How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

Thank you for the information. US shipping companies seem kinda lazy unless you’re trying to ship props that look like weapons or banned items. I think I’ll be ok with undervaluing my doll unless rules change and senders have to start including screenshots from the dollmakers pages thst includes pricing.

Unless I one day order a 1/3 doll I would cry to lose that money or get penalties on top of tariffs with the price jump on the larger dolls compared to 1/4 and smaller.

 

I just got a shirt and sweater from SartoriaJ in South Korea on 4/12 shipped 4/9. It was sent epost which was (obviously) express EMS. Once it arrived and after customs, it went to USPS. No tariffs.

 

Alice's Collections just posted this:

 

Ok. Well, guess we'll not receive our dolls for a while yet. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes , U.S.

 

Just seen this news dated today on Alices (acbjd) for customers in the US re: the new customs charges which apparently come into effect on May 2nd

notice2 : BJD - Alice's Collections - BJD Dolls, BJD Accessories

 

Hobby Link Japan has also announced they're suspending any shipping besides EMS (as well as Big Bad Toy Store). So no DHL (even under $800) or FedEx, not just airmail. Neither sells on-topic dolls, but it does make me wonder if/when other Japan-based companies might go to EMS-only, not just dropping DHL. Mandarake has also posted about DHL suspending shipments to the US valued over $800. So it seems kinda likely more companies will be limiting their shipping options, even on lower-value shipments.

I fully understand these choices given the uncertainty, and companies have been great about explaining as much as they know. That note from ACBJD is very kind.

 

Ughhhh. This sucks.

I'm waiting on a coral reef doll from Denver dolls and I've just been waiting for them to say something about the tariffs.

 

I thought DHL was only over 800 dollars for non-businesses but businesses could still do over the 800 and that it’d be temporary because they don’t have the infrastructure or staff for processing so they’re scaling down to build it up and will one day maybe open it back up for personal shipping over 800. Also no FedEx? I haven’t seen anything on tbeir website. I hoped they might be the one option still viable in these confusing times. Though looking at other social media platforms their warehouses that process customs are getting slammed hard and the delays are crazy bad.

Hopefully orders through places like ACBJD count as businesses so they’d still have an avenue to somehow ship orders to the US. Maybe triangle shipping will be used more or partnering with one of the USA BJD companies to act as a warehouse for business to business shipping. If dropshippers can do it something can be figured out hopefully.

Slight good news maybe, President Orange recently said tariffs will go down, not gone and not on everything but down. Hopefully he doesnt backpedal and it goes down on many things, especially non-essential consumer goods like BJDs And if he could not flip flop on it or just keep lowering it that would be swell too.

 

HLJ at least said only EMS available for now, regardless of value. It sounds like aside from DHL saying nothing over $800, they must have had concerns or other issues with the other shipping types (their info is here if you're curious). And yes, temporary, everyone's trying to figure this out, which is challenging since it keeps changing... or not... or changing back... or who knows

 

Erica at Legend Doll wrote to me tonight to say my body will arrive to them next week. She said they may ship by ship to save us the “tax.” Which means very slow I suspect. But no other issues. I had asked about express shipping last week but taxes aren’t included in express and now this news…

 

Thanks for the info. So it seems since Monday from shipping companies to business that are the middleman (HLJ, ACBJD, ETC) are doing their own restrictions in response to the looming May deadline. Giving them at least a week to deal with what they can send out now. Because I bet even if everything went back to normal tomorrow they still want to be prepared for random reversals.

For now it seems like long pre-order periods that BJDs have might be a boon and things can get sorted by the time many of the 6 months or more processing for a doll. Though I bet dolls expected to ship out May or during the summer months will have the most complications or delays.

 

Well the announcement says for orders under $800 and I am guessing (hoping) most established dealers like Denver Doll will be sending off orders bigger than that so hopefully won't affect them but if you just order one, cheaper, doll direct from China (which I think is where Alices is based) I'm guessing it will be affected by the tariffs if you're in the US

 

That is really horrible news, but not totally unexpected.

