On Getting Free Samples from Companies Now - Page 11

That's a heck of a first post, dampier!

Thanks for sharing your experiences, and welcome to Basenotes!

Dampier,

I'm kind of new to all this, but it did not take much perusal of E-bay before I came to some of the same conclusions. Once I had sent Malle my $20, and received my samples, and then saw what the same ones were going for on E-bay, a person did not have to be a math whiz to figure out what was going on.

And ditto with the groups of 10 samples you see for sale. You know that someone on the inside has to be subverting the supply chain.

At the same time, I'll confess to buying many of these same samples on E-bay myself, simply because our local stores no longer have take-away samples, or they are of brands that are not carried locally at all.

One good point that this thread makes is that often a person can get samples of the things they want for less by writing directly to the houses than by purchasing them on E-bay. But the way things are these days, I suspect many people feel they might get the runaround if they write the houses, while all they have to do is push a button on E-bay and the samples are on their way.

I've not yet made any sample/decant orders from the folks here on Basenotes, and I know there's come controversy about that practice too. But if I do make an order, at least I have a good idea that the folks here came by their materials in a legitimate way.

All in all it's a sad state of affairs, even though there is something to be said for the pure adventure of attempting to get samples directly. I've only gotten samples from Malle, and I did pay a substantial amount for them, but I did not begrudge the cost and it was a heck of a lot more exciting than getting things from some who-knows-who on E-bay.

Perhaps if all the houses openly offered samples on their websites for, say, $3.50 a shot, it would undermine these E-bay sales ?

A wonderful and insightful post, and I'll be looking forward to seeing others from you. :-)



PS. The Pirate Explorer, yes ?

Actually it's my real last name. I usually don't use handles on websites, but for expedience in logging on, I just used my last name. In addition to the piracy past, there are also connections to a basketball player and an industrial port in western Australia by the same name. :-)

I filled out my Malle questionnaire last night. It forces you to come up with creative answers. I haven't gotten my recommendations yet (or the request for $20). I have also found some samples on eBay that interested me, although most of them were conventional enough to have been salvaged and resold from any perfume order that comes with a bunch of free samples the customer didn't want.

Yves Saint Laurent sent me a postcard sized sample of L'Homme Libre, and the closest thing to the "free" part was the cost to slap a fragrance sticker inside the mailer and send it off. We're one step above those Macy's inserts that you peel apart and, I suppose, wildly rub all over your body in a hopeless attempt to transfer something resembling the scent to your person. Would anyone ever allow themselves to be seen rubbing one of these scent strips up and down their arms... in public? "It has an opening of magazine ink with a drydown of desperation." No thanks. The only thing more embarrassing would be walking up to the fragrance counter at Sephora and inquiring about the Skin Bracer holiday gift set.

I'd never buy any fragrance based on this kind of sample.

In a related note, Malle said that they would be happy to send me samples free of charge. However, they then said that there's a special packaging and shipping method they use that would cost them a total of 52 Euros to send to Japan for the requested samples. Another member told me that they said the same thing to him, yet when the package arrived the postage paid was less than 2 Euros. I consider this dishonest, and informed them that since they did offer the samples to me free of charge, that I would have no problem paying for shipping if it were within reason, especially if they were using a shipping method that was considerably cheaper than what they were asking for.

I sent that letter yesterday, but have yet to hear a response.

I'm not particularly sure about their "special packing and shipping" methods, although they do intimate something like that on their website. The samples I received from New York seemed to show up in a fairly conventional way. However they do go to the trouble of including a hand-written card, and someone has to look at those questionnaires and respond to them, so I suspect there really is some expense involved for them, if sending out samples is something they are hoping to break even on, from a financial standpoint.

Plus I suspect that by charging, they also hope to cut down on the E-bay reselling.

As an aside, they will respond to the questionnaires by suggesting some things, but you can then tell them the things you want if their suggestions do not match your preferences. I responded by phone, and they were able to include an extra sample that I wanted, which I felt was generous of them.

I just got an email back from them. I told them that I would take whatever cheapest shipping method is available, and since I didn't fill out their survey, and simply requested specific samples (which in turn they told me would be provided for free), they had nothing to analyze.

