Ton here! What's up? :D
So today I've realised: I'm in love with the mail man! He seems to be the only one who knows exactly what I want to hear when I wake up in the morning! "Parcel".
Yes, I went shopping again, and yes, this is another shopping review!!
So here's a quick list of the things I bought this time:
Kpop:
- Teen Top's 3rd mini album 'Artist'
- Vixx's first single (or is it a mini album too?) 'Super Hero'
- JJ Project's first mini album 'Bounce'
- Infinite's 3rd mini album 'Infinitize'
Other items (Imported from Korea, of course. Classy.) :
- 3 sweaters, "Born Factory design by Lee". Interesting..
- "K'Sox". Korean socks, maybe?
- Calvin Klein underwear for 9 bucks?!?! Amazeballs.
So first I'd like to start by saying OMFG. This underwear is amazing. It might just be the fact that I still own (and wear) clothing that I bought in primary school, but I've honestly never worn undergarments as soft as these!!
Now, considering that I bought these online, and they only cost me 9800 won, each (around 8-9 AUD), I think it's safe to assume that these are most certainly bootleg (fake merchandise). At any CK outlet, the underwear will usually cost AT LEAST 40 Aussie dollars! $39.95 if they're on sale. That being said, I don't think I'll ever buy true branded CK underwear again. Unless I win the lottery, I'm certainly not going to pay quadruple the price for something if I can get it literally 4 times cheaper online!
Look at the pictures and tell me if you can spot the difference between real and fake! You can't, right? You can, however, feel the difference. I do have a pair of real CK undies (yes, just one) and the fakes are much, much softer. Yes, you read correctly. The fakes are better.
It may just be the price influencing my senses, but I'm very, VERY happy with this purchase! However, remember that these are just my instant thoughts. Count a month or two, and I'll post again to see how quickly the quality deteriorates. The packet says that it's 97% cotton, and 7% lycra, so hopefully it will last a long time!
Some issues with the seller:
I didn't quite receive exactly what I asked for. Everything was fine, mostly! However, I was supposed to receive 5 pieces of the same design, but in different colours. Instead, they sent me 4 of the same design... plus this.
HAHHAHAHAHAHAHA. That's hot. I'll definitely wear those to my next Brazilian wax appointment.
...which I totally get all the time. (insert sarcasm font)
If you'd like to buy a pair for yourself, here's a link to the seller that sold it to me!
http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=277308860
He/she is definitely a reliable seller and I recommend checking out the store! The items were shipped promptly, and apart from the weird Brazilian underwear, I didn't have any problems with this seller at all. I assume the reason for receiving the wrong order was because my choice was out of stock, but even so, I would have appreciated at least a notification and the option to pick a new colour, or receive a refund. But hey, it was 10 bucks. I'm not complaining.
Now moving on to those "Factory Born" sweaters.
Here's a quick shot of what they look like!
Yes, they're the same design in different colours, I couldn't decide which to get, sheesh. My camera's settings make the items look a lot better than they actually are. The red sweater is actually a pretty awful maroon colour, and the white one is more of a beige. My carpet (the background) is supposed to be grey, but it looks white in the picture, right? Damn camera, making things look good.
So I'll start by being nice! The sweaters are actually kind of cute. I've been really in to sweaters lately, which is why I bought three in one order. If you shop at YD (a male clothing store here in Australia), a good looking sweater can cost about 60 AUD, at the cheapest. These were 28000won each, which is around 27 AUD; a pretty huge discount!
Now, originally, I thought I was buying these for 12 dollars each, because that's the price that was displayed. It said "discounted price, $12.41", and I'll link you to the store, so you can see how ripped off I was! http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=223530359
I don't know why, but I wasn't given that discounted price (I should probably learn to read Korean), and after receiving the items, I'm not very happy. For 12 bucks, the clothing is great! But for 27...
Firstly, the fabric is way too thin to keep a person warm. These are definitely more of an accessory than a proper sweater. They don't look horrible, and they fit nicely! There's just no point in ever wearing them, because they're too heavy for summer, and too light for winter! Maybe I'll take some nice photos in them and pretend it's money well spent..
Also, I was given this extra sweater as a free gift, which was nice! It looks just like the other maroon sweater that I bought, except not a v neck design. Yay for two sweaters that I'll never wear! :D
I do appreciate the gesture, but considering I bought 3 XL size garments, I can't see why the seller thought it was a good idea to send me a free L sized sweater.. Idiot. I guess I'm doubly not wearing that one!
On another note, I also bought these "K'Sox" from the same seller!
These, I am definitely happy with! I'm not sure what they're actually called (Invisible socks? Super low-cut socks?), but they were just 2000 won per pair (a little less than 2 AUD).
