Fansite Goods, Group Orders/G.O., and My First Order!

I have been into Kpop for such as long time (almost 5 years), and I just recently discovered this new world of "Fansite goods." I know, where have I been?

So, Fansite goods tend to be very different from Official goods. Official goods are from the company itself; items ranging from CDs to Seasonal Greetings. However, Fansite goods are plushies, plush dolls, plush toys, key chains, slogans, and last but not least my favorite thing, Photobook. 

I saw these fan goods before, but never really paid attention much to it because I always thought, "Why do I need fan goods if SM have EXO goods for me?" or something along the line of that for all kpop groups. 

BUT (big BUT) the best thing about fansite goods is that they give an enormous amount of freebies. I'm talking about if you buy a photobook, you don't just get a photobook, most of the time you get:

1. photocards (usually 20-30)
2. a mini photobook
3. a DVD of idols' performances
4. a fan, stickers
5. posters (A1, A2, or A3 in sizes)
6. postcards
7. "radiation protection sticker"
8. transparent cards, etc.

See how many things SM can't give me?
Okay, so I'm not trying to say that Official goods are bad, I want them just as much as I want the fansite goods. But I do want to point out that the fansite goods' quality is just as great as the official goods, and just cuter.

Anyways, I'm done blabbing and I will get to the point. The moment I I learned about them, I wanted to buy something so bad. But how?

How Do I Buy These Fansite Goods? 

If you live in the USA, CANADA, or maybe even MEXICO, there are "group orders" on twitter that allow anyone from these countries to order.

What is a Group Order/G.O?

Group order (on twitter) is run by one person. That person will open up a group order, say for EXO plushies, for the people who live in his/her country. Anyone who is interested and must be committed to the group order will fill out a form and pay as instructed. 

So Why G.O?

If you order fansite goods from the fansites themselves, the shipping (EMS) will cost higher than what your good is. These fansites are from Korean, China, sometimes Japan, Malaysia, India, etc. If you are not from those country, you will be stuck with $50 or higher EMS.

With group order, the more people sign up for the same good, the less EMS each person have to pay.
Example:
1 plushy = $25 + $40 EMS
2 plushies = 2x $25  + $ 60 EMS ($30 EMS/person)
3 plushies = 3x + $75 EMS ($25 EMS/person)
(USUALLY, the EMS goes down really fast even if there are only 2 people that order).

Things to Keep in Mind:

• You DO NOT have to pay other people's EMS
• You MUST BE committed. If you drop out of one of the order, you might get blacklist/banned (Yes, Hyuna's Blacklist)
• DEADLINE. Yes, these orders have deadlines, sometimes the deadline is very far away, sometimes is the next weekend.
• The people who are hosting the orders, he/she/they are people who have jobs, family, friends. IF THEY ARE LATE ON THEIR DEADLINES, don't get irritated, don't angry-message them, just ask them what will happen to the order, or how long it would take.  
• Some hosts will not do the group order you ask them to do. These people are willing to do it for non-profit. They gain nothing for doing this, so they do what they want. However, some people refuse to do a group order because another host is already doing it. You just have to look. 

My First Order

I recently just ordered a Photobook from My Black Label (a Chanyeol fansite). This is their first ever Photobook called "Beautiful." Since it's a photobook, it costs me $48 for the set. I ordered it from Ice Breeze Group Order on Twitter. So far, I paid for the set only because we are still waiting for My Black Label to give us the EMS price. After that, I'll pay for 2nd payment (EMS + Paypal fee). We will wait for it to arrive to Ice Breeze, then she/he will do a third payment (that is domestic shipping) from she/he to me.

Details:

• Book 1 A4 size / about 140 pages / 2012-2013
• Book 2 A4 size / about 200 pages / 2014-2016.3 (~ exoluxion.dot concert)

OVERSEAS GIFT : Hardcase, mini photobook
ALL GIFT : postcards, photocards, transparent photocards, electromagnetic wave blocking sticker, A2 Poster, A1 Poster, Sticker, FAN

Preview Pictures (Credits: My Black Label).

I will post a master list of all the group orders that are currently active in another post. But you can search up Ice Breeze Group Order to see what she/he is currently doing for G.O.