They sell empty bottles of Aesop luxury soap on Marketplace to make money

Montrealers sell empty bottles of Aesop brand hand soap on Marketplace. While the product (soap and bottle) sells for $55 in stores, resellers display the empty containers at $25 on the Facebook platform.

“Life is hard right now. We do what we can to survive. It costs so much that at least like that I can get some money back,” explains Francis*, who has already sold four of the seven Aesop bottles he put up for sale.

“Useful for your decoration at home, your restaurant, your bar or your cafe,” we can read in its ad.

In addition to recovering around 45% of the initial price, Francis believes he is doing a good deed for the planet. “Why throw away plastic that can still be used?” he asks.

He nevertheless admits to being the subject of mockery.

“People laugh at me, but I don’t care as long as I make a little money without doing much,” he assures.

Katarina*, for her part, displayed five empty Aesop containers on Marketplace. They are offered at $25 each.

“I was giving them away for free at first, but influencers – who want to have them in the background of their videos or show that they have taste and money – started offering me money, especially for old bottles, which are glass and not plastic,” she explains in an interview with 24 hours.

Montreal seems to be at the forefront of this trend. At the time of writing the article, no Aesop brand bottles were displayed on Marketplace in New York or in Paris.

An Australian success

Created in 1987, Aesop is known for its minimalist aesthetic and the scents of its products. The Australian brand would have succeeded in creating a “cult” around its image, it was argued. Vice et Elle UK.

The company’s success is such that the French giant L’Oréal bought Aesop in April 2023 for $3.3 billion, the largest acquisition in its history.

Aesop has nearly 400 stores worldwide.

Authentic bottles?

A brand as well-known as Aesop is necessarily exposed to copying.

On Ebay or Etsy, empty bottles that appear authentic are sold for between $3 and $35, from the United States or the United Kingdom.

But how do you know if they are real?

“It’s impossible to know,” says a salesman at an Aesop store in Montreal who was aware that empty bottles of the brand are being exchanged on the internet. “They [les racheteurs] totally miss the true brand experience,” he says.

*First names have been changed