An eye-opener

[MoonGoddess]

Just this morning at work, i noticed a co-worker showing off her "MAC palette" to my fellow co-worker and how she got these "great deals" from someone who sells them. First of all, I couldn't help but notice how FAKE they were and looked at them. TOTAL FAKES! She had palettes, a pigment, and some sort of compact which i assumed was also fake. The co-worker even asked, "If I put together a MAC makeup selling party (not in those words), would you want to go?" I was like "eh". I didn't have the nerve to tell her those were total fakes and she was being ripped off. (I'm not really close to this co-worker and am not really "fond" of her btw.)

Anyways, right after she walked out, I had to tell my other co-worker whom she was selling to to tell her those were total fakes and noted i was a total MAC Whore

(in those words, mind you). I explained how they looked like total eBay fakes and not to buy and recommended CCO's if she wanted discounted MAC stuff. My co-worker was not too familiar w/ MAC and would not have known those to be fakes. Luckily she didn't fall into it. However, it made me think of how many more out there who don't know what authentic MAC products look like would easily fall into this thinking they are buying and wearing fake MAC products.

After all that, i decided to let it go and asked if i should tell that co-worker she had fake stuff. My other co-worker noted "Don't bother. She probably won't care. She's got a fake Coach purse anyway!"

That made me laugh, but man, it made me think....

 

[clslvr6spd]

I have noticed these MAC parties popping up a lot around here...eww...

 

[Fiberluver]

This might be a stupid question but how can you tell if something is fake or real???

Thanks.

Nat

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiberluver This might be a stupid question but how can you tell if something is fake or real??? Thanks. Nat

There's so many different fakes out there that it's impossible to provide a comprehensive list. Counterfeiters are also constantly updating their products and improving the look - making fakes harder to spot.

Obviously if the item doesn't look like a normal MAC product and googling/checking makeup sites doesn't turn it up as a special or LE product, it's definitely fake.

If it's a product that is normally in the range, but is coming from an unknown source, then you have to look at that product itself to try and figure it out.

Hope this helps - if you have any questions about items you find on ebay etc please feel free to post a thread here and we can all try and help you out.

 

[svetkey2]

they are even faking MAC quads now. if you actually get one to swatch , you will notice that the color is not quite right and if u remove them, there is a # under the pan....hmmm

 

[RNcutie]

I don't understand why they go through THAT much trouble to make a counterfeit. All that effort, the materials etc... and then to sell it at a "cheap" price, are they really making enough profit to make it worth their while? I've always been a little naive about things like this.... 10 years ago I was thrilled to replace my beloved Tiffany perfume for half the price I paid retail, by getting it on Ebay. Um yeah, it was NOT Tiffany. I just don't get WHY? It can't be THAT profitable?

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNcutie I don't understand why they go through THAT much trouble to make a counterfeit. All that effort, the materials etc... and then to sell it at a "cheap" price, are they really making enough profit to make it worth their while? I've always been a little naive about things like this.... 10 years ago I was thrilled to replace my beloved Tiffany perfume for half the price I paid retail, by getting it on Ebay. Um yeah, it was NOT Tiffany. I just don't get WHY? It can't be THAT profitable?

To produce a short run of anything isn't profitable - but we are talking about lots of products over a period of time. Producing a lot of something can be quite cost effective.

There wouldn't be any big R&D costs as they aren't trying to formulate a quality product. The packaging would probably be the most expensive part here... and if they are ordering in bulk, they wouldn't be that expensive.

In the end they are making a profit - which is why they keep doing this!

 

[calysto17]

That's sad to hear because to be honest, I'm not sure if I would know the difference. Back in college I remember a friend who first turned me on to mac but she was telling me how she got pigment samples, a set of 25 off of ebay for like 25 dollars and then I was like awesome but I didn't trust the bay back then or now. In retrosepct, those were all fake.

 

[jrjrr]

I refuse to buy ANY MAC or any other m.e. to h.e. brand from ebay. I bought a pigment jar from ebay once, from a reputable seller with ABSOLUTELY no negative or neutrals, and guess what? total fake lol....I dont know how these ppl never get caught