Buying fragrance online safely: how to avoid fakes and grey stock

Most fragrance sold online in the UK is genuine. The exceptions cluster around a small number of warning signs, and they are easy to check before you pay.

Compare against the market, not the banner A single retailer telling you a bottle is half price means nothing on its own. What matters is how that price sits against every other retailer selling the identical size and strength today. If one price sits far below a tight cluster of others, that is worth pausing over. Our [perfume comparison](/compare-perfumes) shows the live spread across tracked UK retailers so an outlier is visible immediately.

Know the difference between fake and grey A counterfeit is a different liquid in a copied bottle. Grey-market stock is genuine product sold outside the brand's authorised distribution — often perfectly fine, sometimes older stock, usually without the brand's warranty or gift packaging. The two get conflated constantly. Grey stock is legal; counterfeit is not.

Signs worth checking Look for a UK business address and a working returns policy, not just a contact form. Check whether the listing states the exact size and concentration; vague listings that skip the strength are a bad sign. Batch codes printed on the bottle and the box should match. Cellophane that is loose, uneven or seamless where it should be sealed is a common tell, as are typographical errors on the box.

Tester bottles and unboxed stock Plain-boxed "tester" bottles are genuine product intended for counters. They are usually cheaper, often lack a cap, and are perfectly good to wear. They are not a scam, but they should be sold as what they are — if a listing hides it, that tells you something about the seller.

Delivery charges and returns A low headline price with an aggressive delivery charge is a standard tactic, which is why every figure on Perfumebuddy is a landed total including published delivery. Check the returns window too: fragrance is frequently excluded from free returns once opened, so a difficult returns policy raises the real cost of a risky purchase.

Use retailers you can look up Every retailer we track has its own page showing what it stocks and how its prices compare, and our [retailer directory](/retailers) lists them all. Buying from an established UK retailer at a slightly higher price is often the better trade once you count the risk of a return you cannot make.

Card, not transfer Pay by card or through a payment provider that offers buyer protection. Never pay by bank transfer for consumer goods, however good the price. If something goes wrong, the payment method is what decides whether you get your money back.

The short version Check the size and strength, compare the total against the wider market, confirm the retailer is a real UK business with a returns policy, and pay by card. A price that is a little better than the rest is a deal; a price that is dramatically better than everyone is a question. Browse the [perfume department](/category/perfume) to see where the genuine market sits before you commit.