Items on Ebay Quality?

[MissMaryMac]

I was looking at some Avon and Mary Kay products on Ebay. They are super cheap and NewIntheBox. My boyfriend tells me the stuff may be old.

Does anyone have any experience purchasing the stuff? How can they sell it cheaper than the Avon catalogs and regular MaryKay ladies?

 

[Kimmers86]

It may be old, or they may just want to get rid of it. You could ask them for the date on the box ebfore you bid

Usually people are fairly honest, that I've dealt with anyway.

 

[farris2]

Yes do be careful about buying Avon etc on Ebay. Some people sell their inventory after geting out of their business,or...it got old and they couldnt sell it,or....they ordered a ton of inventory to sell on Ebay which is not allowed in most direct sales companies.Plus you dont know if the product may have sat in a hot car for God knows how long.

 

[vickih]

bought mary kay stuff.. turned out to be sooo old i had to get my money back

 

[SoonerOrLater]

Originally Posted by MissMaryMac /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was looking at some Avon and Mary Kay products on Ebay. They are super cheap and NewIntheBox. My boyfriend tells me the stuff may be old.
Does anyone have any experience purchasing the stuff? How can they sell it cheaper than the Avon catalogs and regular MaryKay ladies?

I have been buying (and NOT buying) cosmetics on eBay for about a year. You REALLY have to be careful. Your boyfriend is right, most of it is old or used. I buy Clarins and Mary Kay and have found that 90% is expired product. I know both the production codes for those products and so I ask up front for the code. Many sellers have no clue what those codes are so they give them to me, only to find out in my response that they are selling expired product. Then many of them become hateful and abusive in their responses because they have been caught.
Most sellers also will refuse to tell you where they get their product. Do not believe for an instant that it is direct from the company. Cosmetics companies do not sell to individuals and certainly, not w/o boxes. You will see that most products are unboxed and unsealed. This means they were most likely testers, and in many cases, stolen. In one case, the seller was honest when he said they were purchased from an insurance sale from the Katrina disaster.

I have found a few honest sellers, mostly with Clarins. One seller has a boutique and gets tester products, completely sealed, and sells them on eBay. I have had no problems with her expiration dates and her products have boxes and seals. But, she is definitely the exception. In some cases, a rep is getting out of the business. This is the case often with MKay products. Just insist on the product code, find out how to read it, and don't buy unboxed or unsealed. All too often a seller lists a product as NEW when it is half gone.

I have turned in many sellers to eBay, but for the most part, unless the seller has been abusive in email (one seller hoped I would die), eBay doesn't do much. It is definitely buyer beware.

 

[makeupfreak72]

i used to buy a TON of mary kay on ebay before i got into MAC and everything was fresh except for the occasional old eyeshadow, i'd say 99% of all mk i bought was fresh and mint condition. including, eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, lipliners and the color palettes.

 

[SoonerOrLater]

Originally Posted by makeupfreak72 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i used to buy a TON of mary kay on ebay before i got into MAC and everything was fresh except for the occasional old eyeshadow, i'd say 99% of all mk i bought was fresh and mint condition. including, eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks, lipliners and the color palettes. How did you know it was fresh? Did you decipher the product code? Products may look fresh, but if they're old or expired, they may not stay that way while you use them up.

 

[lisakelley]

You can get the batch number and call the company- they can tell you the expiration date. My experience with products on ebay has not been good at all, so be careful.

 

[SoonerOrLater]

Originally Posted by lisakelley /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can get the batch number and call the company- they can tell you the expiration date. My experience with products on ebay has not been good at all, so be careful. Unless it's Bobbi Brown. They refuse to tell you anything about product dating. Bad press IMHO. I like some of their products, but am looking for substitutes (like MAC fluidline instead of their gel liners) because I have a hard time supporting a company who refuses to disclose to their customers how to figure out if their products are fresh.

 

[kaylin_marie]

Just check out the sellers feedback. Power sellers aren't going to sell you a bad product b/c they don't want bad feedback, they want to continue making sales. It's not too hard to find reputable people to buy from.

That being said, as far as makeup goes, I've only bought MAC pigments from ebay, and they were absolutely grand.

 

[Riyanna]

I shop on ebay all the time. Make sure you check out the seller before you buy from him/her. They should have a lot of feedback in order to be trustworthy, and don't buy from anyone with negatives. See what they've sold and see what else they are selling. My boyfriend runs an ebay business so I've learned the ropes. I've def bought makeup off of ebay before and it's always been legit. Sometimes sales associates just sell stuff they get at discount to make a buck or two. Anyway, good luck!

 

[Kathy]

I think it depends on what you're buying. But...many sellers buy bulk of certain products and then sell it for a profit on ebay. I have not purchased Avon, but I have purchased some MAC and Stila and it was fine IMO. It's a chance you take if you purchase from anywhere except the company itself or a counter.