Sephora Active Codes- Codes only thread - Codes, Coupons

[NurseKelly2012]

Not a Sephora deal, but did anyone see the deal Zoya has for Black Friday? It looks awesome!

 

[coffeecardigan]

Quote: Originally Posted by NurseKelly2012 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Not a Sephora deal, but did anyone see the deal Zoya has for Black Friday? It looks awesome!
What? Where?

 

[coffeecardigan]

Quote: Originally Posted by mariahk83 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  any news on these $20 Black Friday offers yet?!  I want to know what THOSE are!!

Ooh, I didn't know that!  Sweet!

 

[nicepenguins]

I don't understand why they don't just warn people about their free shipping privileges potentially being revoked. Why take away ordering online altogether vs taking away the free shipping privileges, which were what was ostensibly being misused? I have also had bad experiences with them and would prefer to order online elsewhere and go to actual high end stores like saks if I need a particular high end product. Sephora should be grateful for its loyal customers who have rouge and should be trying to compete better with newer sub companies in terms of incentives. I feel like the newer subs cater to a younger market that sephora should be trying to keep. Sephora chose the free shipping incentive which is a good idea and the customer was using it and now sephora is unhappy but they shouldn't punish the customer so rudely.

 

[LuckyMoon]

Quote: Originally Posted by coffeecardigan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  What? Where?

 

[NurseKelly2012]

What? Where?

http://www.zoya.com/content/category/Zoya_Dream_Box_2013_PREMADE_Holiday_Gift_Sets.html I think if you spend $72, you get a box with 12 polishes in it for free, $92 value.

 

[coffeecardigan]

Quote: Originally Posted by NurseKelly2012 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


http://www.zoya.com/content/category/Zoya_Dream_Box_2013_PREMADE_Holiday_Gift_Sets.html

I think if you spend $72, you get a box with 12 polishes in it.

Quote: Originally Posted by LuckyMoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

Thanks, ladies!  I have too much nail polish and I can't justify this.  So beautiful though!

 

[NurseKelly2012]

Thanks, ladies!  I have too much nail polish and I can't justify this.  So beautiful though!

Ahh I know, I have so many polishes! I don't know if I can pass that deal up though!

 

[smiletorismile]

Quote: Originally Posted by NurseKelly2012 /img/forum/go_quote.gif


http://www.zoya.com/content/category/Zoya_Dream_Box_2013_PREMADE_Holiday_Gift_Sets.html

I think if you spend $72, you get a box with 12 polishes in it for free, $92 value.
That's awesome! I probably wouldn't get it though because I don't need that many polishes.

 

[NurseKelly2012]

That's awesome! I probably wouldn't get it though because I don't need that many polishes.

Yeah I know. It's like 20 bottles of polishes, and I already have 60+ that I'll never work my way through.

 

[gemstone]

The only thing I could find in the terms and conditions regarding banning people was this:

Fraud Protection Program
As part of our order processing procedures, we screen all received orders for fraud or other types of unauthorized or illegal activity. We reserve the right to refuse to process an order due to suspected fraud or unauthorized or illegal activity. If such is the case, we may reject your order or our Customer Service department may call you at the phone number you provided (or use your email address) to confirm your order. We also reserve the right to cancel any accounts or refuse to ship to certain addresses due to suspected fraud or unauthorized or illegal activity. We take these measures to protect our customers as well as ourselves from fraud or other unauthorized or illegal activity.

So the only thing I can think of is that there is some glitch in the system that flagged your account regarding fraud, and it automatically blocked your account.  I still can't believe they were so rude about it, especially since they do not state anywhere that there is a limit on how many orders you can make.  Those who have contacted CS about it have also been told repeatedly that when they say "free with no minimum" that there are no exceptions.

 

[CheshireCookie]

Quote: Originally Posted by pinkrosebella /img/forum/go_quote.gif

@rachelshine unfortunately the final person I spoke to was so rude she wouldn't let me speak. She kept trying to cut me off. I tried to explain things calmly from my end I meant no harm. But she said there was nothing else she could do.

