How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

Will there be a time limit for how long a parcel can be held before destruction? Pretty bummed out by the changes, I have a doll preorder / some parts that there's no way I can figure out in such a short time.

 

Just from reading this thread alone, I think they intentionally made tariffs confusing. This is going to destroy the economy and close up a lot of small businesses.

 

Agreed. There is zero actual reason for this to be so confusing. If there are definitive rules on this, which theoretically there are, there should be an easy accessible, easily found statement that spells everything out. What is the actual charge, how do we pay it, who pays what fees, etc.

Instead we have a string of official statements that build off of each other & are edited and changed. I’m certain one of the White House statements said that it’s percentage or flat fee, whichever is higher, but I can’t find it now. I think the same has probably happened for everyone else here who are citing sources that don’t actually fully support their claims/give concrete info. Then we have retailers telling their customers wildly different things. There’s a mix of businesses genuinely attempting to follow the rules & trying to help, alongside businesses taking advantage of the confusion to grift their customers. Then there’s the propaganda that’s continuously saying “we’re charging the other countries the fees, they charge us more than we charge them, they’re paying for this, etc,” when that’s not really true- it’s the importers that pay the tariff, which in the case of Americans buying directly from Chinese companies, is the American customer. The spin that the administration has put on it is making an already confusing situation even more confusing.

 

Please report back when you get the bill! I had read in one of the statements that it’s 145% or the flat fee, whichever is higher, but I’m hoping that’s not actually the case.

 

I also had previously read that the fee was "whichever is higher."

 

Ugh. Just ugh.

For now, I've simply decided not to buy anything from overseas until I have multiple confirmed reports of what tariffs are being paid by whom. I hate to give the government exactly what they want, but I'm not exactly rich, and I just can't afford an outrageous fee on top of already expensive items. Though it's not like my money will go into the domestic economy instead- the domestic economy cannot provide what I'm after.

I just ask those who have outstanding orders (and don't plan to cancel them) will let us know how much they were asked to pay, and who asked them to pay it.

 

I wonder if there are enough resources, people, training, software and equipment available for all of the new tariffs. Because it does seem like the post office here just doesn't care.

 

It's so hard to keep up with all this as it's ever changing. So I decided to get my last two Luts dolls from Denver Doll Emporium before things really hit the fan. I've ordered one and will be ordering my second one by the end of this month. I've been trying to get their eyes and wigs too. But so far that's proving difficult already.

 

Hopefully that's the case then even if we still have to pay for something it be bit cheaper, but I do think it may be what they are doing like you said.

 

Because it's such a crazy amount of taxation, they should've at least have made it so that you'd have to pay the tariffs based on the date of the invoice (so that you'd be spared if you ordered before they kicked in), rather than the date of shipping.
I think USPS will get backlogged like crazy and there will be lost parcels, so if I were in the USA I'd ask to ship via FedEx or similar to dodge the postal system. But I've heard that DHL won't accept parcels from China any longer so I'm not sure if that's possible. Pretty crazy situation.
What are the rates for Korea/Japan? I haven't kept up with how they've been shifting.

 

I read that there are ZERO tariffs for Korea on toys. So we can still buy Soom.

 

I thought it was the percentage or the flat rate whichever was the more expensive option. I thought thats why it was confusing because there weren’t specific guidelines if there were exemptions because no one wants to pay $200 for a $1 item.

Either way since people are getting their orders shipped time to wait to see what’s the damage when things arrive. A slight warning if it’s coming FedEx they’ll bill you at a later date, I ordered something internationally and I got the tariff and brokerage fees bill in the mail a week after I got my package. The other shipping methods seem to want payment before it’s released from customs.

Thats probably why I see in hobby spaces (and crafting spaces) worried more about these tarriffs than everyone else right now.

It’s been predicted summer is when more people are really going to “feel the heat” and it won’t be because of summer weather

 

Does anyone know what the tariffs from Korea would be (after June)? I ordered a head from Supia a while back. Wondering if I should ask them to contact me before they ship. I don’t anticipate them being ready to ship for at least a few months.

