How will the recently implemented tariffs affect your doll collecting?

This is awful.

As a side note, just to double check since I’m not sure I’m up to date at this point, one of my dolls is on its way now, but it’s from Vietnam, so tariffs should be paused, right?

 

I believe the May expiration of the de minimis only applies to China and HK so you should be good

 

Thank you! I have intense panic (doll and non doll related at this point).

 

Since I can think of at least one Hong Kong-based doll shop... fyi, HK Post has immediately suspended all sea packages to the US, and will suspend all airmail from April 27 (so at that point, all postal packages to the US will no longer be accepted). Of course these days, anything could change at any time; but that is currently what they've announced.

 

So unfortunate…also with this seems that unshipped items to USA will be returned and refunded to sender around the same time. Probably will be a logistics nightmare depending on volume.

Minor silver lining is this currently only affects HK Post, their USPS, so packages can still be sent with FedEx, UPS, and DHL. But they charge additional fees and have higher shipping cost overall. More cost out of pocket for us….

My pre-order is getting more expensive everyday…

 

The preorder due in first was already paid with DHL shipping. So, now I am holding my breath that it doesn't get refunded, and neither do my other dolls. I believe three are EMS, and the only one USPS is from Korea.

I am worried about the EMS ones. I would rather pay for alternative shipping then have my orders cancelled. I can't find any info on EMS halting packages to U.S. Hopefully orders don't get cancelled and dealers and companies are willing to wait this out.

 

Well here we (US) are at tariffs of 125% from China even for $800 and below (or are tariffs higher now?) I think we should report our experiences here to help each other plan what to request from the Chinese sellers. I have been talking to Legenddoll and Space Studio. They both plan to undervalue. Space Studio told me about express shipping, “Oh the express ways. But they dont have custom clearance services like prepaid taxes. So you will need to complete it all by yourself.” I haven’t the experience to understand about prepaid taxes. Can someone fill me in? I’m trying to decide on express vs. regular mail. I know it’s faster but unsure if there are any other advantages. It’s so hard to keep current but I am planning on posting anything I know.

 

That's because we've been sitting on our hands.

I got an unexpected delivery notice for another Chinese package that I hadn't thought I would see for another two months. There were a couple of things I found interesting: The shipping method switched from Fedex to DHL and back again, and it's being routed through Europe instead of across the Pacific. I don't know if that's common for Fedex? Also, the dealer is undervaluing it. Hopefully it will get here before de minimus expires May 1.

Update: It arrived yesterday, no fees due.

 

That's interesting. I did hear that some container ships weren't sailing, but nothing about planes. I could see shipping routes changing on smaller packages like a doll, since they'd normally be with a bunch of other packages. Hope it arrives soon, let us know how it goes for sure.

 

Well i figured now's as good a time as any to place the orders I was looking at. I'm not going to get them before de minimus ends, but the shipping method for one order said it was a tax included option so taxes like tarriffs (smh we don't even have a name like the vat to call them) should be included as far I i understand it? My other order will be from Resinsoul, which came to me via USPS last time I ordered with them, so I'll have to wait and see what happens.

 

I have two dolls preordered from acbjd that won't be ready for at least another month or two, plus a body from NCS and a few outfits. I know I should start setting funds aside for the tarriffs but I don't even know how much since the situation keeps changing...

I decided to ship some doll eyes/clothes I had sitting in superbuy's warehouse, fingers crossed it gets here before may so it can at least be spared from this mess.

I definitely don't feel comfortable placing any other preorders, even though I still have a floating head I wanted to get a body for this year...it upsets me, but I'm already in a hole with my current preorders.

 

I did a thing last night and pre-ordered a Ringdoll from their sale. This was after fully discussing the full details with my boyfriend, who told me to just go for it. At the sale price + shipping + tarrifs and duty taxes = maybe it will come out to about (or more than) the full price doll. I definitely have to set aside some money to save him from customs in 6-9 months.

But who knows? The rules seem to change every day. Come May 2nd, they might roll back the de minimus or cut the tarrifs for another month. Or the entire border will be closed to shipments.

