As someone who buys and sells on eBay often (and for many many years), this advice is all spot on. You gave away all the good secrets, Claire! 😊 Kidding, of course. Everyone should know these tips. Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
For sure! It's entirely personal choice how people buy fragrance. But I've noticed that secondhand and how to buy secondhand fragrance is just not talked about on TH-cam... But I think so many people buy fragrance secondhand and in my experience, in 99% of cases they are in great condition and genuine. Why does no one talk about it on TH-cam when people can save £100s? Is it cos of the notion that consumerism is good? Is it because affiliate links become a joke if the person trying to flog the fragrance got it for a few pounds? I've no idea... 🤷♀️
Fantastic information! I used to use Auction Sniper when I was placing bids in the pre cell phone era. It was really effective! It used to be a free service, I don’t believe that it is nowadays. I feel the same as you. 30 mL is 30 mL. If I’m looking to sample a fragrance, I don’t care if it’s the last liquid in a large bottle or the cap is missing. I’ve never been worried that the integrity of the fragrance is compromised without the cap, that’s silly. After all, the entire Mugler library is sans caps.
I have never had a problem with missing caps. It's not aesthetically pleasing but what would I rather? A cap or another £20? I'll take the £20. I think there are some free sniping tools still, at least in the UK, I did have a quick look, but I didn't use them so I'm not sure! I can understand why they might charge, it seems an effective way to win. Thanks for watching 🥰
Fantastic tips! I’ve been an avid secondhand shopper for years! I generally go to flea markets, estate sales and thrift/ charity shops for most of mine. I also swap with my friends, prowl Poshmark, eBay and other sites.
Thank you ❤️ Yes! Me too! I love vintage bags and belts and I have lots of secondhand clothes. My whole house is furnished with secondhand furniture. Even my Christmas tree and decorations are secondhand! There are gems to be found and you never have the same stuff as everyone else does! Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire - fabulous tips! I would say I buy 75% second hand. If I didn’t I’d be divorced 🤣🤣🤣. I especially love large partial bottles, such a good way to try something. 100% agree: if it’s a cheap partial and I’m even slightly interested I move fast. For us with large collections it’s eye opening how slowly we go thru our frags. Cap-less testers do bug me; I’ve been searching for an affordable Amouage cap for like 2 years! I think it’s also important to understand how “in-demand” something is. For instance, there are very few deals to be had right now on some of the Kayalis. Better to wait. I’ve also found many steals thru inaccurate listings. The tips for Ebay bidding are right-on 👍🏻 In the U.S. Mercari is my #1 source. Statistically I’ve had very few mishaps buying 2nd hand and would wholeheartedly recommend. 😘
Hi Jill! Yes 😂 same! I've been trying to find a little spray bottle of a few Kayalis at a reasonable price and no luck. They go for close to retail! Demand is high. Trends are an important thing to be aware of, also there is an element of seasonality too. Winter fragrances are cheaper sometimes in summer. I've also been trying to find some Chanel caps and I bought some testers very recently, which were a very good deal but yes, I prefer caps too if possible ☺️ I wish we had mercari here! It sounds like a great place for a fab deal! Thanks for watching, have a great weekend! 🥰
Yes, they can be, riding the wave of trends is key to knowing when to pounce. People do inflate prices for what is rare and in demand, florabotanica is a fab example of that!
I used to buy a lot second hand but I noticed I was buying a lot of old or not well maintained perfumes. They would arrive without the tops notes already, and I was paying part of the part but also getting part of the experience. Now I buy second-hand from content creators only bc they tend to buy and sell quickly.
That's a really interesting point, you are completely right, content creators generally have a huge turnover of fragrances! And yes they will be in very lightly used condition and relatively new too! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts 👌 and thanks for much for watching too 🥰
Wow, this is AMAZING. Thank you! I really prefer to get most things second hand. Why not??? I support that everyone can get stuff the way they want, absolutely! But if I am looking for something, and someone wants to rehome it, heck yeah! I'm here for it.
Hi Sarah! Thank you ❤️ I agree! It's entirely personal choice, but I love finding a bargain and the feeling that I am reusing something unwanted ☺️ I have about 20% secondhand clothes in my wardrobe and most of my furniture is secondhand too! Even my Christmas tree is secondhand 🤣 I've noticed how NO one else has done this kind of video... but why not? 🤔 Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire! You have given us many valuable tips. I have been fortunate to buy some amazing perfumes at bargain prices. We have a drug store here that offers a point system that allows me to acquire designer fragrances for cheap. And I do not have a problem purchasing tester bottles, which have no caps or are 90% full. My personal challenge is that now that I have mastered the tricks, I keep acquiring perfumes! 😊
🤣 yes that's a huge problem! I agree, it can be addictive! Wow! I would love to have a store like that. It must be lovely to get a new fragrance for very little outlay. Thanks for watching 🥰
That tip about keeping an open mind is so important! Can't count the amount of times I've went in with an expectation and been disappointed to find a fantastic deal on something unplanned. Plans change all the time and the potential for regret is high if an opportunity isn't taken! Trust and flexibility are virtues in an intelligent universe. A truly fantastic video Claire. 💜 All the tips are spot on.
Thank you ❤️ Yes! I agree, some of my random opportunistic buys have been huge successes and if not, then they are simply resold, so little loss, and often much profit! Trying unusual things is part of the joy of the wide world fragrance. Thanks for watching 🥰
Fab video and tips from our research expert. You are the official bargain queen, you got some crazy good deals on a lot of those 🙌 I didn't know about a lot of those searching tips, thank you! I've had some great buys on ébây mostly sprayed once or even brand new in cellophane for a fraction of the price! I've never spent over £35 for frag on there. My D'Orsay was just over £30 and retails around £180 I think! And samples, found loads of stuff I wanted to try. And found my Body Shop Altaro twice, and both in great condition considering that one was from 2004 and not even around for long. Had some great sales too 💗
Thank you! 😂 You are fab at bargains too! You always find what you want at a great price 👌 do you think an influencer was selling that d'orsay fragrance? 🤔 I miss so many body shop fragrances, they have all been discontinued or reformulated 😭 Did you notice how no influencers with affiliate links discuss secondhand fragrance buying? 🤣😉
@@dr.claire.perfume possibly an influencer yes, or it could have gone on steep discount somewhere as it was right when they changed the labels. But I bet a lot of PR gets sold. Some people accept everything, show it once then you never see it again. I have mostly stopped watching those types of creators. The content just gets yawwwwwnnnn! Oh yes, no they don't do they haha! Buy it here, full price, you neeeeed to have this in your life, i'm obbbbsessed 😂
Yes, if you only see it once, you completely doubt their sincerity... same I can't do the channels that tell me I need anything. Fragrance is so personal and it's so unlikely that my taste will entirely overlap someone else's.
Thanks! ❤️ I ahvr definitely found some bargains... but it can take a long time to find things sometimes. I think if someone is in a rush, this is not for them 😂
Thank you so much Claire, you explained everything so well. I've been a little doubtful of buying less than half-full bottles because of the air in bottle issue, but obviously you've had good experiences with doing just that, so I may reconsider.
