Dollfie Dream Lottery & Purchasing FAQ (2024)

Current as of: May 2024

Welcome to the world of Dollfie Dream! One of the first learning opportunities a prospective DD owner is going to encounter is how to actually acquire these dolls. For most products in the world, when you want something you can simply walk into a store and buy it, but most of the time it is not so for DD. There are a few extra hoops involved to jump through because Volks dolls are considered luxury or exclusive products - but it's totally doable to adopt one (or more, eventually). This FAQ covers all aspects of buying DDs, from lotteries to preorders, clickwars to standards; all terms that you'll see discussed on these forums and will be explained herein. It will help you learn where, when, and how to adopt your doll and her associated clothing.

 

Does Where I Live Matter?

Yes! The country in which you live will determine what methods of direct-from-Volks DD ownership are open to you. And consequently, it will also determine which parts of this FAQ you can use. Here's what you should look for. For each country in the list below, listed beside it are the sources residents of that country can use for DD items.

• Japan: Volks physical retail stores (list), Volks Dollfie Online Store, Dolls Party in-person events.
• United States, Canada, Mexico: VolksUSA Web Store, Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP), Dolls Party in LA in-person events.
• South Korea: Volks Partner Shop HaruHana Doll, Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)
• Everywhere else: "DD Friend" Shops (independent doll shops licensed to sell Volks - official list), Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP).

In this FAQ I will mostly be focusing on the Japanese and North American regions, but will include what I know for other regions, as above. This is because Japan and the US are the two largest market presences for Volks, and also for personal familiarity reasons of the author (I have lived in Japan and the US and speak Japanese and English, but have not lived in any other region mentioned).

Aside: Volks used to have a physical store in South Korea and a physical store in the USA; the Korean one closed entirely, while the USA one turned mail-order-only as linked above. This kind of change isn't unique to overseas stores, as even in Japan Volks closes some stores and opens new ones every few years. In fact, my old favorite branch Volks Tachikawa closed down permanently when the building it rented space in closed temporarily for renovations (2015).

The US used to have partner shops as well (Kerbey Lane and We Love Dolls), which I mention for historical interest reasons because you may see them mentioned around these forums in older posts. The partnerships were phased out around the same time frame that VolksUSA transitioned to mail-order exclusivity. All the current purchasing options are listed above.

 

What is This "Lottery" People Speak of?

Dollfie Dreams are a limited commodity, in that there are far more people who want to own them than there is supply made by Volks. There has to be some way to decide who gets the right to purchase them! Volks experiments with various different methods of solving this allocation problem over time, and one very common such method is the lottery system. In fact, in Volks' home country of Japan, a lottery is the commonly-accepted default solution for allocating scare goods from concert tickets to event goods to many other items. Volks didn't invent lotteries specifically for dollfies; they just use the same familiar (to Japanese folks) system.

Anyway, the lottery system is analagous to drawing names out of a hat. It costs nothing to enter, and if your name is drawn, then you win the right to give Volks your money and buy that DD. Sorry, you don't win the DD for free - sadly it's not that kind of lottery! You do get to specify on your entry each individual doll and outfit that you are trying for, so don't worry, you won't get randomly drawn for an item you didn't ask for just because it was in the same release event.  If your name is not drawn, then you miss out on the doll and your order is automatically cancelled without you needing to do anything else.

The chance of a win is directly correlated to the number of people who put their names in as well as the production numbers of the individual doll, as you would expect. Both numbers vary widely by individual doll so there's no telling in advance how likely a win is going to be. You put in your entry and hope for the best.

 

What Items are Sold by Lottery?

Dollfie Dream licensed character dolls, licensed clothes, and licensed accessories are the usual suspects. Thus well-known girls from anime or video games almost always fall into this category, as will their associated items. Additionally, anything belonging to Volks' own self-made storyline called Afterschool Akihabara Girls usually does.

That said, double-check the rules published for the particular item you want at the particular venue you're looking to buy it at (they can and do differ!) because Volks is known for making changes to the rules periodically. The sales method for any particular item will be announced prior to its release at each venue releasing it, and trends in sales methods will shift over time as this FAQ ages.

(To be more technical about it, Volks classifies new-release items into two broad categories: "Sumika Items" and "Limited Items". It's a bit of a misnomer because the Sumika Items are very limited in quantity too, but let's ignore that fact. Anything listed as a Limited Item on the Volks websites was what would be sold by the lottery system, at least at Dolpa. Items still get classified this way, but now individual venues set the sales policies.)

 

Are All Lotteries the Same?

No, they aren't. For a single doll, there are multiple completely independent entry pools (separate lotteries): 1) Dolls Party event, 2) Volks Japanese stores 3) Volks Dollfie Store Online, 4) Each individual Partner Shop, 5) VolksUSA. Of those 5+ pools, you can submit an entry to as many of them as is allowed for your country -- see above. That means it is possible to win multiple dolls by winning once in each of more than one pool.

Be sure you actually don't mind if that happens, and have the money for it, if you enter in two or more pools. You can of course choose to enter in just one pool and not worry about it, too.

The only potential exception to pool independence is Partner Shops. Back when the USA had its own partner shops in addition to VolksUSA (NB: the US no longer does), winning at a partner shop would disqualify you from winning at VolksUSA because Partners had to send in lists of their winners before the VolksUSA pulls occurred specifically for that purpose. The US allocation was considered one giant pool spread over multiple shops. Currently, Europe and southeast Asia have Partner Shops, but I don't live in either of those locales so I'm not sure if the same thing applies to those shops' pools. I'm thinking "no" since there isn't a local Volks store in those locations, but cannot confirm it myself. The good news is that no one was penalized for entering at both VolksUSA and the partner shops; all the admin work to coordinate happened transparently behind the scenes, so from the customer perspective it doesn't matter how many lotteries you choose to enter as long as you're prepared to pay for as many wins as you may get.

 

Can I Enter Into More Than One Lottery Pool for the Same Item?

Sure, if you want to, and you live in a country where this is an option. You'll have to pay for however many you win, though. In the general case there's no cancelling, so be aware of your financial commitments.

 

Can I Enter More Than Once Into the Same Lottery Pool?

No; it's one entry per-pool per-person. Volks will cancel all of your entries and ban all of your accounts if you try to put in more than one entry in the same pool and they catch you. You don't want that.

It literally is per-person though, not per household, so if your husband or wife also likes dolls then you can both enter in the same lottery and that's OK. (My family has personally done this and confirmed with both USA and Japan branches that it is okay to do with them.) The operative thing is that the name on the account, on the order, and on the payment method (Paypal account or credit card) must be uniform with each other and also must be a different set for every entry placed, even if the shipping address is the same. Just remember you have to pay for everything that you win.

 

When Are the Lotteries Held?

When you add up all of Volks' different types of events, there's usually at least one thing going on every month (a Dolpa, an After-Event, a clothes release, or a special event). The calendar can get pretty busy! Lottery specifics depend on what release event the Limited Items in question are part of and where you're looking to buy them. There will be announcements of specific dates and rules on Volks' different websites (Volks JP, VolksUSA, email lists) and I'm sure there will be plenty of discussion in the News subforum of this site as well.

