me about how  she got a huge profit margin on these items (near 40% off) and originally I had been promised to only work off what she paid... I worked off retail on all the items.

She used to scold me constantly for how the business was doing when I only packed up orders. She blamed me for low sales on a doll line she never advertised for sale, let alone created a webpage for... And most of all, when I was in the store one time she told me- 

"Don't try to talk about me or the store on Den of Angels/Den of Demons. I have so many friends who will look out for me and make sure bad things don't get said. It's not worth trying."

Frankly I didn't know Joan still worked for Dollfair. I really hope a better solution is found. I know Catrina did, in my working with her,  she had more than one email and web message account to make sure that she always had a good persona in public. 

I'm not sure any of that is helpful really, I have certainly done my own wrongs in my interactions with her- if any of this is interesting please refrain from disclosing my name. But it really helps me to tell someone.

I hope this problem gets resolved for everyone soon.

**************************************************

Screen Captures of All Catrina's Posts

Someone was nice enough to send these to me so I have created a flickr account and uploaded all the screen shots of everything Catrina has said in the Narin waiting room here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58715157@N08/

Nothing she promised has come to pass, but in fairness I decided that since these are the only comments she's made to defend herself in any way, I'd post it here. It still makes me upset to look back on what seemed to be sincere communication, but ended up just being untruths. Actions speak louder than words.
Hope this is somehow helpful. 


-E-

For People That Take Issue With This Blog

Some people, whether they are well meaning or not still take issue with the fact that I have set up this blog. 

Some think it's a personal attack. Some say its libelous. Some simply are blindly defending Dollfair. 

I want it to be known that I did not set up this blog to annihilate Catrina or Dollfair, but rather to bring all the facts together to one place where people who have been hurt by the Dollfair fiasco can follow what is going on, and remain informed in ongoing developments involving Dollfair. 

What have I done to harm Catrina? 

Was it me who left the Narin/Narae orders up for months after the artist requested orders be closed? No. Catrina has admitted she should have closed the order period much sooner.

Was it me that left 4 functioning websites up for companies I no longer have the legal right to represent? No.

Was it me who stopped communicating with my hurt and confused customers, making promises and not keeping them? No. 

Was it me who sent bad prototypes to artists, kept their masters, supplies and disappointed their fans? No.

Is it me going to IDEX, even though I owe thousands of dollars in refunds to people who trusted me with their money? No.

All I have done is raise awareness of the problems Dollfair created for themselves. I find it interesting that people take issue with that. 

Tell me what would you rather have then. Would you rather have nobody knowing about the problems? Nobody putting them together in one place? Nobody upset that all this has gone on? Would you rather have people still purchasing dolls from websites that Dollfair no longer has the rights to run? Would you rather have had all this left in the shadows, each problem secret and separate? Do you think it's nobody's business? Would you rather let Catrina remain silent while thousands of her customer's dollars have vanished? Customers who have supported her business in the past?

If you would really rather have those things, then ask yourself why. The problem is bigger than any one person. I understand that some people know Catrina and like her, but this isn't about you. It's about the people that have lost money. People who have been hurt. People who have been lied to. Artists who were so hopeful to see their dolls come to life in resin. Don't act like these people are Catrina's enemies, they are the ones that supported her in the first place, whether it be with their money or their art.

Until Catrina stands up and speaks for herself, I will let her actions speak for her through this blog. If she does speak for herself I will post it here without comment, fairly.

The truth hurts, that's how it lets you know when you don't have it.

UPDATED - Dollfair Confirmed for IDEX 2011

You can see Dollfair is now registered and on the list for IDEX here: 

https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/tab1.aspx?EventID=856632

I had written before on this blog post a request for a picture to be taken of Dollfair's booth at IDEX, not for dishonest reasons, but so Lillycats, an artist who is a victim of Dollfair, could be reassured that her doll would not be on display or for sale at IDEX, as it is a breach of their contract for them to do so without her permission.

Here is the prototype of the doll that Dollfair DOES NOT have permission to display or sell at IDEX, please keep an eye out for her if you happen to be there! 

Enchanted Doll by Marina Bychkova & Dollfair problems

I got this via email from someone and I thought I would post it here for everyone. I'm just copy pasting the whole mail since I don't have much to add to this myself. It seems Marina and Lillycats of Cerisedolls are having the same problems with Dollfair as far as poor prototypes are concerned. 

