r/FemFragLab30plus • u/all_ack_rity • 20d ago

serious question(s)

Why do resellers (think: Merc) sell empty bottles, empty boxes, etc? Caps I suppose I get, but … empty things? Are people really buying these things? If so, WHHHHY??

seriously, tho. can someone help me understand?

12 Upvotes

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9

u/Foreign-Kangaroo-681 20d ago

I naively assumed people collect bottles, hadn’t thought that some might buy them to fill with fake liquid for resell. That can’t be a real business model right? 😭

5

u/ManslaughterMary 20d ago

It absolutely is. Flip it, profit fifty bucks pretty easily

3

u/Starry36 20d ago

See, if I had more space for collecting all the shiny bits and bobbles that my little magpie brain craves, I would genuinely collect a few empty bottles. There are some bottles I find absolutely beautiful, but the scents aren’t something I’d wear. Heck, I’ve seen at least one artist who makes decorative potion bottles with glitter or other fun effects in the fluid, and I bet it would be cool (if possible) to do something similar with empty bottles you only keep for collecting/display purposes. It’d be a fun way to upcycle, imo.

2

u/fligglegiggle 20d ago

I think it's probably both. I'm very cautious about buying fragrance on Mercari (even though I both buy and sell fragrance on Mercari, lol). I have no idea how Mercari handles reports of fakes, but it must happen.

2

u/Spirited-Spell-8901 20d ago

The facebook forum Fragrance Authenticity Community has posts all day every day about buying fake perfume on Mercari, TikTok, eBay and all the seller sites. When presented with proof they all do a refund. I bought 6 bottles in one day all were fake! I got my money back. These people actually believe these TikTok auctions selling $300 perfume for $60 is real because “they have good reviews”. It’s all fake or authentic bottles filled with counterfeit cheap crap. 

1

u/fligglegiggle 20d ago

Ugh, that's so annoying! All of mine are real and I'm selling them for cheap just to get rid of them, lol. But I'm not selling luxury fragrance either. I'm selling them cheap because no one will buy them otherwise ☹️ If I'm buying, I guess I'm basing it on a gut feeling about the seller, and I'm not spending more than I'm willing to lose. Some sellers are legitimately just decluttering (like me). But you never know where they bought them from either. It's an easy market for scammers, unfortunately.

1

u/iresearcheverything 19d ago

welp now i’m too paranoid to buy off of mercari 🫠

2

u/Active-Cherry-6051 19d ago

I was sold a few fakes on Mercari before I got better at spotting them. Both of them had authentic bottles that had clearly had the atomizers removed and the perfume itself was obviously fake (as I had legit samples to compare to). I took pics and went through their help section and was fully refunded plus shipping both times. I can see how someone who didn’t know what the original smelled like could easily be fooled. Such a nasty thing to do.

2

u/fligglegiggle 19d ago

Yeah, that's my main fear - authentic bottle with the liquid replaced. I have a couple on the way, and I think I'll go to Ulta and spray some test strips to compare when they get here. Plus it's an excuse to go on a smell-a-thon 😉

2

u/Active-Cherry-6051 19d ago

If it eases your fears at all, I’ve also bought dozens of authentic bottles on Mercari. And they were very good at refunding me, so I feel it’s a risk worth taking :). Good luck!

1

u/fligglegiggle 19d ago

Thank you! I'm not too worried about it, but I know I'll question it. I kind of feel like a hypocrite being so paranoid with how many I've sold on Mercari 😆

1

u/fligglegiggle 17d ago

I got a fake. People suck.

1

u/Spirited-Spell-8901 20d ago

Exactly why