To give you a broad idea of the general trends: In a typical year, new dolls are released quarterly in March, May, August, and December, which are the rough dates of the Japanese Dolpas (May & Dec in Tokyo, and the other two at varying cities around Japan). Centering releases around Dolpa events is how the majority of Volks' new-release business operates. The corresponding Japanese / International lotteries, known as Dolpa After Events, will then occur about three weeks after the date the originating Dolls Party event was held.

For new clothes and accessories, these sales happen more often, usually once a month in Japan (e.g. February 2023 Collection).

For Dollfie Dreams in particular, there is an annual DD-focus event called the DD Gathering held in October. The DD Gathering is often when major line changes like new body sizes or new Standard Models come out, and it will be held alongside the October Collection for new clothes. The offtopic resin SD dolls have their own focus events and releases during the year also.

VolksUSA will carry almost all of the same products, but decides their release schedule independently, being the only overseas store at present. VolksUSA sometimes does their sales around the same time as the aforementioned International store, and other times they are delayed by a couple months until USA gets the product in hand by sea surface shipping. In addition, and this is important if you're in North America, there might also be VolksUSA holiday lotteries in December, Dolpa LA after-event lotteries in years where a Dolpa is held in LA (e.g. 2017, 2019, 2024), and other periodic lottery events to commemorate some other milestone at VolksUSA's discretion, which are special to the USA branch and not part of the Japanese releases chain.

Those are the broad strokes of what happens within a usual year. The important takeaway is that the currently-running specifics are announced online and probably also discussed in depth on these forums.

 

How Are Lottery Winners Determined, and What Can I Do to Maximize My Chances?

Great question! We, the public, don't know. Volks doesn't publish any information about how lottery results are determined (and even explicitly says not to ask them), so the best you can do is enter in as many different pools as you are comfortable with and hope for the best.

There is a rumor among the fan community that, if a doll has an associated outfit in the same lottery (for example Rin Tohsaka and the Homurabara Academy Uniform), then entering for both will make you more likely to win than if you entered for doll-only. That's pure speculation with no basis in facts though, and occasionally people have won the outfit but not the associated doll, so you can choose how much you believe that.

These statements apply to all Volks lotteries.

There is one concrete thing I can add here, though. During Dolpa events in Japan and LA, some lotteries are drawn live on stage and you must be present to win (SD One-Offs, Coordinate Models, D'Coords, etc). The entries for these live events are handwritten on papers and folded in half.  In this style of lottery, if you crinkle / crumple your paper just slightly and then smooth it back out before folding it in half, then it takes up a bit more volume and stands out as easier to grab amongst all the flat ones when the MC is fishing their hand around in the bucket. Thus your paper is just a little more likely to be the one drawn out. If you crinkle it too much the MC will deliberately ignore it, so you can't go overboard. This trick applies to all kinds of hand-written lotteries in Japan and isn't specific to Volks in any way, it's just playing on probability and human nature. I learned it from the girls in AKB48, long graduated by now, and actually successfully won a hotly contested Volks SD One-Off using the technique when I tried it out. Did the trick really make a difference? Who knows, but for something like that I'm willing to be superstitious.

 

To be continued in part 2 below....

Edited Monday at 04:08 AM by SakuraSylph

Current as of: May 2024

How Do I Enter the Lottery with Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)?

The Japanese / International Volks web store (now all one site with automatic translation) will post a special page on their store that lists all of the items and the entry time period for the lottery. All times are listed in Japan Standard Time, so please convert that to your local time. You are only allowed to enter during the few days that the entry window is open, so don't miss it!

I recommend creating your account in advance if you don't have one yet and filling out as much profile information as you can, so that there's the least amount of work to be done during the lottery window. When the window is open, you'll add the item you want to your cart, add payment information, and check out just as if you were placing a web order for anything else. If there's any event-specific variation to the procedure, Volks will tell you at the time.

Typically, Volks will do an authorization to your credit card at the time your entry is placed just to make sure funds are available (like a gas station in the US does when you first swipe at the pump), but no finalized charges will be made unless or until you win.  Occasionally they have required full payment upfront and later refunded lottery losers, so that method is possible too although it is less frequent. Volks will specify in their terms and conditions for the lottery event exactly how that particular event will go.

You are also required to ship each individual lottery doll separately, so be prepared for multiple shipping charges if you win multiple different items. Don't try to combine in-stock regular items with a lottery entry either as those will need to be a separate order as well. This policy of separation may be less friendly from the customers' perspective but it makes sense for Volks business processes as it allows them to pre-package some of their lottery items to let the shipping department get less behind with the sheer volume that has to go out during release events.

How Do I Know if I Won with Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)?

You will get an email confirmation. Sometimes these emails get stuck in your Spam folder, so please check there as well as your inbox once the results start coming out. The schedule for results announcements will be posted on the lottery page.

It can take 24 hours or more for all the different winning emails to go out, so do not panic if you don't get something the instant the results window opens.

Backdooring the process by looking at your credit card statement to see if an authorization turned into a final charge can sometimes be another method of confirming. But due to the variation in which banks around the world process and display international transactions, what shows up on the bank website may be misleading either positively or negatively so be careful how much stock you put into it. Once the announcement window has closed, you can also check your order history on the Volks website and a conclusive status will be shown there.

How Do I Know if I Lost with Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)?

No news is bad news. People who lost the lottery don't usually get any email confirmations.

It can take 24 hours or more to send out all the notifications once they start going out, so if some folks report getting an email and you haven't yet, it doesn't necessarily mean anything - yet. Generally once a few days have passed, though, then no news is bad news.

Anything Else I Should Know about Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)?

There is a shipping delay of about two weeks after you pay with Volks International. That's before shipment, then of course you also need to wait a week or so for EMS to get the package to you. So some patience is required.

If, and only if, there are any leftovers from the lottery because not enough people entered or because some winners payment got declined, then these extra dolls will be sold on the website, fully advertised, first-come first-served. That's your second chance! They call it the cart system. There will be an announcement of the precise time in JST that each doll will go live for ordering, so you know exactly when to go shopping. If this event occurs, it will be a couple days after the end of the original lottery. Please see the "clickwar" section below for more on what to expect when this second chance comes up.

If you see people talk about Volks International, that's the old name for the Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP) and it sticks. For a great many years Volks International for people outside Japan was a separate webstore from Volks Hobby Tengoku for people living inside Japan, but in the latest site redesign the two got combined. If you run into any oddities like difficulty paying or demands to enter half-width characters (which means use normal English text, because Japanese characters require 2-bytes of space each), using a combined website is the reason why. Volks is kind and will help you work through any difficulties you encounter, and they even have online support staff who speak English and other languages other than Japanese.

 

How Do I Enter the Lottery at VolksUSA?

If your shipping and billing addresses are in North America - United States, Canada, or Mexico - then you can enter lotteries held at VolksUSA. The store is geofenced by IP, so they won't let people outside the service area even look at it without a VPN. VolksUSA's process works similarly to the above, in that you make an account on their webstore, access a special page for the lottery entry while it is up, make an order, and then wait to hear back by email. As this is a separate store, a separate account is required.