It was a concern for me for sure. A lot of the fragrances that I've bought that are larger sizes though, have been ex store tester bottles e.g. the Diors. Checking the batch codes, the bottles were all from late 2022, so relatively fresh so even a highly used fragrance might not necessarily be old, but yes certainly more air in the bottle and that is worrying, the way I figure it, is how quickly would I finish a bottle anyway and how long would the bottle sit with lots of air in? Because I have a bigger collection, it could be years! It just depends how much something is relative to what you would pay elsewhere and how quickly you will use it. Thanks for watching 🥰
Great tips! I’ve bought many perfumes from eBay sellers & so far, so good; however I now feel better informed on how to search, qualify sellers, setup notifications, etc - thanks so much for sharing your wisdom & experience (as always!) 🤗❤
Thank you ❤️ greetings back! I am in a cottage with some friends this weekend. It's a beautiful spot! I absolutely love buying fragrance secondhand so I thought I'd share! I noticed that it's not discussed on TH-cam yet I know so many people buy secondhand! Thanks for watching 🥰
Oh my goodness I agree on all these tips! I have been purchasing smaller bottles 30ml if second hand for so much cheaper! You are always on point Claire! ❤
when I used to sell on eBay I would start every bid at $0.99 because you get to the top of every search, make more sales and usually selling things for more money because you get more bids
I think that's fine if you have something that's in demand. It does indeed attract attention to it. It's sometimes good too, that if you are selling more expensive items, to have one amazing in demand fragrance at .99 and then to have the others at what you want for them, as the first fragrance creates the traffic for people to look at your other items. 🥰
Thank you for all these tips Claire. 😊 I haven't bought pre- owned. I'm a little iffy about that and stick to buying online with big fragrance shops. All of these tips might come in handy though, as I was slowly thinking of buying that way as well. Definitely, search tools and knowing how to maximize their use helps immensely. (You reminded me of searching databases at the library when I was in university...)
Yes! It's not for everyone and best to start with smaller purchases if you are unsure. The searching is for sure like literature searching methods! Same skills here! Thanks for watching 🥰
Such great tips 😊 I've been pretty lucky buying fragrance on ebay - so far anyway 🤞 I've purchased brand new bottles of three niche fragrances this year. They were around £20 cheaper than retail i think. If they were silly cheap, as you say, that would be a no from me too. I always check sellers reviews. My hesitation about buying used bottles is that I don't know if that bottle has been sitting on someone's dressing table getting sunlight on it every day for the last year or two. Im obsessive about keeping mine in their boxes in a chest of drawers away from heat and sunlight as I'm scared they will go off 😂
Hi Fiona! Yes! A £20 saving on new is a win 😊 large savings are very suspicious! I think if you are hesitant, then stay hesitant, do what you feel comfortable with! If you want to know the fragrances have been kept in optimal conditions then keep going with that 😊 thanks for watching ❤️
I look at reviews often when I plan to purchase something. Reviews can give us warning signs but we can miss them. I plan on posting a video about a bad buying experience I had.
I will look forward to it. At least bad experiences can inform others. That's the way I took my purchases with Shay and blue, I was just going to quietly resell them but then I figured that I could share my experiences with others by reviewing them. Good to find a positive in a negative 👍
Good tips, however, if you are going to bid last minute you need to put in your absolute maximum bid. If you simply add a couple of pound any earlier maximum bids will take precedent, even if it's the same amount.
Claire🤗 so I just clicked on and immediately thought about Mercari! So here’s my issue many times sellers are asking for more than the bargain discount sites! I was almost shocked at first and could not understand why!!!???? I mean I thought it was a way to get second hand discounted! Ok that’s my complaint although I learned my lesson lol, ok let me watch 😉❤️
It's a thing for sure! And yes, always best to check prices elsewhere. I guess some people just don't know what stuff sells for and so higher pricing can work for the sellers sometimes?! I'm not sure. I've noticed that particular fragrances for more than retail, e.g. the Lalique fragrances. I guess they have a high RRP but are always massively discounted, so perhaps that is it?
Thanks for the tips! Buying or selling preloved fragrances is not a 'thing' in my home country unless it's directly from a friend and usually, they will just let you have it.
It's an entirely personal decision. Some people love it, some people try it and have a bad experience and others never want to try, nobody is right or wrong 😊 thanks for watching ❤️
Excellent tips, I didn't know about the minus sign when searching, thank you! Although I do sometimes just put my max bid in straight away and that sort of gives the freedom, if I get it, I get it, if not then that's fine, because I don't want to overspend, plus the max bid doesn't usually drive the price up since everyone's bidding just a pound per bid most of the time :D Don't have to watch my phone that way
Sounds like a good strategy! I often find myself missing the ends of auctions if I don't set a timer so that is probably something I should try 😊 I hope you reap the benefits of a negative search 😉 Thanks for watching 🥰
I don't buy on E-bay but I love to buy 2nd hand 😍 !! Great way to find discontinued gems and expensive perfumes at a great price 👌👌! Really great tips Claire!! (I think ebay is really too complicated for me..the auction and all😅😅) Have a beautiful weekend 🥰💕
Thanks Claire A great informative video. I am the same I've had two fakes. And same, got two refunds. I think sometimes it's common sense, do your research as best you can. If you think it's fake chances are it is. I do get a thrill when you're searching for something and it can takes months or years for it to come up at a sensible price but it is very worth it. I prefer a used one to a new one too. There's less chance of it being dodgy in someway unless it's one of them proper business sellers which sometimes have good bargains. One thing that does vice my danglies is obviously in the second hand marker are a tonne of influencers... First the amount of money they try to extract from something they got for free is disgraceful and secondly "only sprayed twice" 🤣 🤣 when we see some adverts sorry "reviews" I can certainly believe that 😉 infact that they've even sprayed them at all is a surprise, but I guess it is needed in the video... I've found so many gems, non as good as your bargains. But some rare long gone Kilians. Yes Chanels are the biggest risk, tho it's the back of the label which many just don't seem to show... Very well done on the Chloe Love 😉 I guess as well my annoyance is folks selling the hugely inflated priced discontinued ones. I really do hope they get stuck with them forever and ever... Greed is a shame really. I think probably more than half of my Fragrances have been off ebay. Anyways fab and helpful as always
Thanks! For sure! The chase is part of the joy of finding a fragrance you love. Yes I see a few listings occasionally that are clearly influencers selling gifted stuff 🤣 e.g. Fragrance du Bois c*nnabis bleu 🤔 I really think brands should take more notice 🙄 Yes I feel the same, if you have suspicions, your hunch is likely right. In our heart of hearts we know. And yes! Definitely! Hardly anyone selling a Chanel fragrance photographs the back of the label. Inflated prices are a thing for discontinued ones, Florabotanica and Alien essence absolue are two great examples. I guess you have to ride the wave of their popularity and swoop when you feel is appropriate. You just have to keep looking and eventually you will get lucky. Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume yea I guess greed is everywhere isn't it sadly. You're very right too, we do get lucky when we least expect it and the one we've been looking for does come along eventually. Just patience isn't it 😊
Great tips Claire. I'd no idea that making a bid blocked the make an offer option. Thankfully I've been lucky with my 2nd hand buys but I've spotted a few dodgy listings along the way.
Hi Kathy! Yes! There are lots of dodgy ones around... I've seen loads of dodgy Dior midnight poisons and lots of Dior addîct and I was caught with a Chanel fragrance but I got my money back very easily thankfully. It's certainly not for everyone and can be a hassle if it's not straightforward. Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume Also lots of fake 90ml Alien bottles with the old Thierry Mugler logo that actually have a bottle inside that looks immediately wrong but people have been buying these up on ebay!