Later today I will be posting some things that Lillycats has said in regards to Dollfair possibly releasing her dolls without her permission, which would be a breach of their contract. Please stay tuned!

________________________________________

Here is the mail I received:

I have been following your blog, thankfully I learned from past issues and stopped ordering through Dollfair, but was still interested because Enchanted Doll contracted with them for Dollfair to produce her resin dolls.
Marina Bychkova, the artist, is very tightlipped about the entire thing,  but on a Russian Forum, (through a translator) she admitted to getting bad casts from Dollfair:

View Single Post
#770 Today, 10:16 AM
MigMig
Soft fired Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 90

On a Russian forum DollPlanet.ru there is a thread about Marina's dolls http://www.forum.dollplanet.ru/viewt...559&start=2820
On January 8th one of members asked:

Marina, tell me what [is happening] with the Russian list for polyurethane? whether there is some progress in the direction of casting? I very much want Vega! can't take it anymore .....

...and Marina responded: .

Dear, do not add salt to my wounds! [They] again sent defective [cast]! How much one can endure!
I sent it back with a final warning. Now I wait again.
And it all began so well.

The rest of posts on this issue at DollPlanet.ru recommend checking on the ED forum for information about the whole scandal around resin casts from DollFair and repeat information already posted here.
________________________________________

As I said before please be aware that Dollfair's paypal name is DATATEX MEDIA, please think twice before sending a payment to them for anything! 

-Erin-

IMPORTANT: Companies that Dollfair No Longer Represents

I wanted to kind of do a repeat blog on this subject. Dollfair NO LONGER has permission from the following companies to cast or sell their dolls. They have all notified Dollfair about this, however Catrina has left FULLY FUNCTIONAL order pages up for them.

I have also included links to the original text of what the artists have stated for your reference.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY THESE DOLLS THOUGH DOLLFAIR, I AM ONLY LINKING YOU TO THE ORDER PAGES TO SHOW YOU THAT THEY ARE STILL UP AGAINST THE ARTIST'S WISHES.

Sleetweath Briar, created by Anita Collins. 
Here is the order page: http://www.atnouveau.com/briar.htm

Anita has said, in her blog:
(Refrence link here: http://sleetwealth.blogspot.com/2011/01/boycott-dollfair.html#comments)
"Im posting to warn BJD artists and doll collectors to avoid Catrina Sanders and her company like plague.Dont buy Briar from her as I will not see any of the money.And you will be gambling on to getting your doll."
And she has also said:
"Ive let Catrina know that she no longer has my permission to cast any Briar's. She has not responded."

Narin/Narae by Bimong
Here is the order page: http://www.dollfair.com/gallery3.htm

Bimong has said, on his website:
(Reference link here: http://www.art-bimong.com/board/pop4.php3?ID=13)
"I would like to remind you again that Dollfair does NOT have the ability to make Narae nor the right/permission to sell Narae. "

Supia Dolls

I have posted a warning about this in a previous post in my blog, but it belongs here as well. Catrina's contract was cancelled with them in Spring 2009. Please refer to that post for further information. In an attempt to cover her behind, it appears Catrina has finally removed this page from her website, after nearly two YEARS. When I wrote my original blog on January 10, 2010 the website was still up and functional. It seems we're making some sort of difference here at least!

My Dolling, by Gu Mi Jung
Here is the order page: http://www.dollingstudio.com/mjkoo.htm

Miss Gu now has a warning pop-up on her website which states:
"The only place here (www.mydolling.com), you can buy the Mydolling dolls and I'm not affiliated with Dollfair/Catrina Sanders. (www.dollingstudio.com is not my website)
She is not my official dealer, now.
Thank you,
Gu M.J"

Dollfair, at this time, also does not have permission to sell or produce dolls from artist LillyCats of Cerisedolls.

A Timeline of Events!

I know this timeline is based mostly off of the Narin/Narae problem and does not include the other artists or companies details..... but I hope that it's something to look at if you're having problems keeping the series of events straight, as I do sometimes. 


The following was a e-mail from an awesome person who took the time and effort to create this timeline!

*****************************

The following information is taken from the locked Narin waiting room thread at DoA. Actual quotes are shown in quotation marks.

