Is Sephora black membership fake? My story - your thoughts?

#16
As a fellow Australian, I can understand your frustrations. It wasn't until I started reading threads on Reddit that I realised AU Sephora Online is actually based in Singapore, not here (which explains the lousy returns policy compared to overseas!).

I had a similar negative experience after spending over $300 during a Points Multiplier event and not receiving additional points. It took several emails back-and-forth to the tune of 'that is misleading and against Australian Law' before they eventually credited the points. It was frustrating and they initially told me that it was because my account didn't exist when the promo begin (which is irrelevant and not mentioned in any T&Cs), but could be what they're trying to get at in your situation.

The best thing you can do is take your money elsewhere. With Mecca and Adore Beauty here, there's really no need to go to busy and messy Sephora stores, and I agree with the other posters that it's probably not worth the stress. The 'black membership' gift took me ages to finally add to an order (acting entirely on principle) and it was garbage anyway. I have vowed to never order again due to bad service, so will also miss my birthday gift if that helps.
 
#17
I also agree the birthday gift is not worth arguing over, I've been happier picking out random samples at cash then receiving my free birthday gift TBH. The birthday gift is in fact sample sized products not smaller sized items like you're thinking. Plus the colours and selections are pre determined and for me they never suit my skintone, so I always end up choosing the skincare gift instead, which is nice....but again not worth arguing over! Save up your points and when there's really nice in store samples stock up! I recently spent around 2000 points on some Sunday Riley Juno oil samples and was able to refill my 2 full sized bottles LOL!!!
 
#18
You actually got great advice here - the birthday gift is not important enough to waste your energy on.

Sephora gives out so many samples: 1. two samples when you checkout, 2. redeemed rewards points, 3. a list of beauty offers if you spend a certain (small amount), 4. you can even ask for free samples in store.

I recall that the birthday gifts were not even that great but the same items pop up again in other sample groups above. If you really want to try it badly, just ask for a free sample when you are in the store.
 
#19
I have to say Sephora is overly generous that always offering significant amount of free sample , or even full size of product, thus causing too much junk right now cluttering my cosmetics cabinet and drawers. Sometime when I looked at those birthday gift bag or boxes that got from Sephora, I wondered why I even agreed to take them at the 1st place....If someone is closeby that needed these samples I am very pleased to give away. Also those perfume samples......Oooouch...:sick:
 
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#20
@Lisa-SH I feel you there. Recently, I started making gift bags with all of my unused deluxes and minis and giving them away to people. They seem to really enjoy them, and it makes me feel good because I know I’m not wasting them. If you ever get totes or makeup bags as gifts, I would pack them in those to give away.
 
#22
You def should have gotten the birthday gift but as others have stated, it's not something to waste your energy getting this upset over. I would bring the email to a physical store and try to get it in person. It's not fair what happened, but again, I wouldn't let myself get that upset over it.

I don't think that Sephora's membership program is fake at all, I just think that certain store locations (and this goes for all stores, not just Sephora) have customer service issues that need to be fixed. You were promised something that wasn't given and that is a bit disappointing.

But again, don't waste your energy being upset. They mostly give sample sizes in the birthday gift anyways. I get more frustrated when I pay for things, order them and then USPS or someone loses the package. Then you contact them and nobody helps you even after filing a claim lol. Sorry I got kinda off topic :smile:
 
#23
snibor said:
Sigh. Not worth your time. You asked for advice and you’re not liking the responses. I wouldn’t worry about the birthday samples and move on. Way too much effort being expended on this. Good luck.
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It's actually kind of hilarious that someone is so upset over the promo items she was supposed to get for her birthday as part of a rewards program.

She's def using that experience in "one of the world's top law departments" to fight the fights that really matter. Who cares about clean water or world peace? Mass incarceration? Genocide? It's the Sephora birthday gift scam that needs attention from the world's top legal minds!!!
 
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#24
The fact that you wasted even 10 mins on an email to Sephora about this is nuts. This isn’t worth any amount of time on any day. And now you’ve made posts here, written multiple emails to a brand over promotional sized products?

If you are some fancy lawyer you can afford to hit the 300 tier next year before your birthday and get the lame gift.
 
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#27
I do find the marketing ploys that company’s use to get us to spend more quite ridiculous . I mean ultimately too many products are available and they don’t do what they are supposed to. We use too much of everything. There was a good article on NYT about how the 10 step Korean system may be harmful and torturous for many skins.
Marketing ploys are there to get us to spend more to get more samples or more free shipping or more mystery gifts... it’s tempting but half the time those products cause more harm than good.
 
#28
OP, I admire your tenacity and grit but Sephora is a multi billion dollar company with an extensive legal department. They don't have time to waste on your missing birthday gift samples. They do not make mistakes with their points programs. It's possible that the CS rep you spoke with was incorrect. You're best off going to a store in person, or, alternatively, pick your battles. I've seen people get good results posting on company FB pages if they're dissatisfied.
 
#29
The same thing happened to me recently when I tried to redeem my tier-gift and birthday gift, so it seems like a reoccurring issue that has not been fixed.

As a fellow law grad from one of the very top universities in the world (since we are all tooting own horns here), this 'pettiness' is exactly what one would expect from a law student. Have you not read all those petty and ridiculous cases? THIS IS WHAT WE DO. Most of the top lawyers I know often spend ages debating the most random/trivial matters because they actually enjoy discussing principles.

Telling someone that they should 'let it go' is such a cop-out answer that lacks actual substance. The energy we expedited does not affect whether Sephora is in the wrong.
 
#30
Oxonlauder said:
The same thing happened to me recently when I tried to redeem my tier-gift and birthday gift, so it seems like a reoccurring issue that has not been fixed.

As a fellow law grad from one of the very top universities in the world (since we are all tooting own horns here), this 'pettiness' is exactly what one would expect from a law student. Have you not read all those petty and ridiculous cases? THIS IS WHAT WE DO. Most of the top lawyers I know often spend ages debating the most random/trivial matters because they actually enjoy discussing principles.

Telling someone that they should 'let it go' is such a cop-out answer that lacks actual substance. The energy we expedited does not affect whether Sephora is in the wrong.
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“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – Sun Tzu
 
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