Beware - Fake Perfume
I began selling to the retail market after being a Perfume Wholesale Distributor in the designer discount perfume industry for over 30 years. 
I started selling on eBay and soon noticed some items from my competitors had substantially lower pricing than I could purchase from perfume distributors and the fragrance manufactures. I came across an item by Chanel that caught my eye. This is a company that has strict distribution and limits its supply to all of its distribution channels.
Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Spray 3.4oz, which retails for $110.00, was on eBay for $39.95. This item, when it is available, sells in the wholesale market for around $85.00. As a consumer, this should immediately put up a red flag as it did for me that this product was either counterfeit or stolen. Based on the price I ruled out stolen merchandise. There is no need to cut the price of perfumes this low. In fact, you can sell perfume for women close to or at market price.
The first clue in determining if a product is real is the pricing. If it is too good to be true, it usually is. To further my research, I purchased the Coco Mademoiselle Perfume. At first glance it looked real but then I closely examined the details of the packaging and components against one I purchased from a distributor for Chanel. There were obvious differences between the products.
Here are some things to look for that will let you spot counterfeit perfume. You can do this by comparing the item in question against one from a department store
1. Examine the outside packaging. Is the lettering the same font and type?
2. Is the wording on the box in the same place?
3. Is the box folded and glued in the same manner? Is the seam even and properly connected? Does it fall apart when handled?
4. The detail bordering need to be the same. In the Coco Perfume case there is a gold trim around the outside of the box and the inside flaps are gold.
5. The UPC Bar code on the box should be in the same place. Do the numbers match up?
6. Are the trademarks present and in the right places?
7. Is there an inner lining inside the box and is the construction consistent with the perfume box you are comparing with?
8. Look at the details, angles and coloring of the cap and its construction. Does it fit properly on the bottle? Does it slide on and off easily.
9. The bottle construction is very difficult to copy. Are the angles of the glass smooth and even? Quality bottles are seamless.
10. Check the clarity of the color and print work on the bottle.
11. Another good indicator is the sprayer. Examine the sprayer detail outside and inside the bottle. In this case the gold sprayer and the stem inside it were completely different.
12. Finally, see if the coloring of the juice and the smell are consistent with the department store product. The smell test is always the first test for consumers, but it can be hard to tell the difference unless you wear it for a period of time.
I concluded with my 28 years plus in the business that this Chanel Perfume product was counterfeit. I read the consumer reviews. 50% thought something was wrong, while the other half were deceived by this counterfeit product. I reported the counterfeit perfume to eBay. They did not adequately respond nor did they penalize the company selling the counterfeit products. It is buyer beware when buying from eBay.
Consumers should look for reputable websites that have good ratings and guarantee their Discount Perfume products. Price comparison using legitimate websites when purchasing any product is a good rule of thumb. If the product price is not relatively within the market price, stay away from it.
In this money making at all cost world that we live in; it takes great courage to say these things, and to want to do something about it. Money can buy almost everything, but can buy life nor integrity. Good for you, God bless you.
Thank you for your support. Unfortunately there is always going to be some bad people out there. But for the most part there are a lot of good merchants out there giving quality Discount Perfume and Cologne.
Great post!
Thanks , I called Chanel, Ebay and the F.B.I. and no one cares . Buyer beware . If it’s to good to be true ,….
It’s really genuine information for awareness. I prefer checking the trademark and logo which are difficukt to be duplicated and always be careful when there is more than lucrative offer on perfumes.
I usually see a lot of new brands.. its all of fake ones.. but the shop keeper says. its a new brand and its very good.. and he makes me buy that… and when i use it, i feel it is of waste..how to find.. if that product is a genuine one.. if i wanna try a new one.?
The first thing to look for , if it is a designer brand is it price correctly, if its to cheap most likely its not real . And always no who you are dealing with
Great information. Yes there are many fake perfumes here in our place. Thanks for the information, i will keep that in mind when i buy perfume.
Thanks for the post. I dont like fake perfumes. It is just a waste of money because the scent wont last long.
Even know they are good at copying the scent , you are right, it doesn’t have the same oil structure and doesn’t last as long . Also the sprayer stops working half way through the bottle .
With 30 years of experience , we are well versed on spotting the counterfeits. we also buy from top notched distributors and manufactures.
HI , I hope that we can help each other in shreing what we have found, I mean if anyone had got a bad or fake product, from what happend to me was I saw that a seller had a john varvatos rock volume one,well he had the picture on that page, so i have looked just about at every site trying to get it at a discount price, well this site claim to have it, so I got it I then got a call on my cellphone and the person said that they did not have that of what the site claim, he tried telling me that the bottle was only a once a year thing, he said that the same scent was in a different bottle, because that john varvato rock volume one is a limited edition, but he tried tell me other wise this did raise RED FLAGS I new that that scent only comes in that bottle,the scary thing is this ,i have given this person all my info on a bank card ,this was a scary thing, so i just got the cologne from john varvatos web site, yes it is buyer beware, i am a person who buys alot of mens cologne,so i allways look for discounts,most sights do not have info i am happy that to see that BIG DISCOUNT has this blog page. and i hope to have a great freindship with BIG DISCOUNT,thank you , and scent lovers unite and help stop those who are trying to rip us off, with so many counterfeit fakes out there, we need to share with each other, so there thank you BIG DISCOUNT, for all you have put on your site. SUPER HEROS WANTED!!!
Hotrods , thanks for the props, we will try to inform our customers with the information to make good purchasing decisions.great prices and people you can trust for your discount perfume needs
I bought a 3.4 oz Dolce * Gabanna Light Blue Women and the name on the bottle is a sticker, not even placed in the rigth spot. My original bottle from Macy’s has the name “ENGRAVED” right into the bottle.
Anyone come across this problem?
Shelly , where did you get the light blue