The price of everything seems to have gone up making it harder to justify getting that new dress. In this blog, I’ll talk about some of my favorite tips on how I get great deals on my J-Fashion clothes!
- Shop a least one season ahead
An age-old adage, it bears repeating, especially in regards to the secondhand J-Fashion market. Typically, I’m able to get such great deals because I’m buying at LEAST one season ahead.
The reasoning is that most people are focused on the current season. This is very true with J-Fashion as most women clean their wardrobe out of older pieces so they can have space for the latest trends. This means you can get those pieces for a steal. In addition, most people tend to sell their seasonal pieces after that season is over. Take for example Liz Lisa’s “Holiday Street” which is a Christmas-themed print. Who wants a Christmas dress in the summer? No one really since it can’t be worn for several months. That means that summer is your best chance of finding it and getting a great deal.
Seasonal items like coats, themed prints, and sweaters, usually are at their best prices at the end of the season they’re intended for. Currently, I’m focused on shopping for Halloween, and then once we get deeper into summer I’ll focus on Christmas. This also helps me focus on staying away from trendy impulse buys and focusing on pieces I really love!
- Wait until the weekend to buy
On the secondhand market, a lot of sellers will sometimes reduce their prices or offer discounts over a weekend, and typically, especially during a holiday weekend. I like to wait until Thursday/Friday/Saturday to buy for this reason. Sometimes I can scoop up a piece I really wanted for an even better price.
It should go without saying that if it’s a dream item, you should probably just purchase it outright. The reason they mark it down over the weekend is to get more eyes on it in the hope it’ll sell.
- Identify sales periods in Japan
It’s important to remember that Japan and the West are very different. One major difference between the two is the holidays. While our big sales periods here are ‘Black Friday’, Memorial Day, and even President’s Day, Japan does not have those holidays. Instead, they have their own big sales based around their holidays.
One good example of this is Golden Week which is usually April 29th until around May 3-6. It’s a collection of national holidays and typically when they have the best sales. I recommend taking note of these sales periods and keeping them in mind, it’s a great way to save some money!
- Take on a wounded bird
One way to save some money is by investing your time into a piece instead.
There are plenty of ‘wounded birds’ or pieces that are damaged in some shape/form and in need of repair. They’re usually sold at a good discount to account for the damage, so it’s a great way to save some money.
When you’re taking on a project like this, be sure you know what you’re doing. If you bite off more than you can chew you might have to take the piece to someone more experienced which can end up costing just as much in the end.
- Be on the lookout for coupons
It’s not spoken about very often, but shopping services do indeed have coupons. In fact, most shopping services have some kind of loyalty program/coupon in place. For Buyee, they almost always have the 5,000 yen off of international shipping fees when you make your first purchase. For From Japan, they give you a few coupons when you first sign up. Even my personal shopper has a frequent customer card that saves me 1,000 yen for every 5,000 I spend above a certain amount.
Here are some example coupons.
I always recommend really understanding the shopping service you’re using, and this is no exception! Take some time to look around their sites, they usually advertise all of their coupons on one specific page. Never be afraid to click around, you never know what kind of deal you’ll find!
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