How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

I saw the news about USPS suspending delivery, and I contacted the company where my one pending order is waiting to be shipped. (Shipping was only delayed due to the New Year holidays.) I'm hoping that using FedEx or DHL will be okay. I wasn't able to find any news that they were affected. Does anyone know if private shipping companies are affected?

 

I’m really concerned about USPS halting shipping, I have so much stuff ordered…from what I understand, FedEx and DHL aren’t affected, but I’m not totally sure on that? Maybe that will help those of you with dolls or other big orders. Unfortunately for me, everything I have ordered is a bunch of small stuff from various sellers, so it’s a lot of money to lose, but not worth paying for FedEx or DHL shipping. And most of it is already in transit.

 

I just saw a news article from The Standard (an established newspaper in Hong Kong) that said both Hong Kong Post and DHL Hong Kong have stopped accepting parcels from Hong Kong to the US.

According to it, UPS Hong Kong, FedEx Hong Kong and SF Express are still accepting parcels for now.

Not sure if the DHL thing applies to parcels from Mainland China as well.

 

Oh, looks like the US Postal Service has already reversed their decision to suspend packages from China and Hong Kong according to this BBC article. Postal services are back now?

 

Well, I've set 2025 as my 'no new resin year' just awhile ago in the resolution thread.

Maybe this year it's time to strictly follow my new year resolution

For those who want to buy from Japan, you are still safe, but I don't know until when.

 

AP article on USPS reversing this decision

US Postal Service flip-flops on Hong Kong-China packages, lifting a ban imposed a day earlier

 

In terms of the first question - to be honest I am really pumping the brakes on the hobby. It's not so much that I'm concerned about how much more expensive the dolls will be, I'm more concerned about how much more expensive everything will be if these tariffs are successfully implemented. Canada and Mexico have helped us by negotiating to postpone the tariffs, but I am still concerned that it's only been postponed.

I don't say this to disregard other people's personal concerns as it pertains to the hobby. I know many people find their joy in dolls and should definitely seek joy during these uncertain times... it's just personally I am worried about so much more than dolls right now. I've been very blessed that I have a large collection to enjoy and work on - I'm honestly going to just focus on that.

 

Everything, and those sentences in particular, right now, @Dybbuk
I am looking forward to perhaps seeing the crafting forums and modding forums get a lot of activity in the future and actually look forward to receiving advice and sharing journeys and cheering everyone on in their endeavors, over there!

 

I only have a few bodies left to get to finish out my crew, and with the tariffs it just means I'm going to have to be much more careful about when and where and how I purchase those last few. Likely with layaway from US based dealers if I can. Or with more planning and saving if I must order overseas. Only time will tell. I may end up just keeping my head down and hiding with my hoard for the next 4 years...Though it would be a great excuse/motivator to get some modding and faceup work done.

 

I was already planning on only buying maybe a body this year and some accessories, so the tariffs aren't really changing my plans except for maybe making me look for things secondhand. My biggest doll concern currently is that I'm waiting on an off-topic mjd doll from China, so I don't really know how this is going to affect that.

It feels trivial, though. As others have said, dolls are the least of my worries right now.

 

I heard that they got rid of the De Minimis rule, but does it still apply to other countries? Or is it just gone for China? And are there still exemptions for toys?

I was planning on getting another Do Dolls Dream this year, but now I'm kinda anxious on if the EU might be affected by this, too, because I didn't have tariffs in my original budget. I'll probably end up getting most of my doll stuff secondhand the next 4 years, if at all. I'd imagine prices with DDE would go up if they're paying a lot of tariffs, too.

 

I can't say if tarriffs will change in the EU, but if you order from DDE, then I would definitely suggest trying to plan for things to be more expensive, since they'll likely have to pay more.

Currently the demnimis rule is only eliminated for goods from China, and it's unclear exactly what things they eliminated it from, but given that they were hoping to target places like Shein, Temu, Aliexpress, and to some extent Amazon, I'd imagine that all small parcels under $800 will now have to go through the more in depth customs processing. USPS has made some comments about it, but this will also affect UPS, Fed Ex, and DHL in the States, though I haven't seen any comments from them yet about their plans for dealing with it.

