Buying a BJD in the United Kingdom

Hey there ^^

There are a lot of us from the UK kicking around DoA so I'm sure we can be of some help.

Where abouts are you in the UK? If you check the meets section there are meet ups fairly regularly in some areas of the country (usually London, Nottingham and West Yorkshire), you'd be more than welcome to come along to one and see some dolls in the flesh to give you some ideas and to get a feel for the different sizes etc.
Another idea might be to have a good trawl through the Gallery, see if any particular sculpt jumps out at you and go from there. Check out Gigglegeek.dk as well, it has a very comprehensive list including pictures of most of the dolls available listed by company.

I hope that helps ^^

 

Hi! I'm also from the UK. There are indeed a lot of us on here. Perhaps you could try looking around the mini section of size specific doll discussion to get a feel of what MSD sized dolls are out there? http://www.denofangels.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23

Also, www.junkyspot.com has a wide selection of dolls from different companies, so you could have a dig around the site and see what you come up with.

 

Im from the uk too, ive several dolls that came pre-strung with faceups. In not got a mini yet tho im still looking for the right one for me.

 

Uk too ...addicted to tiny
but I have had all sizes ...form all over the place
have been collecting ... about 5-6 years now

started with large ...went small ...love small
I have bought from new ..and pre-owned dolls

my piece if advice ..take a look around this place ...ask questions

there are also a couple of UK Forums too ...my PC just died an I have lost the links to one ...but Maz`s is
http://www.angelsoflife.net/forum/index.php

you will also see dolls coming up for sale within the Uk and europe
and also be prepared for Custom charges

its the luck of the draw sometimes ...but I nearly always have to pay charges ...so be prepared

 

Yes, Custom charges are not nice...at all!
But there are a lot of us here, and dolls from within the UK get sold fairly regularly as well...It's just a case of keeping a lookout. I have new and pre-owned dolls, and they are all lovely!

 

Hi and welcome! I've just ordered my first one. I wasn't actually planning to buy and was just looking to see what was around but i saw one I wanted on ebay and just bought it.
My advice would be just to look around at the different brands, sizes and faces until you see one you love and make sure you buy from a company, seller etc with a good reputation.
I already had a character in mind when i saw the one I wanted and I knew he'd be perfect, plus I didn't care about what the face up is like as I want to do my own anyway.

I always get caught with custom charges if I buy from abroad. Some people avoid them, perhaps I'm just unlucky... So I add extra money to the cost in my head in expectation of it.

 

If you are in the EU and buy from the EU you will not pay a penny for customs.
If you are buying pre-owned outside of Europe, ask the seller to put "GIFT" on the box, put a value of $50 or less and ship EMS (Express Mail).
You can track online, they are FAST and I have been using them for 8 years without an incident.

I sculpts dolls and ship worldwide so this means about 200 shipments a year.
Customs can only charge you if you declare a high value and based on that value. That means insured items (for their full sale price) will be charged customs. Sometimes some slip through but most of the times you end up paying.

Is it safe you ask, to have a $500 shipped uninsured? I have yet to lose something via EMS but yes there is always a risk.
On the other hand I have never been able to COLLECT insurance. The one time I needed to (broken item) they found a bunch of excuses not to pay... and they didn't pay.
Companies is FedEx and UPS are notorious for NOT paying insurance and giving you the round-about until you give up.

So in my opinion, I prefer to not insure and pay some extra $$ to have item shipped EMS rather than to insure it and pay 100% of the value in custom's taxes (because that's how much they charge here).

Hope this helps
T.

 

I totally agree with you Miyadorie
16 years for me dealing mail order ...I prefer EMS any day , insured for $50.00 ...but tracked , I have never had anything go missing
wish we had it in the Uk
our post is a farce

 

Hello, fellow Englander here, and this thread's been indispensable - I didn't even *think* about customs charges.

 

i suggest having a real good look around. dont base on hair or eye colour; you can change that REALLY easy and relatively cheap. just pay attention to the mold ^^ and take your time. i found i changed my mind lots and now im happy i didnt rush in, because i discovered dolls i love more maybe thats just me but i think it helps to see all your options

welcome and hope you have fun choosing your first and going to a meet is a great idea to get a feel for what you like

 

as said there are alot of people from the UK and many have dolls, I have a large group of friends, most on here aswell as my UK forum and we all have quite a few dolls.

