How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

Just placed an order with Volks Japan, as I finally decidied that I wanted to get it in before things got any screwier regarding international shipping. Because of the exchange rate with the yen, it's looking like it should still come in lower than the cost of ordering the same doll parts from Volks USA. Now, clothing I think I'll need to do all from Volks USA, as I read elsewhere that most of those are made in China and so would have the rate for China, rather than Japan.

 

If you are ordering from Volks USA you won’t have to pay tariffs directly. Their warehouse is in LA and they would have been the ones paying the tariffs already (regardless of where they came from) since they were the importer. That’s not to say the cost won’t be worked into the final price somehow, but you as a customer won’t be paying an extra charge directly.

 

Yeah, with tariffs on clothes and shoes, it's only ordering from the Japanese site where I'm concerned with getting the extra charges direct to me. Now, the next thing with my Japan order is waiting to see how long it takes to get picked up by DHL and delivered.

 

I said "oh, no" out loud when I got this email, just from the subject line. Sharing for anyone who isn't on Volks USA's mailing list, which I suspect is at least some people...

We regret to inform everyone that we will have to postpone the release in the upcoming Hometown Dolpa Osaka 10 Outfit Collection.

Despite our best efforts, we have received notice that our shipment was returned to Japan due to recent changes in international shipping regulations.

We understand that this news is disappointing, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused.

We appreciate your patience and continued support of VOLKS USA.

We’ll provide a new estimated release date as soon as possible and keep you informed of any updates.

Thank you very much for your understanding.
- The VOLKS USA Team
​

I feel bad for the Volks staffers; they must have been very careful, and it was still turned back...

 

Happy to report my SartoriaJ package arrived safe and sound yesterday via USPS and didn’t get charged anything. P: I think I just got lucky because the package got into the states before the cut off date. If I do any further doll-centric purchases in the future, I imagine I’ll be doing group orders with friends rather than solo-purchases.

@Ayaka That sucks about VolksUSA’s goods not making it into the states. D: Hopefully they’ll be able to figure something out.

 

My big order from LegendDoll arrived today. It was shipped SF Express and arrived through USPS. It was about a $300+ order, and I was not charged any tariffs as Erica had promised.

 

Yes, I did. It arrived quite quickly (paid Saturday, arrived Tuesday after Labor Day), but I did have to pay a tariff invoice before it was delivered. I tracked the package until it showed a fee was due. After clicking the provided link I was brought to the payment page. Paypal was an option. The fee included the $17 broker charge from DHL I've been reading about, plus roughly 15% for the actual item.

For reference, it was an outfit (15000 yen). Mandarake shipping was 4000 yen. The tariff charges on the receipt (in US dollars):

REGULATORY CHARGES
1.31
IMPORT EXPORT DUTIES
15.67
DUTY TAX PROCESSING
17.00

Hope this is helpful. I was afraid to enter the Volks Japan lottery because I wasn't sure about the fees for a more expensive item. The tariffs would likely eat into most of the savings from the exchange rate. I will probably buy a lot less internationally, and likely not a doll or more expensive item for now Good for my wallet though.

 

@Lily, a couple questions -- does DHL require that you have an account with them in order to pay the tariff charges? And can credit cards be used for payment?

 

Won a very cute MSD on ebay auctions for a very low price and didn't notice seller was in Korea. She had shipping set up to $10 only so she had to message me about the shipping situation.
I'm lucky she was willing to send the doll to the Philippines instead. It'll be a while before I can pick her up but my friend is babysitting

 

Hi @beamlette, I don't have an account, but my email and phone number get notifications when I use them. Yes you can use credit cards if I remember correctly.

Also, I meant to share this earlier, this is what showed when tracking (in relation to tariffs):

"On hold awaiting for payment of shipment related fees"

After paying the tariff:

"Payment is received and recorded for shipment related fees"

The package was still in Japan at this point, it then proceeded as normal on to the US.

 

@Lily, thank you for your answer! Before the tariff tizzy, I chose to receive packages from Volks Japan using DHL, and they never required an account with them to receive notifications and make delivery instructions.

