|
Click, browse & shop! |
 |
|
Written by Loh Yook Hwa
|
|
Thursday, 31 December 2009 14:20 |
Shopping is no longer confined to malls and boutiques. A few years ago, flea markets started cropping around the city, offering fashionable clothes at reasonable prices. However for a lot of girls today, the new shopping experience involves a lot of clicking, scrolling, emailing and waiting for the postman to arrive. Welcome to the age of blog shops!
For sellers, blog shops are more cost effective ways of selling merchandise online as you only need to sign up for a blog (free-of-charge most of the time), source for pieces from overseas wholesalers and upload photos of your goods. With the ease of access and more people being computer-savvy, Yet Mee, editor of emmagem says the trend just caught on and spread like wildfire.
If you love to shop, you would love blog shops even more! From clothes, shoes, accessories and bags, there are a myriad of blog shops out there catering to different styles.
| Whatchamacallit?
Before you want to start selling or buying, you should brush up on some of the terms.
- Pre-loved: Used clothes that are in good condition.
- Pre-ordered: You put in an order for clothes and usually they’re from Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan. The choices are more here but you will need to wait two weeks to about a month for your order to arrive.
- Ready order: Pre-ordered clothes that have been ordered and brought in advance so there’s less waiting time.
| Blog shops, blog shops & yes, more blog shops!
Here are some blog shops you can check out:
Buttons & Biscotti |   |
Tasty Cherry Chapstick |   |
Doublewoot |  |
Velvet Ribbon |   |
Vintage Socialites |   |
De Oldies |   |
Jessabella's Plus Size Stealz |   |
Honey Pumpkin
Clothes Bucket
Yunique Paradise
Dorfbury
I Love Snack Food
The Old Blossom Box Store
Alice Wonders
Dainty Little Blog Shop
Clothes for Chics
DJF Closet
Plus Sizes Diva
Strawberry Swing Lingerie
My Kedai-Runcit | |
You can also browse through the many blog shops listed in directories and review blogs like Your Shopping Kaki (YSK), Diary Addictions, and emmagem. Set up by like-minded fashionistas, the directories are very useful tools, especially if you’re new to the scene. With hundreds of blog shops cropping up every other month, you can check them out here or have them listed if you’re a blog shop owner to get word out there. |
Once you shop, you can’t stop
Before you start shopping online, these tips from Sha-Lene of YSK and Yet Mee will soon have you browsing and clicking away like a pro!
The 5 golden words of online shopping - measurements, quality, price, convenience, reputation
- Measurement – Know your own body measurements: bust, waist, hips, arms, thighs, shoe sizes! For example, it helps to compare the measurements of your own clothes with those you want to buy. Also, ask for the type of material used (whether it’s stretchable, cotton, spandex, etc.).
- Quality – There are no guarantees for good quality when you're shopping online, so you need to make a judgment call by relying on photographs and the seller's opinion. Yet Mee suggests reading through the fine print of the site to know what you’re getting into.
- Price – One of the core points of online shopping is buying something cheaper than those available in malls and boutiques. Most items are sold in many places (online and offline) so it’s important to survey for the market price before you make a purchase. How? Ask reviewers or fellow shoppers by posting up questions on forums and chat boxes. Likewise, you can try Google Blogsearch.
- Convenience – For Sha-Lene, she prefers to buy from a neighbour or college mate as it “it saves me a lot of time and hassle (even if the price is a lil higher)”.
- Reputation – Avoid being scammed by asking around if anyone has dealt with a particular blog shop before. According to Sha-Lene, there have been cases where blog shops are set up and payments are made to them, only for the blog and its owner to disappear! Best way is to get to know the owner and be friends with them, advises Yet Mee. As you buy more from someone you’re comfortable with, there’s a trust built there and they might even throw in some discounts for you.
Happy Shopping! |
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 04 January 2010 10:35 )
|
|
