First order with DEJAPAN: good but a tad confusing

Because I had been really satisfied with using From Japan to order from Fril & other shops and Japonica Market to order mostly from Mercari, I hadn't been drawn to try other proxy services in a long time.

A month ago, while I was cleaning up my bookmarks, I came across DEJAPAN, a proxy service I had bookmarked once but had since forgotten about. I noticed the mention "0% commission" and thought about giving it a try. I had recently made an order with From Japan and thought it was a bit expensive, despite it being cheaper than most other proxies IMO. I did check if the website was legit, which seemed to be by the positive reviews on YouTube and Reddit.

Of course, because of my unforgettable experience with ZenMarket, I had to ask DEJAPAN the question before ordering anything through them:

"Can you buy from marketplaces such as Fril, Mercari, Shoppies, etc.?"

Here is the answer:

Following their answer, I bought two pairs of mary jane pumps from Amavel (first purchase from their website!) and one Lodispotto OP from Fril. I'll show them first then talk about my experience with DEJAPAN.

Clothing

Amavel pumps in black and beige (size M)

I've been wanting mary jane pumps from the time I started to buy jfashion... which is circa 2016. I had actually bought a pair on eBay from a Chinese seller back in fall 2017, but one of the shoes had arrived with a glue stain on the heel and plus, they were too big (my mistake though because I had ordered a size 7). But anyway, I never wore the shoes more than two times and I was disappointed with this purchase.

Since then I had resumed my search for mary jane pumps on various websites (including non-Japanese websites), but I never liked a pair to the point of buying it. When I saw the mary janes on Amavel, I thought they looked nice and didn't see anything wrong with them. I decided to first buy them in black, size M (23~23.5 cm). According to previous purchases of shoes online, a size 7 US is too big, a size 36 (23 cm) for Bobon21 shoes fit me, and a size M (23.5 cm) for Liz Lisa shoes fit me. I based myself on these observations to choose my size for the Amavel shoes.

I was a bit scared to be disappointed with the fit or the look in real life (as opposed to the website's stock pictures and one try on pic with the shoes in beige), but let's say I took a chance. And I'm very glad I did.

The shoes look amazing. There's nothing I dislike about them aesthetically and I'm usually really picky. As for the fit, they were a bit loose at the back (even when wearing white cotton socks), but I put soles in them and they fit much better now.

As you can see on the picture, you attach the strap by buttoning it which is different from the Bobon21 & Liz Lisa shoes I already have. I was first worried the strap would easily unbutton this way, but in reality, it feels pretty securely attached. Moreover, the shoes are easier to put on and take off like this.

Three days later, I decided to buy the same shoes but in beige. I always wanted a nude pair of shoes because they elongate the legs. I had actually almost bought them at the same time I had bought the black ones, but had decided not to because I felt it was too much spending. After thinking about them for three days, I believed purchasing them was in fact justified; lol.

Nothing negative to say about them either. If I really have to complain about something, it's probably the shoebox that is quite ugly and plain looking. I expected it to look nicer. But the most important is that it successfully protected the shoes from being crushed.

Both pair of shoes were almost out of stock when I saw them on the website. I actually bought the two last M size pairs there were in black and beige, so I am quite thankful to my instincts for prompting me to buy them at that moment...

Lodispotto red mesh pattern OP

This OP caught my eye when I bought another Lodispotto OP from the same seller back in March. Because I was really satisfied with my purchase, I decided to "go" back and buy this dress. I wouldn't say it's an exceptionally splendid piece on its own (I'm not fond of the hem), but I liked the mesh pattern and the red colour, furthermore the price was affordable.

I was again not disappointed with my purchase from this seller. The condition of the dress is excellent and the fit is great. I've actually been loving it more every time I see it. The pattern reminds me of a berry mix during autumn (even though there are no berries, only flowers). I'm just disappointed for discovering this seller now only (she had other cute and affordable pieces, but they were already sold out by the moment I first bought from her shop.)

My experience with DEJAPAN

My experience was very positive. Everything arrived securely packed and without any damage. Here are pros & cons I personally found. They are rather individual; a disadvantage might not be one for you.

Pros

• 0% commission (and no hidden fees found);
• Relatively fast and friendly service. I asked them a couple of questions through their Contact Us form because I had uncertainties about my order and couldn't find the answers on their FAQ. They always got back to me quickly and even put smileys and exclamation marks in their speech.

