It was a sad day for perfumistas when Ebay decided to forbid the sale of decanted perfume. While a number of former Ebay sellers have since struck out on their own, The Perfumed Court, which opened for business yesterday, is easily the best effort I've seen so far. Four former Ebay sellers (Patty of Perfume Posse/Fragrant Fripperies, Dragonfly00, Lisalaw/Fleur de Lisa and Fishbone96) have combined their holdings into one easy to navigate (far easier than Ebay ever was) store.
The selection leans heavily towards the luxury/niche market (JAR, Serge Lutens, Tom Ford Private Blend, Etat Libre d'Orange, etc.), but you'll also find vintage scents and a sprinkling of mainstream offerings. The classic brands (Guerlain, Chanel and Caron) are well-covered, and you'll find lots of fragrances that are not otherwise sold in the US.
They've also come up with some great sample sets — you can buy six fragrances by perfumer Maurice Roucel for $25, twenty vanilla-based samples for $29, six JAR Parfums for $58 or the entire MakeupAlley Top 25 of 2007 for $84.99.
While ordering and paying is seamless (e.g., you don't have to worry about which seller(s)you are buying from), you may receive up to 4 packages, as each seller will continue to decant and ship independently. The biggest drawback for some former Ebay buyers may be that the store is not accepting Paypal, only direct payment via credit card.
Now through 8/13, you can get a 10% discount on orders of $40 or more using coupon code SNEAKPEEK.
My poor credit card is already crying out for mercy, ha ha! The Guerlain selection alone is enough to make one swoon…it's funny, just the other day I was bemoaning the fact that the only Liu to be found was vintage stock going for outrageous prices on Ebay…and they have decants! Also Djedi, which I had given up any hope of being able to try. Very impressive site, I must say.
Oh my… and I was trying to be good.
Yes! The LVMH of decants!
The site is really well done, and the selection is awesome.
So much for that
That's very enterprising and beautifully done, but may I ask how this Internet site, i.e. incredibly visible by definition, is going to escape the notice of powerful companies ? They managed to force eBay (eBay who refuses to support anyone!) to ban decant sellers because their fragrances were not sold in their original bottles (I believe that was the only reason for the ban); are they really going to let others do it – so openly (we're not talking about private little swaps here but a proper business, with credit card payments)? Also, how do you sell full bottles of perfumes that are not available in the USA or anywhere but in Europe, because no vendor has been granted a licence to sell them? Regardless of how unfair we may think it all is, that is the current – dangerous – situation.
Bela, I say we take advantage of this before the big boys move in and shut it down (or not) – get started with the 10% coupon already!
J, I have no answer except that maybe they are small enough that perfume companies won't bother? And of course we don't know which companies put pressure on Ebay to begin with.
I live in Europe: I'm lucky to have access to the fragrances I'm most interested in.
But, yes, I wouldn't wait…
They're not *that* small with the might of the Frag Board behind them (and they will be discussed at length constantly on MUA).
Not sure whether those companies bother to warn people before bringing a lawsuit against them. Bond was certainly one of those companies.
I wish them luck!
I wish them luck too. It is going to be really awful if we end up not being able to buy decants anywhere…
I saw in the comments awhile back (forgive me, don't remember which blog–Perfume Posse I think) that it was LVMH. I remember it because there were various comments about the difficulty of banning said company given the number of fragrances (not to mention champagnes) they own…
oh, my dream come true, wonderful
my poor credit card, i must choose judiciously, i must, i must…
It isn't easy to keep the cart light, is it?
Gah, they own everything. Well, we'll have to hope they can't be bothered to go after individuals.
I just want to say the perfumed court sucks. They will COMPLETELY RIP YOU OFF! be careful which perfume you purchase as I have seen samples that are not even a third of the original size sold for the same price! I repeat, NOT EVEN A THIRD of the original size for the SAME PRICE! If that’s not ripping you off…I don’t know what is. I’ve also heard of various complaints about their customer service. Just beware.
I have not had any problems with them, but sorry you did!