What if world politics affects the BJD hobby/community?

Well seeing as damn near everything here is made in China...I doubt they'll ever cut that trade route off. If they do, what would they sell at Walmart lol. The US and Japan have had good relations post WWII. Which is pretty remarkable considering what we did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ever since the Korean War US and Korean relations have been good. Well South Korea anyway. Pretty sure all the Korean dolls are coming out of S Korea...not the North. If there was ever something that came up that had the power to disrupt the trade between our countries, I would think BJD's would drop WAY down on peoples' list of important things. B/c if it gets that bad then we're probably at war.

And if the government did start raising tariffs, I'd imagine they'd be on other things. Tariffs are designed to protect a country from foreign goods being sold at a cheaper price than their own and thus running them out of business. Basically they're designed to protect a country's own industry. I understand that there are BJD's made in the US but not on a massive enough scale. Tariffs are for more mainstream things. The US economy isn't going to suffer b/c 100 people bought dolls from overseas. And considering that US customs doesn't charge a dime for dolls and doll related items, I think it's safe to say that the government isn't too concerned about ABJDs.

 

I can only agree with this. I know nothing about US politics but a lot of things over here are made in china or thaiwan or asia in general, so where would it leave the western world if trade with asian countries would be cut off?
I don't think that's ever going to happen unless there will be another war or the atomic reactor in japan explodes, which hopefully won't happen. And if it does, I wonder if anyone would have the time and mind to be concerned about their dolls ...
As for import fees and taxes, you guys are really lucky already. Over here in Germany we have to pay ridiculously high fees for importing our dolls. Which doesn't stop us though. Just have to save a bit longer. :'D

 

If embargos are passed for political reasons, you won't get your doll 1st hand and you would have to rely on domestic customizers/seamstresses/etc. If embargos are not passed but import taxes from certain countries are raised, you'll just pay more. If a war breaks out, trade may or may not continue, based on recent historical examples. For those worried about US domestic products; stop. The USA, because of its size, has a wealth of natural resources. Maybe not so much iron and steel as China reports annually, or as nice silk as from Asia, or as cheap of labor... But the USA has done more with less in previous times. It will be an adjustment, but it won't be impossoble or even hard (maybe just more expensive because of no more cheap labor and some patent restrictions).
Any company can go out of business for any reason at any time, though economics and politics do have a greater impact. Once economies and relations settle, if the company has gone out of business, it may be that after a period of recocery they might start again with enough support from potential buyers. Doll prices can be expected to rise again because of supply/demand (basic economics). Right now prices are really low on the secondary market because of the opposite extreme of supply/demand (too much stock, not enough buyers). Whether or not people come together or segregate as a result is entirely up to 1. their culture, 2. government restrictions, and 3. personal choices. There is really no use worrying about such things as dolls in this scenario. If it comes to trouble between countries, my view on dolls would not be changed: I must always think of necessities before luxuries.

 

As was said, if some major world events happened that affected trade, I doubt dolls would be foremost in my mind. They are a luxury item that isn't necessary (no matter how much people THINK they are essential!).

Exchange rates and customs and trade agreements change all the time. That's just life. We just deal with them since there's nothing we can actually do to change it.

Basically, we can speculate all we wish about what might happen and what we would do about it, but it doesn't really change anything. If you suddenly can't get a doll for whatever reason, then that's just life.

----I've had bjds for nearly 10 years. Nothing lasts forever, but bjds have been around for a while now. I'm really not concerned. What happens, happens.

 

I don't think the US, at least, is in any danger of passing trade embargos with Japan or South Korea. And I have yet to find any sculpts made by China based companies that I wish to purchase. So I don't think any potential embargos would really affect me.

 

English politics is confusing and basically constantly trying to climb out of a pit. I highly doubt the UK would want to annoy most of the countries that BJDs come from. That'd be one huge pit right there.

 

...for real? Seriously?

