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SD vary greatly in price, due to the very different range of dolls available,
as well as the different price between regularly released SD and limited editions.
There are also many other factors to take into account. For one, SD prices are
in yen, and the cost depends somewhat on how your country's currency fares against
the yen at the time of purchase. For example, at the time of this writing, 1 US$
equals about 107 yen. Currency fluctuates daily, and you should be aware that
most Japanese businesses trade slightly in favor of the yen due to these fluctuations.
(In other words, your exchange rate on the day of purchase will not be as favorable
as that posted daily on such sites as http://www.xe.com/)
You must also remember that you will have to pay 5% sales tax, plus shipping,
which is somewhat costly due to the weight of the dolls. And finally, do not forget
that if you are using a shopping service you must factor in their buying fee.
Here is a rough estimate; however, please note that this is the minimum cost you can expect to pay, based on the current yen rate, and does not include tax, shipping, or buying fees. Most shopping services will quote you a final price with tax, shipping and fees included.
For regular release mini SDs, you can expect to pay $340 for a kit, $400 for a normal doll. For a regular release SD girl or boy, expect to pay around $600. For a regular release SD13 girl or boy, expect to pay around $750. For a Full Choice System, expect to pay at least $780. For a U-Noss, expect to pay at least $800.
For limited edition SDs, it is much harder to gauge what the cost will be. Limited
editions have higher prices than standards to begin with, since they have unique
headmolds, are often hand painted by Volks most revered artists, and come with
specially made outfits. They are also usually difficult to acquire, as they are
often only sold at special events in limited numbers. This means that shopping
services can have difficult getting them, making the fee more expensive, and auctions
for them on Yahoo! Japan often skyrocket in price. Therefore, do not be surprised
to pay upwards of $1000 or $2000+ for a limited edition SD13 boy or girl. Even
limited edition mini SDs will often go for upwards of $600.
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At this writing, new SD can be bought from Domuya
in Singapore, Volks'
online store, or through "shopping services" in Japan. Many members outside
of Japan have requested SD through shopping services.
Also please see the links section.
In fact popular SD can sometimes take months to acquire. Demand in Japan is sometimes
high, causing delays for shopping services or other dealers. Please keep this
in mind when ordering your doll.
Domuya is based in Singapore
and is a general doll shop with a storefront that you can visit, should you happen
to be in the area. Domuya also take international orders. They stock Volks and
Customhouse dolls and accessories, and can also often special order items that
you are after, and they have a good record of being able to get limited edition
SD. Their prices on Volks items can sometimes be a little steep, but their service
is said to be very good and very quick.
Volks'
online store - Volks sometimes offers dolls for sale in their online store,
both regular releases and limited editions. They only accept orders for dolls,
which will be marked with an IMOS button; they do not sell internationally any
of the other items shown in their online store. The price is cheaper than buying
from a shopping service, but Volks accepts International Postal Money Orders and
credit cards for payment. The turnaround time is said to be moderately fast, but
discussing the transaction with them via email can be a bit difficult.
Crescent Trading is
a Japanese shopping service run by Masamichi Kuge. Masamichi no longer will shop
at Volks stores in person, but will still do auction assistance and a few other
shopping service needs. He accepts many forms of payment including PayPal and
credit card, and his service is very quick. He is one of the most popular shopping
services on Den of Angels.
SD can also be bought by auction on Yahoo!
Japan Auctions and sometimes on eBay.
You will also sometimes find Den of Angels list members selling their SD secondhand
via the list, but please be aware that SDs hold their value so a secondhand SD
will cost about the same price as a new one, and for hard to find limited editions,
it may cost even more. (Also read below for more about shopping services and Yahoo!
Japan Auctions...)
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Please send an email to the buyer of your choice with any questions you might have as well as the type of doll or clothing, etc, you are looking for and await their reply. You will find them courteous, pleasant and helpful.
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You cannot register on Yahoo!
Japan Auctions unless you are able to read and write Japanese, and most
sellers will not ship overseas.
You may therefore find it necessary to use a Bidding Service. Crescent
Trading, Celga.com,
Anime Chaos,
and Rinkya.com will bid
for you for a fee. For more buying services
see the links and this visual guide to using YJ.
You also may want to see this Rinkya
article about protecting yourself and properly checking an auction and seller
to avoid getting ripped off.
Here are some
searches that you can use to find SD.
You tell them your maximum bid and they will bid for you up to that amount.
(In some cases you can bid yourself through the service.) Please remember to
specify maximum bid as opposed to the maximum amount you want to spend,
because there is also a bidding fee to pay, a wire-transfer fee to send money
to the seller, and shipping fees -- one from the seller to the service, another
from the service to you. It adds up. Also remember to check your service's exchange
rate that week. Remember, this varies, and your service will exchange at a higher
rate than the posted daily rate at sites such as http://www.xe.com/
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There are the addresses (in English) of stores and showrooms in Tokyo that
carry Super Dollfies.
You can also read
this photo guide to reaching Volks Stores in Japan by Cassiel.
"Tenshi no Sumika"(meaning "Angel's Nest") is the name of stores that
exclusively sell SD (& Mini-SD & U-Noss) items. They sell outfits, accessories,
dolls, eyes, etc. You can also get FCS at Tenshi no Sumika (but there are exceptions).
Please see the FCS page for more information.
SRs (showrooms) sell all Volks goods, SD-related and otherwise.
Tenshi no sumika - Ginza
Ginza Silk building 4F
4-6-17 Ginza
Chuuou-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-3538-0280
(Japanese people call the building "Ginza Siluku Bilu")
Tenshi no sumika - Shinjuku *Recomended!
Shinjuku Studio Alta 8F
3-24-3 Shinjuku
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-5312-5563
(Japanese people call the building "Shinjuku Sutagio Aluta")
Shinjuku Volks SR
Bigs Shinjuku 1F
2-19 Shinjuku
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-5269-8518
(Japanese people call the bulding "Biggusu shinjuku")
Akihabara Volks SR *Recomended!
Radio Kaikan 6F
1-15-16 Sotokanda
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-5295-8160
(Japanese people call the building "Lagio kaikan")
Ikebukuro volks SR
Katou Daiichi building 1F
3-12-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro
Toshima-ku, Tokyo
TEL 03-5957-7356
(Japanese people call the building "Katou Daiichi Bilu")
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