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Saturday, July 29, 2017

Haul and Review: Autumn Japonica Order July 2017 and Japonica Shopping Service Review

Hello everyone! 


I have yet another haul to share with you! This time I used the shopping service Japonica to purchase these items. I bought from Japanese sites Fril, Mercari, and Shibuya 109 net shop. This week I only bought Ank Rouge and Liz Lisa items. Last week I reviewed the shopping service Tenshi Shop so this week I wanted to write a review for Japonica and share with you a quick comparison! I will also tell you when I use Japonica and when I will use Tenshi and why. 

I hope this is helpful and that you like seeing what I've bought! Please keep reading if you would like to see all the items and read my review on Japonica.

As usual I will start with the haul. I tried to focus on things that I want to use for Autumn and also items that I want to use for larme coordinates since I am currently OBSESSED with that style! I placed my order with Japonica on July 5th 2017.  I believe I did the same thing here that I did with Tenshi where I first only ordered a few items, but as time went on I added a few more items that I found. All my items arrived to Japonica on July 16th, which is when I paid the final fees and shipping (read my review for more details about this), and my package shipped on July 19th.  Everything arrived to me a few days later on July 22nd. So from the moment that I started ordering it took 17 days to arrive to me! Again, if I didn't keep adding things to my order it probably would have taken less time ^_^;

Here are the things that I bought! I will rate them using the same scale.

Rating scale (Based on condition only):
1- Horrible condition, not usable, didn't come at all like described
2- Poor condition, will still get some use but not much, many flaws
3- Okay condition, useable, many flaws but not super noticeable
4- Great condition, will get a lot of use, a few flaws but not very noticeable
5- Excellent condition, like new or brand new, no flaws

Ank Rouge pink lace collar blouse: 
♡ Condition: 5/5 - I actually just bought this blouse from the Shibuya 109 website brand new- normally I would order from Shibuya 109 myself using Tenso as a shipping service, but I was really lazy and saw this blouse I wanted and also had this Japonica order going to I decided to add it. This blouse is so adorable and I bought it to use for himekaji and larme coordinates. 

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Ank Rouge bow short sleeved cardigan:
♡ Condition: 5/5 - I bought this cardigan from Mercari second hand but it arrived as if it were brand new! I have the long sleeved version of this cardigan in this exact color, and one more bow short sleeved cardigan in another color. I love the bow details so much whenever I see these I have to buy them!


Liz Lisa floral print pink dress:
♡ Condition: 4.5/5 - I couldn't find much wrong with this dress but I could definitely tell it was used. There were tiny spots with pilling or threads that you can tell have been through the wash, etc, but otherwise it is in perfect condition! I mainly bought this because of the color. I want to use these dusty pink items for autumn. 


Liz Lisa light pink 2 way book bag:
♡ Condition: 4.5/5 - The reason I call this a book bag is because it is so thin that only one book could fit in it if you use it for school or something. This bag is SO skinny so I can only fit my planner and laptop in it if I were using it for work. The overall bag is big in height though, its definitely taller than all my other bags (almost as tall as my tote bag). I did find some purikura left in there from the old owner which made me laugh but I don't know what to do with it since I feel bad throwing it away. 



Ank Rouge floral bordeaux dress:
♡ Condition: 4/5 - There is some visible wear by the lace up part in the front as you can see it is a little warped from being washed, but I think all this happens to everything that has a lace up part like that on the dress somewhere, so it doesn't bother me! I just have to reshape the strings a little when I put it on. Overall the color doesn't look faded and it seems to be in great condition!


Ank Rouge black lace top:
♡ Condition: 5/5 - So I really wanted to buy this top from Shibuya 109 as I saw it listed on there, but when I went to purchase it, it was only available in white and pink and not black, so I decided to look on Fril and there it was! It seems like its in perfect condition. I compared it to the white version that I bought brand new and they are exactly the same (except this one didn't come with the tag so there is not an extra button in case this one falls off but I don't mind). This is a great tip! If something is sold out on the official website (shibuya109, Tokyo Kawaii Life, etc.) you can always check second hand sites because since there is a no return policy in most Japanese stores, if someone changes their mind they will just list it on a second hand website usually for the same price brand new or lower!


