How to choose a good online shop for original branded fragrances
How to choose a good website for original branded perfumes?
For quite some time I have noticed a tendency on the Internet, regarding Bulgarian websites selling perfumes. There are a lot of topics and comments like “Perfume websites we can trust” or “Perfume thoughts and passions”, part of which are pretty ridiculous or just written for advertising purposes on a particular website. This makes me think about many things in the area of online sales of branded perfumes which are not available to the customer. This is why I decided to write this article in order to expose a lot of the unethical and unlicensed practices of online stores in Bulgaria. In this article I would like to answer many of the basic questions, inquiries and concerns, most of you may have, but you simply cannot find online. Or, more precisely, “How do I choose a good website for original branded perfumes?”
I have been working in one of the oldest companies dealing with selling and distribution of original branded perfumes in Bulgaria for 6 years now. During this time I would say that I have gained a great deal of experience, a professional opinion and a good knowledge of the Bulgarian market for branded perfumery as well as online shopping. In general, e-commerce is a relatively new phenomenon that has evolved quickly over the last 10-15 years. This fact is valid for the Bulgarian market as well and a lot of websites for ‘original’ branded perfumes came up in recent years. Unfortunately, many of these websites offer replicas of famous designer fragrances in order to gain a bigger profits.
After having done an extensive research on many websites for branded perfumes, in this article I will try to give you some guidance on how to protect yourself from unlicensed and unfair online stores, how to distinguish quality websites from bad websites that offer branded perfumes and why it is important to be careful especially with such websites.
How do we know which websites offer “fake products” according to the prices?
In most websites that offer fake products the prices of perfumes usually range between 20 and 40 levs, depending on the brand. The prices of the same products in many other websites vary between 20 and 250 levs. Quite strange, isn’t it? As a matter of fact, their real price is much lower. Don’t be fooled by the variety of reductions or by the blinking banners with 70% discount. They are often not real as many brands stick to their high prices and would never reduce their products’ prices that much, even if they are bought in bulk from the distributor.
Tip: Compare the prices of the product you selected in at least a few websites. If there is a place with big differences in prices, you’d better think twice before purchasing from there.
How to find out which websites offer fake products judging by their products?
One of the first things that you will notice in websites that sell fake products is the fact that the products are sold in the biggest ml option. They usually sell packages of 100 ml. Some brands, however, offer perfumes with the biggest volume being 90, 75, or 65 ml. More often than not a perfume is sold in 2 to 4 quantity varieties, the most frequently used being 30, 50, and 100 ml. Fake perfumes usually come in the biggest possible volume as it guarantees a higher price and a higher profit.
Tip: If you are not sure about the quality of a certain product, but you want to check if the products are original, you should order a smaller ml option of a favorite perfume. Even if it turns out to be fake, you won’t regret paying too much money on it.
Are there fake sets of perfumes or body products of famous brands?
It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a fake perfume set with a body product or a promotional item in Bulgaria. The reason for this is the fact that it is hard, costly and time-consuming to produce a replica of a whole set or a body product. There is a tendency for famous designer houses to launch different sets on the market every season. A website offering different sets and body products is much more likely to sell original perfumes, than a website offering only perfumes.
Tip: Despite its highest price, buying a set is always cheaper than buying the perfume and the body product separately. Besides this, the risk of buying a fake product is reduced to almost zero.
How to find if the chosen by me website or firm is reliable?
Almost all websites offering ‘fake products’ do not present a company name, a VAT number, a UIC or an address – they only have a contact number. If such details are available, you can easily find additional information for the company’s business. If you cannot find such details, you can be sure that the website is not working officially or at least it is not paying taxes and does not take legal responsibility as a limited company. Most companies for original branded perfumes have official stores as well, which allows you to check the quality of the products on site before buying them.
Tip: Before purchase, look for some information about the company on their website. Also make sure to check if the company issues receipts or invoices. This can assure you that you are shopping from an actually existing, licensed company for selling branded perfumes.
Why are the prices online lower than the prices in stores?
This question can be answered briefly – due to the lower expenses. Websites do not pay for retail rent, salaries for staff, electricity, water or heating. They don’t have to invest in samples of the product, showcases or a good looking store. The expenses for a small shop of around 40 square meters in a big city are around 2000 levs per month, while the maintenance cost of a website could be as low as 10 levs per month. You can do the math and see how much more profitable it is to sell online. Besides that, the competition on the web is greater, because websites not only compete with each other, but with all other local and national comapnies as well. Consequently, the web prices can be significantly lower than those in stores. This should not be surprising to anybody, because almost all major companies now offer online shopping which in most cases is both more beneficial for the customers and more profitable for the company.
Tip: Do not be afraid of purchasing online! This could save both money and time. Unfortunately, online shopping can’t entirely replace the need for stores where you can try a product or get a professional opinion and advice.
Why are perfumes most often a subject of imitations and replication?
Branded perfumes and clothes are mainly the subject of imitations due to their high price and the returns that such products have. Fragrances have a long shelf life and are neither too bulky nor too heavy. This makes them easy to distribute and sell. Another major factor is that many of the imitations are made in Turkey which is in close proximity to Bulgaria. This makes our market very attractive for offering “fake products”. Usually “fake products” can be bought for 4-10 levs and their return is at least double or triple.
Tip: There are also quite cheap branded and quality perfumes on the market which you can find at prices between 20 and 40 levs. Such brands in this low-price section are Benetton, Elizabeth Arden, Just Cavalli, Iceberg and Diesel.
Internet shopping in Bulgaria will continue growing and the trend is that the best online shops will be sifted out from the rest. More people will be turning to online shopping as it is an easy, fast and cheap way of buying products. Even though a big part of Bulgarians purchase from foreign websites, in order to reduce the risk of fake products, we should have in mind that the prices in the Bulgarian websites are lower and the delivery is faster. Unfortunately, as long as there is demand for fake products, there will be supply for them as well.
My personal opinion is that the Bulgarian customer is a well-read, educated and careful buyer, who can judge on his own and distinguish the quality products from the rest. Since a great part of the information I publish is not generally known among customers and is rather known among the perfume traders, I hope that this article will protect a lot of customers from unlicensed and unethical sellers and will help them make the best decision when buying branded perfumes online.
More information you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/NeNaMentetata
No to fake products, yes to branded perfumes
Author: Peter Dyaksov
Author: Petar Dyaksov
