:: Volks Dollfie Dreams Discussion Room : Part XVI :

To the best of my knowledge, there will be no import fees. Dolls and children's toys are exempt from import fees in the US.

edit: Ugh, I have been informed that DHL will sometimes attempt to charge import fees on its own, even though the US itself holds dolls to be exempt. Apparently this usually only hits really expensive packages, though, so a DD on his own should be okay; if he is being shipped with other clothes and shoes, though, he might be expensive enough to trigger them.

If DHL does try to surcharge someone in the US for a DD with no add-ons, please let me know; I feel like I should know this.

 

Gallye, there have already been import fees assigned to the shipment by DHL. They had to be paid for the shipment to be released, or DHL would have sent him back in 4 days. :-( I am curious who gave you the information. Kaito is a full set, so for a DD, he is on the expensive side.

Edit: After chatting with my seller and looking on the DHL website, it's looking more like a fuel surcharge than anything else. We're just wondering why not every DHL shipment gets it.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Ahh, noted. I was referring to actual US Customs fees, which have nothing to do with DHL surcharges.

I am reading about DHL fees on DollDreaming (the vinyl doll forum) and they say that the fee is supposed to only hit packages worth more than US$2k, which is a lot more than Kaito costs. (There is also some talk about scammers pretending to be DHL, but that doesn't sound like it's applicable here!) So now I'm really confused. Is your seller in a remote area of the US?

 

Thanks for clarifying!

Nope, they're not remote, they're near a major highway. But they're going to try to contact DHL to ask about it. We sure are curious!

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I got a message on my phone last month saying I owed import fees on a package in the UPS system. The problem was I had nothing ordered, so I knew it was a scam. Be careful.

 

I recently ordered a DD from Mandarake (May 15) and used DHL and no fees were issued. The package was just over 1k, so well below the 2k limit. I’m wondering if the package I got didn’t get a fuel surcharge because it was shipped from a business that has a contract with DHL, and the surcharge was added on at purchase? I’m just wondering if the surcharge is because your seller is a private individual and not a business, so DHL is trying to get some extra money. I’ve had this happen with FedEx.

 

To clarify, it is Volks shipping the package via DHL to the person (in the US) I'm buying it from. There's no scam, unless it's incorrect import fees being charged by DHL. I trust my seller, they're an established vendor, and they're local to me too. Thanks, all.

LindaS.
galatia9

 

kurogane, what is this 2k limit? Dollars or weight? Thank you!

LindaS.
galatia9

 

@galatia9 I'm not Kurogane, but I know it's dollars. That's generally the total you need to hit as a US resident before you start seeing possible import charges on things like toys/dolls.

 

@galatia9 Cloudedmind is correct, it’s the dollar amount allowed without import taxes in the US. Sorry I didn’t make that clear. I’ve never had a package at that price and was kind of sweating when it got to customs as you just never know, but thankfully it went through just fine.

 

My Kaito was delivered on Monday! He's my first DD and I'm really enjoying how lightweight and poseable he is!



A couple more photos in the other outfits I got for him!

Spoiler: More Kaito!

 

Congrats!!!! He is so cool!


I got my Kaito today. I won’t be able to open him until later tonight or tomorrow morning. Why he had to be deliver on my busy day



but I’m so happy knowing he made it home and didn’t got lost in transit

 

Hi! First time posting a thread besides introduction. I just manage to get my hands on a secondhand Volks DD Miku, however, the only thing she comes with (besides the body) is her wig. I was wondering where I could purchase some accessories for her. I've been looking on some sites like Mandarake but its currently out of stock! Are there any other places I could get second-hand doll clothes/accessories?

 

Have you tried Dollyteria? I swear I saw Miku's wig there. If not, I'm sure there's plenty of artists and creators who would happily make you a custom Miku wig.

 

Thank you so much! I'll go check it out!

 

I forgot to share my DDB Kaito. He is super adorable. I renamed him Panchito

 

Hello all! Everyone's Kaito's look so cute! I love his peace hands and sweet smile.

I don't have a complete DD but I do have a head that I've hybridized with a Volks SD13 body. One question I have is, what is the best/easiest way to put eyes and eye putty in a DD head? The squishiness is something I haven't gotten used to yet and how the eyewells are in the DDH06 head. Very different from the resin I'm used to. Any help appreciated!

Here's my hybrid, Inuyasha! (Still in progress)

 

@Aiko-chan he's so cool!!
I've found that silicone ear plugs work really well to keep DD eyes in. You have to put the putty in a ring around the front of the eye, rather than covering it from the back like resin dolls.

 

Thank you @Cydril !
I'll try putting the putty around the front of the eyes, and hopefully that'll help. Guess I need to go get some silicone ear plugs, I've heard good things about them so this is my sign to finally get some.

 

The Dream Fitter is somewhat controversial - some people just don't like it, some people have had older Dream Fitters get stiff and malformed - but I personally love them and have had nothing but good luck with them. You can fold the big sponge in half and stuff it in there and it more or less fills the head, with two little dips to hold the eyes in place. You can even get a silly little rubber-tipped stick which can be used to shift the eyes back and forth without having to open the head or remove the putty, too, which is nice for changing the doll's line of sight.

I found this to be way easier than filling those deep DD eyewells with putty. So much putty!