.Amani
Showing posts with label fromjapan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fromjapan. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Epic Haul~ FromJapan + TaobaoSpree
Now, I know some going-out posts are due, speaking that I haven't updated on my life since Easter... but I just had to share this huge haul of junk I just got in the mail this weekend xD
Now, I made my review from FromJapan previously in this post, I was relieved to find that despite the amount of clothing I bought the shipping was a bit cheaper to my last 3 mag + 1 jsk order. Book's weight are a b, for real. (Or maybe it has to do with all the individual shipping.. I don't know). I also prepared myself time-wise so I wouldn't be caught struggling paying for it and then living on with short cash for however long.
I managed to buy all of these goods from a single secondhand shop site. Including my most wanted item...
I've wanted this D.I.A. hooded one-piece (or something similar in that color!) for a LONG time after seeing someone like Yumachi or Mipochi or someone rock that color. When my friend Shaka showed me the site it was at like 3990 yen at first, which I was kind of reluctant on since I'm super cheap, but then it went on sale for -990- yen. I could not resist myself. I heard the angels of heaven prompting me to get this onepiece and I just had to.
Everything else was very cheap too. Amazing amazing amazing.
These two are my next two favorite buys out of this package. The vest I believe is real suede leather * w* it just feels so smooth in my hands and it's not thin or cheap or flimsy or anything, ahhhh
And the chiffon top... is the softest, most fluid top I've ever seen. It's not some crappy sheer material either, it's actually layered with lining and everything, but yet it flows so well and it's so light ; w;
I am selling the red DreamV top though, and the fuchsia hoodie because eh, they were more impulses and the hoodie doesn't quite fit me. The hoodie is from a brand called "Passion Girl" and a size M. I'll update my sales page later!
~~~~~~
Now as far as TaobaoSpree, it's been a while since I directly bought from them. My first agent Lucy had since left the company, so now Candy is my new TBS agent. After dealing with other people like Doris who was a major derp :/ Candy is just as reliable as Lucy was and I'm so sticking to her for a long while. She is well-spoken, she replies quickly, AND sometimes on weekends when TBS is supposed to be closed. One of TaobaoSpree's best agents I have dealt with so far.
Originally I was going to order through Taobao English, aka chinabuyagency.com, but I was turned off by their tendency to tell people things were 'sold out', when in fact they were made-to-order or reserved items. Apparently some things were missing out of my friend's group order that she did so I ended up not going through them, and I'm glad I did. Some of the things that were supposedly 'sold out' Candy was able to order, or she was able to actually TELL ME the waiting period of the items and things like that. When I tried to ask Taobao English, they just told me it was 'sold out' when I questioned the fact that so many of my wanted items were sold out without the page saying so.
In any case I was able to get most of what I wanted, which I was very satisfied with - u- Even more so that it all came in time for the start of hanami season! Imagine all the spring-y fun photoshoots that are gonna come out of this~
These two I actually got through my friend's group order~
And then the rest were from TaobaoSpree..
I finally got myself a Candy Sugar schoolbag, from one of the many taobaos that sells the merch from the same factory. This is actually their smaller shoulder bag, unlike the full-size bag like my friend Mei used to have, so I was kind of sad, but that's because the full-size were sold out. At some point I'll get the full-size bag... someday... x3
Now, I made my review from FromJapan previously in this post, I was relieved to find that despite the amount of clothing I bought the shipping was a bit cheaper to my last 3 mag + 1 jsk order. Book's weight are a b, for real. (Or maybe it has to do with all the individual shipping.. I don't know). I also prepared myself time-wise so I wouldn't be caught struggling paying for it and then living on with short cash for however long.
I managed to buy all of these goods from a single secondhand shop site. Including my most wanted item...
