My A+ experience buying from ELady!
- Thread starter sailersaturn
- Start date
Hi all! I am new to purseforum so I am sorry if I am posting incorrectly/breaking any etiquette! I am thinking about buying a bag from ELady but I am a little worried about how high the duty/import taxes will be coming into the US, if I am indeed charged them. When you guys bought from her, did she declare the value of the bag as the price you bought the bag for from her, or the original retail price of the brand-new bag from the designer? I am thinking about buying a bag that is about $350 on her website, but was originally almost $2,000 new retail, and this would obviously make a large difference in import/duty fees. Thank you!
I believe the declared value is the price that is written down, not the retail price of a new item. I didn't pay any duties. Be careful about smell/odor though. Elady does not do a good job disclosing details about that and will not take responsibility for it when you point it out later to them. Just FYI.
I want to reveal my first ever preloved LV purchase as well as provide a detailed review of my experience purchasing a preloved item from the Japanense seller eLady (AKA elady01 on eBay). I have watched numerous videos and read many posts on TPF about the Eva clutch and knew this was the versatile crossbody/clutch/minibag I was looking for. With the recent price increases, I considered buying preloved and I had such a positive experience. I found a beautiful Eva Clutch in Mono on eLadys website at http://global.elady.com/. It was the only Eva with an A rating currently on her site and the bag was Made in France (just a plus!). I had a few questions about the bag and received a friendly e-mail response back from eLady within 24 hours.
I posted a thread to the LV shopping forum on others experiences buying from eLady and they were very positive, but most people purchased via eBay auctions rather than directly from her website. Her prices are 10% lower buying directly from her website (probably to account for her saving on eBay seller commissions). I would also get an additional 5% savings because I was a new buyer. I had the bag authenticated on TPF before purchasing and got the thumbs up.
I was still hesitant to buy directly from the sellers website because I felt I may have more buyer protection buying through eBay. I called PayPal prior to purchasing the bag to inquire about buyer protection. PayPal ensured me that I had full buyer protection buying outside of eBay as long as I was purchasing a good (not a service) and I paid in one single payment (rather than paying in installments). This provided some comfort and pushed me to pull the trigger. I purchased the bag on a Monday evening (California time) and received a tracking e-mail from eLady by Tuesday morning. The bag was shipping via EMS Japan Post shipping service. I tracked the package over the next few days and saw it had arrived in customs in San Francisco. It was released within 12 hours and was on its way to my rural post office. I got a call from my PO on Friday morning of the same week telling me I had a package from Japan ready to pick up but needed to be signed for. I was glad to hear it was not dropped off at my doorstep.
A side note about duties: I read many posts on TPF regarding duties on purchases from Japan and wasnt sure what to expect, and I figured I may be charged nearly 10% of the bags value, so I had to take that into consideration when figuring the overall cost of this item vs. buying new. It sounds like everyone has a different experience and being assessed duties are hit and miss. I was not assessed a duty and my bag was over the $200 threshold for purchases from Japan to the US. Ive read that purchases shipped via EMS are less likely to be assessed a duty and that shipments via FedEx/UPS/etc. are more likely.
The bag was neatly packaged and protected well. And the best part the bag was better than described. I had copied the photos from eLadys website as well as the eBay auction and saved them to my computer to compare to the actual bag so I could ensure I received the described item. They must have a very high-powered camera because the flaws they noted were so hard to see, I had to examine it in full sunlight to see them. I did confirm that the bag was the one they described but the flaws were significantly less than what they rated. My bag smells absolutely AMAZING! I know some are concerned about the smell of preloved bags from Japan. I noticed some of eLadys listings noted if the bag had a slight smell, but mine didnt mention smell at all (therefore I assumed there was none). I feel that eLady underrates the condition of their bags based on this experience, which makes me feel very confident with my future purchases with them. I will definitely buy from them again!
Thank you to all of the TPF members who shared their positive experiences with eLady. They gave me the confidence to buy this bag and I couldnt be happier. I hope this review helps other members if they are deciding to buy from eLadys website directly (or her eBay auctions). You wont be disappointed!
My Eva!!
gorgeous bag
can you please poste close pictures on the strap end stitches
This is so great to hear! I have considered purchasing from her before and wasn't sure what to expect. So glad to hear a positive experience! Enjoy your bag!
Reading the positive comments on this thread made me want to go purchase from elady; however, after viewing some of their merchandise, reading about super fakes (both from this forum on separate threads/sub forums and their feedback on eBay), and inquiring about a particular item with them personally (let's just say I really question the authenticity of the item after doing research on my end and their refusal to accommodate my request to provide the appropriate pictures), I don't think I'll purchase from them. 