Importantly, the window for whether you Win/Lose their particular lottery is actually about two (2) weeks long, according to VolksUSA. This is because while initial winning emails will go out on the announcement day, if any of those winners don't complete their order then new winners will be drawn to replace them. They don't announce this case when it happens; simply you may see an email show up in your box on a later date. So, be cautious about pursuing secondhand options until the full announcement window has closed with the USA shop.

It is okay to enter both the JP and US store lotteries if you live in eligible areas. You might win both if you do, though, so be sure you can afford it because cancellation is not accepted.

VolksUSA has their own separate lottery timing in addition to being their own separate pool of items, and only sometimes does the lottery overlap with the JP store's window. You will need to check VolksUSA independently for their timing, but it's not hard to find. There are usually big announcement picture banners on their pages for upcoming events and they also maintain an email list you can subscribe to. Additionally, VolksUSA might run a lottery system for something the Dollfie Online Store ran a clickwar for, or vice versa, so make sure to read the rules.

Anything Else I Should Know about VolksUSA?

A couple things. First, VolksUSA holds special events for North American customers periodically like special Christmas lotteries for One-Offs or D'Coords, or the Dolpa in LA event. As there is no analogue for these events on the Japanese side, you won't catch news of them from just watching the Japanese news or Volks News magazine. Checking VolksUSA from time to time to see what they're up to (and especially subscribing to their email list) is recommended.

Second, VolksUSA has their own pricing with the exchange rate set at Volks JP's discretion, not in any way related to the actual USD/JPY exchange rate of the day, month, or even year. They usually leave it at $1/100y of the Japanese pre-tax price. Thus your pricing here could be much cheaper or much more expensive than buying from the JP store, just based on world events.

 

How Do I Enter the Lottery at Dolls Party in Japan?

If you want to be the first in the world to own a new Dollfie Dream, this is how you do it. A Dolpa event is the official release of a new doll and there is a pool of them available for lucky people to take home on the very day-of.  Overseas visitors are welcome at Dolpa and Volks makes sure to send staff that speak English, Chinese, and Korean to help people navigate the festivities.

In order to attend Dolpa, you will need to bring with you a Dolpa Guidebook and a numbered Entry Ticket (included therein). The cost is Y3,000 these days. Guidebooks are available for sale in Japan at physical stores and online for people who live in the country. For overseas people, you must purchase a GL Membership for Y500 (see the following post) at the Dollfie Online Store, and then you may purchase a guidebook online for pickup at a specific Volks store upon arrival in Japan (no shipping). GL Guidebooks are sometimes still available online even after the regular Japan-local allocation has sold out, so don't go by what Japanese people are saying on social media.

If you do not live in Japan, absolutely buy the GL membership and make that pickup reservation. For reasons discussed below, Dolpa guidebooks are now printed in limited quantity and will sell out. You can no longer depend on being able to freely buy one at the door or just stop by a Volks store the day before when you land in country. You don't want to make the flight and then be left without an entry ticket.

It is important to note that, for the new-release dolls, Dolpa is a line-order lottery and not an individual item lottery like the online ones are. Your number, as described below, will dictate what place you are in line, and those at the head of the line can buy as many of the different limited items as they want (at one copy of each per person). Thus the reality is that you could go home with all of the dolls or none of the dolls based on your single lottery draw. That also means you should prepare lots of money if you get a good number because many things will be within your reach all at once.

Here is what to do with your Dolpa materials.

1. Scratch off the designated area on your Entry Ticket to reveal a letter and number combo, like A101. This will reveal your time grouping (letter A-J) and your serial number within that grouping. Keep this ticket handy as you will need to show it to staff multiple times. This entry order is the major part of the "lottery" for a Dolpa, and you'll already know your results in advance.
2. If your letter is A-E, continue down this list and see how to line up for limited dolls. If your letter is F-J you've already lost and must go straight to the general admission line (a separate line) in the morning instead, as Volks won't even have a lineup place set up for you to hope for limited dolls. In this case you can still go to the Sumika Shop area where dolls are sold when it opens up to general attendees around 13:00 (there will be a PA announcement), but it is so unlikely as to be nonexistant that any limited dolls will be left by this time.
3. Since you're continuing on, your letter must be A-E, so now you find your time. Scan the QR code on the ticket or just go to the Dolpa special website to see what time you should arrive to start lining up and about what time you will be let into the store to shop. For instance the A group should gather up and get assembled with the staff between 10:00 and 10:20am, and they will be let in to the Sumika Shop right at 11:00 when Dolpa opens.
4. On the day-of, follow the Staff directions to find the line-up area for the Sumika Shop (天使のすみかSHOP on the staff signs). Pictures on the web site will show you the general area you need to go. For instance, for Dolpa 51, the Sumika lineup was in the Meeting Center 2F Event Plaza at Tokyo Big Sight. No need to arrive too early as it gets you nothing due to that Entry Ticket; just be on time and it'll be just right.
5. You'll be let in to the Sumika Shop in order, and this is where you may purchase your limited dolls and clothes. Sometimes the physical dolls will be there to grab and other times it'll be paper claim tickets that you take to the register to purchase and then pick up the actual doll elsewhere at your leisure (to relieve you from needing to carry it around if you don't want to). It will be obvious what everyone else is calmly rushing towards. This is the other part of the Dolpa "lottery" - as it's first come first served and different people want different things, there's no telling a priori what letter/number combo is exactly "good enough" to get your desired doll. Earlier is obviously better but beyond that you'll just have to try and see! Some dolls sell out in B group, and others not until D group.

What Can I do if My Dolpa Letter is "Bad" For New-Release Dolls?

If you won't be allowed to try for the Sumika Shop due to getting letters F-J, that means you'll be taking the other of the two morning lineup options, the General Admission one. BUT, that means you get first crack at the Dealers instead, and that is its own reward. A great many dealer items will sell out before those Limited Items folks make it out of the slow, slow traffic jam in the Sumika Shop, so they lucked out in one way but are going to miss out in another. In fact, many people are more interested in dealers than in whatever the limited doll is, and thus choose to enter through GA using any letter/number combo they have, as you are allowed to do if you like.

Even if you have a letter A-E and want a doll on offer, you might still choose to enter Dolpa via the General Admission line anyway if your letter is in the latter portion of that bracket and you think your desired doll is too popular in general to have enough copies left. In terms of generalities, the A group is all-but-guaranteed; B group is highly probable until you reach the latter serial numbers; C and D groups are maybe-maybe-not depending on unknowable doll production numbers versus popularity; and having stock remaining for E group is rather unlikely. The Sumika Shop line is a long traffic jam that you will be stuck in for a while (one-two hours) before you can leave to other portions of Dolpa, so you'll have to make a bet based on your Entry Ticket as to whether it will be the best use of your Dolpa time.

In addition to the Limited Items dolls, Dolpa also has a plethora of special items like Super Dollfie Memorial One-Offs, Coordinate Models, D'Coords, and an Auction Doll. These are all individual dolls that you can look at and enter a separate lottery for in the General Admission section using paper forms that are included in your Dolpa Guidebook (tear them out) which get put into a box next to the desired doll. Drawings are held at specified times late in the day, and you must be present at the stage when called to win. Folks with letters F-J who had to skip Sumika can still enter for these other dolls, of course.

