Review: KoreanBuddy

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Good afternoon! Today's review is a little different, it's of a forwarding company. I've purchased a lot of skincare and makeup from Asia over the last few years and have my preferred methods of ordering from each country. For Japan I like Amazon JP, Sasa and eBay, for China I use Taobao (when I'm within the country, have yet to try International Taobao orders from the US). Up until now I didn't really have a great way to get everything I wanted from Korea without paying huge markup.

I recently tried KoreanBuddy for the first time. It's an ordering service, you fill out the form of what you'd like and once confirmed, KB will order the items for you. There's a two invoice system, so you pay for your item(s) and another invoice will be sent your way once the items arrive and be weighed for shipping. I like this system a lot, I like how the shipping fees are spot on and not a rough overestimate or underestimate (to hit you with most postage later).

This allows me to get items at really great prices from sites that ship free within Korea, like from WeMakePrice or Gmarket. I'm talking about $26 for JungSaemMool eye trios when eBay has them for $36+ or bottles of my favorite toner for $11 when they retail for $26. That actually was my first test order, two bottles of Manyo Factory Galactomy Clearskin Toner.

The fee for this service is $9 minimum or 10% commission on things you have a link for (and 20% on items that you have the service search for you). see the FAQ here. I used a referral code to get half off my first order - so down to $4.50, and you can as well if you use my email when filling out your request form: mimi@makeupwithdrawal. (full disclosure: I get upgraded to faster shipping on my next order if you use this). I recommend using this service for a nice large haul, I'm already compiling my list to make an order that will cover many Christmas presents. The different shipping prices were clearly listed, so there were no surprises for me when I paid the postage.

What I liked especially was the communication with KoreanBuddy. I received a steady stream of emails that alerted me to where my items where, and included pictures of incoming products and the outgoing package. Super fast and responsive. The invoice process was very streamlined, and there's a variety of shipping options. Overall great first order, I'm looking forward to making more of them.

Have you ever used a private shopper, shipping service?