What is grey market perfume?
Fragrances and aromas are our invisible accessories so we can smell and feel best. When going outside, some of us just do not feel complete without even a hint of our favorite scent that just entices other people too. When smelling good is one of our aftercare after taking a bath, we usually look for perfumes that smell good and luxurious. Whether our scent is strong or sweet, we just happen to love a distinct smell apart from any other.
As perfumes are vastly sold in the market today, more and more people are finding cheap brands that fume a bolder smell. Like any other products such as shoes and clothes, some are leaning towards imitation perfumes which give a similar smell to known brands. If ever you had a chance of finding the alternative smell to known scents, you might have encountered going to pages in the grey market —- and perfumes are also sold here.
Grey Market Perfumes
Grey Market Perfumes fond the cheapskates. Like the known black market that sells illegal whatnots or any weird things that you can imagine, the grey market screams lesser evil. Instead of selling illegal goods, the grey market leans on to products that are “not really” counterfeit but are overruns that come from the legal source of certain brands.
The perfect example of this would perfume. All brands go through a series of product evaluations so everything would smell the way it should. However, there comes a point where the products would not pass quality control; caps are not perfectly formed, bottles have minimal cracks on them, or even perfumes do not smell just the way they should. Nonetheless, regardless of whatever reason, if it holds any amount of imperfection, it isn’t sold by the company.
These substandard, out-of-date, and sometimes harmful stocks should not be sold by brands. They are bad for the brand identity thus not good for business. However, it cannot be denied that inside jobs happen mostly in factories, and when the products feel legit to other people regardless of deformity, it is still collected, and thus sold in the grey market.
Is it safe?
Unfortunately, the shortest answer for this one would be no. As a by-product of the online selling industry in the 21st century, the grey market is an outlet for illegal and unauthorized resellers of perfume brands. Therefore, it is with high regard that perfumes sold inside the grey market are sub-standard, and aromas can be a little too very different from the original scents (way past their best).
Moreover, if you’re a perfume guru or have ample knowledge about fragrances, it is very common for brands to have ample care for perfumes; whether they should be stored and under what temperature, perfumes should be carefully stocked so they will not cause chemical reactions and imbalance for the scents.
In the case of grey market perfumes, unauthorized resellers can have inadequate knowledge when it comes to such. To cut it short, you may be purchasing a product that disappoints, nevertheless wasting your money in the long run.
That being the case, buying from the grey market entails risks, and it’s up to you if you’re taking a bite or not.