Yes I've seen some really unconvincing Thierry Mugler fakes, it's a shame that they are out there. Anything I see that I think isn't right, I report. ☺️
Love you, Claire! I was about to comment all sorts of disadvs/cons re: #4 (saving money by buying a nearly empty looking 100ml or testers without caps) as counterarguments, but you did list most of them immediately yourself. I'll still add that a nearly empty 100ml (unless seller is a professional decant maker) is going to be older (perhaps many years older) and may have gone off or is about to go "off." And people need to know themselves -- if they have any perfectionist tendencies (always replacing cap on toothpaste, as a classic example), there is NO way they will be able to tolerate looking at a perfume bottle missing a cap, lol.
Thanks ❤️ really happy that you liked this! I think this topic is really not ever discussed on TH-cam, I guess because influencers can't use affiliate codes and flog stuff to people by talking about this! 🤣 With the age of things, I think it's unpredictable, some are relatively old but others not. I guess you need to ask for the batch codes to be able to tell. The Dior 250ml bottles that I have are ex testers and the batch codes are only May/October 2022, if someone bought a 250ml bottle of one of those, they may be using it for many years before it was gone, even with daily use, I would ideally like 10ml of each as a spray, not even 40ml, but Dior don't sell those 🤦♀️ I think if you have a larger collection, things will tend to sit around for a while anyway, that's essentially the problem with some brands not making smaller volumes. It's not ideal for perfume enthusiasts! I'd say on the whole I much prefer a lid and I had been trying to eliminate lidless bottles from my collection, but ultimately if it's a lid or an extra £20 for a fragrance I want, I'll take the £20. I think maybe it depends how much I love the fragrance and if I've already built memories and associations with it that I think are special enough to warrant the extra spend. Sometimes having the lid will enable you to more easily resell the bottle if you decide it's not for you, so it can be a false economy not to buy the bottle with the lid in the long run! Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume Hehe, regarding lids -- I'm in several facebook fragrance groups where we tease each other for ISOs of certain brands' bottle caps, since we know exactly what happened -- found a good deal on a tester but then also found out we cannot tolerate looking at a perfume bottle without its lid! 😆 For me, most of my purchases of secondhand bottles have not been successful. They smelled good but did not smell like the fresh mfr samples (the purchased bottles were missing the sharper/brighter top notes). I couldn't really complain because they were either from good friends or prominent/respected group experts from the facebook fragrance groups. I won't resell them knowing how they smell, so I'm stuck with them unless I think they might be appropriate to give away to teenaged daughters of my friends, as they won't know or care. When we see people's perfume collection pictures (in my FB frag groups), the bottles are all on open shelving or desk/vanity tops, looking absolutely gorgeous, but of course, open to light and temperature fluctuations. So it is semi-hilarious when they post perfumes for sale that they include an assurance that the bottles were kept "in a cool, dark storage area," LOL. Ebay is different though, as they are professional sellers who are more likely to store bottles properly; I'll start looking in Ebay and keep your terrific tips in mind. THANK YOU for having this perfume chat with me! I really appreciate it! XOXO, Julie
Hi Julie. Yes! I have found myself looking for affordable lids or empty bottles so I can take the lids from them for my lidless bottles but I've never bought one to date... I'm sure the time will come 🤣 It's a shame that the fragrances haven't been good, if you love the top notes then that's a huge problem. I do have one fragrance that is long discontinued where the grapefruit top note is a little off, but I kinda expected that because the fragrance is really hard to find now. It was my signature fragrance in my mid twenties so I was buying it for nostalgia, but I still love it, even without the top notes intact. Thankfully the drydown is exactly how I remembered. Haha, yes I think so many people store their bottles like that on shelves. I've come to the point where I am making seasonal trays and putting the rest away, hence why I filmed my collection in a different format this year... It's been working quite well but it's also a massive performance to get fragrances out from storage when I want to talk about one out of season 😂
I know it’s better for the environment and they can often be cheaper but I prefer to purchase perfumes new because then I know that they are genuine perfumes.
It's a concern for sure, it's whatever people feel comfortable with and entirely personal choice. In actual fact, if everyone bought secondhand, that would not work at all! Thanks for watching Amber! Have a great weekend 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume. You’re welcome. Thanks you too. I’m going to keep to 4 main brands that I’ll collect which will be Givenchy, Dior, Gucci and Pravda and then have other brands where I might just purchase one or two perfumes from. I do like a lot of male fragrances as well so I’ll get myself some Givenchy gentleman’s society and the Dior homme fragrances as well. I love some of the Givenchy fragrances and also I find that Givenchy is a very underrated fragrance house as well. Because they sell so many beautiful fragrances
I do really love the original givenchy gentlemen! That's a stunner! I would definitely wear that! And Dior Homme (the older version) was also wow 😲 I agree, I've only recently tried givenchy again but they have some absolutely gorgeous fragrances, the l'interdit line is mmm!
@@dr.claire.perfume. I have 3 l’interdit perfumes but I do want to finish the l’interdit collection and I’m also looking at buying givenchy YSATIS, givenchy DAHLIA DIVIN, Givenchy EAUDEMOISELLE, givenchy HOT COUTURE, givenchy Ange ou Démon Le Secret Eau de Parfum and givenchy Amarige Eau de Toilette
As a follow up to my comment about clones in a video you posted: with the due care that you mention, this is a far more ethical and cost-effective way to build a collection, in my view.
Yes! I agree and this is definitely what I prefer. I've never spent more than £45 on a secondhand fragrance, so it is really close effective. But it's also all dependent upon supply and demand and some fragrances are always going to be super rare or totally unavailable in that regard, so I see why people on a budget may see clones as an option too, but it's personal choice. Thanks for watching 🥰
Thanks! I just figured that no one seems to talk about this on TH-cam, yet so many people buy secondhand 🙃 I guess maybe people are concerned about being judged? I'm not sure! Have a fab Sunday 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume it's true, nobody does talk about it 🤔 which is kind of sad....feels like there is a worry about losing out if sharing such things ....and possibly, as you mentioned fear of losing out on affiliated purchases.....hence your sharing is so much more significant!! ❤🙏
I do think there is a bit of negativity too about secondhand from some people, I understand it's not for everyone though. Affiliate links drive me bananas, especially if the fragrance isn't priced at the best price through it! I get why people post them though, they must raise so much money from them, some pay 10% 😱
Oh fantastic! I was really suspicious to begin with, but I feel like I have a good instinct now. I think there's an art to knowing what is worth looking for and on which platform. That took me a while to get to grips with! Have you had any good bargains so far?
