Review: Online Kpop stores
Annyeong ^^
Here you can find my reviews on the different kpop shops I've bought from :) If there's any questions just ask ^^
Please note that I have only paid for the cheapest shipping which is Standard Shipping (almost all Korean stores), Registered Airmail (Soompi) and SAL (for CDJapan) unless stated otherwise in the individual posts.
YesAsia
YesAsia was the first place I bought my Kpop albums. I was drawn by the buy for over $39 and get free shipping. I didn't realise that they have overpriced albums instead. The shipping for me started slow but then got faster and faster. I think I get it after a week nowadays. YesAsia do have some great deals. Like their sales are really awesome and they also have deals for Japanese CDs which is buy two (I think) and get a free mini toy (my sister loves them x).
I don't buy there that often anymore, but I usually do compare the album I'm about to buy so that I know where I can get it for the cheapest price. I advice you to not buy anything from here if you're going to buy less than $39. I checked how much it would cost to buy only a passport case (which where like $4 or something) and the shipping cost was about twice or thrice the double of the passport case's price. YesAsia ships their posters and albums separately which means you can get them at different times. But otherwise the packaging is pretty satisfying. If I remember correctly the albums comes in boxes where you get those white little annoying thingies that you use when your packaging something really fragile.
But I do like YesAsia on twitter :) They've answered me when I tweeted them nonsense xD They even tweeted me happy birthday once ^^
Shipping time to Sweden: Unconsistent
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 4/5
Deals
Free Shipping for orders over $39: 3/5
Free Japan Minis: 3/5
Autographed albums: 3/5 (I think all of their autographs are printed because mine was)
Kpopmart
I love this store. Because of all the freebies you get. If you preorder and order unfolded poster you'll get the poster without charge (well, the shipping cost but the poster doesn't) and very often they throw in mini photos. I even got a free poster once even though I didn't order it. Their albums are the cheapest ones I can find. The shipping can be a bit high but I haven't had a shipping that has been higher than the amount of albums or stuff I've bought. They are really sweet when they've shipped your order because they send you a picture of your package so you see how it looks like. Both inside and outside :) I took me a while to find it though xD The shipping time is usually around five working days for me.
I just recently ordered a autographed album from them. I liked the fact that I could choose EMS and get it for free (EMS is usually super expensive). They did state that it wasn't as new and so, so I wasn't that surprised that the album wasn't perfect. But I'm really happy with the album. I like the autographs (they're perfectly fine) and since it is a digital single and isn't available to buy anywhere I was really happy that I could buy it from Kpopmart.
They have their tumblrs which is super good. They update on new arrivals and answer people's questions.
I've only had two problems with them. First one of my orders returned to them and I had to pay the shipping fee again. And secondly my latest package took almost three weeks to turn up (I was super scared it would return to them and make me pay the shipping fees again). But they've been super nice. I sent them an email about my late package and they told me that it probably was because of the holidays (which turned out to be true since all my other mail turned up late).
Do note that they only sell official merchandise.
What I like about Kpopmart is that they ship their poster and album in the same box. The posters still come in cardboard tubes but inside the box where the albums is in. They tape the albums to the box so it won't fly around which is good. What I don't like is that they don't always use the right length for the posters so it's not always that the posters comes in great condition.
Shipping time to Sweden: Around 5~10 days
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 4/5
Deals
Freebies: 4/5
Low Price: 4/5
Free poster: 4/5
Kpoptown
As for Kpoptown I'm a bit negative since my last order. It takes them the longest time to actually ship the order out. The prices are around the same price as Kpopmart but their shipping fees is a bit cheaper than Kpopmart.
As for the unofficial merchandise I find it pretty good. I do like it that there is a shop that you can trust that will get you merchandise of your favourite group (although they don't have any LEDApple or MYNAME merchandise T_T). The shipping time is around the same time as Kpopmart. I think the longest is a week. As for the packaging I'm not really satisfied. I think that some of my things has come in a box with those white little annoying thingies. But the latest order came in bubble wrap bags which I don't really like.
