chibi_tenshi's shopping service!

It has been a while since I actually added a review to this blog, so I thought I would share a review for one of my favourite shopping services!

chibi_tenshi is a familiar name in the lolita community, and for a long time I've always wanted to use her--and I finally got my chance when I saw the advertisements for Misty Sky. Two months later, I used her again to purchase things from Swimmer's physical store as well as purchase something from an auction! I feel like now I have used her for the three main things most Japanese services offer and feel like I can provide an exceptionally detailed review.

Angelic Pretty Reservations

Misty Sky was obviously not as popular as some of Angelic Pretty's other prints (such as Chocolate Rosette or Dream Fantasy), so I feel like I had a relatively easy time reserving a slot for the lavender OP. She responds to her e-mails promptly within the day that you originally send a request, and is more than happy to explain smaller parts of her rules with you. She basically checks your feedback, determines if you're a reliable seller, and then requests a deposit based on that. She asked me for a $100 deposit (which is only a small portion of the full price) and takes that deposit to get reservations. If she is successful  she will charge you for the rest of the amount, with her fees and traveling fees.

The best part of her service is that if she makes a simple mistake, she rectifies it quickly and without any sort of request from your end. One example is with the Misty Sky reservation. Angelic Pretty is always a bit mysterious about when they release prints, and she originally told me it would release three weeks after I had contacted her. In the end, it actually released that next week, so when she sent me the invoice, it wasn't due until two weeks later, since that is what she promised me.

This is how a typical invoice from her looks. She breaks down everything, the costs of shipping, any kinds of discounts, etc. In this case, my discount was the deposit. The discrepancy you see here with my $100 deposit is the weakening of the dollar and her bank's fees.

Here are photos of the packaging (and unpacking)!

I love to save these cute little notes I get with my packages!

I requested that she include one of the Angelic Pretty bags she would have received with the reserves since I collect them, and she did just that for me! It was really nice of her to go out of her way to do that. ;A;

Ordering from a Physical Store

I returned to chibi_tenshi again when I wanted some things for my room from the Japanese brand Swimmer. She informed me that she was actually going to Tokyo that month to their physical store, and showed me some of the sneakers that they had just released that were really popular with her other regulars. I was super excited and gave her my top two choices, and said I'd like one pair of shoes during her trip, along with the usual things I requested. I also told her to purchase anything she finds that is alpaca themed there within a 5,000 yen limit.  (I really like alpacas.)

Upon returning from her trip to Tokyo, she sent me the final invoice for everything and I realised that she had charged me for two pairs of shoes. When I told her that I only wanted one pair, she quickly rectified it and said that she'd be happy to either still give me the other pair without any fees or only one pair. I couldn't make up my mind on which pair I wanted so I went ahead and asked for both. It was really great of her to not charge me a fee on the second pair since it was a miscommunication. I asked her if it would be okay if I paid for shipping separately, and she was happy to invoice me that way.

I was way too excited and had a complete brainfart when I received the package in the mail and did not photograph it at all. D= Everything was wrapped in cute Swimmer bags, and the things that were more delicate arrived in their original boxes and bubble wrap. Everything was packed into one giant box, it was so much fun to go through it, and because I didn't ask for any particular items when I asked for Alpaca things, it was like one big surprise!! She couldn't have picked anything better, I am in LOVE with the alpaca scarf!

I bought some cute little wooden jewelry holders for my vanity. They are very sturdy and a bit heavy, and much higher quality than I expected! They have a beautiful shabby chic feel to them.

The "Alpaca Clip" probably ended up being one of the most useful items I have right now! It's an awesome clip that holds false eye lashes in place, and it makes them curve the perfect enough to apply them right onto your eye line! I always thought they were unnecessary  but now that I've tried one I have to recommend it to everyone! Next to it is a collapsible brush and static reducer.

Bidding on mBok!

As if I couldn't ask her for more, I found a super old Angelic Pretty dress that I wanted to purchase from mBok. In the past, especially for older pieces, shopping services' bids are usually deleted because either they don't want to sell to foreigners or they think that shopping services aren't reliable buyers. I was really nervous about buying this piece and decided I'd ask chibi_tenshi, who runs the service all on her own, if she could do it for me. For bidding, she asked for a $60 deposit (the item was around 5,500 yen), and then she would just package it with the rest of my box with the Swimmer order for shipping.

I was absolutely thrilled because everything went smoothly and her bid wasn't rejected. She told me that because she is an individual using her own personal account to bid and is fluent in Japanese, they usually allow her bid.

This is how the invoice looked this time around for both my Swimmer order and mBok purchase. You can see that she added the shipping from the previous order into this one.

I wanted to compare the Angelic Pretty tags from around 2004-2006 and the newest tag! They look so different. I believe the oldest Angelic Pretty pieces don't even have tags sewn into them. The new lavender tag started with Misty Sky, correct me if I'm wrong!

I really appreciate how organised and professional she is with her service. Every invoice has a break down of her fees, she explains why certain things cost what they do, and deserves every penny for her work! I normally try to go to the cheapest shopping services for online shopping, but in-person shopping is a whole different world, and I definitely recommend going to chibi_tenshi if you want AP reservations and in-store shopping done on your behalf. She's also great if you know you're bidding on a riskier item. Bigger shopping services like Japonica Market won't be too helpful if the person in charge of the auction doesn't like selling to shopping services. (Want to know more about Japonica Market? I reviewed them here!)

Communication: 5/5 -- She is always prompt with her replies, and even though there are miscommunications when she is extremely busy, she rectifies them fairly.
Shipping: 5/5 -- The costs of her shipping are about average for EMS. She packages everything wonderfully and everything comes to you securely. This is great because most services in Japan and China use flimsy boxes that end up getting completely wrecked in transit.
Price: 3/5 -- Since she is a single person and not a huge company, she has to charge for bank transactions, the cost of travel, and other fees that end up adding up. She also can't offer a lot of the shipping discounts bigger companies do, so this is definitely a pricier route. I do think it's worth it if you want something in high demand or is only available in physical stores.

I highly recommend chibi_tenshi to anyone wanting to fill in the gaps where other shopping services fail. She is polite, friendly, and reliable! The only downside is is that she is a popular service, so get to her soon if you want a really in-demand item!

And yes, I do spend quite a lot of money on my clothes. ;A; This past year especially. This year my goal is to be more responsible with my finances and start to redirect my money into other hobbies. (Like robot building!!)