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How Do You Feel About Making Such a Big Investment into Cologne Collecting??

post #1 of 11
3/3/10 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 
for most of us here.. my question is...
as a collector or connoisseur, how do you feel about spending so much money on cologne that may not last more than 5-10 years AT BEST??

Do you feel like you'll wear out ALL of your cologne you have, or do you not really care?
Are you in it for the bottle collecting and do you see a rise in value of these in the far future??

I come from a background of collecting video game systems, and while the silicon and electronics arent guaranteed to last a lifetime, i do have confidence they'll live longer than i will. So ive invested quite alot into this hobby.

As far as cologne goes, im still new and have a guilty pleasure and guilt spending on such a thing that may not be of any value to me or anyone else 10+ years from now.

How do you feel???
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post #2 of 11
3/3/10 at 8:34am
Speaking for myself, I don't have a problem buying a bottle for $30-40 or whatever that will last several years (I have yet to buy a full bottle at niche prices). I almost always finish my bottles eventually and replace the ones I like the most. This is a hobby, so researching, testing and exploring the "world" of fragrances is very enjoyable. I am fairly certain that I'll still be interested 5-10 years' time and most likely even longer. If I buy something I don't enjoy, I can always sell it here or ebay.

These are a few of my thoughts on your question.
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post #3 of 11
3/3/10 at 8:51am
I'm new here too. I don't plan on buying more than 20 or 30 bottles at the most, so hopefully I can use up most of my frags. My thought here is that they are meant to be used, not hoarded.

I won't ever invest in any celebrity scents or the truly old and rare juice. Instead my focus so far has been to find some different high quality frags that are perhaps not so common. The goal for me is to discover new and beautiful scents, support small perfume houses and hopefully not smell like everyone else. My apologies to all those Obsession wearers...

However, I do have an antique bottle fetish which are pricey. I feel those will definitely hold their value. As an antiques dealer the historical aspect of parfumerie is quite intriguing.
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post #4 of 11
3/3/10 at 9:08am
That's a good question. I myself don't have problems with it. But if I look at it in a practical point of view, definitely it is not advisable to waste your money on something whose value does not increase. But if you're happy with collecting bottles, why not? ultimately, the question is whether or not you enjoy the hobby or not.
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post #5 of 11
3/3/10 at 9:58am
Who says they won't last more than 5 or 10 years? Many of us have fragrances well over 20 years old and they're just fine. My Antaeus is from the 80's and it's still wonderful. Certainly fragrances have gone bad but how many of those were stored well and protected from common perfume killing conditions such as bright light, heat, and temperature cycling? With proper storage perfumes can last a long time as evidenced by the number of vintage bottles collectively owned by members here. Your concern may be based on a false premise; you have less to fear than you think.

Plus, this is not an investment. I do not plan on seeing a financial return on my perfumes. By their nature as a consumable product they depreciate. While I do not have more perfume to last my lifetime, even if I did I would not worry about using it all. This is a hobby and they are for my enjoyment, nothing more in my opinion.
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post #6 of 11
3/3/10 at 10:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by *bloomy* View Post

I'm new here too. I don't plan on buying more than 20 or 30 bottles at the most, so hopefully I can use up most of my frags.

That could take anywhere from 20-30 years
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post #7 of 11
3/3/10 at 10:58am
Considering I used to spend $ on hundreds of music CDs which I hardly listen to anymore, perfumes seem to make much better sense. And I seldom go for full bottles anyway, preferring small decants and samples - ample supply for me to enjoy this hobby and keep me smelling divine.
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post #8 of 11
3/3/10 at 11:52am
I have a small collection that consists of 45 perfumes and I think that they will last for years and years to come. I am not addicted to perfumes and I care more about time and my peace of mind, just imagine for the next 10 years or so you don't have to search or even think about buying a perfume and going to the department store to test so many different scents just to buy one, how much time and money you will save that way?

Life is short, just get over with it!
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post #9 of 11
3/3/10 at 4:30pm
I have to quibble about "5-10 years AT BEST??" Many perfumes have lasted decades longer than this. They're not guaranteed to last that long, but many of them do. I'd say that "at best" is more like fifty years.
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post #10 of 11
3/3/10 at 5:02pm
I buy because scent is a part of my life. They are an indulgence, not an investment.
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post #11 of 11
3/3/10 at 5:27pm
I just moved my collection from a bedroom dresser-top (in what is a pretty dark and cool room naturally) to a cabinet, for two reasons: My sweetie doesn't like perfumes in the bedroom (he loves the scent of natural woman, love him) and I want to preserve my burgeoning collection of scent. I moved it to a hallway cupboard that is dark and cool... and handy when I want to dab or spritz.

I buy for the joy of scent... the joy of the sense of smell, the memories and sensations that scent awakens.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › How Do You Feel About Making Such a Big Investment into Cologne Collecting??