How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

With DHL you could go to their site to verify. Maybe USPS will go back to leaving pickup notices in your mailbox or something. It's hard to guess how it will all work out.

 

You can always call your local post office to inquire about packages. They tend to know when a spam wave is going around, but USPS also won't call or text you about packages, so calls or texts that appear to be from them are very likely spam. For UPS and Fedex, you can create an account and set up how you want to get alerts and where exactly to leave packages for your address, and it also will tell you what packages are coming and from whom. I've found that to be pretty reliable

 

For USPS, you can sign up for Informed Delivery to track your packages. Usually once it enters the US it'll appear on there, or if you have a USPS tracking number (or one that'll work with USPS tracking), you can copy/paste it into Informed Delivery.

I have stuff ordered that should be shipping in the next few weeks, so I'm hoping things smooth out and the tariffs go down. And I'm not surprised the USPS reversed their decision so quickly. I was a contract clerk for a year with them - you'd be surprised how fast rational human beings can suddenly turn crazy or brimming with unbridled rage when they either don't get their package or it's being held up somewhere. It's almost never your local post office's fault and it's insanely stressful trying to find a package that you have no control over.

Please remember that your local post office isn't responsible for this and this is only going to make their jobs even more stressful than they already are! Good luck everyone!

 

I foresee I'll be buying from domestic sellers and secondhand mostly, which I was already doing because of costs and wait time. I can only imagine how frustrating this has to be for people with dolls and goods preordered though. Wishing everyone good luck right now!

 

My biggest frustration is that I purchased a doll from Alice last year, and she should be ready very soon. I am not happy about having to pay an unexpected tariff, especially since I ordered her prior to any of these changes being on the horizon. That said, I know how privileged I have been to not have to pay those tariffs like the rest of the world. I just wish it was clear what I can expect to pay. That might be the most frustrating part, honestly.

I'm terms of how it will affect me going forward? Well, I was ready to purchase a doll that I've been eyeing for ages, and I'm holding off now. If things stay as they are right now, I probably won't be buying anything unless I absolutely must have it. Which... might be a good thing for my wallet. But I am concerned about the impact it will have on our favorite companies - they're mostly small businesses with small teams of artisans. It's already so hard to make a living as an artist, I really hope it doesn't hurt.them too badly.

 

Yeah the impact it will have on small businesses I can't see as anything else but deeply detrimental. The US is a very large importer, and the amount of just...things big and small will affect everyone.

 

I'm from canada, and I thiiiiink I might be fine on doll stuff if I stick to china/japan/etc.? Anywhere except the US, which really sucks for the indie artists/businesses that I wanna support outside of the hobby (their clothing brands, artwork, plushies, etc.).

Guess i'm fresh outta luck finding US customers to buy my doll stuff though. One of my resolutions this year was to finally sell some of my dolls/doll bodies away, but I can't now unless I'm willing to help pay extra (which will definitely not break even and will defeat the purpose of selling stuff to. Y'know. Gain back some of my money). Like others said groceries will be more of a major concern, as will rent. I'm probably gonna cry in march when my rent increases YET AGAIN and i'll have EVEN LESS funds to spend on my hobbies, let alone necessities.

I don't know...I'm largely uncertain of the future. Like, the year has barely started man, I don't wanna find out the rest of 2025 will be more Hell just for existing and wanting to enjoy things..

 

Two heads up for US folks (via a Discord I'm in for people who sell in convention artist alleys):

• The de minimis rule is back after being repealed, so you should (as of now) *not* be charged a tariff if the value is under $800. Will help in some cases with dolls, should help with clothes/accessories. We should all still expect the chaos to make things slow.
  
• As of yesterday, there is some threat of tariffs being expanded to ALL imports, regardless of country of origin. I think it's probably not actionable, but something to be aware of...? (And deeply dread while screaming into the void???)

I think they both add up to a) who even knows!! b) you could maybe get in some orders now to other countries, including China, without major issue and there's no way to know when that may change again. Probably only relevant if you had a planned and budgeted order for like, the end of the month, but it felt like maybe it's better to hear what's going on? As far as anyone can tell, at least...

Meanwhile, still waiting on my package from rRabit, and it's totally unclear if I'll have to pay any sort of fees or not, based on when it arrived in the US. If customs opens it, hope they enjoy confusingly tiny plaid shirts...

 

"LOL!!! This person totally got TEMU scammed!!!! Didn't they check the reviews?"

 

I'll adjust my budget accordingly, within reason. This hobby is what is keeping me relatively sane, so I'll start with adjusting as needed based on tariffs and increased spending in other areas (groceries, gasoline, etc). I tend to buy items that I don't have the skills to make -- which are the dolls themselves, eyes, shoes, and some sewing notions.

