How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

I know in the EU a friend told me customs is so overwhelmed that they just let some packages through. So they never know.

But i agree it would be good to identify ANY pattern we can (size, weight, specific items, shipping company, type of seller company, etc.)

 

Thanks for the info, it's appreciated!

Yes, it could be nice to see if some sort of pattern emerges, then one could plan potential orders accordingly...

 

I'm holding off on all international doll/doll accessory purchases for the time being. It's a little frustrating because I can still make fashion purchases since many fashion retailers are already factoring in import duties/tariffs. A large doll company is probably the size of a small fashion company, so it makes sense that they're not as prepared, especially if their average customer isn't from the US.

I'll more than likely just be sticking to in-person purchases for the foreseeable future since the pickings are slim with US-based stores. I just got back from Japan and honestly wish I bought even more than I did, but alas, I could only fit so much.

 

I know the info is a little late, but maybe it will help someone else? I saw the opportunity to get a couple of dearmine lupy's from the dearmine site in August, completely forgetting about the tariffs. They are both blank axolotl dolls with random eyes, and they arrived through usps Sept 24 with no tariff charges at all to my delight.

 

Congrats, that is good news! Who was the shipper?

 

I think EMS from South Korea has been resumed now on a delivered duty paid (DDP) basis - since the 22nd. I too received a package from South Korea with EMS and it arrived really quickly.
Unfortunately, my EMS package from Japan has been sitting at ISC NY since late August with zero new updates. If it doesn't arrive by early November, will have to start a formal investigation with CBP. I wonder if it is because Japan hasn't established EMS shipment on a DDP basis.

 

I have two packages with no progress after 3 weeks. Yesterday my Rainman Solen head had an alert (UPS) saying the paperwork was late and it was undeliverable and they would dispose of it. Unfortunately UPS in Korea is closed for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) till Friday so the shipper can’t check. Today the alert is gone, it says it had the eighth (!!) import scan, and it was supposed to come today, which it didn’t.

Meanwhile my eyes from Ukraine have an alert from USPS because they say the postage is counterfeit. And to get a refund from the shipper. When I called USPS they had no more info but they said they get lots of these phone calls for the last 2 months.

I also had an alert last week from USPS saying it wasn’t going to be delivered for an Aliexpress package but the alert went away after a few days. Aliexpress says it arrived today at USPS.

Just crazy!

 

I had trouble plugging the tracking number anywhere specific (clicking the tracking link on the dearmine website said there was no tracking!), I'm getting ems, south korea post, and usps. I know usps delivered to me.

 

Ok, thank you for that information!

 

I received a doll order from Korea 3 days ago. The seller very nicely declared the value at $85. The UPS delivery person charged me $39.75. I had to pay by check at the door or he would take the package back to UPS. (They only give you two more tries before they return the package and you have to be at home.) I knew I had been trying to view shipping updates on this package on the UPS app for days but it kept giving me a message that it was "down" and to "try back later." I asked him who to make out the check to and he wasn't sure. He said that maybe it was to the person who sent it. I knew that wasn't correct, so I gave him a check made out to UPS. He gave me the package. So, to sum it up ....
I had to pay almost 50% by check - immediately - at the door - and the UPS agent didn't even know to whom I was supposed to write the check!!! It did arrive incredibly fast - less than a week.
Its not just the money! It's the incompetence of the whole thing! And no, I don't blame the UPS guy.

 

Geez, HALF?
So if the seller had valued it at its true value............. <shudder>

 

Exactly!

 

A family member sent me this, not sure if it's useful information so much as ANY information is better than none...
UPS is 'disposing of' U.S.-bound packages over customs paperwork problems

It doesn't seem like the package contents, or even the customs form accuracy, are necessarily the deciding factor. If it was, it might help international shippers. But if they sent a glassware company a notification that the contents were perishable, so it had to be destroyed...? It sounds worryingly random, and UPS is clearly not giving good info.

I had been considering taking my chances, but I don't think I'll personally buy anything too precious from overseas right now. (Doll clothes would still be a bummer, but if this happened with a doll...!) I also don't want shippers to take on that risk, for their own sake.

 

@Mahgiep you are having quite the adventures.

I received my dolls from Alice's Collections, two big packages delivered to the door by SF International. No extra fees, so that was good news.

 

Oh so good to know!

 

I've been very much on/off when it comes to engaging in the BJD hobby these past few years (busy with work and illustration stuff) but I definitely think I'll be taking a break completely from buying hobby stuff in general (like cosplay or anime goods and such), especially now after the 100% tariff announcement in the US with China. Which I really hope gets retracted eventually.

I have a budget when it comes to buying BJDs themselves, so I usually buy secondhand, but I found a head and a body that really fit with some doll plans I've had for years. I actually ended up buying an Ao Ling Shi doll in January 2025 and received my order in June 2025. Welp, I ended up having to pay an 87.00 tariff to release my package from DHL, so all of that totaled to around $476 for the doll and head. I still feel a little burned from the whole experience, I knew that the tariffs would be something to experience but I did have hope that they would get shot down by the time I got my doll. So I'm only now starting to get back to finishing some plans I've had. I would say that the only good thing is I'll now have to start doing more creative BJD stuff, like faceups and outfits, maybe even making wigs if it becomes harder to find wigs.

But oh man, just thinking about ordering anything internationally now gives me a headache thinking about it! Good luck to anyone waiting on their orders or considering taking the plunge, for the most part as long as it's paid you get your order okay, but it sure is stressful.

 

I have given up on my replacement eyes now from Thailand which didn’t make it through customs (called counterfeit). The first pair I got were the wrong color, so these were free. I thanked the sender and left it at that.

I just called UPS for the fourth time about my Rainman Solen head and despite the website saying it was on the way, it has been “abandoned “ by customs. Rainman will send me another when/if things change. A complete nightmare. Avoid UPS is all I can say.

Please let me know if any packages come through okay from South Korea, which shipper the sender used!

https://www.instagram.com/stories/t...rce=ig_story_item_share&igsh=OWgxM3R1bmptdmJz