Golden Child has come back with their fifth mini album YES. on January 25th, 2021! On January 12th at 2PM, Woollim dropped the album details. Woollim is mixing it up this time, offering 10 normal versions (1 per member), and 1 bookcase version which contains all 10 versions in 1 set with some different inclusions. Each of the 10 albums comes with that member's photobook, CD-R, folded poster, and fabric tag. The normal version comes in an exterior envelope (so that you can't tell which member version it is) and the separate inclusion is 1 of 50 photocards (Woollim's never been this stingy?!). The bookcase version comes with a different 10 photocard set, a 10 AR photocard set, and a guarantee card. This is also the first Golden Child album that comes with a pre-order benefit (other than the 2 first press group posters): a special photo set (the bookcase version will only receive 1 set, not 10).
To start off, I'm really grateful that Woollim has a bookcase version that takes out all the stress from trying to collect everything. I'm especially grateful because I've been thinking about stopping collecting because it's so stressful (to the point that when the comeback announcement dropped, I was only thinking about the stress rather than the excitement). And then when Jaehyun's teaser dropped, I completely lost it and felt there was no way I could collect shirtless photos?! So buying only the bookcase version was the clear choice.
I pre-ordered the set from Woollim Mall for $127.05 USD (along with the Golden Child Photo Set; shipping was $10 USD on the international site) about 35 minutes after the album details dropped and had it shipped to my Paysable address.
At 6PM KST on the same day, Makestar and My Music Taste released their video call events for this comeback. MMT is now offering 2 pre-order benefit photocards per album instead of 1, however they're only selling the normal random version. Makestar again has the 2 POB photocards per album and is selling both the set version and random normal version. Even better, their set version comes with 2 full sets of their POB photocards, instead of random 20 photocards.
I ordered the bookcase set version from Makestar, and with DHL shipping for 1 set, the total came to about $176 USD. This version was sold out on Makestar by January 14th. While Makestar usually takes a month to ship their pre-orders, for Golden Child's 2021 Season's Greetings Makestar tweeted that shipping would begin on December 22nd (when the event closed on December 20th), and this time within the project page Makestar stated that albums will be delivered sequentially from January 28th (the event closed on the 24th).
Shortly after, I tried to cancel my Woollim Mall order. It's a bit different than on Everline - on Woollim Mall, there is no 1:1 inquiry service. I simply went to my order page and clicked "Cancel" and it shows as "Cancel Request" on the order. It wasn't under January 25th that I received several emails stating that my order has been cancelled and that I have been refunded.
The only downside about buying the bookcase set version is that only 1 first press group poster is included out of 2, whereas if you buy 10 normal albums, you would get 10 first press group posters. As previously stated, the same goes for the pre-order special photo set.
I checked Everline on January 21st and the set version was sold out, and I checked Kpoptown on the 22nd and the set version was sold out there too, but on the 28th it was back on Kpoptown with over 900+ copies available (which didn't seem right).
Diving deeper on my contemplating taking a break from collecting; when they had first announced this comeback, my only thoughts were "how many photocards do I have to collect" and "the stress of a comeback is too much..." rather than genuinely being excited for a comeback. Reflecting back on past comebacks, this started with Take A Leap and really escalated during Pump It Up. Furthermore, Woollim's photocard inclusion ratio is getting more extreme with each release. Therefore I'm really grateful that the bookcase set version comes with all album versions and a full set of inclusions. And I can forego the normal version photocards, because 1/50 is ridiculous and the set already comes with so much. Seeing Jaehyun's concept photo was the breaking point that sent me over the edge (I'll voice my opinion much more in my album review); I definitely do not support showing skin to sell music and it really broke me seeing that photo, to the point that I was thinking of taking a break from Kpop. But Woollim was really smart to announce this comeback 24 days in advance instead of 10 days in advance; I was able to bounce back, regain my senses, and decided to buy a few copies of the normal version. I ordered 5 on My Music Taste. This is my first time ordering from MMT; I've always disregarded them because their shipping is more expensive than my go-tos Makestar and Ktown4u. But because this time MMT is offering 2 pre-order benefit photocards per album instead of 1, and I was still looking to collect the other first press group poster, I bought 5 with the poster for just under $113 USD shipped. MMT states in their FAQ that albums are generally shipped 7 business days after the event closes.
On January 28th, I received notifications from DHL that my Makestar package has been shipped. On the 29th, I received notifications from DHL and My Music Taste that my MMT package has been shipped.
Makestar
Underneath the poster, one half was the bookcase set and the other half had an air filler, along with the 2 sets of the Makestar photocards and the pre-order postcard set.
The bookcase set was wrapped in several layers of bubblewrap, with the top and bottom exposed.
I was worried if Makestar really did give 2 full sets of their photocards, and luckily they did. These are the 2 sets I received in order.
My case arrived with a long scratch and my poster box arrived a bit ripped, but this seems to be because of the quality rather than shipping.
My Music Taste
It turns out that my posters came in a separate poster tube package than my albums. My poster tube arrived on February 1st while my albums arrived on the 2nd.
Once rolled out, the dents aren't as noticeable. I received 2 of the black and white version and 3 of the color version.
Here are all the contents from top to bottom: the My Music Taste exclusive photocards, the Whosfan Hanteo Chart Authentication Card, the pre-order postcard sets, MMT's Damaged Or Missing Items info sheet, and the albums.
The Damaged Or Missing Items sheet has instructions in both English and Korean. The backside of the MMT exclusive photocard pack has a unique barcode linked to my order for claiming damaged items.
These Hanteo Chart Authentication Cards are to verify album authentication for Hanteo's global rankings. You should receive 1 card per album purchased from My Music Taste. This can be done on the Whosfan app. The silver sticker can be used on the back of your album after authenticating, though it's not necessary. First scratch off the blue square to reveal the unique QR code (I used my fingernail). Then use the Whosfan app to scan this QR code, then scan the barcode on the back of your album.
Once both scans have gone through, you should get this page. Add your birth date and gender, then click "Complete authentication".
Here is the confirmation page after verification has been complete. Follow the same process for the remaining cards and albums.
These are the My Music Taste pre-order photocards! I was worried if I'd receive 10 unique cards or not, and am really grateful that MMT takes the effort to give all different cards. These cards are really adorable and I absolutely love that they're wearing their hanbok from "Wannabe" era; it's nice that these gorgeous outfits weren't just for 1 occasion!
The backsides of the photocards have the new Golden Child logo, as well as the member's name at the bottom. These cards have a glossy finish.
These are my pulls! I first received Daeyeol's album with Tag's photocard, then Tag's album with Joochan's photocard, then Jibeom's album with Bomin's photocard, then another Daeyeol album with a different Joochan photocard, followed by Y's album with Donghyun's photocard.
The albums came a bit damaged, but I think that's just how the albums were designed...the envelope flap came a bit bent due to the photobook, and one of the photobook corners came bent.
Overall, I'm so grateful that the bookcase set version came with all inclusions without randomization, that Makestar sold it with 2 full sets of their POB photocards, and that My Music Taste started including 2 POB photocards per album this time with the gorgeous hanbok photos. If MMT continues with giving 2 POB photocards per album, I'll definitely consider ordering from them for future comebacks. Additionally, I'm glad that Makestar has significantly upped their shipment time, from a month to just a few days. I'll have an unboxing blog of both the bookcase set version and normal version next~
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