Update on Axel Plush and Post-Tariff War Changes

caution

U.S. customers planning to order Axel Plush: Please read the relevant section carefully and make sure you fully understand the process.

Dear Customers,

Things have changed quickly. It appears that the U.S. and China have agreed to pause the tariff war for at least 90 days, which gives us the opportunity to resume our routine importation.

However, the tariffs are not completely gone, and many things haven’t returned to the way they were—and some may never do so. This article will walk you through a few key updates resulting from this shift, including the return of Axel Plush (especially for U.S. customers) and a few positive developments.

Axel Plush Final Stock (Current Batch)

We still have Axel Plush stock from the current production batch, though some units are pending accessories. New orders are expected to ship in June (except for U.S. orders).

Once the current stock runs out, future production batches will switch to a new surface fabric. The next batch will not be a top priority, as we are currently catching up on other plushes. This means it may be a while before Axel Plush is available again. So if you want one, grab it while it’s available.

Special Notes for U.S. Customers

Due to the sudden escalation of the tariff war and the end of the small-parcel exemption policy, we paused U.S. sales of Axel Plush in April to fulfill existing orders before they became subject to high tariffs and customs surcharges. Now that the current tariff rate has dropped to a more manageable level, we’re resuming imports to the U.S. and putting Axel Plush back on the shelf.

However, the de minimis exemption for small parcels will not return, and direct shipping from China is no longer economical for U.S. customers. Tariffs and customs surcharges could range from $30 to $130, depending on how the White House's vague policies are implemented. We also haven’t received clear guidance from our courier. Given this uncertainty, we'll handle all U.S. orders via sea freight import to ensure a more stable and predictable tax situation.

That said, plush toys are still subject to a 30% tariff (compared to 0% before February), meaning we’re facing a significant cost on every shipment. Our original plan was to adjust our shipping rates to include a tariff surcharge at checkout, but due to the chaos surrounding the tariffs, we haven’t implemented that yet. Instead, we’ve temporarily kept this product under the “Shipping-from-China” pricing scheme so that U.S. customers will see and pay the shipping-from-China rate at checkout, which will serve as a substitute for a separate tariff surcharge.

Please note:

1. Although the checkout page will only offer the Shipping-from-China option, Axel Plush will ship domestically from Los Angeles.

2. The standard Shipping-from-China terms and policies do not apply to U.S. orders of Axel Plush.

3. Please allow an additional 4–8 weeks for your Axel Plush to come overseas, plus 2–5 days for domestic transit from Los Angeles.

We cannot guarantee an exact sea freight timeline, as all U.S. importers are currently scrambling for containers departing from China to replenish Chinese goods previously halted due to the tariff war. We have always partnered with Matson to ship our goods—a more expensive carrier that typically has less competition for space. However, since Matson operates the fastest ships between China and the U.S., it may now be in particularly high demand under current circumstances. We won’t be able to confirm a shipping date until June, but once it’s confirmed, we will notify everyone promptly.

Daki Pillow Insert Made in the U.S.

We’re also bringing back the Daki Pillow Insert in version 2.0. This updated version features an upgraded lining and zipper, 60% more filling, and is filled and packaged locally in Los Angeles as part of our effort to mitigate tariffs and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. We previously teased this update in an earlier article.

However, manufacturing domestically is significantly more expensive. While it helps us avoid tariffs and overseas shipping costs, the overall production cost of the pillow has tripled—so we’ve had to adjust the price accordingly. The version 2.0 pillow insert will be priced at $149 and will not be eligible for free shipping.

Pre-orders are now open for July shipping. As a bonus, pre-orders will receive $15 off.

Lowered Shipping Price for Selected Destinations in South America

Shipping to South America has always been a challenge—not only is it expensive, but available options from both China and the U.S. are limited. Under the current tariff environment (even after the pause in the tariff war), shipping from the U.S. to South America has become impractical due to additional tariffs and already high shipping costs.

Fortunately, we have recently partnered with a forwarder in China that offers commercial shipping services to several South American destinations. This not only lowers the cost but also resolves issues related to postal shipping—such as limited reliability and strict weight limits. (We previously only used SF Express, which forwarded parcels via PostNL for South American orders.)

Here’s a breakdown of the benefits from this change:

Destination	Previous Shipping Price	Current Shipping Price	Previous Weight Limit	Current Weight Limit
Brazil	$31	$27	< 2kg	< 30kg
Chile	$31	$28.5	< 2kg	< 15kg
Colombia	$73.5	$36	< 2kg	< 5kg
Ecuador	$81.5 (from U.S.)	$35.5	< 2kg	< 20kg
Peru	$62.5 (from U.S.)	$35	< 2kg	< 4kg

Please note: a Tax ID is required by local authorities for shipments to Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru when using commercial channels from China. Our storefront already collects Tax ID information at checkout for Brazilian orders. Customers from other countries listed above may enter their Tax ID in the "Company" field of the shipping address at checkout. You may refer to our help page for more information.