Buying DD directly in Japan

I did take my Volks SD bag as a second carry-on for an Air Canada flight. I'll share more details later as to how well it's worked out, my trip isn't over yet

 

About LE boxes vs normal ones. There were some standard doll boxes at the Dolpa and it seemed to be a little bigger than Yaya's yellow box, but it may have been the same size. I think DD boxes just come in two sizes; standard yellow and "custom big".

What is Dolpa? Sorry, please explain as I'm not familiar with all things DD yet. How would I be able to see what's available so I could purchase something?

Also, I've seen some new dolls released on the Japanese Volks website. Does anyone know how I can order a doll from there? I don't know how to read Hiragana/Katakana.

Volks has an English language link of the site. http://www.volks.co.jp/?version=en

 

Dolpa is "Dolls Party."

 

This may help a bit. It explains how more than what though. Think of it like a video game convention except for Dollfie.

 

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11946

I should add there is also Volks USA which is English language. Not so good if you need to ship to locations outside the US from what I hear. There selection seems to be smaller than Volks international, but they are doing the Snow Miku pre-order, and they did offer the limited edition clothing from one of the more recent Dolpa in Japan. Their site is down for maintenance right now, and I can't remember if they offer(ed) the Candy and Mirai anniversary dolls.

 

I am on a mailing list with them and they do seem to send notices about restock of goods although the notices aren't very specific about what is being restocked.

What I mean by the Japanese version of the Volks website is that they have dolls available that I'm not able to find on the English translated ones. The new doll that popped up on my Facebook news feed was a dark long hair DDS wearing a tan schoolgirl outfit, then another was a DD with black hair and green eyes and had a dark colored dress on, and the third girl was a DDS who had silver hair w/ pigtails on the sides of her head and looked like she had a cool looking microphone disguised as a gold sceptre. I didn't find any of these girls anywhere else. Maybe you can identify them for me? I might just not be looking carefully enough on Volks International.

Almost all DDs are released via lottery.

 

"Black hair and green eyes" and "silver hair w/pigtails" sound like Rin Shibuya and Ranko Kanzaki, who were previous lottery releases. They are sold-out and you can only purchase them on the second-hand market. They are not available for purchase from the Japanese website, even if their photos are featured on that website.

 

The "tan schoolgirl outfit" sounds like Uzuki, who was just released at the Dolpa on 3/15. There may be an International Lottery through Volks International for her in which case, there will be an official announcement on the Volks International website: http://www.volks.co.jp/?version=en

 

You may want to spend some time browsing this forum and reading the threads. There is a lot of helpful information and you might find that most of your questions are answered before you even ask them.

Yes all three dolls you identified were the names of the dolls I found. Well done! It's a shame the latter two aren't available anymore. They are so pretty and their accessories are adorable.

I really need some better luck finding these lotteries in time.

One thing that frustrated me was seeing Kos-Mos on their website with a still working "pre-order" link on the product website a year after pre-orders had ended. You couldn't actually go through the process to order her, but it was annoying that they never bothered to remove the link.

@ Wolf -- I know right?! This is why these websites confuse the heck outta me. Especially when they aren't in English. I'm too afraid to order things from Yahoo Japan Auctions for that very reason. I'm sure there are a lot of veterans to this hobby that are shaking their heads and wagging their fingers at me, for not knowing this stuff.

Honestly, I get the feeling that most veterans have the patience of some major deity or another. They don't seem to mind the various newbie questions. Or at least it seems so.

Pretty much any LE Dollfie whose sale period closed before you found the hobby will only be available after market.

 

I believe the Dolls you mentioned earlier are a part of the Idolm@aster Cinderella Girls series. If you aren't familiar with IM@S it is a series raising games with an associated anime series and a huge cast of characters. There is a wide range of outfits which I believe are unlocked in the game as rewards. The games never got a US release.

 

Volks seems to be making a lot of IM@S collaboration characters and they haven't come close to completing the full cast. They are also putting out their outfits as new characters are released. You should have lots of chances to get an IM@S doll. They are all really cute.

 

You might be able to find Makoto Kikuchi for less than $1000. I got mine for around $800 with an extra outfit. You would have to use YJA or Mandarake. They are probably as safe as ebay, but not knowing the language can be an issue if there is any problem. My own experience with Japanese merchants has been very positive and Japanese shipping packing is usually first rate.

