What Are Jigo-Tsuhan and Made-to-Order Sales? Japan's Post-Event Merch Terms Explained

You can’t make it to the venue, and then you see the notice: “online sales to follow.” Phew. But will you actually be able to buy what you want? Here is how jigo-tsuhan and juchu-seisan differ, and what to check when you order and wait for delivery.

What Jigo-Tsuhan and Made-to-Order Mean

Jigo-tsuhan (事後通販, “post-event mail order”) is a sales method that makes merchandise sold at a concert or event venue available to buy online after the event.

Juchu-seisan, or made-to-order production, is a method where no stock is made in advance: the order count is fixed first, then the goods are manufactured and shipped.

The two terms describe different things. Jigo-tsuhan is about when something is sold; made-to-order is about how it’s made. The two can also be combined, in which case there’s no worry about selling out, but the order deadline becomes an absolute cutoff.

1. 01Event endsVenue sales are over
2. 02Stock checkOrganizers count what is left
3. 03Sales page opensOrders are taken online
4. 04PackingLogistics partners handle it
5. 05ShippingWeeks to months later

Post-event sales begin at the stage where the goods are still being counted.

Origins and History

Jigo-tsuhan is a literal combination: mail order (tsuhan) that happens “after” (jigo) the event, and it settled naturally into industry use. We found no source showing when it became common, and it likely spread in step with online shopping itself. Merch e-commerce sites also sort their categories into pre-event, event and post-event sales (Movic, in Japanese), which shows it has become a working classification.

Made-to-order isn’t unique to oshi-katsu goods. The term was carried over as is from apparel and manufacturing, where it has long meant a production method that builds no stock (BASE U, in Japanese).

How It Differs From Similar Terms

• Jigo-buppan / jigo-hanbai — Nearly synonymous with jigo-tsuhan. The wording varies from announcement to announcement
• Re-sale (saihan) — Making and selling an item again after it has sold out. It isn’t tied to any event
• Venue exclusive (kaijo-gentei) — Sales that assume there will be no post-event sale at all. See venue exclusives and early-access sales

Examples

• “Wonder if there’ll be a jigo-tsuhan for this… I couldn’t go, so I’m praying.”
• “Jigo-tsuhan is a godsend, the friend of anyone living outside the big cities.”
• “It’s made-to-order, so if you want it, lock in your order now.”
• “Still no shipping notice for the jigo-tsuhan order. Waiting patiently.”
• “Squeezed my made-to-order in right at the deadline.”

“Post-Event Sales Available” Is Not a Promise

The wording you often see in announcements is “post-event online sales are planned.” “Planned” is not a promise. If everything sells out at the venue, there’s no stock to send online, and the sale itself may be dropped.

• Read the announcement’s verb — “We will hold” and “We plan to hold” mean different things
• Look for quantity notes — Some carry a condition such as “if there is surplus after venue sales”
• Trust official announcements only — “I heard there’ll be a post-event sale” is almost always unconfirmed
• Think about a fallback first — Decide early whether to ask someone who’s going or to make an ensei (a trip) and buy it yourself

A commitment

We will hold

• The sale is decided
• Plan your budget and calendar

Not a promise

We plan to hold

• Depends on leftover venue stock
• Prepare a fallback

If venue stock sells out, there may be nothing left to send online.

When there’s no post-event sale, the only option left is often an overpriced listing on a flea-market app. That’s why “post-event sales available” is seen as a matter not of convenience but of fairness.

What to Check Before Ordering Made-to-Order Items

• Note the deadline date and time first — Orders end not with “sold out” but with “time’s up.” Put it in your calendar
• Reread the size and quantity — Since you can’t cancel or change, everything depends on what happens before you press the confirm button
• Check how you’ll receive it — Some setups have you reserve in advance and pick up at the venue. Assume it’s mail order and you won’t receive it
• Note the expected shipping period — Keeping the “ships in such-and-such month” notice helps you judge when to follow up

1. 01Confirm the orderSize and quantity are final
2. 02Know the pickup methodMail or venue pickup
3. 03Keep the shipping monthYour basis for inquiries
4. 04Note the deadlinePut it in your calendar

Everything rests on the deadline at the base.

From Order to Delivery, and How to Wait

After the event ends, the organizers check the venue’s remaining stock, open a sales page, take orders, then move to packing and shipping. Outsourcing logistics to specialist companies is becoming common, and it’s not unusual for a few weeks to a few months to pass between ordering and shipping.

Ordinary online shopping arrives in a few days. Wait with that expectation and you start to worry that “something must have gone wrong.” Think of jigo-tsuhan as starting from a stage where the goods haven’t been made yet, or are still being counted, and your estimates will start to match reality. If nothing arrives after the announced shipping period, contact the official inquiry desk with your order confirmation email attached. That is more reliable than asking the organizers directly on social media.

Notes From The Oshi Lab: Risk Moved, and It Became a Question of Fairness

For the company, post-event sales and made-to-order production are a way to maximize sales opportunities while cutting inventory risk. You make only what will sell at the venue and sell the remainder online. With made-to-order, unsold stock is zero. Now that outsourced logistics is in place, this approach is more realistic than it used to be.

What often goes unnoticed is that the risk hasn’t disappeared; it has moved. The seller no longer carries the risk of unsold stock, and in exchange consumers take on the uncertainty of “will it really arrive?” and “when?” The same goes for a post-event sale whose go-ahead stays undecided until the end. The cost of waiting falls on the fan.

That’s why satisfaction with this method hinges not on price or design but on how it’s communicated: when the organizers confirm whether a sale will go ahead, and whether they send word when shipping is delayed. Venue-exclusive-only setups draw backlash easily for the same root reason: too little explanation of why purchase opportunities are tied to place and time. Jigo-tsuhan can be seen as a way of providing that explanation through operations rather than through the product itself.

Related Terms

Venue exclusives and early-access sales / Merch wars and selling out / Ensei / Zaitaku otaku (fans who stay home) / Storage ideas for oshi goods