What To Know When Buying Used Nail Polish
Photo of nail polish bottles on shiny surface by Thanasis Papazacharias from Pixabay
Updated 2024.08.07. This post contains affiliate links and Lots of Lacquer will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
Here are Lots of Lacquer, we believe getting new polish is great but getting pre-owned nail polish, can be just as glorious.
Pre-owned nail polishes are those that have had other homes before and they can be totally new, never worn but with some bottle wear, lightly used, mostly full or heavily used and in need of restorative work.
When acquiring pre-owned nail polish, whatever level of wear, as a single or as a lot, you get to enjoy a product that has been loved before and possibly, something you would have never picked out yourself, bringing you outside of your creative box.
Pre-owned nail polishes are new to you and buying them in lots can introduce you to rare shades and never-before-seen by you colors.
While we love the feeling of a new bottle of polish, around 30-40% of our current nail polish collection comes from pre-owned stashes.
One great thing about buying pre-owned is that you can often pay less than you will pay new, so if you are building a collection, pre-owned nail polishes can be part of what paves your path.
When you are purchasing pre-owned/used nail polish, here are some pointers to keep in mind:
Photo of nail polish bottles by cottonbro from Pexels
eBay is a great place to find “out of print” shades
Have your eye on a shade that is no longer in production?
eBay sellers can sell you pre-owned but not used. Keep in mind, eBay listings sometimes index on Google, sometimes not. So when shopping for something specific, make sure you go into eBay’s search tabs within their platform to find what you are looking for before calling off the hunt.
Searching your local listings can pay off
Listings on Facebook Marketplace using the “local pick-up” option can give you a chance to meet fellow beauty connoisseurs in-person and help you score big on nail polish lots and bundles.
Best of all, Facebook Marketplace listings for nail polish frequently feature traditionally low yard sale prices, which is something we certainly get excited about.
When you find something you like and reach out to a private seller, they should be able to easily answer your questions about the products, money exchange and pickup arrangements.
If the seller makes it difficult for you to buy their products or doesn’t give you square answers about their listing, for example, they quote payments and request numbers not in the listing or they misrepresent their listing (i.e. show a bundle of nail polish for a certain price then later tell you that price was just for one), chances are something else is going on.
You may fare better saying thanks, but no thanks and walking away slowly from this “deal,” remembering that not all that glitters is gold.
Pay careful attention to the listing photo details
The way nail polishes are displayed in their listing photo can indicate how well the previous owner took care of their inventory and the quality of what you’re buying.
When buying pre-owned, how your product was cared for before purchasing matters, because the care of the product in the past directly contributes to how much of it is available for you to use now.
Getting improperly cared for bottles can lead to dried out products or sometimes no product left in the bottle at all! Improperly cared for bottles can also be quite dirty, which makes it unsanitary to use them.
If the polishes being sold are all jumbled up in a tub or in a bag, which is not the correct way to store nail polish, this is a sign you may get nail polishes with other things wrong with them.
Other warning signs are dark, fuzzy photos and polish bottles with unidentifiable labels.
Positive signs you can take from the photos alone are polish bottles lined up in a row so you can easily see the brand names, well lit photos and multiple photos of the lot from different angles, if there are many for sale in a bundle.
Sometimes you can pay nothing, nada, zero, zilch
Free Nail Polish does exist!
If you join your local Facebook Buy Nothing Group, hop on the Buy Nothing App, scan recent posts and post a request.
Neighbors who would otherwise throw away or recycle their pre-owned nail polish, may give it to you from their own abundance for absolutely nothing in return.
When buying a lot or bundle, factor in the duds
If you are buying a lot of nail polishes, there may be a few bottles in that lot which don’t have enough polish left to use, are a little dirty and need to be tossed, or are totally dried out.
This seems to be somewhat normal, so you may want to factor that into your buying offer.
It’s okay to walk
With the exception of a few rarities, like Clarins 230, if the buyer wants more for the bottle used, then you can get it new, it’s okay to walk away from the deal.
What To Know When Buying Used Nail Polish text overlay nail polish bottles
When being mindful using the tips above to purchase used/pre-owned nail polish, it can be very safe.
Nail polish includes solvents to prevent bacterial growth and many pre-owned nail polishes you’ll come across haven’t even been used at all - the seller either just enjoyed looking at them or never got around to wearing them. Believe it or not, this is more common than you think.
As with anything, use your best judgment, if it feels gross, it is. Simply toss the ones that do and keep the rest.
Purchasing pre-owned nail polish can be a bit of a wild hunt, but with persistence it’s worth it, as it can bring you into contact with out of production nail polish rarities and new to you brands.
It can also be a bit of an adventure if you’re up for it.
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