If you really have your heart set on something in the Sumika Shop though, you can try to buy a better letter from resellers on auction sites. People now buy Dolpa guidebooks by the bundle (using friends) and resell all the best Entry Ticket numbers for a couple hundred dollars a pop online. It's why these things sell out now. Previously in the 2015 era, entry ticket numbers were drawn as you went in the door at Dolpa, so guidebooks could be printed in high amounts and were easily available as there was nothing to limit quantity and nothing to resell. Now that guidebooks and entry tickets are coupled in advance in 2024, the print run has to be limited to the available number set, and that is what has changed to make guidebooks scarce.

Anything Else I Should Know about Japanese Dolpa?

Yes, always stay for the Bingo Game, even if you have to leave the venue to eat and come back. It's the last event of the day around 16:00 and one of the only free events at Dolpa. Despite that, many generous prizes are given out, including wigs, clothes, Tenshi, and even up to full size dolls. You need to pick up a bingo card from one of the staff booths earlier in the day and carry it around with you (it is small), but it is worth it to have a chance at the prizes.

Historical interest only as of 2024: In the past, Dolpa has had three entry lines instead of two, with Limited Items (lottery dolls and their licensed clothes) being separate from Sumika Shop (non-licensed Dolpa Collection outfits and all other new / old release items), using the Limited Items / Sumika Items categorizaion in Volks News mentioned above. Aspirants interested in the Limited Line drew a number from 1-6000ish from a big box on the morning-of as you entered the lineup area. A pull of number 400 or less was a virtual guarantee you'd get your doll(s), 401-500 was a maybe but probably still worth a shot, and 501+ was a "you're better off switching over to a different line", which you could immediately do. In this way tickets were independent from guidebooks, so guidebooks didn't sell out and were easy to get; people did bring multiple guidebooks and pull multiple numbers until they got one they were happy with, but as there was no reselling numbers, it was a financial commitment on the individual to do that. This paragraph is NOT how Dolpa works anymore as of this writing, but I'm leaving a summary just in case Volks switches back to this model in the future. Volks does change paradigms back and forth every so often.

 

How Do I Enter the Lottery at Dolls Party in Los Angeles?

Although as of 2024 it's been a while longer, in the recent past Volks has held a Dolpa in LA every second year. At Dolpa LA, all lotteries have been conducted via handwritten forms placed into a box and drawn live at a specified time; must be present to win. General admission is $20 USD in advance or $30 at the door, and general attendees are eligible for D'Coords, SD Coordinates, DearSDs, DD Best of the Bests, and the auction doll.

The only restricted lottery is SD One-Offs, which are restricted to attendees of the Tea Party event, something that requires a separate Tea Party ticket decided in advance by a normal-style lottery on the VolksUSA website. Otherwise the One-Offs lottery works the exact same way if you get into the Tea Party - handwritten forms with a live drawing.

It is important to note that you will have to be choosy about who you enter for during Dolpa LA. Unlike online lotteries where you can typically enter once for each and every doll you may want, at Dolpa LA you get one and only one form per category mentioned above. For instance, if there are two different D'Coords you would be happy to get, you are going to need to pick your favorite and enter for that one only because you have only one form valid for the D'Coord category.

As you might suspect, that restricted method of entering results in some dolls being undervalued. This is a fact that you may choose to add into your calculus of who to put your own form in for when you're on the fence.  If you can't easily decide who to try for between a few different dolls of the same category, picking the one you think might be a lot of folks' "second-choice" in the category might constitute a tiebreaker for you as you'd stand a high probability of winning due to not many competing forms being entered. Of course, if you have a clear favorite then just enter for that one!

Some dolls also receive no entries at all for the same reason; not because they're no-good but because they weren't anyone's absolute #1 choice in the category. Some categories can have upwards of 30 dolls in them, so you can see how that might easily happen to a few. Here's what happens to those leftovers. If you like any of the dolls that didn't get a winner, stick around immediately after all the announcements are made. You will get to do rock, paper, scissors with the Volks staff and all other interested people for these dolls. The individual doll up for consideration will be shown; RPS will be played in successive rounds in "staffer VS all" format, with only the customers who win against the staffer advancing to successive rounds (ties lose); the last person left gets to buy that doll. You can RPS for as many of the seconds as you like. It goes by very fast.

 

How Do I Enter the Doll Lottery at a Japanese Retail Volks Store?

There are actually four answers to this: Dolpa After-Events, Special Lotteries, SD One-Offs/Coordinate Models, and D'Coord.

In a Dolpa After-Event, which occurs one Saturday a couple weeks after the original Dolpa, you'll line up outside the store location at a specified time in the morning. Each person will draw one number from a box when the event starts, and the line will subsequently be reordered into that order. After this, a staff member will go down the line with claim tickets for each limited doll and ask each person in turn whether they want to buy that item or pass on it. When the tickets run out, they run out, and then the next item starts from the head of the line again. Once all tickets are handed out, the line goes into the Sumika shop to browse through the rest of the items, still in order.

As any dolls won are physically handed out later the same day using the claim ticket you bought, overseas folks are welcome to participate in an After-Event while on a trip. If you do not fully understand instructions given in spoken Japanese, I would recommend going to a touristy location for your AE like Dollpoint Akihabara since Volks will have English speaking staff in that location even on regular business days if you run into trouble or need help with staff directions. The Volks sub websites for their individual shops will have the exact times and locations for that particular shop's AE, so you can read in advance exactly what to do. The items sold at an AE are the same ones that were sold at the Dolpa venue a few weeks prior.

The second type is the Special Lottery.

In a Special Lottery the winners are decided in a centralized manner by the Volks Kyoto head office, and these are not open to tourists for logistical reasons due to the longer entry and delivery window. If you are staying in Japan longer term, here is what to do: Visit the checkout register in the doll section of the store and ask for a lottery entry form for the dolls you want. Fill out the form and hand it in to the cashier. Volks will keep half and return the other half to you, which you must keep to use later as a pickup receipt in the case that you win. You may elect to have Volks mail the doll to you or you may elect to pick it up in person at the store you entered at. If you pick it up, Volks will call you to let you know that you won and when to pick it up.

Mailing can only be done within Japan, so this physical-store method is only useful if you live in the country or if you have set up a forwarding arrangement with a proxy. You can only enter once, and at one physical store. The items sold by Special Lottery are mostly re-releases of known popular / high resale value items. Examples include SD Charlotte ~In My Closet Room Ver~ and DDdy Sasara White Gothic.

The third type is SD One-Offs & Coordinates. This is technically off-topic as it concerns Volks' resins but I include a short summary for completeness. Each store has a new One-Off or two once a month, and Coordinates are available at Tenshi no Mado (Harajuku) and Tenshi no Sato (Kyoto) only. Entry is by handwritten form for later delivery and not open to tourists for the same reason as Special Lottery. In some cases no one claimed a particular doll on display so it is available for immediate sale to the first comer including tourists, so you can always ask staff if you see someone you like.