To answer your question, so far I've had two very good experiences and one that was disappointing. My first experience was the disappointing one. I bought a discontinued fragrance of the brand Givenchy, Live Irresistible Delicieuse. When it arrived, I realized there was about half the fragrance juice left in the bottle than I thought. Upon closer inspection of the online photo showing the amount of juice, I believe the bottle was photographed strategically at an angle. A photo taken strategically from the lowest side of the bottle could both hide the angle of the bottle, and make the juice line appear a bit higher than when the bottle is completely vertical. There wasn't much left in this bottle, so this angle made it look like I was going to get twice the amount of juice than I actually did receive. No wonder the price was so low. Lesson learned. 🙄 My second experience seemed too good to be true. I got a sealed bottle of a lovely Aerin perfume at forty percent of the retail price. I'd previously tried a sample of the same fragrance produced by the Aerin brand, and the box I received was sealed in plastic in an unopened box as described. So I was very pleased with my purchase. Of course, I'm still left to wonder why the seller sold it for such a low price. I hope it was originally purchased from a retailer and not stolen. Please do tell me if you'd discourage me from making such a purchase again if it's widely understood there is a market for stolen goods on these online secondary markets. My third purchase was another great deal. One of my first favorite fragrances was from Jo Malone London. I bought a 30 ml bottle that I've almost finished. I could find slightly used 30 ml bottles of this fragrance for just slightly less than the retail price. But I found a package deal on three unused 9 ml bottles for 30 percent of the retail price of a 30 ml bottle. These bottles were not still sealed in original packaging. But they were delivered safely, smell exactly as the fragrance I know so well, and are full bottles. So by accepting the smaller unused bottles, I obtained virtually the same amount of fragrance juice as the slightly used 30 ml bottle, at a much better price. Thanks again for your helpful content, Claire! My husband and I watched your video over Saturday breakfast, as we often do. We agreed you are the most helpful and informative of the fragrance content creators we watch on TH-cam! We appreciate your channel so much!! 🦋🧡🦋
Thank you! That's so lovely! It's amazing to me and has really made my day 😊 The first experience, yes that has happened to me too, photos can be extremely deceptive. I always try to take photos for what I sell straight on so it's clear to buyers. It's so disappointing when you get less than you expect. Experience two, I don't know, you do wonder where they are from for sure. And theft concerns me as it raises prices for everyone and adds stress on businesses. Clearly some sources are reputable though so I'm really not sure. Third, I've had a similar experience! It's strange isn't it that another format can be much cheaper. It's sometimes that odd bottle sizes don't get searched for as often or people may list them as travel size and so fewer people see the listings and they hang around longer. I'm not sure, but it's great that you found a good deal 😊 thanks for watching, have a great Sunday 🥰
On auctions with a Buy it Now price, I bid $0.01 below the Buy it Now price. This removes the Buy It Now option and forces someone to outbid me, which almost never happens. In most cases, I am the only bidder, and get the item for the opening bid price.
That's a great tip. I agree, that for auctions where the price isn't super low, there will rarely be more than one bid anyway, so this is an excellent strategy. But yes, people definitely seem less likely to pay higher prices at auction rather than buy it now. Knocking out the buy it now price is always a fab strategy. Thanks for watching 🥰
Excellent video with again so much information that is so helpful. I have never considered purchasing on eBay or any other web site but the idea that if you collect fragrances this seems like such a reasonable and cost effective way to build up a collection. Great effort and time put into this video as always. Thank you Claire!
I've been buying all of my fragrances on line for the last three years but I haven't bought any second hand. Maybe I should consider it as all the fragrances I am really interested in trying retail for more than a hundred euros.
I think it's a hard decision in a way, but I just figured with the more expensive ones that I would look and see, the price difference tempted me to try it and once the first bottle that I bought was in good condition, I was hooked. It's definitely not without its risks though. Let me know how it goes if you do try anything!
Yes! I know how that feels. They do come up, but there are also a lot of fakes and also refills in older bottles. Definitely check the colour of the fragrance. If it's clear and in an older bottle, it's a refill. I got lucky and found mine in a bundle. Just coming across one that is poorly titled is probably the best way. Good luck! 🥰
Like Veronica, I've been buying things on ebay for several years now and have utilized the techniques you've mentioned. But I have a real problem with those automatic bidding devices. I think they should be banned. They literally guarantee that the user will "win" the auction with no effort or participation on their part.
Hi Kat, I've not used the automatic bidders, but I see your argument, I've definitely been at their mercy a few times and lost out. eBay allow them though don't they? I read about them and was really quite shocked! 😳
Some people use the term for secondhand, especially with clothing. I just say secondhand normally. It means someone has pre-owned the bottle, so it's not new and may have been sprayed.
For some reason my comment got submitted before I was finished. Anyway, too often I have sat there with my finger on the key to enter my bid at the last moment, when suddenly, with only 3 seconds to go, another bid will be entered when there's not time enough to counter it. Do you realize how maddening is? For some reason, that happened when I was collecting vintage hats, and then when I started collecting vintage Russian lacquer boxes. As a result, I tend to get very nervous when bidding at auction . I much prefer the "make an offer" function and have turned into a very canny but fair operator.
Yes once bitten, twice shy! I completely understand that. I quite often make offers too if the item is reasonably priced. It's super frustrating when you don't win auctions, especially when it's something that you rarely see. Your other collections sound very interesting and beautiful. Thanks for watching as always, have a fab Sunday 🥰
As someone who buys and sells on eBay often (and for many many years), this advice is all spot on. You gave away all the good secrets, Claire! 😊 Kidding, of course. Everyone should know these tips. Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
For sure! It's entirely personal choice how people buy fragrance. But I've noticed that secondhand and how to buy secondhand fragrance is just not talked about on TH-cam... But I think so many people buy fragrance secondhand and in my experience, in 99% of cases they are in great condition and genuine. Why does no one talk about it on TH-cam when people can save £100s? Is it cos of the notion that consumerism is good? Is it because affiliate links become a joke if the person trying to flog the fragrance got it for a few pounds? I've no idea... 🤷♀️
Great tips, Claire! It would also help if fragrance companies would make travel sizes in all their fragrances for us collectors. 😁
Thank you! Yes! That would be fabulous 😍 travel sizes are the way to go with a larger collection! 😊
Fantastic information! I used to use Auction Sniper when I was placing bids in the pre cell phone era. It was really effective! It used to be a free service, I don’t believe that it is nowadays.
I feel the same as you. 30 mL is 30 mL. If I’m looking to sample a fragrance, I don’t care if it’s the last liquid in a large bottle or the cap is missing. I’ve never been worried that the integrity of the fragrance is compromised without the cap, that’s silly. After all, the entire Mugler library is sans caps.
I have never had a problem with missing caps. It's not aesthetically pleasing but what would I rather? A cap or another £20? I'll take the £20. I think there are some free sniping tools still, at least in the UK, I did have a quick look, but I didn't use them so I'm not sure! I can understand why they might charge, it seems an effective way to win. Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi betty
Fantastic tips!
I’ve been an avid secondhand shopper for years!
I generally go to flea markets, estate sales and thrift/ charity shops for most of mine. I also swap with my friends, prowl Poshmark, eBay and other sites.
Thank you ❤️ Yes! Me too! I love vintage bags and belts and I have lots of secondhand clothes. My whole house is furnished with secondhand furniture. Even my Christmas tree and decorations are secondhand! There are gems to be found and you never have the same stuff as everyone else does! Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire - fabulous tips! I would say I buy 75% second hand. If I didn’t I’d be divorced 🤣🤣🤣. I especially love large partial bottles, such a good way to try something. 100% agree: if it’s a cheap partial and I’m even slightly interested I move fast. For us with large collections it’s eye opening how slowly we go thru our frags. Cap-less testers do bug me; I’ve been searching for an affordable Amouage cap for like 2 years! I think it’s also important to understand how “in-demand” something is. For instance, there are very few deals to be had right now on some of the Kayalis. Better to wait. I’ve also found many steals thru inaccurate listings. The tips for Ebay bidding are right-on 👍🏻 In the U.S. Mercari is my #1 source. Statistically I’ve had very few mishaps buying 2nd hand and would wholeheartedly recommend. 😘
Hi Jill! Yes 😂 same! I've been trying to find a little spray bottle of a few Kayalis at a reasonable price and no luck. They go for close to retail! Demand is high. Trends are an important thing to be aware of, also there is an element of seasonality too. Winter fragrances are cheaper sometimes in summer.
