Although Purim will only take place in more than a month, the panic for costumes is already in full swing - especially when it comes to those sent to Israel from abroad. Despite the fear of canceling various events following the corona, parents stock up on costumes for the holiday Those who want to shop at sites overseas will have to do so right now, due to the arrival times of the shipments, which are not always in line with expectations.
There are sites that offer deliveries directly to Israel, such as Ali Express and eBay, and there are companies that offer delivery to Israel from sites that do not provide such a service.
These are not just shipments from the US - now also Turkey and England on the map. Gets momentum thanks to the attractive prices.
Wonder Woman costume, NIS 74.75, TRENDYOL website, Yolando
According to Alon Paster, Head of Business Development at eBay's Emerging Markets: "We have seen an increase in eBay in recent months in purchasing costumes and complementary accessories. Our best month in costumes and accessories is January, which is two months before Purim. This year we also saw a 200 percent increase in November and December, which shows that the Israeli consumer is becoming smarter and understands the advantage of pre-ordering, which leads to better prices. "
Pasteur also points to a change in buyers' financial expenses: "There is a trend of an increase of about 20 percent in the price at which Israelis buy costumes - they are willing to pay more for a quality product."
In other words: eliminate the order of the Queen Esther dress for NIS 20, and greet you with a luxurious robe at a triple price, which will also be suitable for next year.
Turkey is waiting for us
What costumes do Israelis like?
Every year a new star emerges that steals the children's attention - when, of course, these are usually characters from series and movies.
"This year we saw a significant increase in the search for 'The Squid Game,'" Pasteur says.
"There was a hysterical buzz around the series, which caused an increase of more than a thousand percent in the demand for character costumes. There are also trends around games like 'Fortnight', 'Minecraft', 'Super Mario' and 'Sonic', and the regulars: 'Power Rangers' "Anna and Elsa. We're also seeing a nice rise around superheroes like Wonder Woman and Batman."
Witch costume, NIS 59.55, TRENDYOL website, Yolando
Did shipping prices go up because of the corona?
"Shipping prices have naturally risen in sea and air shipments, so there is an increase. On eBay sellers tend to offer several types of shipments, with fast ones usually a little more expensive. There are free shipments that arrive slower, it depends on where the seller is located."
Do you anticipate delays for shipments?
"There is no reason for that, the crisis was two years ago. People learned to order in advance, and the suppliers also learned to manage according to demand and anticipate them."
As mentioned, Turkey also stars this year as an important source for buying costumes, mainly because of the prices of the products.
USHOPS, which offers shipping from the United States, anticipated demand, adding Turkey and the UK this year as well.
"Turkey allows Israelis to enjoy the quality of the fabrics of the most extensive industry in the country at cheap prices. Two major clothing sites that hold costumes are Lc Waikiki, where costume prices start at NIS 23, and the H&M chain in Turkey, which has a large variety and allows online shopping."
Elsa costume, NIS 38.18, TRENDYOL website, Yolando
What other sites do you recommend?
"On the official Disney website you can find an Elsa costume at a discount of $ 29.98, a family costume from the movie 'Super-Family' that is not available in the country, Cinderella in a wheelchair for children and more. Other sites worth visiting are the 'Halloween Express', which has a Transformers costume "Great, and the Great Pretenders website, which offers excellent quality costumes, such as superhero robes. There is also Hepsiburada, a Market Place website where you can find all the costume suppliers in Turkey, with prices starting at NIS 16 per costume and NIS 7 per accessory."
Ben-Eli proposes to change the destination country from Israel to the country of origin of the site, in order to get cheaper options: "Whoever changes the destination country will be exposed to a much wider range of costumes, at prices sometimes tens of percent cheaper than those sent to Israel. Israeli consumers have a whole world of options, even on sites that are already shipping to Israel. Next, for example, sells a huge variety of costumes, which can only be discovered with the change of destination country to the United Kingdom. On sites like Smallable, Meri Meri and Childrensalon ".
Dudi Tal, a representative of the Turkish forwarding company "Yolando" in Israel, also talks about the Israeli attack on the Turkish sites: "Since the beginning of January, we have been aware of the widespread phenomenon of ordering costumes from Turkey. It has quite a few costumes sold throughout the year. The increase is more than 50 percent in the amount of packages sent to Israel in recent weeks. The price for delivery to Israel is around $ 20 per two kilograms, which is about three costumes, and the delivery time to Israel is between 5-4 Business days with regular delivery to the house. "Sreder Govenkia, CEO of Yolando, adds:" Last year we exported to Israel almost 1,000 packages that included costumes bought in Turkey, and this year we started the month with hundreds of packages, so towards next month we expect to double the amount From last year. "
Superman costume, NIS 51.99, TRENDYOL website, Yolando
Purim also abroad
Yaniv Kotter, one of the owners of the shipping company DealTas, which provides an address to Israelis in the United States, points out the price differences between Israel and the United States before the corona, noting that orders this year, which amount to 40 percent more than last year, still do not reach pre-epidemic quantities: "The pre-corona offerings were tens of percent lower than what was offered in Israel at the time. You could find a Disney princess costume that sold in Israel for NIS 140 - less than $ 20. Costumes for adults cost $ 50-25, compared to NIS 200-300 in Israel."
However, not everything is black: "Even today you can still find good prices in the discount department in the big stores," he encourages.
"The Pan City website offers a selection of costumes for children for $ 9.99 and $ 19.99. This year, stores abroad treat Purim as a legitimate holiday.
You can even find costumes like Queen Esther, Mordecai and the evil Haman.
Although these stores do not ship directly to Israel, we do ship them here. "
Why is it most important to pay attention when buying a costume for a child?
Fix the safety on the costumes.
Moran Kirshner Goldberg, VP of Marketing at Israel Post, notes: "In recent years, the trend has not necessarily been to choose the cheapest when it comes to children's costumes.
There is a growing awareness of safety issues, targeting consumers at reputable sites and products with a standard mark. "Koter also adds:
And most importantly - may we all have a healthy and happy holiday.
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