Effective: October 1, 2026
DHL Japan has informed us of changes to the shipping rates they provide to us.
There are two changes taking place around the same time:
- DHL has informed us that the export shipping rates currently provided to us can no longer be maintained due to changes in the air cargo industry and rising costs. Our rates will increase by approximately 30% from shipments collected from September 30, 2026.
- DHL is also introducing its seasonal Demand Surcharge for shipments from October 1, 2026 through February 5, 2027.
As a result, we will update our DHL shipping prices from October 1, 2026.
DHL Japan's September 18 notice advising us of an approximately 30% rate increase effective September 30, 2026.
For transparency, we have included screenshots of the emails and information provided to us by DHL Japan so customers can see the communication directly.
As you can also see from the screenshots, we were informed of the approximately 30% rate increase on September 18, with the new pricing taking effect from September 30. This gave us less than two weeks' notice to review the impact, update our systems and inform customers.
What this means for your order
The shipping prices shown below are the prices we plan to charge customers from October 1, 2026 after taking DHL's new Demand Surcharge into account.
In other words, the Demand Surcharge is already included in these prices. It will not be added again at checkout.
| Order size | US / Canada | UK / Europe | Australia | Asia | Other Regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smaller orders, up to 1.899 kg volumetric | ¥6,800 | ¥6,800 | ¥6,000 | ¥4,300 | ¥16,000 |
| Usually 1 Smart Doll, 1.9 to 3.79 kg volumetric | ¥14,000 | ¥14,000 | ¥11,500 | ¥7,250 | ¥26,500 |
| Up to 2 Smart Dolls, 3.8 to 5.69 kg volumetric | ¥28,000 | ¥28,000 | ¥23,000 | ¥14,500 | ¥53,000 |
For example, shipping one Smart Doll to the US or Canada will change from ¥11,000 to ¥14,000, an increase of approximately 27%.
DHL Japan's notice outlining the seasonal Demand Surcharge effective from October 1, 2026 through February 5, 2027.
We are still subsidizing shipping
Even after this adjustment, the prices above are still lower than what DHL may actually charge us for some shipments.
We continue to absorb part of the shipping cost ourselves rather than passing every DHL charge directly to customers.
One example is DHL's Remote Area Delivery surcharge. Depending on the destination, this can add up to approximately ¥4,000 to the cost of shipping a single Smart Doll box.
We do not currently add that full amount to the customer's shipping fee when an address happens to fall within one of DHL's remote delivery areas. We absorb that additional cost.
There are also fuel surcharges and other carrier charges that can vary over time.
So although our DHL shipping prices are increasing from October 1, we are still subsidizing shipping, particularly for destinations where DHL applies additional fees such as Remote Area Delivery.
Our intention remains to keep customer shipping prices reasonably aligned with our actual costs without passing through every additional carrier charge individually.
What happens when the Demand Surcharge ends?
DHL currently describes the Demand Surcharge as temporary, running through February 5, 2027.
However, based on previous experience, we cannot promise that our shipping prices will automatically return to their previous levels once that surcharge ends.
In 2025, DHL also introduced a temporary peak Demand Surcharge. Before that surcharge period had even ended, DHL increased their underlying base shipping rates. As a result, when the temporary surcharge eventually ended, our overall DHL shipping costs did not return to their previous levels.
This does not mean that the current Demand Surcharge itself will necessarily become permanent. It does mean that we will need to review what DHL is actually charging us after February 5, 2027 before deciding whether shipping prices can be reduced.
If our actual DHL costs come down, we will review our shipping prices accordingly.
We know international shipping has become increasingly expensive, which is why we are sharing the communications we received from DHL Japan alongside this article so customers can see the information directly and make informed decisions before ordering.
What we are doing about this
We don't want to simply accept increasing shipping costs without looking for alternatives.
We are currently speaking with several carriers to see whether we can provide customers with more competitive shipping options.
With FedEx, we are looking into negotiating better rates and investigating whether customers providing their own FedEx account number would allow duties and taxes to be billed directly to the recipient. If this arrangement works as intended, it may allow us to offer FedEx shipping at more competitive prices than DHL.
We have also reopened discussions with UPS regarding rates, systems integration and the practical requirements of using them for our international shipments.
In addition, we are speaking with SF Express to understand whether they could provide another viable shipping option for Smart Doll customers in some regions.
None of these discussions are guaranteed to result in a new shipping option, and we don't want to announce anything before we know that the pricing and service are workable.
However, receiving an approximately 30% increase from DHL with less than two weeks' notice has reinforced the importance of reducing our reliance on a single carrier.
If we can negotiate better alternatives, we will make those options available at checkout and let customers choose the carrier and price that work best for them.