I've also been trying to find some Chanel caps and I bought some testers very recently, which were a very good deal but yes, I prefer caps too if possible ☺️
I wish we had mercari here! It sounds like a great place for a fab deal! Thanks for watching, have a great weekend! 🥰
Hi Claire! I noticed that popular discontinued fragrances, that are not available on wholesalers are way overpriced on second hand sites
Yes, they can be, riding the wave of trends is key to knowing when to pounce. People do inflate prices for what is rare and in demand, florabotanica is a fab example of that!
I used to buy a lot second hand but I noticed I was buying a lot of old or not well maintained perfumes. They would arrive without the tops notes already, and I was paying part of the part but also getting part of the experience. Now I buy second-hand from content creators only bc they tend to buy and sell quickly.
That's a really interesting point, you are completely right, content creators generally have a huge turnover of fragrances! And yes they will be in very lightly used condition and relatively new too! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts 👌 and thanks for much for watching too 🥰
Wow, this is AMAZING. Thank you! I really prefer to get most things second hand. Why not??? I support that everyone can get stuff the way they want, absolutely! But if I am looking for something, and someone wants to rehome it, heck yeah! I'm here for it.
Hi Sarah! Thank you ❤️ I agree! It's entirely personal choice, but I love finding a bargain and the feeling that I am reusing something unwanted ☺️ I have about 20% secondhand clothes in my wardrobe and most of my furniture is secondhand too! Even my Christmas tree is secondhand 🤣 I've noticed how NO one else has done this kind of video... but why not? 🤔 Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi Claire! You have given us many valuable tips. I have been fortunate to buy some amazing perfumes at bargain prices. We have a drug store here that offers a point system that allows me to acquire designer fragrances for cheap. And I do not have a problem purchasing tester bottles, which have no caps or are 90% full. My personal challenge is that now that I have mastered the tricks, I keep acquiring perfumes! 😊
🤣 yes that's a huge problem! I agree, it can be addictive! Wow! I would love to have a store like that. It must be lovely to get a new fragrance for very little outlay. Thanks for watching 🥰
That tip about keeping an open mind is so important! Can't count the amount of times I've went in with an expectation and been disappointed to find a fantastic deal on something unplanned. Plans change all the time and the potential for regret is high if an opportunity isn't taken! Trust and flexibility are virtues in an intelligent universe. A truly fantastic video Claire. 💜 All the tips are spot on.
Thank you ❤️ Yes! I agree, some of my random opportunistic buys have been huge successes and if not, then they are simply resold, so little loss, and often much profit! Trying unusual things is part of the joy of the wide world fragrance. Thanks for watching 🥰
Fab video and tips from our research expert. You are the official bargain queen, you got some crazy good deals on a lot of those 🙌 I didn't know about a lot of those searching tips, thank you!
I've had some great buys on ébây mostly sprayed once or even brand new in cellophane for a fraction of the price! I've never spent over £35 for frag on there. My D'Orsay was just over £30 and retails around £180 I think! And samples, found loads of stuff I wanted to try. And found my Body Shop Altaro twice, and both in great condition considering that one was from 2004 and not even around for long. Had some great sales too 💗
Thank you! 😂 You are fab at bargains too! You always find what you want at a great price 👌 do you think an influencer was selling that d'orsay fragrance? 🤔 I miss so many body shop fragrances, they have all been discontinued or reformulated 😭
Did you notice how no influencers with affiliate links discuss secondhand fragrance buying? 🤣😉
@@dr.claire.perfume possibly an influencer yes, or it could have gone on steep discount somewhere as it was right when they changed the labels. But I bet a lot of PR gets sold. Some people accept everything, show it once then you never see it again. I have mostly stopped watching those types of creators. The content just gets yawwwwwnnnn!
Oh yes, no they don't do they haha! Buy it here, full price, you neeeeed to have this in your life, i'm obbbbsessed 😂
Yes, if you only see it once, you completely doubt their sincerity... same I can't do the channels that tell me I need anything. Fragrance is so personal and it's so unlikely that my taste will entirely overlap someone else's.
Great tips! Very useful video, thank you ❤
Thanks for watching Jax ❤️
Great tips, Claire 😍😍😍 a food for thought, definitely 😅
That huge Dior bottle - what a great catch!!! 😻
Thanks! ❤️ I ahvr definitely found some bargains... but it can take a long time to find things sometimes. I think if someone is in a rush, this is not for them 😂
Thank you so much Claire, you explained everything so well. I've been a little doubtful of buying less than half-full bottles because of the air in bottle issue, but obviously you've had good experiences with doing just that, so I may reconsider.
It was a concern for me for sure. A lot of the fragrances that I've bought that are larger sizes though, have been ex store tester bottles e.g. the Diors. Checking the batch codes, the bottles were all from late 2022, so relatively fresh so even a highly used fragrance might not necessarily be old, but yes certainly more air in the bottle and that is worrying, the way I figure it, is how quickly would I finish a bottle anyway and how long would the bottle sit with lots of air in? Because I have a bigger collection, it could be years! It just depends how much something is relative to what you would pay elsewhere and how quickly you will use it. Thanks for watching 🥰
Great tips! I’ve bought many perfumes from eBay sellers & so far, so good; however I now feel better informed on how to search, qualify sellers, setup notifications, etc - thanks so much for sharing your wisdom & experience (as always!) 🤗❤
Oh that's great! I'm really happy this was also helpful for people who already buy from eBay! I hope you find some bargains! Have a great Sunday 🥰
Good morning from across the pond. Excellent topic and your tips are spot on.
Thank you ❤️ greetings back! I am in a cottage with some friends this weekend. It's a beautiful spot! I absolutely love buying fragrance secondhand so I thought I'd share! I noticed that it's not discussed on TH-cam yet I know so many people buy secondhand! Thanks for watching 🥰
Oh my goodness I agree on all these tips! I have been purchasing smaller bottles 30ml if second hand for so much cheaper! You are always on point Claire! ❤
Thanks! Yes I have saved a lot of money I think, especially since retail prices have crept up a bit since 2020. Thanks for watching 🥰
when I used to sell on eBay I would start every bid at $0.99 because you get to the top of every search, make more sales and usually selling things for more money because you get more bids
I think that's fine if you have something that's in demand. It does indeed attract attention to it. It's sometimes good too, that if you are selling more expensive items, to have one amazing in demand fragrance at .99 and then to have the others at what you want for them, as the first fragrance creates the traffic for people to look at your other items. 🥰
I just purchased discontinued Gucci Accenti on Mercari! It's so beautiful!
Discontinued is where it's at with secondhand sites 👌 you can find absolute gems! Thanks for watching 🥰
SUCH a great video thank you!! I all too often purchase at retail price and this video inspired me to start bargain hunting!
Thank you! ❤️ well I hope if you do try it then you find a bargain! My tip is to start small if you do decide to try it ☺️ thanks for watching ❤️
Thank you for all these tips Claire. 😊
I haven't bought pre- owned. I'm a little iffy about that and stick to buying online with big fragrance shops.
All of these tips might come in handy though, as I was slowly thinking of buying that way as well. Definitely, search tools and knowing how to maximize their use helps immensely. (You reminded me of searching databases at the library when I was in university...)
Yes! It's not for everyone and best to start with smaller purchases if you are unsure. The searching is for sure like literature searching methods! Same skills here! Thanks for watching 🥰
Such great tips 😊 I've been pretty lucky buying fragrance on ebay - so far anyway 🤞 I've purchased brand new bottles of three niche fragrances this year. They were around £20 cheaper than retail i think. If they were silly cheap, as you say, that would be a no from me too. I always check sellers reviews.