If I'm purchasing something, that means I've put a lot of thought into it and that I have the money for it. I personally follow this principle: if I can't afford to pay for my purchase twice out of my free/fun spending allocation at that moment, then I need to reconsider. It's worked well for me over the years. I'll just have to factor potential tariffs into the overall cost. But if tariffs end up being egregiously high, I'll have to cull my 'To Buy' list to the items that are the most important to me.

Over the past few weeks, I've been compiling a list of shoes that seem like they might fit my dolls that have a non-standard foot size. Part of me wants to just get the entire list to 'FAFO' (about fit and tariffs lol), but then the reasonable part of me is like "maybe you should go through that list a few more times..."

 

I've got 3 floating heads currently, so I've been tentatively planning on bodies for them plus another vinyl doll or two. I typically only make large doll purchases once or twice a year anyway, so it wouldn't be that much of a change, but it would still require more saving up and budgeting. In particular, I was hoping to get new vinyls as a graduation present to myself for completing my master's degree, but who knows if my school/degree will even still matter in the coming months. And like, I get it, the rest of the world deals with import taxes and the like so this comes off as very American-centric whining, but I'm also exhausted by the state of Current Events and would like to be able to afford my silly little hobby.

Unfortunately, two of the bodies I want are from Chinese companies, which is anticipated to have a higher tariff than other imports. Womp womp.

 

I can't say the doll hobby is at the top ten of my own current worry list here in the USA, but as far as this particular subject, I will not be buying dolls for a while- and none from Chinese companies, I think, unless something epic comes along. I have a Granado body in the waiting stage and an order from Alice's, and then that's me pausing my collecting for a while. I do hope I won't have to pay extra for them but if I do, well, that's just how it has to go.

I have a lot of faceupping and mod work to entertain myself for a long while and even before all this.... Thisness *flails hands* I was slowing down on collection because frankly I have a lot of dolls! Most of what I wanted to own I now have and a few surprises besides.

 

It is a bit of a bummer, if I’m being honest with myself. The few holy grail dolls I have left to collect have a higher chance of showing up on china marketplace websites, and I really wanted to buy more dolls from china based doll sellers. It’s a bit of a conundrum since I already spread my spending pretty thin just to buy a doll once or twice a year, but it is what it is.

 

Coming into this from a non USA angle I am curious what will be charged.

For example, in the UK it will a customs charge, value added tax (when over a certain amount), then handling fees (the courier charges for collecting and paying the charges on your behalf so it can be collected from customs so it can be delivered). This can add up, and also be annoying if the customs fees are very low, low enough no vat is charged, then the courier can charge around 15 usd for their bit (looking at you Parcel force!). Had that back in the day for a wig a few times.

Also, this isn't just the cost of the item in the UK but also the shipping cost too. Eg I bought a $50 head, shipping was $30, the customs and tax will be calculated on $80. I actually had to pay this yesterday unfortunately, so a very recent example (except it wasn't Parcelforce this time so the handling charge was small compared).

 

The difference for US folks is: we didn't have this on small packages at all before, even though it's normal in other places. We don't have the infrastructure (enough customs people) to do it, so it's slow and chaotic. Certainly something I've heard about Parcelforce, I have UK friends who've told me horror stories! But here it's worsened dramatically because the rollout of these changes is completely chaotic, and in some cases it's been "this is true now" and 12 hours later it isn't. It doesn't help that the folks in charge don't understand that US consumers are the ones paying these costs, so they're doing things like threatening 100% tariffs on imported goods... we're not all just spoiled by lack of paying them before, it's a real mess. It's impossible for us to know what we'll be charged, when, or by whom.

I just got a package from rRabit in Hong Kong, and was not charged anything because (I guess?) it managed to go through customs between "we're doing tariffs on everything from China" and "we're not doing tariffs for 30 days." But a friend got one from the UK two days before, and was charged both an import fee and a brokerage fee (by the shipping company, for doing the paperwork), even though there's no current tariff on UK goods. We basically just have no clue what's going on.

 

That's the worst part!

I just got a small package from mainland China that would ordinarily have used USPS. This time it came via a "delivery partner" I'd never heard of. I got a super scammy looking text early on a Sunday morning but it turned out to be legit (text did not have a link or ask for money, unlike the scams).

 

Privatizing everything!! That's happened to me before with bath and body works during a busy season. It's like an uber for deliveries or something. a random guy just showed up with my stuff. He wasn't FedEx, dhl or UPS - or at least he didn't have any uniform or branding on the car. Maybe Pitney bowes is helping with the Chinese orders

 

The partner was called UniUni if that sounds familiar!

