Well, somehow the French buyer for the Dollshe body argued her way out of paying customs fees on the full insured value, and she only ended up paying them on the postage and a nominal value. So, anyway, she’s happy because she got the body parts [and some extras] in perfect condition, and I’m happy that this needlessly complex transaction has completed…also that I have half a thousand dollars heading toward my furniture bill!

Sardonix’ Thaasa body is still up for sale, but no one wants it, so she’s staying. In yet another sure indicator of economic crap-out, the DOA marketplace has slowed considerably. In fact, I see on the DOA marketplace some interesting trends that show anecdotally how shittily we are in the economic shitter:

• I’ve seen a spike in the number of dolls on the block because people need the money for various reasons [job loss, mortgage payments, car payments].
• I’ve seen a slight increase in rare valuable dolls on the block, such as Dollshe Bermanns. In an illustration of this point and the previous one, my friend actually sold her Bermann late last year because she and her husband needed the $$$.
• Dolls remain unsold for longer periods.
• Many sellers are lowering prices. Some really want or need to sell their dolls so badly that they start dropping prices by $25 or $50 after a few days or a week of no responses. Others offer free insured shipping, usually only to locations in the same country where they live. I’ve also seen many people selling "regular" dolls [e.g., not limiteds or highly coveted ones) at a 15-25% loss.

All of these indicators prove advantageous to buyers, but there aren’t as many buyers these days as there are sellers.