in the past weeks, air freight costs have massively increased, in some cases they doubled compared to Summer. In some extreme cases, air freight costs are three times the item cost of the doll. Most of the air freight rates have reached the same extreme level as they had in early 2020 during Corona lockdowns. Considering the emerging energy crisis, we can not expect that things will get better anytime soon.
However, some of the bigger doll makers from China have prepared and set up warehouses in several places around the globe. Preconfigured dolls are shipped by sea freight which results in less brutal transit costs. That is, until heavy fuel oil follows the costs of kerosene.
As a rule of thumb, doll makers with warehouses outside of China
- are bigger players like WM Dolls, YL Doll, Jarliet, Climax Doll, SE Doll etc.; you won't find preconfigured high-end silicone dolls in these warehouses (at least not yet);
- keep stock of popular bodies, heads, and configurations; you won't find blue-skinned or other niche products from stock;
- usually, the preconfigured dolls are sold for the same price as the made to order sisters from China; you just exchange the amount of customization option with a much shorter waiting time. Though, there are a couple of exceptions like CLM who forward some of the discounts.
In the following posts I will update what is available from the various doll makers and warehouse locations. However, stock levels of the pre-configured dolls change continuously, so the posts will only be snapshots.
Sandro
