Saturday, January 7, 2012

We Effected Change!

(For those who did not read my initial post and the followup regarding Target's overprice of the new So In Style Rocawear dolls, click here and here.  For those who read these two posts, proceed on with today's update.)

With those initial emails and phone calls to Mattel and Target, followed by letters to Target Executive Offices with copies to Mattel's corporate office, we have effected change... at least in some markets where overpricing of the new So In Style Rocawear dolls has been corrected.

Yesterday, Van's Doll Treasures posted an update on the dolls' price in her area.  They are now $11.99 at two Target stores in Georgia.

In my PO Box today was a letter from "Amy" (no last name given) of Target Guest Relations in response to my December 29, 2011, letter to them.

She wrote:

Dear Debbie Garrett

Thanks for taking the time to ask us about the Mattel dolls.

While the information you have requested is proprietary, I can pass your concerns to our buying department for review.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and look forward to showing you what's new at Target!

Sincerely,

Amy

Target Guest Relations
www.target.com
(800) 440-0680

Mattel received a copy of my Target letter, but I have not heard from them in print.   Amy's letter is rather noncommittal, but as they say, action speaks louder than words.  I wanted action.

Today I returned to the Target nearest me where the dolls are now correctly priced $11.99, which is even lower than Mattel's suggested retail of $14.99. In some areas the dolls had been as much as $24.99 prior to our collective complaints.

My sincere thanks goes to all who checked and reported prices and to those who emailed, phoned and/or wrote Target and/or Mattel to bring this price discrepancy to their attention. Let's not stop here. Remain vigilant for these types of discrepancies and inconsistencies in other areas of life. It happens all the time and will continue to happen if we remain mute.   If it negatively affects one of us, it negatively affects all of us.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Darren and Marisa were the only two Rocawear dolls available at Target today. I had no initial plans to purchase any of these dolls because of their lack of articulation. However, since Target listened and corrected the pricing error, I brought them home.

dbg

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18 comments:

  1. Woohoo! Victory! I saw the lower prices the other day too. Great job!

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  2. awesome!! I haven't found these dolls at all in my stores (one of which is the store in Chicago where the line was launched), but will watch for the pricing.

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  3. Wonderful! This is great news! Thanks Debbie!!

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  4. The ability to effect change is unfortunately, the well written complaint. Congrats Debbie, I along with many others a proud of your ability to spark such change. Keep it up!!

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  5. Yes, this is great news! I stumbled across Trichelle and Grace at a Target [Silver Spring MD], and almost fainted when I "price checked" the barcode. Whew! This location also had the purple SIS car, but I didn't bring that one home ... yet. Thanks again, Debbie, for bringing this to our attention --- and I'm glad our letter-writing and emailing worked!

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  6. Oh..I wish these dolls were available in Europe also. I'm so, so sad I can't buy them here. I have to order them freom the US and they pay huge shipping prices AND customs just to get them. :( Not fair...

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  7. Now I have to go find these dolls. It's great that this was fixed so quickly.

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  8. Great new!, This is the firs time I saw Marisa, I have to get it.

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  9. Thanks for your comments and for your voices! I am so glad we didn't have to organize an Occupy Target.
    :-)

    Ada - I wish the dolls were available in Europe, too.

    Bego - Hope you're able to find Marisa.

    dbg

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  10. Whoo hoo! That is so awesome! Thanks Debbie for your diligence and work on this. Our voice does have power and so does our money! BTW, I would have been so ready to occupy Target LOL

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  11. If you could see me now, I am doing my happy dance which includes the cabbage patch. I was waiting to see if the change had hit your area. Amazing that all of our efforts got the change instituted so quickly! Thanks again for all your efforts!

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  12. As they say the squeaky wheel/gets wheels get the oil.

    dbg

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  13. I like Darren's outfit. I'd prefer they were articulated too. But the main thing was they sell them in Spain! They don't come here :(

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  14. So sorry Verenis that these dolls are not sold in Spain. I am sure there are dolls there that are not available in the US market that we covet or would covet if we knew about them. I guess this is the way of the doll world.

    dbg

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  15. Okay, this post doesn't have anything to do with the S.I.S.
    line, but I was wondering if you had heard about the "Kinra Girls"?

    http://kinragirls.com
    http://gigiduru.skyrock.com/tags/gn2UWACiyHr-Kinra-girls-de-Corolle.html
    http://www.behance.net/gallery/Lancement-Kinra-Girls-MattelEd-Play-Bac/1922835
    http://www.mespetitsbonheurs.com/nouvelles-poupees-corolle-les-girls-amies-des-4-cpins-du-monde

    These remind me A LOT of the "Hot Looks" dolls, sold during the late
    80s. However, the "Kinra Girls" are more detailed and appear to be
    of higher quality. They're prettier, as well. I LOVE the AA,
    Japanese & Asian Indian dolls. However, I think the Asian Indian
    girl looks more Hispanic, and the
    AA girl looks bi-racial (which would be perfect for a little girl
    of black & white parentage!). I don't care for the Australian girl or the Spanish girl. (It's odd that the Spanish girl would have
    red hair, green eyes & freckles!)
    It's TOO BAD that these dolls are only available in France and a few
    other European countries. I know
    these dolls would do EXTREMELY well
    here, just as the "Karito Kids" & "Hearts 4 Hearts Girls" have! Many aspects of European culture are different. They are content with fewer possessions, are less indulgent with their children and don't spend a fortune on dolls and toys! The USA has a better market for these dolls than France!!!
    Could ENOUGH phone calls and emails
    to BOTH Mattel & Corolle, do it?!!

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  16. Anonymous - thank you for sharing the website URL for the Kinra Girls dolls. They are nice 16-inch dolls geared toward the play market. It would be nice if they were offered here in the US. With reference to writing the manufacturer, one of my mottos is: It never hurts to ask (for something you really want). There are three possible answers, yes, no, or maybe. People interested in these dolls should begin by contacting Corolle to see what the possibilites are of having the dolls added to the US market.

    Their online contact link:http://shop.kinragirls.com/p-contact.html


    dbg

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  17. Great victory for everyone, I commend you for you efforts.

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  18. I haven't thought that perhaps there are dolls here that aren't sold there. Now I wonder which ones could be... And it's something interesting to me why they decide which ones sell in each country.
    Thank you Black Doll Enthusiast.

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