Coronavirus concerns mega-thread

When I spoke with them about a month ago, they advised that most orders were about 45 days behind schedule and that was before the crackdown on mailing services.

And the world stands still.

On another note, I was temporarily laid off today. Time to tighten my belt. No more toys for awhile, other than what is already paid for and in limbo.

 

I created a coronavirus thread for us in Brigadoon, as it seems like the moderators would prefer us to move there unless the discussion is strictly doll-related.

/threads/covid-19-hobby-and-life-impact.820639/

 

Just ordered something at Mandarake (Sahra) and they shipped it today. It's a DHL Express shipment - odd thing is, it cost half of what EMS would have been. Soooo, DHL Express usually arrives at my doorstep within only a few days, so we'll see if there's any delay and if so, how long.

 

I have also been trying to contact Angell-Studio since end of February. I sent my final payment on end of February and I tried to get any confirmation from them but no responses. Initially, I had trouble getting response from them, but once I sent a reminder email, they responded quickly. For my previous two payments, they emailed back within a day, but on my last payment didn't hear anything from them. I'm really hoping that they are just behind on their emails T_T.

 

I received my package from Volks USA last week. They sent the outfit in a bubble wrap envelope via express post USPS. I was very lucky Volks did that because had they sent it in a box like what they normally do, I would not have received it. The concierge in my building refuse to handle packages. Residents have to meet delivery guys at the lobby and as you expect, we tend to miss the delivery guys, so boxes sit out in the open! The bubble wrap envelope was stuffed into my mail box so I get it directly. I am also thankful Volks used express post because Canada Post is not working like normal. Front line workers are so brave. I know they are scared, but they still work.

 

Just a little update about packages coming from South Korea--my Dollmore order was shipped March 26, as of today it was processed through US customs and is scheduled to arrive on April 6, which is 4 days earlier than eBay had estimated.

 

I just thought how a virus thread would be useful, so I knew it must exist, and here we are! LOL

Nice to hear packages are arriving. Congratulations

I wanted to poke my head in such a thread to share an article I just read regarding our mental health during this time of social distancing, isolation and quarantine. It's basically the old adage 'one day at a time' but a good explanation as to why we might become depressed and hopeless, and how we might be able to avoid those pit falls.

Anyways, hope everyone is handling this well. I had a couple of bad days, but I think I managed my way out of them and now I am actually enjoying my time and actually doing some projects :,D

 

I don't know if this got answered but for those trying to find the Brigadoom forum - click on the 'forum' tab at the top. On the page it takes you to, scroll down to Den of Angels Events and the Brigadoom forum is there

 

Sent my Yumi and Nezu overseas for faceups. Sent Yumi on the 23rd and she just left the US. Nezu is still in nyc and I sent her on the 25th. They have frequent enough updates but it is still unpleasant. A wig is supposed to arrive from the UK and was shipped on the 19th and hasn’t arrived.

 

I finally got a response from Angell-Studio! They said that it'll be likely that my doll will be shipped on 4/20 .
I messaged them on Facebook to respond to their emails and the person said that they'll let customer rep know. So if anyone else have trouble getting Angell-Studio to email back, it might be better to message them on Facebook since they're pretty active there.

 

Im debating buying a doll. Shes on a great sale and i have the money. But with covid im not sure if its a good time. Looks like everyone is recieving their orders just late. Is anyone ordering?

 

Yes, it is going on three weeks since I had a package shipped from China and it has not arrived in the US. I ordered a lot of clothing from Taobao. My poor 72cm guy needs his pants! They’re cropped when he sits haha.

 

Good news for US guys. Payment Deadline Extended to July 15, 2020 | Internal Revenue Service. But you can file and get your refund (if you get a refund). If you have to pay at least you have longer to do it. I think we have to pay so no new dolls for a while.

