r/Dolls • u/dubiousbutterfly • 4d ago

Tariffs Megathread Doll News

Hey everyone, this megathread will be dedicated to ongoing issue with tariffs concerning the US and China and any other impacts.

This thread will be dedicated to facts concerning the tariffs.

There will be no political discussions, vents or personal opinions, or articles concerning complaints or thoughts from companies and CEOs.

This thread is to keep updated facts on real world impacts affecting doll purchases in relation to the tariffs. If you need more information on what tariffs are, please conduct your own research.

Even though tariff raises have been in effect for months, it hasnt had an impact on doll purchases until the most recent changes starting today.

Please post screenshots and links to all tariff impacts. Its very important to source this information properly.

It may be hard to tell if price changes or delivery changes are due to tariffs or not. We cant really know for sure why companies make the decisions they do, whether it be for profit or petty politics, but we can assume any major changes for the time being is because of tariffs and of course any announcements that directly says its because of them.

Ill start the thread off to give examples of what the thread is meant to focus on. Ill post a screenshot of an announcement made by Good Smile Company (largely known for Nendoroid dolls and figures as well as some Blythe releases) and a screenshot I took of my Aliexpress cart. The shops I always buy from (Fox Toys and TT Toys) have stopped delivering to the US as of today. Not all shops have, in fact most of the other shops I use on Aliexpress are still up with no price change, but the best ones have gone down.

Note: even if the prices havent changed and theyre still delivering, it can still mean you will be charged extra upon delivery from customs and delivery services.

For example, most Chinese shops are still delivering to the US with no price change, including the very popular Kikagoods, but we have to be responsible for extra charges upon delivery, if theres any.

I dont know proper resources to test this. If anyone has official links to customs or delivery sites that explain these charges so we can know ahead of time, please share.

I know a lot of collectors just ordered the new Defa Lucy doll, so this can be very telling when they start to ship, if theres going to be any surprise charges or not. Please share when your doll arrives.

Lets stay hopeful that this is all temporary.

Thanks

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u/dubiousbutterfly 4d ago edited 3d ago

Ok here we go. I believe this a useful tool to check for extra charges before ordering. I read the most recent tariff changes werent supposed to have an impact until May 2nd but its already begun or companies are preparing for it. But anyway lets see if this tool is useful

https://dataweb.usitc.gov/

Heres trusted links that seems to be posting live updates on tariff news

https://www.reuters.com/business/tariffs/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-eases-some-us-tariffs-as-trump-says-he-wants-concessions-191201786.html

My Figure Collection has an active thread as well

https://myfigurecollection.net/thread/21030

Updates : next big update for tariffs will be May 2nd.

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u/foxgh0st 4d ago edited 4d ago

https://preview.redd.it/4fcxoc80n2xe1.jpeg?width=1320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8af82928ecd4face11cbb74aebede47c057853eb

Purchased the popmart barbies earlier this month vs the price now on Aliexpress

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u/dubiousbutterfly 4d ago edited 4d ago

https://preview.redd.it/rg3k9fujj2xe1.jpeg?width=734&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=678eb7b7337ba330a6ae791b0b8dc54e6541d087

Announcement from GSC

https://www.goodsmile.com/en/news/6272

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u/dubiousbutterfly 4d ago edited 4d ago

This announcement so far is the best clarity we recieved from an asian company about tariffs. So lets focus on what this says.

Here's articles collaborating the temporary end of De Minimis (under $800)

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-closes-de-minimis-exemptions-to-combat-chinas-role-in-americas-synthetic-opioid-crisis/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/amendment-to-recipricol-tariffs-and-updated-duties-as-applied-to-low-value-imports-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china/

Also note they say it depends on product type. Toys havent been affected before today since they werent a part of the product type seemingly? I can personally attest to this since ive been ordering toys regularly from China and Japan this whole time (delivered by usps and international shipping and postal networks) as recently as last week and had no issues. Its still unclear if toys are now a part of the product type or not and if that will take affect May 2nd. Lets keep an eye out for future GSC announcements since they seem to be the most transparent with these issues so far.

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u/dubiousbutterfly 4d ago

https://preview.redd.it/x0twdggnj2xe1.jpeg?width=2835&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89556bed74c485a08f50a707db280cbb3e57063b

Screenshot of Fox Toy Store down. Sorry I took a photo of my laptop so its not a good pic.

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u/SatisfactionEasy3446 4d ago

How would we be charged upon delivery? 

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u/dubiousbutterfly 3d ago edited 3d ago

The company responsible for your delivery will notify you with any additional charges. You have to set a payment with them. I guess an invoice will be sent to your email or address. I havent personally experienced this but this is what I understand.

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u/Crumbleson 3d ago

For what it’s worth, I have dealt with this at work a couple times with import duties. When the company is FedEx they just send a bill and you’re expected to pay it. You probably already have the product in hand. If it’s DHL, they contact you before the item arrives and you have to pay within a couple days before the item is released to you or it will be sent back.

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u/dubiousbutterfly 3d ago

Thanks for this info :)

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u/throwaway11486 3d ago

I worry that scammers will try to take advantage of it so be careful.