I agree that a petition over the price of one item is nonsensical and somewhat overkill. Disney is a company and can do and charge whatever it wants and will continue to do so as long as it makes money. People aren’t obligated to buy anything. However, I don’t think the argument that Disney is in business to make money should mean the company’s decisions are above and beyond criticism from its customers.
And is it really that upsetting to people if someone says that a doll does not look like it is worth the price? Or that many of us would like to see other dolls besides Frozen? Or to point out that quality has gone down while prices have gone up? Are we all supposed to smile and nod like Stepford Wives, no matter what Disney dishes out? Someone expressing an opinion is not preventing anyone else from purchasing these dolls if they want them. Nor are such statements personal criticisms of fellow doll collectors who like or want the dolls. If someone loves a doll and thinks it is worth $2000, they certainly don’t owe anyone an apology or should feel the need to explain themselves.
My main issue over the Wedding Doll is not that it costs $500, it is that apparently Disney is charging a ridiculous amount for a plastic doll mass produced in China solely based on the edition size, which they control. The prices of dolls on the secondary market are driven up by a natural demand; Disney is attempting to purposely force demand and create a frenzy on these products by making such a low number and using that as an excuse to charge $500. Is this a brilliant business decision? No doubt. Is this manipulating and taking advantage of customers? Yes, and anyone would be naive to think otherwise. Most people tend to get angry when they sense they are being manipulated, and I believe this is a primary source of the frustration over the latest doll announcements. People know when they're being had. Elite products are usually expensive for a good reason. A Rolls Royce is one thing, but if a dealer tried to sell you a Toyota for the same price just because he slapped a shiny rhinestone-encrusted medallion on the front, you’d laugh in his face.
While I don’t believe the retail price of the regular LE dolls will increase in the near future, I can see the quality of the dolls going down and Disney creating a more expensive new “Platinum” line of dolls of the exact same quality that the dolls used to be when they started out. I don’t think this observation is premature. It is already happening. The quality of the new Frozen dolls already appears to be considerably lower compared to the Frozen dolls released just a year ago. They’ve already started holding back quality on the regular LE’s with the release of the Harrods dolls.
Perhaps Disney will release more information that will justify the $500 price tag on the Wedding Doll and I will stand corrected on its worth, but as of now, they have only released photographs with limited information, and by appearances, the doll really doesn’t look that much different from the 12” doll beyond the addition of eyelashes and some rhinestones. Personally, I think the butterflies on the skirt are a really lovely touch. But if the doll was made with special or expensive materials, wouldn’t it be in Disney’s best interests to advertise that? It is my understanding that most companies try to promote the best qualities of their products, not hide them. If the doll had looked significantly different or if Disney had released more information about the doll and why it was priced as such (beyond the 500 LE size) I believe there would have been far fewer complaints.
I’ve been a devoted Disney fan my entire life — one of the main reasons is because the Disney brand used to be synonymous with quality and outstanding customer service. Disney stood apart from other companies for these very reasons. However, in the past couple of years I feel these values have been tossed aside for the bottom line.
Sure, there have always been and will always be people who cannot afford Disney products or afford a Disney vacation, but Disney continues to offer less and less for more and more money. This has also become extremely prevalent in the parks, with add-ons and up-charges for nearly everything now. They have taken away things that used to be available to anyone who purchased a park ticket, slapped an extra charge to it and now made it exclusively for the ultra-wealthy and elite. They charge upwards of $300 for events that offer little more than the ability to purchase their products for even more money. This strategy has been extremely successful — Disney stock has nearly doubled over the past year. This is all great for stockholders, but as a customer, I can’t say I’m ever going to be happy to be getting less than I was getting before and being charged more money for it.
Of course, the flippant response is usually “then don’t purchase the dolls,” and I guess when I’ve finally had enough of it, I will quit. But I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of these dolls and really would like to continue to do so without seeing a decline in product quality and/or to feel I am being forced out of the hobby because I’m not part of the wealthy one percent.
Sorry for the long post.