Parting with MAC

[Turbokittykat]

Mods, please don't move this - it's not a sale thread! It's more of a...strategy?...thread.


Some of you may remember me but I've been absent from the MAC scene for a while. I had a serious addiction problem a few years back, spending hundreds every month on practically every product MAC brought out. I had to own *everything*.

This has left me with a collection rivalling the stock of a large counter. A lot of it is still brand new, and a fair bit of it counted as rare and HTF even a couple of years ago. I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll never wear a lot of it - I only have the one face, after all! Also, I could be faced with moving to a much smaller place soon, so the amount of room it takes to store will be an issue. So, this may be the time to part with some of it. Some of the lipsticks and lipglasses may be aging - I'll have to check - but many are brand new and have remained sealed so, who knows? The powder products, I know, will be fine. It's all been carefully stored in the cool and in the dark.

However, we all know the economy isn't the best right now, and I am in the UK so I paid over the odds UK prices for most of my stuff, and I am not about to give it away - it represents a major, if unhealthy, part of my life, and did for several years. So, my question is, what is the 'resale' market for MAC like at the moment, (mostly for BNIB items), and where is it best to list? Is anything selling on eBay? Or are the fees eBay now charge making it just not worth the hassle? Would somewhere like here, or LJ be better? Would I be better to hang on to it and deal with having to move it all and find room to store it until the economy is better and people have a bit more spare cash?

What are your thoughts? This is a bitter-sweet situation for me. On the one hand it's the final stage of letting go of an addiction, which can only be a good thing, but this was a very significant part of my life for a long time, and there's still a lot of...emotional attachment, I guess...there.

 

[DollyGirl92]

I think with eBay you'd get much less than it's worth, as people often suspect fakes but I don't personally know about eBay fees I think selling on here would be your best option, maybe you could sell the items you know you'll never use or won't use again, so sell those on here, plus you know they'll all go to homes they will be loved in!
so really I'd say save what you can, but be ruthless, most of the time if you have to think about reasons to keep it and you don't get one straight away, you're not guna use it.

good luck with this, I could Imagen it being a very difficult task and I totality understand about a bit of emotional attachment

Simone xx

 

[angi]

Things are selling on ebay, but not all that well. For example, you'd probably get a lot less than value on eyeshadows or pigments. Plus, the fees are pretty pricy (once you've paid ebay and paypal fees)

I agree that you would be better off listing what you can part with on one of the sales boards. That way you can also ask what you want for the products, and you don't have to let them go if you can't get what you want for them (and it won't cost you anything!). If you need to do it little by little, then do the lip products first - before they have the chance to turn. You know you have a little longer with powder products- plus it might help you to let go if you do things in small steps.

 

[InspiredBlue]

Honestly, I don't think the general state of the world economy is going to have any noticeable impact on the sales of your makeup items. It's a very specific little market we are talking about here, and the individual items don't have very high prices. If you want to wait a while before selling it, that is of course fine, but "the economy" really isn't a relevant factor.

 

[purrtykitty]

I agree e-Bay probably isn't the best place. The items that go for high prices are those current things that sell out quickly, not the HTF ones. I bought a BNIB Tempt Me Quad for $24 - less than what I would've paid at an outlet! And, then there are the fees...e-Bay, paypal. I think you're better off selling on here and LJ, places where people know the true value of the items you're selling. And many buyers are willing to pay the paypal fees in addition to shipping, so you're not getting dinged with those charges, and you can make back most if not all of what you paid.

You might consider selling your collection in parts. That would make it more manageable for you, as you can weed through and analyze what you really want to keep and what you want to part with.

Good luck! It's a bittersweet thing to do.

 

[LMD84]

i think that you would be better selling on specktra. that way people know how much items are worth - ebay you'll end up getting bugger all back.

 

[Kirsty]

I agree, share the love with the lovely ladies of specktra. You set the price, if it doesn't sell, nothing lost.