What happened to Barbie and the BFC?

[Guest rooneygirl4201572397503]

The BFC used to be such a wonderful place, but it has not been enjoyable for me (and a lot of other members, it seems) as of late. I joined in 2011, but I looked back at archived posts in the Sneaks forum. What happened? Why are there so few sneaks nowadays? Recently, any "sneaks" we get here have already been seen elsewhere on the internet, so that seems to be one less perk of the BFC. The club dolls aren't as much of a perk, because the quality has been awful in recent years (examples from this year: plastic hat on Shamrock Celebration, lace pattern that didn't go all the way to the back of the dress on Classic Evening Gown, no jewelry/accessories with Blush Beauty). I used to purchase so many dolls, but other doll companies have been getting my money more and more. I'm at the point where I only make purchases here so my rewards don't go to waste. The rewards seem to be the last real perk of the BFC, but even that's iffy since I don't really want to buy dolls that are lesser in quality. 

Don't even get me started on what a nightmare the BFC discussion boards have become. Rather, I can't get started because it becomes a whole ordeal if, God forbid, certain people don't like what a member has to say. Then there are the members who think their snarkiness and rudeness is appreciated. News flash: it isn't. 

The site is horrible. It was "updated", yet we still don't have a fully functioning site. The feature where you could add dolls to your collection is totally messed up. The PMs don't work half the time. And whoever thought of this waiting room nonsense shouldn't be able to make those kinds of decisions anymore. If you wanted to have lotteries for platinum or other very limited dolls, why not say so? Why put up this ridiculous waiting room that lets people in randomly? Just call it a lottery and be done with it! A lot of us preferred the old method of first come, first serve. Either you're fast enough or you're not. Sure, there were always complaints when people missed out, but it wasn't because they weren't even given the opportunity to try to purchase the doll. First come first serve gave everyone their fair shot. There are other limited items that I collect that are also first come first serve online. I've NEVER had an issue with that site crashing. It can handle the traffic, unlike this site.

I almost feel like Mattel wants to drive their loyal customers away and just do away with the collector line completely. I keep seeing posts from longtime (sometimes charter) members that don't want to rejoin next year. The best way for unsatisfied customers to get their point across is to not buy the product anymore. I will stick with other doll companies. If I want Barbie, I'll turn to the secondary market to buy dolls that were released when quality and the treatment of members/loyal customers seemed to actually matter.

EDIT: The silence/lack of a response on this post and others like it speaks volumes.