Hello everyone! This is a post that I have been wanting to write for a while and I’m so happy that I’ve finally found the time to do so. I am really really excited about this post because I definitely want you all to be able to find your unicorns!
On Unicorns: My definition of a unicorn is that it is your unicorn. A unicorn in the traditional Lulu sense is that it is a highly sought after item that is difficult to find. When I use the term, that’s often what I mean, but I can also mean something that is special to you. Sometimes my unicorns are not really all that highly sought after, but they are rare. I hope that when I talk about unicorns in this post you understand that I mean all types of unicorns, whether they qualify in the traditional sense or not.
There’s a reason why my mascot is a Unicorn. (Isn’t she so cute!?) It’s because I LOVE Lululemon, and I LOVE all my unicorns. There have been a bunch of ways that I have captured my unicorns- at the right price- and I want you all to be able to use these strategies to catch your unicorns at the right price for you. Honestly, I can’t guarantee you’ll find Quiet Stripes for $50, or Tribal Wanderlust Wunder Unders for any type of reasonable price, but for unicorns that aren’t the top 0.01% of popularity, I think my strategies, plus a little patience, will pay off. PS: I already wrote a post on how to find the best deals on Lululemon. That’s about the best deals over all, this post is about how to find rarer items at a semi-reasonable price.
Here’s a pic of those Tribals, only [sarcasm] $480 right now on eBay.
Let’s begin, the following are places where you can find your unicorn, along with sporadic advice on how to go about maximizing the possibility that you’ll find it!
The Boards
There are plenty of deals to be found on the Facebook Boards, but there are also lots of unicorns floating about. Here are some strategies I know to use these to your advantage.
ANY of the buy/ sell/ trade or auction groups.
There are sooooo many buy, sell, trade, and auction groups that it is hard to keep track. But browsing these groups might help you find your unicorn. Unfortunately, much of the time, your unicorn is also someone else’s unicorn, which might drive up the price. However, if you’re communicating directly with the seller, you might be able to convince them to give you a deal, especially if you’re buying more than one item from them. On auction pages, I’ve actually seen (and gotten) some great deals on my personal unicorns.
Some of the buy, sell, trade, and auction groups: The Unicorn Bidding Field, Lulu After Dark, Lululemon 911, Lululemon Amuurica, Lululemon Exchange, The Lululemon Market, Lululemon Bidding Battles
For older Unicorns, I really like ISO Lululemon. I post a photo in the size album of my choice in the color that I want to find and wait. Sometimes waiting doesn’t work. So, I’ve also posted text-based ads in ISO Lululemon offering a small “finder’s fee” for anyone who knows where I can get the item. I’ve never found my item because of the finder’s fee, but my strategy is to make sure that people know that I’m ISO, or DISO, and that I’m a serious buyer. Sometimes, people have an item that you want, but they’re not going to sell it to you because they think it’ll be a hassle. I know that there have been times where I see an ad on ISO Lululemon that says “VERY VERY DISO!!! X-Item, preferably markdown price.” By putting a price condition in your ad, you’re giving people reasons to not message you. Maybe someone has your item, but they’re selling it for retail. If it’s really your unicorn, at the end of the day, wouldn’t you rather have the opportunity to negotiate on price with the seller, rather than have them see that you’re looking for the markdown price and just not even messaging you in the first place? My point is: Unless you are absolutely firm, and that even if a NWT version of your unicorn came to fruition you would not budge on price- you should not post a price suggestion in your ISO ad. If you’re putting a price condition in your ad, you’re giving people who don’t need your money a reason to not contact you even if they have your item. Many people who sell Lululemon are not doing it for the money. Although, there are flippers out there, and you can find my opinion on them here. A lot of the people uniting other people with their unicorns do it for the good of the community, and to build their own good Lulu karma.
Other things to consider: Please respect the rules of this group. If someone creates a post looking for what you’re looking for, don’t say that you’re looking for the same thing on her post. Please create your own post. If someone has the item, maybe the seller will follow the advice provided in the rules and message each potential buyer to ask for their best and final offer, thereby giving you an equal opportunity to “catch” your unicorn.
