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CREED and Online Retailers

post #1 of 16
9/17/10 at 9:02pm
Thread Starter 
Greetings Everyone!

Is it a bad idea to buy CREED from online discount retailers? Has anyone ever had a positive experience doing this? Thanks.
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post #2 of 16
9/17/10 at 9:12pm
If it's true that Creeds have a short life span (I have some decades old frags that are fine, but I have no Creeds, other than a few samples), then I would only buy from Creed or official retailers. If you can afford Creeds, then just buy them the "right way," IMO.
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post #3 of 16
9/17/10 at 9:12pm
I have. Just get a sample from Creed, and compare your purchase to it. If it doesn't compare, send it back. I own 4, and all have been fine. I'm pretty sure I got them all at different retailers through Amazon.
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post #4 of 16
9/17/10 at 11:42pm
Bought from Parfumsraffy several times. Seems ok, but one time I got a bottle of Acier Aluminium I had to return. The spray-mechanism was broke..
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post #5 of 16
9/17/10 at 11:49pm
I bought 3 Creeds online from official retailers and 2 from discounters.

One bottle peeled the label off which is no biggie but given that it is Aventus, methinks the bottle maker has a problem. The two purchased from discounters had no difference from other official bottles save for a small chip in the cap on my GIT. The benefit from official sources is that one is virtually assured that the fragrance is fresh.
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post #6 of 16
9/18/10 at 2:16am
Lots of people have had good experiences with getting Creed online. The problem is that lots of people have also had BAD experiences buying online. In contrast, buying in stores generally leads to good experiences, but rarely to good deals.

There are certain online vendors who are reliable for authentic Creed, although they can occasionally ship old stock. I recommend sticking to those businesses. The place where people get burned is buying from individuals at fire sale prices. These bottles are very frequently counterfeits. There is a huge industry in counterfeit Creeds, priced at a fraction of the market value. If you buy in that price range, or in auctions that start in such a range, you run a high risk of running into a counterfeit.
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post #7 of 16
9/18/10 at 2:58am
I've had both good and bad experiences buying Creeds online. The good experience was a purchase of Acier Aluminium on Ebay; it was 100% legit. The bad experience was a purchase of Millesime Imperial from Fragrancenet, which, although it appeared to be authentic, was nevertheless completely watered down and weak compared to my samples of MI from TPC and Nordstrom. I'm going to try buying a bottle of MI from the Ebayer who sold me the AA, we'll see how that goes.
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post #8 of 16
9/18/10 at 3:37am
Do u ever reply to ur own topic ? =]
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post #9 of 16
9/18/10 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohhmygod View Post

Do u ever reply to ur own topic ? =]

I have not bought any bottles of CREED yet, just decants and samples. Thanks to those who are posting responses.
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post #10 of 16
9/18/10 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
Anyone else who had good or bad experiences ordering CREED from online discounters?
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post #11 of 16
9/18/10 at 10:36am
Creeds have a short lifespan either way, even in stores you could get a bad bottle, except that you can test bottles in a store. And I don't think that applies on all creeds by the way, just the crappy fresh/aquatics. If you're getting something else you might be safe. Have you considered ebay? I know all the creed/ebay drama, but you should be fine if you do your research. Some sellers are quite knowledgeable and they might even know how old the bottle is.
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post #12 of 16
9/18/10 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ekove View Post

Creeds have a short lifespan either way, even in stores you could get a bad bottle, except that you can test bottles in a store. And I don't think that applies on all creeds by the way, just the crappy fresh/aquatics. If you're getting something else you might be safe. Have you considered ebay? I know all the creed/ebay drama, but you should be fine if you do your research. Some sellers are quite knowledgeable and they might even know how old the bottle is.

No, I have decided to stay away from ebay for CREED purchases.
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post #13 of 16
9/18/10 at 10:46am
This may sound strange, but in my experience with Creed, I find that the fragrance can appear to be stronger/more potent on bottles that are not that new. I have noticed this with Original Vetiver and Green Irish Tweed. Is it possible the age can become more potent as it settles over time?
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post #14 of 16
9/18/10 at 11:18am
My bottle of MI from Fragrancenet was perfect.
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post #15 of 16
9/18/10 at 12:40pm
I've had several good experiences buying from online discounters, but after an atrocious attempt to get Neroli Sauvage at a discount - I had to return two bottles that were either bad fakes or just horribly old - I now buy only from expensive retailers or creedboutique.com. Still, I did get very good deals on Acier Aluminum, Original Santal, Citrus Bigarrade, and Green Valley. So you might get lucky. Just depends on your tolerance for dealing with returns, etc.
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post #16 of 16
9/19/10 at 1:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamchaser View Post

This may sound strange, but in my experience with Creed, I find that the fragrance can appear to be stronger/more potent on bottles that are not that new. I have noticed this with Original Vetiver and Green Irish Tweed. Is it possible the age can become more potent as it settles over time?

I've wondered the same thing. I got my bottle of MI from a reliable Ebay seller (reliable in the sense that my bottle of AA from this seller was authentic) today. Although it smells a little better than my bottle from Fragrancenet, it's still nowhere near as good as my samples from TPC and Nordstrom. It's in the same ballpark, but still much weaker / more watered down.

If the newer Millesimes smell weak and get better over time, then my bottles from Fragrancenet and Ebay are newer than the bottles used at TPC and Nordstrom. But if Millesimes weaken over time, then my bottles are older than those bottles at TPC & Nordstorm.

So, I don't know what the heck to think. I'm debating on whether or not to send it back, or just hold on to it and hope that it developes into the same rich, creamy scent I get from my samples. How old were the bottles you found to be more potent?
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