As many of my questions, this one was brought by something that I came across elsewhere: in the recent 356 perfumes in 365 days series’ post mmkinpa showed a bottle of Annick Goutal Musc Nomade that she got in a swap. That sent me thinking about swaps.
Saturday Question #75:
Do You Swap Perfume Bottles?
The question isn’t about exchanging decants or samples. But do you swap actual perfume bottles? If yes, what do you swap away? Have you ever got anything great in a swap?
My Answer
I rarely buy something impulsively. So, by the time I decide to get anything into my collection, I’ve spent some time thinking about that perfume, imagining having it, coming up with all the justifications of why I need it… And once I get that perfume, it is here to stay. I might share samples and decants from the bottle I got, but it is almost impossible for me to part with a bottle once I got it.
Not related to this, most of the swaps offered in places where I see them (NST swap meets and FB groups) would not interest me even if those perfumes were offered “for grabs” for free, so it’s completely out of question exchanging them for anything from my collection.
I need to work on letting go of perfumes that I know I won’t wear: it makes total sense to pass them onto someone who would enjoy wearing them instead of me waiting for those unloved ones to go off. But even if I manage to persuade myself to part with some of them, I think it would be easier for me psychologically to give them away than to exchange them for something else: I usually love my unloved ones still more than most of perfumes offered for swapping.
Undina's Looking Glass 
I would swap something unloved for a bottle that sounds interesting. If I don’t love my swapped scent, I can always sell it again, so no harm done
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Have you ever got anything you really liked?
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Yes, I got Eau de Lancaster and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche, both are nice in summer
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I don’t swap, per se, but if someone really loves something that is exclusively mine I will gift them the bottle, knowing that the Universe sends me another treasure. I have a very easy time letting go when I know that it makes someone else extraordinaryly happy. From as early as she 3, my mom and dad shared their bottles with me and so this perfume hobby of half a century has always been about sharing. Six family members and three dear friends and I unofficially swap. Hundreds of bottles left and hundreds have entered my life. For me, life is too short to hoard anything, bottles included.
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Age 3…..damn autocorrect!
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It still has it in for you😉
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LOL!!
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I think that the biggest gift you’ve got is that you have that many people close to you who share your hobby. It should be quite rewarding on its own.
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Yes, Undina, I completely agree!! Two of my absolute dearest friends whom I text on a daily basis I met through this hobby.
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I’ve only swapped full bottles once that I recall, through NST; I had an unloved bottle of a Miller Harris scent someone else desperately wanted, and she had a BUB of Ostara! I wasn’t really looking for another BUB, but I’m happy to have it and was happy to send the Miller Harris to someone who would treasure it.
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I think that if I saw anything I really wanted to get, I would have figured out at least something to offer. But it doesn’t make sense for me to give away something I kind of like to get something I, most likely, won’t :)
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I don’t recall ever doing a swap Undina.
Often I’ll give an unloved bottle away or sell it on. Swapping doesn’t feel like fun to me.
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I’m not good at selling anything, so for me this isn’t an option either :)
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HA! Yeah, I’m pretty terrible at selling too. Every couple of years I get a mate to help me make a cull list and I sell off 100 or so unused since last cull.
It’s very rare for me to wish I’d not and rebut, maybe 3 or 4. Can’t even remember what they were.
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I don’t swap at all. I give away bottles sometimes but don’t feel the need to replace them with something else, because too much perfume is already enough around here 😃
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Yeah, I don’t need anything unknown… and anything that I know and want I usually get long before I see it in a swap (even though I don’t need that :) )
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Tue Perfume Lovers London live swap events were great because you’d had in say, three bottles, and then have say 80 others to choose from. It was a lot of fun. I’ve never swapped one on one though. Like others, i give away or sell.
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I wouldn’t mind doing the swapping in person or passing some of my perfume on people I know. It’s the “official” swapping that doesn’t attract me.
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I have swapped bottles in the past. Being an impulse buyer I occasionally end up with something I don’t love or even actively dislike. Usually I sell but sometimes I find someone who is looking for what I have and vice versa, so I’ll swap. But usually it’s hard to find a good match. :-). It’s easier just to give away or sell.
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I can never figure out what would be a fair swap, so for me it’s easier to find and buy a bottle than to try to swap for it.
