Dollfie Dream Fern (from Frieren at the funeral / Beyond Journeys end)

Oh. A spell to make Volks re-release Frieren with a suitcase.

This grimoire is not a welcome find at all.

Mine has shipped with DHL to Australia, I suspect I’ll be paying fees since it’s over $1000 aud. I emailed them if they could change to EMS but they didn’t reply back.  But I’m happy that she’s finally coming home after missing the first preorder 🙏🏻

14 hours ago, Kiwi717 said:

They're so cute together! Our Frieren and Fern just shipped so we should have them soon!!

Frieren and the chest, or Frieren and Fern?

Just paid out import taxes on the magical girls. They were shipped separately so Fern was $93 and Frieren was "about a hundo", according to my husband lol overall not as bad as I thought it would be. Still waiting on the winter outfits that are also shipping separately. 

Had to pay the Trump Tax.  $96.67 for Frieren via DHL.

Curious if everyone in the US will pay the same amount or if it'll vary slightly.

Seems to be roughly around the same. Good to keep track of!!

Here's a full explanation of the charges with the end of De minimus (under $800 duty-free entry) for the US:

 

Item:

Dollfie Dream Sister Frieren 2.0 75,000yen

Shipping: 14,050yen

Insurance fee: 150yen

Total: 89,200yen

 

Entered US Customs on 9/3/2025

(I thought the tariffs were calculated based on the total cost: Item + Insurance + Shipping, but I can't figure out how they got a US value of $522.38 listed on the customs invoice. That equates to ~77,312yen, based on the approx. 148yen/USD exchange rate when it went through customs.)

HTS Code used: 9503000090 (Toys, Dolls, Dolls' Carriages, Puzzles, Scale Models, Tricycles, Scooters, Pedal Cars And Similar Wheeled Toys, Parts And Accessories Thereof, Others)

So no extra HTS tariffs or excise duties.  Only Trump's Reciprocal Tariff.

 

Volks Japan shipped her to the USA by DHL.

1. The customs duty invoice listed her as worth $522.38 US.
   Products made in Japan have Trump's Reciprocal Tariff at 15%, so $522.38 x .15 = $78.36 US
2. DHL charges a processing fee of $17 or 2% of the duty (whichever is higher)
   $522.38 x .02 = $10.45. $17 is higher, so the charge is $17.
3. DHL Regulatory Charges of $1.31 (flat fee)

Total bill from DHL: $96.67 US

 

 

Comparison of processing fees (this is what I've heard):

DHL: $17 minimum or 2% of duty amount (whichever is greater) + $1.31 flat charge

Fedex: Under $800: $4.50 or 2% of duty amount (whichever is greater) + $2.50 US clearance processing.

UPS: $14 or 2% of duty amount (whichever is greater) + $2.50 (starting Sep 8th)

USPS: Unknown

On 9/2/2025 at 4:51 PM, archeotech said:

Got Fern the other day! So happy to have them both now 😊 Be warned the inside the wig is black so she needs a wig cap and it doesn't hurt to wash the black coat to get rid of the excess dye. Our wig was a little uneven so retied the back and all good. You'll need a piece of double sided tape or even a tiny piece of tack to fix the ribbon around the staff in place. 

Overall very happy with her, I hope everyone still waiting gets her soon! 🙏 

 

How did you tie the ponytail back in the wig? Mines bit messy but im afraid to fix it cuz I fear I will ruin the wig..

I received my girls today and am slowly putting them together between breaks at work. I'm not thrilled that with all the dark coloured clothing, they're not lined with a lighter colour 😕 and Volks USA is out of SWS body stockings. 

I got both of my girls today, they came way sooner than expected, but the tariff fee was $171 for both. I have to order their clothes separately so I'm going to have to pay duties for those too 😕

Regardless, I'm still super happy to have them, I'm going to give their clothes a thorough wash before I put them on, to make sure to get as much dye out as possible. Thank you to the person above that mentioned Fern's wig.

