Please note the following information mainly applies to lolita clothing brands, although Tenshi Shop can help you reserve or pre-order items from pretty much any shop in Japan. Please see the Other Brand and Non Clothing Related Reservations section below for more general information.
If you wish to reserve or claim a spot for something that you have seen previewed on a website, blog, or social media, that has not yet been released, please feel free to contact me. For most brands and shops, reservations/pre-orders can be made at my standard commission rate (5%). However, for Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Alice and the Pirates, and Angelic Pretty, the “reservation commission rate” (10%) is charged. The following applies to these three brands in particular due to the way they introduce new series and handle releases, . If you meet the following four requirements, you are ready to claim a spot for your desired items:
- You know, for certain, what cut/type of item(s) you want. Listing unannounced cuts is permitted provided you are comfortable with claiming a cut regardless of having seen the cut first.
- You know, for certain, what color(s) you want. Listing unannounced colorways is permitted provided you are comfortable with claiming a color regardless of having seen the colorway first.
- You know, for certain, you want the item(s) you are claiming, and are OK with all aspects of design, sizing, and price as have been revealed at the time you claim, or if any of these are unknown, you claim with 100% commitment regardless.
- You have your funds ready, or will have them ready, upon the confirmation, or in some cases, the release of the item(s). Please be prepared to deposit in some cases.
Spot claims are recorded in a list in the order they are received (first come first serve). I recommend you wait to spot claim until you have seen enough pictures and have enough information to make your claim with 100% commitment.
Please remember, reservations and spot claims are never guaranteed until your items are confirmed with the store in question, and there is a possibility that items will be sold out/not available.
When submitting your spot claim, please list any and all back ups- these are other cuts/colors that you are open to. Should your top choice be unavailable, I will move down your list, increasing your chances of getting an item. You may add items on as well, but they will be handled in the order they were claimed. You can add on back ups, and in most cases, switch them around, but you cannot change your top choice item. Doing so will lose you your spot in line, and you will be moved to the back of the line.
If you are new to shopping with Tenshi Shop, have little or no feedback, or have a history of backing out of spot claims, you may be asked to pay a partial deposit up front to hold your spot. If the item were to not be available because it sold out, you would be refunded in full. However, spot claim/reservation deposits are otherwise non-refundable. Please do not request a reservation or spot claim lightly. In some cases, even before a release/reservation date, the items you claimed cannot be cancelled, and you backing out would mean no buyer for the item or difficulties at the shop. Your deposit is non refundable for this reason.
To claim a spot, please fully understand the Terms of Service, the points outlined above, and then use the In Store Shopping Request Form to submit your request. You may check both “in store” and “online” and leave it to me.
Brand Specific Reservation Info
Baby the Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates (reservation rate commission 10%):
For BTSSB and AatP reservations I usually attend their in store reservations or make reservations by phone with a trip to the store later to make a deposit payment. More recently Baby requires a deposit of half up front, but it varies with release, and is not consistent. I pay this deposit on your behalf after making the reservation, and depending on the deposit system for your particular release, I will be in touch with instructions on payment. After a reservation closes, Baby and AatP often stagger the release of items in a series over several weeks. I will hold your items until the entire series is released to save you shipping multiple packages.
Generally, in store reservations at Baby/AatP are completely separate from online reservations. They have a different system (oftentimes a lottery) and separate stock- so even if a series is sold out online there is a chance I can help you get it via an in store reservation. Other items are not available through the cart system online before their general release, but can be reserved in store. Contact me with the info about the items you are interested in and I will help you find the way to get them reserved the quickest.
I do also reserve items online sometimes and will decide what is best for the particular reservation/items you are requesting.
Angelic Pretty (reservation rate commission 10%):
Angelic Pretty does not use a reservation system. Instead items are put on sale directly in store, usually on Saturday mornings. Full payment is required upon release when the item is purchased. The build up to AP releases can be several months or just a few days, they require a lot of time, organization, communication/emailing and going to wait in line to draw from a lottery on release day. Releases can also be very competitive.
AP releases generally go like this:
- A new original print series is shown in a catalog or on AP social media. At this point information about a series is usually incomplete- not all cuts and colorways have been revealed, sizing is unknown, and prices may also be unknown. The release date is also unknown. This usually when I get my first spot claims.
- At some point AP announces on their website the release day, usually the Friday afternoon before items are release on Saturday morning. The window from full reveal to release is usually less than 24 hours! At this point sizing information, all cuts, colorways, and prices are available.
- The items are released in physical stores in Japan at opening time (between 10AM and 11AM) on Saturday morning. The same day, the series is released on the Japanese online store at 12PM.
If I think I have a chance at getting your requested item(s), I will take your request. If I think it could be difficult due to demand, I will tell you, but still offer to try. If I think it is nearly impossible, I will tell you I cannot help you with your spot claim.
AP is also well known for holding MTOs (made to order) releases. These are different from regular releases, and each MTO will have its own rules regarding what can be reserved and payment. I am more than happy to help with MTOs. The most important thing to remember for an AP MTO is to request your items on time!! After the MTO period closes AP will absolutely take no more requests, and no changes can be made to your request, absolutely no exceptions.
Other Brand and Non Clothing Related Reservations:
I also accept reservations/pre-orders for pretty much every other Japanese shop/brand you could think of, regardless of if they are lolita/clothing related or not. All other shops/brands are generally done at the standard 5% commission rate because they are not as complicated at Baby/AatP and Angelic Pretty releases, and can be done completely online. The way payment is handled is different for each store. Some require full payment up front, others do not charge me until the items ship. It is generally a good idea to have the money set aside when you request the item just in case the store is one that charges when the order is made. Sometimes I will not know in advance when the store will charge me for your items.
