Volks Dolpas in August - Discussion thread

Ria_Ria you are our angel *________* >>Hugs<<
Thanks a lot for the lovely pics!! I love the outfits, are gorgeus >__<

 

Guh I want Chinatsu so bad, maybe someday Kuuta too...I need BOTH of their outfits though, omg.

 

Thanks so much for the pics, Loki and ria_ria! ^_^ Yep, Chinatsu is definitely a must-have. Its also nice to see some more grown-up looking Yo-SD outfits (relatively speaking, that is! .

And that SwD Syo is just the cutest, I adore his outfit!

 

The official sites have updated again with more pictures.
My Mom's gonna have a hard time resisting Kuuta XD

http://www.volks.co.jp/en/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm1.html

 

Japanese site was updated, too
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/list_gentei.html

Sweet Dream Syo
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm_sd13_show_sd.html

Sweet Dream Kira
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm_sd_kira_sd.html

Sweet Dream Nana
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm_sd_nana_sd.html

Chinatsu
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm_yosd_chinatu.html

Kuuta
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/itm_yosd_kuuta.html

Outfits etc
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/vs/list_sumika.html

 

Ohmygod "He is newly released this time as a SweetDream Version. Do you want to gently touch his sleeping face?" yes I doooooooo ^_____^ He must be mine!

 

I am starting to really want Kuuta too x_x I don't think I could get him right away, at least Chinatsu. But omg, I want the pair and their outfits.

 

Sweet Dream Syo looks like the older version of sweetdream Rengemaru! = D
I want Chinatsu's wiiiiiig! >0<...she is very cute!...good thing I don't feel like I want to have her like I did with sleepy Suzuna ...im safe! ^ ^;
omg Sweet Dream Nanaaaaaaa!!!!!! ...she looks so bratty cute I want one if I had the money!! x_x

 

Awww Kira and Syo are hinted at being in love. ;3;

 

Which is just a little bit weird since I've always thought of them as *siblings* Either way they're both extremely adorable!

 

eeee, my mom said that if that is if, i can get ahold of chinatsu, then i can get her for christmas! i'm dying of happiness right now! of course, if she gets here like early, i'll go nuts in the house with the box, lol.

 

I hope the LEs will be available on the VolksUSA site. I want Chinatsu! (Very determined to buy her.)

 

Was looking around the Japanese sites again and found more pictures of Syo-SD, indeed his mouth is totally different. It's puckered up and isn't uneven anymore. I think I still prefer the original Syo mouth but this one is an adorable variation

 

One-Offs came
http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/event/dolpa_06su/ng/oneoff.html

Momoko is lovely
F-31 sunlight by Valico~~~~~>w<!!!!!

 

Oh wow, they certainly didn't waste any time introducing Japanese fans to the elves Also nice to see Elsie again.

 

Dang..that F-31 boy makes me regret not getting one when I was down in LA *kicks self*

 

Is there an LJ feed for the Volks USA blog, so I can keep track of the After Event timing? I know it'll be all over here as soon as it's up, but still ^^

 

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/la_sumika/profile

 

Thankyou

 

Can you copy and paste it? It's going really slow for me (loading). And if it does load, it doesn't come up...

 

I had a hard time getting the blog to open too. So here's the info for anyone else that can't get it to work.

 

Thank you SOOOOO MUCH. It was killing me lol. It would keep on timing out for me...
The Yo-SD at least aren't like $400 xD;;; I'm just glad for that. I'm so excited!

 

Saw this in the news thread -- news on Volks USA's blog about ordering!

http://site.volksusa.com/blog/2006/08/14/web-dolpa-nagoya-3-and-makuhari/

I hope I can get a Chinatsu (or is it Tinatsu?)! Though the Yos are more expensive than the last release, I wonder why. >.< With tax and shipping the little darling's going to cost me well over $400, eep. I'm sure she'll be worth every penny though.

Good luck to everyone in getting the dolls they want, if it is a lottery!

 

I wonder how long the wait to get your doll will be once ordered it always seems to be so long? 2-3 months?

Then you see them on YJ right after there to buy now it can be frustrating with the long wait....

Yes they changed her name! was Chinatsu now Tinatsu

 

I love these Military Outfits for the SD13 boys.... I want the Black and gold!!!! How can I get one of those? Are these the dolls or just the outfits?
-Anthony

 

Only a few days away!! Gah I can't wait, going to be on edge until I get that confirmation email ~.~

 

They're just the outfits, they might be sold on VolksUsa with the Dolpa, but we don't seem to get the Dolpa clothing most of the time.

 

Sorry keep responding in separate posts :s You *could* get it from Y!J but you'd be supporting scalpers that way, most likely..and about Chinatsu/Tinatsu, that's just a different way to romanise the name, both are accurate in English. It's the same deal with Syo/Show, neither is more right.

