Ebay and Shellac......

[Laura Andrews]

Does anyone else get really upset with the fact Shellac is all over Ebay..... I have spent so much money on shellac, when i see it all over ebay it guts me, maybe something should be done about it. Products like Calgel seem to be able to keep it to a minimum.

 

[Sher16]

Does anyone else get really upset with the fact Shellac is all over Ebay..... I have spent so much money on shellac, when i see it all over ebay it guts me, maybe something should be done about it. Products like Calgel seem to be able to keep it to a minimum.

Doesnt bother me as its extortionate, so any client who buys it is silly as it costs alot plus they dont know how to use it properly so it is therefore a waste of money. Also 95% is most probably knock off i.e. "Bluesky shellac"

You could spend life being annoyed at things like that so try not to worry xx your clients will come to you for your SKILL in applying said products to them to last.

 

[Angelaznailz]

I have one client who still comes to me for minx & waxing, who blatantly told me that she bought a lamp and Shellac from ebay. She tried to justify it by saying that she didnt have the time to go to a salon every 10 days to get her nails done.
Bloomin' cheek.
She's also tried wax strips, but she soon found out what we all know........... that they don't work well.:lol:

 

[Laura Andrews]

Doesnt bother me as its extortionate, so any client who buys it is silly as it costs alot plus they dont know how to use it properly so it is therefore a waste of money. Also 95% is most probably knock off i.e. "Bluesky shellac"

You could spend life being annoyed at things like that so try not to worry xx your clients will come to you for your SKILL in applying said products to them to last.

I see what your saying, and i know most of my clients come to me for the professionalism, It's just that it's supposed to be a salon treatment. It just annoys me you can buy a bottle of shellac for £16.89 of ebay obviously i don't know if it's the real deal it looks like it. Alot of my clients stick to the same colour aswell, and thats with out any postage i dont know how much you pay but its not far from what i do xxxxxx Anyway like ya say it's not worth the head space but i still think something should be done about it x

 

[Sher16]

I see what your saying, and i know most of my clients come to me for the professionalism, It's just that it's supposed to be a salon treatment. It just annoys me you can buy a bottle of shellac for £16.89 of ebay obviously i don't know if it's the real deal it looks like it. Alot of my clients stick to the same colour aswell, and thats with out any postage i dont know how much you pay but its not far from what i do xxxxxx Anyway like ya say it's not worth the head space but i still think something should be done about it x

I agree hun. Would be sooooo hard for s2/cnd to follow up on all of them though - its like folk selling fake label clothes they do get caught eventually but difficult. I am sure s2 and cnd are more irrate about it than us!

Yes they can buy it for £20 or so a bottle, but its prob not real shellac afterall they will find it doesnt last and may risk an allergic reaction AND they need all the extras to do it; cnd lamp, base & top, scrubfresh, dsperse & mani tools. They may as well pop to salon every 2 weeks...or take better care and come every 3 weeks but obviously we encourage fortnightly shellacing ! ;-) x

Keep smiling :-D x

 

[vicstarcox]

Bio sculpture told me on my training course that if they find someone selling on eBay they get there account closed, not sure if they actually do this.

I think the main problem is that you do not have to have shellac training
to buy the product, so people that maybe don't even offer the service can buy to make a profit by selling to general public.

With bio sculpture the only people that can buy it are trained and have paid quite a bit of money to do this so we all want to keep the products as exclusive as poss x x

 

[SamIam]

What bothers me the most is that people with licenses are buying the product and then selling it on eBay. Two timing if you ask me. But no biggie because in the not too distant future gel polish will be available anywhere and everywhere.

 

[NancySyd]

I agree hun. Would be sooooo hard for s2/cnd to follow up on all of them though - its like folk selling fake label clothes they do get caught eventually but difficult. I am sure s2 and cnd are more irrate about it than us!

Yes they can buy it for £20 or so a bottle, but its prob not real shellac afterall they will find it doesnt last and may risk an allergic reaction AND they need all the extras to do it; cnd lamp, base & top, scrubfresh, dsperse & mani tools. They may as well pop to salon every 2 weeks...or take better care and come every 3 weeks but obviously we encourage fortnightly shellacing ! ;-) x

Keep smiling :-D x

It is a waste of your precious time and energy to be annoyed over such things. There are people who are DIYers by nature (I am one) and it is not a repudiation of professionals. Regular nail polish, L&P and all manner of enhancements have been available to everyone for decades and yet the nail industry flourished. Gel services respond to women's biggest complaints about nail services (smudging and durability) and have the potential to bring millions of women back into salons - the data from this year show that. People come to you for your skill and for the quality of the experience you provide, not your access to products.

There are (at least) two different issues here. One is DIYers buying professional products - that is an issue we are unlikely to agree upon. Any Tom, **** or Harry can buy a chain saw at Home Depot - it seems foolish to get your panties in a bunch over nail polish being available!