 

From the fact sheet put out by the US government regarding the end of the de minimis exemption for packages shipped from China, tariffs can be paid either as a percent of the value of the package (ad valorem duty) or at a flat rate per package (specific duty):
“All relevant postal items containing goods that are sent through the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and that would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption are subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item (increasing to $50 per item after June 1, 2025). This is in lieu of any other duties, including those imposed by prior Orders.”

The full executive order can be read here.

The executive order has since been modified with increased tariff fees, which are currently 120% or $100 until June 1 and 120% or $200 after June 1.

The modifications can be read here, and refers to the original executive order linked above.

The tariffs are calculated per package.

 

No way to know. South Korea is one of the countries in the midst of trade talks with the US right now, so we should know in a few weeks.

I did end up getting my big order from DDE, and I had no extra charges. I have no idea if it came into the US right before the tariffs were to kick in, or DDE and/or Resinsoul ate anything extra. At any rate, I am relieved that the stress is over for me, at least.

 

Apparently, there is not. I live in a very small town where our PO only has one employee who does it all, working in limited hours. I've asked her regularly for updates on what's going on, and she said she's had no training, no new equipment and no info at all on what's going on. She said if she scans something and it says money is owed, she collects it, and if nothing pops up, she releases it. So....even though tariffs are "officially" in effect, if the computer system isn't updated, at least some postal workers are just saying screw it and sending stuff out anyway.

 

I believe you meant to post "145% or $200 after June 1.

 

I don’t believe the tariffs on formerly de minimum packages increase to 145%, they have a different tariff rate than other packages entering the US from china.

From the executive order modifying the de minimus tariff rates:
“(a) increase the ad valorem rate of duty set forth in section 2(c)(i) of Executive Order 14256 of April 2, 2025 (Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports), as modified by the Executive Order dated April 8, 2025, from 90 percent to 120 percent;”
“(c) increase the per postal item containing goods duty in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256, as modified by the Executive Order dated April 8, 2025, that is in effect on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, from 150 dollars to 200 dollars.”

But if you have a source that says differently send me the link and I’m happy to update the post.

 

Haha it's a good thing I don't really buy dolls anymore but if this was when I first started the hobby 19 years ago it would really made me angry.

I had a package from Taiwan that cleared US customs quickly on May 1st so THAT was fine. I don't know about packages that are shipped AFTER May 2nd. I read some people are getting billed with tariffs from DHL already.

More than 20 years ago I used to get billed for tariffs when I order jewelries from Europe. Fedex would mail me a bill for the tariff a week or two AFTER I receive the package. I"m not sure if it's because of the store I order from and the way they mark their custom forms? But I have read that Fedex STILL do that (bill people AFTER they already receive the package with people thinking everything is fine but ended up having to pay more later).

SWITCH just shipped my order VIA EMS yesterday. I'm waiting to see what happens with that one.

According to google: Country of origin is the key to which tariffs apply, NOT the country it is shipped from.

It's certainly NOT possible for custom to open ALL packages to check for EACH item to see which country it's made from (I can't imagine them dealing with our fragile dolls this way) so........I just don't know anymore.

 

Yeah that seems to be the case. In an off topic but adjacent hobby that also deals with pre-orders in a similar way their forums have been tracking what country of origin the places they order from put down. Their stuff is mostly shipped from Japan but like most things the products are made in China.

I think the plan for that adjacent hobby is to track the origin listed on the customs forms per store and find out what happens with their preorders or new orders. If things go well I assume many of them will pivot to places that list it as Japan instead of China to hopefully have lower tariffs. And rely on customs to stick to random inspections and avoid getting penalties because the origin is incorrect.

BJD doesn’t seem to have that luxury? Most are made in China and second most is Korea or Japan right? But I’ve been seeing people say China has found a no tarriff route, for now, but it’s by sea.