Cosmetics startup sells users’ pre-owned makeup

An online cosmetics store buys used makeup from members, sanitizes it and resells it at a reduced price.

Most women have a few pieces of makeup lying around at home that they never use — a lipstick that is the wrong color or an eyeshadow set that doesn’t suit their skin tone. Now, Glambot is an online cosmetics store that resells users’ pre-owned makeup. The startup purchases used cosmetics from members and sells it online at a reduced price, enabling customers to profit from their unwanted items.

To begin, customers send a minimum of 20 pre-owned items to Glambot. Every piece is then examined and sanitized and repackaged. Customers can earn different amounts depending on the type, brand, age and level of use of their makeup, and they can earn 30 percent more if they take their fee in Glambucks — store credits for use on the website. Glambot then prices the items at a discounted price — sometimes as much as 80 percent off — and sells them via their website.

Numerous professionals have questioned how safe and hygienic used makeup can ever truly be, but Glambot insists that their multiple sanitization techniques — including the application of heat, the use of various alcohol solutions, detailed layered product removal, and the use of natural emollients — make the products fit for consumers.

Are there other overbought products that could be resold in this waste-reducing way?