My hesitation about buying used bottles is that I don't know if that bottle has been sitting on someone's dressing table getting sunlight on it every day for the last year or two. Im obsessive about keeping mine in their boxes in a chest of drawers away from heat and sunlight as I'm scared they will go off 😂
Hi Fiona! Yes! A £20 saving on new is a win 😊 large savings are very suspicious! I think if you are hesitant, then stay hesitant, do what you feel comfortable with! If you want to know the fragrances have been kept in optimal conditions then keep going with that 😊 thanks for watching ❤️
I look at reviews often when I plan to purchase something. Reviews can give us warning signs but we can miss them. I plan on posting a video about a bad buying experience I had.
I will look forward to it. At least bad experiences can inform others. That's the way I took my purchases with Shay and blue, I was just going to quietly resell them but then I figured that I could share my experiences with others by reviewing them. Good to find a positive in a negative 👍
This was really great! I never thought of buying a secondhand fragrance, absolutely brilliant tips!
Thank you 🥰 it's makes the mid range ones extremely affordable 😉
Good tips, however, if you are going to bid last minute you need to put in your absolute maximum bid. If you simply add a couple of pound any earlier maximum bids will take precedent, even if it's the same amount.
This is very true ❤️ you have to go for it if you really want it. Thanks for watching 🥰
Claire🤗 so I just clicked on and immediately thought about Mercari! So here’s my issue many times sellers are asking for more than the bargain discount sites! I was almost shocked at first and could not understand why!!!???? I mean I thought it was a way to get second hand discounted! Ok that’s my complaint although I learned my lesson lol, ok let me watch 😉❤️
It's a thing for sure! And yes, always best to check prices elsewhere. I guess some people just don't know what stuff sells for and so higher pricing can work for the sellers sometimes?! I'm not sure. I've noticed that particular fragrances for more than retail, e.g. the Lalique fragrances. I guess they have a high RRP but are always massively discounted, so perhaps that is it?
Thanks for the tips! Buying or selling preloved fragrances is not a 'thing' in my home country unless it's directly from a friend and usually, they will just let you have it.
Yes I don't expect it's everywhere, only where there are secondhand sales platforms. Thanks for watching 🥰
such great tips! i didnt know you can set alerts for items, will definitely try it, thanks so much!
Oh yes! You can find some real bargains when people list things on buy it now, if you really want something it's worth doing! 🥰
Hey Claire. This is such a great video and makes so much sense. I get nervous about buying fragrances second hand but it can be very cost effective.
It's an entirely personal decision. Some people love it, some people try it and have a bad experience and others never want to try, nobody is right or wrong 😊 thanks for watching ❤️
Excellent tips, I didn't know about the minus sign when searching, thank you! Although I do sometimes just put my max bid in straight away and that sort of gives the freedom, if I get it, I get it, if not then that's fine, because I don't want to overspend, plus the max bid doesn't usually drive the price up since everyone's bidding just a pound per bid most of the time :D Don't have to watch my phone that way
Sounds like a good strategy! I often find myself missing the ends of auctions if I don't set a timer so that is probably something I should try 😊 I hope you reap the benefits of a negative search 😉 Thanks for watching 🥰
Marathon watching all the vids I’ve missed! Great video!!! ❤
Thank you 🥰
I don't buy on E-bay but I love to buy 2nd hand 😍 !! Great way to find discontinued gems and expensive perfumes at a great price 👌👌! Really great tips Claire!! (I think ebay is really too complicated for me..the auction and all😅😅)
Have a beautiful weekend 🥰💕
Hi Sarah! Yes finding a gem secondhand is an absolute joy! It can be so exciting. I think just shop how you feel comfortable. Thanks for watching 🥰
Thanks Claire
A great informative video. I am the same I've had two fakes. And same, got two refunds.
I think sometimes it's common sense, do your research as best you can. If you think it's fake chances are it is.
I do get a thrill when you're searching for something and it can takes months or years for it to come up at a sensible price but it is very worth it.
I prefer a used one to a new one too. There's less chance of it being dodgy in someway unless it's one of them proper business sellers which sometimes have good bargains.
One thing that does vice my danglies is obviously in the second hand marker are a tonne of influencers... First the amount of money they try to extract from something they got for free is disgraceful and secondly "only sprayed twice" 🤣 🤣 when we see some adverts sorry "reviews" I can certainly believe that 😉 infact that they've even sprayed them at all is a surprise, but I guess it is needed in the video...
I've found so many gems, non as good as your bargains. But some rare long gone Kilians.
Yes Chanels are the biggest risk, tho it's the back of the label which many just don't seem to show...
Very well done on the Chloe Love 😉
I guess as well my annoyance is folks selling the hugely inflated priced discontinued ones. I really do hope they get stuck with them forever and ever... Greed is a shame really.
I think probably more than half of my Fragrances have been off ebay.
Anyways fab and helpful as always
Thanks! For sure! The chase is part of the joy of finding a fragrance you love.
Yes I see a few listings occasionally that are clearly influencers selling gifted stuff 🤣 e.g. Fragrance du Bois c*nnabis bleu 🤔 I really think brands should take more notice 🙄
Yes I feel the same, if you have suspicions, your hunch is likely right. In our heart of hearts we know. And yes! Definitely! Hardly anyone selling a Chanel fragrance photographs the back of the label.
Inflated prices are a thing for discontinued ones, Florabotanica and Alien essence absolue are two great examples. I guess you have to ride the wave of their popularity and swoop when you feel is appropriate. You just have to keep looking and eventually you will get lucky.
Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume yea I guess greed is everywhere isn't it sadly.
You're very right too, we do get lucky when we least expect it and the one we've been looking for does come along eventually. Just patience isn't it 😊
👌 exactly! 😊
Great tips Claire. I'd no idea that making a bid blocked the make an offer option. Thankfully I've been lucky with my 2nd hand buys but I've spotted a few dodgy listings along the way.
Hi Kathy! Yes! There are lots of dodgy ones around... I've seen loads of dodgy Dior midnight poisons and lots of Dior addîct and I was caught with a Chanel fragrance but I got my money back very easily thankfully. It's certainly not for everyone and can be a hassle if it's not straightforward. Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume Also lots of fake 90ml Alien bottles with the old Thierry Mugler logo that actually have a bottle inside that looks immediately wrong but people have been buying these up on ebay!
Yes I've seen some really unconvincing Thierry Mugler fakes, it's a shame that they are out there. Anything I see that I think isn't right, I report. ☺️
Great video! Thanks, Claire! Hugs from Southern California💚
Thank you ❤️ hugs back!!! 🥰
Thank you SO MUCH! This is exactly what I've been needing to get over my worries and start checking out the used market. eBay, here I come!
