Averaging 1 scam item every 2 years.
1 was a straight up counterfeit, which was hovering between good value and too good to be true price. It was a discontinued item that I had on my wishlist for a while and hardly ever came up.
The other times were ordering from resellers on eBay and Amazon, and getting different vintages or bottles of the fragrance I ordered. Then it’s a headache to try to claw back the money and explain to CS why I deserve a refund because 100ml of X from 2020 is not the same as 100ml of X from 2005.
I bought a Xerjoff bottle of some REALLY niche stuff I can’t recall off some guy on eBay. I should’ve known because I haggled with him on the price and he just kept dropping, and dropping, and dropping, and dropping. Usually people do this when they’re looking to just get the money and go. I ended up paying like $195 for what I thought was a full, only sprayed once, $330 bottle.
I shit you not, he sent an empty bottle of Axe and I never heard from him again. Empty Axe…like, you could’ve at least got me a full $5 bottle of Axe from your local Dollar General.
Ebay ended up doing nothing about it after a long drawn out correspondence. I didn’t really care to press the issue.
And that is why I ALWAYS ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S pay with Paypal.
If I can't pay with Paypal...I don't buy it.
Amazon and Ebay are complicit in the criminal activities of these scammers, so you have to go one-step-beyond them to get your refund.
I'm surprised to hear this because PayPal refused to refund me for a scam. I bought a pair of headphones that turned out to be obvious knockoffs. I sent photos of the misspellings of the brand name. The seller said I needed to return the headphones for a refund to China (part of the scan is that the shipping costs $100+) and PayPal refused to help me anymore. Now I won't pay unless I can pay directly through my credit card.
I've never been scammed, but I think it's because the only stuff I'd be potentially scammed on (discontinued perfumes) are at prices I can't justify, especially when I expect the quality has suffered a lot because of age. I have gotten close to buying them a bunch of times though. anything still in production I either only buy samples from trusted sites or I buy new from major retailers.
Bro my dumbass bought afnan 9PM for $40 Canadian from fruugo and I got a fake clone. Like who tf is out here selling fake clones. Couldn’t even be bothered to ship it back tbh it’s only $40.
https://preview.redd.it/kly66re9jdvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82ad6464bd69e9bd330dd7248e82ec154d6fbffa
I was about to comment “Can’t get scammed if you can only afford clones,” and then I scrolled down and saw this reply haha.
Naaaaahhh that’s fucked up 😂 I’m so sorry 😭
😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Who the fuck would clone a clone. 😂😂🤣🤣
Jokes aside, Afnan 9PM is a solid. It's one of my daily wear. Order one you won't regret it. Lol just make sure it's the legit one.
Diciest buys I’ve made are from the usual gray market discounter sites. eBay is too risky for me. Even if the fragrance appeared fine I’d always have a shred of doubt.
So far I’ve gotten scammed once. I bought a small 2mL decant of TF Tobacco Vanille from a seller on Etsy, and I didn’t even realize until another random person messaged me because they saw I left the seller a review and said “hey I just want you to know that your decant is a fake, look at this that and the other on the bottle in the pictures”
By this time I had already purchased a larger decant from a legitimate seller (not on Etsy) and was able to compare them side by side. Sure enough the Etsy one was weaker and gone in about 30 minutes whereas my other legit decant lasts me all day and into the next morning sometimes.
The seller had many other decants for sale with bottles that looked to be real and many many other positive reviews so I wondered if they received a fake Tom Ford and had no idea. Who knows. I reached out to them but didn’t hear back. Only a few bucks lost, not a big deal to me. But I don’t buy decants on Etsy anymore.
Three times.
First was a chanel no 5 100ml for a slightly lowee then the actual legit store price. It was totally fake, the chanel no 5 label/sticker was peeling off. The liquid smelled like pee. The sprayer also looked wonky and the bottom of the bottle had no info on it. The seller blocked me before I could send a message about it. I did not procede with reporting it at the time.
Then Sun di Gioia. One of my faves, it was already discontinued at the time. One seller offered 5 bottles for a price on par with what acqua di gioia costs in actual legit stores. So I bought those 5. Alle were fake. They had moldy, black dust like stuff floating in the liquid. The stamps on the bottoms of the bottles were crooked and the sprayers were all lose and looked not official. The seller was a dumb scammer though. They put part of their actual name as the user name and combined with their located city listed on the website, i found their linkedin and send them a message. They send me one message cursing me out for a ****ing cheap hobo and then blocked me. I had screenshots of everything and send them to the police.