 

Re: Chinatsu/Tinatsu

There is no "Ti" syllable in Japanese (Ta, Chi, Tsu, Te, To) but Volks has been writing "Tinatsu" since English speakers will pronounce it as "China-tsu" rather than "Chee-na-tsu"

 

Yep, the wait is pretty long! But it was even longer for the international after event last time than for the Volks USA lottery, and those are really the only two ways to get a Dolpa doll at normal price from Volks. Yahoo Japan is too expensive for me! But if I ever wanted *just* the head of a Dolpa doll . . . I'd probably be willing to shell out the extra $50-100 to avoid a three month wait. ^^;;

As for Dolpa clothes, their availability seems pretty sporadic. Sometimes, they'll pop up on the Volks USA site pretty quick, or in a few months. Though a lot of the time they never make it to the USA site, so you have to try to get them from the international site when they become available (and pay the $50 shipping!). Sometimes they sell out really quick though!

 

I think you could write "ti" in japanese if you wanted to (large "te", small "i"...i beleive, not 100%) but....that's not how Chinatsu is written xD. So I'm going to have to agree with the reasoning. I'm sure people who have no background in Japanese would pronounce it China-tsu like you mentioned, rather than the accurate Chee-na-tsu.

 

Tammie: That would only work for katakana I believe (non-Japanese words) I may be wrong though... been out of Japanese class for 5 years ^^;

 

Oh, and forgot to add that the reasoning about the pronunciation was straight from a Volks employee at the LA Tea Party, so people don't think I'm just pulling that out of nowhere.

 

So the Outfits I am interested in aren't dolls but just outfits? How can I get them????
-Anthony

 

That's true xD I don't think you'd use it in hiragana eh...but still xDDD

 

I think for the outfits we have to wait for the Dolpa to pass. =/

I might be able afford a Chinatsu. It sucks to be paid monthly on-campus.

 

Why are Yos more expensive this time around? I checked the Japanese price and the exchange rate puts Chinatsu at like $306 :/

Still though.. I'll pay it ^^; I love this new girl so much!! I have a feeling the Yos may go into lottery since they seem to be so popular.

 

For those that have ordered from the US site before, what does the final cost with shipping wind up being in relation to the Japanese retail cost? That is, I wasn't expecting the Yo SD to be quite that much in US dollars since they're ~$300 straight yen-to-dollars. I haven't ordered a Yo from the Japanese site, though, so I'm not sure what they charge for international shipping.

*sigh* I reeeally wanted to splurge and buy both Yos but at $750 plus shipping plus $120 for clothes... Ah, I'll have to pick between them ;_;

Any word on whether there will be an online international after event like in the past?

 

There is a katakana 'ti', and it is in fact written with a 'te' and a small 'i'. But that doesn't apply to a kanji name.

Volks comes up with some interesting romanizations, they use one of the systems that really annoys me. XD Things like 'ti' for 'chi', etc. X3

Both Syo and Show annoy me; I prefer the 'sh' over the 'sy' for romanization since it more accurately reflects the usual pronunciation you hear; and there's a 'u'. So 'Shou'. If you type 'sho' or 'syo' into, say, Microsoft's Japanese IME, you will not get the kanji used for the doll's name as a choice, but 'shou' or 'syou' will bring it right up. (They do that with Yukinojou as well, the furigana over his name on the box has the u at the end, but they drop it.) I suppose for the purpose of trying to get the pronunciation across to most people it will work, but for me it actually messes me up, since I know there's a difference in the pronunciation of 'sho' and 'shou' and if I don't look things up and find out that the 'u' has been dropped I'll say it wrong. ^_^; (It's really subtle, mind you, but it's there.)

</ramble> XD;;;

Fireflytranc: VolksUSA's prices are always more expensive; they have to pay to ship the doll to the US and there's also the markup to make sure that they don't lose money if the exchange rate suddenly tanks; plus there's undoubtedly overhead for the store as well. (Depending on the exchange rate and shipping, it can actually work out less depending on what you buy to get a doll from the Japanese site - If I wanted a standard Link, for example, it actually works out for me to be cheaper to order it from the Japanese site(Especially with sales tax!) than to order it from the USA site, even with sixty or so dollars shipping. (I don't get charged that much of a conversion fee by my bank; so it makes little difference) Then again, the USA lotteries are usually much less stressful than trying to catch dolls in stock on the Japanese website, especially if you're like me and don't have dialup. It bothered me at the time, but honestly, not having to fight on the JP website with my poor connection(Equivalent connection speeds to a 28.8 modem, bad phone lines around here!) to try to get Remus was worth the extra money and time in the end. ^^; (Though that $108 sales tax on him hurt! DX Curse you, Cali!)

It'll probably be much the same with these; put in for the lottery and see if you can get it that way without the hassle and flailing of trying to catch it in stock on the JP website. (I bought an outfit I wanted that way once when I was still in an area with broadband, it was really stressful and doing it with a doll I really wanted would just be painful... O.x; )

Though, I dunno of 'Tinatsu' is going to help... People will just say 'TEAnuhsue'. XD

 

is the ca sales tax included in the price? and i saw on the news thread for the dolpas, kerbey lane doll shop is puttng in a order, will that be cheaper at all? and will i have a better chance of getting chinatsu from there? i need help! (going crazy right now, lol)

 

Ian, they're asking why Chinatsu from VolksUsa is more expensive than Anne from VolksUsa since they cost the same amount in yen.