In the end, since I didn't feel like paying 52 Euros for something that they were going to ship for less than 5 Euros, they politely told me to sod off.

I tried requesting a sample of one current Dior fragrance (of which I can no longer locate tester bottles) directly from Dior recently; they bounced the request to Dior USA who replied to me today:

"Thank You for contacting Dior Beauty.

I am sorry but we do not supply samples. Please know if
you order from dior.com we have a great return policy if
you to not enjoy the our products."


I was not impressed.

I had an extremely good experience with Mark Birley. I asked for a sample of Charles Street and they sent me two spray vials of each of their scents. Chances are, I'll probably end up buying a bottle of Charles Street (already have the other), partly because of the helpful service.

Tom Ford was less helpful and took over a week to respond to my email. Given the high price of their offerings, I'd be willing to pay for decent samples, but because these don't really seem to be available, I guess decants are a fine way to go for now.

L'Occitane is another company that doesn't do samples, although they will supply you with samples of their hand creams. I had contacted them this week looking for some samples of their men's fragrances in preparation for their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, but no dice.

Both Floris and Hermes came through with some free samples -- Floris being the most generous. I ordered a bottle from each and let them know the samples made all the difference.

I have also stopped buying fragrances from firms that consider a postcard with a tiny cloth enclosed a suitable sample. It's not, and the results don't truly represent the fragrance. I might as well rub one of those Sunday newspaper insert samples all over me.

Companies charging a hundred dollars or more for a 3oz bottle of fragrance should have enough in their budgets to supply a suitable sample of it upon request. I understand the eBay problem, but the typical "we don't send samples" reply doesn't cut it for me when I decide where to buy my next bottle of fragrance.

^^topic title

Department stores.

Mine arrive included with purchases made with online retailers.

I get my free samples from the bricks and mortar stores I buy from. And LS, from time to time. Personally I wouldn't mind paying a bit for a sample if it there is no local stockist, if it came down to it. I think the lines that offer sample sets at a price that can be deducted from a full bottle purchase later have the right idea.

I can understand companies backing off from sending out free samples when they see them turning up for sale on eBay - who wouldn't?

Haha So far I've tried emailing a few houses for samples and no luck. Maybe I'm not going at it the right way?
Should I add my mailing address to the email? I've been basically just telling them my story and asking if I could sample one of their perfumes.

This whole being cheap with sending out samples thing is a very strange deal, when we all *know* from experience that companies *do* indeed have samples made up for all their fragrances.

I suspect that the way to get these samples is to make a good impression on the SA's at the various high-end outlets, and depend on their whims as to whether they feel like giving them to us or not.

But at the same time, most mid-level Macy's-type outlets don't get carded samples anymore....even though we know from looking on E-bay or from other past experiences that they do exist.

The stupidest thing of all to me is why certain outfits will not respond favorably to online requests, and especially when the writer offers to pay. You would think they would realize that people who take the time and energy to search out their website, and then follow through by making a request come from the pool of individuals who are most likely to purchase their product.

Simply the fact that they've gone to all the trouble to esquire would seem evidence of that.

Hi all. Great forum. Been reading a for a short time and figured this was as a good a thread to post on first as any.

Have had similar experiences with most of the companies mentioned - Diptyque, Miller Harris extremely good for example, Amouage (my favourite brand) not very helpful.

There seems to be a growing trend towards charging. I can see why, given that there is obviously a market there and it probably cuts down on abuse. These days as soon as a company openly admits to sending out free samples a link will appear on general money saving sites and 'freebie' email lists so that company would soon be inundated.
That said, some of the sample sets are better than others, and some just seem bizarre (how can it cost one company 17 Euros to ship from France to the UK but another one charges 5 Euros and another - small - company ships for free?

I expect a large amount of samples still go to the stores. Years ago I worked at a department store in London (not in fragrance, in menswear) and there were perfume samples everywhere. Not sure how many were given out to customers, the staff generally considered them a perk I think (if they got as far as me, just a lowly part time worker, then there must have been a hell of a lot of them though!)

Do they have oud smell for free sample??

When I ordered some Oudh online, I was sent a tiny drop sample of four others to try. It certainly induced me to order a full size of all four because I then knew I liked them. I certainly wouldn't buy something that expensive without trying it first.

