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UK BJD Shoppers

Oct 19, 2016

    1. Am I the only one who can't cope with the huge price hike since the EU referendum destroyed the value of the £ versus the $ :horror: It has taken years of careful desensitizing therapy to get me to the stage of saying 'wow only £120 for a doll - that's a bargain!' (whereas any 'normal' person of course would NOT think £120 is a cheap doll!)

      NOW that same doll is over £150, which is going a bit too near £200 to be a 'bargain' - never mind being a 25% price increase, literally overnight! As for more expensive dolls - just overnight since the referendum, a price rise of £120 is a bit hard to cope with :...(

      And before the referendum, I could convert $ to £ in my head, just 2 thirds of the $ price. NOW I have to multiply the $ price by 0.85 :? And never mind euros *sigh* Or customs fees :shudder Have I been spoiled by a good exchange rate all these years? One thing is certain - I am totally kicking myself for not buying every doll on my wishlist, before this summer's political fiasco :roll:
       
      • x 6
    2. Well, it's not like euro or other currencies has been spared... I mean, 1-2 years ago 15.000 yen were 100 euro, now it's 100 euro = 10.000/11.000 yen...
      I used to buy a lot from japanese auction sites, but now I only buy things I really can't find anywhere...
       
    3. that's interesting as I've only ever bought stuff priced in $ - wish I'd hung onto all my dolls now instead of selling them! Or maybe I just need to adjust my idea of what's 'cheap' again! :eek:
       
    4. I totally feel what you are saying @elve ... The only reason I did not jump in and order a couple of the really expensive wishlist dolls before Brexit, was I DID NOT SERIOUSLY THINK WE WOULD LEAVE!!!! myself and practically everyone I knew voted remain, I truly believed the remain would win!!!! Argh!!!!!! Yep, I got shafted too... And when is all this cash gonna get put into the NHS (as promised) when are half the things which Leave stood for going to actually happen???!!!! I cannot believe the state of of our Pound/Sterling it is terrible, and does not seem to be going to I prove anytime soon, fingers crossed though x
       
      • x 2
    5. yes and I am now hesitating over buying a bobobie doll because it's 'too expensive' - never thought that would happen! :ablink:

      no.... wait! There is hope! Just saw this when I was checking today's exchange rate glumly Hammond Helps British Pound hit Fresh Multi-Day Best Against Euro and Dollar

      so hopefully in a few months time it might become more favourable? Or should I buy now LOL - might be as good as it gets :?
       
      #5 elve, Oct 20, 2016
      Last edited by a moderator: Oct 22, 2016
    6. @elve ... Do,you think it will stay like this for a while or drop again??? Or even improve more??? Tried reading the link you shared and it spangled my brain!!! Heh ... Trying to decide whether to pay some of my layaway which is dollars while the going is good!!!
       
    7. You're definitely not the only one who's feeling the pinch. I made some purchases recently without really appreciating the difference the drop in the value of the pound really makes , and it all cost alot more then I was anticipating. I even I had to ask a customiser who I commissioned back in Febuary to do some faceups if she could do me the favour of waiting for me to make payment in 3 parts :sweat. The quoted price, (in SGD, but the value of this currency, like many others, is pinned to the dollar) , which was seemed so manageable back when I organised the commission, now translates into alot more pounds on my end. Thankfully she was very understanding.

      It's true we are not alone (I know a lot of Russian collectors for example are also suffering) but in the case of the pound the value plummeted so suddenly that it's much harder to adjust. It has less effect if you only buy from within the UK, sadly pretty much everything in this hobby has to be imported. I've vowed to avoid dolls at all until things improve a bit...we'll see how well that works out.

