Deluxe samples on eBay

[MichelleCarmen]

Okay, on eBay there are a number of sellers who have tons of deluxe samples (.24-.50 ounces) of estee lauder, clinique, and other creams, up for sale. These sellers are auctioning hundreds of these gift with purchase over the course of a month or less.

Does this seem like they''re selling fake samples or how do these people come across large amounts of these GWP samples? I just bid and won a few different creams and wonder if they''re the real deal or if I''m going to turn purple with application!

 

[Mara]

i bought a bunch of La Prairie sealed in the box samples, aka 50 pouch samples to a box of GWP stuff with a huge savings over the retail price...of course it''s taken me like a year to use them all, so I think part of it may be things that are close to expiration when they sell them and maybe there''s a borderline where they can''t sell to retail anymore? but that just means they are not as potent...but i figure that gals who work in department stores have access to this kind of stuff and/or where the dept stores take their stuff as it gets close to expiration etc.

i love my purchase, the seller only had a few auctions up and i bought whatever i could, so i doubt i''ll get such a great deal again. i got basically $550 worth of retail serums and the like for $150.

i have been buying la prairie stuff off ebay for years, i would never pay retail for that stuff. now things like estee lauder and the like, i may pay retail because it''s not as expensive but if you can get it on ebay, why not.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Have you compared the trials to the real stuff? Do the samples and full size have the same smell and texture? (I bought some La Prairie samples about six months ago and really liked the creams I got, but I didn''t think at the time that they could possibly be fake, so I never double checked.)

 

[Mara]

I had some samples from the store that I tried and yes it smells and feels like the same stuff. But I wasn't really interested in checking it out.

I guess I just figured some random factory in China wouldn't necessarily want to package things 'exactly' like La Prairie (which is not necessarily such a well known brand as Estee Lauder) and sell them on eBay...but maybe I am wrong. Maybe it's big business!!

 

[CoutureFemme]

Actually, I''ve sold some cosmetic trial items on ebay. The way I got them was from the makeup outlet stores at Gilroy and Vacaville in California. (Mara, you''re in CA, right?) They sell the trial sizes and also have a lot of the surplus GWP including the cute little pouches they come in. It''s pretty fun stuff. That said, I''ve never seen it in a sealed box, although I''m sure they might have those in the stockroom if you ask for the whole box. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me

 

[MichelleCarmen]

oh, wow! Thanks so much. Now I feel a bit better. I actually have close to 20 GWP items (all clinique and estee lauder) heaped up in my bathroom and I was paranoid they were fake! lol (this sounds like an easy way to make a few extra bucks. hmmm. . .may have to look for an outlet nearby me!)