Coronavirus concerns mega-thread

I hear there is a small chance of getting the virus if you order things from China. Even though it is a small change I don't want to take any chances. I did buy some stuff from China a month ago before I knew about the virus and I'm still waiting for the last thing to arrive. When I get them I spray them with lysol and wash with soap and water really good. I won't be buying anymore things from China for a while. It may sound silly, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

No, I still don't think that it has a big impact at Japan now, so I still preparing to welcome another child from Volks.
But if things are effected by the disease at Japan in futute, I might think about this again, such as temporary stop to order...

 

What's silly is believing some rumor or fake news source. The chance is effectively zero, there is no reputable source warning that you can get sick from a package. You're still at an infinitely higher risk of both getting sick and of dying doing your grocery shopping.

 

If you're worried about it, you could isolate your parcel when you get it for 48hrs and wipe everything down when you do open it. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before touching your face or food after handling the package initially. These are basic precautions. But really, it should be perfectly safe by the time it reaches you.

 

I hope this is the right place to put this, but the Corona Virus has lead to the stopping of mail to and from China to the USA and perhaps other countries, where a lot of us have regularly shopped for doll supplies and so forth. How is this affecting the doll community? O_o Wigs, shoes, outfits, dolls, so many things we depend upon!

 

Where are you finding this? The usps notice I'm finding says it's stopping mail destined FOR China

 

Actually USPS is only suspending delivery time guarantees for priority express mail to China due to a number of flights to China being suspended and thus a drop in air shipping capacity. They're still accepting mail to China. It's on the banner at usps.com.

Also USPS has a service alert about changes in China that could create additional delays.

International Service Alerts - Newsroom - About.usps.com (Click China)

 

Here's a pretty solid AP article about it. For now, anyway, mail from China to most countries will continue.

 

I got my package today after about three or four weeks. Now my parents are worried. :/ WHO says packages should be fine tho.

 

The virus won't survive long outside of a live host, so any doll things should be pretty safe, I'd imagine.
The mail delays have more to do with people being restricted from travel, than packages themselves being dangerous.

 

If it's any comfort at all, I got a package from China a couple of weeks ago, and no one has gotten sick from it.

I'm currently only waiting on a package from Hong Kong, who has also had several confirmed cases of the virus, it was shipped yesterday and tracking shows it was accepted and is in transit. I did order a doll from China, but I don't expect him to even be ready to ship until April at the earliest and I hope all of this is over by then.

As frustrating as it is to wait even longer on our dolls and their things than it already takes, I'd rather wait a little longer than force people to work when they're sick and spread it to others.

 

I ordered a dress a few weeks back from Taobao and the official courier just accepted my parcel today. I think it should be ok to ship to me. But I am waiting for the other sellers to ship. ^^;

I think there is no worry about transmitting the virus through the parcels. If you are very worried it is fine to disinfect the box, I guess.

 

It's a stressful time to order and ship from China, that's for sure. But yeah as others have said, there is still mail going to and from, there's just complications. Virus wise, packages should be fine.

Rather unfortunate (for me) that it happened around when I ordered my first dolls, but it can't be helped.

 

There’s already a thread on this topic.

I’m going to say the same thing I said there, which is that maybe we worry about the actual people affected by the virus before we worry about wait times extending. Besides, if ever there was a community that was primed to handle a wait, it’s us, right?

 

Two things can be true at once.

I think it is a valid concern to be worried about the wait times extending or the parcels being delayed and at the same time, we think about the well-being of our friends in China and be understanding of the current situation.

I think the thread is simply meant to discuss what is happening and not really to complain about wait times extending.

 

I'm not sure of mail delivery situation in Mainland China, but being in Hong Kong, I can tell you that our postal service has reduced its office hours, and is handling all its delivery and collection on alternate days. This is to protect our postal workers by reducing the risk of them getting the virus (not from the mail itself but from the people they might come into contact with) or potentially spreading it if they become infected. (Almost all other government departments here are currently providing limited service as well, and lots of companies are having their employees work from home. Schools have also been suspended till mid-March.) Our postal service is separate from the Mainland so I can't tell you what the situation is there. Here is the latest press release about the postal situation in HK.

Overseas mail to and from HK is also delayed in general due to flight suspensions/cancellations.

In addition, the Hong Kong Post is giving priority to the delivery of surgical masks which will probably cause delays in the delivery and handling of other mail.

 

The news was rather sketchy as usual but yeah, it's awful to worry about all the people a lot of us have communicated with for years.

 

I'm not worried at all about the virus clinging to a package. It wouldn't survive long enough.

However, I do worry about all of our favorite doll makers in China, as well as the shipping getting slowed down/stopped. I have one order that I'm waiting for right now. I sent them a message wishing them well, and let them know that I understood it might take a little longer than usual due to whole cities being quarantined and airlines stopping their flights and that I'm fine with the extra wait.

 

I work in a Chinese company. I have a coworker on home quarantine right now. One of my close coworkers is from Wuhan, Hubei (she also collects bjd, strangely enough). I personally wouldn't hesitate to order from China but I do worry about people who can't return to work due to businesses being closed down. I know a lot of companies and factories are going to come back to massive backorders!

 

ACBJD told me today that my items have already shipped out, but still in China. Though my order status still says “processing”.