Japan bound

Hello readers

The Royal Household will be flying to Japan tonight. We'll be over there for 17 nights, taking in the sights and sounds of Tokyo and Osaka.

We'll have internet access at the hotels, and hopefully I'll be able to write a few posts on the road. It'll be a nice change to write about food, sightseeing, and of course shopping ;-)

Cheers
Queen V

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Black and white

Browsing Etsy can be overwhelming given the number of items on sale, so I like to use specific search terms to bring some focus.

This time around I searched for "black and white pearl earrings" and discovered these gems.

White Swarovski pearls & black rhinestone stud earrings ($US29)

Pearl clusters earrings ($US22)

White pearls, black onyx and sterling silver earrings ($US26)

black onyx white pearl dangle sterling silver earrings ($US42)

And the bargain of the lot, ivory black glass pearl rhinestone earrings for $US5!

Ummmm, decisions decisions :-D

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Australian designer fashion bargains

In my research for the Etailers directory I came across a few Australian designer websites, and I was pleasantly surprised to find good sales on their e-boutiques, and there are a few bargains to be had! The items on sale may be a season or two old but they are usually good quality, and you can't go wrong with the price!

So what can you snap up? How about ...

Alice McCall Teacup Shower bustier dress (RRP $389, on sale for $139)

Bec&Bridge Stevie maxi dress (RRP $225, on sale for $148)

Karla Spetic desert, lightweight knit (RRP $272, on sale for $82)

Morrison Betty skirt Verona (RRP $359, on sale for $87.20)

Thurley Jackyl dress (RRP $279.99, on sale for $79.99)

Have you ever purchased from Aussie designer websites before? Did you score a bargain?

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Help my reader find a bag!

A few weeks ago a reader e-mailed me. She saw the Kate Spade Lily Bexley bag on sale on Ozsale but it was sold out, and she wanted to know if the bag is available elsewhere.

I did some searching and I could only find the bag on Ebay (given it's on Ozsale it's probably old stock). Disappointed that I couldn't help her, I asked if she'd like me to help her find another bag and she said yes.

She is looking for a classic, everyday bag. There will be a Continental wallet, a big case for her sunnies and make up in the bag. She' doesn't have a size in mind but as she's relatively tall (170cm - that's my height too!) and she doesn't want a dainty bag. Colourwise she prefers a neutral shade, and her budget is $500.

So far I've found the following candidates:

Cole Haan Eliza satchel (from Nordstrom, $US298)

Tory Burch Robinson satchel (from Shopbop, $US550 - OK slightly above budget but it's nice!)

MICHAEL Michael Kors Grayson satchel ($US348 from Endless)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Q Aidan Shoulder Bag ($US478, also from Endless)

Out of the four bag I like the MBMJ bag the most.

I'm sure you savvy readers will have some ideas as well - c'mon and help with the search!

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Winter haul from Hobbs

Autumn arrived in Sydney pretty abruptly on Tuesday - I went to the beach on Easter Monday and now it's time for coat and scarves! Naturally my mind turned to winter fashion :-)

I went to the shops at lunch time yesterday and I was not particularly inspired. The only thing I liked were these cute Portmans gloves which I may go back and purchase.

Last night I was in bed with a warm doona and started browsing online. My friend Z recommended Hobbs from the UK. They have a mid-season sale and an outlet which are music to my ears. I ended up picking up these bargain:

Coniston dress (RRP £129, on sale for £44.10)

Petra sweater (RRP £69, on sale for £30.60)

Woodlands cardigan (RRP £110, on sale for £55)

Postage is a bit on the steep side (£20) but with the discounts I can justify it.


I managed to stuff up completely in the ordering process. I had to enter in my address numerous times, and when I submitted the order a page open requiring me to enter in a PIN that was meant to be sent to my phone. I waited a minute or two and nothing came so I pressed "cancel" expected to be led back to the order page. Instead the order was processed but is was flagged for review because the security procedure wasn't completed. I e-mailed their customer service and received a pro-forma reply stating that it will take up to 3 days of them to reply - which is a bit too long for my liking but there was nothing I can do. I received the PIN about 2 minutes after I "cancelled" the transaction. I must be more patient next time.


I hope to receive them before my trip to Japan but with this issue I probably won't receive the parcel before I go, which is a shame. Well I'll just have to shop more in Japan, right?

ETA: Apparently I also missed the part asking for my billing address so my order will drop off if I don't call them over the next 5 days. That is good actually because I've just placed the same order, this time with patience and it went through smoothly. Fingers crossed they'll arrive by the 24th since I'm flying out to Japan that evening!

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Parcel Lockers from Australia Post

One of the tricky (and sometimes annoying) aspects of online shopping is parcel collection, especially when you need to sign for the parcel. Australia Post and most couriers deliver during business hours when no one's at home; for most of us it means a trip to the post office on a Saturday morning to collect the parcel. Not only is it a bit of a hassle, it also means we have to wait a few more days before we can get our hands on our latest purchase.

Responding to the growth of online shopping and parcel delivery, Australia Post is currently trialling a service called Parcel Lockers. Upon registration, you're given a parcel locker address:

e.g. Jane Smith
      Parcel Locker C123456
      170-174 Chapel Street,
      St Kilda VIC 3182

which you will use as your shipping address.

