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yehet-sebooty-ohorat · 8 years ago

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Buying Kpop Merch Tips from me

A small disclaimer from me first. This is just what I typically use. I know where are lots of other places you can order things from (like korean mall and kmall24) but I thought I would give some tips since a few people have asked me in the past few days

Also I will try to include as much information as possible but I may forget things. If you have questions you can send me an ask and I can try to answer them

Long post ahead

Places to buy from online(excluding ebay and Facebook):

Asia based: (these are in order of how much I use them)

Ktown4U

http://ktown4u.com

This will require you to make a login but don't worry about it

They carry pretty much all artists and almost all of their discography. Often they will sell tour goods as well

Is mainly just Kpop no drama stuff

Shipping is charged by weight and size

When you are checking out there are like 10 shipping options. Don't be too nervous about the cheapest one saying “untraceable” and “20-40″ days. I have found that they are very reliable and your package often comes much sooner than that.

Also sells some cosmetic stuff

Im pretty sure sales count for the Hantaeo/ gaon charts

Has fairly good customer service that gets back to you in a couple days at most if needed

Doesn't really save your cart but idk maybe I'm doing it wrong

Credit card or papal checkout

Mwave Shop

http://mwaveshop.interest.me

requires you to make a login

Primarily for Meet & Greet -> you can get signed albums from artists that are absolutely genuine because meet runs it. They also usually do a live stream. For every album you buy from an artist before a stream too you get a tile and have the chance to win special photo cards

It can take a long time to prepare the signed copies because of artist schedule and shipping can take a bit too

It is a bit hard to navigate to see shipping announcements. I usually get the email that it has shipped before it actually does.

Reliable

KpopTown

http://kpoptown.com

Requires that you make a login

Carries pretty much everything including ost (but not DVDs)

Will usually offer packages of all posters or album versions just before or shortly after an album is released

Confirmed counting on the Hanteo/ gaon charts

Sells accessories, jewelry, cosmetics, food, and fashion as well

Will often have signed albums for sale as well as cheap posters.

Album prices are low but you also have to pay shipping which is weight based. For them whey have teirs so you have to be careful, like a poster could change shipping from $7 to $25 really quick depending on the other goods you are purchasing

Sells SUM goods usually

In my experience their shipping was relatively fast

Credit card, paypal , western union

CDJapan

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp

You can checkout without an account by using paypal but then you can't use discounts or gain points

Focused on J-pop and ships from Japan

Does sell Kpop stuff too

Prices are relatively cheep as is shipping

Shipping time is a tossup because of customs. For Coming Over for example I got my albums in about 10 days but my friend got hers in 20 or so.

Don’t worry about untraceable shipping it is trustworthy

The user interface is a bit wonky but its functional

YesAsia

For US buyers - http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/home.html (they have a different site for different places around the world)

Requires that you make a login

Has Korean, Chinese, and Japanese stuff

Free shipping over $40

Has a wide variety of albums, merch, and Dvds

Has some tour stuff but its hard to tell if it is still in stock.

Prices are higher than other Asian based sellers but you can get free shipping fairly easily

Has some SUM goods and things like that

Are kind of slow in checking stock and restocking when necessary.

Ships relatively fast

Be careful when ordering DVDs and stuff that you check the region code on them and make sure you will be able to actually play the disc

KpopMart

https://kpopmart.com

requires that you create a login

Searching is a bit weird and using the menus is often better than the search bar

albums, some goods, drama stuff, cosmetic stuff, clothing items, accessories, J-pop

Pricing is low but not super

Shipping fees are sorta high and they only have 2 shipping options

I have heard they are kind of slow but still reliable

Most people prefer kpoptown over kpopmart

CatchopCD

https://www.catchopcd.net/en/

Requires that you make an account to order

As far as I can tell they do not do preorder stuff

Shipping is done by weight and they tell you that and how much weight you have. It is a little expensive.

Pricing for albums is relatively low

Only really sells music no goods or accessories.

US based (includes not online that I have been to):

Music Plaza ( online and physical)

http://www.music-plaza.com

Requires that you make an account to purchase online

Allows tracking and such. Charges US domestic shipping fees.

They carry pretty much all albums, allow pre-order, and have some goods and magazines

They are located on Korea Town Los Angeles and I went there while I took a trip for the EXO’luXion. The store is kind of small but the amount of merch is not it is full to the brim.

Customer service is absolutely amazing. Missing a photo card? Need help with something else? They respond quickly and resolve your problem quickly.

Always includes an extra gift with purchase

Prices are more expensive than ordering from Korea due to the items being shipped over

They don't remove out of stock items from their site so you have to check.