Nov 2009: Narindoll changes management. Dollfair is aware of it and opens the pre-holiday ordering period, but does not mention the instability at Narindoll to customers.

Jan-Feb 2010: Customers in the Narin waiting room at DoA complain of no updates and unanswered email.

Feb 6: Catrina's assistant Joan posts an update in the waiting room announcing Narindoll's management change, says Dollfair took a large number of pre-holiday orders but Narin did many of them "wrong", and that Dollfair is "looking at solutions to assist the staff in Korea". It is evident from the gist of Joan's post that Dollfair had been aware of the management change and of quality control issues.

Feb-March 2010: Customers AGAIN complain of lack of updates and unanswered emails and phone calls.

Early April 2010: Some Naraes start to arrive, with quality issues.

April 2010: Bimong's contract with Narindoll expires, and he sues Narindoll in Korean court to get his molds and licenses back. Catrina is aware of the lawsuit but does not inform customers. Bimong claims later that he told her at this time not to sell any of his dolls while the case dragged on. In spite of this, Catrina opens an ordering period for Neo-Narae and Narin Dreamer (which she had received the photos for the previous fall). 

May 17: In response to a request for an update, a customer receives a private email from Catrina saying that Bimong is having all the molds remade and new boxes/certificates produced. No mention of the lawsuit.

June 2010:  A customer is told in another private email from Catrina that "the casting place which makes the dolls for both Bimong and Narin Creative moved and that they planned to start up production again on July 1st or 2nd." Catrina continues to accept Narin orders and opens orders for the Neferti head.

July 10: A customer hears from Catrina that the casting company's building had been damaged in a storm and they had to move, then rewire the new location. They are told that casting will resume July 16. Catrina is still accepting Narin orders.

August passes with no updates from Dollfair, and many complaints from customers about the lack of communication and the 8-month wait.

Sept 2: Speculation arises for the first time that Bimong might be involved in a lawsuit with Narin. One customer has just found out that Bimong's contract with Narindoll had expired in April. Customers are worried and upset. When they try to contact Catrina, they receive an auto-response that Catrina "will fly to Korea in two weeks to help the orders get out". (Note that Catrina did not actually fly to Korea.)

Sept. 15: Catrina posts an update for the first time since Feb. 6. She excuses her non-communication by saying she had moved her studio, and had hired an email answering service which did a poor job. For the first time she admits that Bimong and Narin have been suing each other since April. In spite of the case being up in the air, Catrina had decided to send the money and the April/summer orders to Narindoll's former casting manager, who still had the molds in his possession at that time. At the time of this update, Bimong had  won his suit and regained his licenses to the dolls (and presumably the molds). Catrina says she has the Neferti master mold along with permission to cast Neferti heads for her customers. She says she is trying to get Bimong to send her all the masters so she can cast all the outstanding orders herself (which she had been accepting, against Bimong's supposed instructions, for 5 months). She says, "In hindsight, I wish I'd shut things down months ago." She promises to finally shut down Narin orders and post an update on the Dollfair site. She says she has sent all the money to Korea and can't get it refunded, so she is going to sell her private collection to raise money. She promises more updates and faster responses to emails.

Sept 17: Catrina posts that she is tired and things are difficult, but that she will ship the Neferti heads in October.

Early October passes with no updates and no Nefertis. Catrina is elsewhere on DoA promoting the new Limhwa doll. She does not respond to emails. People who call her phone say it rings on with no answer.

Oct 9: Bimong opens his own website. Customers are concerned about what this means for their outstanding orders. 

Oct 10: Bimong claims on his site that he has had many problems with Dollfair over the past few months, and they owe him "a significant amount of money" which was supposed to go toward the cost of producing the unfulfilled orders. 

Oct 10: Catrina counter-claims, "The truth is that Bimong and his casting company were paid for all orders and he has not delivered one thing to me. Turns out he and his casting manager split the money 50-50 and have not sent me my orders. I have him on record admitting that via SKYPE... He kept asking me to tell everyone he would take responsibility for everything. At this point, I am not going to turn over responsibility for these orders to him." She claims Bimong has no ability to cast, no boxes and no infrastructure, and that no one will work with him, including his faceup artist Day. (This last group of statements is untrue, since Bimong immediately began casting and shipping new orders, and Day is indeed still working with him.)