 

Well.. I'm new to the hobby, and don't have any dolls yet, but I'm lower-class, so I already expected it'd take me quite a while to save up for each doll I want. I was intending already to spend this year thinking of what I want so I don't over-spend or buy dolls I don't have any real plans for, and knew I might not get my first doll until next year, or the year after (later this year is if I'm exceptionally financially blessed).

I have other hobbies, and business expenses. I know how to balance everything, generally speaking, but I know I will need to become more patient with saving. With the cost of everything going up, that means my business expenses especially going towards paying other creatives will likely be bumped up, since we all need to live. Which means I will have less money to put aside for doll-saving.

I'm exceptionally picky and don't tend to like buying second-hand anything, which will also affect this. But I tend to avoid FOMO marketing and most highly limited-edition things, so I'm not prone to impulse spending as much, which definitely helps.

Outside of all that, I just assume this will give me a taste of what it's like to struggle with shipping stuff internationally. While I'm currently in the US, I plan to move to a small country in Eastern Europe, so I have to wonder how it'll effect things there, as well.

 

It makes me glad that I am a mostly used doll buyer because buying overseas is going to get very pricey. If I can't buy in the USA I'm not going there. It makes me mad that I can't go to some of the Asian markets for cheap clothes and wigs though. It's just not going to be worth it probably...

 

Off topic but You should read the deagle report before moving to Europe. I'm just saying

 

Thank you! I will make sure to do so.

 

I'm just hoping trade tariffs don't ruin my ability to buy any chinese produced dolls. I was part of the group that ordered the new super flexible body they're working on.

 

In the past they have not placed tariffs on orders by individuals.

 

@nancy_schroeder_ca That's because most individual orders fell within the de minimis exemption, but with that possibly going away I imagine more regular folks are going to get hit with duty taxes.

 

I firmly believe I'm on a list with Canada Customs. They've made a nice little hunk of cash off me over the years due to the dolls. I had to cough up just under $64 yesterday for one of my boys (ot for this thread). It's not the most I've paid but it hurts regardless.

 

So far all my Chinese goods (shoes, eyes, heads) have arrived in a plastic cover with a USA address and no tariffs. But I have a body that should be coming soon and we will see!

 

So far so good here too. I did get a doll from Alice's Collections a few weeks ago, no tariffs yet. And I've been getting small packages OK. Everyone seems to be using third party delivery services, that for some reason always deliver early Sunday morning.

 

Eliminating the de minimis exception (items under $800) is going to be difficult, I suspect. The first time the Administration tried to do so, the USPS shut down and refused to reopen until the exception was reinstated.
Wild times we live in...

 

General minimum here in Canada is a $20 value. It's bumped to $60 if the item is marked as a gift. Those numbers don't stack either. Customs fees are annoying but also totally random in nature here. I've had expensive dolls zip right through with no fees and an $80 outfit get nailed and spend a week just sitting in Customs without moving.

Clear as I can tell, it's generally a 50/50 chance of fees most times although with the way of things currently, I strongly suspect they're paying much closer attention to packages coming from the US based on my recent experiences.

 

That's a bit of an exaggeration. USPS didn't refuse to reopen until the exception was reinstated. They put a temporary hold on packages coming in from China as they tried to figure out a way to implement Trumps new executive order. And then they reversed the decision a few days later, but in the mean time it caused a lot of confusion, packages backed up at the ports and eventually Trump temporarily reversed his order to give USPS and the Customs and Border Protection time to figure things out.

U.S. Postal Service reverses decision to stop accepting packages from China, after Trump ends ‘de minimis’ exemption used by Temu and Shein
https://www.reuters.com/business/tr...-tariffs-de-minimis-imports-china-2025-02-07/
De minimis exemption temporarily returns for products from China

 

FYI for any fellow Canadians (or people sending/receiving Canadian packages), there may be another postal disruption/strike starting May 22, 2025. The strike that happened in November/December 2024 was never resolved (the collective agreement was extended until May 21, 2025) so the postal workers could be in another legal strike position if both sides haven't hammered out the situation by then.

 

I'm wondering how much it is going to cost me when my Fairyland order eventually comes in. I thought it would have shipped by now, but it hasn't and who knows what the tariffs are going to be like to claim my dolls once they come in. This is really going to slow down a lot of peoples' collecting habits.

 

According to today's list, 25% on imports from South Korea, 24% from Japan, 54% from China (ouch).

 

Ouch. Need to make sure I've got cash for that. I feel really stupid now having made a big order.

