Today I was sent a press release from Priceline which included a gift guide for Mother's Day. Ordinarily, I quite like these press releases as it gives me some good ideas about what to write about. Amongst other beauty items, the press release contained four perfumes - from Lancome, Estee Lauder, Juicy Couture and Marc Jacobs. You might have seen my little rant yesterday about how I was pissed off that Priceline sold grey market Orly polishes. In light of this, I decided that I would contact the PR's from each of these brands to find out whether Priceline was an authorised stockist for the perfumes. This is what I found out from the PRs:
Priceline is NOT an authorised stockist of Lancome.
Priceline is NOT an authorised stockist of Estee Lauder.
Priceline is NOT an authorised stockist of Juicy Couture.
Priceline is NOT an authorised stockist of Marc Jacobs.
This means that Priceline are also selling fragrances sourced from the grey market.
What is so bad about grey market fragrances?
I have gone into the whole issue of grey market cosmetics in much more detail here, but basically grey market fragrances are fragrances sourced from a non-authorised seller. This means that the authenticity of the fragrance cannot be guaranteed. So, you might be buying a cheaply made fake perfume or a genuine perfume that has been diluted to make it go further, or a genuine perfume that has been sitting in a warehouse for the last 10 years. This is bad, not only for the consumer who might end up purchasing a fake perfume made with dodgy ingredients that could cause a reaction, but also for the brands. If someone buys a perfume that they believe is genuine and it smells terrible, or has really poor staying power (due to being diluted), or worse case scenario they have a severe reaction to the dodgy ingredients, then they will never buy that perfume again. They will also most likely complain to their friends, or complain online.
StrawberryNet are probably the most well know seller of grey market cosmetics. I don't think that any brand would authorise them to resell their stock. However, when you purchase from them most people do so knowing that they are taking a risk that they may end up with a sub-par product. The problem with Priceline selling grey market cosmetics and fragrances is that the majority of people would believe that they are buying genuine products from an authorised reseller. Now, I am not saying that Priceline are selling fakes. I don't know know whether the fragrances they sell are fake or genuine - but that there is the problem - I don't know if they are fake but then I also don't know if they are genuine as they have not been sourced from an authorised distributor.
I am not trying to bad mouth Priceline here as I have happily shopped there for years. However, I do believe that we have the right to know whether we are buying genuine stock or not. As long as you are educated and are happy to take the risk of buying grey market cosmetics and fragrances, then go for it. But, I would hate for people to end up disappointed with their purchases and not know why it was not as good as they were expecting. Not all the fragrances in the press release I was sent were cheap. One was selling for $140, which is a lot of money to spend on something that cannot be guaranteed to be genuine. Up until yesterday I had no idea that Priceline sold grey market sourced goods, so I suspect that many other people would be similarly blinded to this fact.
Anyway, I am not saying don't shop at Priceline. Just trying to educate. If you are looking to purchase genuine fragrances, your best bet is Myer and David Jones. Or, if you are in doubt, go to the website for the brand of fragrance you are purchasing and it will either provide a list of authorised stockists or a customer service number that you can call.
Has this changed your opinion of Priceline at all? What are your thoughts on the grey market? Do you prefer to steer clear and spend your hard earned cash on genuine products or do you prefer to hunt down a bargain?
Showing posts with label grey market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grey market. Show all posts
Monday, 22 April 2013
Monday, 9 July 2012
The risks you take when buying grey market cosmetics
I mentioned the other day that I attended a Lancôme media briefing. Whilst I was there, a few of us had an informal chat about grey market cosmetics and it really was quite eye opening so I thought that I might share some of what we talked about with you.
What are grey market cosmetics? These are cosmetics that are legally sold through unauthorised distribution channels. It does not necessarily mean that the product is fake; however, as the distributor has not been authorised by the manufacturer the authenticity cannot be guaranteed. The best known grey market cosmetics distributor would have to be Strawberry Net. Others include some of the larger sellers on eBay or discount stores (as opposed to department stores) such as Chemist Warehouse.
What are the risks? The main risk is that you have no idea whether the product you have bought is in fact genuine, or if it is genuine, just how fresh it actually is. Lancôme bar code all of their products so that they can be traced throughout the distribution chain. There have been times when they have tried to trace back the origins of a product purchased on the grey market to find out which distributors were responsible for the products ending up on the grey market only to find that the bar code did not correspond with any of theirs. So, in this case, the products were fakes.
If the products are fakes then you have absolutely no idea what is in them so you are putting yourself at risk of a reaction to the product as it is unlikely the ingredients have been tested for safety. Best case scenario you have wasted your money on a product that does not do what it claims. Worst case - you have a severe reaction to dodgy ingredients.