Catrina posts again the same day, reiterating her claims and saying that Shahti was her idea. She wonders if his site is "a joke" and urges people to boycott his site "to pressure him to finish past orders". She claims he has been "living off the money since April". She goes on excuse her lack of communication by saying that she couldn't handle the email volume and she had lost her voice making phone calls. She says she is selling her doll collection to raise money, and promises to issue refunds.

Oct 10 again: There is discussion of starting a resolution thread in the DoA marketplace, but Catrina posts requesting them not to start one, on the grounds that it would make it harder for her to sell her doll collection. She says she will put her collection up for sale on the Dollfair site. (In fact she did not do this.) She says, "I will not turn over your orders to him and you won't have to deal with him."  (Note that she alternates between urging customers to pressure Bimong to finish their orders, and assuring them that they won't have to deal with him.)

Oct 11: Catrina posts, "If he had made the dolls months ago... we would not be here at all." (Note the apparent contradiction with her series of excuses from May through July, where she said Bimong was unable to make the dolls because he had to refurbish the molds, the casting company had to move, their building needed to be rewired etc.) Catrina claims that Bimong reneged on a promise to make K-3 heads, forcing her to refund customers. ""This is why we have Neferti in production here. It was THE ONLY solution I could come up with to take care of my customers."

Oct 12: Bimong's translator (lovelovedoll) states Bimong's claim that he was not paid most of what he was owed by Dollfair. Bimong promises to fulfill the outstanding orders at his own expense, and asks customers to send their information to him. He gives a time frame of early 2011. 

Oct 12 Catrina responds: ""I'm really glad to see Bimong has taken responsibility and will make the dolls after all." (Note again, the contradiction with her promise to take care of the orders herself.) Catrina says, "The reason we kept assuring people everything was on the way was BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT BIMONG ASKED ME TO TELL CUSTOMERS [caps hers]." She promises to get written confirmation from Narin Creative's president that Bimong was paid in full. (As far as is known, she did not do this.) 

Bimong's translator replies that Bimong was paid a fraction of what he was owed, not enough to cover the costs of production, and says Bimong is willing to take the case to court if necessary.

Oct 14: Catrina says she has six months of SKYPE messages saved as proof that Bimong was paid in full, including joint meetings with Bimong and the casting facility in June. (June was when the facility was supposedly in the process of moving.)

Oct 15: Bimong himself posts for the first time. He claims he told Dollfair to stop selling his dolls between April and October 2010, during the time of the lawsuit. He believes that Dollfair received over $15,000 for the Narin orders, but he was paid only $2000 in May 2010. He says Dollfair is now not allowed to sell his dolls. (No mention of how the Neferti heads fit into all this.)

The Narin waiting room was locked at this point. The following is derived from the Narin Resolution thread in the DoA marketplace, started Oct 16.

Oct 17: Update from Catrina says she is having trouble dealing with the volume of email and that she will start issuing refunds in a few days. It is unclear from Bimong's post of Oct 15 whether Catrina has permission to cast the Neferti heads, but she claims to have permission in writing and plans to proceed. 

Oct 18: Catrina posts "We are casting the Neferti heads now and will have all of them completed by the end of the month." She says refunds will commence in a few days.

Oct 20: Catrina posts that refunding has begun, and that the Neferti casting is going well and will be shipped at the end of the month.

Oct 21: Catrina posts that more refunds will be issued the next day, and that she has contracted with a well-known faceup artist to do the faceups on the heads.  (The faceup artist later confirms the contract, but says that Catrina did not in fact ship her any heads to paint.)

Oct 22: Catrina promises that most of the people in the Wiki will receive their refunds today, and says Paypal has advised her to use a method of refunding which is complex and expensive. She blames customers for sending her confusing information, and for infecting her email with a virus. She warns a customer against trying to order Neferti directly from Bimong, saying she has the only master and the customer will not be able to get a head from her later. (In fact Bimong did have his own Neferti molds and began shipping heads to his own customers in November.)

Oct 23: Catrina promises that blank heads will ship at the end of October, and painted ones a week after that. She suggests that customers should count themselves lucky that they are getting refunds from her instead of having their orders turned over to Bimong.

Oct 28: Catrina posts that most refunds have been sent, and the remaining few will go out the following day. 