      On the bright side of things, the situation is good for exports so maybe it will encourage some Uk artists to start sculpting and casting their own BJDs ;)
       
      #7 Sillypeach, Oct 21, 2016
      Last edited: Oct 26, 2016
    8. I'm no financial adviser so I wouldn't like to say! "Your guess is as good as mine" - is all the advice I can give. The exchange rate changes day to day, depending on global markets - currency is also a commodity which people gamble on (OK they call it trading - but it's essentially gambling!) XE - Trading Basics You Should Know

      yes it's definitely the SPEED with which the value of the £ changed that has crippled my dolly habit. Literally overnight, Doll Chateau Evangeline, for example (including postage of $39) increased in price from approx. £425 to approx £460 - and the price has been rising daily ever since - she costs around £535 now from the same seller - that's over £100 more than she cost a few months ago! *faints with shock* And never mind slapping import taxes on top of that too :horror: historic exchange rate data from this site: Historic Exchange Rates (US Dollar) - X-Rates

      worst part of buying at the moment is you don't find out what paypal's exchange rate is until you are at checkout - and at that point you have already confirmed your order with the seller, so you can't back out of it - if you order a bjd, you have to pay for it, even if it costs £100 more than what you were anticipating - so I'm too scared to even chance it now. The 2 heads I ordered from Alices Collection recently were so cheap I thought well I'll have 2 of them! Then I got to paypal, having placed a firm order, and the total was £10 more than it would have been pre-referendum - for a $50 order.

      Yes I know - 1st world problem - hardly life-threatening! But it will slowly affect the price of everything we need too.
      Such as Marmite :o
       
      #8 elve, Oct 21, 2016
      Last edited: Oct 21, 2016
      • x 1
    9. I feel you pain. I keep wanting to punch May in the throat so she stops opening her mouth, every time she does the pound slumps a bit more -_-
      Grrr.
      It's like added insult to injury as a remain voter who actively campaigned, it was one thing to ruin the country and my kid's futures, but you also messed with my hobby and that's not okay and makes me MAD ARGH.

      The exchange rate is awful, making it just flat out not worth importing stuff right now.
      Sadly until we have some certainty about the stupid brexit, the market is liable to continue to be all over the place.

      In the meantime, prices for us are sky high across the board and it SUCKS.
      I'm mad about it.

      Importing a $30 doll from Amazon for instance? £70, because of customs and import fees and a weak pound. How insane is that!?? Everything has gone up by £20+ and it's horrible. *huff* It might get worse, might get better. Who knows. But it certainly has put a stall to a lot of my dolly plans.
       
      • x 1
    10. yes it's sad that what was such a rewarding hobby is now, for me, put on 'hold' indefinitely - or until such time as I can convince myself that something which used to cost £80 is still 'cheap' now it's suddenly over £100 (plus import tax if there is any - that's another gamble!) Like I said in my first post - it took me a long time to feel that £80 was 'cheap' in the first place - I'm not sure if I can convince myself it's still 'a bargain' at the new price :eek:

      And to put it in perspective for other people, that doll you ended up paying £70 for would only have cost around £38 at most, pre-referendum! That is some price hike in just a couple of months.
       
    11. @elve ... The example you posted saying £70 doll was £38 post Brexit, is really scary and sobering... I tried in vain to explain to my Mother and her cronies, about the consequences for our imports if she got her wicked way to Leave!!! Her reaction was the Leave propaganda line " The UK exports far more than it imports"... I could not make her realise what would happen with everything, eventually Evan the food in the supermarkets!!! And when I spoke of my beloved BJD's she just laughed and made fun of me!!!! This from a person who had resided permanently in Turkey for the past decade, and still owns property there...
      I am very anxious to see what happens regards import duty/ tax and the BJD's I order now and future... I only found this hobby last year, and it has provided so much happiness, and friendship plus a creative streak I did not realise I had, and now I am fearful to even look at dolls I like!!!
      Thanks for all the info and facts you have shared, it's a great thread ... Here have a daisy :daisy
       
      #11 HoneyRyder, Oct 21, 2016
      Last edited: Oct 21, 2016
    12. awww thank you :whee: I thought it was just me who was finding it problematic, as it's always been more about shopping than creativity for me! Does suck the joy out of the hobby somewhat, and certainly puts me off impluse-buys, but I will just have to buy less, and cherish what I've got more I suppose!
       
    13. Oh my mother was just as much a hypocrite moaning about "immigrants" when she moved here with myself and my father 18 years ago and IS a bloody immigrant! She thinks that's okay because her "great great great great grandfather was english" uh.. it doesn't work like that you crazy lady and how do you know these polish or indian or any other immigrant's family can't trace back to the UK at some point too?
      That's not how immigration works and it doesn't make you English. You are a foreigner, deal with it.
      *sigh*

      I said at dinner tonight, talking about this, i'd egg the tories but eggs are too expensive to waste now.
       