I’m still waiting for DHL’s verdict on my customs tax here.  Manifesting good vibes 

On 9/4/2025 at 7:53 PM, Islenski said:

I got both of my girls today, they came way sooner than expected, but the tariff fee was $171 for both. I have to order their clothes separately so I'm going to have to pay duties for those too 😕

Regardless, I'm still super happy to have them, I'm going to give their clothes a thorough wash before I put them on, to make sure to get as much dye out as possible. Thank you to the person above that mentioned Fern's wig.

 

Any Possibility that the Dye runoff from the Gold Trim might Stain the White?

11 hours ago, Tasuke said:

 

Any Possibility that the Dye runoff from the Gold Trim might Stain the White?

Probably not likely, but better safe than sorry! I have a habit of washing doll clothes when I get them anyway just to be safe. If you're going to do the same, make sure to separate the dark and light colors and hand wash gently. I usually dry them by hanging them up next to a fan, or a hair dryer on low heat, and then steam to get the wrinkles out.

Even with all the washing, I have stain prevention leggings for both and sleeves for Fern to make sure my girls stay safe. I can't believe after so many years, Volks still hasn't attempted to line their black clothing to prevent staining.

On another note, the clothes finally made their way to the US, the tariff fee was around $75

Edited Saturday at 11:29 PM by Islenski

 

11 hours ago, Islenski said:

On another note, the clothes finally made their way to the US, the tariff fee was around $75

Can you or anyone share the HTS code (and/or the duty %) that Volks JP listed the outfits under?  If Volks is listing it under the clothing category, it might get hit with an HTS category tariff.  But I would think it could still be listed under the Toys category (Ch.95):

HTS Code: 9503.000090 (Toys, Dolls, Dolls' Carriages, Puzzles, Scale Models, Tricycles, Scooters, Pedal Cars And Similar Wheeled Toys, Parts And Accessories Thereof, Others) 0% duty

There was also a previous HTS Code: 9502.91.00 (Garments and accessories, footwear and headgear, for dolls representing only human beings) 0% duty
but it might not be used anymore and may have been rolled into the 9503 category.

Volks listed the dolls themselves as 9503.000090, which has a 0% duty, meaning it only gets hit with Trump Tax 15% reciprocal tariff.  

 

(Note: I'm not an expert at customs stuff, but the Trump Tax has made me look into it a bit)

2 hours ago, nanika said:

 

Can you or anyone share the HTS code (and/or the duty %) that Volks JP listed the outfits under?  If Volks is listing it under the clothing category, it might get hit with an HTS category tariff.  But I would think it could still be listed under the Toys category (Ch.95):

HTS Code: 9503.000090 (Toys, Dolls, Dolls' Carriages, Puzzles, Scale Models, Tricycles, Scooters, Pedal Cars And Similar Wheeled Toys, Parts And Accessories Thereof, Others) 0% duty

There was also a previous HTS Code: 9502.91.00 (Garments and accessories, footwear and headgear, for dolls representing only human beings) 0% duty
but it might not be used anymore and may have been rolled into the 9503 category.

Volks listed the dolls themselves as 9503.000090, which has a 0% duty, meaning it only gets hit with Trump Tax 15% reciprocal tariff.  

 

(Note: I'm not an expert at customs stuff, but the Trump Tax has made me look into it a bit)

The HTS code is 9503000090 and the category is "doll accessories" duty % is 0%, but the total fee was $72

Not wanting to be nitpicky, but should the tariff discussion be chopped off into its own thread?

3 hours ago, finnleo said:

Not wanting to be nitpicky, but should the tariff discussion be chopped off into its own thread?

I think it's relevant to the conversation, since these will be arriving for people in the US right after they were implemented, and lots of people were wondering how this is affecting these dolls specifically. I brought up specific prices so that people that still haven't received theirs can know the details about what they might expect to pay upon receiving.

Im more referring to going into the much deeper tariff code stuff, which I know from about 25 years of experience dealing with the local customs office is part and parcel (partial pun intended) to importing. which might be better served in its own topic.

Edited 18 hours ago by finnleo