Oct 30: Catrina posts that still more refunds will go out shortly. She says that it has taken so long because she has had to comb through her records to see whether people were refunded long ago or changed their orders. The Neferti heads are promised to ship in early November.

Two weeks pass with no updates, no responses to emails, no further refunds, and no Nefertis.

Nov 16: Catrina says that she has had the flu, complains of how diligently she has worked for her customers, and says she is training someone to answer emails. She says all refunds have been issued except for two Russian orders. Neferti heads will ship this week and she will send tracking numbers.

Nov 18: Catrina tells a customer in a private email that the Neferti heads are being boxed up for shipping that very day.

Nov 27: Catrina emails a customer that the Neferti heads are being held up due to magnet problems and that she hopes to ship out the heads at the end of November.

Nov. 29: Last update from Catrina. Her assistant Joan quit to take care of an elderly mother. Catrina has been training two people to handle the emails but they are unsatisfactory. Her family is helping her go through the records, get things organized, and answer emails. She says that half the Neferti heads were shipped last week, and the rest will ship this week. She says they were delayed due to defective magnets in the headcaps. She promises that refunds are nearing completion. She hints strongly that Bimong has mental health problems.

Dec 7: A customer receives an email from a Dollfair employee saying Catrina is sick. No one has received a tracking number or a Neferti head. Another customer posts that Dollfair informed her that her order and money was forwarded to Bimong (against her wishes), but they could not produce proof of this. Bimong claimed not to have received the order or money from Dollfair.

Dec 8: Bimong posts, and reiterates information about the termination of his contract with Narindoll and the lawsuit. He says he asked Catrina not to sell his dolls between April and August.  He also says that Dollfair paid $4000 (of about $15,000 owed) to the Narin casting manager.  $2000 of this went to Bimong and was supposed to cover not only some of the Narins, but 20 dolls for "a French artist" (Lillycat/Cerisedolls). He claims Catrina then changed her mind about doing the dolls for Lillycat and wanted the full $2000 to go to the Narin order.  He claims that Catrina reneged on two agreements, for which he has witnesses: She was not supposed to sell dolls by other artists, and she promised him the profits from the Neferti order (which he did give her permission to cast). Bimong promises to start fulfilling the outstanding Narin orders in the next month or two.

Dec 10: Paul Pham confirms that Catrina had received promo photos of Neo Narae late in 2009. She opened orders for Neo Narae in April, during the period Bimong claimed he had asked her not to sell his dolls.

Dec 10: Bimong posts a letter from Lillycat/Cerisedolls at his site, at her request. She tells of her problems with Dollfair and says she is trying to break her contract. Lillycat claims that she sent a master to Catrina in Jan 2010 for casting, later received a very bad prototype cast, and to date (a year later) no sellable casts have been made of her doll, and she can't get her master back.

Dec 14: Paul Pham, another doll artist, posts of his experiences with Dollfair. Catrina produced his dolls since 2008 but he terminated the contract in 2010, because she repeatedly missed delivery dates, misled him on schedules, went incommunicado for long periods, and delivered poor customer service. He says she has also failed to return some of his property (boxes and stands).

Dec 17: Catrina emails a customer that the heads will be shipping in a few days. She says she had been hospitalized for pneumonia and on IVs. None of her assistants or family members appear to be answering emails.

Dec 21: A customer who has tried to order a Sleetwealth Briar hears from Catrina, who says she has been in the hospital, that the order was delayed due to defective magnets, and that the doll is being shipped. (To date this customer has not received the doll.)

Dec 22: Jo Ross, who says she is the new Dollfair customer service manager, emails a few customers and says heads will be shipped as soon as she receives the correct shipping information. Jo Ross claims that she has been overwhelmed by change of address emails, so she is confirming each order before she ships it.

Dec 31: The faceup artist confirms to a customer that she did not receive any Neferti heads from Catrina. There have been no tracking numbers issued for Neferti heads. However, Catrina emails a customer that she just shipped out a large Limhwa order.

Jan 5: A customer quotes a statement from the artist/creator of Sleetwealth Briar dolls, saying that she has terminated her agreement with Dollfair and recommends that people not buy from her nor artists work with her. In Briar's blog she cites missed schedules and late payments.

Jan 7: Bimong posts a notice on his website that he will start making dolls for the people with outstanding orders.