I would def recommend coming to one of our meets, they are great fun and you can see some fab dolls and no one minds if you dont have a doll yourself.

 

Hiya from another UKer, I have bought several dolls on ebay with no problems. Customs is luck of the draw as has been said.

I went to my first meet without a doll, and without knowing anyone at all and it was great! I got to meet people and dolls, handle ones I had been considering buying and really have a hands on experience.

 

I've bought from a variety of sources - all of them being outside of the EU. For dolls I do generally prefer to buy directly from the companies that produce them if I can. I've bought directly from Volks by either their own website or by one of their official distributors, Luts website, Bambicrony website, and a few others like Dollmore and Domuya. I've also bought two dolls via my Japanese shopping deputy which were otherwise unattainable.

 

E-ay for the first (preferred to see photos of the actual doll I was getting, not a stock photo with no guarantee of the faceup coming out the same etc) - from someone in the US.

From a girl in the US for the second (she was a stockist of the head I wanted and married up my head of choice with body of chioce, eyes, wig and did the face-up I wanted)

Third, fourth and fifth from e-bay - two from UK and the other from... erm... China I think.

Sixth and seventh from Denver Doll Emporium in the US (they do layaway, and I already knew they were very nice and trustworthy doll suppliers from buying other dolls and other doll stuff from them)

Eighth and ninth - E-bay again both UK.

Not had any trouble with customs thoguh it's a gamble with stuff coming form outside the E.U. Individuall sellers will often mark the parcel as "gift".... some will not (and some are offended by you "asking them to commit fraud"), some will do it without your having to ask.... that's luck of thr draw, I'm afraid.

Most companyies will not put "gift" on the parcel - I get around that by having US items shipped to a friend in the US who then posts them on to me labelled as gifts, or brings them over to me in their luggage when they come to visit.

My second BJD was shipped to a friend in the US, who passed her to a mutual fiorend at a convention, whjo passed her to another mutual friend (I think, at another convention), who brought her back to England and passed her to another mutual friend who gave her to me at a medieval Battle re-enactment we were both attending..... convoluted, but it was way cheaper than shipping form the US and getting stung for customs on an already expensivedoll....{g}

Teddy

 

Volks can be tricky to buy from internationally and given that they sort of 'specialize' in almost entirely Limited Edition dolls, it can be quite difficult to get a hold of any particular doll directly. However, you're always going to save money by buying directly from them if you have the opportunity to do so. Any Volks LE you see on eBay is likely to be extremely overpriced, at least twice or three times as expensive as it would have cost to buy the doll new from Volks. And the cost of having any doll shipped internationally is going to be pretty expensive for EMS. So its not really a matter of it being higher than average as far as I'm aware.

 

I think I've brought from nearly everyone at some point, as has been said, you'll get various stories of customs being evil for no reason and that's really the only downside tbh. ALL the companies I've dealt with have been fantastic tbh

 

ive bought from LUTs, ive ordered wigs from leeke, i participated in a split for lychee (i didnt buy her) and now im waiting on my next from someone in the USA


customs and actual cost are the only downsides, yup, though ive not been hit by customs yet

 

Ive bought from

Luts
Dollmore
Custom House
Angel Region
Bambicrony
Leeke
Orient Doll
Lati Doll
Liria who is rep for CP
Ebay
and varies members of forums
Plus Volks via a friend for my FCS


plus other various sites for clothes etc

^_^

 

Hiya, another one from the UK here! I'm also a newbie to bjd's - so far have a tiny Bobobie bought from someone on here within the EU, and one tiny Custom House who marked the package down so she escaped customs. I am expecting tiny PpoPpo from USA and I'm expecting her to get caught by customs.

I'm looking out for a reasonably priced MSD or SD girl, preferably within Europe as I'm terrified of a huge customs bill! I just don't get the point of customs, it varies so much, I've been stung before with Riley dolls and the only way to deal with it is to factor it into the price you're willing to pay. Since reading that when the item is marked down, you can't claim on insurance, I'd prefer to have it marked at the correct price rather than risk it going missing. I've had a few parcels go missing recently, one being from the States so it's not a risk I'd take, although it was around the time of the UK postal strike.

