Cheap Estee Lauder on eBay, is it going to be fake?

[JessieMcJessie]

MIL has asked for Advanced Night repair for Christmas. On EBay there appear to be multiple sellers offering the 50ml bottle for about 20 quid, when it’s £72 in John Lewis. Sellers are all supposedly in the UK (Paisley, Tunbridge Wells, Northampton) and have lots of good feedback.
It’s fake Chinese stuff isn’t it?
I thought eBay were supposed to have cracked down on fakes...?

[WillowWept]

It will be fake

[nutnerk]

YES! Do not - I REPEAT - do not buy beauty products on eBay

[CisCucumber]

Is that true of sellers with small bundles
I thought they may be from beauty boxes and not used
Or am I being naive?

[MrsAHotch]

I sold a lot of makeup on eBay, but it was all from when I scaled down my kit from when I was a makeup artist and only sold unused stuff. Because I had receipts for everything (sad, I know but I used to keep receipts for work stuff separate), I had no issue. I wouldn’t trust a seller of beauty stuff on eBay who can’t show their source.

[friendlyflicka]

I think you have to use your discretion -not infallible obviously - see past history, and the kind of price drop and quantities they are offering. Some stuff is genuine.

[Ollivander84]

50ml for £64 here and the 30ml is £47
http://www.allbeauty.com/991930-estee-lauder-treatments-advanced-night-repair-synchronised-recovery-complex-ii-50ml

[verystressedmum]

99% of anything branded is fake on eBay, for that price it’s not real. A high price doesn’t mean it’s real either I just buy beauty stuff and toiletries from proper shops.

[Housewife2010]

I sell beauty products on Ebay that are 100% genuine. I sell GWPs and beauty box items. Check the seller's feedback.

[JessieMcJessie]

95.2%, 86 positive feedback in a year, 4 negative. I contacted the seller who said

“Some of the packaging may have slight factory fault, sometimes not visible, however the item is genuine and new in box.”

But where would people get these “factory seconds” to sell on?

[Housewife2010]

I have 100% feedback with a count of 1800+. I would look for close to 100%.

[DancingHouse]

verystressedmum where did you get that stat from?

[BusterGonad]

If it sounds too good to be true, then it is. I bought the advanced night repair eye cream, it was £20 and as soon as I took it out of the box I knew it was a knock off. I complained to the seller and sent it back and got a full refund. You get a feel for what is and isn't fake. Look for above 98% positive feed back, read the review and if all else fails and you get a fake complain!!!

[Ladybirdbookworm]

I bought some eyeshadow and bath oil off eBay and both were fakes ... I had no idea that sellers could get away with it

[roseretro]

Any seller that talks about ‘factory seconds’ or factory anything you need to RUN from!!! Estée Lauder would just destroy any faulty products to maintain their brand image (they will not financially suffer!) not flog them to Bob on eBay. They will be fake! No exceptions!

In regards to feedback, the buyers may not necessarily clock that they’re using fakes. Maybe they’ve never bought the product before so don’t have a point of reference. Believe it or not, most buyers probably wouldn’t notice spelling mistakes or off smells etc as they buy into the whole ‘factory seconds’ thing. And they use eBay feedback for transaction feedback rather than product reviews. Sellers may also bribe buyers to not leave exposing feedback

And think about the product that they are giving you - the ingredients list will not be accurate as they will emulate the packaging of the real product. Therefore you have no idea what’s on your skin. It could be a cheaper serum at best, or a hazardous concoction.

If you can’t afford Estée Lauder than try a cheaper brand, don’t risk fakes. Even if you fell in love with Estée Lauder could you afford to constantly repurchase it in the future?

[yrhengi]

I'd also be wary about buying anything with an active ingredient for seemingly bargain prices on eBay or TKMaxx - it can be very old stock that's been knocking around for ages. I still see Urban Retreat products which must have been discontinued nearly ten years ago.

[endofthelinefinally]

It is fake.
Honestly you should see the amount of fake stuff in the markets in SE Asia. Mountains of the stuff. It is a huge industry.

[JessieMcJessie]

Rosereto

If you can’t afford Estée Lauder than try a cheaper brand, don’t risk fakes. Even if you fell in love with Estée Lauder could you afford to constantly repurchase it in the future?

I said in the OP it was for a Christmas present for my MIL. We can easily afford the full price product but the 50ml size is more than the agreed family budget for presents. No need to be patronising.

[JessieMcJessie]

Thanks for the AllBeauty link Ollivander84. I’ve ordered it from there, a bit over budget still (she’d only be hoping for the 30ml) but she’s a lovely woman and deserves a bit extra for all the help she’s given us with DS this year.

[shouldaknownbetter]

I bought a lippy off ebay once (estee lauder) and also bought a real one to compare it to / have as a spare and they were identical, I couldn't tell them apart. So if it was a fake it was a bloody good one and did the job the same as the real one. But I think it was genuine... maybe I got lucky.

I sell makeup on ebay myself, usually get gift sets and sell off what I don't want to keep for myself. I can't be the only one who does this.

[BusterGonad]

I buy loads of make up from eBay, I know my stuff and it's never been fake but I'd never buy skin care if someone selling it in bulk, it's usually always fake.

[woodhill]

I bought a decleor cream and it was fine. Seller bought from QVC and split multi buy

Also perhaps people who,work on the counters may sell on stuff?

[RuskBaby]

My sister has worked on beauty counters and they are give stuff at training that she sells on, if none of the family want it then it goes on eBay. They are supposed to wear the brand so that if customers ask about their regime or eyeshadow then they can say oh it’s this one. She has sensitive skin and uses set stuff.

[WillowWept]

OP roseretro wrote a thoughtful post, if you took it to be patronising then you’re being paranoid.

You may get one or two genuine items sold on an ad hoc basis (unwanted gifts/shoplifted items) but if you see one poster with 30 urban decay/huda/Estee Lauder products they will be fake.

[TheOtherGirl]

Hmmm. I picked up my usual Chanel foundation on eBay for £22 rather than £32. Seems fine to me. But will it be fake too?

[Lindy109]

I have been trying to sell Genuine Estée Lauder cremes on e-bay. I got two sets of the Christmas special and more cremes for my birthday in March.
I have far too much and am trying to scale down my face cremes. I have put them on now for £60 which is ridiculously low but it is only because I want rid of them.
Any ideas how I could shift them I would be greafull. Unfortunately I don’t have receipts as they were gifts and I binned the boxes they came in because it was Christmas
Help!