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FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions About Our By-Pound Kimono

---To see details on this product please click HERE ---

  • As a person who works as a textile artist involving dye work etc., I like to work with pure natural silks. When you say you include 'synthetics' in the A package, how many will there be?

    First some background on this: In the 1960's and 1970's, as the cost of natural (labor intensive) silks rose with increased demand within Japan, the Japanese fabric industries began experimenting with blends of synthetics of all sorts with natural silks, as well as all synthetic fabrics which were made to replicate the look, touch and feel of true natural silk. Some of these synthetics and blends are so good that even those experienced in identifying fabrics have trouble distinguishing them. Also, as the older silks (all natural silk) steadily become fewer and fewer, their costs naturally rise. Also, with the advent of the internet and on-line auctions in Japan, many there who would have recycled old silk garments now are selling them directly instead of giving to recyclers. This results in fewer all-silks in the 'vintage pool'.

    But to get to your question, our A packages are comprised of mostly all-silks and silk blends, with a minority of all synthetics, the latter being included only when they are higher quality and aesthetic value. We do also offer finer by-piece vintage silk pieces, most of them from ceremonial kimono from the 1930's-60's in a special site section devoted to pieces.Hope that helps.

  • Where do you get all these old kimono(s) for your by-pound packages?

Please read our 'about us' page to learn more about Yoko and how she works closely with her family in Japan. Her family's network of alliances within the Japanese antiques and textiles trades serve us well. Also, her family has been in the recycling industry for some time. Our sources for these kimono are from throughout Japan using our connections in the Japanese recycling industry as well as other sources (auctions, markets, store liquidations, estate sales, family network, etc.)These connections enable us to get prime and timely access to good volumes of these old kimono ahead of many Japanese dealers and brokers. Also, as we need no 'middle-man', we are able to procure these for substantially less than most other brokers or wholesalers, who must go through brokers, travel to Japan, etc. We bring the "A" package kimonos in directly from Japan about once a month, depending on the time of year and demand. We now fill orders almost daily for the "by-pound package", many to repeat customers.

  • What do you mean by "vintage"?

When we say "vintage" we mean what recyclers of used clothing call, "Grades 1-3 used"; These kimonos are used, worn and vary from 50+ years to 10 years old; Some of them 'deadstock', meaning they may be 10-20 years old, were never sold and are like 'new', just have been on a shelf somewhere for years. None of our pieces are shredded or cut "rags"; Almost all pieces are intact kimono of all sorts, and the occasional coverlet or remnant (for example: kimonos may have the occasional sleeve missing). We also discuss the definition of 'vintage' in an interview available in audio.

  • In general, who buys these vintage by-pound kimonos from you?

Many of our customers are quiltmakers. In addition we sell to many designers, couturiers, dressmakers & artists. Many buyers are groups of quilters who gather together to make a purchase. We have supplied costumes to several professional stage productions, festivals, a professional costume company and other individual performers. We also supply makers of everything from bags, vests,scarves to kitchen decor pieces. We also sell these bundles to other small businesses who then take them apart & either make new items, or sell kits to quilters. We are aware that some of our business buyers sell these kimonos as used garments, and while we do not sell with that express intent, we do not object.

  • Why aren't you including obi in the by-pound any more?

1. Our price to buy obis in Japan has gone up. The demand, even in Japan, for vintage obi has risen dramatically.This makes it harder & more costly for us to get obi. They are now far less likely to be included in our 'by pound' lots than they were even a year ago.
2. In general, any obis we have in the by-pound mix are not in good shape, so if we include them, they will be added to the completed order, more or less as a 'scrap'.Some artists are able to use these and we know this. If you are one of them, it won't hurt to ask when you order. Any further questions please write/call Yoko directly.

  • How much flexibility do I have in choosing what goes in the mix, within the specs you list on your site (for example, can you give me all silk, or mostly red and bright colors)?yo

Some background information before I answer this one: We are basically a small family business. We are not set up in the US to do processing/sorting. We pre-sort these in Japan before they are shipped here. We do the final selection for each order by hand here. Since we buy in volume, selected to be fairly balanced across all the different types & criteria, if we were to deviate, then soon we would not be able to give all customers a balanced mix. In general we cannot deviate much from the way we describe the bulk packages in the product specifications sheet. Your best bet is to let us know what you're looking for and we can tell you if we can meet your needs.

  • I used to get bulk kimonos by the bale somewhere else, but they went out of business. Can you send me bulk kimono in bales?

We prefer not to bale these vintage kimono/fabrics, particularly the silks. In fact, we bring them into the US in boxes; these are not baled from the time we get these in Japan until we seal the box for UPS to pick up your order. We do not like what the baling wire or strapping does to many of the older fabrics, so even when we ship to customers we use boxes. All items are folded or lain flat in the carton. So, in a nutshell -- we do not bale our bulk kimonos.

