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Beauty Swap Article on Yahoo Finance (There's A Huge Online 'Black Market' For Beauty Sample Castoffs)

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The "black market" part is kind of misleading. Great article! I still have to make my swap list! 
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I have to agree. We're not a black market since black markets are to procure things illegally. Members here paid for the products they received in their beauty boxes and the vast majority are swapping (free trade) with other women for the items they want. We're more of a swap meet not a black market.

A new black market for beauty products has emerged online. 

Women who don't like their Glossybox or Birchbox samples are flocking to online forums and Facebook groups to swap with others, reports Kathleen Hou at Fashionista

The top Facebook group, Beauty Box Swaps, has more than 2,000 fans. And users on the forum MakeUpTalk have whole inventory lists devoted to what they have and what they want. 

"Trading has completely transformed how I’ve thought about these monthly boxes,†enthusiast Meagan Senesac told Hou. “I have hated certain items in boxes and had no idea what to do with them. Now, I really don’t care what I get in a box because I know I can probably trade it with someone.†

But while the experience is fun for consumers, it also highlights a problem in the beauty samples market. 

"“The waste element in the discovery platform [beauty subscription boxes] is too big,†Hou writes,  suggesting that beauty box companies should find a way to incorporate trading and personalization into their business models. 

This isn't the first time consumers have taken grievances with a business into their own hands. 

Shoppers responded to Lululemon's harsh return policy by creating a huge black market on eBay.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/black+market black market noun 1. the illicit buying and selling of goods in violation of legal price controls, rationing, etc.
2. a place where such activity is carried on.

 
Interesting read!  Thanks for posting!  I love trading here on MUT!  I only wish I would have started sooner!

 
I think the term they should have used is "gray market," but that term and "black market" are sometimes used interchangeably even though they actually have different meanings: gray is unofficial but still (more or less) legal, and black is typically flat-out illegal.

 
Oooo the misuse of the term "black market" makes me angry.
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"“The waste element in the discovery platform [beauty subscription boxes] is too big,†Hou writes,  suggesting that beauty box companies should find a way to incorporate trading and personalization into their business models.
I don't understand the suggestion to incorporate trading into the subscription service business model. I feel like trades are done across different subscription services because each service is associated with certain companies/brands. So isolating trade won't really tell them what they need or want (which is to see what products will improve their sales).  Because I think that they won't be able to create any data trends or create clusters amongst their membership with the limited selection of items for that particular subscription.

IF ANYTHING, these subscription services better go research sites like this and other swap forums to gather their data and see what their samples are being traded for. Then maybe they can go and partner with those companies in the future.

 

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