I quite agree that paying a small amount for a sample is fine if the receipt or voucher then gives you that amount off the fragrance. It would weed out all the freebie abusers. The price should equate to the price per ml plus the vial and the sending of it. Nobody would mind if it wasn't more than the perfume.

It does help if they do that, yes. I don't even mind that much if you don't get the money off if price is not too high and the sample is good.

Juliet Has A Gun is one of the best for that IMO as the amount you pay is reasonable, its discounted from future purchases and the samples you get are really quite generous and well presented.

I don't object to places that don't send out samples at all. Its their business, their sales and there are enough sites out there encouraging people to just ask for anything free at all, no matter what it is. Its a shame for real potential customers but if I was running a business I would be wary too. The ones I actually do kinda object to are the places that charge WAY over the odds for samples. Its worse than just a straight 'no' in some ways.

I don't mind paying for samples with no discounts, and I'm sure any other real customer wouldn't either. If the price still equates ml for £ with the finished larger product. Then when purchasing, any impulse buying is less dangerous. I also probably don't need a huge 100ml bottle. It used to be commonplace to see a 30ml size alongside the 50ml one. That is big enough to last for some time unless you happen to shower yourself in it or wear only one scent daily.

Les Senteurs now charge £5 for any sent sample, but their samples are huge vials, plus they are hand written cards, plus you have the assistants undivided time decanting, packing and sending it to you. It makes it a perfectly reasonable cost.

thanks to all who have posted their experiences, very helpful. so far have gotten replies from Hermes and Annick Goutal saying they will send samples. Seems to work better when I include my address in inital email -- good on ya to whoever posted that little gem several pages upthread.


1/23/12 - SCOOOOOOOORE! Came home to a nice package from Hermes w. 2ml samples of Kelly Caleche, 24 Fabourg, and Elixir De Merveilles. Can I just say OMG KELLY CALECHE IS MY NEW DRUG OF CHOICE.

1/30/12 - JACKPOT, YOU GUYS! Piguet sent two samples of Fracas (I can make that last FOREVER) and the SAINTS at Goutal sent 6, count em SIX, samples. Un Matin d'Orage, Gardenia Passion, Petite Cherie, Ninfeo mio, Rose Absolue, and Eau d'Hadrien. Who says there's no free lunch??

FYI the email I sent to each house was very basic -- just saying I'd like to smell before I buy, don't have niche stockists near me, would like some samples. The only time I actually specified was with Fracas. Luuuuuv me some Fracas.

2/2/12 - Did a happy dance when I opened my mailbox and found 1.5 ml samples of Agent Provocateur and L'Agent from AP, along with little packets of AP body cream and "body sauce." Not sure how I feel about "saucing" my body, but whatevs. Annnnnnd from Divine, Divine and L'infante both in 2ml sample sizes. WOOT!

First post from a long time creeper of basenotes
I wrote to Amouage, Hermes and "by Kilian" early yesterday, Hermes responded first thing this morning and were more than happy to send samples.
I really wanted something from Kilian though, I've never smelt anything from them but I'm in love with the presentation of their products! I'll be very upset if they don't have something I love! I need one of those boxes! lol
unfortunately I got this early this afternoon

Unfortunately we are unable to send samples from our corporate office. However, please feel free to contact a Kilian point of sale, where our fragrance specialists will be happy to assist you. For any information regarding a Kilian point of sale, please let us know.


We thank you for your interest in Kilian Perfumes.

Best regards,

The Kilian team

After reading nearly this entire thread I'm not really anticipating Amouage sending me anything (or even responding) but I had to try! But I'm kind of hoping their lack of response is better than a negative one (keeping my fingers crossed).
I was going to write to L'artisans but I see they recently opened a boutique on my friends block ... and their site says they have classes where you can make your own fragrance! I'm very excited! lol
Just thought I'd share
Thank you guys for all the info!

@zandaloo:

I realize this is not free, but Aedes will send you 7 decanted samples of fragrances they sell, charging only $15 (for S&H) -- and they carry By Killian and Amouage.

http://www.aedes.com/Aedes-Sample-Service_p_908.html

Thanks!!! I just ordered some samples, I hope they have what I want.
I'm definitely going to have to pay them a visit in person soon. And apparently the L'artisan boutique in Manhattan closed... guess I'm going to have to email them after all... I probably should have checked if Aedes carried their products prior to ordering lol

But surely the L'Artisan boutique at Bendel's is still open?