 

You can also check the markets here. People do let dolls go, but be sure and ask about stains and the condition of any clothing included. The dolls aren't hard to assemble if you pickup the parts. There are youtube videos online showing how to fit them together. You can assemble a full doll body and create your own character with a blank head and the help of a face-up artist. If you can get a body for $300 - $400 then get a blank head you can probably get a doll for less than $500. A wig and some outfits might set you back another $100 if you use Taobao. This was around $25 http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z10.5-c.w4002-2219038039.41.Dvz3d0&id=14279846226 Eyes might be $10 - $20.

 

This may be slightly blasphemous around here, but there is also the Mirai Smart Doll. As far as I know those are very similar in size and shape to DDs and can wear most of the same clothing. I think they are around $600.

@Wolf - - YES! I actually discovered the Smart Doll before I saw the connection to the Dollfie Dream and fell in love w/ the selection that DD offers as the Smart Doll is still fairly "new". The potential for robotics within the base body is astounding though.

That kimono for sale is so pretty! I wish I knew how to order it because it's all in Japanese characters. LOL It's the same problem when I look at the auctions on Yahoo. There must be a way to translate the page?

Anyway, thank you for the link and advice!

Sorry, long, I exploded into words. These are only my own personal experiences too.

 

Taobao is a Chinese online market. You have to use a proxy, and proxies do operate in English. You add the goods to a shopping cart on the proxy site and then pay the proxy for the goods. They then order the goods which are shipped to the proxy then from the proxy to you.

 

Taobao requires a Chinese bank account and I believe a Chinese mailing address, so a proxy is the only option for foreign buyers. Some Taobao shops like Licht have their own international web store and Infinite Love has a relationship with an reseller who markets through eBay.

 

The other shoe is you pay the proxy a fee for acting as a proxy, and also pay the cost of shipment to the proxy, and then cost for the proxy to ship to you. Buying multiple goods from one vendor should help minimize shipping costs.

 

The extra costs aren't high, but it does raise the cost. That Kimono probably cost me $30 with the other costs. It was also made for a standard 1/3 doll and I am going to need to re-hem it at a shorter length. My proxy did help me get a pair of blue jeans re-sized to fit a DDII.

 

 

I've only used Taobao Focus as a proxy. Others here use other services, and while I am happy with mine that doesn't mean they are the best out there. They took photos of the goods for me to review before shipping to me, which is very helpful. Proxies are legitimate Chinese businesses, so it should be as safe as web stores here.

 

Some vendors carry Dollfie and Dollfie parts.

 

You can join in group orders here too which may make it easier to deal with foreign sites.

 

From what I have seen this forum has a lot of face-up artist references. If you spend some time shopping around for doll bodies and heads you might not have to wait for your Japan trip. I would still totally go to the Volks store and grab what you can. Easier to just make room in your suitcase for a few outfits than a doll though.

 

In the Dollfie dream style database section of this forum you can see just how much you can do with a blank Volks head, and third party wigs and eyes. The folks here have made cuter characters than Volks imo, and usually seem happy to share how they went about it.

 

You can translate Taobao pages with Bing Translate, but it wont do text in images, and computer translations are very literal.

Nice doll and very cute outfit! Love it. ^_^

Thank you for explaining that process to me. It's good to know those things. I'm a very simplistic person and I think I would probably prefer getting raked over the financial coals than put a concerted effort into dealing with proxy stuff. Sites like that scare me when I don't know what I'm doing. Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Mandarake, and Cool Cat are my best friends right now. I have no problem finding off brand wigs, eyes, and other things. Got 2 wigs and a masquerade mask already! My little collection is slowly slowly growing.

I'm trying to get a doll before my Japan trip, but it's proving difficult to find exactly what I want without paying double/triple than what Volks sells the same item for. I really wish they would keep up with their inventory stock a little better. I know they're a smaller outlet, but c'mon! I'm impatient! LOL

I have my eye on a DDIII semi-white body that was formally a KOS-MOS and a faceup head, but they are still out of my price range.

I'm trying to get my little DIY flower hairclip shop running. The shipping logistics are proving a challenge at the moment. Not sure if I should just stick to UK shipments or attempt to ship worldwide. I hope to iron out these temporary wrinkles in time for my trip next year.

building a complete custom can get pricey.... I think I'm about 2000$ CAD into felicia at the moment.

 

 

The key thing is to have deep pockets, cause if you see something you want, chances are it's a limited thing, short run, seasonal or hand made item that someone has made only so many of.

 

I spent probably 2 months non stop combing yahoo japan auctions, taobao and private sales to find the items I was looking for, and most of felicia's outfit she's wearing now as a 3 month wait.

