Pre-owned and Partially Used Health and Beauty Items

[Cheryl – The Lynn Company]

I noticed that all my health and beauty items such as Mary Kay and Victoria’s Secret are forcing me to pick New or New without box in condition. When I don’t choose one and only choose the straight line “-“, it won’t let me submit a listing. Is there a way to get around this? Or are we no longer allowed to list pre-owned health and beauty items?

[Jay]

That’s interesting. I wonder if Mary Kay and Victoria’s Secret has worked with eBay to only allow new items to be sold.

[IndySales]

A friend asked me to sell her nail polish collection a while back and my research led me to believe that used cosmetics of any kind weren’t allowed.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/used-cosmetics-policy?id=4290#what

This page says “Not allowed: Used cosmetics”.

[Jay]

Huh, wonder if this is new. I know we have used perfume listed.

[IndySales]

I believe perfume is fine as long as it’s in its original bottle.

[Old Dad]

The Feds regulate selling some types of used cosmetics, I think maybe eBay is going beyond those regs for CYA or lack of interest in creating the algorithms to filter those allowed.

[AtomicStar]

This is a new thing. Used perfume and beauty products can no longer be sold. People are listing them as “collectible” as a workaround.

[Antique Frog]

Damn! Just found a huge cache of John Deere “Barnyard For Men” aftershave 😉

[Old Dad]

John Deere “Barnyard For Men” aftershave

That’s funny, almost spewed my sip of morning coffee.

[almasty]

You can list used makeup on Mecari.

Does Mercari allow used makeup and cosmetics?

[Inglewood]

I’m wondering what the seller’s risk is if someone gets seriously ill (Hepatitis A for example) from used cosmetics…

I feel some items are safe (like perfume that has to be sprayed) but open lip stick, used unsterilized razors, and other items that have direct skin/”fluid” contact with the previous user may be a risk.

On the flip side, buying used cosmetics for a cheater may be a good idea…I can see a daytime talk show where a guest is like “hey baby, I didn’t get herpes from cheating on you with your brother, I got it from that used lip balm from eBay I bought!”

[almasty]

Yikes, well, that’s imaginative!

[ChristineK]

Isn’t selling used beauty products pretty unsanitary? Perfume is fine, but people really sell used lipstick or mascara? That would seem like asking for an infection.

[Julie B]

This post reminds me of when Christie’s auctioned Marilyn Monroe’s makeup case back in 1999. It contained all kinds of used makeup. If I recall, the auction house did not expect many bids. I can’t find it now but I think I remember Christie’s estimating its value at something like $5K. It ended up selling for $266,500! People wanted the stuff that had touched Marilyn’s face. So BOLO, I guess – har har.

What Was in Marilyn Monroe’s Makeup Case?

[Author]

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