I've wanted this D.I.A. hooded one-piece (or something similar in that color!) for a LONG time after seeing someone like Yumachi or Mipochi or someone rock that color. When my friend Shaka showed me the site it was at like 3990 yen at first, which I was kind of reluctant on since I'm super cheap, but then it went on sale for -990- yen. I could not resist myself. I heard the angels of heaven prompting me to get this onepiece and I just had to.
lol dat engrish
These two are my next two favorite buys out of this package. The vest I believe is real suede leather * w* it just feels so smooth in my hands and it's not thin or cheap or flimsy or anything, ahhhh
And the chiffon top... is the softest, most fluid top I've ever seen. It's not some crappy sheer material either, it's actually layered with lining and everything, but yet it flows so well and it's so light ; w;
Just look at that...
Some Deary/Yumentebo goods I managed to snatch up. They're both really cute ; w; I'm glad I was able to snatch them up, especially for the price I got them for!
I am selling the red DreamV top though, and the fuchsia hoodie because eh, they were more impulses and the hoodie doesn't quite fit me. The hoodie is from a brand called "Passion Girl" and a size M. I'll update my sales page later!
~~~~~~
Now as far as TaobaoSpree, it's been a while since I directly bought from them. My first agent Lucy had since left the company, so now Candy is my new TBS agent. After dealing with other people like Doris who was a major derp :/ Candy is just as reliable as Lucy was and I'm so sticking to her for a long while. She is well-spoken, she replies quickly, AND sometimes on weekends when TBS is supposed to be closed. One of TaobaoSpree's best agents I have dealt with so far.
Originally I was going to order through Taobao English, aka chinabuyagency.com, but I was turned off by their tendency to tell people things were 'sold out', when in fact they were made-to-order or reserved items. Apparently some things were missing out of my friend's group order that she did so I ended up not going through them, and I'm glad I did. Some of the things that were supposedly 'sold out' Candy was able to order, or she was able to actually TELL ME the waiting period of the items and things like that. When I tried to ask Taobao English, they just told me it was 'sold out' when I questioned the fact that so many of my wanted items were sold out without the page saying so.
In any case I was able to get most of what I wanted, which I was very satisfied with - u- Even more so that it all came in time for the start of hanami season! Imagine all the spring-y fun photoshoots that are gonna come out of this~
These two I actually got through my friend's group order~
Princess Melody (?) fuzzy hooded cape~
MA*RS (?) top
This came from the same shop as the two above, I do plan to make an -actual- store review of that Taobao store! Mainly because I believe that their things are from the actual factory that makes the actual MA*RS/Princess Melody items, so either unmarked and same-factory, or factory rejects. I'll explain why later.
More school things! I've been wanting to buy school stuff for almost two years now, and I finally got along to doing it xD I got them from angelpaopao.taobao.com I believe. The quality is really good and I definitely plan to order more things through them again!
Galaxy Shirt.
These boots... these are actually OTK boots that I've seen on ebay for the longest time and I finally got my hands on them! In my size! In the past when I saw them on ebay they never had them in my size, PLUS the sellers were trying to sell them for maybe 30 bucks. The store I got them from only sold them for around 9-10 dollars. I was able to custom-size them to my US 10 foot, I forget if there was any extra cost, but I don't think so. You don't know how happy I got these. Especially a black pair AND a brown pair. The 'chestnut'ish color has been in style since the beginning of this year and now I don't have to look for a pair of brown OTKs locally.
As far as support and stuff it's kind of hard because of my messed-up joints, but they are like 2 inch heels so it helps a great deal. I can't wait to wear them out!
A couple of these stores I really want to do specific reviews on, but that won't come until I buy a couple of more things from them. But I loooove everything.
Now the only problem is.... finding a place to put them. My drawers are completely full.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
FromJapan Shopping Service Review!
Sometime when I got back from my mission trip, I decided to make the first Japanese purchase in a long while, and right now I just want to share with you guys my experience with one of my new shopping services.
So my first order I decided to bid on a very cute item on mbok~ a Baby, the Stars Shine Bright jumperskirt set from the Osaka BTSSB store!
lololo I hope that didn't sound too complicated... you can read more on their system on their website, here.
So overall, my experience!