The final type is D'Coords.

These are DD version coordinate models and only sold at Dollpoint Akihabara and Dollpoint Osaka as far as I know. Sometimes Dollpoint runs a handwritten form lottery for them (no tourists) and other times Dollpoint sells whoever is on display first come first served (tourists OK), so ask the staff what the current status is when you visit. D'Coords were replenished about once a month when I lived there.

Anything Else I Should Know about the Japanese Stores?

If any of the various handwritten-form lotteries are going on at the same time a Dolls Party After-Event takes place, entries for the longer-term lottery are suspended during the AE process. This is so that staff can concentrate on processing the major sales event as efficiently as possible. If you live in Japan and want to do both the AE and enter a longer-term lottery on the same day, you need to do the AE in the morning and then come back to the store after 3pm to put your entry form in.

 

That's all for lotteries! But there are other ways to buy DDs and their clothes, which I will cover in part 3...

Edited Monday at 12:34 AM by SakuraSylph

Current as of: May 2024

Can I Buy a Dollfie Dream Without the Lottery?

Yes, sometimes you can. There are four instances that will let you get around lotteries.

First, if the doll you want is one of the Standard Models. These are currently DD Mirai, DD Candy, DDS Karin, DDdy Towa, DDP Ribon, DDP Coron, MDD Yuzu, and MDD Koume. Older (and possibly newer as this FAQ ages) standard models also exist that you may run across, as Volks refreshes the line periodically. Standard models are freely available for sale at all official stores and online, and when they sell out they'll be restocked.

Second, if Volks is offering a licensed character DD for open pre-order. On the upside you are guaranteed to get your doll, but on the downside you will have to wait about 12 months for her to arrive. A DD Preorder Project happens once a year at most, at Volks' discretion. Entering a preorder works similarly to entering a lottery as far as what websites to use and how to order from them is concerned. However the preorder window is often 4-5 weeks long, you are usually allowed to buy multiple copies if you want to, and all orders will be filled (eventually), no matter how many they get. Examples of dolls that have been done this way: DDS Reimu & Marisa, Yuki Morikawa & Rina Ogata, Saber Alter II & Saber Extra, Hatsune Miku. Being a preorder doll doesn't necessarily affect aftermarket prices.

Third, if a doll is scheduled to be sold by a clickwar (see below) instead of a lottery. The sales method is announced in advance. Trends ebb and flow here; some years Volks does tons of clickwars and other years they do tons of lotteries.

That brings me to the fourth and final way to get a complete DD while avoiding the lottery: buying a doll second-hand. DDs often go up in value because of low supply and high demand, so this is not the most cost-effective way to get a doll. But sometimes it might be the only way possible, for instance if the doll is older or you lost the release lottery for her. There are many places you can look for secondhand dolls. Some of them that you can access online are: the Marketplace on this forum, Den of Angels, myfigurecollection, eBay, Yahoo Auctions Japan, Mercari, Mandarake, Jungle, Surugaya, and Dollyteria. If you actually go to Japan, there are secondhand figure stores all over the place that every so often will have a doll or two.

 

Is Buying Clothes Different from Buying Limited Dolls?

Yes, it is, to a degree. With the exception of clothes that go with a specific limited doll, all the rest of the Volks clothes fall under the "Sumika Items" general category. You buy Sumika Items at the same places as you do the doll lotteries, but you may need to follow a slightly different procedure, known as a clickwar, depending on the place.

There used to be general trends I could talk about regarding sales methods for clothes versus dolls, but today the best advice is to see what the various official Volks stores announce as the sales method for each item no matter what kind of doll or clothing it is. You'll see the following methods applied to both clothes and dolls as Volks determines.

 

What is a "Clickwar" All About?

A clickwar is the first-come first-served procedure used to purchase non-lottery items at the two official online locations, VolksUSA and Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP). This is not an official Volks term, but is a name that English-speaking Dollfie fans have given the process. The idea is that you're competing against other doll fans to get the same items, and whoever clicks their mouse fastest wins. So, it is a war of mouse clicks, or a clickwar.

It used to be that certain types of items were reguarly sold by lottery and other types were regularly sold by clickwar, but that is no longer the case. Each store now sets its own procedure for each particular item and announces what that will be.

 

How Do I Buy Items by Clickwar at VolksUSA?

You should be logged in to your VolksUSA account and ready to go slightly before 11AM PST/PDT on the scheduled day of the clickwar. That's the usual start time, but it doesn't hurt to poke your head in earlier to see if things were turned live early by mistake, as that has happened before. Add the items you want to your cart and try to complete checkout as fast as you can. There's no time-based cart reservation anymore, so items will fall out of your cart as they sell out until you get your order completed.

You should have as much information (shipping address, payment) saved in your account in advance as VolksUSA allows so that there is as little delay as possible when the clickwar happens.

Once your order goes through, it will be processed and shipped out in a few days like usual.

 

How Do I Buy Items by Clickwar at Volks Dollfie Online Store (JP)?

This is an exercise in shared suffering through denial-of-service, but that is the trial one must endure to participate in the international clickwar. You are likely to already be familiar with the white bear error message (it's company president mascot Shirokuma Shige-chan) that the current iteration of the Dollfie Online Store (JP) throws up on occasion even when special events are not running. As you might expect, this behavior is magnified greatly when events are actually running. Even when you know exactly what to click, it can sometimes take an hour to actually complete your order due to getting the error and needing to reload repeatedly on almost every new link in the process. You will want to set aside plenty of time, plenty of patience, and probably a snack.

With that warning out of the way and expectations set, here's what needs to happen: preparation is key. First, you must have already registered an account in the Dollfie Online Store system, with as much information saved in your profile as possible. It would not hurt to call your credit card company in advance to apprise them of an upcoming international charge so that they hopefully do not decline it the first time and extend the process by requiring a retry for payment. On the day-of, get logged in at least 15 minutes in advance of the "opening bell" for items just for safety.

You will thereafter want to get your item(s) added to your cart and complete checkout as fast as you are allowed to by the website. It is first-to-pay who gets the win, and you are competing with folks in Japan and all over the world too now that the website is unified. If you're used to the previous Volks International site, you need to know that adding to the cart no longer means your job is done; there is no more time-based hold window for items in the cart. They will fall out of your cart as they sell out until you complete your payment. This fact may inform your strategy of how many items to go for, which ones, and in which order.

Once you complete checkout with your items, it will be processed and shipped out in a week or two due to volume of orders.

A useful thing to note is that Volks does not always release the entire allocation of a particular item for sale right at the start. Things that temporarily sell out can sometimes show back up in stock later in the day and even over the following couple days, so it can pay to check back every so often just in case if you missed out in the initial rush.

 

How Do I Buy Sumika Items at Dolls Party?

Buying Sumika Items here lets you be the first in the world to own them, but again you must go in person to the event to do this. Since the Limited Dolls have been added to the Sumika Shop in the latest standard Dolpa format, please see the Dolpa section in the lottery post above in order to learn all the details of how to get into the Sumika shop.