Liz Lisa brown ankle boots:
♡ Condition: 3/5 - I bought these boots knowing what there were some damages on them since the seller on Fril had listed them that way. However, I think I bought them for about $13 USD so I wasn't too concerned, especially since the damages didn't seem to be that major. When they arrived it was exactly as I had expected. You can see from the second picture that there are scuffs on the heel. The shoes also seem worn from the wrinkles in the fabric as seen in the first picture. All in all I don't mind the scuffs and otherwise the boots are perfectly functioning and I got them for a great price so I am happy!


I'm pretty happy with all my items and because there were shoes and a purse this time the box was super big despite it only having like 7 items (which is still a lot I guess but last time I ordered more!) Since for my last haul I did a review for Tenshi I thought it would be helpful to do a review and a comparison for Japonica! I use both interchangeably for different reasons and I will explain why at the very end. Please keep reading if you're interested! 

Japonica Shopping Service Review:

I have used Japonica I think 3 or 4 times, so not as many as Tenshi but I think by now I am pretty familiar with how it works. So first, to place an order with Japonica you will go to their site Japonicamarket.com and choose either the shopping or auction service form. I have only used their shopping service so I will do my review solely on they shopping service and not their auction service. Once you are at the form page you will enter the URLs of the items you want to buy. You can buy items from Japanese websites (such as Tokyo Kawaii Life etc) or you can buy items from second hand apps/websites such as Fril or Mercari. Together with the URL you are required to write a description of the item and then the price. It is best to be as detailed as possible in the description and write the color and size you are expecting the item to be, because they will use this as a reference while buying. One time I didn't read the FRIL listing entirely for a purse I wanted and the seller only used a stock photo, so I thought I was buying a pink Ank Rouge bag but it turns out the seller was selling the black version and only used the pink photo as a reference, so Japonica kindly messaged me to make sure that I still wanted it since it didn't match the description I wrote! So that's why I say writing an accurate description is important.

After you write in the price you will choose add to cart and proceed adding all your items to your cart. The next step is what differs so much from Tenshi- you will have to pay for all your items ahead of time when you order. If the item you wanted is out of stock or unavailable, they will refund you. You can check out even without putting any prices on your items so that your checkout total is 0, but they will email you once you've submitted your order and make you pay before they start ordering (which just wastes time in my opinion, so just make sure to pay when you order!) I have never had any problems with refunds, and I have had to get refunded a few times.

This is the part that gets confusing with Japonica. The full explanation is on the site but its incredibly confusing, so I will break it down for you to the best of my ability. Once you "win" an item or they are able to purchase it for you, they will put "item" and then a number and then your item description in a list format (please see image below). If you see that there is "item 1" or "item 2" in your email, it means they have successfully purchased it. You will also see some numbers at the bottom ending with JPY (P), (S), and (C). These stand for item price, domestic shipping (to Japonica) and commission, respectively. And they will keep updating these three prices once they have paid the seller shipping and calculated their commission. They will also always update the subject line in their emails to you indicating how many "wins", "cancels" etc you have. 




After your item arrives at Japonica they will send you an email and you will now see "item #1" (See picture below). If there is now a # sign that means the item has arrived to their warehouse (confusing right?) Once all of your items have arrived they send you a final invoice that includes all the domestic shipping fees and paypal fees (if any), the commission fees and the cost of international shipping to you. Of course you will not have to pay for the items again since you already put the cost of the items in your deposit. It takes about a day or two for them to pack and send your order once you have paid the final invoice! 



And then you're done!

Here are my pros and cons with Japonica. I will also add some bits about Tenshi when I see fit as a comparison. 

