073/ Resale Round-up no. 4
Another one of Japan's best resellers has a global website (and an eBay site) and it's a banger!
As my business partner likes to say, I feel like I’m in heat! And no, it’s not the perimenopause.
Last week, as I was sourcing a wool duffle coat for a client, I stumbled upon the eBay page of one of the best resale shops in Tokyo!
As I did some further digging, I discovered that the shop also has an easy-to-navigate global website which offers international shipping — great news because the Japanese website was a challenge to decipher. (I’m happy to report that my client received her coat promptly with no issues.)
Naturally, the reseller is in my Tokyo shopping guide, and I took some quick snapshots inside one of its brick-and-mortar stores:
Recall the two main takeaways from my Tokyo shopping guide:
Shop Japanese. You’re in Japan! Home to some of the most visionary designers of the past half-century! Issey, Yohji, Rei, Kei, Junya (and the many more you’ll discover on your own!) have outposts all over the city, both in standalone boutiques and in department stores. Track them all down as *you’ll see the broadest range of their product lines here, and (AND!) at a significant discount to what you would pay outside of Japan. I would say designers like Issey Miyake, Comme des Garçons, etc… cost almost half of what they would cost in Canada, because of the added duties and taxes, and a weak yen.* [EMPHASIS BOLDED AND ITALICIZED AND STARRED]
Shop consignment/vintage. I have never seen such quantity and quality of secondhand goods in my life. This is not hyperbole.
Essentially, both advantages of vintage shopping in Tokyo are accessible through this website, from the comfort of your homes in Edmonton, Atlanta, Hamburg, Sydney, and beyond. (I see you and love you!)
With that in mind, it makes sense that Japanese brands will be the focus of this round-up.
I want to emphasize the *BOLDED, ITALICIZED AND STARRED* pull-quote above (if I hadn’t done so enough already!), and the fact that many of the pieces you’ll see from your favourite Japanese brands probably didn’t enter the international market to begin with.
Not only that, all of the 50 Japanese Brands To Broaden Your Fashion Lexicon — even those that don’t sell overseas — can also be found.
There are just too many good things happening! Hence, being in heat.
*cries in Canadian*
I didn’t realize how heavily Japanese brands were taxed in Canada until I went to Japan and saw the domestic prices with my own eyes. Because Japanese resellers are primarily selling to the Japanese market who are used to these relatively lower prices, their resale prices, in turn, are relatively lower as well.
Have I even mentioned the shop yet?! If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, this is a great time to become one!