Wunderwelt Review

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

This isn't the first time I've ordered from Wunderwelt, but I hope a more recent review will be helpful.

Wunderwelt is a second hand lolita shop. I don't believe they have physical stores like Closet Child. Their stock varies a lot. They sometimes have really sought after pieces and sometimes really old school stuff. The prices are a bit on the expensive side and they tend to note their items as being in worse condition, but their website is much easier to navigate and they update more frequently.

Anyways, I usually browse their website about 1-2 times per day. I went there one day and saw something I needed - badly.

It was the Secret Rose Princess skirt by Angelic Pretty. I was looking for brand skirts to incorporate into my daily wear and had been looking for things similar to the Rose Dress Up series. The skirt was priced at 7,999 when I first saw it.

The thing with Wunderwelt is that you can 'like' items. When an item gets a large number of likes, there's a chance the price will be reduced. It can be reduced more than once, especially when they have ongoing sales.

So I of course liked it and waited till the price dropped a little. Even if it wasn't much of a drop (as seen in the picture below), it was enough for me to instantly purchase it. Who can resist that jacquard?

The shopping cart is fairly straightforward, so I don't think it needs to be explained. The whole site can even appear in English.

Every time you buy off Wunderwelt, you also earn points on your purchases. Points can be used to discount orders. There is also a member ranking system based on how much you spend in 6 months. The higher the rank, the higher the discount the points can get you. There's a helpful page here explaining it: https://www.wunderwelt.jp/en/rank_guide I'm only bronze rank, but I don't think I will spend enough to reach the highest rank.

After placing the order, the first payment you make is just for the item itself. If you paid through PayPal, they will send a PayPal invoice to your email for the shipping cost after they confirm the shipping amount. This second invoice is not paid through the Wunderwelt website (when using PayPal).

Once they confirm the payment, the order is then shipped. I didn't email them to let them know I made a payment, but they were able to confirm it rather quickly.

I picked EMS and had it shipped to a post office here in Canada (using Flex Delivery).

Order Placed: May 24
Shipping Invoice Sent: May 25
Shipping Paid: May 25
Order Shipped: May 28
Order Arrived: May 31

This may make it seem like they take forever to confirm and ship things out, but I ordered over a weekend and they don't work weekends (in Japan time). Since it was a fairly straightforward purchase, I didn't need to contact them at all so I can't judge what the communication is like.

Although I only ordered one item, they shipped it in a box and placed the skirt inside a plastic clear bag. Very standard.

I did have to pay customs on this though. I don't mind, except for the handling fee. Ick.

Onto the skirt itself! It was ranked as C condition, meaning it was in average condition with some stains/damage. I honestly don't even notice anything off about it aside from a few loose threads here and there. The original description just listed it as having signs of wear.

It has straps on it, like my other AP skirt, so it's possible to hang this up on a normal hanger with hooks on it, rather than using a skirt hanger that clamps onto the waistband.

Isn't it just gorgeous? It really fits the name Secret Rose Princess.

Although not always practical, I use it in my everyday coords without a petticoat since my style is on the casual girly side. I can still wear it as a lolita piece too, of course.

Don't be afraid of ordering off Wunderwelt! It can be a good place to find items that other secondhand lolita shops don't have. They have a points system, easy to navigate website, and a like system that can help you get items cheaper if enough people like the item too. And while I don't mention it above, they also have frequent sales which helps too.