⚠️ 2024 update: We have moved to https://RepsGuide.com/guide/
Couture
https://repsguide.com/couture/
Community Links
Introduction to r/CoutureReps
We mostly discuss brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Lacoste.
Brands such as Moncler and Stone Island also do apply, as long as it is a non-hype item. Posts that contain brands such as Supreme, Nike Jordan, Travis Scott, Dior, etc. will be removed.
Beginners Guide to r/CoutureReps
Welcome new Rep Enthusiast!
This guide is made for new members of r/CoutureReps
It contains everything that you need to know about the basics of the rep game. No cap, all useful information that will set you off right away!
The whole process can best be summed up with 3 terms: Finding, Buying, International Shipping.
This flowchart describes the whole process: from ordering your items to receiving them at home.
To answer the most common question right away, in simplified terms:
- You buy from a Chinese marketplace, because they are cheaper.
- Since these are not open to you, you have to use an agent (we will get to that).
- The agent buys the item for you and you get to inspect it.
- Then you can ship it internationally.
- There’s a risk to run into customs, but 99% of the cases can be solved, if you know what you’re doing
So you want to get started finding, buying and eventually shipping your items? Go ahead and check out this separate guide we made. It contains a lot of information and pictures regarding these topics;
There have been lots of developments on that front, so it’s always worth checking out to find new methods.
To buy items through Taobao, it is advised to use an agent. The reasons to use an agent have only become stronger, with new paperwork that’s better filled out by experienced companies, like the agents. An agent is a freight forwarder in the middle, who buys and stores the item in their warehouse, where they let you decide if you want to keep them, based on quality inspection provided by the agent. If you are not satisfied, you can return the item and get your money back. It is as simple as that, agents eliminate many of the risks. If you choose to order without an agent, your purchases are at the mercy of the sellers – you might receive damaged or even incorrect goods, and you won’t find out until they reach your doorstep and you paid.
We partnered up with Sugargoo, WegoBuy and Superbuy to give our new members coupons up to $85 using our partner links. You can choose which agent you wish to use.
=>
Sugargoo $45 Signup bonus=>
WegoBuy $45 Signup bonus=>
Superbuy $85 Signup bonusAll these agents are worthy of your business. Top to bottom they go from budget (good price, not so good service) to premium (not so good price, but great service). Wegobuy is in the middle and what we recommend, especially for noobs.
If you care about cold hard numbers, use a
shipping calculator/agent comparison.
You might find that other agents are cheaper, such as
BaseTao,
YTaoPal,
CSSBuy, but we can’t provide you with an extra bonus as a new member. And you don’t support CoutureReps, but that’s alright.
You might be all about the items, but the core of the process is shipping. It’s where educated customers are separated from uneducated customers, and where you can save or lose most money.
Navigating the sites itself should be rather self explanatory. In order to keep this guide concise, I won’t tell you about every button you have to click for every agent. There are plenty of YouTube videos for that. Unsurprisingly, I would recommend the
RepArchive Guides Playlist.
There are two things, that are not self explanatory, that are important.
use rehearsal packaging. Your item is pre-packaged and weight, eliminating the guessing game, resulting in much cheaper upfront costs for you, up to 50% cheaper. Always use this.
, but we will provide a more detailed guide soon.
Choose the right shipping service. Cheap isn’t always the best, and won’t help you if your parcels never get there. Yes, there are definitely shipping combinations (country/shipping service) that you should avoid at all costs. We’ll be honest with you, wiki pages like this one are far too static to keep a list like that up to date. Do your own research. I don’t want this guide to turn into a list of RepArchive links, but once again they have the simplest and best solution: a survey that collects the latest answers from a wide audience, made available via a chat bot. So you can just ask it what’s the best shipping to my country, and then you know more:
Recommended Sellers List
| Seller Name | Why? | Focus | Link | Contact</thead> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MadeByKungFu | Great communication and insights in the production, unique items | Dior, Louis Vuitton (low key) | https://madebykungfu.x.yupoo.com | wechat @ madebykungfu |
| Feiyu8698 | Tried and tested and trusted,u/RepArchive‘s #1 | Canada Goose | https://shop111882070.world.taobao.com/ | wechat @ Feiyu8698 |
| Ninja in Stone | Community approved. | Canada Goose | https://ninjainstone.x.yupoo.com/albums | wechat @ mz131417888 |
| HoekeFactory | Great communication | Various | https://hoekefactory.x.yupoo.com/ | wechat @ Hoekedesign |
These sellers have a big inventory of basics, some call them resellers, but what counts for our niche they are the only ones able to offer such a wide array at a low price. Standard requests like RL t-shirts, sweaters and sweatpants can be servered by these sellers.
| Seller Name | Why? | Focus | Link | Contact</thead> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0832 Club | Well organized store, frequent updates | Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger | www.0832club.net/#/homewww.0832club.com | wechat @ o832club_ricky |
| Han Solo | Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, The North Face | https://hansolo2.x.yupoo.com | whatsapp @ +8618752189168 | |
| TopChineseGuy007 / TopMan007 | Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger | https://topchineseguy007.x.yupoo.com | whatsapp @ +8613272561257 |
| Seller Name | Why? | Focus | Link | Contact</thead> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chez Pierre | #1, Shipping from Europe | https://shop.chezpierre.rs/?ref=CoutureReps*affiliate link | whatsapp @ +38163414753 |
Guide to Finding Items on TaoBao, Weiden & Others
How to find items from Taobao, Weidian and Trusted Sellers
There are a few methods to find items. All have their pros and cons and to successfully find what you’re looking for you should use a combination of them.