Jan 7: The owner of the company in the building next door to Catrina's studio confirms that she has been in and out of the studio as recently that morning.  Meanwhile, Jo Ross emails a Limhwa customer saying that Catrina is still ill.

Summary:

To date, no one who has ordered a Nerferti head through Dollfair has received it, even though Catrina or her representative have been promising delivery every couple of weeks for the past 2 1/2 months, and in fact have claimed the heads already mailed at least twice.

To date, many people are still waiting for refunds, even though Catrina claimed that all the refunds were complete.

Six of Catrina's nine artists have terminated or are trying to terminate their contracts with her, citing broken promises, nondelivery of goods, poor service and other serious issues. 

Catrina and her representatives repeatedly use excuses: defective headcap magnets, "swamped with emails", "must confirm your information before I can ship", "training someone to read emails", and of course serious illness (which would be more convincing if she weren't carrying out the Limhwa part of the business and visiting her studio).

****************************************

I hope this will help some of you! 

Best wishes, 

Erin

List of people who are still owed refunds

If you are not on this list and need to be added please go to the DoA thread and add yourself!!! 

Link: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?403739-Narin-Creative-Dollfair-Waitlist-and-Resolution/page29

DECEMBER 2009
December 4, 2009 - masala_chai_tea Golden Beige Matte Narae 60cm open-eyed head ($265). Defective item received on April 20th, 2010 and a replacement was promised. Compensation agreement made with Dollfair in October 2010 and defective item was sent back immediately after to Dollfair. - waiting for compensation + shipping fees refunded for parts sent back.

JANUARY 2010

FEBRUARY
Feb 25, 2010 - Pake4pleasanton 43cm Classic Narae. Pink white matte, small bust, new knee, classic Narae hands, Narin Makeup Day, seam sanding $655 (doll) +$35 (extra for change in eyebrows) = $690 - waiting for either doll or refund.

MARCH 
March 19, 2010- Compresadefresa. Dandelion 39cm. Chopose skin: matte resin tanning. Face Painting: Default-Blank. Sanding Seam: do not sand the seams. Ear Piercing: both ears. Total: $515 (including shipping). November 29, 2010, contacted me and promised a refund. I am still waiting.


APRIL


MAY


JUNE
julsw - Narin Charisma head pinky white matte, June, 18th 2010. Waiting for head or refund
zababee - waiting for refund 100$ - for Custom makeup for neferti head,the refund for the doll received
09.06 - radu -Neferti head in white urethane + limited Jewelry - waiting for refund
20.06 - Gercog - LE Neferti head in Golden Beige Matte Urethane resin - waiting for refund 
iamsiam71 - Neferti head in pinky white urethane - waiting for refund
I_DekuPhantomme - Neferti head in tan matte urethane - requested refund, no reply
haru-jen - Neferti head in tan French resin - requested refund, no reply
Tosh - Neferti head white matte urethane - want damn refund but no reply
Kaye ... 16th June .. Neferti head Tan French resin - awaiting a refund
Kaye ... 18th June .. small bust body Tan French resin - awaiting a refund
PacificBlue - June 9th - Neferti head in beige urethane - awaiting refund
Paddishtou - June 9th - Neferti head in white matte urethane (= $185) - requested refund, no reply
Lysel- June 10th - Neferti head in Pinky white Matte Urethane no face-up (= $185) - refund requested, no reply
keisetsu - 11/06/2010 - Neferi head in golden beige urethane w/o face-up - still waiting for shipment of the head
JEM12 - June 9th Neferti head french resin w/face up and jewelry, June 23rd french resin body - requested refund 12/7 - no reply
International Velvet- June 16th- Neferti head WS normal resin: Requested Refund, no reply
la Renard - 6/15/2010 Neferti head white uretane w/o face up - still waiting of the head 
yiuu - June 9th, Order No 00003554. Neferti head in Golden Beige Matte Urethane resin w/o faceup - waiting for head/refund.
cristyleepurchased Neferti head white urethane, still waiting for head, no refund issued
Sillypeach - 17 june 2010, Neferti head in white - refund requested, no reply
Angelguardian June 8, 2010 Neferti head tan urethane with faceup - have requested head....now refund....no reply
Nanyalin June, 2010; Neferti head in White Skin urethane. 170$, requested head or money, no refund, no reply.
abbie 16 June 2010; Neferti head and body in tan french resin with faceup and jewelry - refund requested, no refund, no reply - opened dispute with credit card company on 3 January 2011.