 

I read a while back that majority of airmail freight from China does not come in a dedicated cargo plane but in the hold of passenger planes. Currently there are hardly any passenger planes going out of China, so there is not much airmail freight going through. Eventually you will get it but not as quickly as in normal times.

 

While I haven't bought a doll internationally, I did order stuff from Dollmore at the end of March and it arrived today, so stuff from South Korea isn't too slow!

I do have a doll ordered through Alice's Collections (ordered him in December), and am expecting him to ship any time now, but likely by the end of May according to them. I'm really curious as to whether he'll ship in that time or not, and if so, how long it'll take.

Meanwhile, I've just been buying within my country as possible. I think supporting small artists is important right now, if you're able to do it. You could always contact the dealer/company directly and ask them if it's a good time to order and if their wait times or shipping has been affected.

(I'm in the US, for what it's worth. I can't speak for other countries.)

 

Phew, I'm glad I'm not alone in that then! I hope he gets his pants soon, I've got some bald dolls over here lol.

 

I'm actually worried because I ordered some doll clothes from Alice's Collections but when it got to my country there were some issues and they sent the package back... Which means, no tracking for that! This was back in February, contacted the shop to let them know about the issue and we agreed that they would notice me when the package arrived there... but with all of this madness and no news about the package, I begin to think about it as a lost cause, sadly. Kinda pessimistic because of this situation, but of course there's still hope this works out!

 

It's a nightmare where I live. I can order whatever I want but nothing will get into the country. The second it hits the border it gets sent right back. Not to mention I get smacked with shipping fees and customs regardless of whether I actually received the package or not.

I don't think any of the dolls I had on order will arrive before July. Pretty sad actually as I was looking forward to them. Not going to throw a tantrum though because it's a luxury item after all.

Kind of contemplating buying another doll right now too which isn't too smart because funding is uncertain and there's no telling when I'll finally get to actually meet them.

My current collection is also on hold because I can't order anything. No wigs, no eyes, no clothing, nothing. I've been keeping myself busy trying to craft some little things but as I'm not a very good hoarder all materials are running out with no way to replenish them.

 

I'm unsure about buying dolls with face ups now. Or getting art supplies for face ups.

 

I'm sorry this is happening to you, it sounds so frustrating. All those returning packages.... eeeek!

Maybe now would be a great time to buy a doll you've been eyeing from a company with long wait times? If you can't get packages into the country and have to wait a really long time anyway...

 

Aww...you're too kind~♡

That's great advice though ^__^ I talked to some friends and some people did get tiny shipments delivered so it seems to be a hit or miss. So weird.

In any case I hope everyone who has incoming packages gets them safe and sound and that everyone stays safe. ^__^

 

Russia's postal system I know is pretty notorious for being slow, and with the epidemic...I have some clothes I got off etsy that I've been waiting on for six weeks now, I'm not sure when is the right time to get worried and that worries me <xD;;

 

Aw man. I ordered a doll outfit on Yahoo auctions jp and now packages will be suspended cuz of corona virus. I have no idea if this means my package will be sitting in Japan post office until further notice or that it's just a lost package or something...

 

I'm sorry, that's always stressful. It should mean it will sit in the Japanese post office, though! They're not going to be throwing anything out. It's still yours.

 

Does anyone know if Russia is holding mail in Moscow right now and not sending it on to the U.S. on the regular schedules?

Typically when I order an item from Russia, the tracking number follows a regular pattern: first it's accepted by a smaller post office near the sender, it makes its way to Moscow, customs keeps it for a couple of weeks, then it's released from customs, the post "prepares the shipment", it's "processed through facility", and usually lands in New York City within a day or two.

There are two BJD related packages that started being shipped mid-March that followed all of this pattern... except neither of them arrived anywhere after Moscow. The most recent activity on either of them is on March 17th and March 23rd, respectively. If this happened with only one package, I would assume it was lost, but since it's two, I'm thinking something is working differently with the mail at present? I've wondered if perhaps they were being held in New York City, but everything I've heard indicates the US post system is working as usual, and I can't imagine, even if they were quarantining international packages, that they would hold them for more than two weeks.