The other issue is counterfeit products and unfortunately professionals fall into that trap almost as often as DIYers. Anyone who is trying to get something for cheap is a target for the counterfeiter, and I have little sympathy for people who don't do their due diligence.

 

[Katechaos]

It is a waste of your precious time and energy to be annoyed over such things. There are people who are DIYers by nature (I am one) and it is not a repudiation of professionals. Regular nail polish, L&P and all manner of enhancements have been available to everyone for decades and yet the nail industry flourished. Gel services respond to women's biggest complaints about nail services (smudging and durability) and have the potential to bring millions of women back into salons - the data from this year show that. People come to you for your skill and for the quality of the experience you provide, not your access to products.

There are (at least) two different issues here. One is DIYers buying professional products - that is an issue we are unlikely to agree upon. Any Tom, **** or Harry can buy a chain saw at Home Depot - it seems foolish to get your panties in a bunch over nail polish being available!

The other issue is counterfeit products and unfortunately professionals fall into that trap almost as often as DIYers. Anyone who is trying to get something for cheap is a target for the counterfeiter, and I have little sympathy for people who don't do their due diligence.

Most professionals on here are more concerned about possible allergic reactions and other issues. I personally know clients can not do the I am able to give them at home. Noone has "their panties in a bunch" Would you do to an alleyway for surgery? NO. Why go to ebay for shellac. To compare buying a chainsaw for home repair is very different to applying CHEMICALS to your body. Who knows what is in knockoff Shellac. It scares me to think of the possible reactions to some untrained person at home trying to use professional products.

 

[NancySyd]

Most professionals on here are more concerned about possible allergic reactions and other issues. I personally know clients can not do the I am able to give them at home. Noone has "their panties in a bunch" Would you do to an alleyway for surgery? NO. Why go to ebay for shellac. To compare buying a chainsaw for home repair is very different to applying CHEMICALS to your body. Who knows what is in knockoff Shellac. It scares me to think of the possible reactions to some untrained person at home trying to use professional products.

Clearly you did not read what I said/wrote - I have no sympathy for anyone, pro or DIY, who buys counterfeit/knockoff products for their own use or (especially) for use on clients. It is penny wise and pound foolish to mess with that stuff.

But that's a very different issue than DIYers buying legitimate professional products. I do not but knockoffs; I buy the real thing from legitimate distributors. Gel polish is not rocket science or surgery. It is well within the skill set of most women (as is using regular polish) and is becoming mainstream DIY. Witness Red Carpet Manicure and SensatioNail. As a former pro, I have done more research on the products than most pros. I don't want a salon experience (most times); I want the DIY experience and there's nothing about SOGP that makes it unreasonable for me to have it.

As I said, I doubt if we'll agree upon this, but you must reconcile yourself to the fact that legitimate professional products are easily available to non-pros.That ship has already sailed.

BTW, I suspect that you can do as much, if not more, damage with a chainsaw as you can with a bottle of nail polish.

 

[sophiegees]

I import directly from China. However I will not import any 'products' ie nail polish or any beauty products that would be applied to the skin or nail. And I will not import anything intended for children. Also I would never buy any branded product as it will be fake. For all the above I would only buy from legitimate UK wholesalers.

People who sell on ebay (eg bluesky shellac) are importing from china and these products have not been tested or anything so in my opinion it is very irresponsible to sell them.

I have a dilema over false eyelashes at the moment - I may sell them but would purchase the glue from the UK

However Ebay is not all bad - we sell on ebay but only sell certain products. I do not understand how people can sell 'genuine' shellac for the same price as you buy it from Sweet Squared

xx

 

[Ammej85]

Eve Taylor are part of the Vero programme on eBay. Try buying ET skincare on there, you can't. Listings immediately get removed.
I'm sure S2 and CND could do this.

Although on the plus, the majority of the Shellac is overpriced, the lamp sometimes sells for double! So at least from a clients POV they realise that it costs quite a bit for the therapist to do the service do they mat think 'oh £xx for my Shellac is actually very reasonable'

 

[NancySyd]

I understand what you are saying, that people other than professionals can use professional products, but I am afraid I do have to say that, as a professional with 10 years experience, years of training and 8 years of salon ownership under my belt, I am slightly offended by this statement. The use of professional products may not be 'rocket science' but it is a skill/artform backed up with specific training to enable safe and effective use of the products. I may have read this incorrectly, but to me it comes across in the same manner in which a client might say whilst I am applying her nail enancements 'oh this is so easy to do isn't it, I think I will look into being a nail tech cos can't be hard'... this is said many a time by clients opposite me. It doesn't offend me because I take flattery in the fact I must be making it look easy. I giggle a little secretly inside and think 'ok love...' because I KNOW it may look easy but it is a skill for which I am proud to have trained in and become very knowledgable and experienced in over the years. I don't agree that these professional products should be widely available for general use - they were created and developed for professional use for good reasons. I do agree that general use of a professional product will always be there - people always find a way to put it out there to non-professionals but I certainly don't condone it. I would be offended if a client told me they went out and bought a Shellac system to do at home - not because I lose money but because it undermines the job that I do.