Communication: 10/10. They're pretty good with keeping in contact and answering your questions~ They usually answer within 24 hours, with the exceptions of I think maybe weekends? But either way every question they answered promptly, they were very well-spoken and courteous. Their system will send you automatic confirmations of your deposit actions, refunds, changes in bids/purchases, when they arrive at their warehouse, etc. I highly doubt there will ever be a time you'll really question where your things are at.
Pricing: 7/10. While their system seems pretty complicated at first, it's not really something I try to worry my head over. You just pay the 200 commission fee, the item cost, and if there's a system usage fee, then that, and then unless you need your items in a rush, you don't worry about the Charge 2/Shipping payments until like a month later.
The only thing that bothers me though, is how they deal with Charge 2 payment. I may be spoiled from personal shopping services hoarding my goods for months at a time, but when the Charge 2 payment is requested, they only give you -a week- to pay for it. Otherwise they will supposedly 'drop your order' entirely and probably not give you a refund in the process. I'm bothered when shopping services act like that, because first off, the item is FULLY PAID FOR, -AND- you've already paid their commission fee! I don't think it's fair at all to threaten to drop people's orders because they're not able to pay for shipping within 7 days... at least give them an option for a down payment or something.
With this particular order, it was a hassle for me after giving them the money because I didn't expect shipping to be that much, and I was sort of struggling afterwards, it being around bill-time and whatnot. But as long as you mark your calendar and prepare yourself to pay for the Charge2 payment, you should be good. That's pretty much how I'm dealing with it this time around.
Shipping: 10/10. The moment you pay for your shipping, it's on it's way out the door. You should get a confirmation within 24 hours with tracking number, and from there it's on it's way! They also give you the option of SAL, Airmail, and Surface, and Fed-Ex if you don't want to pay for EMS. Packaging-wise, my stuff came in a decent-sized box.. everything was wrapped in plastic, and cushioned with newspaper.
That's pretty much it! Aside from my personal feelings concerning the Charge2 payment, I really like this shopping service, and I'm currently using them for yet -another- order, full of cute gal stuff xD So expect a haul post from FromJapan within the next month huehuehue...
From Japan -- (http://www.fromjapan.co.jp) apparently started in 2004, though I never heard about it until a few months ago! They are an established, registered business, not a personal shopping service, e.x. old services like Mai Ozawa and Mukunoki and people. So while they don't do any in-store visits, they work with online shops and auction sites. Rakuten, mbok.jp, Yahoo! Japan Auctions, and many more sites...
What initially attracted this service to me and my friends were their cheap service fees. Very cheap.
Each item I've ever bidded on only costed a 200 yen fee per item-- I think for more expensive items it -might- cost more, but no more than like 800 yen. Depending on the cost of the items you buy, that's much cheaper than the typical 15-20% commission fee. Now that the yen's value vs. the U.S. Dollar has dropped (Thank God), it feels better to buy and bid to my heart's content (and according to what I have in my wallet, of course).
They have other fees that may rack up (5% processing fee when you try to pull money from your Paypal, etc.) but again, to me that's nothing.
Back detail
It's sooo adorable. I've been wanting to get plaid for the longest time and when I saw this for only 5,000 yen, I swooped in and got it. The fabric is lightweight but perfect for spring and fall, and nice and soft. I found that the overall-part was detachable, so I could alternate between an overall JSK and a skirt, and it also came with matching hair ties! You know I was happy as hell!
The fees might've been around 900-1000 yen, both for their commission fee, and then they also had a system usage fee for bidding on mbok.
And I also got three old issues of 小悪魔Ageha~ November and December 2007, and December 2006. If you don't know me by now, I am a serious fiend for Ageha magazine and I have a pretty huge collection so far~ so I decided to start collecting a lot of the -old- issues from before I got into gal, and the back issues I had missed over the years. I managed to get each mag off Y!J for 50 yen each, so after fees they were like 250 each~ and two from the same seller so I believe I saved on shipping because of that o:
~~~~~
FJ charges for everything in two payments-- Payment 1 is for the cost of the item + the 'system usage' fee which applies to sites other than Y!J, I believe?... and then there's payment 2, which is for all the shipping fees,domestic and international, and bank transfer fees..