Also, they recently did a price increase on nearly all their merchandise just now! Do they do this often? That really puts a bad taste in my mouth. I've never seen a big reseller pull something like this on pre-existing merchandise, although maybe I'm behind since I haven't bought preloved LV in a long time until last month (from a diff reseller).
I like that the Japanese resellers have made their way to the states (I've bought from them long before they were popular/known here), but the way elady runs their business doesn't sit too well with me. Oh, well, I'm glad that others have had positive experiences with them; I'm jealous that I haven't experienced the same.
Also, they recently did a price increase on nearly all their merchandise just now! Do they do this often? That really puts a bad taste in my mouth. I've never seen a big reseller pull something like this on pre-existing merchandise, although maybe I'm behind since I haven't bought preloved LV in a long time until last month (from a diff reseller).
I like that the Japanese resellers have made their way to the states (I've bought from them long before they were popular/known here), but the way elady runs their business doesn't sit too well with me. Oh, well, I'm glad that others have had positive experiences with them; I'm jealous that I haven't experienced the same.
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I think the deals are not there like they used to be. I have not bought from them in a while.Reading the positive comments on this thread made me want to go purchase from elady; however, after viewing some of their merchandise, reading about super fakes (both from this forum on separate threads/sub forums and their feedback on eBay), and inquiring about a particular item with them personally (let's just say I really question the authenticity of the item after doing research on my end and their refusal to accommodate my request to provide the appropriate pictures), I don't think I'll purchase from them.
Also, they recently did a price increase on nearly all their merchandise just now! Do they do this often? That really puts a bad taste in my mouth. I've never seen a big reseller pull something like this on pre-existing merchandise, although maybe I'm behind since I haven't bought preloved LV in a long time until last month (from a diff reseller).
I like that the Japanese resellers have made their way to the states (I've bought from them long before they were popular/known here), but the way elady runs their business doesn't sit too well with me. Oh, well, I'm glad that others have had positive experiences with them; I'm jealous that I haven't experienced the same.
That's a shame, albeit I'm not all surprised. I think the price increase they did yesterday really turned me off from ever considering buying from them. I can understand if they raise the price of items they just stocked, but this is stuff that they have had for a while on their website. And their items are used! Who does that? Not even fashionphile does that, and I have mixed feelings about that consignment business myself. So off putting, but whatever, I guess business is business and they can do whatever they want.
For those who purchased from elady -- would you mind disclosing the amount you paid for and also if you had to pay for taxes or not? For example - $300 bag, no customs tax. Or $1200 + $80 customs tax? Would be helpful to know the range that the post applies taxes on, and also the percentage of the tax. Many thanks in advance!
I know this is an LV thread but does anyone have experience purchasing Givenchy from Elady? I've purchased several LV and Gucci items from them and had great experiences. But since they don't carry a big Givenchy inventory I'm concerned. I tried authenticating on the Givenchy forum but they don't authenticate closed sales. Any suggestions on where to go outside the form for authentication? Thank you!
Hello Everyone 
I am new to this site. This is only my second post. I am hoping someone here may be help me. I have found a beautiful LV Audacieuse MM listed on elady and I'm so in love with it 
. I have been stalking the Audacieuse MM for quite some time. My issue is that I've seen the exact same photos that elady is using to sell her Audacieuse MM being used by the website, Luxury Closet, to sell an Audacieuse PM. Do you think someone stole elady's photos as the bag does look like an MM not a PM. OR WORSE is the bag not authentic 
I have contacted elady about this but have yet to hear back. I've read this entire thread and it seems elady is quite reputable. I hadn't considered ordering pre-loved from Japan until I read this thread. Thanks for letting me ramble.
I am new to this site. This is only my second post. I am hoping someone here may be help me. I have found a beautiful LV Audacieuse MM listed on elady and I'm so in love with it . I have been stalking the Audacieuse MM for quite some time. My issue is that I've seen the exact same photos that elady is using to sell her Audacieuse MM being used by the website, Luxury Closet, to sell an Audacieuse PM. Do you think someone stole elady's photos as the bag does look like an MM not a PM. OR WORSE is the bag not authentic I have contacted elady about this but have yet to hear back. I've read this entire thread and it seems elady is quite reputable. I hadn't considered ordering pre-loved from Japan until I read this thread. Thanks for letting me ramble.
Yes she does. On her websites all her items are 5% cheaper than eBay! I recommend you buy directly from her website.