Once the Dolpa opening bell sounds, the groups starting with A-group will be taken to the shop front area and people will be admitted in batches of around five at a time. Once inside you'll be able to buy one copy each of whatever is laying out. There will be a group of registers set up near the exit which is where you need to go when your basket is full. Note that the cash registers are shared between those people paying for Sumika Items and those people paying for Limited Dolls, so you will be waiting in line a while to complete checkout.

Dolpa is well-attended and, even though everything sells out, they still make an effort to have somewhat reasonable stock. Before the start of sales one time I went, I counted 72 copies of one outfit on the shelf plus a large cardboard box underneath the shelf that presumably contained some amount more. Most of the outfits had that many copies, although some had less. You have a pretty good shot at getting what you want outfits-wise in my experience; it is easier than getting limited dolls.

 

How Do I Buy Sumika Items at Volks Japanese Stores?

The Sumika Items are released to the physical stores during Dolpa After Event, which is a few weeks after the actual Dolls Party itself. Each Japanese store has their own specific rules and times to follow, which are announced on the specific After Event webpage (Japanese only).

Some stores have everyone draw numbers from a box, and then line up in that order before going into the store to make a purchase. For stores where that is the case, one useful strategy is to bring a group of friends to all draw numbers, then give you the best one as you all congregate around waiting. There is an opportunity for people who didn't like their number to give that number back and go home, so the only cost to the group is a little time. The Japanese use this strategy frequently.

Other stores will have a line that is first-come first-lined-up, however they'll draw a random number to split the line and determine where the new head starts. Akihabara Dollpoint uses this one. I'm not sure if there are any strategies to help with this method, or if it's just luck. In any case, specific instructions for your store will be published online a few days before the AE.

Regardless of the method, once the shopping order has been determined, you'll be let into the store in order with the line. There will be a pre-defined path through the store that the line must follow, and the path walks you by baskets containing each Sumika Item (or paper claim tickets for the same) then ends at the cash register. You pick up whatever you want as you pass by it, then check out in order. This process can take a couple of hours because their registers are slow.

It is permissible to go through the line multiple times in order to buy multiple copies of things. It's one copy per person at first, but once everyone has had their first go, it's opened up to as many as you want. Of course many things are sold out by the time the line's first pass is done, but on the off chance something isn't, it's worth a second look.

 

How Do I Buy Sumika Items Through Shopping Services?

Both on this forum as well as other doll forums, you will occasionally find people who offer a shopping service for the Sumika Items. Some folks do Volks International, and others do Volks Japan & Dolls Party. If you don't want to deal with clickwars or queue waiting, or if you want a backup way to get a favorite outfit, you can get someone else to try to do it for you.

Each person has their own rules and such that can vary per event, so there's not a lot to say here beyond the fact that this option exists.

 

I Occasionally See References to "VS/VIP". What is that?

The VS/VIP is the Volks Supporters Club, a Japanese membership program. It is a pay-for program that lets you earn extra points on your purchases and gain access to exclusive goodies that only VS/VIP members can buy. Like most stores in Japan, earned points can be redeemed for a small discount on a future purchase. You buy this on an annual basis for 1100 yen per year, and it is only open to people with a Japanese address.

The full suite of Volks points-card tiers is as follows:

1. Point Card Membership. Free. Get 1pt per 100yen. Volks News is free to pickup in-store. Points can be redeemed anytime.
2. VS Membership. Y1100/year. Get 3pt/Y100 when paying with credit or 5pt/Y100 with cash. Volks News is mailed directly to your house. Get access to member-only goods every now and then. Get reservation-free access to Tenshi-no-Sato. Get access to member-only events. Points can be redeemed anytime.
3. VIP Membership. Free, but requires the Volks branded credit card. Same benefits as VS otherwise.

If you come to Japan on vacation you can use your hotel address to sign up for a card. It's even possible to do VS-level if you want, just select the "don't want" option (希望しない) for Volks News so they don't mail it to your hotel.

That said it's no longer necessary to get a special card during a vacation because the GL Membership program now exists, which you can bring with you to Japan! See the next question.

 

What is the "GL" Membership?

This is a new Global (GL) version of the VS/VIP paid membership program mentioned above, specifically for people who live outside of Japan. Previously there was no such program at all for foreigners, but now you can have parity with VS/VIP and take advantage of the same perks. Some perks, like members-only items and Volks News, you can enjoy from overseas, but the cool thing is that if you come to Japan on vacation, you can carry your benefits with you to the physical stores and events in-country that are otherwise VS/VIP limited. You buy the GL Membership at the Volks Dollfie Online Store on an annual basis for 800 yen per year.

A more thorough listing of the GL benefits as of 2024 is:

1. Points Service: Earn 3pt/Y100 if paying in cash at physical stores or Dolpa; 1pt/Y100 for using credit cards in person and/or buying online (whether from overseas or in Japan). Points can then be used as discounts on future purchases. If you write down your membership number from the online store, this is how you bring it with you to Japan and use it in physical stores. However, if you use the visitor entry visa in your passport to shop Duty Free (Dollpoint Akihabara, for one, allows this) and avoid the Japanese 10% consumption tax, then you cannot earn nor use points on that individual purchase. Not sure why they can't be combined, but the duty-free is the better deal if the Volks store you're in supports it.
2. Participation in VS/VIP online events, in-person events, member-only products, member-only preorders.
3. Automatic renewal of your GL Membership every year on its expiration date as long as you keep a credit card on file.
4. Add Volks News to any online order for about a month after it comes out for 0 yen cost. Or if you are in Japan, pick one up for free at the register by showing your GL member number.
5. No-reservation entry into Tenshi no Sato (gardens and SD museum) in Kyoto, as long as it's open that day.
6. Ability to win/buy PS Bisque SDs, Sato One-Offs, and SD Adoption Models from Sato.  (other Sato things like Sato-only FCS, parts exchange, and satogaeri services are not currently accepted from GL members, but Volks is working to change that over time).

The GL Membership is not applicable to VolksUSA product purchases or events, only the Japan-based ones as it's offered by the Japan main office.

 

Anything Else I Should Know About Shopping at Volks in Japan?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tokyo and Osaka are the areas with the most Volks stores to browse in one place. Tokyo has Akihabara Dollpoint in Radio Kaikan (DD focused), Tenshi no Mado in Harajuku (SD focused), and Yokohama (mix). There used to be more mixed-focus stores in Tokyo, but they were streamlined away. Osaka has Osaka Dollpoint and Tenshi no Sato in Kyoto. Other areas of Japan have individual stores that cover all Volks doll lines.

Mentioned above but it bears calling out on its own.. If you present your passport containing a temporary tourist visa at the Akihabara store (and only this one, unless something has changed - be sure to ask the staff in any other Volks store), you can shop duty-free. That means you get to avoid the Japanese sales tax, which is 10% now. So, using your passport is better than VS/VIP or the GL Membership as long as you go to Akihabara (at least).

 

Does VolksUSA Have a Membership Card?

No, they don't anymore. They used to, and it used to allow admission to Dolls Party in New York when there was such a thing, or to other special events. You do not need a card to get into Dolpa in LA in more recent years, only a convention badge. You cannot use the old member card to get discounts at VolksUSA, sadly.

