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Fake Colognes And Perfumes On Amazon?

Golgo 13

Golgo 13

The Man With The Golden Dong
In case you either don't wear cologne or perfume, or just don't use Amazon -- typically Amazon is by far the cheapest place to buy more expensive, brand name colognes. Sometimes %50 cheaper than retail, sometimes even more. Which obviously sounds great, right?

Strangely, there is a tremendous amount of heated discussion in the review sections of these products claiming they're fake, watered-down versions of the product that either A) Don't smell quite the same or B) the scent doesn't last as long as the retail product.

There's even detective-like discussions there where people are comparing boxes of department store bought retail versions to the same product on Amazon -- sometimes the ones from Amazon have slightly different lettering on the boxes, etc.

So yes, I've personally bought cologne from Amazon and have noticed a pretty big difference in the potency of the scent myself -- across 3 different colognes. I suppose my question is -- how are these retailers getting away with this, if they are indeed fake, and why haven't the makers of these scents taken legal action?

Anyone else have experiences with this that they'd like to share or opinions on the matter?
 
I have purchased aftershave from Amazon, as long as you actually buy it from Amazon themselves and not a third party seller you will be getting the real item, the problem with the reviews is that it doesn't differentiate between actual Amazon purchases and Amazon Third Party/Marketplace sellers.

People also need to make sure they are comparing exactly the same item as there is a big difference between aftershave, cologne, eau de toilette, eau de perfume and parfum.

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Amazon has a lot of bootlegs of anything and everything, you have to be careful of which seller you are buying from.
 
I bought cologne from Amazon years ago. I also read reviews of it not being as strong or as potent as you would find in store. Your best bet is to buy directly from Amazon or trusted places. Sometimes the quality control on 3rd parties isn't there.
 
hi, did anyone try to buy from fragranceX? are they fake?
because, i bought from them and it had arabic characters.
 
The profit margin on watered down colognes and perfumes would be huge, so I definitely see why a 3rd party seller would do it. Lack of safety seals too, probably makes it a tempting scam.
 
SlipperyMoose said:
I bought cologne from Amazon years ago. I also read reviews of it not being as strong or as potent as you would find in store. Your best bet is to buy directly from Amazon or trusted places. Sometimes the quality control on 3rd parties isn't there.
Click to expand...
To be clear, many of the fragrances with debates about their legitimacy are sold directly from Amazon as well, including 2 that I've personally bought. And we're talking about big brand names here.
 
Golgo 13 said:
To be clear, many of the fragrances with debates about their legitimacy are sold directly from Amazon as well, including 2 that I've personally bought. And we're talking about big brand names here.
Click to expand...

But the reviews don't indicate that. You can't even be sure to get a real product even if it is fulfilled by Amazon. Shipping from their warehouses but coming from a 3rd party seller.
Honestly I've never received a fake product from Amazon themselves and even in the case you do just contact them and get your money back.
 
More often than not, it's just retail mark-up. I would be >90% confident what I bought from Amazon (seller) is the real deal.

Kinda like the debate with buying hair products outside of salons.

edit: and no, I would not trust anything 3rd party from Amazon.
 
Make sure amazon is the direct seller youre buying from. If not there FragranceX is an awesome site that has marked down prices. Im always confident with the scent specific sites.
 
I bought a scent directly from amazon and the reviews said they were fake. The manufacturer just changed the spray nozzle and bottle design.
 
You also have to consider formula changes. My short stint of pouring over scent threads you'll begin to see a trend of opinions that dog newer versions of beloved scents. Its like New Coke but randomly happening without warning for various scents.

A lot of scenta that have been around for decades have been toned down due to banned materials not being accessible anymore. So fragrance makers had to work out work around.
 
Found out recently that most retail chains like Yonkers,JC Penny's,Sears ect will sell off Cologne n perfumes that have sat for longer periods of time and haven't sold to retailers like Amazon,Target,Marshall's ect. Don't think there is a huge amount of change as far as smell goes but yeah these places get a discount for the "older" product. Might be why some say things smell different. Want the freshest bottles go to the mall.
 
LocknessMobster said:
Found out recently that most retail chains like Yonkers,JC Penny's,Sears ect will sell off Cologne n perfumes that have sat for longer periods of time and haven't sold to retailers like Amazon,Target,Marshall's ect. Don't think there is a huge amount of change as far as smell goes but yeah these places get a discount for the "older" product. Might be why some say things smell different. Want the freshest bottles go to the mall.
Click to expand...
Makes sense. The question is, do colognes that are sold closer to being bottled have longer lasting scents? Because what I've noticed is that colognes I've bought from Amazon many, many times smell exactly the same as the store bought scent, but they DO NOT LAST AT ALL. Like seriously, 30 minutes max. Which is really defeating the purpose of smelling fresh all day long -- if I wanted cheap, fleeting scents, I'd buy body spray and not a $100 bottle of Cologne.
 
Golgo 13 said:
Makes sense. The question is, do colognes that are sold closer to being bottled have longer lasting scents? Because what I've noticed is that colognes I've bought from Amazon many, many times smell exactly the same as the store bought scent, but they DO NOT LAST AT ALL. Like seriously, 30 minutes max. Which is really defeating the purpose of smelling fresh all day long -- if I wanted cheap, fleeting scents, I'd buy body spray and not a $100 bottle of Cologne.
Click to expand...

I get to sample colognes all the time and to me yes,seems like most of em don't last as long as maybe they used to. I have bottles from early 2000s that still last longer. But obliviously it depends on the brand,some have most def weakened the formulas.

If you want the longest lasting scents buy the oil based versions instead of the alcohol based ones,they last longer for sure and are usually a bit more intense. Most people don't know but spraying on your clothes is a waste,make sure to get your skin and whatever you do don't rub it in,it immediately destroys the top notes of the scent,which in turn decreases the scent time.
 
Yeah I got stung by a bottle of ck be, was just a bottle of water with something not ck be added to it.

Never buy 3rd party for health and beauty again. Complained and got my money back, dude is still selling them. Smh.
 
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