Expensive beauty products being sold so cheaply

Please check that the serial number on the box is the same as the number on the bottom of the bottle/jar. Fakers are very clever at replicating the packaging, but miss the numbers on the product.
If the number is the same, then you seem to have a bargain.

Definitely check - make sure it isn’t a Chinese copy ! They are very,very good at copying and no one does anything about it, too hard basket.

the obvious answer is that they are counterfeits.

Elizabeth Arden is getting hard to come by. I used to get it at the airport, but I notice it has disappeared from duty free. John Lewis is my go to place for the genuine product.

Have you checked the date the product was manufactured? I suspect it’s either counterfeit or out of date.

Have you compared the look, feel, texture, smell?
GSM I once read an article about the shelf life of most cosmetics, if kept properly they can last for years E,g, not too hot.
Cosmetic manufacturers frequently change their packaging so regular users recognise the old stock. At least the company I used to deal with did. I still occasionally see products in fairly old packaging on eBay.

Try Check Fresh:

www.checkfresh.com/elizabeth-arden.html?lang=en

According to this, if produced by Revlon, the product should have an embossed batch number and number for shelf-life after opening e.g. 36M. If produced by Elizabeth Arden in France, the batch codes have a printed format and no indication of shelf-life.

If you mean eBay, as a well-known website, some of the beauty items will be items that have been shoplifted so yes those are genuine products.

It is quite a big business apparently, it was talked about on a programme about shoplifting a few months ago.

I get my favourite Clarins cream online 25% cheaper. To date I haven't had any adverse reactions and it's doing its job as expected.

Thanks for all you comments and advice.
Minimoon, I've checked the serial number on the box and the product and they match.
Caravansera, I've also been onto checkfresh.com and they accept the Elizabeth Arden serial number and advise it was manufactured 1yr 4mths ago.
I didn't buy from eBay but Look Incredible based in Leicester. They provide contact details on the invoice and a 60 day returns policy and a customer team email address too. Looks like I got a bargain!

But are the contact details and customer team email address genuine, likewise what will happen if you do try and return the product?

It just demonstrates the massive profits these (useless) things generate - if they can be discounted so heavily.

Of course, many retailers will charge the highest price that people will pay - and there are loads who will pay a fortune, sadly.

twinnytwin I’ve just googled Look Incredible and Mumsnet reviews popped up. Doesn’t sound too good, I’m afraid.

Many sellers on eBay buy up stock and sell from home, saving themselves the money involved in business premises. I’ve bought things from eBay and they are clearly genuine because the product is absolutely identical. A lot of airline stock is sold that way. Whilst there are counterfeit goods, there are many genuine products sold on eBay. Clothing and bags are more likely to be counterfeit though.

BTW, we had a documentary the other day about collagen - wow, NOT for the squeamish!

Look Incredible Ltd are insolvent and appointed a liquidator in May this year. Selling off stock?

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11069549/filing-history

If it seems too good to be true …. Don’t buy without doing your research.

I've looked it up on Trust Pilot and there are a lot of 5* reviews. Most of the complaints are about the length of time for delivery rather than the goods being substandard. The customer service is praised too. With Mumsnet, I guess folk only post if they have problems.
Caravansera, Thanks for the heads up. If they're going out of business, I'd better order more, especially as the manufacture date on the one I have is good.
Hetty58, I did ask that folk not comment about what I choose to spend my money on or the efficacy of the products. I'd guess you haven't experienced the benefit of these types of products.

You might want to drop a line or call the insolvency company to check what the current situation is and check your consumer rights during the liquidation period.

www.redmansinsolvency.co.uk/contactus.html

020 8426 2400

Delays in delivery could be due to an interim operator managing the distribution of reduced stock as part of the liquidation.

This doesn’t paint a pretty story.
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I would steer well clear.

AccessDeniedRequest has expired602023-09-10T09:35:26Z2023-09-10T09:42:52ZZY17XA31KFH3Y6MW0kHlfgClrpguNo6bUPRGfjVxrJO19i33znhHUXzrFWCHbcnxaanj3jA+bkNF4DAh0BO3hzANijk=

Please can you repost or whatever it takes?
Many thanks,

Sorry, link doesn’t work, It’s to the liquidator’s statement filed at Companies House showing, on 11 April, stock of £4707, assets of £439 and sums owed to creditors in excess of £623k. Who knows what if any stock remains? Don’t risk it.

twinnytwin

I've looked it up on Trust Pilot and there are a lot of 5* reviews. Most of the complaints are about the length of time for delivery rather than the goods being substandard. The customer service is praised too. With Mumsnet, I guess folk only post if they have problems.
Caravansera, Thanks for the heads up. If they're going out of business, I'd better order more, especially as the manufacture date on the one I have is good.
Hetty58, I did ask that folk not comment about what I choose to spend my money on or the efficacy of the products. I'd guess you haven't experienced the benefit of these types of products.

How many times have I put this up: don’t trust TrustPilot.

www.householdmoneysaving.com/is-trustpilot-reliable/

Indeed. I never trust its ‘reviews’.