 

 

Even scarier is that I'm not done with felicia yet... I still have to tweak her wig, make some elf ears and possibly have her ears color matched to her face and have her face redone at the same time.

 

She still needs custom clothes that I bought a sewing machine for and decided to make myself, cause.. well I knows what I wants, and nobody else is willing to make it for me, on top of being familiar with what I want.

 

Meanwhile, I've already started collecting items for my 2nd build, which has a hard to get base head that was sent to me from japan to canada, then I turned it right around and sent it to HK to have it painted... and I'll be picking up a base body while I'm in japan in a couple weeks.

 

I don't even have a wig, socks or shoes for this new doll, let alone the outfit I want on her, and believe me, I've been looking. lol.

 

 

If all else fails, keep saving and hunting for deals.. like I said, you'll need deep pockets if you want a lot of custom stuff.

Yeah if you are doing a complete custom character it can be really expensive. I want a Shion Uzuki to go with my Kos-Mos, and custom wig, her outfit from game three, and her faceup would have been $1400.

 

What I was referring to in this case was getting a Volks doll body & head along with a premade wig/eyes/outfit. That should be a good deal less expensive than a full custom.

 

The expensive part of my custom Shion was really the clothes and jewelry. The wig and face would have been around $250, and I was told I can probably find people who would do them cheaper.

 

I'm definitely going to shop around a bit too before making her. I want to create custom characters from a number of anime: Sailor Moon, Mai HiME, Ah My Goddess, and Aria. Like 15 characters on my list..... going to be awhile before they all come home.

Wow they all sound great! I understand the whole thing about customization, because I'm doing that as well. I'm going to learn how to use a sewing machine when I move out of the UK (the houses here are too tiny for my own art/sew room) within the next couple years. I plan on making stuff for my daughter in the future so that's a later investment. I'm also going to learn how to make custom horns, tails, and animal ears. I'm sure my husband will freak at all the doll clothes I'll be trying to sew! LOL

At the moment I'm buying small things here and there so it won't eat into my bank account all at once. I've found some killer deals thanks in huge part to the wonderfully helpful people on this forum.

@WOLF - - I got your message, but I'm unable to respond back to you because my account is still too new. I did however try to access the USA Volks site awhile ago, but people outside of the country aren't allowed to view it. I had found a way around it before, but that same trick doesn't work now. I appreciate the heads up though and maybe I can return the favor one day.

A little late reply, as I've only just joined here myself.

 

The prices in Volks Akiba today (for Aoi and Yuki) were around the 42,500jpy, cheaper than the official website lists them. I'm going to go back after work one day when it's less busy to talk to the staff in peace and quiet.

 

I saw you're from the UK, 2 years ago it was 125jpy per 1gbp, and recently it's been hovering around 183jpy per 1gbp. That's a huge difference in 2 years. You're coming here next year? It could be anywhere in between those 2 rates. So I'd advice you to plan for worst case scenario to be safe. If you're lucky and get here when the jpy is low, you'll have more spare for extra things.

 

233gbp right now, compared with 340gbp 2 years ago.

 

Sorry, no pound symbol on my Japanese keyboard lol

Thank you for all the great information ShiroiKuma! I hope you don't mind if I send you messages in the future concerning places to visit. It's very interesting to see the different price ranges and it's great to know that you have an "inside view" straight from the source.

I can't wait to visit the Volks store in Akihabara! I've never been to Japan before and now that I know these dolls exist, my husband is going to have to drag me away from the shops kicking and screaming.

No problem, I'm still new but hopefully I can reply to PM's. I can't send any myself at the moment.

 

Always watch the exchange rates. I don't mind answering any questions, moving house next week though and that'll give me access to 2 Volks which is great. The one in Chiba 20 minutes away by train, and the Akiba one 5 minutes from work! But that is a rather dangerous place to be maybe... *looks at wallet* gomen ne... ~_~

Wow you're so lucky!...or "unlucky". HAHA! ^_^

I think the website has the taxes included but the store doesn't have them in the price tag even thought you will be paying them if you're local. Tourists can get the tax off at Volks stores if bought with 25,000jpy (or was it 22,000?) in a one go. I mean, that's how it went last october as I went shopping both in Osaka and Akihabara stores.

 

Or am I just super confused. A friend of mine got me a DDH-08 head from Akiba and it cost me around 30€ with the taxes inside Japan and then changed the currency into euros. (I mean not bad for a cute head.)

Good to know! I will let everyone know how the trip went once I've gone too.