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Obviously I swap – but have only done so a few times during an NST swap meet. Every time – swapped away something I bought blind (try not to do that anymore!) At the moment I have a couple of bottles that might make a future swap but I try them in all seasons to make sure. I do enjoy swapping decants – I’d rather share something from a large bottle that I enjoy but don’t wear much, for something I have always wanted to try (safer blind “purchase”). I also enjoy giving away sample packs and items that aren’t going to generate swap interest.
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Sharing or swapping samples (1-3 ml) or larger decants (5-10 ml) is something that I’ve done multiple times, and there I feel much better. It’s bottles that are hard for me :)
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I haven’t so far, or even really looked into any opportunities to swap, but suppose I would if the situation made sense.
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Do you visit any FB groups where people swap perfumes or NST?
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No, although I do read articles on NST sometimes. Will keep those in mind in case I’m ever ready to swap.
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I do buy blind, and sometimes impulsively. After about 7 years of collecting, I have participated in four swaps, all perfect. I too dislike the idea of selling a really nice perfume. (And after many years of reading Ebay Feedbacks, I’m reluctant to sell anything second hand!) But I have a feeling you seem to suggest, Undina, in that while I might not like or want to wear something, perfume is a valuable item that has a personal quality. But I found by working through an established perfume lover’s swap group, it was easier to let an item go where I knew it would be appreciated for what it was. No one in my acquaintance has the fascination with perfume that I do, except my sister who focuses on a few favorites. I think swapping is fun among real perfume fans, and I was offered things I requested, and things that were similar and/or a match value-wise. So that is nice. My only restriction is that I trade bottles for bottles (there’s that personal quality thing, I think), though bottle size and quantities don’t have to match as far as I am concerned, and one other person said the same to me.
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More and more I prefer bottles for anything that is larger than 5 ml. I’m prepared to pay more for a travel bottle from the brand instead of buying a larger decant.
Even though I was actively buying things from Ebay (and usually without any issues), I’ve never sold anything there, and even a though of it gives me anxiety. Swaps among perfume enthusiasts seems safer, but still… Maybe one day if I see something I like…
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Yes, I have swapped loads. It started aeons ago at swapmania on the posse, back in the days when there weren’t any postal restrictions, and postal costs abroad did not break the bank, or HAD to be insured to arrive securely. So first it was swapmania and MUA (rip), and yes it was bottles I might have bought to fast, or because I thought I would like them based on notes, or my tastes had changed.
It was such a great experience, and the generosity from the community was overwhelming.
Now, I simply feel I have too much to buy more, and so swapping is great. If I really want a “new” perfume and someone is looking to swap a perfume that I’m interested in, it’s just a great way to add to my collection without getting even more. My last swaps were Tabac Blonde and Angelique Noir.
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Just out of curiosity: what did you exchange for Angelique Noir? This is one of my favorites (I have a decant of it though), but I can’t imagine what I would offer for a partial bottle of it.
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Maybe now is the time to buy it especially since Guerlain is changing its bottles for the L’Art et la Matiere line, among others. Bergdorfs had (maybe still had) a buy 2 get the third free promotion about a month or so ago but I didn’t bite since I already have the bottles I wanted.
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Good to know. I’ll think if I really want it and be on a lookout for a promotion or discount. Thanks!
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Of course, that was an amouage (beach hut, on her wish list) and a partial jo Malone rose and white musk from the oriental line.
Angelique Noir is a most wonderful perfume.
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Do bears s*** in the woods, haha? I have done 75+ swap trades on MUA, some of which were bottles rather than samples. Not done so lately, but I absolutely would!
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Wow… I didn’t realize that you were that active back in the day :)
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I have done a few swaps on the Fragrantica board and I’ve gotten a couple of things I really liked such as La Chase de Papillons and L’Artisan’s Oiellet Sauvage. I also got an Annayake incense scent that I really liked in a swap. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve done any swapping as I’ve become a lot more careful in what I buy.
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Hm… I wonder if I always have been careful with my purchases, or if I actually just can’t let them go and persuade myself that I like them all? :)
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I’m sure I’ve swapped bottles but I really don’t recall what I gave up. I have given out some freebie bottles although only a handful. I have a problem of not wanting to give up a bottle but I should change my mindset since I have quite a few bottles languishing.
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I will think about letting go of some bottles… I’m not sure I can do it, but I’ll think about it :)
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