How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

Mine actually cleared pretty quickly, which was a pleasant surprise! I am not sure if I was lucky or fortunate, but I hope yours will quickly arrive to you when the time comes. FedEx got it Oct 17, and it was delivered Oct 22.

 

Finally after losing 2 items to UPS, I received a head from Demiurge Dolls. It shipped Aramex Saudi Arabia from Kazakhstan to Dubai to Germany to the US. After customs it went UPS last mile. It took 16 days from Kazakhstan (plus a few days getting there). I did pay a 50% of the value import fee when it first entered the US.

 

Thanks for posting this question. Im in Canada and im going to read through everything before I buy my next doll

 

Is regular EMS possible now? Last I knew SK suspended it. I could only ask for premium recently (which turned out to be UPS in the US).

 

Decided to bite the bullet and buy something off Mandarake last week and got my import duties email from DHL early this morning (don’t have the doll yet, it’s currently in Anchorage and will probably take all week to be transferred over to USPS for final delivery).

In total, I paid 46,100 yen (which Paypal converted to $316.32) to Mandarake for my doll (35,000) and insured shipping (11,100), and DHL charged me $54.01 for import duties on top of that, so I paid about $120+ just to get my doll to the country and through customs ahahaha. Not horrible, but not great. xP Thankfully the only big doll thing I need to get still is a body for a floating head I have, and I can hunt for that secondhand in the states. Looks like I’m back to my general hobby pause. At least I still have video games. OTL

EDIT: Oh yeah, by the way, it was very easy to pay my duties through DHL. They emailed me a notice and I just went to their site and paid via Paypal (didn’t have to make an account with them either).

 

Thanks for this info, I've been thinking about Mandarake specifically, so it's very helpful (I think I may... keep waiting)

 

I also wanted to record a recent ordering / shipping experience.

I bit the bullet and decided to see how bad an order from Dollyteria would be as of recent. My order total was 329.72, which included one 1/3rd scale doll and various doll clothes, the shipping (through DHL, to the US) was 121.61 and the import duty fee was 69.69.

It...ooh, it made me feel a type of way, especially since I'm not so fond of DHL for my last package coming partially destroyed, lol.

Unless I have certain shipping options available or I'm doing something like a bulk order with friends through a proxy for various items that aren't just limited to doll things (for their stuff,) I think I'll be cooling my brakes for a bit on ordering anything overseas to see if things possibly shift around a little.

 

@urahara I can't even.

 

Dropping in some info on a recent DollyTeria order:

item total: 30,246 yen / $207.71 (dealer-made clothing & accessories, one pair of Unoa hands)
DHL shipping: 7,481 yen / $51.45 (720g box)
DHL fees: $49.15

REGULATORY CHARGES (L1) 1.34
IMPORT EXPORT DUTIES (L2) 30.81
DUTY TAX PROCESSING (L3) 17.00​

Not great, but about what I expected. Would I do it again? Probably not often, and not unless there were things that I desperately wanted (I collect dealer stuff, and sometimes it's either "grab it now, costs be damned" or "never see it again"). We'll see what the future holds.

 

They’re doing the exact same to me. My package is stuck in a loop of “preparing package for clearance” and “import scan” with the delivery update delivered for the next day each time.

 

I got the tariff bill for my recent Luts order today - just under $20 for two wigs. I've been on the fence about ordering one of the soon to be discontinued dolls and now I'm unsure about bothering.

 

Finally got UPS bill today for my Luts order that arrived mid September. Luts declared the value at $30 and the bill ended up being $19.50 the actual tariff amount was only $4.50 and then $15 of brokerage charges. So definitely be aware that you can receive an invoice six or more weeks after receiving your package.

 

Made my own Dollyteria order just for glass eyes (they had a bunch of very nice ones in stock) and paid $56 for the eyes and then $42 (?!) for shipping via DHL. No tariffs invoiced yet (possibly at all?)

 

DHL's tariff bill for my DollyTeria shipment came after it arrived in the US:

Friday, October 24: Shipment has departed from a DHL facility TOKYO - JAPAN
Saturday, October 25: On hold awaiting for payment of shipment related fees

I paid immediately, and the package went through the Cincinnati hub on Sunday as normal. The contents were labeled "SECONDHAND TOY/DOLL_TOY/DOLL'S OUT". I'm not sure if they would label glass eyes differently or not?

 

@Valentine
Got mine delivered without any customs charges. Labeled "secondhand toy/ doll toy/ doll's eye parts". Used express worldwide dhl service.

 

That's excellent! Maybe you escaped them after all?

 

As far as the never ending UPS cycle for EMS Premium from South Korea, make sure you click the details link on the bottom of the webpage. In my case, for my Rainman Solen head, in early October the package was called “undeliverable” and “would be disposed” even though I paid the import tax before that. Since that message I am in the scan and coming today cycle. When I called (twice) I was told it was being disposed or returned to seller (for twice the shipping fee). My seller has opted to let it be disposed and to send me another when a different shipping becomes available. UPS told me it takes 50 days before they’ll toss it. So now I assume I will get those “coming today” messages for 50 days. I certainly hope this isn’t the case for either of your packages. But it would tell you on the details page. Or if you call them.

Since getting this news, I received a doll head using Aramex (from Kazakstan) with UPS as the last mile. But I’m avoiding UPS as the primary shipper. Unfortunately, EMS premium from Korea is UPS.

 

@Valentine Fingers crossed there's not some weird late invoice, but I was definitely expecting to pay before delivery.

Now I'm considering taking a chance with Buyee.