JULY


AUGUST
8/20 - Obsessed_Mimiko: 43cm Golden Beige matte resin, classic knee, Butterfly face Narin - Waiting for refund


SEPTEMBER
9/21-KittenINAbox:TOYOU Sara faceplate sent back for repairs. Dollfair emailed and confirmed they recieved it(10/26) and was hoping it would be fixed and returned before Christmas,never happened. Still waiting for faceplate or any response to my emails.


OCTOBER
Doll Arrived 01/15/11 - 10/11 - gothiclibrarian: Limhwa Leda 43cm
Doll Arrived 01/17/11 - 10/12 - WillowRain: Limhwa Leda 43cm, Normal Beige Urethane, blank, high-heeled feet
10/12 - nancy_schroeder_ca: Limhwa Leda 43cm, pinky white French resin, painted, one pair high-heeled feet, waiting on doll but may start a charge back 

NOVEMBER 
1/11 Vonbonbon: Sleetwealth Briar, nude, blank, in stock: awaiting tracking number/proof of shipping
29/11 Miisu, order number 00003713, normal beige uretane Leda with face-up + shipping to Russia, $400: waiting for doll to be shipped, sent an e-mail next day about the order, got answer 7/12 confirming order & saying that the doll will be shipped in the end of January


DECEMBER
1/12/2010 Sirena (elcato) OnlineOrder_00003715 Limhwa ToYou Sara NS + face up - sent several emails - no answer
7/12/2010 Miisu, order number 00003718, normal beige uretane Sara with face-up + wig & eyes + shipping to Russia, $315: waiting for doll to be shipped, sent an e-mail few days after the purchase, no answer
15/12/2010 Lokifer: order 00003722 Limhwa Elly beauty white skin + face-up: waiting for either doll or refund
[B]January 2011[B]
1/6/11 [B] Stella Maris[B], recieved email from Bimong, stating that he would be able to fill my order for 43 Narae in about a month.

BIG UPDATE: E-mails between me and Denis Sanders

I wrote an email a few days ago to all million of Catrina's known email addresses, and her husband replied to me. I have already been refunded, which he probably knows.... so I don't know why he's offering to refund me again, probably because they are really that disorganized. At least it's something though. I obviously won't ask him for a second refund. >.<

Edited to quote someone who said how i feel better than I can say it: 
"Due to Catrina's long history of not-quite-ethical business practices, I personally won't be giving her or her husband the benefit of the doubt here. If nothing else, if she's had pneumonia for two months, who did the tow truck company manager see going in and out of her warehouse? Why did she continue to take orders after Bimong told her to desist? Why did she lie about sending out half the Neferti heads, and were they ever cast at all? I'm also really glad you brought up the Supia website issue. I've seen it mentioned before, and couldn't figure out why no one thought it was unethical. After all, if Catrina's had the site active for two years, she must have been renewing the doman name, right? That shows calculated spite, not just forgetfulness. You don't "forget" you have an active website for dolls you don't sell."

I removed the emails for my own reasons. If you need a copy of them for legitimate legal purposes, I will foward them to you! 


-Erin- 

A Half Update

I was really hoping to post a lot today.
I am looking up possibilities for group legal action that can be taken that would be cost efficient against Catrina, certainly this situation is not unrepresented in the online world, and maybe there is a lawyer or someone out there who can help us.

At this point the best thing you can do to help yourself and help other people in this mess is to be diligent about filing your IC3's with the FBI. Not only will this help you, but it will also increase the numbers of reports the IC3 department gets, and numbers are difficult to ignore if they become large enough.

Also if you paid through Paypal with a credit or debit card you can still file a chargeback. The "3 month" Paypal rule only really matters if you pay from your Paypal balance, or an instant transfer from your bank account. PLEASE attempt to contact the bank and credit card company who issued your cards and attempt to file a chargeback by dialing the 1800 number that can be found on the back of your credit or debit card.

For those of you who payed with Paypal balance or other Paypal method not listed above, you can find the customer service number for them in my previous post labeled "IMPORTANT LINKS". At least call and speak to a Paypal representitve and tell them what is going on. They can add a note to Catrina's Paypal account (which other Paypal employees can read) and if enough of you call and report her it's possible they will do something about it, even if the result isn't your money being returned, at least Paypal will be aware that she is taking money from a lot of people.