Thoughts?

 

Huge shout out to Legend Doll. I had actually considered opening a Paypal claim as I hadn't heard from them in over a month. They just emailed me letting me know my order was ready and asking if I would prefer to ship now or later as so many countries are having shipping restrictions. I thought that was such great customer service. Very comfortable to order from them again once this has all passed and give them continued support!

 

I ordered a Doll Legend Xu Yao in December, expected him around end of March/early April, but with all of the virus stuff, Alice told me he'd probably be delayed another month or two....but...I got his shipping notice today! He's traveling via Chinese EMS, so I have no idea whether to expect him in a couple of weeks or a couple of months....but just knowing he's ready and barely delayed at all is something!

 

Man I'm happy for you two!
I'm gently twiddling my thumbs over a Doll Family A order, and an art doll that's in customs. For DF-A, AC said to give it another month when I last emailed. I figure he'll be done soon, but man does the shipping restrictions make me antsy.

As for customs (US), I figure it's cautious work-hours and package handling, but still makes me anxious.

I feel for everyone else who joined the hobby the same time as me. Shipping was already the most daunting thing to me as a newbie.

 

I have had a China EMS package that hasn't moved since 3/14...starting to get a little nervous. I was reading that a lot of EMS packages from China take passenger planes out of the country, and those are understandably flying less than usual. I'm sure it will move...eventually! I hope.

@Mutation I'm sorry customs is taking so long for you! I'm wondering if that may be where my China EMS package is sitting too. US Customs is usually pretty quick, even through all of this (at least, in my experience)

 

Does anyone think that this will affect bjd resale prices or nah?

 

I'm experiencing the same thing right now! I ordered some accessories from SOOM and it's been waiting at the airport(?) since the 10th! I just hope all my in-progress orders right now are going to be okay... I've been anxiously waiting for an Idealian I finished layaway for last month and I hope he doesn't get lost in shipping.

 

@akaisha0 I would email Angell Studio now (on the email listed on their website)! Theres a new employee and she seems really nice and replies have been within 24 hours and quicker. She's helped me place my order and will be sending me an invoice since Ive had some website issues.

Ive had a package from South Korea (Airmail) sit in the international post office for over a month 26/3, and saw the newest update after a while and it turns out it was sent back today to the sender T_T .. I expected it since every other EMS package from South Korea has been sent back to the sender (I have 6 dolls T_____T), within a few days, but that fast response was probably because it was EMS vs regular airmail.

Surprisingly, ACBJD sent me a package without issues. It arrived less than a week by Aramex! Same with Japan and Hong Kong EMS, mail has been coming regularly.

 

Oh, no! I hope temporary means "not long at all." ☹️

 

I’ve got a package in Japan using EMS that’s been stuck at the handling office for almost two weeks now.

I’ve also got a package from China that’s just been posted today by EMS. Let’s see how well that goes

 

@LaCantarella same story with JPpost. Seems they provide service but without updates in the tracking system. Hope everything gonna reach homes soon.

@CaladhielTan
I have 4 package from Russia were sent in the beginning of April
And no updates almost 1 month.
i think it’s arrived , and hold on local custom. But weird that no any decrees about mail quarantine in here.

Russian Post
Released from Russia
05 April 2020, 23:01 102972, Sharapovo
Released by custom house
01 April 2020, 02:24 102972, Sharapovo
Handed over to the customs
01 April 2020, 02:23 102972, Sharapovo


Please update here if there are some changes

 

I messaged the sellers about my packages, and one of them said international shipments have been suspended for now because air traffic has stopped. Sharapovo is a customs terminal where packages wait to leave the country.