No problem! Start small and see how you go. Thanks for watching 🥰
I think Terracotta goes high because it’s hard to find in the US but only costs about $100 here in Canada
Yes I don't understand Guerlain at all!!! They could make so much more money in the US! 🤷♀️
Claire, thanks for this video! Lots of helpful tips. You're always teaching me stuff 🙂
No problem! Thank you so much for the fragrances. I will try to find a way to put them in a video ☺️
@@dr.claire.perfume You're welcome and no obligation at all. You've been so nice and I just wanted to send it back
Thank you. 🥰
30ml in 100 ml bottle, this is so smart advice. Thank you Claire 🌹
It's definitely a psychological trick, it just looks less to people and prices don't go as high! 🥰
Love you, Claire! I was about to comment all sorts of disadvs/cons re: #4 (saving money by buying a nearly empty looking 100ml or testers without caps) as counterarguments, but you did list most of them immediately yourself. I'll still add that a nearly empty 100ml (unless seller is a professional decant maker) is going to be older (perhaps many years older) and may have gone off or is about to go "off." And people need to know themselves -- if they have any perfectionist tendencies (always replacing cap on toothpaste, as a classic example), there is NO way they will be able to tolerate looking at a perfume bottle missing a cap, lol.
Thanks ❤️ really happy that you liked this! I think this topic is really not ever discussed on TH-cam, I guess because influencers can't use affiliate codes and flog stuff to people by talking about this! 🤣
With the age of things, I think it's unpredictable, some are relatively old but others not. I guess you need to ask for the batch codes to be able to tell. The Dior 250ml bottles that I have are ex testers and the batch codes are only May/October 2022, if someone bought a 250ml bottle of one of those, they may be using it for many years before it was gone, even with daily use, I would ideally like 10ml of each as a spray, not even 40ml, but Dior don't sell those 🤦♀️ I think if you have a larger collection, things will tend to sit around for a while anyway, that's essentially the problem with some brands not making smaller volumes. It's not ideal for perfume enthusiasts!
I'd say on the whole I much prefer a lid and I had been trying to eliminate lidless bottles from my collection, but ultimately if it's a lid or an extra £20 for a fragrance I want, I'll take the £20. I think maybe it depends how much I love the fragrance and if I've already built memories and associations with it that I think are special enough to warrant the extra spend. Sometimes having the lid will enable you to more easily resell the bottle if you decide it's not for you, so it can be a false economy not to buy the bottle with the lid in the long run! Thanks for watching 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume Hehe, regarding lids -- I'm in several facebook fragrance groups where we tease each other for ISOs of certain brands' bottle caps, since we know exactly what happened -- found a good deal on a tester but then also found out we cannot tolerate looking at a perfume bottle without its lid! 😆
For me, most of my purchases of secondhand bottles have not been successful. They smelled good but did not smell like the fresh mfr samples (the purchased bottles were missing the sharper/brighter top notes). I couldn't really complain because they were either from good friends or prominent/respected group experts from the facebook fragrance groups. I won't resell them knowing how they smell, so I'm stuck with them unless I think they might be appropriate to give away to teenaged daughters of my friends, as they won't know or care.
When we see people's perfume collection pictures (in my FB frag groups), the bottles are all on open shelving or desk/vanity tops, looking absolutely gorgeous, but of course, open to light and temperature fluctuations. So it is semi-hilarious when they post perfumes for sale that they include an assurance that the bottles were kept "in a cool, dark storage area," LOL.
Ebay is different though, as they are professional sellers who are more likely to store bottles properly; I'll start looking in Ebay and keep your terrific tips in mind.
THANK YOU for having this perfume chat with me! I really appreciate it! XOXO, Julie
Hi Julie. Yes! I have found myself looking for affordable lids or empty bottles so I can take the lids from them for my lidless bottles but I've never bought one to date... I'm sure the time will come 🤣
It's a shame that the fragrances haven't been good, if you love the top notes then that's a huge problem. I do have one fragrance that is long discontinued where the grapefruit top note is a little off, but I kinda expected that because the fragrance is really hard to find now. It was my signature fragrance in my mid twenties so I was buying it for nostalgia, but I still love it, even without the top notes intact. Thankfully the drydown is exactly how I remembered.
Haha, yes I think so many people store their bottles like that on shelves. I've come to the point where I am making seasonal trays and putting the rest away, hence why I filmed my collection in a different format this year... It's been working quite well but it's also a massive performance to get fragrances out from storage when I want to talk about one out of season 😂
Claire, I simply adore your videos. So much information per second!!!! I am telling you again, Claire, you are so unique on TH-cam!
Thank you ❤️ that means a lot! I'm really happy that you enjoyed this! It's not really something anyone else talks about on TH-cam weirdly...
I know it’s better for the environment and they can often be cheaper but I prefer to purchase perfumes new because then I know that they are genuine perfumes.
It's a concern for sure, it's whatever people feel comfortable with and entirely personal choice. In actual fact, if everyone bought secondhand, that would not work at all! Thanks for watching Amber! Have a great weekend 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume. You’re welcome. Thanks you too. I’m going to keep to 4 main brands that I’ll collect which will be Givenchy, Dior, Gucci and Pravda and then have other brands where I might just purchase one or two perfumes from. I do like a lot of male fragrances as well so I’ll get myself some Givenchy gentleman’s society and the Dior homme fragrances as well. I love some of the Givenchy fragrances and also I find that Givenchy is a very underrated fragrance house as well. Because they sell so many beautiful fragrances
I do really love the original givenchy gentlemen! That's a stunner! I would definitely wear that! And Dior Homme (the older version) was also wow 😲 I agree, I've only recently tried givenchy again but they have some absolutely gorgeous fragrances, the l'interdit line is mmm!
@@dr.claire.perfume. I have 3 l’interdit perfumes but I do want to finish the l’interdit collection and I’m also looking at buying givenchy YSATIS, givenchy DAHLIA DIVIN, Givenchy EAUDEMOISELLE, givenchy HOT COUTURE, givenchy Ange ou Démon Le Secret Eau de Parfum and givenchy Amarige Eau de Toilette
That's a long list, it will take a bit of time to get all of those, some lovely ones there though!
These are awesome tips Claire!!! 💙👍💙
Thanks Joss ❤️
This is very valuable information. Thank you for sharing Claire!
Thanks for watching 🥰
Hey Claire❣️❣️
Thank you for this because I NEEDED this advice ❤ I've never bought a perfume secondhand but I've often wanted to ❣️
Hi Laurel! Please let me know if you do go for it, I'd be interested to hear how it works out for you! Thanks for watching 🥰
Do you have a link for a chart like you showed for what 30ml looks like in 100ml bottle or something similar? Thank you!!
Sorry, I made the image myself so it doesn't have a source. You too can make one maybe from other images if you have PowerPoint or imageJ.
As a follow up to my comment about clones in a video you posted: with the due care that you mention, this is a far more ethical and cost-effective way to build a collection, in my view.
Yes! I agree and this is definitely what I prefer. I've never spent more than £45 on a secondhand fragrance, so it is really close effective. But it's also all dependent upon supply and demand and some fragrances are always going to be super rare or totally unavailable in that regard, so I see why people on a budget may see clones as an option too, but it's personal choice. Thanks for watching 🥰
So, so helpful!!!
Thank you 🥰
Thank you, Claire😊! Wonderful of you to share those tips....much appreciated 🙏👍
Thanks! I just figured that no one seems to talk about this on TH-cam, yet so many people buy secondhand 🙃 I guess maybe people are concerned about being judged? I'm not sure! Have a fab Sunday 🥰
@@dr.claire.perfume it's true, nobody does talk about it 🤔 which is kind of sad....feels like there is a worry about losing out if sharing such things ....and possibly, as you mentioned fear of losing out on affiliated purchases.....hence your sharing is so much more significant!! ❤🙏
I do think there is a bit of negativity too about secondhand from some people, I understand it's not for everyone though. Affiliate links drive me bananas, especially if the fragrance isn't priced at the best price through it! I get why people post them though, they must raise so much money from them, some pay 10% 😱
@@dr.claire.perfume thank you for responding....🙏
Such perfect timing! We've just started to buy used fragrance bottles. Can't wait to see your tips! 🦋🧡🦋
Oh fantastic! I was really suspicious to begin with, but I feel like I have a good instinct now. I think there's an art to knowing what is worth looking for and on which platform. That took me a while to get to grips with! Have you had any good bargains so far?