And OT, I think the 'y' is cuter looking than 'h', Syo and Sasya forever X3 and yes I know it should be Syou (my Syo-SD will be named Syousuke), but oh well.

 

No, it's not included, because VolksUSA sells to the rest of America, too. They can't include the tax in the price. Tax is extra. But since you live in SC according to your location, you won't be charged the CA sales tax like me or fireflytranc would. We live in CA so we pay the extra tax, you don't so you don't.

(For the record, I generally hate romanization at all, but I recognise that not everybody has the time or the desire to learn to read even hirigana for the sake of doll things. (Though it's nice to be able to search Yahoo!Japan without relying on Rinkya's sometimes iffy search engine. ^o^) Though books for people studying Japanese drive me into fits, they should not have romanized text past the most basic of levels! Kana and kanji, with furigana until you get to higher-level things, please! People end up looking at the romanized text and not the proper text and use it as a crutch. >_<; )

 

I think that even yen to dollars would be like $340 or something. It's usually more for all the dolls from volks USA. I don't think it would be a whole lot cheaper from the international site because I hear shipping & handling is pretty high.

 

I noticed this as well and was wondering which I should be ordering from for a better chance at actually getting the doll I want? It sounds like it's a low chance either way?

 

I have gotten Yo-Sds from the USA site. Shipping was only about $12 to Olympia. As I understand it from past dolpas, Volks puts a buffer in their exchange rate to protect themselves from the daily fluctuations of the dollar/yen. When I got Emma from the Japan site last winter, shipping/handling was about $100. The Japanese customers pay some sort of tax for their purchases, and international customers pay the same amount as the shipping handling charges.
Hope that is some help Kiwiflowers. At least on the USA site we Washingtonians don't pay any sales tax!

 

Can anyone tell me if the Sweet Dreams Nana & Kira have different eye sculpts? In the photos Kira's eyes look nearly completely shut. Nana's look more open to me, but it could be just the photos. I love the outfit on Kira but prefer the more open sleepy eyes on Nana. Shouldn't buy either one you understand!!! Shouldn't be visiting them so many times a day either!!!!!

 

i know, i'm wondering also too. i glad i wont be charged sales tax, i'm glad i don't live in cali anymore! ok, i miss it! i think i'll call kerbey lane, you have to put a 20 percent deposit down, and the orders close wednesday, that's earlier than volks will be doing, so maybe a better chance?

 

Can Anyone tell me how I can get my hands on one of these SD13 Boy outfits before it's too late? I've never delt with Dolpa sales... So I wouldn't know
-Anthony

 

The direct yen-to-dollar (ideal rate) puts them at $307, so I was expecting something closer to $330. The international shipping on my SDC was 7500Y, so I guess it would be similar for a Yo SD making the domestic Yo SD... only about $15 more. Go figure.

...But I'm still going to whine because I can't have both the cuties! (And yeah, small favors on the not having to pay 9% sales tax!)

Yeah, I think Kira's eyes are slightly more shut (Nana's pupils are visible from all angles, Kira's don't seem to be). Nana's also got a slight pout while Kira's smiling.

Clearly you just need to buy both

 

Edit: Was looking at the Japanese site.

 

Unless you know someone who is going to the Dolpa itself and can purchase it for you; there are really only 3 ways to get them: The after event on the International site which is usually a few weeks after the Dolpa (nearly impossible because things sell out in seconds if the site doesn't crash), Yahoo!Japan, or wait a few months and it will show up on VolksUSA site. It is very rare that VolksUSA doesn't get the clothing from the Dolpas. So far, all the clothes from the Dolpas have eventually shown up, but sometimes clothes from their new clothing releases don't (like the last summer release hasn't shown up, but it still might be too early to say that it won't). Unfortunately, patience is needed unless you can afford the prices on Yahoo!Japan

 

The chances of getting a doll at these VolksUSA after events is very good. I have put in for a doll in all of them except one and got my doll everytime. Usually though, if you try for more than one doll, a lot of times you won't get all of them. Though there have been a few people that got all the dolls they wanted, to their dismay lol. This especially happened with the first after event because it wasn't clear as to whether or not you could win more than one doll so there were a few people who put in for 4 or 5 different dolls, hoping to just win one and won them all. I have heard once or twice of people not getting their doll, but I never heard why they didn't get their doll.

 

Okay, two totally conflicting times given so far..so what is the real answer? Does anyone remember what time the last web Dolpa started?

 

Well it says PST which is Pacific Standard Time. So I am fairly certain it's California time.

 

Ahh, thanks, Tammie too early in the day for me to understand..anything

 

Ahh, I thought she was talking about the times on the Volks jp site listed above.

Date: August 20. 2006 (sun) From 11:00am to 16:00pm

 

Hehe no problem xD If I didn't live in California I would have had trouble myself xD;;

 

i put in my order with kerbey lane! i hope i can get her!

 

Ah good to hear I only want one doll (although she seems popular, Chinatsu) So hopefully I will get her!

 

yes, chinatsu is very popular! i figured since kerbey lane is putting their order earlier than if you can access on volksusa, maybe i have a better chance? i hope so!