So this is how everything was calculated for the BTSSB JSK, as an example..
Product 1
Item name : BTSSB plaid jsk AuctionID / OrderID: 548981V
Charge1
Payment option: Deposit (as in, their system where you have to deposit money onto their site to bid and buy.)
① Final winning price: 5,500 Yen (this was incorrect, they later refunded me 500 yen realizing that error~)
② Commission fee: 200 円
③ Used Point(s): 0 Point (you gain points to spend, from surveys, their fb promo events, referral system, bidding, etc)
④ System usage fee ( ( ① + ② - ③ ) × 5％ ): 285 Yen
Charge1 Total ( ① + ② - ③ + ④ ): 5,985 Yen
~~~~~~~~~
( The fees below will be charged at charge 2 payment )
⑤ Domestic delivery charge: 390 Yen
⑥ Bank transfer fee: 178 Yen
⑦ Pending system usage fee of Charge1: 0 Yen
⑧ Excess charge: 0 Yen
⑨ Tax: 0 Yen
And then for the actual international shipping charges for everything...
Charge2
Payment option: PayPal
① Domestic delivery charge: 830 Yen
② Bank transfer fee: 514 Yen
③ Pending system usage fee of Charge1: 0 Yen
④ Excess charge: 0 Yen
⑤ Tax ( Charge1 ): 0 Yen
⑥ Surcharge: 0 Yen
⑦ Oversea shipping: 5,400 Yen
⑧ Insurance options: Not insured
⑨ Total ( ① ～ ⑧ ): 6,744 Yen
⑩ Used Point(s): 40 Points
⑪ System usage fee ( ( ⑨ - ⑩ ) × 5％ ): 335 Yen
Charge2 Total ( ⑨ - ⑩ + ⑪ ): 7,039 Yen
lololo I hope that didn't sound too complicated... you can read more on their system on their website, here.
So overall, my experience!
Communication: 10/10. They're pretty good with keeping in contact and answering your questions~ They usually answer within 24 hours, with the exceptions of I think maybe weekends? But either way every question they answered promptly, they were very well-spoken and courteous. Their system will send you automatic confirmations of your deposit actions, refunds, changes in bids/purchases, when they arrive at their warehouse, etc. I highly doubt there will ever be a time you'll really question where your things are at.
Pricing: 7/10. While their system seems pretty complicated at first, it's not really something I try to worry my head over. You just pay the 200 commission fee, the item cost, and if there's a system usage fee, then that, and then unless you need your items in a rush, you don't worry about the Charge 2/Shipping payments until like a month later.
The only thing that bothers me though, is how they deal with Charge 2 payment. I may be spoiled from personal shopping services hoarding my goods for months at a time, but when the Charge 2 payment is requested, they only give you -a week- to pay for it. Otherwise they will supposedly 'drop your order' entirely and probably not give you a refund in the process. I'm bothered when shopping services act like that, because first off, the item is FULLY PAID FOR, -AND- you've already paid their commission fee! I don't think it's fair at all to threaten to drop people's orders because they're not able to pay for shipping within 7 days... at least give them an option for a down payment or something.
With this particular order, it was a hassle for me after giving them the money because I didn't expect shipping to be that much, and I was sort of struggling afterwards, it being around bill-time and whatnot. But as long as you mark your calendar and prepare yourself to pay for the Charge2 payment, you should be good. That's pretty much how I'm dealing with it this time around.
Shipping: 10/10. The moment you pay for your shipping, it's on it's way out the door. You should get a confirmation within 24 hours with tracking number, and from there it's on it's way! They also give you the option of SAL, Airmail, and Surface, and Fed-Ex if you don't want to pay for EMS. Packaging-wise, my stuff came in a decent-sized box.. everything was wrapped in plastic, and cushioned with newspaper.
That's pretty much it! Aside from my personal feelings concerning the Charge2 payment, I really like this shopping service, and I'm currently using them for yet -another- order, full of cute gal stuff xD So expect a haul post from FromJapan within the next month huehuehue...
♥
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