  • Whatever happened to your "B" packages of the used/vintage vintage cottons?

Spring 2005: We added a new product, "C Package" cottons. Details HERE.
http://www.yokodana.com/cpackage.htm

  • Why don't you offer these vintage kimono in smaller lots, less than 20lbs?

We responded to this issue following a survey of our membership and made changes to the bulk products, which now only require a ten pound mininum. If you are still in need of even smaller lots,we have found several other small businesses which can meet your needs in this. Please look at our e-neighbors page for their names. We hope you can understand our situation.

Spring 2005: To address this issue we added a new product, "D Package", and also lowered the minimum order for the other packages (silks,cottons). Details HERE.
http://www.yokodana.com/bulk kimono/index.htm

  • How do some of your customers use these kimonos creatively?

The uses are varied. Many quilters use them, but designers and artists use them to make a wide variety of fabric art, textile creative projects, clothing and accessory items; we also sell to commercial dress-makers who use them to make dresses, tops and accessories..

There is a book by Kathy Pippin (published in 2001), called Quilting with Japanese Fabrics. It comes highly recommended by some of our customers, and the reviews of users on Amazon.com are very positive. Learn more by clicking logo below:


In Association with Amazon.com

  • Why don't you charge shipping? What do you mean -- exactly -- by 'shipping included'? Isn't it 'tricky' to say 'free shipping'? How do I know I'm not overpaying for shipping?

These are all -- except one -- legitimate questions, and we're more than happy to spell it out:

OUR REPLY:

These are fair questions, except the one about 'free shipping'. We stress that we've never called it 'free' shipping, because it is not. We've just combined things to make it easier for the 2 of us here to process your orders in a timely fashion.. Also, it is so much simpler for the customer in the order process not to have to work through charts, or link to the Postal or UPS site to figure it out. If anything, most customers are under-paying for shipping.

Background: In the beginning of our web site (1998) we tried several approaches: First we had each customer give us their address, we calculated and then notified them. As our site grew, this became very inefficient time-wise, so for a time we also tried adding a flat price for USA shipping, based on the lowest zone price. We got complaints and questions about adjusting shipping for particular zip codes, so this flat rate seemed to creat its own set of problems for visitors/customers.

From our point of view, the time we save in getting orders out quickly -- without adding dozens of emails (at least) a day to handle, just to manage the shipping cost question -- is well worth it in customer convenience and our time saved. We feel our approach to including shipping is a win-win; we 'win' by having more time to communicate with visitors or customers, process orders and generally run our web site business; the customers win by not having to bother with calculations and in a simpler order process, as well as actually saving money on shipping in the majority of cases.In the end, we realized we needed to make it extremely simple -- both for our own management, and for customers.

This is what we ended up with, and do now:

Shipping Calculation for "Cost Included":

1. Web Catalog Items,by piece:

Basically, before posting item to the site we get our list price for an item and add the shipping charge to ship it. We factor that into the list price.International customers: We deduct what we would pay to ship same item across USA (above) from the actual cost , per USPS web site, for your choice of shipment type plus insurance (all are insured).

2. By Pound Kimono (KR-110-x Series):

These always go by UPS in continental USA. We factor the average cost for shipment in USA into our pricing formula. This varies with each shipment due to fluctuations in market price for buying in Japan. We always include a few extra pieces so that no one is over-paying for actual cost to ship.

For International customers of KR-110-x: We deduct US$9.00 per 10lbs from the actual cost of overseas shipments.We use the US Postal web site quotations for your choice of shipment type plus insurance (all are insured). If the difference between Air Parcel Post insured and Express is only a few dollars, we use Express (includes insurance & has tracking ) at our expense as this is the safest, most reliable overseas shipping method. This varies significantly by country, so we will advise you when we contact you after the order is placed.

So -- to make a long story short -- while we may reduce our profit on one specific order by a small amount, we more than make up for it with the creation of good will, repeat customers and a visitor-friendly web site.If you have any comments/questions about this -- or anything at all -- please send us an email.

  • If I am outside the USA, will you accept returns of my order of "A Package" bulk kimono?


INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: We STRONGLY urge you to check your local postal, customs and import process and fees and read our terms for overseas customers. We know from customers that at least Italy and UK can be assessed high duties and VAT etc. if your shipment is selected for close screening upon entry through customs.

Have you read all the info in the specs pages, seen pictures of sample bulk kimono orders? Do you still have a question about our bulk kimonos -- or anything else? If so, please email us via our web mail form.

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 This page content was last updated/edited May 25, 2005
Yoko Trading, Fleetwood, Pennsylvania USA
& Kumamoto-ken, JAPAN