These earnest, toy-loving young adults — collectors of Sonny Angels and little green creatures called Smiskis, among other figurines made by Dreams Inc. — are the last people who expected to have politics intrude on their lifestyle. And yet, in the year 2025, even a harmless toy-collecting hobby is at the whim of chaotic national affairs.
The hobbyists first began panicking in February, when the U.S. Postal Service briefly suspended accepting packages from China, according to Lala Tadios, 27, founder of Gachapon Pals, a Bay Area artist collective that co-organized the meetup. Alarmed collectors flooded Reddit and Discord, wondering if their precious “blind boxes” — the mystery packages containing one of a variety of figurines — would make the journey home. Then, on March 1, Dreams, the Japanese brand that manufactures its ultra-popular figurines in China, increased prices by $1.25, to $11.25. This was in anticipation of the Trump administration’s increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%, which went into effect a few days later.
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