 

I have a Rement order from Hong Kong. 17Track says it shipped. Fingers crossed.
I have many others to worry about though.

 

Just got a package in from Bimong from South Korea and had no fees, however he'd also marked the package value at 50 bucks and as a used doll (also shipped it in a small package rather than the whole shebang most dolls come in since this is from his retirement preorder)... xD; Not sure how helpful that is.

I do have a 1/4 girl from FanFF on preorder though (China-based artist I believe) and will report on how that goes when she eventually ships.

 

Ugh, the tariff situation is gonna slap me pretty hard since I purchase almost all of my dolls from Xianyu—I can NEVER find the dolls I want on the western secondhand market, but they always pop up on Xianyu (gotta play the avoiding recasts game, ofc, but same goes for any secondhand market).

I'm definitely regretting waiting on some sculpts and bodies I've been meaning to pick up for a while now . . . always figured 'lol why rush, I've got time!' Haaa . . .
I grabbed a couple this past week and had them shipped out with DHL Express along with some wigs and eyes I've had sitting around in my Superbuy warehouse for a little while. Just HOPING they'll squeeze through customs before May 1st. I normally wouldn't worry since I generally get my express packages in, like, 4 days, but idk what kinda mess my packages are gonna run into at US customs.

I'm honestly pretty content with the dolls I have (and will be more so once these new boys arrive), but ALL of my doll clothes/wigs/eyes/etc come from either Taobao or AliExpress, sooo . . . Pretty much gonna have to hit the pause button on actually styling my dolls )':
I've spent way too long procrastinating on buying more of those sorts of things, so that's on me I guess ahaha. Just gonna have to actually start sewing for my boys like I've been saying I'm going to do for the past two years now, pff.

 

I wondered this too. Then decided to open a savings/holiday account with my bank and set up an auto transfer for a bit of funds on pay days.

Unless actual magic or a miracle happens I doubt I’ll see my pre-ordered doll anytime this year. But at least I’ll have something set aside for whatever tariffs will be when she ships. And if somehow the tariffs go down then I’ll use the leftovers to buy my dolls some extra eyes and wigs.

 

Is undervaluing normal to do? I ordered my first doll through Denver Doll but my second is pre-ordered through an international dealer. I never pay attention to the paperwork on international packages so I didn’t know thats a thing. But if the doll got lost in transit wouldn’t that mean you don’t get a full refund? Or if the shipping companies or customs wanted extra documentation and see your doll was undervalued to avoid higher fees wouldn’t that cause additional issues and maybe delay transit? With how uncertain things are I’d be scared to undervalue my doll.

 

It's pretty common. You can probably ask your dealer not to undervalue if you'd prefer. If the doll was lost in transit, undervaluing would mean the dealer can only claim the declared value for insurance purposes IIRC. Whether the dealer refunds you in full is a separate issue.

Yes, it can cause problems if customs decides to check on the actual value. It hasn't been an issue in the US before now, but I remember some European collectors getting dinged with more fees when their shipping company decided to check the dollmaker's website.

 

Thank you for the information. US shipping companies seem kinda lazy unless you’re trying to ship props that look like weapons or banned items. I think I’ll be ok with undervaluing my doll unless rules change and senders have to start including screenshots from the dollmakers pages thst includes pricing.

Unless I one day order a 1/3 doll I would cry to lose that money or get penalties on top of tariffs with the price jump on the larger dolls compared to 1/4 and smaller.

 

I just got a shirt and sweater from SartoriaJ in South Korea on 4/12 shipped 4/9. It was sent epost which was (obviously) express EMS. Once it arrived and after customs, it went to USPS. No tariffs.

 

Alice's Collections just posted this:

 

Ok. Well, guess we'll not receive our dolls for a while yet. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes , U.S.

