How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

@PinkBear - I believe the DHL suspension is only regarding shipments from Germany as it's the national parcel service here - countries that only use DHL as a commercial service may not be similarly affected.

 

It might be due to both the lower volume of orders being shipped to the USA and the nature of the good — they might not be expecting it to have a huge impact on their sales, even if some will experience problems.

Most of the discourse I’ve seen around that has to do with problems shipping to the USA has been from sellers in the UK who sell a lot of very low-value goods like custom stickers and junk journaling supplies (just as an example). Americans are a significant chunk of their customer base and many have expressed concerns over losing this market due to the tariff situation.

The (UK based) sales platforms they work from have been very forward with their sellers with the problem. I think Etsy has also been forward about advising sellers to suspend orders to the USA.

It makes sense that they’d be more upfront with announcements considering that they are the sort of market that would have a disproportionate number of returned parcels. No one is going to pay an $80-200 parcel fee for a $5 sticker. The more stuff that gets returned, the higher the risk of the item being lost, plus the seller is probably the one eating the cost of the shipment fee.

I would imagine that for something like a doll, people will be more inclined to pay the extra fee. Might be why the sites you mentioned haven’t said anything (though I think they should)

Hopefully my example isn’t considered too wildly off topic — the same applies to other lower value doll goods, especially if any are coming from similar handcrafted sources. Clothes, wigs, etc.

 

Just going to add in my two cents, since it happened to me about two weeks ago. At the tail end of July, I had some SD heads 3D printed online, and I was charged $80: $55 for both heads and then $25 for two day shipping to the USA from China. On Thursday, I got notice that the heads had cleared production and were being shipped. Come that Friday morning, I got a text from DHL saying that I needed to pay $40 in tariff charges because the heads were already in LA by that point. Mind blown, but okay. I just went ahead and paid it because I had/have no idea when I might be able to order them again, much less at such a good setup. They came that following Monday as scheduled.

For context, I had read just days prior to placing my order that the tariff thing wasn't taking effect until September. Clearly, that wasn't the case, but I'm glad I got what I needed and here's to hoping this circus ends sooner than later.

 

Update for any US people buying from Australia. This is Australia Post's official announcement: International post guide

The tl;dr is AusPost will currently ship to the US but advises senders to be as accurate as possible with customs declarations.
We have an online customs declaration form that allows us to type in what we're sending and select the appropriate category, but what I've heard from my local post office is they're concerned if US customs will baulk if an item is slightly in the wrong category. This has me a bit worried whether a BJD fits into the same category as playline dolls, which are what show up if you type "doll" into the form.

At time of writing, all Australian-made items are also subject to a 10% tariff.

Precarious times for sellers and buyers indeed...

 

Tariffs on stuff imported from China have been in effect for some months now.

What happens in September (29 August really) is that the de minimus exception of $800 is going away when it comes to importing from anywhere in the world. Tarriffs from every country, to put it simply.

 

Thank you for that!!! I’ve suspended selling to the US for my Etsy store for now, as I can’t work out what’s going on at all. I think it is a concern that BJD stuff often gets lumped in with actual kids toys, but they shouldn’t be in that category. But I don’t know what category BJD clothes should be in? I hope it all becomes clearer, but I’m not game to ship anything right now just in case!

 

I know it seems weird, but even really expensive/delicate collector or art dolls here are classified as “toys,” at least when it comes to imports. Same with anything that is meant for a toy, like doll clothes.

In this context, they don’t distinguish dolls meant for children versus dolls meant for adults.

It’s a whole different matter if toys are marketed and meant to be sold towards children — then there are regulations here about what materials are allowed to be used— no hazmats, no sharp pieces, nor parts that could cause choking, etc. BJDs aren’t marketed towards children and don’t have say, a sticker on the box that says 8+ or a seal that shows that they are made in keeping with the regulations on toys meant for children.

 

Wouldn't ball jointed dolls actually be classified as "art"?

 

Most people ear the word "doll" and assume toy of some kind, so while people who collect bjd's know they're more complex than that, for basic categorization from people who don't (ie the government customs offices), toy is what makes sense. Like Leenah said, they don't distinguish between dolls for kids and dolls for adults. It's the same with collectible figures from anime or similar things that are meant for display or garage kits for building figures.

