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I spent about three weeks trying to buy a Mellojoy squishy from the official online store in Japan. During the first two weeks, I repeatedly reached checkout only to discover the product had sold out. Eventually, I managed to purchase one.
This is a firsthand account of what happened, what I tried, and the small changes I made before my successful checkout. They are not guaranteed tricks, and product availability or sales schedules may have changed since my purchase.
Why I started looking for a Mellojoy squishy
It began with a conversation about a gift for my daughter after she passed an English proficiency exam.
Me: “What would you like as a reward for passing?”
My daughter: “Mellojoy!”
Me: “Is that a toy? How much does it cost?”
My daughter: “It’s a popular squishy toy—around ¥2,500.”
Me: “Okay, we’ll get one when you pass!”
She passed, and I was ready to keep my promise. What I did not realize was just how difficult buying one could be.
What is Mellojoy, and why was it so hard to buy?
Mellojoy makes cute, soft, squeezable toys commonly called squishies. The designs and tactile feel had made them popular among children in my daughter’s circle, and the products were appearing frequently on social media.
At the time I was shopping, stock at the official store could disappear almost immediately. My daughter even told me that none of her school friends had managed to get one yet. That was her experience, not a claim about availability everywhere.
Where and when I tried to buy Mellojoy
During my three-week attempt, I followed two sales channels. The times below are the times I used at the time, in Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9)—not a verified current restock schedule.
| Channel | Sales time I followed | How checkout worked | My experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official website | 12:00 noon JST | Open the product page, add to cart, and complete the browser checkout | Difficult, but manageable |
| TikTok live shopping | 8:00 p.m. JST; some streams were delayed or skipped | Use the purchase option when it became available during a live stream | Too fast for me to keep up |
I sometimes saw items sell out in roughly three seconds. That describes my shopping experience, not a guaranteed sellout time for every release. The rest of this article focuses on the official online store.
The first two weeks: checkout kept ending in “sold out”
For approximately two weeks, I tried mainly on my smartphone. The frustrating pattern was usually the same:
- Open the product page from the store’s home page.
- Tap the purchase button.
- Proceed to the payment or checkout screen.
- Get stuck waiting for checkout.
- After a few minutes, see that the item was sold out.
Even when I believed I had opened the page right at the scheduled sale time, other shoppers were apparently trying to check out at the same moment. Reaching the checkout screen did not mean the item was secured.
Four things I tried to make checkout smoother
I did not use bots, automation, or any secret purchasing method. I simply tried a few practical changes while my daughter cheered me on:
- Open the official website before noon and refresh the page as the sale approached.
- Buy just one item instead of trying to purchase several at once.
- Set up Shop Pay in advance to reduce the amount of information to enter at checkout.
- Try another payment method, including Apple Pay, to see which was faster for me.
I found Shop Pay more convenient in my own setup because using Apple Pay required a fingerprint authentication step that added some delay. That is specific to my device and configuration; Apple Pay may be quicker for other shoppers.
I also stuck to a quantity of one, since I worried that asking for multiple units might make it harder to complete the purchase when stock was limited. I cannot prove which, if any, of these changes improved my odds.
Week three: a direct product bookmark and a successful purchase
One day in the third week, I realized I had saved the product page as a Safari bookmark.
Previously, I had entered through the official store’s home page and navigated to the product. This time, I opened the bookmarked product page directly. Here is what happened:
- The bookmarked product page opened.
- I added the item to my cart.
- I proceeded to checkout and, for the first time, saw a displayed wait time of less than one minute.
- I completed the payment and successfully bought one Mellojoy squishy.
After about three weeks of trying, it was a huge relief to finally buy one. The bookmark may have saved a navigation step, but I do not know whether it caused the successful checkout. Stock availability and simple luck may have played a role.
My practical tips if Mellojoy is sold out
- Check the official store for the current sales schedule instead of relying on older blog posts or social media screenshots.
- Save a bookmark to the exact product you want so you can open it without navigating through several pages.
- Prepare your shipping details and preferred payment option ahead of time.
- Consider checking out with one item first when stock is extremely limited.
- Treat a cart or waiting-room screen as provisional; verify that the order actually went through before assuming you have purchased it.
These are ordinary checkout preparations based on my experience—not a guaranteed way to bypass inventory limits.
Summary: what finally worked for me
I tried the official site around noon and TikTok live sales around 8:00 p.m. JST. For the first two weeks, my attempts repeatedly ended at the checkout queue or a sold-out message. I experimented with Shop Pay, another payment option, and a single-item cart.
In the third week, I opened a bookmarked product page and managed to complete checkout for one item. Whether the bookmark helped or I simply got lucky, persistence and being prepared gave me a chance to buy the gift I had promised.
If you are still looking for Mellojoy, I hope this account helps you plan your next attempt without mistaking someone else’s successful checkout for a guaranteed method.
Original Japanese article: メロジョイが買えない？公式サイトで購入できた方法【3週間挑戦した体験談】
Related hands-on review: My first Mellojoy squishy unboxing (Japanese).