 

Just seen this news dated today on Alices (acbjd) for customers in the US re: the new customs charges which apparently come into effect on May 2nd

notice2 : BJD - Alice's Collections - BJD Dolls, BJD Accessories

 

Hobby Link Japan has also announced they're suspending any shipping besides EMS (as well as Big Bad Toy Store). So no DHL (even under $800) or FedEx, not just airmail. Neither sells on-topic dolls, but it does make me wonder if/when other Japan-based companies might go to EMS-only, not just dropping DHL. Mandarake has also posted about DHL suspending shipments to the US valued over $800. So it seems kinda likely more companies will be limiting their shipping options, even on lower-value shipments.

I fully understand these choices given the uncertainty, and companies have been great about explaining as much as they know. That note from ACBJD is very kind.

 

Ughhhh. This sucks.

I'm waiting on a coral reef doll from Denver dolls and I've just been waiting for them to say something about the tariffs.

 

I thought DHL was only over 800 dollars for non-businesses but businesses could still do over the 800 and that it’d be temporary because they don’t have the infrastructure or staff for processing so they’re scaling down to build it up and will one day maybe open it back up for personal shipping over 800. Also no FedEx? I haven’t seen anything on tbeir website. I hoped they might be the one option still viable in these confusing times. Though looking at other social media platforms their warehouses that process customs are getting slammed hard and the delays are crazy bad.

Hopefully orders through places like ACBJD count as businesses so they’d still have an avenue to somehow ship orders to the US. Maybe triangle shipping will be used more or partnering with one of the USA BJD companies to act as a warehouse for business to business shipping. If dropshippers can do it something can be figured out hopefully.

Slight good news maybe, President Orange recently said tariffs will go down, not gone and not on everything but down. Hopefully he doesnt backpedal and it goes down on many things, especially non-essential consumer goods like BJDs And if he could not flip flop on it or just keep lowering it that would be swell too.

 

HLJ at least said only EMS available for now, regardless of value. It sounds like aside from DHL saying nothing over $800, they must have had concerns or other issues with the other shipping types (their info is here if you're curious). And yes, temporary, everyone's trying to figure this out, which is challenging since it keeps changing... or not... or changing back... or who knows

 

Erica at Legend Doll wrote to me tonight to say my body will arrive to them next week. She said they may ship by ship to save us the “tax.” Which means very slow I suspect. But no other issues. I had asked about express shipping last week but taxes aren’t included in express and now this news…

 

Thanks for the info. So it seems since Monday from shipping companies to business that are the middleman (HLJ, ACBJD, ETC) are doing their own restrictions in response to the looming May deadline. Giving them at least a week to deal with what they can send out now. Because I bet even if everything went back to normal tomorrow they still want to be prepared for random reversals.

For now it seems like long pre-order periods that BJDs have might be a boon and things can get sorted by the time many of the 6 months or more processing for a doll. Though I bet dolls expected to ship out May or during the summer months will have the most complications or delays.

 

Well the announcement says for orders under $800 and I am guessing (hoping) most established dealers like Denver Doll will be sending off orders bigger than that so hopefully won't affect them but if you just order one, cheaper, doll direct from China (which I think is where Alices is based) I'm guessing it will be affected by the tariffs if you're in the US

 

That is really horrible news, but not totally unexpected.

 

My doll just shipped from Korea today. I am not as worried out him as I am my three dolls from China. He is coming FedEx. I thought it was USPS previously, but apparently I paid for FedEx as it's on the receipt. No idea how going through USPS is going to work.

At least the shipping is just being suspended at this time and they are looking for different options instead of cancelling orders.
I have two dolls on order with them right now and very much hope this gets fixed so that I can get them both. *crosses fingers*

 

I've got a secondhand head coming via DHL that was sitting on a tarmac en route from Germany as of last update, but it hasn't moved in almost a week. I'm trying not to go all anxious, worst-case-scenario doom spiraling about it, since she's under $800, but it's also probably a small box that could get lost among other boxes if they decide to pull the shipment altogether.

This isn't even in the top 10 of most pressing issues RE: current events for me right now, but [insert primal rage scream here].