We separate these methods into specific searches and inspirational, luck based methods of finding items
Specific searches
Searching Reddit – Native Reddit Search
Just start typing in the search bar at the top of the page. You can improve your technique by utilizing tags and other search operators, but I suggest you keep reading to learn better methods.
Pro: Simple to use.
Con: The reddit search is very unreliable and needs exact matches. It only searches the title and body, not the comments. Abbreviations and typos are not found.
Searching Reddit – Reddit Search through Google
This is my preferred way, as google finds items that match your intent, not exact words. That means you will find abbreviations, synonyms and typos. More importantly it also searches the comments.
If you don’t like google you can also use another search engine, but indexation can be an issue and google seems to have the widest indexation.
How it works:
- Type what you’re searching for into the search engine
- append
site:reddit.com/r/couturereps. - Example:
RL polo shirt site:reddit.com/r/couturerepsexample google link. - You can of course replace with any other sub.
- If you don’t find anything give
site:reddit.coma shot.
Pro: You find a lot more posts.
Con: A little uncomfortable on mobile. Posts with low uploads or very recent posts might not be indexed.
Reverse Image Search
Reverse image search means you download a picture of the item you’re looking for and search for it on taobao or weidian. Success depends on the clarity of the picture.
How it works:
- Taobao: Currently disabled with no workaround. Old guide:Open the reverse image search pageand click the camera icon in the search bar. Then upload your own image. This “legacy link” is necessary because taobao does not publicly offer the feature anymoresource
- Weidian: Currently disabled with no workaround.source
Pro: This is the way to find new items that haven’t been discovered by the community yet.
Con: You need to do the work yourself. You will also find retail offers or items that look similar. You might also have to login, which can be difficult for many reasons.
Find inspiration
Scrolling through Reddit
Let’s start with the simplest method. Just open reddit, subscribe to a few rep subreddits and start scrolling.
It’s a good way to get inspired, so it’s a great method when you have no idea what you’re even looking for.
Live feed
RepArchive.com has a live feed of recent purchases from taobao and weidian. This service is made possible by Superbuy and Wegobuy. This is a nice place for inspiration and you can be sure that at least 1 person thought the item was worth buying.
Link:
https://reparchive.com/feed/liveClick through a trusted sellers list
a
r/CoutureRepstrusted sellers list is coming soonJust open a trusted sellers list, ideally it is at least sorted by brands. That gives you somewhere to start, then you open the links for each seller and look if they have something you want.
Top items
I list this as a separate category because it is a mix of both. Of course it’s luck based because you have no search bar, you get what you get so to say. But because the most popular items are listed it serves as the answer to most search requests we get.
RepArchive Top
RepArchive TOP lists the top 200 Taobao and Weidian items that are selling the best. It comes with a bunch of features such as images and prices on the page, different time frames to look at, currency conversion and support for different agents. You can also look at the items that have been rising the ranks the quickest.
Especially for new people this should be the only page you need to visit, without needing to learn any of the more complicated methods listed above.
Link.Some information about TaoBao
There are other reliable agents beyond Wegobuy and Superbuy. which may offer more favourable shipping rates or lines to your part of the world. Check with other rep subreddits (
r/FashionReps,
r/DesignerReps, etc.) for a more comprehensive list of trusted agents, as they do fall in and out of favour periodically, but right now Pandabuy, Sugargoo and CSSBuy are also popular.
Once you’ve purchased an item through an agent, it will be sent from the domestic seller to their warehouse. You’ll receive QC pics and be afforded the opportunity to exchange or return an item if it’s not satisfactory (usually within a 7 day period). Some agents offer free additional QC pictures, others charge a nominal fee but you can request additional photos of any aspect you wish.
All agents have a grace period where items will be stored free of charge. This varies from agent to agent, so if you foresee this being a concern, make sure to check how long the storage period is for the agent you’ve chosen. Storage periods can be extended beyond the free allotment for a nominal fee, or otherwise your items will be disposed of if you let the storage period lapse.
International shipping is not included in the initial price you pay to purchase the item and have it sent to your warehouse, and it can be a substantial portion of the total cost of your package, depending on which shipping line you choose and how much you’re attempting to ship. Typically with other subs that deal with heavier, larger general use items like clothing or shoes, a “haul” is usually multiple kilograms. Dealing with watches I think most people will find the shipping rates aren’t quite as exorbitant since even buying a few watches at a time won’t amount to much, weight-wise.
Much like all TDs can source the same watches, all agents can buy from the same variety of domestic Chinese marketplaces. Most commonly you’ll encounter Taobao, Weidian, or Yupoo links, but odds are if it’s for sale in mainland China, and agent can buy it for you.