They're one-size-fits-all and super stretchy, but with amazing grip at the top! I have a few of these already, and they ALWAYS roll down! These definitely sit much tighter (but loose at the toes), and I'm expecting a lot more uses out of these! Also, the beauty of these, is that they have small strips of silicon at the heel to prevent the socks from rolling! Amazeballs! I'm just a little scared to run them through the wash, but considering they were 2 dollars, I'm not that concerned.
Here's a link to the seller again!
http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=223530359
Unfortunately, if you're just after the socks, you can only purchase them as an 'additional option', which is like "extra stuff for a a few more bucks", so you can't just buy socks. Overall, though, I was pleased with the seller, just not very pleased with my choices. The shipping of the items were delayed, but I was notified of the delay straight away, and was given an estimated shipping date. Thank you, seller! I appreciate the communication!
Last, but not least, it's time for the K-Pop album reviews! Yay!
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| The back of the albums, all with the official gold sticker! Nice! |
First on my list, JJ Project's 'Bounce'! Check out some shots below!
I'd like to start by saying that albums with crap-tastic packaging PISS. ME. OFF. When I first unwrapped the plastic, I died a little inside. I LOVE Bounce! It's one of my favourite songs right now, and I was really keen for a hard cover album! Unfortunately, that's not what I got. The album jacket is pretty dodgy. It's made of really cheap, easily scratch-able, plastic-like, thin, cardboard material. Disappointing.
However, on opening the album, disappointment gone! Despite the lack of quality on the cover, the inside is absolutely amazeballs. I like how it opens vertically, rather than left-to-right like most albums! I was impressed to see how easily the album can be taken apart and put back together, unlike EXO's new mini album, 'Mama', which is just folded paper! C'mon, SM. Invest some money in a better album jacket, seriously.
I was also really happy that I got both members, and the group photo cards! I knew I bought 3 albums for a reason! Let's hope I can get the other 4 photo cards without any doubles!
Unfortunately though, I think this seller ran out of posters, as I didn't receive any at all. Nooo! I've checked other websites too, and they all seem to be out of stock! Oh well. I'll order earlier next time!
Another rookie group, VIXX, has totally caught my attention! Their title song 'Super Hero', at first, I thought was really mediocre sounding. After listening to it a few times, though, it's actually super catchy, and the lead vocalists have some seriously kickass voices! Check out some photos of the album!
I'm not entirely sure what those robot stickers are, or why anyone would want one, but hey, if it's free, I'm not complaining. The album is pretty typical! Opens like a book, CD on one side, photo booklet on the other. It's not really a spectacular purchase, but I'm happy with it nonetheless!
Oh! It came with a pretty cool poster, too! If only there was space on my wall, I would totally hang this up!
Infinite's 'Infinitize' was much the same, in way of design! Check out the shots!
Let me just say, the photo book is freaking awesome! Infinite totally know how to model! The album is super typical, but it's exactly what I like when it comes to album covers. Hard. Oh, and shiny.
However, apart from 'The Chaser' and 'Infinitize', I'm not really a fan of any of the other songs on this album. Considering the fact that 'The Chaser' has racked up nearly 300 plays on my iPod, though, I figured I should buy it! Don't forget to support your favourite artists, right? No sales = no new songs after all, and I definitely want to hear more of Infinite!
Finally, Teen Top's 'Artist' comes last on my list of purchased items for today. I'm a huge fan of 'To You', and just recently a huge fan of Teen Top! Damn, those kids can dance!
The album jacket itself is no different to most, with regards to the design and packaging, but the album concept is really cool, and it suits the band so well! Check out the photos!
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| The poster is freaking huge ^ |
A note about the seller:
I only ever buy K-Pop merchandise from Synnara. If you're thinking about purchasing an album or anything K-Pop related, from Gmarket, opt for Synnara where possible! I've been buying from them for more than 2 years now, and I've never had any major issues! All of their merchandise is official (you can tell by the gold sticker on the back), and they always come in perfect condition. The seller guarantees next day service, which means they'll ship your items to the Gmarket warehouse within one business day of confirmed payment! For international buyers, that means you could have your K-Pop goodies within just 3 business days.
A helpful tip:
For quickest service (Australia only), place your order on a thursday. It will be shipped to the warehouse by friday, and at your door by monday! If you place the order on a tuesday, your order may be left sitting at your local post office over the weekend!
The only downside to Synnara, is that they have a blatant disregard for posters. They keep the albums in good condition, but will not hesitate to squeeze as many posters into a tube as possible!
I break a sweat every time just trying to get my order out of the damn tubes!
Here's a link to the seller's store!
http://english.gmarket.co.kr/minishop/MinishopMain.asp?cust_no=zE0OR38TNzgxNg01NDQ1Mjg1MTR/Rw==
I guess that's all for now, but I'm definitely scheduled to return soon! New comebacks = new orders! New orders = new reviews, so stay tuned for more!
I hope this was useful to you, but until next time!
~ Ton.