To answer your question, so far I've had two very good experiences and one that was disappointing.
My first experience was the disappointing one. I bought a discontinued fragrance of the brand Givenchy, Live Irresistible Delicieuse. When it arrived, I realized there was about half the fragrance juice left in the bottle than I thought. Upon closer inspection of the online photo showing the amount of juice, I believe the bottle was photographed strategically at an angle. A photo taken strategically from the lowest side of the bottle could both hide the angle of the bottle, and make the juice line appear a bit higher than when the bottle is completely vertical. There wasn't much left in this bottle, so this angle made it look like I was going to get twice the amount of juice than I actually did receive. No wonder the price was so low. Lesson learned. 🙄
My second experience seemed too good to be true. I got a sealed bottle of a lovely Aerin perfume at forty percent of the retail price. I'd previously tried a sample of the same fragrance produced by the Aerin brand, and the box I received was sealed in plastic in an unopened box as described. So I was very pleased with my purchase. Of course, I'm still left to wonder why the seller sold it for such a low price. I hope it was originally purchased from a retailer and not stolen. Please do tell me if you'd discourage me from making such a purchase again if it's widely understood there is a market for stolen goods on these online secondary markets.
My third purchase was another great deal. One of my first favorite fragrances was from Jo Malone London. I bought a 30 ml bottle that I've almost finished. I could find slightly used 30 ml bottles of this fragrance for just slightly less than the retail price. But I found a package deal on three unused 9 ml bottles for 30 percent of the retail price of a 30 ml bottle. These bottles were not still sealed in original packaging. But they were delivered safely, smell exactly as the fragrance I know so well, and are full bottles. So by accepting the smaller unused bottles, I obtained virtually the same amount of fragrance juice as the slightly used 30 ml bottle, at a much better price.
Thanks again for your helpful content, Claire! My husband and I watched your video over Saturday breakfast, as we often do. We agreed you are the most helpful and informative of the fragrance content creators we watch on TH-cam! We appreciate your channel so much!!
🦋🧡🦋
Thank you! That's so lovely! It's amazing to me and has really made my day 😊
The first experience, yes that has happened to me too, photos can be extremely deceptive. I always try to take photos for what I sell straight on so it's clear to buyers. It's so disappointing when you get less than you expect.
Experience two, I don't know, you do wonder where they are from for sure. And theft concerns me as it raises prices for everyone and adds stress on businesses. Clearly some sources are reputable though so I'm really not sure.
Third, I've had a similar experience! It's strange isn't it that another format can be much cheaper. It's sometimes that odd bottle sizes don't get searched for as often or people may list them as travel size and so fewer people see the listings and they hang around longer. I'm not sure, but it's great that you found a good deal 😊 thanks for watching, have a great Sunday 🥰
I love your videos so much. Every time I learn something new
Thank you! ❤️ that's lovely of you to say! I'm really happy you enjoy my videos! 🥰
Thanks Clare you definitely know how to buy second hand and those are tips I didn’t know about
Hugs ❤
Thanks Frances! Hope you have a lovely Sunday 🥰
Oooh! The tips! Thanks, Claire!
Thanks for watching 🥰
Great tips you mentioned in the video my beautiful friend. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend 🥰
Thank you! Have a fab weekend 🥰
I got Chanel 5 for 55£ full 100 ml bottle 🎉🤩
That's a fab deal! I hope you love every drop! 🥰
On auctions with a Buy it Now price, I bid $0.01 below the Buy it Now price. This removes the Buy It Now option and forces someone to outbid me, which almost never happens. In most cases, I am the only bidder, and get the item for the opening bid price.
That's a great tip. I agree, that for auctions where the price isn't super low, there will rarely be more than one bid anyway, so this is an excellent strategy. But yes, people definitely seem less likely to pay higher prices at auction rather than buy it now. Knocking out the buy it now price is always a fab strategy. Thanks for watching 🥰
For just 1 penny more, why not just buy it now?
Thank you Dr. Smith🌹🙋
Thank you! 🥰
Hi Clare ,you always get some great deals
Hey Frances 🥰
great advice!
Thank you ❤️
Wow the Dior is a very expensive perfume and you did get a deal on that one
It was a good find and I pounced 🤣
Excellent video with again so much information that is so helpful. I have never considered purchasing on eBay or any other web site but the idea that if you collect fragrances this seems like such a reasonable and cost effective way to build up a collection. Great effort and time put into this video as always. Thank you Claire!
Thanks ❤️ yes! It's very much more affordable and the hunt for what you want is also part of the fun 😂 thanks for watching 🥰
I've been buying all of my fragrances on line for the last three years but I haven't bought any second hand. Maybe I should consider it as all the fragrances I am really interested in trying retail for more than a hundred euros.
I think it's a hard decision in a way, but I just figured with the more expensive ones that I would look and see, the price difference tempted me to try it and once the first bottle that I bought was in good condition, I was hooked. It's definitely not without its risks though. Let me know how it goes if you do try anything!
Great tips and im still afraid…I’m on the search for a vintage alien it’s been a night mare
Yes! I know how that feels. They do come up, but there are also a lot of fakes and also refills in older bottles. Definitely check the colour of the fragrance. If it's clear and in an older bottle, it's a refill. I got lucky and found mine in a bundle. Just coming across one that is poorly titled is probably the best way. Good luck! 🥰
18:27 I always do it to .25p, .3p or .61p 😂
Yes exactly 💯 definitely the way to win! Thanks for watching 🥰
Hi claire My gazelle-eyed, it is a great pleasure to travel to this spaceship with you, I love you, my dear.
Thank you 🥰
Like Veronica, I've been buying things on ebay for several years now and have utilized the techniques you've mentioned. But I have a real problem with those automatic bidding devices. I think they should be banned. They literally guarantee that the user will "win" the auction with no effort or participation on their part.
Hi Kat, I've not used the automatic bidders, but I see your argument, I've definitely been at their mercy a few times and lost out. eBay allow them though don't they? I read about them and was really quite shocked! 😳
Chloe love - story!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Yes 🤣 my favourite tip 👌
Hello quick question, what does preloved perfume mean?
Some people use the term for secondhand, especially with clothing. I just say secondhand normally. It means someone has pre-owned the bottle, so it's not new and may have been sprayed.
Thank you 👍🏽
No problem 🙂
For some reason my comment got submitted before I was finished. Anyway, too often I have sat there with my finger on the key to enter my bid at the last moment, when suddenly, with only 3 seconds to go, another bid will be entered when there's not time enough to counter it. Do you realize how maddening is? For some reason, that happened when I was collecting vintage hats, and then when I started collecting vintage Russian lacquer boxes.
As a result, I tend to get very nervous when bidding at auction . I much prefer the "make an offer" function and have turned into a very canny but fair operator.
Yes once bitten, twice shy! I completely understand that. I quite often make offers too if the item is reasonably priced. It's super frustrating when you don't win auctions, especially when it's something that you rarely see. Your other collections sound very interesting and beautiful. Thanks for watching as always, have a fab Sunday 🥰
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