Photo: Power Retail

The postman or the courier will deliver the parcel to one of the lockers at the site, and you'll receive an SMS and an e-mail when it is available for collection. You have 48 hours to collect the parcel, since the lockers are accessible 24/7 you can go before or after work.

The SMS/e-mail contains a PIN that you'll enter via the touchscreen, and voilà! The right locker opens and you can collect your goodies.

I'm lucky that I can receive my parcels at work, but I signed up for an Parcel Locker just to give it a try - partially so I can blog about it :-).

At present, Parcel Lockers are available at Brisbane GPO, Bourke Street and St Kilda in Melbourne, and St Leonards in Sydney.

Australia Post is also opening 24-hour Superstores with Parcel Lockers as well as vending machines and self-service terminals for sending parcels. There is already one in Brisbane GPO and one in Melbourne. They're going to open in the following locations:

Werribee and Collins Street West, Melbourne (VIC)
Cairns and Capalaba (QLD)
Queanbeyan, Shellharbour and North Sydney (NSW)
Launceston (TAS)
West Perth (WA)

Photo: Power Retail

Looks like the way we send and receive parcels will change for the better. Good one, Australia Post.

You can find out more about Parcel Lockers here

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The great cosmetics ripoff

When it comes to discrepancy between Australian and international prices, make up must be close to, if not at, the top of the list. For instance, a MAC lipstick is $US17 in the US and $A35 here, and Stila's natural finish oil-free makeup costs $US38 compared to $A80 at Mecca.

It's actually worse with pharmacy brands. For instance, Revlon has just released the popular Colorburst lip butter in Australia. It costs $US6.49 at US Target. And how much is the RRP in Australia? $A21.95.

Why is that the case? I can (almost) understand markups of up to 100% - a few years ago $A1 was only worth fifty US cents. [ETA: And good point made by @horrypop on Twitter that US minimum wage ($US7.25) is much lower than Australian minimum wage (around $15)]. But paying 3.5 times for a brand new product when the Aussie dollar is stronger than the US dollar? It doesn't make any sense. I cannot justify paying such an exorbitant price out of principle.

So what's a girl to do? Head to eBay, that's what.

There are many sellers from the US that offer the lipsticks around $13-15 including postage. The sellers make a decent profit even if they purchase the lipsticks at US RRP, and we can get our hands on them at almost 50% off the Australian RRP.

So I'm going to test out the colours at Priceline or Chemist Warehouse and buy them online. I know I'm not the only one. I hope Revlon, L'Oreal, Max Factor and the like realise that we are not fools and know when we're being ripped off, and that price gouging is not a good strategy in the long run.

I rarely buy makeup in Australia anymore. I stock up when I'm overseas or purchase online from places like ASOS (interestingly I've never purchased from StrawberryNet!). How about you? Are you directing more of your makeup purchases online? Will you try a product at a pharmacy or makeup counter then purchase online?

P.S. Priceline is having a "buy one get one free" offer on Revlon lip and nail range from Thursday so I may head there on Thursday morning to have a look. Just goes to show that Revlon and Priceline can sell the product at $11.

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The dark side of online shopping

Photo: Amazon

I came across a article on the Sydney Morning Herald website about the working conditions of warehouse workers at the major online retailers in the US like Amazon. It refers to Mac McClelland, a US journalist who did s stint at one of the warehouses. The experience is fascinating, and also a bit disconcerting.

The advice Mac received before she started was to "leave your pride and your personal life at the door", not what you expect from a job moving things up from shelves to the conveyor belt.

The environment is intense. Workers are not allowed to miss any shifts in the first week, otherwise they're fired. One guy had to miss a day because his wife gave birth - there was no exception and he had to apply with the temp agency again.

After the first week, lateness and absence lead to penalty points (e.g. 1 minute late = 0.5 points, 1 day absence = 1.5 points). One you get 6 points you're out the door.

The time to perform each job is tracked and compared against a target that does not allow for error or rest. The packers work 10-hour shifts and are expected to walk up to 20km per shift. They have two 15-minute breaks and a half-hour lunch break ("Lunch is 29 minutes and 59 seconds—we've been reminded of this: "Lunch is not 30 minutes and 1 second"—that's a penalty-point-earning offense").

Pay is minimal (less than $US12 per hour) and because they're temp jobs there is no job security even if you work at the same place for years. Injury is a regular occurrence. The reward for meeting your target is new, tougher targets.

One line in the article stuck in my mind:

We cannot move at a "comfortable pace," because if we are comfortable, we will never make our numbers, and customers are not willing to wait.

Are we, as customers, that demanding? I think not. It all comes down to money. Using lowly paid, easily replaceable labour to work at a frantic pace reduce the etailer's costs, so they can offer us lower prices/make more money.

This reminds me of factory life during the Industrial Revolution. And that makes me sad.

You can read McClelland's full article here.

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Claire Danes in ASOS magazine

I'm a big fan of Homeland and Claire Danes is fantastic on the show.

It was a pleasant surprise to see her on the cover of the latest ASOS magazine.

Getting one of the hottest actress on TV to model for your clothes (I assume for free) is quite a coup for ASOS.

You can pick up the T-shirt Claire wore above for under $30! Bargain, no?

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