The Beauty of Ebay
Having indulged my shopaholic tendencies in eBay for everything from DVD’s to home décor it finally occurred to me that I could also seek out great deals on beauty creams as well. Fantasies of snapping up expensive beauty creams at bargain basement prices were quickly shattered when I went online and realized thousands of other shopping savvy women had the same brilliant idea I did and they were willing to pay close to the regular retail price of the items. Bidding on some of the beauty creams was so high I wondered if some of the buyers ended up paying close to retail or more. Cheapness ultimately triumphed over my desire for the latest hottest miracle cream. I decided to buy a beauty cream from a cheaper brand than on of the prestige brands. The cream didn’t work as well as I had hoped, but the price was as cheap as buying a sample so I took what turned out to be a glorified moisturizer and used it for a hand cream.
Buying samples of expensive creams is a great way to try a product before investing more money in a more expensive full size jar. Samples should be priced far less than a jar of the cream since the seller probably got them free from the cosmetic supplier. As with any other item it’s smart to always read the description of the item to find out what you are really buying. Some sellers will show a photograph of a full size jar when they are actually selling samples. Always buy creams that are sold in their original never opened jars. When cream that has been transferred from the original jar to another container it is exposed to bacteria that may be transferred to the end user and reduce the effectiveness of the cream.
Unless you really are interested in all 152 beauty product from your desired brand, you can narrow down your options by typing in the brand and type of product you are looking for in the search box. For example type “Prestige Brand eye” to bring up eye creams exclusively and not the entire range of products by that brand. Different sellers use different words to describe their products so typing in a more detailed description may eliminate some sellers who were selling the exact product you were looking for.
Shop regularly before the cream you regularly use runs out so you can snap up good deals when they show up. The best way to tell if you are getting a good deal is to go to a price comparison web site like Shopzilla and find out what the beauty item usually sells for at other retail locations. Vanity is no excuse for being a sloppy shopper. Getting a great deal is always a beautiful thing.
How can you tell a product isn't counterfeit? For instance, I see "expensive" creams at the dollar store from time to time, but my friend told me they're Chinese knock-offs and not effective. Have you ever had that experience?
Posted by: Tip Diva | January 06, 2008 at 08:44 PM