I expect prices will be higher at first, and then lower later on. Right now, those who are selling might be selling because they need the money for necessities, and they'll want to get as much money as possible for their doll, but as this goes on, if enough people are selling their dolls, it will flood the market, and prices will eventually have to drop in order to be tempting enough for them to sell.

 

.

 

So far I had no problems with parcels from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus to Germany. They always take long, now they take a bit longer, but almost everything arrived within one month. Not so lucky with parcels from the US and South Korea though. They sit on their respective airports since a week or more now and nothing happens. Shipments from China are very unpredictable too.

 

Does anyone know of any delays to Dear Mine's shipping due to Covid? On their website they say that they are now shipping with EMS Premium with an extra fee due to the virus, but when I was checking out with my purchase there was only the option for standard EMS. I have already emailed them to ask about it, but I was wondering if anyone else has had experience ordering from Dear Mine recently and how it went?

 

Japan seems to be closed from all overseas incoming post except US.
Ofc I’m exaggerating, but no any updates within 1 month ~. No tracking. No return packages. Lockdown.

 

So far, I've had two packages from South Korea sent by EMS since March with no issues. I wouldn't hesitate to order from a Korean company. My packages from Japan and China haven't moved in weeks, though. I'm not expecting them anytime soon, sadly - which is a shame, because Dollyteria and Mandarake are tempting!

I'm worried about some of the smaller companies and accessories makers, so I'm trying to put in small orders here and there when I can (plus, small bits of retail therapy never hurt).

ETA: I'm in the US, if it helps!

 

I got one parcel from Noppin (Japan) via EMS, which only took slightly longer than usual (think two weeks instead of one or so) and two parcels sent via DHL. DHL definitely is faster. Smart Doll have switched to sending stuff out with DHL because DHL obviously got their own fleet of airplanes. From previous experience, it's totally possible that a parcel sent via DHL Express, shipped from Japan, will arrive on my doorstep in Germany as soon as two days after shipping. Yes, I love DHL. *lol*

 

...You might like it a little less when you get notified of their "Bereitstellungsgebühr" (a sort of insane handling fee) since they refuse to grant you your right to make your own customs declaration for your package, as other shipping services do
I was just offered to have my small TTYA order sent via DHL express but refused because for such a small order it would not make sense to pay these fees. TTYA said that no shipping service but DHL is currently shipping from Korea to Germany. The alternative would have been them holding the package until that changes.

 

Then I wonder why both Iple House and SartoriaJ shipped my stuff with EMS just a week ago - certainly they would know about only DHL being able to ship? I guess I better get ready for a real long wait time then :/

 

has anyone seen any respirators for sale anywhere? I've been looking for a new one since January and can't seem to find anything

 

Most places seem to be restricting sales of masks and respirators for hospital workers only right now.

I was just looking around myself, and it seems that Amazon won't even sell to you unless you are in the medical field.

I'm lucky in that I have old masks for sanding that I bought like 5 years ago, but I don't think I'll be able to get my aerosol/resin fume appropriate cartridges for a long while yet. :/ I'll manage, though it is annoying.

 

Oh, I know about that. I've had stuff shipped to me from Japan by DHL Express for years. I recently asked about it and was told it was 6 Euros. I pay 8.50 Euros for my public transportation ticket to go to customs and back in my hometown, plus it takes me at least two hours (more when there's lots of people) to get there and back again. The only advantage going to customs myself has is that I can pay the fees with my debit card instead of cash. On the other hand, once the DHL parcel's been cleared by customs, you can call them and ask them how much you have to pay in fees so you can get the cash and have it on hand when the parcel arrives.

Actually, I just checked the paperwork DHL attached to my last few parcels I received via them from Japan and there's no handling fees listed there, only customs fees and tax. You do have to pay quite a chunk in handling fees when a parcel (EMS, most likely) gets delivered to your local customs office and you want to handle the declaration via e-mail or in writing rather than going to pick it up yourself. You also can tell your post office - at least here in Germany - that you do not want DHL to handle customs for you and you prefer to do it yourself. The info gets attached to your name or address or so and they'll stop doing it.