 

Yikes. I’m waiting on a Mandrake order to ship. Mandrake shipped it, now waiting to get into the US. I hope it gets into the US before I have to pay up.

 

Yeah, I'm adding an addendum to my previous statement: 25-35% tariffs on my ABJD purchases is highway robbery, in my opinion, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth to even consider paying that much (particularly because of whom that extra cash is going to). I'm torn between being heartbroken, as this puts dolls on a more-or-less indefinite hiatus, and incandescent rage, because a trade war can and will tank the U.S. economy.

Ugh and also yikes (because there aren't words strong enough).

 

Just not ordering dolls anymore, basically. I will still take hit from ordering clothing and wigs though but dolls are just too high in price for me to keep collecting them. I'll buy second hand of course but aside from 1 on my list, I'm done collecting new resin.

 

So not long after I made my post yesterday, I got my shipping email. I'll update when the package arrives so others in the States have an idea of what to expect. This is definitely going to impact my further collecting. Despite knowing this was likely going to be the case, it still stings.

 

I also just got a shipping notice on my order from China (Alice's Collections). I'm nervous! I'll report back on what happens.

Other than that, my overseas buying is on hiatus until/unless things change. I guess this will force me to play with the dolls I have.

 

Um Yeah.... So I'm an American and Yesterday (April 2nd) just happened and... without getting political we are So.So sorry. Nobody wanted this except the ones doing it.
I myself am now probably solidly DONE with being able to get anything outside of this country for a long time. Hopefully it'll only be 4 years.

 

Yeahh this pretty much curtailed the vast majority of any non-essential purchases for me, unless we get really really lucky and some sort of Christmas Carol ghosts come along and scare sense into our politicians sometime soon. I have some money for dolls/ fun stuff saved up and one definite purchase planned, but will probably wait for that until later in the year maybe. or maybe i should order it now? It all keeps changing so quickly it's hard to plan. I might think more seriously about selling a couple of dolls I've been debating selling now though, to help with making purchases for other things more feasible.

 

I genuinely considered emailing some of the companies like, I'm so sorry, this is not what we want. Rrabit just recently gave me some wonderful customer service, it's small businesses we're talking about and they don't deserve to be hurt by this absurdity either. I know of an artist in NZ who says it will cost them like 20% of their sales if US folks stop ordering, which is more than they can absorb.

I do feel a bit less silly about some of my larger orders in the last few months now... (wigs and clothes.) I didn't go totally ham, but since I hadn't gotten anything new in a decade, now I have a box of things I can dip into a little at a time to play with the dolls I have. My boy from Mandarake did arrive on election day, actually, I do wonder if he wishes he'd stayed in his glass case in Sapporo instead...

I certainly have my fingers crossed for those Christmas Carol ghosts, for everyone's sake.

 

I had already mentally prepped for this since the election and know that it will probably nix my spending a lot for the foreseeable future, not just because of the actual cost increases from the tariffs, but because I want to prioritize saving as much money as I possibly can. This means I won't even be buying things domestically or secondhand as an indirect impact.

Hobbies can be amazing portals of escapism, but for me, I can't justify spending money for non-necessities when it feels like we're on the verge of an economic crisis that will last for years and years.

On the flip side, I will focus on doing non-cost incurring projects like giving my blank heads face-ups and maybe learning how to sew some simple pieces of clothing

 

Honestly, I suppose I'm finished buying dolls, since most of the ones I want come from South Korea.

Being on a fixed income, I won't be able to afford to buy any more that aren't already in the US, so I suppose my doll buying days are pretty much finished. I"m not happy about this, but I can't do much about it.

I may just buy preloved dolls from the secondhand market, but right now, it seems like more realistic dolls are popular, and that's not a aesthetic I'm into.

I suppose I'll just have to buy My Crew clothes and shoes, more than likely only from Etsy sellers here in the US.

Ryu

 

With the news of more tariffs being threatened on other countries (such as Taiwan and South Korea) this month, has anyone who had shipments coming to them in the USA arrive with fees, be held in customs, or had dealers reach out for additional shipping costs? Or notice it's baked into their shipping costs? I had a Spreenow order that had 4 dress/textile items in it with my BJD items, and the cheapest shipping (the carrier was UniUni) was $60.... EMS was $101.00... but I'm not sure if it was because of the clothing items, which I've heard can cause upcharges.... Needless to say, the 60$ hurt more than I was expecting, and the 100 royally spooked me! I can only imagine it will continue to increase- either in the shipping, the items, or both.

