how hard is it to find standard models secondhand?

i'm still pretty new to vinyl/dollfie dream in general, but i quite like towa and was curious just how hard it is to find the volks standard models secondhand.  i do a lot of browsing of yja and the like and see tons of the character dolls and customs of the blank heads but i've only seen the standard models a couple times.  am i just not looking in the right places or do people just generally not buy the standards, or is it more that people don't sell theirs?  i wouldn't entirely mind buying from volks but i don't really need all the extras she comes with as i want to entirely customize her and i don't mind a little stain cleaning project if it saves me some money. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited December 26, 2021 by milkmoth

Check Mandarake.  I know they've had the standard models listed from time to time.  

It's a combination of easy availability from Volks and every time a new generation body hits, the current and older gen bodies loose value.  Aoi ver. 1 is easy enough to find, and below original retail, but for a little more, you can score a DDF-3 and a blank 02/Aoi head brand new.  I bet there are more localized websites where Japanese DD collectors sell less valuable heads, bodies, etc., kind of like the marketplace section here, which cuts out the YJA middleman.  At least, that's how I'd want to sell the lower demand stuff, as opposed to hot collab dolls.  

The only thing I'd add about Mandarake is that their stock of second hand dolls is low. There is some speculation that it may be hard to take in and sell used dolls right now because of Covid restrictions. We don't know for certain, and there could be other reasons the market is a bit sparse at the moment.

If you are located in US you can also get Towa from Volks USA. That may save you some money on shipping from Japan.

https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=814

 

Towa is in stock, as of right now.

At $526, plus shipping, she's not too expensive, for a new doll.

19 minutes ago, Galvatim said:

Check Mandarake.  I know they've had the standard models listed from time to time.  

It's a combination of easy availability from Volks and every time a new generation body hits, the current and older gen bodies loose value.  Aoi ver. 1 is easy enough to find, and below original retail, but for a little more, you can score a DDF-3 and a blank 02/Aoi head brand new.  I bet there are more localized websites where Japanese DD collectors sell less valuable heads, bodies, etc., kind of like the marketplace section here, which cuts out the YJA middleman.  At least, that's how I'd want to sell the lower demand stuff, as opposed to hot collab dolls.  

i saw towa there a while back but there's none right now.  it was actually seeing her there sold out that got me curious how often they pop up since i've only ever seen her there once or twice.  i've been keeping an occasional eye on the jp secondhand market for her for about a year, haha
i didn't even think about searching for more localized sites, though, that's interesting!  i've done that for resin before; i'll definitely poke around and see if i can't find some smaller jp communities, thanks for the idea!  i know about dollyteria but i haven't seen any of the standard models pop up there.

14 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

The only thing I'd add about Mandarake is that their stock of second hand dolls is low. There is some speculation that it may be hard to take in and sell used dolls right now because of Covid restrictions. We don't know for certain, and there could be other reasons the market is a bit sparse at the moment.

If you are located in US you can also get Towa from Volks USA. That may save you some money on shipping from Japan.

i have noticed the doll market struggling since covid hit, it's happening on the resin side too, what with shipping delays and sickness in manufacturing and stuff.  it's really sad, hopefully everything will get better soon ;__;

i am in the US, i was just curious if there was a way to save a bit of money since they force the basic set on you and i don't need all the extras haha

10 minutes ago, battrastard said:

https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=categories.view&category_id=814

 

Towa is in stock, as of right now.

At $526, plus shipping, she's not too expensive, for a new doll.

yeah, if i end up having to buy her new i'll go through volks USA since it's technically the easiest route, even if they make you pay california sales tax iirc LOL

Edited December 26, 2021 by milkmoth

38 minutes ago, milkmoth said:

i am in the US, i was just curious if there was a way to save a bit of money since they force the basic set on you and i don't need all the extras haha

Honestly, I'm not sure you'd save all that much by going through YJA unless one of the extras you don't need is the body. If you bought from YJA you'd have proxy fees, shipping cost from seller to proxy, shipping cost from proxy to you. Fortunately no import duties on dolls in the US. You might save $80 getting her minus wig and underwear, but spend $100 on all the shipping and fees. If all you want is a head then YJA is probably your best bet, or the DD groups on Facebook.

Mandarake is a different story, you could find one in so so condition for less.