 

That's all I can think of for now regarding shopping at Volks or otherwise buying Dollfie Dream and related accessories. I am open to editing / updating these posts over time as any new information comes to light, so please, discuss and ask questions.

Edited Monday at 06:57 AM by SakuraSylph

thanks for writing this. you have a higher chance of winning if you dont cheat. so dont ok

All righty, that completes all the parts of the guide. As I mentioned at the end, comments and discussion are welcome as we refine our collective knowledge over time.

There is no pre-defined entry period; you can write to them at any time. There will not be a call for entries publicly announced anywhere, so don't wait around for that (unlike VolksUSA). There's also no such thing as "too early" to write in: you can send your email as soon as you decide you want a doll, even if US pricing hasn't been announced by VolksUSA yet. However, there IS such a thing as too late: all dealer entries must be made before the official VolksUSA entry period begins. More on why that is true is below.

 

I wish I would have known this earlier.

 

But this does confuse me slightly because for this upcoming event I received an email from WLD on (7/27/13) that they were now accepting wish list items and when the chance to send your list ended. Or is that email more like a reminder that the chance to get in your wish listed items is ending soon?

 

Does that mean I could have still written them ahead of time and still of had my entry accepted? I have never used them before so all of it is still new to me. I was just basing my previous experience with Kerbey Lane and waited for the email that they were accepting requests. Although I never did enter for a doll through Kerbey Lane, just clothing items. This worries me now that me waiting for an email from WLD has placed me very low on their list.

KL was very consistent about sending out calls for entries when it was time to submit, and the results were decided by drawing names (for both clothes and dolls). I liked KL a lot and miss them. The same strategies that worked for KL aren't the best for WLD though.

 

WLD is inconsistent about who they email calls for entries to - I received them sometimes, but the vast majority of the time I didn't. It was a bit misleading for me to say that things "won't" be advertised I suppose; perhaps I should have said not to "expect" it to be advertised.

 

It is permissible to get in line as soon as Volks News hits the shelves in Japan if you want to, way before US availability or pricing is announced. If something doesn't come out in the US after all, then you've lost nothing. When it is close to lottery time, it wouldn't hurt to send a follow-up e-mail to WLD to remind them of when you wrote in originally and let them know that you are indeed still interested.

 

I think that, before now, it was probably OK to wait until that email came to enter. WLD and its exact entry procedures weren't well-known. But now that this FAQ is out there to clearly publicize things, waiting probably will hurt your chances for future items.

 

HUGE Disclaimer: WLD is an independent shop and can change their procedures at any time. This info is accurate as of the time I'm writing it, but there's no way to say whether the procedure will stay this way.

It was my understanding that you couldn't 'get on the wish list' until the email call when out from WLD (like it was with KL).

 

I have emailed before thinking I had missed the email and wanted enter and was told that the email had not gone out yet and to wait until then.

 

So I am not sure. I think that WLD is a smaller business than KLD ever was, so it is probably more difficult for one person to handle everything when it gets really busy.

 

Like SS said, policies can change at any time and I figure that WLD is probably having to modify some of their original ways of doing things now that they are the only dealer left. But it is my current understanding that you cannot go on the list until the email goes out. I could certainly be wrong.

Thank you very much SakuraSylph and Misheru for your replies.

 

I think I have a better understanding how it works now with WLD. This has been such a new process for me with WLD since I can't afford to enter a lottery for a new girl everytime one rolls around. The last and only lottery I have ever entered since being in the hobby for 2yrs was back during DP24 for WS Alna and that was through Volks US.

 

So I very much appreciate the answers and help. ^_^ I think having this horrible long wait of not knowing if I won or not is multiplying my worry factor. That's why my heart sank some when I read I might have been able to write them sooner. If I had it my way they would have known day 1 I found out about Crimson Sakuya...lol! XD

 

That does make me feel a little better knowing that waiting for the email was the right thing to do. I just hope that policy has stayed the same. Especially since I sent my reply in within an hour of receiving it. Which that would have been even sooner if I hadn't of been at work that evening.

 

Anyway thank you again for the help. This is a wonderful guide and very helpful.

How Do I Know if I Won with VolksUSA?

 

You will get a second e-mail later on telling you that you won. The winners are announced a few weeks after the entry period closes, usually, so please be patient. There will be a note on the lottery item's page telling you approxmiately when notices will go out.

 

People usually start talking about it on the forums when the winning emails start coming in, so you'll know about when to expect yours.

 

When you win, nothing happens right away, other than that e-mail, since VolksUSA does not have the lottery items right away. Your credit card will be automatically charged once the items arrive from Japan to the USA, and your item then ships out without you having to do anything else. After all, you already entered all the information VolksUSA needs to process your order.

[/i]

I have a question on this part, the Volks USA Lottery entry page for Sakuya says: The charge date for the winning entries will be about one week after the winning notice email. The schedule details will be mentioned in the winning notice email.

I thought that ment they would charge you a week after you received notice you won, does it actually work like you stated and you do not get charged until its time to ship the item out?

How Do I Know if I Won with VolksUSA?

 

You will get a second e-mail later on telling you that you won. The winners are announced a few weeks after the entry period closes, usually, so please be patient. There will be a note on the lottery item's page telling you approxmiately when notices will go out.

 

People usually start talking about it on the forums when the winning emails start coming in, so you'll know about when to expect yours.

 

When you win, nothing happens right away, other than that e-mail, since VolksUSA does not have the lottery items right away. Your credit card will be automatically charged once the items arrive from Japan to the USA, and your item then ships out without you having to do anything else. After all, you already entered all the information VolksUSA needs to process your order.

[/i]

I have a question on this part, the Volks USA Lottery entry page for Sakuya says: The charge date for the winning entries will be about one week after the winning notice email. The schedule details will be mentioned in the winning notice email.

I thought that ment they would charge you a week after you received notice you won, does it actually work like you stated and you do not get charged until its time to ship the item out?

 

 

Not quite, if you win you will be sent a winning email and then you have a week to pay

How Do I Know if I Won with VolksUSA?

 

You will get a second e-mail later on telling you that you won. The winners are announced a few weeks after the entry period closes, usually, so please be patient. There will be a note on the lottery item's page telling you approxmiately when notices will go out.

 

People usually start talking about it on the forums when the winning emails start coming in, so you'll know about when to expect yours.

 

When you win, nothing happens right away, other than that e-mail, since VolksUSA does not have the lottery items right away. Your credit card will be automatically charged once the items arrive from Japan to the USA, and your item then ships out without you having to do anything else. After all, you already entered all the information VolksUSA needs to process your order.

[/i]

I have a question on this part, the Volks USA Lottery entry page for Sakuya says: The charge date for the winning entries will be about one week after the winning notice email. The schedule details will be mentioned in the winning notice email.

I thought that ment they would charge you a week after you received notice you won, does it actually work like you stated and you do not get charged until its time to ship the item out?

 

 

Yes, you are charged a week or so after the notice of winning. SakuraSylph should probably correct that part.

How Do I Know if I Won with VolksUSA?

 

You will get a second e-mail later on telling you that you won. The winners are announced a few weeks after the entry period closes, usually, so please be patient. There will be a note on the lottery item's page telling you approxmiately when notices will go out.