Pros: 
♡ There seems to be multiple people working at Japonica so they are extremely fast with replying to emails and ordering your items.  Since Tenshi is only one person, she can take a little longer to reply although she usually always replies in under 24 hours. However, with Japonica I've noticed that when I order or have a question they usually reply very quickly.
♡ They have multiple shipping days. What I mean is, once you have paid and they have packed your package, they will send it right away. With Tenshi, she goes to the post maybe once a week so if your order is finished at the beginning of the week, you might still have to wait until Friday or Saturday when she ships all of her orders.
♡ They will update you as soon as an item arrives so you can constantly see progress and know if your item as arrived or if it hasn't yet. With Tenshi, she will not update you unless you ask. 

Cons:
♡ Communication is a little strange- it seems everyone there is Japanese so while they can speak english I don't find it as comfortable when talking to them vs when I am talking to Tenshi. I've never had a problem with communication but it's not as fluid and sometimes it seems you are talking to robots.
Their emails are SO confusing! As you can see from my examples everything is written out everywhere and because its not a conversation, it is hard sometimes to find what you are looking for or figuring out what is happening from just looking at their emails. However, once I've gotten used to their system it doesn't bother me as much anymore since I am really only looking to see if  my purchase was successful and if it has arrived yet.
♡ They will only old your item for 30 days for combined orders. Even though I hesitate to leave my items with Tenshi for a long time, she has held one of my items for over a month while I was waiting for a preorder item to arrive so I can ship them together. AGAIN I try and not do this often because I know she lives and works out of a small Japanese apartment, but at least the option is there if I need it to be.
♡ You  have to pay for your items upfront. Tenshi will order the items and you pay after they have arrived and she has packed them.

Wow! This review for Japonica is so long but its because their process is a little bit longer than Tenshi's. Here is why I use both services and what I use them for.

Tenshi: 
♡ I will use Tenshi when I have things that I want to ask a second hand seller on Fril or Mercari. Her communication is much more comfortable for me since and I can write as long of an explanation as I want and know that she will understand. 
♡ When I need something that is sold out online and I want to ask her to look if they have it in stores still. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think Japonica offers this service.
♡ If an item I want is a "cash upon delivery" only item, I will use Tenshi. This has only happened to me once but I wanted to preorder an item from Mille Fille (a Lodispotto sister brand) and you couldn't pay online it was "cash upon delivery" only and Tenshi happily did this for me. Again not sure if Japonica does this as well, but because of her great communication I use Tenshi for this.
♡ Please don't take this advice from me, but I have to say it. I use Tenshi when I don't exactly have the money for the items that I want right at this moment, but I know I can get it buy the time I have to pay. Since she doesn't require a deposit for her repeat clients, I don't have to pay until weeks after I order. ITS BAD. So please don't order if you don't have the means because that really sucks for her, but I'm just being honest.

Japonica:
♡ I will use Japonica mainly when there is an item on Fril or Mercari that is super popular and I know it will go fast, because as I said earlier they are SO fast when buying items for you. Even for the most popular Liz Lisa items they were able to get them for me since they have multiple people checking emails and orders.

If none of the above applies, its pretty much random what shopping service I choose to use, but if any of those circumstances are present I will use the appropriate service. I didn't compare their fees because I usually order a lot of items and the fees are about the same, and since I usually have a motive for using one or the other, the fees are inevitable anyway, 

Wow okay this post was way too long but I really hope there is some useful information there for you! Hopefully you enjoyed my haul and my long ass review of Japonica and also my comparison!

Until next time! Thank you for reading ♡ 

 Saki ♡ 

4 comments :

  1. Thanks for comparing the two SSs! It would be great to see you wearing/using the items too!

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    1. I was thinking I wanted to start including try ons! I just bought a camera so hopefully now I can do it! My phone memory is so low atm and plus Im unsatisfied with the quality so I'm excited to take more photos once my camera arrives!

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  2. Your review is really good! I like how you compared both shopping services and said for what you are using them! (^-^)/
    And I really adore the floral print pink dress! You will look great in it ♥

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    1. Thank you so much! I am glad you liked my review! Next time I will take pics of me wearing the items ! :)

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