I'm not much different than other commenters in that I'll have to go dormant on collecting or buying overseas, which probably is for the better if other necessities in the States continue to get more expensive... I will still try to stay faithful to the 2ndhand market, crafting, local trading, and the like. I love this hobby and I'll find other ways to enjoy it. I hate not being able to support our overseas artisans, though.... but I guess we can't know fully how things will go since it's so tumultuous right now.

 

I received a head from Ringdoll (China) and Raccoondoll (Korea) last week. Both arrived at my door in Texas with no issues. They were both preorders I placed several months ago, but I don’t think that made any difference.

 

Ugh. I am extremely new to the hobby, only recently bought a doll after wanting to get into since the 2000s. Spent a really long time weighing the pros and cons of buying 3 MSDs and committed to that order last month... Assuming this all stays in effect or gets worse, this will be a really bad markup when they actually ship. Feel pretty stupid (both for the purchase and for being concerned about a doll purchase in the midst of this chaos).

 

Just a heads up, you'll want to buy the fabric for that now because between Joann fabrics being in the process of liquidating and all fabric being imported, the cost of fabric's also about to go through the roof.

 

Thanks - that's a great point.
Honestly, I'll probably start with recycled materials I already have haha... I don't have a lot of faith in my sewing skills

:edit: I also realize I don't have any Joann's anywhere near me, so that's unfortunate

 

Very solid advice for anyone who makes items for their dolls, fabric prices (and trims, beads, wire, etc.) are about to skyrocket. I have a business doing handmade plush on top of doll clothes for fun, so I have significant vested interest! JoAnn is at 50-60% off on most fabrics right now, but there is a minimum cut of 2 yards. Generous for doll clothes, just a heads up so you're not surprised. Their site doesn't do online ordering, but you can get an idea of what your store might have and what it will cost before you go. Definitely check remnants, too, for end-of-bolt pieces that would be more usable for doll stuff. I also suspect some of us who are hoarding now () will wind up selling some smaller cuts of our remnants on Etsy or somewhere in future...

I have a package inbound from South Korea that's already made it to the US but stopped moving... not uncommon, really, but I do wonder if it could be tariff-related. I'll be interested ("interested") to see whether tariffs are charged or not, given the timing.

 

Yeah, honestly, all this falderall will probably halt my spending on anything new, and I'll be redirecting my energies into what I currently own and maybe finally taking photos or changing them into the other clothes I own but uncommonly use.

I do have a couple incoming items so I get to wait and see with the rest of everyone. Just.... super disappointing on all fronts.

 

I just cannot get over the election result STILL, and am feeling for all the people who will now face awful, real life hardships.
Will have to see how DreamValley's Moth girl will get up-charged when she arrives from Alice's ( no idea how many more weeks, she was ordered Sept. 1st) but will definitely report on how that goes. And she will be my last doll, I am thinking.
I still am about 4 dolls behind in customizing etc so will have plenty to keep me busy for the next few years. My plan is to leave as tiny an economic footprint as possible the coming years, also out of protest to the Orange's insanity.

 

I already slowed down on spending in the hobby in recent years, but I purchased my last two new dolls several months back because of everything happening now. Purchases on clothing, wigs, eyes, etc. will also be slower.

 

It makes me feel less inclined to buy stuff overseas especially now with all the confusion, chaos, etc. I may buy more locally and may even consider making clothing and other accessories if I can't find what I want. Oh...and there's a great second hand market so there's always finding stuff in my doll groups.

 

My local JoAnn's also has a lot of fat quarters left.
Fortunately I'm a big ol' fabric hoarder, so I have enough to go on for a while.

 

i'm about to sound so bratty right now but this is all so frustrating, I'm new to the hobby and was hoping to get my first doll in the may or june (i've been eyeing some of the cheaper resinsouls and gem ofdoll babies) and have been weighing pros and cons and metiocolously planning eye color, wig, clothes ect (was planning on buying a resinsoul winter and waiting a long while till buying another one)
im thankful I don't really have to worry about my basic needs being met but everything has been so scary recently and not being able to indulge in something i've been looking forward too, on top of all the other stressors, because of what's going on is just urhewhkchdbhkw

 

im glad my kikagoods ot doll arrived a few weeks ago before we had to worry about the extra costs tho (he was a gift from a friend, and not a BJD)
i'll just practice making tiny little clothes for him until I manage to get winter (far future, or at the very least until all the chaos and uncertainty about how many of this is going to work and how things will ship from china dies down/goes away)

 

Yeah, I'm glad I mostly finished collecting all the dolls I wanted a few years ago. I don't think I'll be buying anything any time soon. Too much need to save money and worry about the future.