I agree that the sephora beauty advisors are usually very helpful. Even their supervisors. But it was the final person who spoke with me...I think she was a supervisor..told me any orders I attempt to place from now on will be cancelled. I told her I won't place any more orders because I now know there is an issue on my account.

I was calm and just wanted to find out how long should I wait before I can shop online again. She was very vague about it and simply told me wait it out as long as possible...:/ how can a company be so vague. They must not want my money. But seriously I felt deeply hurt.

I don't know what to make of it. I was at the point where I was going to slow down on my orders anyway. It was only for the holidays I started placing more orders then usual, thinking about gifts I needed to buy for so and so. I didn't want to miss anyone.

I'm just very upset at the moment.

Of course my wallets ill be happy. Luckily I was able to purchase all the gifts I wanted for myself and gifts for others for the holidays. I will just pick up some essentials from ulta.

This is what I get for being a vib rouge? If I got carried away with my orders and the 'free shipping perk' sephora could have just informed me and given me a chance to show I am a loyal customer.

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. How much were the small orders? Is it just me or is VIB Rouge a disappointment all around, or is it just me? I love the free shipping, but I feel like that's all I got....paying $1,000 for free shipping then losing it at the end of December....not my idea of a great deal.

 

[Olga Ok]

If I was still allowed to shop on sephora online I would never place a small order again...only the occasional order of $25 or more. So sad to be told I can no longer shop with them online anymore. It sounded very final

As strange as it may sound: do you live in remote area? If yes, the shipping of small orders could have costed sephora more than to an urban city.

 

[ohsailor]

Quote: Originally Posted by FormosaHoney /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I get the feeling that being banned is probably a little more complex then placing too many small orders, there's probably a formula.

Purely for example....Each transaction you make carries a revenue and also profit level.  

Let's assume that as VIB-R member, you are taking advantage of codes and samples and this is the purchasing pattern for say the last 4 months:

You buy 10 X $100 fragrances (or other high profit maring items) and then also make 70 X $1 purchases, it probably won't raise a red flag.  The profit from the 7 X $100 purchases is likely to be $850+ and that profit will offset the costs of sending out the 70 X $1 purchases.  Their picking, packaging and shipping expense is likely to be between $3 to $5 os if you make 70 tiny purchases, its an expense of between $210 to $350.  

On the otherhand, in a polarized scenario if you purchased 10 X $25 beauty products (am assuming that these are lower profit margin items) and then go and pull the trigger on 200 X $1 and return 2 of the $25 purchase, I'm sure the system will single you out as a cost center and give you the boot.  

Why might this make sense?  The only goal that Sephora has is to seperate as much of your money from you as possible and to put it into their pocket.  So booting people off their website would make more sense if their purchasing pattern indidated that they were loosing money, barely breaking-even with a client or if their purchasing pattern was on a consistent downward trojectory.  

Why do I care? !???  I'm one of those that placed 'multiples' of $1 to $5 orders to get the Kag Von D. bags for a good cause.  Bags to got to AFG military female, which I also stuff with other products, donated, purchased (i.e. $5 Soap & Glory hand lotion, $1 Burt's Bees Radiance night cream) and beauty subs.  

When there's a multiple point offer or a good sale, I buy multiples for gifts...  every single time!  Then I remember that I've already got 5 of the Cindy pallettes and 3 of the Sun Safety kit.  So I need to return some stuff because I've got too much... honestly selling them on eBay isn't lucrative. Yes you might make $10 here and there, but living in NY where the cost of living is high, one can't afford to waste time netting $10 here and there.  I've sold 3 to 4 things on eBay and that's because I was too afraid to take them back.  I think I did make $20 to $30 for it, but honestly, the 2+ hours spent on photos and copy writing (am perfectionist), monitoring sales, time spent packaging and then making a trip to the post office...  It's a wash and sort of a negative monetary scenario.  I get paid $30+/hr for contract linguist work and I just spent 4 hours making $30 on eBay?    So, final anallysis?  Am going to try to return some stuff and will bring all coded GWP, such as the Benefit Trio (mascars, high beam and sugar bomb) with me as show of good will.  