 

It *should* only be for China, at least currently, and there are no exemptions. The EU->US route has come up in the tariff conversation but there's nothing currently. But as we've seen with the less-than-12-hour long package suspension, uh... it's all very unclear and uncertain, as are many things for those of us in the US.

And yeah, like others have said, and since it's come up in unrelated communities I'm in, too... make sure you're taking care of yourself as well as you can. Artists are always telling other artists not to apologize if they can't draw when they're sick, not to feel bad if they can't update their fanfic when they're dealing with life stuff, etc. Your communities will support you, no matter how you participate!

 

@quilleth I can imagine that CBP is going to be completely swamped, too, having to do so much more processing. I'd prepare for customs and shipping times to take longer, too.

@Ayaka Yeah, it does feel like there's a major lack of transparency on everything, not just tariffs and foreign trade. I think for right now I'll have to wait and see, since a lot could change between now and a few months. And of course I'll take care of myself first! ^^ I might take this as a time to practice more faceups and sewing for the hobby in the meantime.

 

I'm definitely going to be slowing down on imports from China, Hong Kong, and potentially Taiwan as well. A shame, because there's a number of Taobao outfits I still wanted but it's a good reason to work on learning to sew. I should use that official Super Dollfie sewing book I bought recently.
Since I haven't seen word of Taiwan being affected yet (but I'm not going to be surprised if they are within the year), I'm probably going to do a large wig order from my favorite company there. Wigs, eyes, and shoes are the 3 things I am simply not interested in making myself.
As far as dolls, I'm definitely slowing down to make up for other things (likely CoL increases, a wig order that will probably cost as much as 2 dolls, etc) although I normally import them from Japan so I'll be okay for now. I'm definitely planning to stick to my rule of no more PS Fair SDs or Flesh DDs, since I already have too many of those skintones. Beyond that, it's just... seeing what the future holds seen a lot recently about the yen going up and dollar going down, although it's still at a "good" (for US imports) rate for now.

 

I'm mainly worried about dolls I ordered from Alice's last year that will be shipping in the next month or two. I assume I'll have to pay the tariff to ransom them from customs. One confusion I see with people is that the tariff is charged to the buyer (Walmart, Denver Doll, us, for example), not the seller (Chinese doll dealer). Like a giant sales tax. The US Post Office seems to be working out how to implement all this, since I believe the executive orders were like "Do it", without much detail. So hopefully they can drag their heels for a while.

I also hope this gives energy to the crafting side of the hobby. And that everyone takes care of themselves.

 

I'm so, so frustrated. I pre-ordered the Dollzone Light fullset from Legend Doll back when it came out, so the thought of having to file the paperwork and $110 bucks (because I'm too scared of something happening to have the value declared lower) and hope like hell that nothing else happens. I had planned to order some clothes for him too, but that's gone out the window.

Even if it shipped tomorrow, everything being shipped from China is being held back so the USPS can figure out how to implement this deranged tariff. And it'll be held for a while, since setting up the structure and everything will take time. Who knows how places like UPS/FedEx/DHL/etc. will handle it.

 

I've just noticed that it seems like Macau has somehow fallen under the radar and doesn't seem to be affected by this tariff change (for now?), despite also being a Special Administrative Region of China like Hong Kong.

 

This article mentions what UPS/DHL are doing already. I'm a bit worried it'll be pretty dang hard to tell a REAL "you have a package being held" notice from the endless spam ones, but at least it's some info.

 

As others mentioned, I am more worried about overall cost increases versus doll stuff at the moment. I was fortunate that I don't currently have any outstanding orders, or any already planned future ones. At this point, I will waiting until the dust settles before making any more international orders. My biggest issue is that I am the sort that is very particular about wanting to know exactly what the price is on something before deciding if I want to buy. I don't like to be surprised with extra charges. Sadly, it can be hard to calculate costs because besides duties and tariffs the shipping companies will tack on brokerage/processing fees that are often way higher than the duties/tariffs themselves.