Shipping time to Sweden: 1~2 weeks
Packaging: 3/5
Custom Service: ~
Deals (I'm not really sure about their deals)
Freebies: 3/5
CDJapan
I love this site. Although they have mostly Japanese CD's they do have some Korean CD's. What I love about this site is that they have DGNA's Japanese single's. They do also do sales sometimes. I bought both Love Letters and Polar Star for a low price. And you get points that you can use as money.
Their shipping is pretty pricey so I use SAL which is their cheapest one and takes about two weeks to arrive. It's the best site to buy Japanese albums from ^^ (YesAsia is so super expensive with their Japanese albums T_T).
As for the packaging it's really satisfying. All my packages have come in a box. The posters that I've gotten from there (first press edition which means that I didn't pay for the poster but for the shipping) was in the box and in a really thin cardboard tube.
CDJapan has probably the best custom service out of all sites I've been ordering from. If your package get lost they'll help you by all means and if you have some problems with orders and special deals they'll definitely help you.
Another thing I like about CDJapan is that they have a service called Special Request Shopping Service where you can ask them to order stuff that ain't available on their site. Although it get's a bit more expensive (because of service fee and EMS shipping) it's really great if you want things that is only available in Japan. For example MYNAME merchandise. I order their Photography album through this service but since it was out of print they offered me their newest Photo album instead. That's GREAT service!
Shipping time to Sweden: 2 weeks
Packaging: 5/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
Sales: 5/5
External Bonus with First Press: 5/5
Frequent Shopper Points: 5/5
Special Request Shopping Service: 4/5
Soompi
I've ordered from Soompi four times. First time I ordered Super Junior's Sexy, Free and Single and it said that you couldn't change your mind after ordering. But I did change my mind and asked if I could cancel my order and they did.
My second time was ordering LEDApple's autographed mini album Run To You. The price was really great for being an autographed album. Although it took some time to ship it out (I ordered it in the middle of the holidays) it went super fast shipping it. Three working days took it. The packaging could be better. Because it was one of those bubble wrap bags that I don't like. But the shipping fee was pretty decent.
The third time I ordered is my FT Island Five Treasure Box with autographs. I ordered one and asked for a Seunghyun autograph (because it said that there would only be one autograph and you could ask for a member sign although it might not come true) but it came with all members autographs ^^.
Fourth time contained Seo Inguk's newest album With Laughter or With Tears autographed which I've been waiting for to happen for a long time ^^
I think they are really nice at answering questions and helping out if there is something.
Shipping time to Sweden: 3~7 days
Packaging: 3/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
Autographed albums: 5/5
Kpoppreorders
There will be a review here when I've recieved my autographed MYNAME album ;)
Shipping time to Sweden:
Packaging:
Custom Service:
Deals
Kpopshopper
There will be a review here when I've recieved my autographed B1A4 album ;)
Shipping time to Sweden:
Packaging:
Custom Service:
Deals
Kpop-fashion
This shop is where I bought my MYNAME pillow case from. Marta also does t-shirts, slogans etc. and does it all by herself. I just requested a pillow case and got super fast three designs to choose from if I liked them (which I did). And then it took like a day or two for her to make it. Then I got to send the money in my own currency which meant no unnecessary currency exchange.
The shipping was pretty fast! 3 working days took it.
Shipping time to Sweden: 3 days
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
I think this is it ^^ If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask them beacuse I will try to do my best helping. I do want to give some advice already. Create accounts on the sites (that's the way to get the most accurate shipping fees) and add the same albums to your carts and compare how much the sum in the end becomes.
Don't stick to one site. Sometimes you can get a better price somewhere else so do compare them all the time. Don't think about which site you prefer (well, if the site delivers damaged goods or always get your orders returned then you shouldn't buy from them xD) but look at which one is cheaper because if you want to buy more albums you have more money over to buy and that way you help your favourite artists more.
I hope it helped :)
Here you can find my reviews on the different kpop shops I've bought from :) If there's any questions just ask ^^
Please note that I have only paid for the cheapest shipping which is Standard Shipping (almost all Korean stores), Registered Airmail (Soompi) and SAL (for CDJapan) unless stated otherwise in the individual posts.