      • x 3
    14. The dolls were pricey enough before (with the costly customs fees that folks in the US don't have to worry about as dolls are exempt there) and now they are even more expensive now that the pound has significantly lost value. I voted to stay in the EU as I knew that voting out would have super negative repurcussions economically in this country and that it would also effect buying from overseas. It's not like these types of dolls can be easily bought in the UK. As we are coming out of the EU, they need to uplift the customs fees we currently incur if buying from outside the EU, such as Asia, USA, Canada and Australia, and swap it so that we incur fees if buying from within the EU instead, I don't buy that often from these countries especially not in relation to BJD's. Yet there has been no word of this. I think we will get screwed over and will end up paying customs fees no matter where we buy from outside the UK. Perhaps China will push to get some ammendments. Immigrants have never effected me personally but the economy going tits up is. People should have got their priorities right. We will recover but just how long is that going to take? Rip-off Britain before, even worse now.
       
      • x 3
    15. I'm optimistic the pound will recover in time, but it might take a year or two. It may get a bit worse before it gets better. I think it will better if the brexit terms will be formalised as soon as possible, even if it is a 'hard' deal, as uncertainty is the worst thing for markets.

      in the last 3 years or so I graduated from university and got a better job, so I bought doll more regurlarly . But I still don't earn that much so i've ended up with a lot of unclothed/eyeless/wigless dolls over this time. Seems that this was quite a fortuitous decision for me although it was by no means deliberate. I'm hoping on buying small items here and there, like clothes and stuff, and working on the dolls I already have, will keep love the hobby alive for me whilst keeping the costs down. Although even these wiil be a bit more expensive as even these can't really be bought within the UK.

      Same for me, I love window shopping, and in my case I buy everything as I don't sew or make anything myself (butter fingers, and I just don't enjoy it). Maybe it's time to start though!
       
      • x 1
    16. I dont think anyone really thought we would leave... I guess we cant really know the full effect of Brexit until later down the line, I dont think its actually 100% started yet? But yeh, its crazy how something that once seemed reasonable (to doll collectors that is!) in price, can suddenly sound steep!
       
      • x 1
    17. It's funny you should say that because every single one of the people I have spoken to (except 1), plus all of my friends, voted to remain along with myself. Some conspiracy here? I think it's a big mistake for a government to allow the 'general public' to vote on such an important issue. Anyway before this evolves into a political rant Elve's initial post was about the sudden increase in cost. Well, BJD's are not cheap, far from it, I've just received mine and after taxes, buying clothing, professional face-up, wigs, glue gun (thanks Elve:)) it's a tidy sum. However, the way I see it is 'I've got to pay what I've got to pay' regardless of poor exchange rates etc. It is slightly irritating that us in the UK have to pay a whole lot more all of a sudden but if the manufacturers had to suddenly increase their prices we'd have to live with it. If I really really want what I really really want I'm just going to have to save or expect to pay more.
       
      • x 4
    18. yes I am just about managing to persuade myself today that a mirodoll which cost £150 before the referendum is now still a bargain at £200 :nosebleed *I can do this* :sweat I am NOT going to let a bunch of random strangers ruin my only hobby!
       
    19. @Mister M ... Ha ha ha...I laughed at your political rant comment, as I very nearly turned my post into exactly that!!! :dohYou made a very valid point though. Luckily I remembered Elve and the spirit of the thread :lol:
      @elve ... What I have found myself doing recently is really odd!!! Instead of saving a little and buying my doll, as I have done previously. I have gone the other way, my last couple of purchases have been made using Layaway for a lot more money than I would normally budget for, and I have ordered my 1st full-set :?
      At least now my dolly funds are used up into Spring 2017 he he, and I hope to not really notice the monthly payments!!!
      Let me know if you decide to order, which sculpt has grabbed your attention?
       
      • x 1
    20. yes it's strange but I feel quite reckless too LOL - it's like we're on a sinking ship so might as well grab as many dolls as possible before we go down :XD: We'll all be dressed in rags, barefoot, walking from the smoking ruins in a post-apocalyptic UK - but with our arms full of pristine, ludicrously expensive dolls haha - priorities!!!