As I mentioned, not all products on the grey market are fake. Some find their way there by being bought in countries where the product is cheaper (either for full retail or wholesale prices), then on sold at a profit to countries where the product is more expensive. In these cases, the products are genuine but you have no way of knowing how old the products are or whether they have been stored correctly. Storage at incorrect temperatures can cause cosmetics to greatly deteriorate. Before I understood the concept of grey market products I bought some Estee Lauder skincare from a cheap online site. When they arrived, the packaging all looked genuine; however, when I went to use the products they had separated and there was an oily residue on the top with the cream below looking curdled. I suspect that this was either old stock or it had been stored at excessive temperatures though I really have no idea what as in that jar.
The big companies hate the grey market distributors and it is not just because they cut into their profits. These grey market distributors can really affect the reputations of the big brands by selling products that are inferior that the consumer believes are genuine. Say a beauty blogger buys a much hyped skincare item from StrawberryNet or any other grey market distributor and finds that it does nothing for them, or worse they react to it. They might then blog that the product is a load of crap and not worth the hype. So their readers then think 'Ok, I am definitely not going to waste my money on that one'. The bad review is then on the net forever for anyone to google when in reality the 'load of crap' product is probably not even genuine.
Now, I am not saying to not look for bargains online as no-one likes to pay full price. However, you really should do you research to find out whether the supplier you are buying from is an authorised distributor - often it will say so on the website. If it isn't, ask yourself is it worth the risk and if it is then don't be disappointed if it doesn't perform as expected as you really do get what you pay for.
What are your thoughts on discount cosmetic retailers? Worth the bargain or too risky? Have you ever been burnt by a non-genuine product?
All opinions stated in this blog are my own and I received no remuneration for my comments
What are grey market cosmetics? These are cosmetics that are legally sold through unauthorised distribution channels. It does not necessarily mean that the product is fake; however, as the distributor has not been authorised by the manufacturer the authenticity cannot be guaranteed. The best known grey market cosmetics distributor would have to be Strawberry Net. Others include some of the larger sellers on eBay or discount stores (as opposed to department stores) such as Chemist Warehouse.
What are the risks? The main risk is that you have no idea whether the product you have bought is in fact genuine, or if it is genuine, just how fresh it actually is. Lancôme bar code all of their products so that they can be traced throughout the distribution chain. There have been times when they have tried to trace back the origins of a product purchased on the grey market to find out which distributors were responsible for the products ending up on the grey market only to find that the bar code did not correspond with any of theirs. So, in this case, the products were fakes.
If the products are fakes then you have absolutely no idea what is in them so you are putting yourself at risk of a reaction to the product as it is unlikely the ingredients have been tested for safety. Best case scenario you have wasted your money on a product that does not do what it claims. Worst case - you have a severe reaction to dodgy ingredients.
As I mentioned, not all products on the grey market are fake. Some find their way there by being bought in countries where the product is cheaper (either for full retail or wholesale prices), then on sold at a profit to countries where the product is more expensive. In these cases, the products are genuine but you have no way of knowing how old the products are or whether they have been stored correctly. Storage at incorrect temperatures can cause cosmetics to greatly deteriorate. Before I understood the concept of grey market products I bought some Estee Lauder skincare from a cheap online site. When they arrived, the packaging all looked genuine; however, when I went to use the products they had separated and there was an oily residue on the top with the cream below looking curdled. I suspect that this was either old stock or it had been stored at excessive temperatures though I really have no idea what as in that jar.
The big companies hate the grey market distributors and it is not just because they cut into their profits. These grey market distributors can really affect the reputations of the big brands by selling products that are inferior that the consumer believes are genuine. Say a beauty blogger buys a much hyped skincare item from StrawberryNet or any other grey market distributor and finds that it does nothing for them, or worse they react to it. They might then blog that the product is a load of crap and not worth the hype. So their readers then think 'Ok, I am definitely not going to waste my money on that one'. The bad review is then on the net forever for anyone to google when in reality the 'load of crap' product is probably not even genuine.
Now, I am not saying to not look for bargains online as no-one likes to pay full price. However, you really should do you research to find out whether the supplier you are buying from is an authorised distributor - often it will say so on the website. If it isn't, ask yourself is it worth the risk and if it is then don't be disappointed if it doesn't perform as expected as you really do get what you pay for.
What are your thoughts on discount cosmetic retailers? Worth the bargain or too risky? Have you ever been burnt by a non-genuine product?
All opinions stated in this blog are my own and I received no remuneration for my comments
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