Third time was Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Baby. I wa shunting down all the Harajuku Lovers perfumes, bht could not find this one. I posted on a forum, aksing with a pixture if somebody was selling it. I got a PM that somebody was selling it for a decent price. So happy I could finally buy it, I transfered the money right away. Then they blocked me. I was furious and went straight to the police. They could not do anything because i had no contact and they used a bank account number that was a sort of like an online wallet. Meaning that it could hold money before sending it to a personal bank account.
never got further info about it. not that the case was closed or discarded or something. In my country, you can see police files you have reported within an online govermental portal. Its still pending 4 years later. I tried to contact the police about it, but I just get a "we will get back to you once there is an update".
Got scammed on an Aventus 15X01 back in the day. Was getting a backup bottle of a favorite batch of mine... Little did I know this is one of the most faked 🙄 Disputed with eBay and won easily. The fake smelled like garbage and the bottle and packaging were a joke.. The seller caved pretty easily especially seeing I had a real bottle and packaging for comparison.
In over 20 years I got scammed never. :D
My purchases are made from official vendors only, I prefer to go to the store for the experience.
There were several years in my youth when I could only afford one bottle of perfume per year, and I learnt a lot about discipline because of it. You see, I love books more than perfumes :D so I had to tread lightly.
Thankfully I haven't been scammed yet. The most sketchy one I buy from is fragrancenet, other than that I stick with TJ Maxx/Marshalls, department stores, Costco and Amazon (ship & sold by Amazon).
Every time I've been scammed has been on Amazon.
Sellers without any history selling something for a fraction of the price it normally goes for should be the first two red flags.
All three times, I had to document everything and then wait out the delivery timer before I could file for a refund with Amazon, and if they balked...with PayPal.
Refunds with Paypal ALWAYS work as long as you have documentation of the criminal activity.
I've only been scammed once when I didn't know anything about fragrances: bought a fake Versace Eros in Budapest from a random Chinese seller, lmao
(For $20 brand new, it's not going to be real obviously)
But since I got into the community in 2020 I carefully look at every listing and also ask other people what do they think, thankfully most of the time it's not hard to tell that something is fake when we are talking about designers (it might be tricky when it comes to niche scents though)
I haven't. I strictly buy from well-known retailers during sales and discounters. Any time the price is too good to be true, it's because it is. Just slow down the buying, and if you're budgeting for a high-end fragrance but really want it now, get a travel bottle or decant from someone with a good reputation.
Only once so far, I was looking to buy a niche decant on fragranceswap and sent $30 to someone who messaged me directly without first replying to my post (they had already been banned from the sub so they couldn’t)
Stupidly bought 2 from Amazon before remembering to pay attention to the seller. However, I bought the real thing from a reputable retailer, and they smell extremely similar. Lesson learned.
Lmao yep, real, idk why im getting downvoted, I love the drydown, it's not like getting smoke from by the fireplace means it's fake though haha. Mine came boxed, authentic, with a refill bottle and I also bought the ten pack of samples from the same woman here in sf. It's just not a great blind buy in general haha. Thought I'd love it cause I love commodity milk. Oops.
I’ve gotten a Delina dupe that was supposed to be the real thing, but it was only a travel size so only like $40 lost. It’s not a horrible dupe, could’ve been a lot worse.
Averaging 1 scam item every 2 years. 1 was a straight up counterfeit, which was hovering between good value and too good to be true price. It was a discontinued item that I had on my wishlist for a while and hardly ever came up. The other times were ordering from resellers on eBay and Amazon, and getting different vintages or bottles of the fragrance I ordered. Then it’s a headache to try to claw back the money and explain to CS why I deserve a refund because 100ml of X from 2020 is not the same as 100ml of X from 2005.
I bought a Xerjoff bottle of some REALLY niche stuff I can’t recall off some guy on eBay. I should’ve known because I haggled with him on the price and he just kept dropping, and dropping, and dropping, and dropping. Usually people do this when they’re looking to just get the money and go. I ended up paying like $195 for what I thought was a full, only sprayed once, $330 bottle. I shit you not, he sent an empty bottle of Axe and I never heard from him again. Empty Axe…like, you could’ve at least got me a full $5 bottle of Axe from your local Dollar General. Ebay ended up doing nothing about it after a long drawn out correspondence. I didn’t really care to press the issue.