I hope some of you will find this post helpful...

WARNING ABOUT SUPIA DOLLS/DOLLFAIR

Yujin, owner and creator of Supia dolls has CLOSED ORDERS from her official English website, but the DOLLFAIR website for Supia dolls is still ACCEPTING ORDERS.

*EDIT* 
It has been brought to my attention that Supia's real English website has been up since Spring of 2009, however I'm going to leave this post up because it irks me that Dollfair never bothered to remove their Supia website... AND they also left it to where you can check out and even PAY for a doll that they are no longer suppose to be representing. I "ordered" a doll there 5 minutes ago and it even takes you  to Paypal where you can still send payment to Datatex Media, Dollfair's company. 


I will also leave this up because it is Dollfair's website that comes up first when Googling for Supia dolls, and not the real functioning website. 


Here is the owner's website: www.supiadollz.net
Dollfair's website, which is still taking orders: http://www.supiadolls.com/

Companies Who Are Victims or Extensions of Dollfair

Please be aware! These are the companies that are either run by, or are still working with Dollfair. (There may be one or two more, please contact me if that is the case and I'll add them here!)


PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THE ARTISTS WORKING FOR THESE COMPANIES ARE VICTIMS OF CATRINA AND NOT IN ANY WAY GUILTY FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

PLEASE SHOW THEM YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!!!! 

I would suggest not ordering from these companies until all has been resolved.

Limhwa - Orders are still placed through Dollfair, please buy with caution.. - www.limhwa.com


Enchantment Doll (Please do not confuse this website with ENCHANTED Doll) This page is owned and operated by Dollfair - www.enchantmentdoll.com


Atelier Nouveau, also owned and operated by Dollfair - http://rainbowstream.com/atnouveau/index.html

My contact with Bimong, trying to contact the creator of Limhwa dolls

(this is a post I posted on DoA on January 7th, 2011, when and if I hear back from Bimong, I will update this post)
--------------------------------------
UPDATED ON January 9th 2011
E-Mail Address for Ms. Jung, Limhwa creator
limhwa1004@paran.com
--------------------------------------


Original Post: 


I wrote to Bimong today about Limhwa because the girl who creates Limhwa dolls actually was his student once. 
The only way to communicate with Limhwa (to my knowledge) is through Dollfair. So I asked Bimong if he could get in touch with the creator of Limhwa and ask her if she is getting orders and money from Dollfair. 

What he said to me was this: Ms. Jung (Limhwa owner) knows about all the problems between Dollfair and him, and also the problems with no refunds being given or dolls produced. However she regretfully still believes what Catrina is saying to her. That it made him sad because Catrina has turned Ms. Jung against him with lies. 

He asked me if Ms. Jung suffered, and if her customers suffered. I told him that the customers were very confused and worried and were afraid that Catrina would hurt them a as badly as the Narin/Neferti/Sleetweath customers. I told him I don't know how Ms. Jung is doing and could he please call her or contact her to tell her what is going on with her customers. 
He seemed alarmed and said to me that he would attempt to contact Ms Jung over the next few days. 


So I'll let you know after he contacts the Limhwa owner, if he is able to talk to her at all.

Helpful Links on Den of Angels, BJD Collectasy

These are some helpful links for people who are struggling with the Dollfair situation and want to keep up, or research further what is going on. I will keep this blog updated as I find out new things as well.


Wiki on Den of Angels, please add yourself if you are apart of this situation and have not added yourself already:
http://www.denofangels.com/doawiki/index.php?title=Narin_Waitlist


Resolution thread, discussion thread, please ONLY POST if you have ordered from a Dollfair based company and are involved in the current issues:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?403739-Narin-Creative-Dollfair-Waitlist-and-Resolution/page26


BJDCollectasy is an online doll magazine. They are an EXCELLENT source for doll information, and post updates on every company, including the Dollfair mess. Here are the relevant articles they have posted recently:


http://www.bjdcollectasy.com/dollfair/update-dollfair.html


http://www.bjdcollectasy.com/bimong-2/bimong-announcement.html


http://www.bjdcollectasy.com/dollfair/update-dollfair-and-sleetwealth-briar.html