YesAsia
YesAsia was the first place I bought my Kpop albums. I was drawn by the buy for over $39 and get free shipping. I didn't realise that they have overpriced albums instead. The shipping for me started slow but then got faster and faster. I think I get it after a week nowadays. YesAsia do have some great deals. Like their sales are really awesome and they also have deals for Japanese CDs which is buy two (I think) and get a free mini toy (my sister loves them x).
I don't buy there that often anymore, but I usually do compare the album I'm about to buy so that I know where I can get it for the cheapest price. I advice you to not buy anything from here if you're going to buy less than $39. I checked how much it would cost to buy only a passport case (which where like $4 or something) and the shipping cost was about twice or thrice the double of the passport case's price. YesAsia ships their posters and albums separately which means you can get them at different times. But otherwise the packaging is pretty satisfying. If I remember correctly the albums comes in boxes where you get those white little annoying thingies that you use when your packaging something really fragile.
But I do like YesAsia on twitter :) They've answered me when I tweeted them nonsense xD They even tweeted me happy birthday once ^^
Shipping time to Sweden: Unconsistent
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 4/5
Deals
Free Shipping for orders over $39: 3/5
Free Japan Minis: 3/5
Autographed albums: 3/5 (I think all of their autographs are printed because mine was)
Kpopmart
I love this store. Because of all the freebies you get. If you preorder and order unfolded poster you'll get the poster without charge (well, the shipping cost but the poster doesn't) and very often they throw in mini photos. I even got a free poster once even though I didn't order it. Their albums are the cheapest ones I can find. The shipping can be a bit high but I haven't had a shipping that has been higher than the amount of albums or stuff I've bought. They are really sweet when they've shipped your order because they send you a picture of your package so you see how it looks like. Both inside and outside :) I took me a while to find it though xD The shipping time is usually around five working days for me.
I just recently ordered a autographed album from them. I liked the fact that I could choose EMS and get it for free (EMS is usually super expensive). They did state that it wasn't as new and so, so I wasn't that surprised that the album wasn't perfect. But I'm really happy with the album. I like the autographs (they're perfectly fine) and since it is a digital single and isn't available to buy anywhere I was really happy that I could buy it from Kpopmart.
They have their tumblrs which is super good. They update on new arrivals and answer people's questions.
I've only had two problems with them. First one of my orders returned to them and I had to pay the shipping fee again. And secondly my latest package took almost three weeks to turn up (I was super scared it would return to them and make me pay the shipping fees again). But they've been super nice. I sent them an email about my late package and they told me that it probably was because of the holidays (which turned out to be true since all my other mail turned up late).
Do note that they only sell official merchandise.
What I like about Kpopmart is that they ship their poster and album in the same box. The posters still come in cardboard tubes but inside the box where the albums is in. They tape the albums to the box so it won't fly around which is good. What I don't like is that they don't always use the right length for the posters so it's not always that the posters comes in great condition.
Shipping time to Sweden: Around 5~10 days
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 4/5
Deals
Freebies: 4/5
Low Price: 4/5
Free poster: 4/5
Kpoptown
As for Kpoptown I'm a bit negative since my last order. It takes them the longest time to actually ship the order out. The prices are around the same price as Kpopmart but their shipping fees is a bit cheaper than Kpopmart.
As for the unofficial merchandise I find it pretty good. I do like it that there is a shop that you can trust that will get you merchandise of your favourite group (although they don't have any LEDApple or MYNAME merchandise T_T). The shipping time is around the same time as Kpopmart. I think the longest is a week. As for the packaging I'm not really satisfied. I think that some of my things has come in a box with those white little annoying thingies. But the latest order came in bubble wrap bags which I don't really like.
Shipping time to Sweden: 1~2 weeks
Packaging: 3/5
Custom Service: ~
Deals (I'm not really sure about their deals)
Freebies: 3/5
CDJapan
I love this site. Although they have mostly Japanese CD's they do have some Korean CD's. What I love about this site is that they have DGNA's Japanese single's. They do also do sales sometimes. I bought both Love Letters and Polar Star for a low price. And you get points that you can use as money.