 

I'm also in the US and can't belive what a mess it is we're having to deal with.

I probably won't be buying anything new for the foreseeable future, and because of that I impulse purchase one of the new volks standard dolls because even with international shipping its usually a lot less than volks usa... but they took a minute to get her out the door and I was thinking this was going to be a FAFO moment for me. Luckily they got her on a plane and she'll be here tomorrow but we missed the dhl and over all tariff window by a hair.

I know it'll get figured out eventually but for the time being if I want something new, it'll be me making new clothing and shopping from my fabric stash.

 

@PinkBear Thank you for that update. I had just checked earlier today if South Korea was suspending shipments and there wasn’t anything about EMS doing this yet at the time that I checked.

I am waiting for a doll from Luts — she hasn’t shipped yet. Even if she’s ready this week, she won’t be shipped until who knows when

 

This past Saturday was a good day. My second attempt getting my doll from Japan via EMS was successful, thank goodness. (Postal carrier this time did not ring my doorbell and instead left my package in front of my gate during a heatwave, but that's another story...)

Buying overseas at the moment is volatile; not fun. Now that I have nothing pending from abroad, I'm unwilling to ride this coaster again. Will hang tight and stick to US-based sales for now.

Fingers firmly crossed for everybody in the US waiting on a pending international shipments.

 

@PinkBear yes thank you for that update! I'm really sad about it but also feel weirdly justified having made those bigger clothing orders last month... otherwise I'd have had to ask my coworker with family there if she'd buy me tiny jeans when she visits...

I have a small package from Mercari Japan/Buyee that had gotten stuck in customs for a very long time but now says it's coming Tuesday. Early start to the slowdown, maybe. I wanted to buy a doll from Mandarake (cheap!) for a dear friend, but agree with Nikittin... it feels too volatile right now.

Relieved secondhand every time someone here gets a package, though! The artist communities I'm in, internationally, are... very worried. The best we can do is information sharing and emotional support, really!

 

European postal services suspend shipment of packages to US over tariffs

On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the U.S. effective immediately. France and Austria will follow on Monday.

The U.K.'s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the U.S. on Tuesday to allow time for those packages to arrive before duties kick in. Items originating in the United Kingdom worth over $100 — including gifts to friends and family — will incur a 10% duty, it said.

“Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out,” DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.

The company said starting Saturday it “will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US.”

 

Wonder what is going to happen to the wig I ordered. It was coming from Europe, maybe I'll get a refund.

I hope this means that we'll see more US crafters selling doll clothes and such. This whole thing feels very isolating.

 

Unfortunately Joann’s closed, eliminating the accessibility of fabric for a lot of Americans. Even aside from that, most fabric and crafting supplies is imported from elsewhere and has already drastically gone up in price.

The difficulty of getting new dolls will probably result in lower demand for doll goods made here too.

 

Well, I haven't really been collecting for almost two years because of finances and time poverty (why even dream of spending if I don't have time to enjoy my purchases?) but nevertheless, the idea of new and unpredictable tariffs does affect me. I do still have dreams of what if I could get a new body or head or doll secondhand... But now there is no question, I would buy only from the United States. And selection we have these days for other things already depresses me. This would be less restrictive in times where Etsy was still flourishing, where there were more authorized dealers here. Since I have to be so careful about every unnecessary purchase I can't gamble on spending extra to import. I scoured Etsy two days ago for decent eyes I could afford in the US for some dolls I have already had but simply can't work on until they have eyes too. I'm happy to support local makers and suppliers and the local second hand market, I always have been, but I agree with the poster above @Klaw that this does feel very isolating.
If there is anything at all I'm feeling an even forced hope about it's that maybe our domestic second hand market will perk up again at all. (Maybe it's not even bad? But I don't know as I only check den of Angels anymore) People have got to have second hand stuff stashed away in their cabinets just waiting to get sold or traded The idea of it is slightly motivating for me in sad times.

 

Japan Post is now also suspended (via Buyee). They're warning packages that already shipped may be returned. That includes EMS, since I saw someone say elsewhere it did not. Buyee suggests ECMS or Buyee Air as the only viable options.

They did say "temporary," but it really is one after another. I knew Japan would be next. I sure hope my package, in NY, is not returned. Fingers crossed no one else has outstanding EMS parcels.