I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my soon-to-be doll, Volks Mini Super Dollfie Nagisa in Preschool, ever since I won the auction. There were a few bumps in the road, which I worried would cast a negative light on a (hopefully) happy doll arrival, but so far I’m not holding a grudge.

The auction for Nagisa in Preschool was my first time using Crescent Shop as a shopping service; usually I bid on Yahoo!Japan Auctions via Celga. However, I discovered the auction on such short notice that I didn’t think Celga would be able to bid on it in time. Crescent Shop, on the other hand, uses a real-time bidding system. However, I failed to realize several key differences in the payment system for Crescent Shop when I registered–I was simply too anxious and excited; I didn’t pay attention to certain parts of their instructions.

My biggest mistake was putting down an extremely large deposit. When I order via Celga, I do this because Celga requires a 50% deposit and the deposit is placed towards the final price of your auction. Personally, I would rather pay more now than later, so I tend to submit a deposit for nearly all of my maximum bid. I placed my deposit similarly with Crescent Shop. I read that they only required a 20% deposit, but I figured extra couldn’t hurt.

The problem was that it could.

Crescent Shop holds onto the customer’s deposit until the auction is paid in full, and then you can either leave the funds in your account to bid on other auctions or you can request a refund. They do not apply the deposit towards the final price of the auction. This became a significant problem due to the high cost of a second-hand limited-edition fullset doll. I didn’t have the funds to pay over and beyond the full price of the doll without overdrafting my bank account–something I have never done!

I spent several days agonizing over the situation, wondering who I could sell what to to add just a little bit of a buffer until the refund was processed or I received a paycheck. Finally, I decided to ask my person to lend me an amount that I would immediately repay when the refund processed. I really didn’t want to ask him to do this, though, because he oughtn’t need to support my silly hobbies. The whole situation made me feel like I had overspent and bought something beyond my means, when in reality I could quite certainly afford the doll–just not paying for her more than once!

However, PayPal refused to allow me to transfer money between our accounts via an instant transfer personal transaction, marking it as a “suspicious” transaction. I emailed and received no explanation–only that the system that marks things as “suspicious” is automatic and top-secret, so they couldn’t give me any details. While grumbling and trying to figure out what else to do, an incoming payment cleared my account and provided just enough cushion. It was rather unexpected, being early, and positively enlivening! The auction was paid, Crescent Shop refunded my deposit, and all was well.

However, I still have to actually wait for her to grace my doorstep. Although I try to keep my mind on other things, it is very difficult! I cannot help wondering if I will like her, what kind of personality I may develop for her, if I will become attached in the kind of way that I hope, and what kind of trinkets I can acquire for her.

I am not the sort of person who believes that inanimate objects have souls or spirits, but I can be rather imaginative and grow very attached to certain things without warning. I always remember being told that “like” and “dislike” are some of the strongest and almost instantaneous emotions in humans. Although we may not know it, we typically decide immediately if we like or dislike something. I feel this way about most of the things that are precious to me–as soon as I saw my five-foot-long stuffed shark, I was immediately attached. It was virtually inevitable that he would come home and we would have the sorts of adventures that only a girl and a shark can have. That is what I am hoping for with the doll–a kind of attachment that will fuel my imagination and bring some extra liveliness into my life!

Of course, she has to get here first!!! I am so nervous and delighted about meeting her!