Beauty

[Seannie]

Hi all, 

  So maybe I am very naive but I was talking to a rep at a french perfume company and they said I need to buy the perfume at an authorized retailer.  Apparently drugstores and big box stores and discounters are not approved and the company doesn't ship to them.

  So my question is, how do these other retailers get the goods?  I have bought at some of these places and sure smells legit.  Or are these premium beauty companies pulling my leg to get me to go to department stores?

Scratching my head, Seannie

[Mz iMac]

Maybe the non-approved stores are buying from the approved stores.  You can double check w/the store by asking the store manager.

Then again, just because it smells "legit" doesn't mean that it is.  To me it means, it's a darn good knock-off!

[Mellyg]

I don't think you are naive, at all. I think, as consumers, we tend to trust the stores we shop at, and think their merchandise is "legitimate". Perfume is sometimes sold  on the "grey market", which is a distribution channel, other than what it as initially intended for. Sometimes mes the fragrances may not have been stored at a proper temperature, or could be older inventory. So while it wouldn't be sufficient to sell full price at Neimans (for example), could be sold at TJ Maxx for a lesser price.  

That is one scenario that I thought of, but I'm sure there's probably many other reasons! 

[Shanus]

@Seannie   Sometimes makeup, skincare and expensive perfumes are just counterfeit...made in factories to be "almost" the same and then packaged so well that it looks identical to the real deal. I'm always careful purchasing products from discount stores where those products would never be sold.  

[Shanus]

@Seannie   The hair sylist I used to go to was the regional rep for Paul Mitchell. She said the shampoos, etc. now being sold in CVS, grocery stores, may not be made by Paul Mitchell. They could be dupes. They were randomly tested by the Paul Mitchell scientists and found to be watered down. 

If you read the back of the bottles, in small print, it says that Paul Mitchell will not stand behind any products unless purchased by a reputable by a Paul Mitchell salon or authorizied location. 

***I saw Pureology shampoos and conditioner at my grocery store a few days ago. They only had one or two types of the entire line. At Ulta this is a premiere line and would never sell to Harris Teeter...not the authentic Pureology. You take a chance when you purchase products at reduced prices when you know they're usually not sold there. 

[Seannie]

Thank you all for your replies!  Boy, live and learn.  Honestly I was under the impression that Walgreens was a legit place to buy perfume, or other beauty for that matter.  Seems they get their stock from grey market warehouses.

Their customer service and other employees are seemingly unaware.  The perfume I got sure smells legit and lasts as expected, but Walgreens isn't cheap and so I believe I will return in person and try Ulta or Sephora.

Incidentally, I remember daughter buying Marc Jacobs perfume at Costco several years ago and the box said 'not authorized' or something like that, and I thought "What?"

Learning every day, Seannie

[Mellyg]

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@Shanus wrote:

@Seannie   The hair sylist I used to go to was the regional rep for Paul Mitchell. She said the shampoos, etc. now being sold in CVS, grocery stores, may not be made by Paul Mitchell. They could be dupes. They were randomly tested by the Paul Mitchell scientists and found to be watered down. 

If you read the back of the bottles, in small print, it says that Paul Mitchell will not stand behind any products unless purchased by a reputable by a Paul Mitchell salon or authorizied location. 

***I saw Pureology shampoos and conditioner at my grocery store a few days ago. They only had one or two types of the entire line. At Ulta this is a premiere line and would never sell to Harris Teeter...not the authentic Pureology. You take a chance when you purchase products at reduced prices when you know they're usually not sold there. 

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@Shanus 

I'm so glad you emphasized the hair care industry. It's my knowledge (for whatever that's worth, lol) that Pureology is very invested into stopping product diversion. After some research a few years ago, I discovered that any pureology sold at Walgreen and Walmart (just for 2 examples) is counterfeit. 

If there is a sticker over the original packaging barcode, then that's the first indicator the product is a fake.

[noodleann]

Back-door sales have been done for decades. To get the biggest discounts from the manufacturers, stores need to place very large orders, more than they can sell themselves. They sell the surplus to other stores, and the manufacturers turn a blind eye to it. This is how it was explained to me about 40 years ago. The industry insider was specific, talking about a very popular NYC department store and a prestige name in fragrance and cosmetics.

That means that the goods in the "unauthorized" stores were the same, not counterfeit or true grey market. 

I would imagine that a perfume house rep wouldn't like the practice, if it applies, because it drags down the image of the brand when it appears in less exclusive venues, making it less valuable.

[Shanus]

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@noodleann wrote:

Back-door sales have been done for decades. To get the biggest discounts from the manufacturers, stores need to place very large orders, more than they can sell themselves. They sell the surplus to other stores, and the manufacturers turn a blind eye to it. This is how it was explained to me about 40 years ago. The industry insider was specific, talking about a very popular NYC department store and a prestige name in fragrance and cosmetics.

That means that the goods in the "unauthorized" stores were the same, not counterfeit or true grey market. 

I would imagine that a perfume house rep wouldn't like the practice, if it applies, because it drags down the image of the brand when it appears in less exclusive venues, making it less valuable.

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@noodleann   If you have an outlet mall nearby or have been to one, you may noticed a perfume discount store, some also carried makeup. Did you notice that the fragrances were in the window or on the shelves under bright lights? That's a definite NO for perfumes. In high end dept. stores they're kept below counter level or in boxes for protection. You may purchase wherever you wish at whatever price point, but I'm still very cautious when I see things like that.

[noodleann]

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@Shanus wrote:

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@noodleann wrote:

Back-door sales have been done for decades. To get the biggest discounts from the manufacturers, stores need to place very large orders, more than they can sell themselves. They sell the surplus to other stores, and the manufacturers turn a blind eye to it. This is how it was explained to me about 40 years ago. The industry insider was specific, talking about a very popular NYC department store and a prestige name in fragrance and cosmetics.

That means that the goods in the "unauthorized" stores were the same, not counterfeit or true grey market. 

I would imagine that a perfume house rep wouldn't like the practice, if it applies, because it drags down the image of the brand when it appears in less exclusive venues, making it less valuable.

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@noodleann   If you have an outlet mall nearby or have been to one, you may noticed a perfume discount store, some also carried makeup. Did you notice that the fragrances were in the window or on the shelves under bright lights? That's a definite NO for perfumes. In high end dept. stores they're kept below counter level or in boxes for protection. You may purchase wherever you wish at whatever price point, but I'm still very cautious when I see things like that.

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With all due respect to your nonsequitur, I referenced a merchandising sleight of hand that I knew about decades ago to address, even obliquely, the OP's concern. I said nothing about my purchase habits. I have no memory of going to an outlet mall, ever.

Years ago, when I bought fragrances, I usually purchased them from Aedes. In the recent past, I've bought Lancome, Beekman, and  M. Asam fragrances from HSN. I don't know how the stock departments of HSN or its vendors are lit, but everything I purchased came boxed.

The bottles one sees on display may be dummies. I have a collection of factices and regular-sized dummies that I haven't yet parted with. If they're stolen from a store, at least the thief isn't getting $300 in juice, although those bottles themselves can be quite pricey.