Yes it is! thanks yet again. I've never gone to Bendels before, looks like I'm going to be busy for quite some time! planning on going to Aedes sometime this month, then I'm going to have to check out Bendels and finally the Creed boutique!
Also how big are the samples from Aedes, I'm imagining their going to be a milliliter since their so reasonably priced. And can you order several sets of 7 samples at once?

I don't know about how many samples Aedes will send-- my guess is 7 is the limit but if you visit there in person you can get some samples free.

As far as the size, they do use the little glass 1 ml vials, but these only actually hold .7 ml (or .75ml) when capped. They are called 1 ml vials because if you fill them right up to the brim you can get exactly 1 ml into them, but remember Archimedes' Principle? The dabber wand and the interior of the snap-on cap displace volume-- hence their only actually holding the smaller volume when capped. I discovered this when decanting samples using a calibrated 1 ml syringe.

I just got a sample of Killians Amber Oud today. To get free samples from Killian, "Like" their Facebook page and then join the Killian Club, the button can be found on the right side of the page.

Can I still get a free sample if i join there club ?

I got this in the mail a couple weeks back. I gotta say i'm pretty happy with what I got. I got the entire Fragonard(5nl) lineup, some frags from Floris (5ml), some solid perfumes from serge, and a couples from Hermes (Voyage, Santal Massoia, and Osmanthe Yunnan each 10ml)

edit: dang, it wouldn't show the picture

Try uploading your photo to a hosting service like Photobucket, then use their image link for forums in your post.

Aedes is great...they sent me 8 samples, they included the one I put as extra in case they didn't have one in stock. Plus they'll take the cost of the samples off the bottle if you decide to purchase from them.

Thanks everyone for the info here, I've contacted Hermes with hopes of a few samples, the last time I ordered from their NY boutique they sent 4ml samples of each of the 15ml travel sprays I ordered already. Seemed very generous.

update: that was fast, Hermes response saying they'd be happy to send samples. Looks like I'll be trying a few more from the hermessence line.

That's the first I've heard of their taking the cost of the samples off a subsequent full bottle purchase of one of the samples-- good to know that.

You know...I thought the last sample Order I got with them had a code for $15 off (the sample price) but I just ordered another set today and it said $5...I'll have to confirm it when I get the package.

This new fragrance 'House of Thara' keeps popping up...I was in Dubai last week and seen a beautiful ad in Snob magazine, when i arrived home the same ad was in this month Mayfair Times, i was so intrigued by the beautiful ad that i called the number and spoke to a lovely young lady who said she would send me out a sample which arrived through my letter box this morning, i have to say its a fabulous fresh scent, i will definetly be purchasing a bottle, the lady said the site is being re-built as we speak but can still purchase exclusivly online. www.houseofthara.com its worth sending them an email through the site to get a free tester as like me im sure you will not be disapointed!

Actually I looked on the Aedes website today and I see that it is, in fact, $5 (toward a full bottle of something one had gotten a sample of)-- but $5 is good. Certainly better than nothing!

Have tried several of these emails to a number of houses. Being based in Europe the response was hugely different. Hermes politely said no to samples informing me I should drive over the Pennines to Manchester to try their frags at the boutique there. The cost of that is approximately £20 plus parking....erm not gonna happen just to spray my wrist
Dior just said no.
Lutens didn't even bother replying.

I guess customer service in Europe has some way to to to catch up with the US in all things

Diptyque used to send samples on request; they no longer do. I asked for one sample today and received this reply:

Dear [30 Roses],

Thank you for your interest in our products. Unfortunately, we do not offer samples by mail. However, when you make a purchase on our website, we include a free sample with each order.

We look forward to working with you in the future.

Best,

diptyque Client Services

I just wanted to mention, I got an envelope from hermes with 2 samples from the hermessence line, but they must read through the emails and just pinpoint the names, because they sent ones I mentioned I had and enjoyed. So if you email them, only include the names of what you want. I emailed them back and they seemed happy enough to send another package. Can't argue with that.

