Re: OPI no longer sold wholesale/online
Quote:
Originally Posted by macgirl3121  As long as you have a license within the beauty industry Cosmoprof will let you purchase anything in the store, even if it is outside the scope of your license. Guess as long as you don't set up shop on the web then you are cool.
OPI has only ever sold thier products to professional beauty supplys, salons or authorized retail outlets. Diversion has been a problem for OPI for the longest time. They want their product represented and sold a certain way.
As much as you guys think that this sucks, it sucks for salons that retail OPI and can't move it because the etailers are selling the polish for $5 a bottle and OPI is NOT distributing thier product directly to these etailers. Diversion has been a problem for many many years in the beauty industry. With the emergence of etailers the problem has taken a different turn. They are not able to chase down every asian beauty supply that sells OPI (and they do. Ya'll can still pick it up there but not at Transdesign prices). Etailers are easier to find and thus an easier target to hit in terms of sending out cease and desists.
Here is OPI's stance on diversion if anyone cares to read it.  Stop Diversion Now!
OPI takes the safety and well-being of our trade and consumer customers very seriously, and has dedicated itself to providing them with the finest Professional Beauty products available today.That is why OPI is so passionate about fighting diversion. Diversion is the sale of Professional products outside of Professional beauty channels. OPI has spent tens of millions of dollars in the fight against diversion, to ensure that our OPI brand professional-use products are used only under the supervision of trained professionals.OPI brand products are intended for sale in professional beauty (salon) channels. We sell them to distributors or wholesalers who sell exclusively in those channels. Those distributors, in turn, sell exclusively to salons. OPI brand products sold outside these channels are improperly obtained and in violation of our agreements and commitments to distributors and salons. Unfortunately, those diverted products may not be current, or may be improperly and illegally labeled or of inferior quality, or may even be fake or counterfeit. OPI only guarantees or stands behind products sold through authorized channels. For OPI brand products, these do not include mass retail channels, the Internet, drug stores, or grocery stores.Diversion ultimately hurts both salon professionals and salon clients. In addition, it deprives consumers of the professional care and advice that are necessary to enjoy these professional-use products.OPI’s efforts to fight diversion include:
Agreements with distributors that prohibit the sale of OPI brand products outside professional channels
Coding systems to help trace diverted product
Pursuing leads that we receive about the unauthorized sale of OPI products
Supporting industry-wide anti-diversion efforts
A program to track down and take legal and other action against divertors, including the use of private investigators and lawyers
A dedicated staff with a toll-free number and email address to record and follow- up on diversion reports
You can help. Should you become aware of what you believe to be diverted OPI brand product, please contact OPI at 800-341.9999 or at diversion@opi.com. Please provide your name, the name of the store in which you saw what you believe to be diverted product, the address of the store, and the products. |
Except that there is no proof that Trans Design or Head2toe IS diverted product. They're wholesalers who sell online and simply don't require a beauty liscence number to make a purchase. What etailers like TD are are distributors.
The reason diversion is a problem in the beauty industry is because they more than any other industry use distributors between manufacturers and salons. They mark up the price, sell it to salons who again mark up the price to customers. OPI and many, many other manufacterers could solve the "problem" if they sold directly to salons. But they like any other corporation just want the money. So they produce crates of the stuff and ship it out to whoever, then issue statements of concern that "regular" people like myself decide they would rather buy two OPI polishes online than one in a salon because their money is hard earned and we think a 200% markup from manufactuer to customer is bullshit.
Why should I pay full retail at a salon for a nail polish when I'm already getting services done there (with tip I might add, and at 20 %) and I can get it for less online? The internet is change, and businesses that can't or won't adjust to it are going to fail
I suppose the point of my whining (yes, I'm whining. WHINE!) is that in the end everyone loses out because I won't buy OPI at retail prices in salons anyways because I KNOW how much it costs at the distributor level, and if I can't buy it that way online well...
. Not every one has $9 to spend on ONE nail polish. :/ I only own 1 OPI and 1 Sephora by OPI. They cost me an arm with a tight budget!
I think I'll just stick to CG.
What???