To get back on topic - just ordered some stuff from Mandarake Nakano, once more shipped with DHL Express, so we'll see how long it takes to get here. Not shipped, yet, and since it's Golden Week in Japan, I don't expect them to ship my stuff before next week.

 

By law in Canada a temporary layoff is 60 days at which point, employers either bring you back or terminate employment. Due to the virus, temporary layoffs have been extended to 120 days, which means more people will hopefully have a job to go back to. Very much a glass half full scenario.

On a bright note, I received my 2D Yuanxiao this week; my only yosd size. She's very sweet.

Figured the really littles needed a babysitter.

 

The mask-and-respirator aisle at the home improvement store down the street has been empty since well before stay at home orders started here. I've been using the cloth masks I made for myself as dust masks while blushing, and luckily bought some cartridges a while back for my respirator... it's sealant I'm starting to worry about. I'm hoping Games Workshop will open back up to shipping in the US at least before I use up what I have on hand.

 

Ironically the order I got coming from China right now is moving a lot faster than similar orders I had at the start of December. Those didn't even budge in customs until after the holidays. It's even moving faster than an Amazon order (with all instock Amazon/warehouse items) I made at the time... The dealer seems to have sent this one via Fedex.


@Flittermice
How long did your 2D Doll end up taking? I just ordered 2 of their little dolls myself and am wondering how the wait compares with everything that is going on.

 

@Khell , oh I see. Thanks for the update. Just to explain: My info is a few years old, now that I come to think about it, and concerned DHL express packages from China. At that time DHL denied recipients the option to make their custom declarations themselves and they charged a fee of about 30-40€ to do it for you which was practically extortion. The practice was disputed as illegal though. Another import service (GdSK) had shortly before been in court because of that and had been forced to change their policies.

@Ashemanu , Right now my main shipping concern during Corona is that you get such conflicting information from companies when it comes to shipping to Europe, in the end you never really know what to expect. Maybe the situation does change daily. But that's what TTYA told me...

 

I just recently made a Mandarake order last Saturday. It shipped Sunday DHL and was on my doorstep in Michigan on Tuesday. Insanely fast! I purchased the insurance but I honestly feel I shouldn't have now, it got here too fast to get damaged!

I wish I could have switched some of my China packages over to DHL. I feel I'm not going to see those until summer at the earliest.

 

It seems my SartoriaJ-package has left Seoul now via EMS. So it´s not totally dead - wish they had taken the Iple package too ^^

 

I've had an EMS package from Japan sitting in the original accepting post office since April 15. I assume this is to be expected at this point, sadly, since EMS packages travel in commercial planes, which are not seeing much use right now.

 

My Supia and Crobi packages left Seoul today too.

 

Have a Denver Doll package slowly moving within US around 1 week. But USPS are tracking at least. EMS just deadly stucked seems everywhere through.

 

All our dolls must have been on the same plane because my Corni left Seoul yesterday too! I like to think they flew first class lol

It’s pretty cool that the doll I ordered for my birthday will get here when my sophomore year of college is ending. Back-to-back these two semesters have been horrendous for very different reasons - this second primarily because of the pandemic and transitioning to online school which I have a hard time with for reasons. I deserve a new doll after surviving with good grades. Ugh.

 

@Mandagore To be fair, I've never EVER had something shipped to me from China via DHL. Always EMS, and most of the time, GdSK caught it. Which is why I now kinda-sorta know how to do that customs stuff myself. *lol* As far as DHL shipping from Japan goes, though, I've had only positive experiences.

As for my Mandarake order - it shipped yesterday, DHL sent me a notification mail to expect the parcel on May 7th. Sounds reasonable, taking Golden Week into account and all.

 

I placed my order on December 16, 2019, received April 27, 2020. Really didn't take longer than I would expect for a doll, despite current circumstances.