Unlike UPS; they barely let you follow package tracking without a UPS account, and every other service requires a UPS account. I get so tired of making accounts that could be compromised in future

 

I don't currently have any incoming international packages, but I talked to the employee at my local post office for USPS. She said she hasn't really dealt with any tariff payments yet, but when they get one, it will show up when they scan it that fees are owed, and you can pay it when you pick up the package. She didn't say if you could pay online/by phone, but there was a line behind me and she was the only employee there, so I didn't have a lot of time to talk about it. Sounds like a pain in the butt if I have to go pick things up in person, since I'm in a small town with short PO hours (9-4 on weekdays, 830-1030am on Saturdays).

 

Update for Australian/Canadian/other folks who have to use Zonos: it seems you will have to charge the buyer the tariff fees as Zonos requires you to pay them, and you must add a payment method before you can send any items.

To quote, "Zonos is able to collect duties from you and remit them directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on your behalf, fulfilling the requirement for prepaid duties on postal shipments under $800 USD."

It seems likely there will be double-dipping from both senders and receivers as I feared...

Edit: Zonos's website is also not mobile-friendly, so if you have to use it, get your computer booted up

 

Was going to buy my grail doll from an international buyer, but the tariffs had me backing out of the sale. I'm not buying anything until the tariff situation dies down. Things have really gone downhill in the past month and I have to budget in a way where I have to take into account the rising cost of medication+food.

 

So, update on the two heads I ordered through DollSphere:

1. The Yanwen tracking number I was given started with UK and ended with YP, which is not what I'm used to.
2. I was able to track the package all the way to delivery via 17track, but that number never showed up in the USPS system, despite 17track being able to tell me it was in their possession for half that time.
3. Only because I signed up for Informed Delivery did I get an email this morning letting me know USPS's tracking number for it.
4. The box was left in my mailbox with no mention of additional charges, possibly because the only visible shipping address was a warehouse in CA?
5. The entire process seems to have taken 10 days.

In other words, unless something else happens, it was surprisingly not an issue, though it would have been nice to have had the other tracking number earlier.

Bonus: I also received a small packet from Japan (a collectible trading card) sent via Orange Connex today that I'd expected to be my first test of the tariffs. It also was placed in the mailbox with no mention of additional charges, and also only had a US address visibly listed as its origin. (Also a surprise, because my tracking for that one says it's still in a hub miles away.)

Hope that information is useful to somebody!


Edit: Doing some belated poking around, it looks like Universal Parcel Tracking - Global Package Tracking might have given me a working USPS tracking number earlier, but NOT the same one USPS gave me.

 

I have the 17track app. When I get packages from China (from a large distributor) they always come with a US address and no tariffs. And on the app, I scroll down to the bottom and hit “More info” with a “copy” button for the USPS tracking number once it has arrived in the US. If the “more info” link doesn’t work after days of looking for one, that means there is no tracking in the US. And the package arrives as a surprise.

 

My package from Volks is incoming and I got my duty payment notification today from DHL, both via text and e-mail, so I could confirm the request was legit. Total paid including the DHL fee was $59.87, and totaling everything up, I confirmed I still saved money versus ordering the same parts off Volks USA.

 

Hi all! I thought this group might be an OK place to post as we all buy lots of BJD goodies from around the world. Is anyone else waiting for international EMS packages shipped to USA right before the end of de minimis / halt of EMS shipments? Have you received your packages? I had a package (it was over the de minimis) sent from Japan on the last day before they stopped services to USA (August 26). Unfortunately . . . it is now in US customs and they have not been of much help. Has not updated in nearly 2 weeks so I am on pins and needles. I know it could take up 45 days to clear, so not sure what to do as honestly, my packages usually clear within 24 ~ 48 hours. I started a missing mail search about a week ago.
I had a nearly identical package sent from the same sender about 2 weeks earlier and it arrived very quickly with no issues. Wondering if USPS is holding a lot of packages due to the new customs requirements.
Super scared on this one! I've received packages through DHL, SF Express, and UPS. I did have to pay duties on some.