Their shipping is pretty pricey so I use SAL which is their cheapest one and takes about two weeks to arrive. It's the best site to buy Japanese albums from ^^ (YesAsia is so super expensive with their Japanese albums T_T).
As for the packaging it's really satisfying. All my packages have come in a box. The posters that I've gotten from there (first press edition which means that I didn't pay for the poster but for the shipping) was in the box and in a really thin cardboard tube.
CDJapan has probably the best custom service out of all sites I've been ordering from. If your package get lost they'll help you by all means and if you have some problems with orders and special deals they'll definitely help you.
Another thing I like about CDJapan is that they have a service called Special Request Shopping Service where you can ask them to order stuff that ain't available on their site. Although it get's a bit more expensive (because of service fee and EMS shipping) it's really great if you want things that is only available in Japan. For example MYNAME merchandise. I order their Photography album through this service but since it was out of print they offered me their newest Photo album instead. That's GREAT service!
Shipping time to Sweden: 2 weeks
Packaging: 5/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
Sales: 5/5
External Bonus with First Press: 5/5
Frequent Shopper Points: 5/5
Special Request Shopping Service: 4/5
Soompi
I've ordered from Soompi four times. First time I ordered Super Junior's Sexy, Free and Single and it said that you couldn't change your mind after ordering. But I did change my mind and asked if I could cancel my order and they did.
My second time was ordering LEDApple's autographed mini album Run To You. The price was really great for being an autographed album. Although it took some time to ship it out (I ordered it in the middle of the holidays) it went super fast shipping it. Three working days took it. The packaging could be better. Because it was one of those bubble wrap bags that I don't like. But the shipping fee was pretty decent.
The third time I ordered is my FT Island Five Treasure Box with autographs. I ordered one and asked for a Seunghyun autograph (because it said that there would only be one autograph and you could ask for a member sign although it might not come true) but it came with all members autographs ^^.
Fourth time contained Seo Inguk's newest album With Laughter or With Tears autographed which I've been waiting for to happen for a long time ^^
I think they are really nice at answering questions and helping out if there is something.
Shipping time to Sweden: 3~7 days
Packaging: 3/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
Autographed albums: 5/5
Kpoppreorders
There will be a review here when I've recieved my autographed MYNAME album ;)
Shipping time to Sweden:
Packaging:
Custom Service:
Deals
Kpopshopper
There will be a review here when I've recieved my autographed B1A4 album ;)
Shipping time to Sweden:
Packaging:
Custom Service:
Deals
Kpop-fashion
This shop is where I bought my MYNAME pillow case from. Marta also does t-shirts, slogans etc. and does it all by herself. I just requested a pillow case and got super fast three designs to choose from if I liked them (which I did). And then it took like a day or two for her to make it. Then I got to send the money in my own currency which meant no unnecessary currency exchange.
The shipping was pretty fast! 3 working days took it.
Shipping time to Sweden: 3 days
Packaging: 4/5
Custom Service: 5/5
Deals
I think this is it ^^ If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask them beacuse I will try to do my best helping. I do want to give some advice already. Create accounts on the sites (that's the way to get the most accurate shipping fees) and add the same albums to your carts and compare how much the sum in the end becomes.
Don't stick to one site. Sometimes you can get a better price somewhere else so do compare them all the time. Don't think about which site you prefer (well, if the site delivers damaged goods or always get your orders returned then you shouldn't buy from them xD) but look at which one is cheaper because if you want to buy more albums you have more money over to buy and that way you help your favourite artists more.
I hope it helped :)
4 comments:
Did you try kpopfanshop already? Got my last kpop order from there (mostly BTS stuffs) and the goods were pretty good plus shipping was quite fast to states, took 12days.
No I haven't even heard about them before. Will not try them since they don't have any groups I collect so.
have you tried kpopfactory.com or kpopstores.com? they had stuff i like however idk if i trust the site
I have not tried them. I like the stores that I've been using and I'm someone who doesn't like to change my habits. And I've always regretted when I've tries a new store. So I can't help you sorry. I suggest you search for reviews for those stores or try them with something small and cheap first.
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