 

My doll just shipped from Korea today. I am not as worried out him as I am my three dolls from China. He is coming FedEx. I thought it was USPS previously, but apparently I paid for FedEx as it's on the receipt. No idea how going through USPS is going to work.

At least the shipping is just being suspended at this time and they are looking for different options instead of cancelling orders.
I have two dolls on order with them right now and very much hope this gets fixed so that I can get them both. *crosses fingers*

 

I've got a secondhand head coming via DHL that was sitting on a tarmac en route from Germany as of last update, but it hasn't moved in almost a week. I'm trying not to go all anxious, worst-case-scenario doom spiraling about it, since she's under $800, but it's also probably a small box that could get lost among other boxes if they decide to pull the shipment altogether.

This isn't even in the top 10 of most pressing issues RE: current events for me right now, but [insert primal rage scream here].

 

If it’s any consolation everyone with international packages from DHL seems to be in a similar boat with all size packages. Their operations are on a smaller scale than FedEx or UPS and I heard from a friend that they got slammed with trying to process shipments and how much more back and forth they have to do with US customs. Which I guess is not normal for them even before all the crazy stuff happened so they’re even less prepared than other places.

I belive you will get your doll head, I’m manifesting good vibes for your doll head to arrive safely.

 

Off topic figure company Good Smile recently announced for their USA branch that they are suspending pre orders and "delaying shipments of products entering the United States until further notice."

Mainly bringing it up because of the worry that US dealers for BJDs might have to make similar choices. Originally Good Smile US was going to honor original pre order prices but now they are saying they might have to mark things up (but with the option to cancel if you don't want to pay the new price if I'm understanding correctly). Given that the change in plan seems to indicate that the business might be at risk if they were to just take the hit (just a concern, not officially stated but people in the figure server I'm in were/are worried), I'm concerned what hard decisions US dealers like DenverDoll might have to make. Maybe it won't matter, but given this is a niche hobby... I guess I may be reading too much of the doomer stuff from a bit ago on a certain confessions blog, but I worry about the future of US dealers in the BJD hobby... and the figure hobby, for that matter, but again, off topic.

Honestly I don't expect to be doing much new stuff with my BJDs in general for a while, this tariff fiasco has put a damper on my mood for it. I did get my ACBJD orders on time but the eyes ended up too big as did the shoes. I should have been more cautious and ordered multiple sizes, but now I'm stuck with what I've got since my initial worry was more on the side of "how to keep the tariff low" back when it was actually something I would consider worth paying as opposed to having to discard the items rather than pay $100 for $25 shoes or whatever it's at now. And now that I have no chance in the near future of acquiring the proper shoes (eyes I am looking elsewhere for; not shopping here, this is not an ad. Have to look locally to try and make sure I find ones that fit properly so I don't waste more money) I'm less excited for making the doll's outfit overall. Funnily enough if I hadn't ordered the shoes at all I feel like I wouldn't feel this way?

That and worries about finding materials for projects, even though that's less of an immediate issue, is depressing me and I'm less motivated to work on even the stuff I have already. That and the doom and gloom political stuff I won't get into, of course.

Is anyone else feeling like the tariffs are affecting more than just whether or not you can get things, but also willingness to commit to crafts projects when materials might be scarce? Or is it just me?

 

@Cattya Nah, you're definitely not alone with that feeling. I've been pretty much burying myself into video games to keep myself from doom-scrolling, and I'm still often finding it difficult to focus on even my hobbies that aren't being affected (writing, for instance). There's definitely a lot of general anxiety going around thanks to the current administration and it's totally normal to find it difficult to be excited about the things that usually bring you peace and joy right now.

Thankfully, the primary thing I wanted to do with my doll crew is get the blank ones painted this year, so outside of some essentials (eyes and wig materials), I don't have to worry much about shopping for supplies. That said, if the current admin is going to continue its flipflopping, I'll definitely be holding back on my usual impulse doll shopping for the foreseeable future. There's just too much uncertainty about shipping on its own alongside just how much potential fees might be. A real bummer since I love to shop around for doll stuff and there was also a doll from Granado I've been eyeing that I'll just have to hope will be available long term.