 

If it’s any consolation everyone with international packages from DHL seems to be in a similar boat with all size packages. Their operations are on a smaller scale than FedEx or UPS and I heard from a friend that they got slammed with trying to process shipments and how much more back and forth they have to do with US customs. Which I guess is not normal for them even before all the crazy stuff happened so they’re even less prepared than other places.

I belive you will get your doll head, I’m manifesting good vibes for your doll head to arrive safely.

 

Off topic figure company Good Smile recently announced for their USA branch that they are suspending pre orders and "delaying shipments of products entering the United States until further notice."

Mainly bringing it up because of the worry that US dealers for BJDs might have to make similar choices. Originally Good Smile US was going to honor original pre order prices but now they are saying they might have to mark things up (but with the option to cancel if you don't want to pay the new price if I'm understanding correctly). Given that the change in plan seems to indicate that the business might be at risk if they were to just take the hit (just a concern, not officially stated but people in the figure server I'm in were/are worried), I'm concerned what hard decisions US dealers like DenverDoll might have to make. Maybe it won't matter, but given this is a niche hobby... I guess I may be reading too much of the doomer stuff from a bit ago on a certain confessions blog, but I worry about the future of US dealers in the BJD hobby... and the figure hobby, for that matter, but again, off topic.

Honestly I don't expect to be doing much new stuff with my BJDs in general for a while, this tariff fiasco has put a damper on my mood for it. I did get my ACBJD orders on time but the eyes ended up too big as did the shoes. I should have been more cautious and ordered multiple sizes, but now I'm stuck with what I've got since my initial worry was more on the side of "how to keep the tariff low" back when it was actually something I would consider worth paying as opposed to having to discard the items rather than pay $100 for $25 shoes or whatever it's at now. And now that I have no chance in the near future of acquiring the proper shoes (eyes I am looking elsewhere for; not shopping here, this is not an ad. Have to look locally to try and make sure I find ones that fit properly so I don't waste more money) I'm less excited for making the doll's outfit overall. Funnily enough if I hadn't ordered the shoes at all I feel like I wouldn't feel this way?

That and worries about finding materials for projects, even though that's less of an immediate issue, is depressing me and I'm less motivated to work on even the stuff I have already. That and the doom and gloom political stuff I won't get into, of course.

Is anyone else feeling like the tariffs are affecting more than just whether or not you can get things, but also willingness to commit to crafts projects when materials might be scarce? Or is it just me?

 

@Cattya Nah, you're definitely not alone with that feeling. I've been pretty much burying myself into video games to keep myself from doom-scrolling, and I'm still often finding it difficult to focus on even my hobbies that aren't being affected (writing, for instance). There's definitely a lot of general anxiety going around thanks to the current administration and it's totally normal to find it difficult to be excited about the things that usually bring you peace and joy right now.

Thankfully, the primary thing I wanted to do with my doll crew is get the blank ones painted this year, so outside of some essentials (eyes and wig materials), I don't have to worry much about shopping for supplies. That said, if the current admin is going to continue its flipflopping, I'll definitely be holding back on my usual impulse doll shopping for the foreseeable future. There's just too much uncertainty about shipping on its own alongside just how much potential fees might be. A real bummer since I love to shop around for doll stuff and there was also a doll from Granado I've been eyeing that I'll just have to hope will be available long term.

 

It's not just you. Before all of this, I was buying new dolls several times a year and had a weekly "doll allowance" that I spent regularly on new accessories, materials, props, etc. I still have that allowance and it's just been building because I don't even know what to get. I'm not buying outside the US because I have no clue what kind of tariffs to expect by the time it arrives, and I'm not comfortable risking it. I'm not making much stuff because there are no fabric stores left in my area, so I'm limited to what I can find online or thrift. And even finding the fabrics I want for special projects is stressful because I can't feel the weight or thickness of it, see how big the print/pattern looks, or know if I can get the trim/buttons/whatever to complete it. I'm still doing faceups for myself and friends (not commissions, thankfully), I have the supplies (for now) but when they run out, I don't know what will happen. I already can't get MSC locally anymore. The glosses I use are getting harder to find. I think a lot of the basic materials we use for crafting, sewing and faceups are either going to be impossible to get if it can't be shipped to us, or the tariffs are going to raise the price so much that we either can't afford it or can't justify it. I don't want to buy a bunch of supplies for projects I can't finish.

