The pros and cons of buying at a cologne outlet are numerous and largely depend on a person’s ability to identify counterfeit or spoiled colognes and to know when he or she is actually getting a good deal. One significant advantage to purchasing through a cologne outlet is that a person can often purchase expensive cologne at highly discounted prices. It is also possible to find discontinued cologne at these outlets, which is great for finding old favorites that are no longer produced. On the other hand, there is a strong risk of purchasing old cologne that no longer smells good or counterfeit fragrances. Another problem is that a cologne outlet may have a limited selection of products on offer and simply may not have the brand or products a customer is looking for.
A cologne outlet may operate as either a brick-and-mortar or online store. Typically, these businesses purchase cologne and other fragrance products, such as dusting powder, scented body wash, or body lotion from manufacturers or retail stores and then sell these products to the public at a significant discount. As many fragrance products can be quite expensive, many people choose to shop at an outlet store to purchase so as to save money. In many cases, the products sold at a cologne outlet have been liquidated, which means that the outlet can resell these products at significantly less than their retail value. A cologne outlet can also be a great a place for finding discontinued cologne brands.
Shopping at an outlet can save consumers a lot of money, but these stores are not without their problems. Unlike major department stores, customers cannot rely on an outlet having a full selection of popular brands, nor can the consumer count on the outlet offering several different sizes of each cologne or a full stock of additional products such as perfumes, body sprays, or soaps. A cologne outlet may also not offer the opportunity to sample fragrances, and it may not provide gift-wrapping services.
A more significant concern for many shoppers is that it may be difficult to determine the condition of the products purchased at a cologne outlet. Packaging may be damaged, making a product unsuitable for gift giving. A customer may have no way of knowing how old a product is and may only realize after he or she gets home that its fragrance has been compromised. Finally, there is also the risk that the products sold in an outlet are not genuine fragrances at all, but are actually imitation fragrances sold as the real thing.