I also got a response from serge lutens and they made it sound like they were sending out some that I requested. I'll see what I get though

Looking for new scents to try out. Any recommended sites to try out ? So far hermes is the only 1 i got.

Try emailing them and asking politely

Serge Lutens told me they sent out something, I'm not quit sure what it is but I think it's a book of their scents,, I guess to smell but not to wear. Haven't gotten it yet. Hermes is pretty generous though.

Floris will send you samples.

I think that Les Parfum de Rosine will also send samples if you e-mail them.

They send soft wax samples that can be smoothed on skin like a solid perfume. I found these pretty good for testing purposes.


Rosine sells samples in sets of 3 or 15-- see the listing for "echantillons" in their boutique; they're a good deal as it includes shipping: http://www.les-parfums-de-rosine.com...t&rub=boutique

Trumper sent me 7 samples when I told them I wanted to try some of their fragrances. Some are really good too.

thanks

Samples on the way

Thanks

Sign up for the Floris news letter. Shortly afterwards I got asked if I would like some of their samples from the Private Collection. I politely asked if I could get some samples from their Floris for Men range instead. Floris sent me seven Floris for Men samples. I liked Floris Santal so much I bought the EDT.

Thanks will give that a try

Well, been making use of Basenotes reviews/forums for a while now, so I figure I better finally contribute something

Thought I'd share my successes so far re: sample requests. Got personalized emails back from Hermes, Annick Goutal, Penhaligon's, and Geo F Trumper within 24 hrs, all saying they'd be sending samples shortly. No emails back yet from L'Artisan, Miller Harris, or James Heeley. No outright rejections yet either though

My MO has been include a brief, polite introduction, telling the company how I cannot find their products locally. Then, I'll list 2 - 4 specific fragrances I'm interested in. My thought is that having a few you'd actually like to try - as opposed to saying, "Hey, just send me some samples, I don't care what." - is more effective/believable. So far, so good!

Will be sure to post updates as the packages arrive, others respond, etc.

Thanks again to all you Basenoters for your assistance as I begin my exploration of the HUGE world of fragrance!

What address did you send a note to for Annick Goutal? I just received a form letter from them stating they don't provide samples. I emailed their boutique as I wasn't really sure who to contact.

P
I received the same email as 30 Roses when I made my request. But they also provided the name of a locally owned, women's fashion boutique that carries some of their line. It wasn't a retailer I would have ever associated with offering fragrances so it was a nice to make the discovery. The SA at the boutique was very patient and generously gave me several Diptyque manufacturer samples. However, they only carry about 5 fragrances from the line so not all the fragrances I wanted to sample were available. I wish Diptyque offered some way to make samples available directly to customers. I'd pay and made that apparent in my original email.

Volguy - I used customerservice@annick-goutal.com

Got the standard Diptyque rejection, btw this weekend, as well as one from Frederic Malle. (I'd filled out their survey, hoping they'd send me something, but instead got an email from a representative suggesting particular fragrances I should try.)

Thank you, apparently I had somehow emailed the online boutique and not customer service. Here's hoping I get a better response this time. I'd really like to try Ninfeo Mio--it has almost a wet asphalt smell to me that I need a little more time with before I decide whether I want a bottle. Now I just need to find a sample of Nuit Etoilee. It smells amazing on paper, but the day I smelled it I already had on another scent so I didn't get a chance to try it on skin.

Also received an e-mail from Huiteme Art directing me to luckyscent or a few other websites to receive samples. Since I've never smelled anything in the line I'll start with one and see if it seems like a line I'd be into.

Hope you have better luck with the new contact info!

They're sending Nuits d'Hadrien, Mandragore and Mandragore Pourpre (had asked for Vetiver but they didn't have it in sample form and the rep said Pourpre had vetiver in the base). Excited to give them a whirl as I can't find anywhere to try them where I live.

I emailed Hermes about acquiring some samples and was told they only give them out for professional purposes and that I would have to travel to one of their stores.

Jack - I went through the "Contact Us" form on the Hermes USA store website (http://usa.hermes.com/customer-service/contact-us/usa). (I know that's the US version - perhaps there's also one for the UK or EU?) Anyway, specified the frags I was interested in. That got me an email a day later saying they'd be sending a package. A couple from the Jardin series and Vetiver Tonka on the way!