And then on top of all the direct hobby related stuff, there's also the issue of money in general. Everything's getting so expensive and who knows what jobs will get cut next, I'm actually scared to spend too much on hobbies when I may need it to survive before much longer. I hate the doom and gloom too, and don't want to spread it, and I know there are so much worse things going on right now than being able to buy dolls, but my dolls are my escape. It's really not good when the main thing that helps me relax is now at stake too.

I'm also very concerned for the US dealers, and how they'll be affected by the tariffs. I feel sure they'll either have to raise prices significantly, or have them shipped directly to the buyer and make it their duty to pay the tariffs themselves. For all those preorders already submitted and waiting, it's going to be a disaster when customers can't pay the additional fees to get the dolls or the dealer has to cover it out of pocket. IF they can even get the dolls at all. If they can't, they're going to lose a fortune with refunds, or have a lot of hurt and angry customers if they can't issue refunds. I feel so bad for them and anybody waiting on an order right now. Same with US doll artists. If importing the resin or tools needed to create dolls becomes too expensive, will we lose their amazing work too? Though if anybody has been eyeing an in stock doll with a US dealer/artist, now would be the time to grab it if you can! Support our dealers/artists, and get it tariff free!

(And I totally feel you on that shoe issue too. I just bought a pair from a US dealer for my girls, they arrived today and....they're too big. I don't have any other MSD girls who can wear them, either, so I guess I'll be stuffing the toes...)

 

Interesting because their US branch is doing this but their Global branch hasn’t, yet. If we look to BJD shops to compare to Denver Doll and BJDivas or other US based BJD places might have to do what GSUSA is doing and unfortunately potentially have to lean on their customers if it’s not financial safe to to take on the fees completely.

But GSGlobal places that ship directly to us, like ACBJD, LegendDoll could be fine because we’ll be paying tariffs when the doll hits customs not them. It’d probably be easier to get stuff to customers….if shipping methods to the US weren’t being temporarily suspended by the BJD importer or by the shipping companies themselves.

I’m gonna be positive and say we will get our dolls in pre-order limbo. But everyone’s going to take financial hits companies and customers. Getting new stuff will slow down I think because it’ll be cost prohibitive. Maybe second hand will boom? What I’m also worried about is what US BJD companies will survive after this and the ones that survive for how long without having to tack on additional tariff fees.

 

Yes, I started a big project at the start of this month (April) and I just can't bring myself to work on it. It was outfit sets for three different SD girl dolls two which I have, but one I wasn't going to order until June, and now I might not be able to order her at all, and if the tariff war continues I might have to look for a different doll on the second hand market to fill her place. I don't want to do this, and I've lost my motivation to sew for all three girls. Everything is cut out and pinned, but I can get myself to the sewing machine.

One of the dealers paused the dolls, and I am worried that this tariff war will continue before the end of July when the first ones PayPal protection runs out. I sewed for these dolls already, but I can't bring myself to shoe shop for them yet. I'll think I will just keep waiting before I buy anything for them. I am really hoping this tariff war get settled by then. I am going to be patient on this, because what else can I do?

But I'm even more worried about the doll I ordered in January from some place else. Also a Chinese company. I have no idea when this one is going to be sent. The website says 60 working days, which should have stuck it sometime in April, but other people that ordered from the company told me about five months which is sticking it in May, right into the middle of this mess. I paid for DHL and it's under 800USD. I am willing to pay the crazy tariffs, if need be, but I don't want to.

I just have my dolls projects on pause right now. I have plenty of supplies at home to make things for them. It's not like I have to go buy stuff to do the projects. I just can't find the motivation right now to do anything with them other then boop their little noses as I walk past them.

