The Best (And Worst) Purchases I've Made Online

Quickly, children, gather around. I have a story to tell you today.

A story of hope and despair, of good and bad, of happiness and woe...

... And also, the purity of McDonalds guy and the insidious darkness of Wish.

Yes, I've got a few stories that I'd love to tell you today. I don't have just one, just two, or just three... I've got four whole stories for you today. Two good, and two bad.

So pull up a chair, get some of your favourite beverages and maybe some popcorn, because we're gonna be here for a while as I go off on a tangent. Four whole tangents, mind you.

Also, yes, I know this is all supposed to be fictional. But, instead, I thought I'd market some of my favourite products because... I dunno, sponsorship or something? Honestly I just wanted to talk more about real stuff that's happened instead of making up a story for the heck of it. Take this as my spin on the Personalize subject.

The First Story - Cosplay Buying

"Isn't this technically like... three stories all combined into one?", you ask yourself. "This isn't four stories, is it? It's like seven!"

"No.", I say. "This totally counts as one whole story. Don't worry about it."

When I was a young girl, just... Okay it was like three halloweens ago, it wasn't that long. But I decided, "hey! I'm going to a Halloween party, so I wanna upstage everyone!"... Okay, maybe that isn't the truth either. Maybe I just wanted to be a pretty princess - or I wanted to put a bunch of kids costumes to shame. I don't really know what was going through my head.

Either way, for some reason, my mother obliged me. Do I know why? No. Should she of? Maybe not.

Off of a website named "CosplayMagic", I ordered my fabled costume - Azura, from Fire Emblem Fates. Now, if you know anything about Azura, it's that her costume is quite, well... let's say it's revealing. I'll post a picture below so you get the idea.



... Yeah. For some reason, my mom didn't decide to look too hard at my terrible decision. She also decided to order the costume one size larger than I needed, because for some reason, she thought that the measurements on the website would be wrong. Combine these together for a hilariously large dress that, while it covered my legs, didn't do much about that huge slit in the side of it. Now, the costume itself was beautiful, and once I get some more money, I'm very tempted to order a medium and wash/sell the original large dress.

Now, understandably, my mom was a bit miffed when the dress came in. She really didn't expect it to be that revealing (I guess she just didn't look too hard at the picture?) and was disappointed in 13 or 14 year old me for picking that dress. Really, though, I was happy to have it... except for the fact that the dress itself didn't fit. Like, I was swimming in half of it, which I guess is a bit ironic considering the character. Now, keep in mind that cosplays and costumes are an expensive hobby - especially when you're buying online. This dress easily cost us over 100 dollars.

In terms of everything else, the dress was beautiful. It's this nice, thick cotton, which we were both surprised about. This had the upside of making it super warm on Halloween, but the downside of being ungodly heavy. It's just unfortunate to me that the sizing was off, especially because we had to fix it... with safety pins. Yup, my mom safety pinned the back of the dress together so it wouldn't just... fall off of me. I dug up this dress again recently and, as I suspected, it's even bigger on me now. Which is a shame, because I'd love to get it back in working order... it's just more like a blanket on me than a dress.

Overall, my rating of this costume is a 7/10. -1 point for no floofy skirt, and -2 points for not being my size.

The next Halloween, I decided to make this costume thing a tradition. Buying costumes that I like online is much more fulfilling in my eyes than getting some 50 dollar... thing from Spirit Halloween. They're also way cheaper looking for the same price than just... buying something online.

So, for this Halloween, I decided I was gonna change up the formula a bit. I bought a costume of the Doll from Bloodborne, from a different store named "Miccostumes". You'll see them come up later, but for now, here's a picture of the actual costume.




Now, I actually technically wore this costume three times - once one year with the entire ensemble, the next time at a con, and the third was at a corn maze where I used the dress and bonnet to be some sort of pilgrim. So, points for versatility!