Cons

• The items you bought do not have links leading to the item's page on the platform (this is more of an ergonomic remark);
• Consolidation fees aren't a fixed price (100 yen/item so it becomes quite expensive if you buy for e.g. 10+ items from different sellers—although still cheaper than ordering From Japan and pay the 300 yen/item commission);
• Checking out is not clear for this part:
  
  It tells you "Consolidation + Inspection + Insurance Plan" is "free" when it actually isn't (see above point form). This is odd.
  Moreover, the box is already ticked! This is confusing because you think this is the default (and free) option when it actually isn't: if you don't uncheck this box, DEJAPAN automatically assumes the item(s) you ordered will be consolidated with other items. So you will have to pay consolidation fees even if you ordered one item only because you kept this box ticked.
  I get you just gotta uncheck the box, but for a first time or an infrequent user, you can definitely select the wrong option.
• Ordering from Mercari seems a bit complicated (500 yen handling fee and I'm not sure what does "order[ing] [...] in a roundabout way" look like, but the method doesn't appear fast and efficient. I'm thinking about Japonica Market and I am always impressed at how fast they buy the item(s) once I ordered them.

Of course, the cons are nothing serious and the 0% commission overtakes them by far.

So does that mean...

I will use DEJAPAN again? 
Absolutely! I've already ordered through them to buy two mille fille closet sweaters* last week.

I will always use DEJAPAN from now on?
No.

• If I order from Fril & other shops (e.g. Lodispotto, TKL, etc.), I'll use DEJAPAN because it's 0% commission and more advantageous. I'm not sure if this would work, but I could order all the items from each shop separately (and have multiple parcels—one Lodispotto parcel, one TKL parcel, etc.) to avoid paying consolidation fees. This just came up in my head though and I'm not convinced it would actually be profitable.
• If I order from Mercari, it depends; both DEJAPAN and Japonica Market charge a 500 yen fee per item (well, for JP, only if the item price is between 1~2500 yen). However, consolidation is free with JP while DEJAPAN charges 100 yen/item consolidated (so it can go up pretty fast, and don't forget the 500 yen handling fee from earlier).
  So I guess this is a case by case situation. I'll choose the proxy depending on the price of the item(s) (because this will influence JP's commission) and how many items I buy from Mercari (because this will influence DEJAPAN's handling and consolidation fees).

And whether I'll ever order again with From Japan, I don't know for now... I've never had a bad experience with them, but the 0% commission at DEJAPAN is just amazing. To be continued...

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*July 12nd 2019: I thought I should make an update here to give more info about the consolidation plan at DEJAPAN. It's quite particular IMO and I need to record this info somewhere.

A couple of days ago, I made my 2nd payment for the shipping of the mille fille closet sweaters I told you I had ordered with DEJAPAN. I ordered both in the same order (cuz I was buying from the same shop) and at the same time.

The 2nd payment amounted to 2340 yen, which included international shipping (Surface Mail) and domestic shipping: 1800 yen + 540 yen = 2340 yen. As I had expected, I wasn't charged any consolidation fees; I had made only one order after all, what was there to consolidate?

But when I went to check my order details, I was perplexed:

It says the Combination Price is 200 yen

(BTW I find "Combination Price" confusing cuz they usually call it "Consolidation",

so I wasn't sure if we were talking about the consolidation plan here [but yes]).

I was surprised because I thought I didn't have consolidation fees to pay and also surprised to not have been charged these fees (even though it seems I should have been).

I sent a message to DEJAPAN to clarify the situation. The first two questions concern my order, while the third question is just a fictive case I made up:

Their answer:

OK, maybe I did leave the box ticked. I, however, thought I had unticked it, but anyway**. I got my answer. Still don't know why I wasn't charged that 200 yen consolidation fee though...

I sent them another message just to confirm I had understood their answer well:

And their answer, which was very interesting:

What I retain from this conversation:

1. If I make one order comprising of two items (i.e. bought at the same time and from the same shop/seller), I still have to pay consolidation fees (2 x 100 yen) if I want the two items to be shipped in one parcel. That is if I leave the consolidation plan box ticked.

I admit I find this a little strange since I don't know how much work there needs to consolidate two items that, I suppose, already arrived together. But it is said that they are "trying to negotiate" to charge the fees per parcel instead of per item. I find this more reasonable.

2. The hack described in DEJAPAN's last message is what I actually tried to do when ordering the mille fille closet sweaters. Well, it seems I semi-failed because I was told I had left the box ticked for the consolidation plan... but! ...I didn't pay consolidation fees and still got my two items shipped in one parcel. Maybe there was a mistake, I don't know.

Anyhow, the functioning of DEJAPAN's consolidation plan is pretty vague. Honestly, I think they should make it clearer on their Consolidation info page because it is not very detailed.


**July 18th 2019: While cleaning my Images folder, I came across this screenshot I had taken the time I had ordered, and in fact, I had not ticked that box...!