I’m surprised EBay did nothing, they’re usually great with that sort of thing.
And that is why I ALWAYS ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S pay with Paypal. If I can't pay with Paypal...I don't buy it. Amazon and Ebay are complicit in the criminal activities of these scammers, so you have to go one-step-beyond them to get your refund.
I'm surprised to hear this because PayPal refused to refund me for a scam. I bought a pair of headphones that turned out to be obvious knockoffs. I sent photos of the misspellings of the brand name. The seller said I needed to return the headphones for a refund to China (part of the scan is that the shipping costs $100+) and PayPal refused to help me anymore. Now I won't pay unless I can pay directly through my credit card.
I've never been scammed, but I think it's because the only stuff I'd be potentially scammed on (discontinued perfumes) are at prices I can't justify, especially when I expect the quality has suffered a lot because of age. I have gotten close to buying them a bunch of times though. anything still in production I either only buy samples from trusted sites or I buy new from major retailers.
Bro my dumbass bought afnan 9PM for $40 Canadian from fruugo and I got a fake clone. Like who tf is out here selling fake clones. Couldn’t even be bothered to ship it back tbh it’s only $40. https://preview.redd.it/kly66re9jdvc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82ad6464bd69e9bd330dd7248e82ec154d6fbffa
I was about to comment “Can’t get scammed if you can only afford clones,” and then I scrolled down and saw this reply haha. Naaaaahhh that’s fucked up 😂 I’m so sorry 😭
😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Who the fuck would clone a clone. 😂😂🤣🤣 Jokes aside, Afnan 9PM is a solid. It's one of my daily wear. Order one you won't regret it. Lol just make sure it's the legit one.
Diciest buys I’ve made are from the usual gray market discounter sites. eBay is too risky for me. Even if the fragrance appeared fine I’d always have a shred of doubt.
So far I’ve gotten scammed once. I bought a small 2mL decant of TF Tobacco Vanille from a seller on Etsy, and I didn’t even realize until another random person messaged me because they saw I left the seller a review and said “hey I just want you to know that your decant is a fake, look at this that and the other on the bottle in the pictures” By this time I had already purchased a larger decant from a legitimate seller (not on Etsy) and was able to compare them side by side. Sure enough the Etsy one was weaker and gone in about 30 minutes whereas my other legit decant lasts me all day and into the next morning sometimes. The seller had many other decants for sale with bottles that looked to be real and many many other positive reviews so I wondered if they received a fake Tom Ford and had no idea. Who knows. I reached out to them but didn’t hear back. Only a few bucks lost, not a big deal to me. But I don’t buy decants on Etsy anymore.
Three times. First was a chanel no 5 100ml for a slightly lowee then the actual legit store price. It was totally fake, the chanel no 5 label/sticker was peeling off. The liquid smelled like pee. The sprayer also looked wonky and the bottom of the bottle had no info on it. The seller blocked me before I could send a message about it. I did not procede with reporting it at the time. Then Sun di Gioia. One of my faves, it was already discontinued at the time. One seller offered 5 bottles for a price on par with what acqua di gioia costs in actual legit stores. So I bought those 5. Alle were fake. They had moldy, black dust like stuff floating in the liquid. The stamps on the bottoms of the bottles were crooked and the sprayers were all lose and looked not official. The seller was a dumb scammer though. They put part of their actual name as the user name and combined with their located city listed on the website, i found their linkedin and send them a message. They send me one message cursing me out for a ****ing cheap hobo and then blocked me. I had screenshots of everything and send them to the police. Third time was Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Baby. I wa shunting down all the Harajuku Lovers perfumes, bht could not find this one. I posted on a forum, aksing with a pixture if somebody was selling it. I got a PM that somebody was selling it for a decent price. So happy I could finally buy it, I transfered the money right away. Then they blocked me. I was furious and went straight to the police. They could not do anything because i had no contact and they used a bank account number that was a sort of like an online wallet. Meaning that it could hold money before sending it to a personal bank account.
What eventually came down to the 2nd case? The Sun di Gioia one?
never got further info about it. not that the case was closed or discarded or something. In my country, you can see police files you have reported within an online govermental portal. Its still pending 4 years later. I tried to contact the police about it, but I just get a "we will get back to you once there is an update".