This costume was really rushed on my end, more so because my mom decided to think for two whole weeks on whether or not she wanted to buy the costume. Thankfully, it came in right before Halloween - and I couldn't be more happy with it. It fit me perfectly, with the only thing not fitting being the gloves. But I've got the tiniest hands known to man, so I expected that either way.

The dress itself is made of this really nice velvet, and it was super easy to maneuver in. It was a little long on me, but again, I'm short - I checked the specifications either way on the website, and knew this time around that it would be a bit big height wise. That's fine with me. I really, really loved this costume though, and you can kinda tell if I wore it three times. It's surprisingly comfortable, and I love wearing it whenever the time arises. It also looks exactly like the pictures on the website, which is a rarity for online costumes.

Overall, 9/10 on the costume. -1 for the gloves being too big/the dress being too big lengthwise. Everything else? Perfection.

 

My third costume was my most expensive one up to this point... and also, the most disappointing. I got the costume for one of my favourite characters of all time, Anastasia from Fate/Grand Order, through Miccostumes. It should be noted that Miccostumes also hosts third-party costumes on their website, and this one made by a third party.

 

This costume was actually taken down from their website, and I can imagine why. When I got the dress, it looked perfect - everything was fine, save for the crinoline at the bottom of the skirt. Essentially, it's a ring that's supposed to shape the skirt into a circle... except it had been folded in shipping. Meaning that the skirt itself loved to fold in on itself, especially as I was walking, making it awkward and difficult to move around in. On the rare occasion that I had got it working however, it was really good and easy to move around in.

 

The second problem started appearing with the jewelry attached to the skirt. Now, I knew for a fact getting this that I'd be way too short for it, so I'm not gonna talk about the pearls and how they really can't stand being dragged around on the ground. I knew what I was getting into with that. The problem comes in with those little jewelry pieces, and how badly they're beaded. Which wasn't that hard to fix, I just had to buy my own wiring - except I'm not so good at beading either, which is entirely on me admittedly.

 

On the plus side? This is the first costume I got asked for photos in, and many little kids loved seeing me walk by in the mall. Which is the main reason why I buy these costumes - to walk around in the mall and entertain little kids. I know, I know, it's a little weird, but it's fun! Seeing so many little grins as they walk by "the princess" is great. Makes me feel all special.

 

So, overall, 6/10. The skirt/jewelry really got my mood down about it, but remembering all those smiles leaves it with a nostalgic presence. Even if it was only last year.

 

As for this year? If Halloween is still on... you can bet I'll be buying another costume, even if it's just to entertain myself with.

 

Second Story - Buying on Wish

 

Okay, so, if you know anything about Wish, it's probably that they have really cheap products that don't match their photos. You need only Google "Wish clothing review" and watch the fireworks.

 

You'd be absolutely correct on that assumption though, but my mother and I have made it almost a bimonthly pass time to order some cheap clothes and see how they end up. Entertaining? Oh, you bet. A good purchase? Well... Only if you think cheap, terribly made clothes are somehow a good purchase. I don't really, but I love it for how absurd it gets.

 

The main purchaser of clothing is my mother, but as I end up with practically all of it, I count it as my purchase too. That's how it works, right?

 

... Probably not, but oh well.

 

Either way, unfortunately I don't have any pictures of these clothes. Just imagine them looking like Halloween costumes that your kid complains is itchy and never wears again. That's the sort of quality we're talking about. Obvious frayed seams, or even rips in the clothes, were pretty commonplace. If anything had a decal on it, you can bet it was poorly patched on there. The errors made it almost comical, really.

 

... Do I still wear these clothes?

 

Admittedly... from time to time, yes. Because some of them aren't all that bad, I got a tank top that's really good for summer off of Wish. Do I recommend them, though?

 

No. I give them a 1/10. Even if you're entertained like I am at their utter incompetence, their clothes aren't worth anything.

 

Third Story - Japanese Imports

 

"B-But!" You say, after the first story. "This isn't all one story! It's another three stories in one!"

 

Okay, yes, admittedly it is. But also, let me be proud of my achievements! I spoke Japanese to a decent degree once! ONCE!