For the record, I follow politics very closely, and I've been following the Korean issue since it started to simmer. If the Korean peninsula goes nuts, then the last thing I will be thinking about is dolls. It's slightly more concerning that the Air Force might find a way to ship my brother back there instead of letting him out this summer like he has planned. I will also admit to a certain amount of concern that Pyongyang might actually figure out how to get a nuclear warhead across the Pacific, since I kind of live on the west coast. If you want a certain doll bad enough, you'll find a way to get that doll. If you're not willing to put out the extra effort, that's your call. Companies go out of business. Shipping times fluctuate. Prices vary. That's life. It happens all the time. I can't say that in a situation like that I'll really give much thought to whether a doll company will stay in business or not. Other things are more important, and there is certainly no point in getting one's knickers in a twist over something purely hypothetical. It hasn't happened. Don't fret yourself into a froth until/unless it does.

And "forming deep bonds with one another dealing with loss" makes it sound like a funeral, not a snag in acquiring an entirely unnecessary luxury product.

 

The Korean "war" with the us has never officially been over. I was reading one of the strategies might be to sign on the dotted line that it finally is.

As far as dolls go, the prices would definitely go up in the marketplace. I don't know if the companies themselves would raise prices. Maybe if it's more difficult they would actually lower them a little bit for non-Korean customers. I do think security would increase a bunch, possibly so much that we wouldn't able to get dolls at all.

 

I'll second that one with gusto. The UK is in no position right now to annoy anyone, since politics is trying to climb out of the whole it jumped in.

 

I will say that I was a little concerned when N. Korea reared its head again about where my dolls are coming from, due to not wanting to support that kind of regime. That's about as far as politics has gotten in my hobby.

Australia isn't in a position to really get up anyone's nose on this side of the pacific so we just sit here, look pretty and lay traps for anyone who might decide to invade.

With China being one of our major trade partners, I don't expect that embargoes would ever be put in place there. *phew*

 

Err... surely by buying dolls from South Korea, you're deliberately NOT helping the North Korean regime? It seems a coupl'a people are not quite getting the difference between North and South Korea...? As far as I know North Korea doesn't export anything anyway, so I can't see how Western postal services are going to get into a tizzy about something marked from South Korea.

The conflict with North and South Korea is actually making me feel better about buying loads of expensive pointless dolls from South Korea. I'm helping the war effort! Not that they're actually AT war, but by giving the S. Korean economy a boost we're helping the forces of democracy. Woot! Buy dolls, save the world.

 

I'm a fairyland addict and they're in Seoul. I made the effort to look that up (probably should have mentioned that) so I'm good.

I completely agree with you on not supporting north korea

 

Since I'm from Australia I don't foresee trade stopping with the Asian countries. It's possible they (our government) will raise import taxes or something as our manufacturing sector is not doing so well and they want to encourage us to buy locally made items. As our dolls are not a necessity it will be up to each individual to decide if the increased cost is worth it or they can afford it. I'm not really going to worry about it though.

 

Our dolls are considered an art in South Korea (there is no US import trade with North Korea). My biggest concern is for the people of South Korea, our doll makers in particular. My experience with all of them has been one of sweetness and friendship. Through my dolls, I have learned to love South Korean people. I can't say that about all of any type of doll maker. Since I'm 72 and remember the Korean War. The US entered the war to defend the South Koreans again the North. I hope that never has to happen again. Treasure your BJDs -- seems odd to say that here, as we all do. To me they are necessary luxuries.

 

This is something I too am worried about recently. I worry about US rep's and doll sellers who sell BJD's, as well as myself, trying to check sculpts off my wishlist. I don't WANT to go to the second hand market neccesarily.. yeah, it's normally cheaper. Yeah, I can find the dolls/heads/parts I want in excellent condition. I'm no stickler for having "new", or "just for me" items either. I want to support the artists who make the dolls, and I want my money to show that. Buying second hand doesn't do that as directly... so I'll be worried about the companies I love, should politics prevent me from ordering from them. I'd be angry if a company I WOULD have ordered from during some sort of trade ban went out of buisiness during the time. The idea that my purchase might have possibly made a difference in their fate would eat at me to no end, and yeah, I'd be mad about the state of things. That's worst case scenerio. Let the peace we desire effect the future as much as it possibly can. It doesn't matter WHY we want peace. It's PEACE. Even if it's just cause we wanna buy a doll of all things... it's a REASON for PEACE. One of many, right?