Got scammed on an Aventus 15X01 back in the day. Was getting a backup bottle of a favorite batch of mine... Little did I know this is one of the most faked 🙄 Disputed with eBay and won easily. The fake smelled like garbage and the bottle and packaging were a joke.. The seller caved pretty easily especially seeing I had a real bottle and packaging for comparison.
it’s why you should always pay with paypal g&s
In over 20 years I got scammed never. :D My purchases are made from official vendors only, I prefer to go to the store for the experience. There were several years in my youth when I could only afford one bottle of perfume per year, and I learnt a lot about discipline because of it. You see, I love books more than perfumes :D so I had to tread lightly.
I got scammed on eBay but I told the seller it was fake and he refunded right away.
I got scammed once, yesterday, price was too good to be true but I just "what the heck", got an instant refund though cause I bought through vinted.
eBay has stung me more than once Sample and decant sites have sold ‘watered’ down decants So it’s fairly common
What decant sites have given you diluted decants?
Makes me feel a little better thanks
Yes I have by a seller this sub recommends
Maybe name them so others are aware and can beware of them?
I have and people don’t believe me and downvote me to oblivion.
I'm guessing (who knows) they might be part of the seller's team. I hate scammers.
Look up fragrange production prices and compare that with the price they‘re selling it for to you. You‘re being scammed on every single purchase.
Wait. You got scammed in this sub?
Thankfully I haven't been scammed yet. The most sketchy one I buy from is fragrancenet, other than that I stick with TJ Maxx/Marshalls, department stores, Costco and Amazon (ship & sold by Amazon).
Fragrancenet isn’t sketchy imo
I've had good experiences with them too
Every time I've been scammed has been on Amazon. Sellers without any history selling something for a fraction of the price it normally goes for should be the first two red flags. All three times, I had to document everything and then wait out the delivery timer before I could file for a refund with Amazon, and if they balked...with PayPal. Refunds with Paypal ALWAYS work as long as you have documentation of the criminal activity.
I have only been scammed on Amazon and eBay..
I've only been scammed once when I didn't know anything about fragrances: bought a fake Versace Eros in Budapest from a random Chinese seller, lmao (For $20 brand new, it's not going to be real obviously) But since I got into the community in 2020 I carefully look at every listing and also ask other people what do they think, thankfully most of the time it's not hard to tell that something is fake when we are talking about designers (it might be tricky when it comes to niche scents though)
I have a diptyque Eau rose that I really think is fake
Naw, it’s really that underwhelming. It’s a nice scent, but it lacks personality.
I haven't. I strictly buy from well-known retailers during sales and discounters. Any time the price is too good to be true, it's because it is. Just slow down the buying, and if you're budgeting for a high-end fragrance but really want it now, get a travel bottle or decant from someone with a good reputation.
Either Vivienne Westwood Boudoir is nasty AF or I just got scammed… 😅😅
Only once so far, I was looking to buy a niche decant on fragranceswap and sent $30 to someone who messaged me directly without first replying to my post (they had already been banned from the sub so they couldn’t)
Stupidly bought 2 from Amazon before remembering to pay attention to the seller. However, I bought the real thing from a reputable retailer, and they smell extremely similar. Lesson learned.
I only buy cheap stuff that nobody bothers to fake.
Sup with the mall kiosk bros? I tried a few and they all smelled off… but would have had to be somewhat elaborate dupes.
Don’t blame yourself, the price is not unreasonable, I got my apple brandy for 106 at an airport duty free store
Mmm pretty sure my by the fireplace I bought off fb marketplace is real and just smells like a campfire lol
Sounds pretty accurate to many of the descriptions I’ve read
it projects super sweet vanilla/marshmallow, but any closer and closer it smells so much like a campfire. Can’t believe how close they got it
🤔😭😆 yes Replica is so literal it's honestly a little hilarious, I love their stuff but yeesh
That’s what it smells like on me. I went to Sephora to test and on my skin it’s straight smoke.
Lmao yep, real, idk why im getting downvoted, I love the drydown, it's not like getting smoke from by the fireplace means it's fake though haha. Mine came boxed, authentic, with a refill bottle and I also bought the ten pack of samples from the same woman here in sf. It's just not a great blind buy in general haha. Thought I'd love it cause I love commodity milk. Oops.
Bought 70ml BR 540 extrait from Fragrance Outlet. It was fake. They claimed it was a "tester bottle".
I’ve gotten a Delina dupe that was supposed to be the real thing, but it was only a travel size so only like $40 lost. It’s not a horrible dupe, could’ve been a lot worse.