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I'm thinking of opening a decant website [UK]

post #1 of 13
11/22/12 at 3:22am
Thread Starter 
One thing I've realized over the past few years since I got heavily into fragrances is that I enjoy purchasing a new smell, using it for a few months and then it languishes unused for a while whilst waiting to undergo a brief resurgence.

It is around this point it normally finds its way onto eBay where its sold for a fraction of what I've paid and usually still around 80% full.

Recently my tastes appear to have got more extravagant and moved way beyond what I was satisfied with earlier which then lead me to a revelation.

What if I were to open a website offering decant services? In my opinion 20ml would do me fine as its a great amount of any smell plus it makes things a lot more affordable.

Are there any complications I should be aware of? For peace of mind I intended to either video the whole decant process to show everyone gets what they pay for or upload the original purchase receipt along with a photo showing the progress of decant along with a "total amount sold" tally so alls fair and above board.

What say you? I'm based in the UK and not interested in making a profit, just covering costs and expanding my collection of olfactory pleasures.

Thanks for reading
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post #2 of 13
11/22/12 at 3:43am
Maybe you could start to buy decants instead of full bottles and avoid the problem.
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post #3 of 13
11/22/12 at 3:49am
You mean a UK site dedictaed solely to non-profit decants/splits? I hope you have a lot of free-time on your hands!
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post #4 of 13
11/22/12 at 4:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by d4N13L View Post

Maybe you could start to buy decants instead of full bottles and avoid the problem.

I would if there was anyone in the UK that vended what I want but that doesn't seem the case. Do you know anywhere?

Quote:
Originally Posted by morrison74 View Post

You mean a UK site dedictaed solely to non-profit decants/splits? I hope you have a lot of free-time on your hands!

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Just a way for me to get a nice range and help people out at the same time. Why do you think it would take a lot of time?
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post #5 of 13
11/22/12 at 6:42am
If you're so inclined, give it a try.
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post #6 of 13
11/22/12 at 8:06am
2 hands WAY up! U should definitely talk to Grant. If he'd allow u to partner this as free-of-service or even membership-fee based via basenotes, I think w/o a doubt it'll fly!! The recent struggles @ the perfumed court across the pond is disheartening to say the least..

Morrison74 is implying u'd need someone to sit there full time & do the messy work of spraying into smaller vials. 1 thing I learned by coming from Taiwan is the concept of "American Time" & devotions to a single purpose, no matter how silly a hobby, has the potential to generate unexpected results(EBay 1st started off trading beanie babies).
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post #7 of 13
11/22/12 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by googl.plex1 View Post

2 hands WAY up! U should definitely talk to Grant. If he'd allow u to partner this as free-of-service or even membership-fee based via basenotes, I think w/o a doubt it'll fly!! The recent struggles @ the perfumed court across the pond is disheartening to say the least..

Great idea, how would I contact him? I might be being a bit dim but could you explain what you meant by membership? Also, what issues were they having at the Court?

Quote:
Originally Posted by googl.plex1 View Post

Morrison74 is implying u'd need someone to sit there full time & do the messy work of spraying into smaller vials. 1 thing I learned by coming from Taiwan is the concept of "American Time" & devotions to a single purpose, no matter how silly a hobby, has the potential to generate unexpected results(EBay 1st started off trading beanie babies).

Ah, I see. Well, that wouldn't be a problem for me as I'm self employed and work from home so my time is my own in that sense Interesting, I'd never thought this would have the potential to be huge but when I think about it, who wouldn't want a larger range for a smaller price?


I've been giving this some serious thought this afternoon and I think I've come up with a really workable concept (and a really neat name/brand):

I was thinking of doing fixed size decants of say 20/25ml as I feel that is a reasonable amount of any fragrance (plus its the maximum I've ever used from a bottle before reselling it to chase something new) plus running a "Wanted List" of say 5 different frags and then picking the one with most votes, buying, decanting, moving onto the next one. Sort of like one new smell each month. I'm actually feeling quite good about this idea
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post #8 of 13
11/22/12 at 11:33am
Dear 61824,

Grant's email:

grant.osborne@basenotes.net
grant@basenotes.net

I hope I'm not causing infractions by sharing his public emails online; it's Thanksgiving after all..

I've always thought the mission statement 4 Basenotes and Basenoters alike is along the lines of ".. development of fledgling perfumistas and dissemination of fragrant related knowledge/resources to members of this close-knit fraternity, as a basis 4 future education franchise." As such, incoming members should be exposed to as many fragrances as possible while experienced noses/supporters embrace themselves w/ varsity courses/indepdent studies. Ur solution seems to be the missing ingredient. Now I digressed..

The founders of TPC split up & divested into another called surrendertochance.com. Just google & u'll find info aplenty.

Back to cooking turkey b4 it's cooked!
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post #9 of 13
11/22/12 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 61824 View Post


Recently my tastes appear to have got more extravagant and moved way beyond what I was satisfied with earlier which then lead me to a revelation.

Les Senteurs is the only UK-based site that I know of.

Some niche companies are actually cheaper to buy samples from direct than decanting services / eBay (e.g slumberhouse, le labo, Lush). I always check their own site as well as others to compare.

Getting in on splits here on BN is a good way to sample larger volumes - I had a look at Kron's split post and am awaiting a couple of orders.
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post #10 of 13
11/22/12 at 6:50pm
61824 check out Crystal Flacon. It's a group of people all around the world (USA and UK mainly) that sell decants. It may give you some ideas?
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post #11 of 13
11/22/12 at 7:55pm
Thank you for sharing. I really like the idea.
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post #12 of 13
11/22/12 at 8:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 61824 View Post

I was thinking of doing fixed size decants of say 20/25ml as I feel that is a reasonable amount of any fragrance (plus its the maximum I've ever used from a bottle before reselling it to chase something new) plus running a "Wanted List" of say 5 different frags and then picking the one with most votes, buying, decanting, moving onto the next one. Sort of like one new smell each month. I'm actually feeling quite good about this idea

This sounds more like a split service--which is just fine, but you might want to use the term split instead of decant, because "decant" is likely to suggest a substantial selection, whereas "split" would better communicate what you're doing.
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post #13 of 13
11/23/12 at 10:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by southerngardens View Post

61824 check out Crystal Flacon.

+1 To OP, it's not exactly a brand new idea but who knows? Maybe you can revolutionize something.
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