I do agree with Pinkrosebella that rather then simingly punative measures, they should have a system in place that allows for a handful and no more of a 'no minimum' code.  I also think that it's Sephora's burden to come up with a small order limiting scheme that carries a positive spin rather then slap on the wrist.

It might not be such a bad thing iif Sephora were to ban me for a few months.  I'm finding my obsession with Sephora a little bizzare when I stand back and look at my product hoarding and purchasing pattern..  But in my defense, it's not a bad vice.  

I'm however like... who is that person? 

 

We're so twins, lol. Also, YOUR logic makes perfect sense, but THEIRS doesn't. If I take something back to Sephora, even if it's not online/store credit, you better believe that money I get back is going right back to them in the form of yet another product I want!

Also, I agree it's strange there's nothing about it really in their information and what constitutes getting "banned" from Sephora, only the fraudulent charge suspicion thing. It's also weird that they just don't require GWP to be returned or put a limit on small orders if that's the way they want it. I'm not doubting anyone here, I totally believe you, but there IS something weird going on with Sephora. It's weird that we talk about it and suddenly more members are getting flagged/banned.

 

[ohsailor]

@Pinkrosebella- did you place orders during the VIB sale? I would comment and ask here: http://community.sephora.com/t5/Customer-Support/Not-able-to-place-any-order-due-to-violation-of-terms-of-use/td-p/814279

 

[jennm149]

Quote: Originally Posted by gemstone /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  The only thing I could find in the terms and conditions regarding banning people was this:

Fraud Protection Program
As part of our order processing procedures, we screen all received orders for fraud or other types of unauthorized or illegal activity. We reserve the right to refuse to process an order due to suspected fraud or unauthorized or illegal activity. If such is the case, we may reject your order or our Customer Service department may call you at the phone number you provided (or use your email address) to confirm your order. We also reserve the right to cancel any accounts or refuse to ship to certain addresses due to suspected fraud or unauthorized or illegal activity. We take these measures to protect our customers as well as ourselves from fraud or other unauthorized or illegal activity.

So the only thing I can think of is that there is some glitch in the system that flagged your account regarding fraud, and it automatically blocked your account.  I still can't believe they were so rude about it, especially since they do not state anywhere that there is a limit on how many orders you can make.  Those who have contacted CS about it have also been told repeatedly that when they say "free with no minimum" that there are no exceptions.

What Sephora has probably done is to customize fraud detection software that credit card companies use to ensure that people aren't getting stuff from Sephora and then reselling it or otherwise misusing them/their agreement with the companies that provide samples, etc.  If that's the case, then there really aren't any specific "rules" that any CSR would know about.

These programs are a lot more complicated than simply looking at pre-set rules.  They are "looking" for connections that people wouldn't necessarily see, and couldn't even explain, not just running a check against some pre-defined criteria like how many small orders you place, orders for multiple products, etc.  It's the same reason that calling your credit card company to tell them that you're travelling won't stop them from shutting your card down when the fraud system sees something it thinks is an issue.  The customer service and fraud detection systems operate completely independently of each other at most places.

I started a letter a couple of weeks ago to Sephora's CMO.  I think it may be time to send it.  Does anyone have any idea what the internal email protocol for Sephora is?  If not, I'll have to send it snail mail.  But I think she needs to hear that VIB Rouge is a big flop at this point, with the one major "benefit" now causing more anxiety than excitement.  If customers are feeling that they have to think twice before placing an order out of fear of having their shopping privileges revoked, their plan is backfiring.

 

[JaneSays]

I had an issue with Sephora CS last week.  I was pretty shocked with how I was treated and I've been hesitant to make another purchase, even though I have a nice stash of gift cards.  I'm very close to VIB and I noticed that my JCP purchases were not counting toward my points or my VIB balance.  So I emailed CS and sent pictures of my receipts.  They credited the points, but not my VIB balance.  So I asked them about it in a reply.  The rep then told me that I must present my card or email address in store to get credit because they don't count purchases made from Amazon and other retailers.  Really?  The wording seemed really strange, and Really?  I sent pictures of my receipts in the original email.  I'm not asking for anything that I haven't legitimately earned.  I sent another email stating that if she actually looked at the receipts I sent, she would see my BI number right at the top.  I did everything I'm supposed to do and they are keeping my earnings and accusing me of fraud.  I received a reply from a different customer service agent apologizing for any implication that I did anything wrong and thanking me for allowing her to help me.  They still haven't changed my balance.  