 

All jokes aside, my second positive story is just another small collection of stories, this time on all the Japanese imports I've gotten. Yay.

 

My first story is on Mandarake, because I love them with my heart and soul. I've gotten things from them twice, and I'm planning on getting more very soon. Both times, I ended up getting books, more specifically manga, because I like looking at pretty pictures. Also, I got one art book. That's cool too.

 

Mandarake is a used goods store in Japan. They specialize in lots of anime/manga/game-related things, and they have an international store on their website. It's super easy to use, especially because they handle shipping in house instead of through a proxy service. Which is really nice, because proxy services can get... expensive. Like, thirty dollars for two pins and a small manga expensive. Yes, I will be talking about that, but...

 

Either way, when I got my books off of Mandarake, they always came in either on schedule or before. I never had a time where it took over a month for something to come in (as these things are all from Japan, I give them a bit of time). Also, even if it is a used goods store, the quality of the books are really good. Like, you couldn't even tell they weren't brand new. I think the most I found was a little crease in one of the books? That was it, though.

 

As a result of them being used however, they're insanely cheap. Like, I was regularly paying about 400 yen for a 15-20 page manga - which, in a very, very rough conversion, is about 4 or 5 dollars. It's really inexpensive, with the real money coming out with shipping. But, again, I understand that - shipping from Japan to Canada is understandably going to cost more than shipping from the USA, or even China. I'm fine with that though. If it means I'm getting a quality product that I can't buy anywhere else, I'm willing to spend a little more on it. Especially because they make sure to wrap up everything in bubble wrap, and keep the books straight with cardboard.

 

Overall? I give them a 10/10. I didn't think we'd hit levels of perfection, but so far, yep. They're considerably cheap for importing, have a really nice selection of things, and they handle things with care. Of course, they're not that good if you don't have the money for it - but really, this isn't a hobby you should be partaking in if you don't have the proper preparations. 

 

Next up is Japan Crate. Even if they're technically not an import shop and more of a candy shop, I still wanted to talk about them. They ship out monthly boxes of Japanese candies, and I love it. I love most Japanese candy, especially the gum and the Tohato caramel corn. I love Tohato caramel corn, it's like a soft Cheeto but sweet. It's weird. But I like it.

While it might take a while, their packages are always in within 4 weeks of shipping. Which, for Japan + food items? Yeah... that's pretty quick. The only problems I'm having are, well, right now, during COVID-19. Who'd of thought that getting food items from Japan would be hell? Yeah... It's not fun. Their packages actually got sent back to their warehouse due to COVID-19. So, I had to pay an extra 5 dollars USD to ship it back...

On the plus side however, I got a non-expiring 7 USD coupon for their other store, Sugoi Mart, which is much more of a traditional import shop with a lot of Japanese food items and other various things of that nature. So, that's cool! Especially because I've always wanted to buy something from there, the prices are just... a little too much for me.

Over all? 7/10. I love them, but I'm impatient as all hell.

 

Buyee is the third on my list, and a bit of a quick one. They're a proxy service, meaning I can buy Japanese goods through them. It gets sent to their warehouse, then they send it to me. Simple, right?

Yeah, kinda sorta. I'm not gonna get into it, but just... it's costly, gets complicated sometimes, I'm running out of time here so 6/10, I got my stuff on time, just way too damn expensive. Like, 40 dollars for two pins and a small manga (15 pages) expensive.

 

Fourth Story - Audio Interface

And, last but not least, my favourite story so far on this list.

The story of how I obtained my audio interface. Otherwise known as, probably the best story I'll ever tell in a while because of how weird it gets.

So, about... a year or two ago, I really started getting into voice acting. Yes, this ties into my PCP (hey, that's where I got my username from!) and this story I swear.

I decided to make a decently big investment, that being an Audio Technica AT2020 along with the Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD audio interface. See, the AT2020 is an XLR microphone - meaning it kinda requires a power source to run, and it can't just directly plug in to a computer. So, the audio interface does that, along with interpreting the bits from the microphone into sound on a computer. Yeah, it's complicated, but that's my 6 AM version of it.