 

Definitely not just you. There's so much uncertainty abut the availability and costs of everything and with places like Joanns closing down, that really doesn't help with even trying to figure out what supplies might be needed. With all the stress about all the cuts being made everywhere (now the FDA has cut food inspections so that's terrifying. I remember having to read The Jungle in middle school; I don't want to live it!) it'd hard to focus on hobbies, even though I know they're good distractions from the stress. I'm more nitpicky about them needing to look perfect on the first try because i don't know when or if I'll be able to find materials to remake things, too.
It's all just a lot lately ><

 

JoAnn going under at the same time is really doing my head in, since I relied so heavily on them for my business. I've gone way too many times, and always get overwhelmed wondering how to get the "right things"... and I know it will have me intimidated about whether I should use it at all, or have to save it for some perfect project.

I too got some clothes, shoes and wigs/eyes because I was worried... and also, while frantic, got some things that aren't the right size. If only we could all just swap, hah!

I actually bought two dolls last year after over 10+ years out of the hobby, but still haven't photographed or named them (just some messing with eyes and wigs). I feel really bad about it, even though I think we have "bonded" and it's not like I regret it.

I guess I'm trying to remind myself that aside from the practical stress (will I be able to get x thing in the future? Will I be able to afford it? Will the company still be there?), there is a huge amount of resulting emotional stress. That's what's making it hard to do a project, or name a doll. Losing the ability to be spontaneous with things is tough.

So I guess the advice I have (for myself at least): don't give yourself a hard time over being in a difficult situation that's out of your control, or reacting normally to it. Don't force yourself to do your hobbies, or feel guilty when you can't; but do try to make time for "unnecessary" things. And use the good fabric.

 

I was just lamenting over this yesterday, because I realized I had just one spool(?) of lace left that I bought from Joanns and I think the lace was a joann specific brand because I cant seem to find it anywhere else. Not to mention, I had plans for making doll clothes and joanns was the only place to actually be able to afford and feel fabric in person and now that that is gone, I'm real sad over it...

On a more general note and a response to this thread, I've been feeling pretty anxious over all this stuff. I want to enjoy my dolls so bad but I just cant seem to be able to because I'm on edge all day thinking about the future (and this time for good reason.) Sigh.

 

That “feel” of the fabric you mentioned is so very important to me and why I am so upset about Joanne’s going out of business!

 

I've been feeling the same way. I usually love browsing new dolls and seeing what's out there but KNOWING I won't be buying kinda makes me feel less motivated and kinda hinders my desire for new projects which usually involves new clothing, makeup, etc

 

I don't really buy dolls consistently (I'm unemployed) but I know they're impacting my general purchasing choices. It's a bit frustrating honestly.

 

Unfortunately in the US. Q_Q

I hope you're right. Fortunately that's the only doll I'm currently waiting on at the moment, but I'm just nervous about how this stuff is going to affect her arrival and if i'm going to get surprised with an additional bill whenever she does show up.

I'm also kind of worried that the tariffs are going to end up with these businesses getting shut down since BJD are already expensive and to tack on an insane tariff... People (at least in the US) are likely going to be buying less.

 

It’s rather poor timing given doll leaves is discontinuing a sculpt I've had my eye on. Normally I would just have ordered the head and saved up to get the body later. But I don’t want to end up spending $100+ on a blank head.

 

A few sellers on Tao Bao have reached out to me saying they can’t ship to the US anymore. I don’t really understand Tarrifs 100%, but I’ve been seeing weird international shipping rates (like $400 for a $20 pair of boots). I’m going to have to resort to sending Chinese products to my uncle and sister in China now and picking them up in person when I do my yearly visit to see my family. Hopefully I won’t get stopped at customs for carrying over too many expensive items

 

I don't understand tariffs and how all that works but I'm sad I can't buy dolls and items from China anymore. I used to buy from allieexpress a lot and now 90% of the sellers I used to buy from have canceled shipping to the USA. I also collect items from popmart and they have raised their prices. All this is not looking good for us Americans because everything is expensive so what's the point of the tariffs?? like what's good for us? it's not even more jobs because I have seen many people losing their jobs due to these tariffs like ups, amazon etc this will significantly put a pause in this hobby for me

 

The simplest way to explain tariff is it’s a tax. Compare it to something like a state tax. Theoretically, when it’s a reasonable percentage it’s supposed to go the state to add to budgets. Same with tariffs a reasonable tariff would give some of the money spent outside the country back to the country and in a perfect world the government would spread the money from tariffs into various budgets.