12 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Honestly, I'm not sure you'd save all that much by going through YJA unless one of the extras you don't need is the body. If you bought from YJA you'd have proxy fees, shipping cost from seller to proxy, shipping cost from proxy to you. Fortunately no import duties on dolls in the US. You might save $80 getting her minus wig and underwear, but spend $100 on all the shipping and fees. If all you want is a head then YJA is probably your best bet, or the DD groups on Facebook.

Mandarake is a different story, you could find one in so so condition for less.

Also worth keeping in mind that shipping from Japan right now is exorbitant- every package I've gotten from Japan over the last year has cost a fortune, most recently my Dear SD cost 300$ to ship and she's a good ten inches shorter than a DD (albeit a bit heaver). I did go with the fastest option (Fedex), but the other options were only marginally cheaper iirc. You can go with cheaper/slower shipping options but it's still likely more expensive than getting her directly from the US, especially after the proxy fees. 

You can always look for a split to see if anyone is interested in the things you don't want, to offset to retail price!

Edited December 27, 2021 by Mizuumi-no-Otome

I've been buying a fair bit of stuff from Japan both through a proxy and direct.

You end up spending more, so it's best left to one-off items you can't otherwise get, and you run the real risk of it getting damaged in transit, which hurts when you're already spending so much on shipping.

You end up spending a lot on shipping (both domestic and international), proxy fees, 10% VAT within Japan if it's from a store vs private seller plus ~3.5% fees in converting the currency. It adds up quickly.

30 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Honestly, I'm not sure you'd save all that much by going through YJA unless one of the extras you don't need is the body. If you bought from YJA you'd have proxy fees, shipping cost from seller to proxy, shipping cost from proxy to you. Fortunately no import duties on dolls in the US. You might save $80 getting her minus wig and underwear, but spend $100 on all the shipping and fees. If all you want is a head then YJA is probably your best bet, or the DD groups on Facebook.

Mandarake is a different story, you could find one in so so condition for less.

interesting, thank you, i'll keep that in mind!
i'm not a frequent user of facebook, what is the best way of finding DD facebook groups?  :Oa

i'm willing to look pretty much anywhere, mandarake, mercari, whathaveyou; as long as nothing is broken/covered in literal slime condition isn't too much of an object as i'm intending on customizing her tip to toe and i don't mind a bit of a project. in my searching i've found that she's sold used for under 300 on one occasion and if only i could be so lucky LOL i don't mind waiting it out if the price gets that good for one in decent condition!

18 minutes ago, Mizuumi-no-Otome said:

Also worth keeping in mind that shipping from Japan right now is exorbitant- every package I've gotten from Japan over the last year has cost a fortune, most recently my Dear SD cost 300$ to ship and she's a good ten inches shorter than a DD (albeit a bit heaver). I did go with the fastest option (Fedex), but the other options were only marginally cheaper iirc. You can go with cheaper/slower shipping options but it's still likely more expensive than getting her directly from the US, especially after the proxy fees. 

You can always look for a split to see if anyone is interested in the things you don't want, to offset to retail price!

thank you for the tip, i haven't been shopping directly from jp recently, i usually go through dealers atm.  that's absolutely ridiculous though, what made the price that high, in my near decade of resin collecting i've never heard of a doll shipping for much more than 150 at the absolute maximum?!   i think my mari i got back in april was only 60 or so x_X
a split would be a good idea actually!  i've run a few before (i'm actually in the middle of one on resin IG lol), i just find it kind of a pain to host and i have a few resin pieces to finish paying off first LMAO 😛

11 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

I've been buying a fair bit of stuff from Japan both through a proxy and direct.

You end up spending more, so it's best left to one-off items you can't otherwise get, and you run the real risk of it getting damaged in transit, which hurts when you're already spending so much on shipping.

You end up spending a lot on shipping (both domestic and international), proxy fees, 10% VAT within Japan if it's from a store vs private seller plus ~3.5% fees in converting the currency. It adds up quickly.

is damage really that common in vinyl?  i've only ever had one resin doll get damaged in transit and i've got near a hundred of the things ;__;
i'll definitely keep that in mind though, thank you ;;

25 minutes ago, milkmoth said:

what is the best way of finding DD facebook groups? 

Search for "Dollfie Dream Adoption & Chat".

3 minutes ago, BeyondTime said:

Search for "Dollfie Dream Adoption & Chat".

tysm!  much appreciated