I am sorry. Please understand that by saying SOGP isn't rocket science, I did not mean to insult or offend. Just because something is doable doesn't mean it isn't worth going to a skilled professional for that service. What I was trying to say (however clumsily) is that it doesn't require great skill to simply paint one's nails. I know that a professional does far more than that. I don't do nail art or L&P, or many other professional level services because I don't do them well - SOGP I can do and I do it quite well. Do I do it as well as a pro? - probably not, but it's still very good.

In addition to a great result, I especially want to acknowledge the experience that a nail tech provides - the pampering, the massages, etc. because that is what I think keeps people coming back. I do occasionally go to my favorite nail tech because I want that experience. But there is also a DIY experience that many people want. I really enjoy sitting at home in front of my tv at 2 am when the kids are asleep doing my nails. I enjoy the relaxation and the satisfaction of doing it myself. I like trying new colours and techniques and changing up at the drop of a hat. It is not a repudiation of professionals. DIY is simply a different experience.
Surely, you understand the joy of that.

There will always be people who think they can do your job better and cheaper - most of them are wrong and will be back in your chairs shortly. But well-informed competent DIY is a firmly established tradition in many areas of endeavour. Don't fight it; it is not a threat in any way to professionals. It is a complement/compliment to your work.

 

[Nickilou]

For me it's not the DIY people who simply enjoy trying out products on themselves bit annoying that they can get hold of the product but your never gonna be able to stop that - it's the DIY ers who are advertising shellac services as professionals that gets me - they have no qualifications therefore no insurance they are undercutting professionals saying they can do it cheaper ! Just because they can get hold of it on eBay !!

 

[AmeliaR]

S2 actually do quite alot to stop this happening and close many account because of it! but for every account they close theres someone els starting to do it!

 

[NancySyd]

For me it's not the DIY people who simply enjoy trying out products on themselves bit annoying that they can get hold of the product but your never gonna be able to stop that - it's the DIY ers who are advertising shellac services as professionals that gets me - they have no qualifications therefore no insurance they are undercutting professionals saying they can do it cheaper ! Just because they can get hold of it on eBay !!

I think we all agree that misrepresentation or acting illegally is wrong and not in anyone's (pro, DIY or clients) best interest. The undercutting of professionals is bad enough, but endangering clients is totally unacceptable to all of us.

 

[mum]

For me it's not the DIY people who simply enjoy trying out products on themselves bit annoying that they can get hold of the product but your never gonna be able to stop that - it's the DIY ers who are advertising shellac services as professionals that gets me - they have no qualifications therefore no insurance they are undercutting professionals saying they can do it cheaper ! Just because they can get hold of it on eBay !!

This is the right attitude. Pro products will always be available to home users. Look at hair colours, perms, waxing, even electrical facials etc. Polish has always been available to 'both sides' but, hopefully, most clients know that they cannot paint as good as a pro. Hair colours, waxing and any number of treatments cannot be carried out as well as by a professional.

Forget the DIYers and home users and concentrate on your own skills and make them better. It isn't a new phenomenon. It's been going on longer than nails salons and beauty salons and it hasn't stopped the massive growth that the industry has experienced

 

[NancySyd]

This is the right attitude. Pro products will always be available to home users. Look at hair colours, perms, waxing, even electrical facials etc. Polish has always been available to 'both sides' but, hopefully, most clients know that they cannot paint as good as a pro. Hair colours, waxing and any number of treatments cannot be carried out as well as by a professional.

Forget the DIYers and home users and concentrate on your own skills and make them better. It isn't a new phenomenon. It's been going on longer than nails salons and beauty salons and it hasn't stopped the massive growth that the industry has experienced

I absolutely agree and would even take it a step further. Don't forget the DIYers, embrace them. DIYers, particularly in this area, tend to be in the vanguard. We are, in Gladwell-speak, mavens. Use us to introduce new products and brands; use us to make clear the distinction between DIY and pro; Use us to demand higher standards and better products. On the DIY boards you'll find a lot of warnings about doing this correctly or not doing it at all, as well as lots of referrals to pros. We really do get the level of training, education and experience to do some of the mind-blowing artistry we've seen on these boards. Pros and DIYers are women who get excited about the same thing - NAILS! (albeit at different levels.) I have introduced at least a dozen friends to SOGPs and all but one now go to professional nail techs. Most of them didn't even get manis at all before; now they're in the salons every 2-3 weeks.