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View Full Version : Buyers Beware > Chanel Chance > Delve into the underground world of counterfeit perfume



danewilson77
03-23-2013, 07:18 AM
So.....My wife really started liking Chance by Chanel. It's the only thing she will wear, and imho, smells incredible.

Anyways....I first bought her a bottle sometime last year, from Macy's (@ $140.00 shipped), and when she ran out of it.....decided I would try Amazon, to help ease the cost. Low and behold....I found a bottle for around $98.48. Done deal.

Fast forward to last week. I saw her original bottle sitting there (The one from Macy's), and thought it was the one I bought from Amazon in Sept 2012. Almost gone already. "Damn" I thought to myself. "Better get online and order her a new bottle"....so the quest began to find the best deal.

I hit up Ebay this time for about $75.00. Seller was a storefront called Mancini's.

When she received it, the color looked a little off, it smelled like ass, and then we began to delve into the lucrative business of counterfeit perfumes.

In our research we found the below video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FdB0gM5kYQ

Come to find out, every single counterfeit trait from the video, was evident on the new bottle I got via Ebay.

I called the guy out, and he refunded my money (He addtionally said, "don't worry about shipping the bottle back"). He knew I had his ass. He only offered this, after I told him to refund my money plus return shipping.

After this.....I started thinking about the bottle I got from Amazon (Sept 2012 from Mancini's), and she remarked, that it didn't smell quite like the one I had gotten from Macy's.

It's then that I found out she had over half of this bottle left.

We compared the bottle to the fake attributes, and bingo. We had actually been taken twice. Once by Ebay, and once from Amazon.

I contacted the seller, and he never got back to me (go figure). I then went through the "A-Z guarantee" process via Amazon, and they said they were glad that I brought it to their attention. They initially, kind of hesitated in their response, but when I demanded a full refund because a seller at their site was selling fake perfume, they caved and gave me a full refund.

Anyways....just wanted to share my last two weeks with you regarding perfume. Only buy it from Macy's. Period.

DW

kayger12
03-23-2013, 07:24 AM
Wow. Good legwork on this one. And way to get your money back.

I've read a lot of stories about counterfeit merchandise on Ebay, but Amazon was more of a surprise.

Glad it all worked out.

Great info.

alexandre
03-23-2013, 07:30 AM
Shady Amazon sellers are hard to catch. I was actually first introduced to this when I was shopping O2 sensors - apparently there are a bunch of crooks selling generic garbage sensors in Bosch boxes. Buying from Amazon directly (and not "merchants" on the marketplace) generally avoids this b.s.

On eBay, making a basic assumption that everything by luxury brands is counterfeit is generally a good call. Of course, not everything will be, but paying with a good credit card gets you great protection that a lot of people forget about.

Great work on the investigation though :thumbsup

danewilson77
03-23-2013, 07:41 AM
Yep yep.

Avetiso
03-23-2013, 08:02 AM
Interesting.

One time when my parents when on vacation, they stopped on Grenada. My mom bought two bottles of "pure vanilla" which turned out to be tea.

Dave_B
03-23-2013, 08:13 AM
Good to know DW.

Sucks that these things happen in this world that's for sure.

wsmeyer
03-23-2013, 08:29 AM
I've had this happen on eBay too. Some things like cell phone batteries it's virtually impossible to find one that isn't counterfeit. The two times it happened to me the seller was quick with an apology and a refund, which IMO means they know they are selling counterfeit stuff. They also then send a cancellation request and try to get you to believe it's part of the refund process. It's not, they are trying to get you to cancel the transaction because once you do that you can't leave them the negative feedback they deserve.

danewilson77
03-23-2013, 08:34 AM
Interesting.

Sent from the HTC DNA, Williamsburg, VA and USA

derbo
03-23-2013, 11:04 AM
Amazon is a trusted site but since they distribute for so many little companies, its sometimes hard to find out counterfeits. Surprisingly your wife used half the bottle of the amazon one! Did the amazon one at least smell close to the original?

danewilson77
03-23-2013, 11:17 AM
Amazon is a trusted site but since they distribute for so many little companies, its sometimes hard to find out counterfeits. Surprisingly your wife used half the bottle of the amazon one! Did the amazon one at least smell close to the original?

Yup. Surprised as well. She said she thought it was a little off, but thought it was just her.

johnrando
03-23-2013, 04:25 PM
Good sleuthing and info DW, thanks.

JupiterBMW
03-23-2013, 08:29 PM
Wow, good to know DW... My wife bought me a pair of True Religion Jeans from eBay a couple years ago, and they turned out to be counterfeit. So from now on, we only buy them authentic, from the TS store in the mall...

I hate scam artists... Hate is a strong word, so let me repeat myself... I hate scam artists.

Hermes
03-23-2013, 08:35 PM
F the schiesse True Religion denim, your wife needs to start buying 7's... they have a much hotter cut

You'll thank me when you get home ;)