Often will make bundles of all versions or posters of an album

Kpop Shop of Chicago - Chicago (physical only)

This store was very nice. Full of official and unofficial goods and a great atmosphere really.

If you are in Chicago it is located in Chinatown

Reliable and fair pricing

Albums, manmade goods, official goods, wall scrolls, shirts, etc

A bit unpredictable in open times

Very nice staff

Koryo Books - NYC (physical only)

They are actually a bookstore in Korea town in manhattan.

They have a little section of the store where they are stocked with the albums for most Kpop groups.

posters, some unofficial merch, and some magazines and newspapers.

Very nice people.

What I buy where typically

Typically I will shop around for albums to find what works best and ends up being cheapest. Recently I have been ordering most of my albums and stuff from Ktown4U and most accessories from eBay.

Keep an eye out for group orders too (typically Facebook or twitter) . Often they are good ways to get merch that you would not otherwise be able to get.

If I am in a major city I always make sure to visit a kpop store if they have one because I love the atmosphere and kpop is playing and people there love the same things as you and its so great to pick up albums yourself and hold them all.

Ebay tips

Ok first : eBay is the land of fanmade goods.

While this is true you can still buy albums and stuff off here as well as goods and expect them to be official.

The majority of fan-made goods are going to be clothing and plush stuff. Albums are almost always genuine as are posters and photo cards.

I would say though that you still need to be careful. Always check seller descriptions to make sure they aren't fan-made and to be sure that if you order clothing you will get the right size.

READING SELLER DESCRIPTIONS IS A MUST

if they don't have a good one they become less trustworthy

If you are buying signed goods that is when it is more tricky. There is really no way to tell for sure if something in genuine but if the seller got it from the Mwave meet and greet or something like that you can probably safely assume it is genuine.

Shipping

Typically shipping will only be free if you are buying from the country you reside in. Really you need to decide for yourself if extra shipping cost is going to be worth it or not.

Also if you are shipping from a seller in Asia and you are not in Asia it will still take 1-5 weeks (depending on method though usually about 2) for it to get to you

Facebook tips

For photo cards and such I find that Facebook groups are one of the best places to look. Typically you will get people selling or trading just about anything you could want and it is a good way to fill in your collection.

Be aware that some people do scam on Facebook, especially since there is no garuntee because Facebook is not a site typically used for selling goods. Really the best thing you can do id pay attention to what other people are saying. If someone says someone is trustworthy they usually are and if someone says to stay away from a certain person then you should probably do that as well

Amazon Tips

I don't use amazon like at all because things can be more expensive there than they need to be. It is still a good source though but like I said, usually unnecessarily expensive

Photo card tips

Photo cards are really exciting things to buy and trade but you have to be careful because fan-made cards are also relatively common

1. Know exactly what the official ones look like both front and back. Really if the card doesn't even look official then its not. Be aware though that photo cards do not only come in albums. There are often tour photo cards as well as ones for other goods that an artist may endorse

2. Search around a bit

Really you should never pay more than $15 for a photo card (unless it has a special circumstance like the ver A of EXO MAMA photo cards because those are limited and could go for more). Typically you should be able to buy one for about $7-12

The best places for doing this are ebay (just boring) and Facebook groups (buy and trade). If you happen to live near a kpop store you can also usually trade there with other people. Many stores will offer places to trade.

Poster tips

For me I have found that it is best to just pay $2-3 extra when buying an album to get an unfolded poster as well. It is much cheeper than buying a poster on its own later on.

KpopTown will sell posters for $0-2 a lot but you still have to pay shipping and often people on the internet will sell for $8-$20 depending on the poster.

Tour posters will either have to be purchased at actual concerts or searched for on eBay and Facebook and are typically acquired for the largest amount of money.

Shipping price tips

Really shipping comes down to your preference.

If you are shopping from Asia shipping is something that will be paid. There are many teirs of shipping, typically tracking EMS is the most expensive but also the fastest.

If you don't have the money though don't worry about getting the cheapest shipping option, even if it says untraceable. A lot of times you can ask the seller and they can help you if you have questions, though a lot of times they cannot take responsibility for mail getting lost.

For SUM merch and stuff like that

KpopTown definitely is most likely to have it. It will usually be kind of expensive though but still around the price it would be sold for in the actually Coex Arutm or SUM shop or company specific store.

Ktown4U will sometimes have things though they have very limited quantities and often sell out quickly.

eBay is also a good place to check. If you are searching here make sure you know keywords and exact names for goods like “Lotto Postcard Set” or “EXO Melody Fairy Badge” and make sure you try multiple searches because you never know what sellers will name things.

Yep thats all I can think of right now. Like I said if you have any questions my ask box is open and I can try to answer them.

Hope this is helpful!

- Alicia (Sehun trash and certified merch hoe)

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