Another UK bjd forum is dolly rocket http://www.dolly-rocket.com/forum/index.php

 

Hello! im another UK member - didnt realize there were quite so many from the UK till i read the replies in this post! yay!
i think that as long as you have paypal its fairly straightforward buying a doll - in fact its dangerously straight-forward, ive only been into BJD's for a year and i already have 7 (i had just got a job after graduating from uni and i swear ive been buying dolls rather than paying back my student loan so far.. lol.. i've had to make myself stop because so many dolls are so tempting! i bought my first doll from ebay because i hadnt yet discovered DOA, but i think buying from the company website straight-off is a better idea as you get a fixed price (rather than what can be an outrageous bidding war on ebay) with the occasional option of a custom make-up choice, meaning that if you had a particular idea in mind of what you wanted the doll to look like, then your idea may be achieved a bit easier. or you might find a doll with a default makeup you like- but the best way is literally to go through as many websites as poss. before you make your decision, just so that you know you've seen as many as possible in order to find your favourite As others have suggested- the gigglegeek website is particularly helpful. Good luck and i look forward to seeing pics of your doll in the future!

 

To clarify about customs:

It's actually VAT you end up paying. It should be 17.5% of the total marked on the parcel. Typically ParcelFarce charge a £12 handling fee on top of that too so remember to factor that into it.

As it stands anything marked as a gift and above the value of £18 is fair game for customs and if I remember correctly its £8 for anything not marked as a gift.

While it does save you money to ask a seller to mark down please bare in mind the risks involved, it IS illegal and can land you with a fine or prison time (the address is responsible not the sender), though I can't say I've ever heard of that happening. Also if an item goes missing -as unlikely as that is with EMS- it wont be covered for the true value, just what's marked on.

 

bought one...errr if only...bought MANY! Most companies ship internationally, shipping is approx $20-$50 usually. Be aware of the customs charge as already described, a lot of companies mark down and they slip though uncharged, but always be prepared for it! I never ask any company to mark down, so if they do I am not aware of it! I ask sellers privately "books and second hand figure" works well, but it is risky!

Have a good browse though lots of companies before buying a doll and if you can. join some UK forums (pm me if you want some links) and try to get to a meet up if possible, best way to see lots of dolls and get a feel for what you like!

 

You beat me to it River, I was going to say that thanks for bringing that up.

I've only been collecting since beginning of last year and am now on 4 1/2 (the half being two heads are taking it in turns to use the one body lol) and am hooked!
All mine are tinies so far and I have purchased them all bar my BambiCrony Elf Kumi head from people in the UK (BabyTarrigon when she was still a HappyDoll agent, and Tinybear). The head I bought from a DoA member and it got caught by customs but then that is the risk one takes.

My advice pretty much echos everyone elses, take your time and look at different companies, read through the feedback etc. Your tastes will change quite a lot as you see more and more so it is worth stepping back every now and then rather than leaping in. Look through the gallery at owner pictures which can be quite different from the company ones, but the main thing is follow your heart, buy something because you like it, not because it's convenient or a low price.

Good luck with your search!!

 

Another UK newcomer here.

I know customs hammers you on imports into the country, (fallen victim to some painful ebay related import fees.) Although when I spoke to the postie about it she said it's often pure luck, some get stopped, some don't.

A few years ago my brother bought an electronic gadget from Hong Kong and the seller put "returning item to owner after repair" on the customs label and sent the charger and paperwork separately and I wondered if it would be something relevant to doll imports, especially if they're pre-loved?

I'm wondering what would happen if, say, I sent a head over to the US for a face-up, I shouldn't be liable to pay VAT when it's sent back should I? Or if I sent a faulty doll back to the manufacturer and they send it back after mending it? I wouldn't be importing an item so no duty should be due, theoretically.

 

hi
im from uk to i like in Kent
i got mine from an Online company and paind through paypal i have 2 more coming toooo lol but id deffinately say go to a dollie meet as im sure youll learn lots!!!! ;0)