Now, the microphone came in just fine, and I still love it to bits. In this case, I was waiting for the little lynchpin of my project - the audio interface - to arrive. I waited patiently at my door, until my mom happily waltzed out of her room and asked me how the interface was working out.

The look on both of our faces as our eyes met, with no interface in sight, was priceless.

Immediately my mother was thrown into a tizzy. Of course, I had told her before this that I would be showing her the interface, as she was quite curious about what it could possibly look like. 




Spoiler alert, it's not that overly interesting.

Besides that, I was thrown into panic mode at the words that came from my mother's mouth. "Where is it? Did you take it to your room already?"

No, dear reader, no I had not. For I had been waiting for a good 4 hours at this point thinking the delivery guy was late, a fact which he was quite known for. We both scrambled to get our shoes on, walking outside and seeing no package in sight. So, we checked with our neighbours, who had received a package of ours before.

After a bit of polite but firm interrogation, nothing. So then, we checked the address to where it was delivered - if our house was number 173, block 1001, it said it was delivered to number 137, block 1001.

Okay, fine. We walk over to that house, ring the doorbell, and were greeted with a woman who smelled of cigarette smoke and wasn't that happy to see us. Upon explaining our reasoning for being there, however, her mood lightened. She told us she didn't have our package, and wished us the best of luck.

Now, the only thing we could do was... the most dreadful thing ever.

Calling the delivery service and asking where our package is.

Really, it was a dice roll between some French lady whose accent was so thick you could barely understand her, someone who was clearly busy with five different things and really wasn't paying attention, or someone who was about to fall asleep at their desk from sheer boredom.

Thankfully, this time, we got someone who was actually attentive and listened. They questioned the driver, who said he had delivered it to number 173... block 1000. They also advised that we do not go over there just in case, and that they'd send the driver over there tomorrow to get the package back.

Well, that was pretty depressing news to me. Especially because I knew for a fact that my package had over 100 dollars worth of electronics in it. Like, someone could easily take that and sell it off for a pretty penny. I moped around our house, refusing to do much of anything until my interface had come in.

The time was 7 PM. It was around the summertime, so it was still quite bright out. Yet storm clouds were rolling in, and it threatened to rain.

We heard a car pull up into our driveway. Weird, we weren't expecting anyone. We kinda expected it to either be someone turning around, or doing work on the other neighbour's house.

Nope. He walks out of his van, and fiddles with the gate. In his arms, a box, covered with his jacket to prevent any rain from getting on it.

My mom walks out, and asks him what he needs. He asks if an (insert my name here) lives here. She nods, and asks why.

He reveals the package from under his jacket, and hands it to her. He explains that he found it on top of our communal mailbox, and someone had left it there without even bothering to deliver it. He was just getting off work and saw the package, so he decided to deliver it to us so it wouldn't be stolen.

Needless to say, at this point I had walked out onto the deck, and I started thanking him profusely. I told him that I had been waiting for this package all day, and I was very relieved to get it. I asked him if there's anything I could really do for him, and he shook his head. He told me he was just glad that I got the package safely, and that's all he needed. He left after that, and I never saw him again.

I really do hope he's doing okay, and that his kindness went full circle.

On another note, however, do you remember when I mentioned "the McDonalds guy"? Yup, that's this guy. He came up to our door in a McDonalds work outfit. Now, this isn't to say he's some sort of "lower class" - in fact, just by how he acted, I'd say he's the opposite - but it's to illustrate that this guy truly is kind-hearted. He saw a package with electronics on it, protected it from the elements, and proceeded to deliver it, all without wanting any sort of compensation.

I'm not even gonna give a rating on the product, because... that's not the moral of the story. Moral of the story is, be kind to anyone you meet. Even if you don't want to be, it can get you lots of places in life.

I suppose that's the best way I could end this post off with.

Be kind, and you'll go far.