 

[SOSRedAlertSOS]

I had an issue with Sephora CS last week.  I was pretty shocked with how I was treated and I've been hesitant to make another purchase, even though I have a nice stash of gift cards.  I'm very close to VIB and I noticed that my JCP purchases were not counting toward my points or my VIB balance.  So I emailed CS and sent pictures of my receipts.  They credited the points, but not my VIB balance.  So I asked them about it in a reply.  The rep then told me that I must present my card or email address in store to get credit because they don't count purchases made from Amazon and other retailers.  Really?  The wording seemed really strange, and Really?  I sent pictures of my receipts in the original email.  I'm not asking for anything that I haven't legitimately earned.  I sent another email stating that if she actually looked at the receipts I sent, she would see my BI number right at the top.  I did everything I'm supposed to do and they are keeping my earnings and accusing me of fraud.  I received a reply from a different customer service agent apologizing for any implication that I did anything wrong and thanking me for allowing her to help me.  They still haven't changed my balance.  

This same exact thing happened to me! I fully explained why I was emailing them and all they did was credit my beauty bank but the amount towards rouge has not changed. I emailed them receipts and called them twice. Still nothing. I'm thinking of calling again because its bs.

 

[jmd252]

This same exact thing happened to me! I fully explained why I was emailing them and all they did was credit my beauty bank but the amount towards rouge has not changed. I emailed them receipts and called them twice. Still nothing. I'm thinking of calling again because its bs.

The same thing happened to me. My SiJCP purchases never credited to my account (even though the same day I redeemed some points for a reward in store so the transaction was definitely linked to my account). when I called they credited my account for the points but not for the beauty insider status which I had earned by that time. I never followed up but I ended up spending more and earning it without those points counting toward my total.

 

[FormosaHoney]

I just called my Sephora on too many returns and or small purchases.  They pretty much said that it's a combination of factors that get you flagged.  
 
So there are no singular matrix that gets you booted.  Like OP said, it is some sort of a fraud detecting system that monitors various varaibles for possible fraud, like a credit card company's.
 
I stressed that I didn't want to get booted and that I was bringing back a sizable return (am moving) but that I had the receipts and she said that should be fine, since I had the receipts.  She mentioned that the flagging is for fraudulant activities, citing excessiv returns without receipts as an example or if one was buying for multiple people (HUH? My mom is 79 and not computer savvy and will never step into a Retail Sephora, not sure what the logic is behind this)
 
I had also received double the shipment on an order because the 1st one went missing for 10 days and I requsted Sephora to send a 2nd box.  I asked if I should bring the dupe back to the store since I know that Sephora Online and Sephora 3-D are seperate profit centers.  She said to send it back using the return label.  I said that I'd return the code-extra (some trio) and she paused for a moment and said "as a matter of fact, you don't have to return the trio, we'd like you to keep it, just send the extra stuff back".  Which I thoguht indicated good will and sound thinking.
 
So I think the flagging and banning more has to do with 'excessive' returns without receipts as defined by thier lost prevention department.  No personal judgement on the 'excessive' are implicated by me.
 
Of the ladies that have been flagged or banned, were there numerous returns made without receipts?  Say in excess of $300, $500 or $700?  I think that the decision for the boot switch is based A LOT on unrecipted reutrns.  Again no judgement here, just anaylsis.  I make returns without receipts ALL THE TIME at Costcos, they just go through your database and reconcile a return against a purchase and zero that transaction out.  
 
Sephora doesn't do that, their computer systems don't carry that level of information at the checkout counter.   So they accept upto a certain level of returns without receipts but that also opens them up to fraud exposures if the returned product was not purchased in the first place.  In Costco's case the same exposure is greatly mitigated even w/o receipts, if the item doesn't pull-up in your puchase history, then no refund is given since you never purchased it.