Follow the posting rules, no pics on the wall, be sure to specify size & color and make sure you don’t use stock photos. This group remembers when another Facebook group got shut down due to using Lululemon’s stock photos. I remember when this happened as well. It was not fun. But what IS FUN is getting your unicorn! The best part of this group is that you’re basically allowed to bump your post as often as you want! This improves visibility of your post- and shows potential sellers that you’re serious about capturing your unicorn. I recommend bumping your post once a day.
A few years back, the way that I found my item on ISO Lululemon was just that: posting my ISO ad, bumping it once a day for a few days and offering a finder’s fee to show that I was serious, and someone contacted me. They even told me that they weren’t planning to sell the item, but they could tell how much I wanted it. And I paid their reasonable (IMO) asking price. It was less than what the item was being sold for on eBay, and less than retail- so, to my mind, that is fair.
PS: If you don’t know what ISO or DISO means, check out my post about Lululemon Acronyms.
Probably my favorite group right now. This group is FULL of AMAZING Angels and the Admins do a GREAT job! I’m updating my old “best deals on Lululemon” to include this group as well, but I have found more “recent” unicorns on here for fabulous prices. I’ve seen some really fantastic deals on Space Dye Wunder Unders, the special edition reflective print stuff from this past Black Friday has been on the board recently, the CRBs that were recently discontinued in favor of shorter length CRBs… just a myriad of great stuff at amazing prices. I can’t say enough great things about this group and the people in it.
Best use for Lululand: If you think you just missed out on your unicorn this is the group for you. Maybe your budget didn’t allow you to buy that week or you were really busy that week and didn’t realize you had your eye on such a hot item- and *bam!* by the time you finally get around to it, it’s sold out! Well, you may find have missed out that week, but if you stay vigilant, and turn on your notifications, maybe an angel will post your item after finding a deal either in-store or at an outlet. Don’t forget to tip your angels!
This group has lovely ladies who tell you about great deals on marked down items in-store, and although no angeling is allowed, you can call the store and have them send it to you. Again, this group is best for people who have just missed out on their unicorns.
I don’t love eBay for finding unicorns. When it comes to unicorns, they are often over-priced. But there is one strategy that has worked for me and I will share that one. It is the same as one of the eBay strategies I shared on my old “best deals on Lulu” post. That is simply this: Set up alerts for the items you want. Following auctions might get you a deal on your desired unicorn, and it might not, but at least if you see the item early, you have a chance to “buy it now” before anyone places that first bid, thereby (possibly) nullifying the BIN option.
Both apps are good for finding deals, but not so good for finding unicorns. I’ve seen it so many times: someone posts a GREAT deal on a unicorn, notices that there is a TON of interest, deletes the listing and reposts at a higher price. Not fun. But, I figured I’d mention them because of those good deals, who knows, maybe your unicorn is on there after all!
Local Finds and Consignment Shops
You might be able to find your unicorn on Craigslist or Kijiji, but beware that the seller might be getting a lot of messages from people who also want her item. Consignment shops can be great for finding deals, but are a gamble on whether or not you’ll find a unicorn. It’s always fun to go take a look though, amiright?
Final Thoughts:
The best place, hands down, to find your unicorn for a moderately reasonable price is the Facebook boards & groups. The ladies on the boards are really helpful and courteous. There is a ton of goodwill built up in the community and people are always willing to go out of their way for each other. It’s really wonderful to see. These are the people that will angel your unicorn to you, tell you/ tag you in the post if they see your unicorn for sale somewhere, and help you find your unicorn any way they can! I hope that this post has been helpful.
Aside: I think it’s funny sometimes how “into” writing I get then 5 hours later, I’m like, “oh! it’s 2am.” Thanks, as always for reading. I really do appreciate you taking the time. Let me know how you find your unicorns in the comments!
*There are a ton of links in this post- if any are broken, or not working for you, please let me know in the comments and I’ll fix them!