Ebay is an awesome place to look around. It's like a mammoth second hand store where prices are so cheap it's practically free, but for the valuable items you can come up against competition. I've bought numerous books and magazines from Ebay, but when it comes to makeup and beauty related items I'm not game enough to give it a shot.
Ebay is renowned for dodgy dealers who claim that a particular brand of makeup (*cough cough MAC and NARS*) is genuine, when in fact it is anything but.
I personally hate the idea of fake knock-offs of bigger brands. Who knows what has gone into that fake Naked Palette? For all I know I could end up with lumps resembling Mount Everest and tomato-like rashes all over my body from an allergic reaction to the dodgy ingredients they have used. Most of all, if I've paid to get a MAC lipstick, a MAC lipstick is what I expect to get no matter how similar it is to the real deal.
That's another thing - some people don't mind copies of real products, as long as the quality and shades are reflected accurately in the knock-off. I don't think so. No matter how good a copy is, if I think I am paying for the real thing then that is what I expect to get. If I wanted the fake copy, I would go out and get that instead.
Anyhow, that is the main problem I have with purchasing cosmetics off of Ebay, and that brings me to my next point (which is more of a question I ask you all): Is there any way that you can determine whether someone is selling genuine cosmetics or not? How can you trust someone and what makes you trust them?
Are there any tell tale signs that you can follow before making that purchase? I'm not talking about when you receive that fake Naked palette and see that they've spelled 'Naked' wrong and half the mirror has cracked and fallen off and the eyeshadows are all the wrong colours - I'm talking about whether you can determine if someone is selling the real thing prior to making the purchase.
It is for all these reasons that I can't bring myself to purchase any makeup off of Ebay, no matter how appealing the prices appear to be.
Are you like me in that you can't bear the thought of using a fake copy, or are you fine with purchasing knock-offs? Do you have any tricks up your sleeve when it comes to spotting a fake seller or is it just luck of the draw?
Have you had any good or bad experiences with purchasing cosmetics off of Ebay? I would love to become a little more informed because (clearly) I know very little about the subject.
I hate knock offs. I don't like to buy off ebay as I have heard horror stories before. The only makeup I have bought off ebay was Revlon Colorstay Foundation one time and my OPI nail polishes. OPI is easy to tell if it's a fake as on the brush handle OPI is imprinted into the plastic, this has never been able to be copied by fakes. The only time I have ever received fake makeup was from Strawberrynet. I was surprised at this as many swear it is a legitimate site but the blush was just all wrong. I have been meaning to do a post about it on my blog actually, I will have to get onto that!
ReplyDeletex
I wasn't aware that with OPI polishes it was imprinted on the brush handle - interesting. I am so surprised to hear that you got a fake from Strawberrynet! I've never purchased anything from there but if I did it was always, always going to be from Strawberrynet because I thought it was the most trusted of all sites! That's terrible!
Deletexx
Yep I know right! I have gotten YSL and Korres products from them before that were fine but the Mac Blush was defs fake, they even admitted it and gave me a full refund after I argued witht them!
Deletex
Oh my God that is appalling! I can't believe they would ever bother selling fakes because surely the kinds of people who would purchase them would be the ones who could tell that it was a fake! That is shocking, I think you should definitely write a blog post about it!
Deletexx
Good question again Candice!
ReplyDeleteThe only cosmetics I've ever purchased on eBay was OPI polishes... which is another huge one that is really dodgy. I was really hesitant at first, so I did a lot of research on the buyer I was looking at!
Australian based, with a perfect reputation on eBay (any negatives whatsoever and I'm out!) and even a quick google search showed to me other bloggers have used her and have been okay. It's also okay to ask for more close up pictures, which she is happy to provide, to make sure you're getting the real deal.
Also another tell-tale sign is the price. If it's too good to be true then it probably is, so paying a little closer to the RRP makes me believe it's probably the real product.
Even so, after all that research and hard work and umming and ahhing, I was still not 100% sold that she was the real deal. But I took the plunge anyway and luckily I was right, her products were legit! So I was happy and I stick with her, although I don't think I'm daring enough to try anybody else :(
There are just too many fake ones out there, it's scary!
I'll be interested to hear other people's thoughts though!
Thanks for the tips on how to prevent yourself from purchasing makeup from a dodgy buyer! I totally agree about having to pay closer to the RRP, I think when you're paying an absolute minimal price then it is likely you are paying for a minimal product. It's such a shame that people have to ruin everything by selling fakes.
Deletexx
I myself am pretty skeptic about ebay. But there are a few good sellers I know. Some of my blogger friends have been a long-time customer. Unless more than one friend knows of a seller, I would want to stay away
ReplyDeleteI guess if you know people who have purchased products through a particular seller before then buying off of ebay is an awesome way to get good makeup cheaply, but I too would be wary.
Deletexx