Do you try to order within your own country?

As a poor student I prefer china for shoes and buttons and so on. Fabric is better bought from Finland but I don't think there's much else for bjd:s here for a decent price. A reindeer coat, uh.

I have never met more than two bjd collectors in Finland. It's lonely in here in that way, too.

 

I have low fundings so mostly I buy second hand clothes or on eBay.. Rarely do I buy expensive clothes or clothes on Etsy for my dolls.

 

It doesn't matter to me. If I'm buying a doll then I don't care that I'm going to fork over a lot for shipping. If it's items for my dollies like wigs and shoes then I either buy a lot so it off sets the cost of shipping or I join/host a group order to off set the shipping costs, but that depends on my mood if I want to deal with other people's orders or not. As for clothes I rather make them because I'm not going to spend $50+ on something that I could sew.

 

Hurr, I feel like if you live inside the US its way easier to get your hands on things.. I live in Sweden and Europe doesn't really have a lot of shops where they sell wigs, eyes.. etc.. so mostly I search for something specific and order it from wherever it is available.. Import costs are rather high here so that kinda sucks :c

 

For the most part I try to order within my country
Unless it's something that I've looked everywhere for and can't get in my country

 

I don't think there's anything within my own country so no.
I'd like to order in Europe but there's also too much missing here, sadly. And going further it doesn't matter anymore whether I order from the States or Asia.
But if my country had a well stocked BJD shop or anything like that, I totally would buy there, even if it were more expansive.

 

I've ordered clothing from within the U.S. before, but I don't mind ordering outside of the country. Especially for things like wigs.

 

I've ordered both ways and each time I order from out of the country I worry that my stuff is going to get stuck in customs.

 

I'm in the States and order from everywhere as long as they have what I want ('course, shipping is cheaper if it's not international). Haven't had any issues or had anything get lost yet, but there's a first time for everything.

 

I live in Italy, where there's so little people in the hobby it's just sad... if I stuck to buying just in my country I'd end up with nothing since there's... close to nothing. I do try to keep inside the EU, though, since otherwise shipping/customs can be a real hole in the wallet.

 

I always try to order within my country (or, if not available, in the EU) because of the custom tax which is really high here.

 

Second hand - definitely. I have yet to have found something that I want bad enough to pay international shipping for (luckily I'm in the US right now, where most of the second hand market on this forum is). If buying new, I would always look for a dealer first, but wouldn't really mind ordering straight from companies if needed.

 

I got a gorgeous pair of glass eyes from China off eBay, but I feel like otherwise I want to stay inside the US. Especially when I end up sending my doll away for a face up. I feel like there's less chance of her being damaged or lost just traveling in the US (not going through customs, etc) and plus the wait time is usually far less!

 

Small items I will purchase from anywhere. I like to order dolls direct from the company. However, if I am ordering multiple dolls and they are from different companies then I will go through a dealer like Alice's Collections to save some shipping. Second hand dolls I prefer to get in the US. I refuse to purchase a doll from Ebay unless it is from jeeryama. Too many recast on Ebay. I've never had a problem with PayPal.

 

Well... the company I ordered my first doll from is in Korea, and I'm in no way a resident of Korea. If there were any doll companies (not dealers) here in my country, then I would try ordering here. Actually, there are several shops and artists in my local community, so yes, I would try to order within the country, but for new doll/company-direct purchases, it can't be helped that they're international.

 

I like supporting small businesses when I can (and also avoid insane shipping fees) so if I can buy things from US based etsys/storeenvys/etc, I'm all for it!

I'm not saying I wouldnt buy from other countries, but I will definitely try to find what I want from a US based seller first.

 

For the sake of speed, I try to buy within the USA, but sometimes the prices of foreign items (usually Chinese) is so low it negates the cost of international shipping, especially for light items like shoes and clothes.

But if I find that exact particular thing I wanted and can't find anywhere else, I don't care where it's mailed from. Went nuts looking for mohair in a particular minty color and ended up ordering from Russia.

I'm also pretty loyal to ordering from Mint on Card since they carry a decent number of companies and I can earn points from repeat business and I tend not to be a single-brand-fan.... all my dolls are a ragtag bunch of misfits except for two Luts bodies... I usually check them first if I need something.

 

As someone who lives in Finland I don't think I would have a choise in buying doll stuff from here since there are not anything available, if not counting the second hand market. There are quite a bunch of active hobbyists here, and second hand market are there and plenty of stuff and dolls available. Usually it is the question of the need of item and items available are not the same. I sew clothes myself so I rarely order any, but I'm sucker for shoes, wigs and eyes. Luckily there are active finns making group orders and that is great way to have few things from company with little less invested in shipping and custom fees. I've ordered doll stuff from all over the world and dolls from the manufacturers. Also I'm super happy to be able to travel in some European events, like LDoll which I've participated every time it's been in France. It's great to be there and see the dolls and accessories available straight infront of you!

 

I would rather buy from the US just because of the cost and shipping time but that usually isn't a option for what I want.

 

I like to stick to my own country but I will buy used or brand new accessories from anywhere in the world. I'm always keeping an eye on shipping costs, though. If I feel the shipping is too high, I'll pass on it and keep looking, or wait for a sale or group order.