BEAMS from Japan

What is a Japanese select shop, and what does BEAMS actually sell?

A select shop is a Japanese retailer that curates other brands alongside its own labels, and BEAMS, founded in Harajuku in 1976, is the model of the format. It sells imported and Japanese brands chosen by its buyers, its own labels — BEAMS, BEAMS PLUS for Americana, BEAMS BOY, BEAMS F for tailoring, Ray BEAMS for women, BEAMS GOLF, B:MING by BEAMS and International Gallery BEAMS — and 別注 (betchū) items: versions of other brands' products made exclusively for BEAMS, such as a sneaker in a BEAMS-only colourway. The 別注 layer is what overseas buyers come for, because it exists only in Japan and reaches the resale market the moment a release sells out. BEAMS' own online store delivers inside Japan only; OneMall supplies the Japanese address, pays in yen and forwards from our Japan warehouse.

What does 別注 mean on a BEAMS listing?

That the item was made for BEAMS by another brand and sold only through BEAMS. 別注 (betchū, "special order") appears in listing titles as ビームス別注 followed by the partner brand — New Balance, Barbour, Champion, Porter, Levi's, Clarks and many others — and it identifies a product that never entered the partner brand's own range. Because these runs are limited to BEAMS stores and its Japanese online shop, they are what BEAMS buyers search for by name on Mercari and Yahoo Auctions after a sell-out, and the listing will normally carry both brand names and the word 別注.

• ビームス別注 + brand — a BEAMS-exclusive version of that brand's product
• 完売 — sold out at retail
• 今季 / 昨季 — this season / last season
• タグ付き / 未使用 — tags attached / unused
• 国内正規 — bought through the domestic channel, as stated by the seller

How do BEAMS sizes compare to US sizes?

BEAMS labels use Japanese sizing, which runs smaller than US sizing at the same letter, so the 実寸 (jissun) measurements Japanese sellers list in centimetres are the reliable guide. Own-label pieces are sized S, M, L, XL on the Japanese scale; 別注 items from overseas brands usually keep the partner brand's sizing, and sellers say which. Compare the four garment measurements against something that fits you.

• 着丈 (kitake) — body length
• 身幅 (mihaba) — chest width, flat
• 肩幅 (katahaba) — shoulder width
• 袖丈 (sodetake) — sleeve length
• JPサイズ / USサイズ — sellers state which scale a 別注 item uses

Where is BEAMS sold, new and secondhand?

New through BEAMS stores and the BEAMS online shop, both domestic-only, and through ZOZOTOWN, which carries BEAMS labels; secondhand through Mercari, Rakuma, Yahoo Auctions and shop-graded at 2nd STREET and ZOZOTOWN's used section. Sold-out 別注 items reappear on the resale sites first. A product page from the BEAMS online shop can be pasted as a link and ordered through OneMall.

What does a BEAMS order from Japan cost all in?

The yen price plus OneMall's service fee at order time, the international shipping when the parcel leaves our Japan warehouse, and your own country's duty on arrival if charged. The fee is shown before you confirm; the seller's domestic shipping is added when charged. BEAMS orders tend to be several mid-priced pieces rather than one expensive one, so the saving is in consolidation: order from the BEAMS online shop and from two or three resale sellers, let everything arrive at the warehouse, and ship once. A 別注 sneaker in its box is the item that adds volume.

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How do Japanese sellers title BEAMS listings?

With the label in katakana and, for exclusives, the partner brand and 別注. ビームス alone returns everything; adding the label name or 別注 narrows it to what you want.

• ビームス / BEAMS — the shop
• ビームスプラス / レイビームス / ビームスボーイ — the labels
• ビームス別注 ニューバランス — an exclusive, with partner brand
• ビームスジャパン — Japanese crafts line
• タグ付き / 完売 — tags attached / sold out