 

People usually start talking about it on the forums when the winning emails start coming in, so you'll know about when to expect yours.

 

When you win, nothing happens right away, other than that e-mail, since VolksUSA does not have the lottery items right away. Your credit card will be automatically charged once the items arrive from Japan to the USA, and your item then ships out without you having to do anything else. After all, you already entered all the information VolksUSA needs to process your order.

[/i]

I have a question on this part, the Volks USA Lottery entry page for Sakuya says: The charge date for the winning entries will be about one week after the winning notice email. The schedule details will be mentioned in the winning notice email.

I thought that ment they would charge you a week after you received notice you won, does it actually work like you stated and you do not get charged until its time to ship the item out?

 

 

Not quite, if you win you will be sent a winning email and then you have a week to pay

 

That sounds like your talking about Volks international. For Volks USA you have to put in your credit card number just to enter. Then they charge you automatically when you win.

I have a question on this part, the Volks USA Lottery entry page for Sakuya says: The charge date for the winning entries will be about one week after the winning notice email. The schedule details will be mentioned in the winning notice email.

I thought that ment they would charge you a week after you received notice you won, does it actually work like you stated and you do not get charged until its time to ship the item out?

Excellent catch! You are correct on what VolksUSA means. I have edited the FAQ to reflect that winners will get charged shortly after winning e-mails go out. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

I wonder if that policy has changed since the last time I won a lottery with the USA store, which admittedly was 2009. Anyway, I'm glad to know that a fix was needed!

I've got a question - since it was news to me that Volks Intl is a per entry per person thing, and not a per household situation.

 

In the event that myself and my husband both put in entries... if he won and I didn't, does his payment information need to have his name on everything? This question also applies for if I try to have all my friends enter too, they don't care too much if they got their accounts banned (b/c they're not into dolls, just me). but I'd not want Volks Intl to ban me if say my husband or friend won, and they used my paypal info or CC to pay for it.

 

I hope that makes sense... XD

Only Volks themselves can tell you what is "required", but...

 

My instinct suggests that it's better if each person is paying with their own CC or Paypal with their own name on it, even if they live in the same house as you. That way you have a clear dividing line and you can say it was indeed two separate people who entered. Avoiding the appearance of impropriety would be of utmost importance.

SakuraSylph, you are very knowledgeable in this area, so perhaps you can answer a question of mine:

 

Yesterday, I found out I was one of the winners of the USA lottery for Sakuya: Crimson. I see her Japanese lottery is not until August 24th. But, already on eBay I saw a listing for Sakuya for $1,350.00

 

How could someone list a doll that is not even available yet? Or does Volks pre-sell to some vendors they have a working relationship with? Am I missing something about the lottery?

SakuraSylph, you are very knowledgeable in this area, so perhaps you can answer a question of mine:

 

Yesterday, I found out I was one of the winners of the USA lottery for Sakuya: Crimson. I see her Japanese lottery is not until August 24th. But, already on eBay I saw a listing for Sakuya for $1,350.00

 

How could someone list a doll that is not even available yet? Or does Volks pre-sell to some vendors they have a working relationship with? Am I missing something about the lottery?

 

The Dolpa was on August 4th so Sakuya has been out since then. The after event is always after the Dolpa, so some of the dolls are already out by then.

Edited August 19, 2013 by Guest

SakuraSylph, you are very knowledgeable in this area, so perhaps you can answer a question of mine:

 

Yesterday, I found out I was one of the winners of the USA lottery for Sakuya: Crimson. I see her Japanese lottery is not until August 24th. But, already on eBay I saw a listing for Sakuya for $1,350.00

 

How could someone list a doll that is not even available yet? Or does Volks pre-sell to some vendors they have a working relationship with? Am I missing something about the lottery?

 

The Dolpa was on August 4th so Sakuya has been out since then. The after event is always after the Dolpa, so some of the dolls are already out by then.

 

 

Oh, I didn't realize there was something before the Hometown lottery. If I enter enough of them I'll probably figure it out...eventually.

 

Thank you for the answer, Dollvari

No problem The funny thing is if you win the lottery after event. You will get your doll before someone who entered the US lotteries.

No problem The funny thing is if you win the lottery after event. You will get your doll before someone who entered the US lotteries.

 

I think it might be because Japan they just ship it out EMS and EMS is shipped by plane (since it's 3-5 business days) (or maybe it's a faster speed boat I dont know lol). I bet the shipment to VolksUSA is done by frieght/boat and that's what adds so much time to it.

I think it might be because Japan they just ship it out EMS and EMS is shipped by plane (since it's 3-5 business days) (or maybe it's a faster speed boat I dont know lol). I bet the shipment to VolksUSA is done by frieght/boat and that's what adds so much time to it.

 

Yup, exactly. I think they also try to group them with shipments of regular store items, which is why they usually restock around the time that new dolls arrive

Yesterday, I found out I was one of the winners of the USA lottery for Sakuya: Crimson. I see her Japanese lottery is not until August 24th. But, already on eBay I saw a listing for Sakuya for $1,350.00

 

How could someone list a doll that is not even available yet? Or does Volks pre-sell to some vendors they have a working relationship with? Am I missing something about the lottery?

This eBay listing is probably an overseas reseller, probably from HK. Sakuya Crimson is already released, so here's how that is possible.

 

Dolls Party (8/4): Sakuya Crimson first release in the world. Take her home that day.

Japanese in-store AE (8/24): Take her home directly from a Volks store in Japan.

Japanese online lottery delivery (9/8): Deliveries if you won her online in Japan.

International lottery delivery (9/15): Deliveries if you won int'l lottery.

USA Lottery delivery (11/01): Approx delivery if you bought her from VolksUSA.

 

Thus, even though Sakuya Crimson isn't out yet even to most places in Japan, it was possible to get her if you went to Dolpa in Nagoya a few weeks ago. That's where the auction dolls (YJA and eBay) come from right now.

Yesterday, I found out I was one of the winners of the USA lottery for Sakuya: Crimson. I see her Japanese lottery is not until August 24th. But, already on eBay I saw a listing for Sakuya for $1,350.00

 

How could someone list a doll that is not even available yet? Or does Volks pre-sell to some vendors they have a working relationship with? Am I missing something about the lottery?

This eBay listing is probably an overseas reseller, probably from HK. Sakuya Crimson is already released, so here's how that is possible.

 

Dolls Party (8/4): Sakuya Crimson first release in the world. Take her home that day.

Japanese in-store AE (8/24): Take her home directly from a Volks store in Japan.

Japanese online lottery delivery (9/8): Deliveries if you won her online in Japan.

International lottery delivery (9/15): Deliveries if you won int'l lottery.

USA Lottery delivery (11/01): Approx delivery if you bought her from VolksUSA.

 

Thus, even though Sakuya Crimson isn't out yet even to most places in Japan, it was possible to get her if you went to Dolpa in Nagoya a few weeks ago. That's where the auction dolls (YJA and eBay) come from right now.

 

Thank you, SakuraSylph

Very noob question. D:

How many people win the lottery, exactly?