Unfortunately for us in the US the president doesnt understand tariffs, or manufacturing and we get what we have now. To put it in perspective with BJDs, the president thinks China is taking advantage of us because we mainly buy BJDs and related goods from them. So he adds high tariffs, because he thinks that will make them stop “ripping us off” and make US buyers flock to USA made BJDs. Which obviously doesn’t work or make sense if you think about it for half a second.

I wonder if it’s because their local shipping (their version of USPS) and DHL have temporarily suspended shipping for various reasons. Those were the cheaper options for a long time and the alternative like FedEx were already pretty pricey.

Package forwarding services might get a little boom or a lot of us will be taking vacations in China or maybe Canada to go pick up orders from setting up a remote mailbox just for packages.

 

I know plenty of others have already replied and shown it's not just you . . . but here's one more!

I'm feeling deeply discouraged about both of my main hobbies right now—BJDs and off-topic nendoroid ob11 dolls.

I tried to remain optimistic for a while . . . but that's fading quickly as reality sets in.

I thought I would just have to pay extra to have these things shipped to me, and would've been willing to do so (just wouldn't be able to do so nearly as often). But most shops seem to be cutting off shipping to the US entirely.

The fact of the matter is I'm absolutely cut off from all suppliers of the materials and accessories I need for these hobbies, and I will never have access to them again.

It makes me feel like giving up and walking away. Trying to convince myself that I can still somehow work on shelling my OCs with the latest sculpts I acquired feels like some kind of naive dream. I might as well just sell them, because I can't customize them without supplies.

I hope I won't truly give up. But it's hard to sit here knowing that what I have now is all I'm going to get . . . especially when acquiring new clothes and accessories and whatnot for my BJDs and little nendolls is a huge part of the joy for me!

None of my BJDs are complete, and now it seems they never will be.

 

In the UK we've always had import tariffs on stuff from the US so here we get a 'ransom note' from the delivery office once it's gone through customs etc. They won't release the doll for collection or delivery till we've paid a handling fee, 20% VAT plus 'duty' charges on the item - which specifically for dolls is 5%. All items have different duty rates so they're all listed in a big book or online.

What's happened in America is similar to what happened to the UK after 'brexit' (an economic disaster too) in that there was such an increase in paperwork and charges for businesses importing goods from Europe after brexit that they were refusing to accept orders and returning them to sender, at cost to the sender - so of course European companies stopped sending stuff as it wasn't worth it to them when it was just going to be returned due to tariffs. 5 years later our government is still reluctant to admit it was a mistake as a large part of the (illiterate) electorate voted for it.

Everything especially food (a lot of which used to come from Europe for UK) has got so much more expensive now, and tariffs imposed on Europe were nowhere near as big as those imposed on people importing Chinese goods to US. But rising costs are just blamed on other world events rather than brexit so...(big sigh) I expect a lot of hobbies will become more expensive now in the US as so much of that type of stuff is supplied by China.

 

@elve

That actually gives me hope things might be fine in the end. Very expensive but fine.

BJD seems like a hobby that favors DIY compared to other off topic figures. Though I know from this thread many seem demotivated to even continue with projects…maybe once things calm down motivations will come back.

 

For my own contribution, this helped me become very motivated to learn to sew, do face paints, and 3D print I may not be able to obtain more dolls at the moment, but I can love the ones I have by sewing them new clothes, 3D printing props, and working on face-up techniques with supplies I already have.
I hope others find ways to enjoy the hobby during this time!

 

This is the direction I've decided to go in, too. I am just going to learn to be more crafty and take my time instead of rushing doll projects. I have a lot of wigs to make and face ups to plan out so here I go lol

 

Did anyone feel called out when he said 2 dolls instead of 30?