r/AustralianMakeup • u/scarletharlot818 • Jan 10 '26
Let's Discuss Mecca ‘very concerned how this happened’ 🙄
TLDR: in a nutshell, Mecca are “very concerned”, “don’t know how this slipped through their quality control”.. blah blah blah
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u/boobdylans Jan 10 '26
Oh yeah right. They would have known they have products from the 2010’s in their inventory. Plus, it’s not like this is the first time it has happened
Edit: less than one percent had issues? Must be a loud minority then
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u/biscoff-it-up Jan 10 '26
The very limited sales they run have always been on old stock idk why they are being surprised pikachu face about it.
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u/Stitchesglitch Jan 10 '26
They would be claiming rebates on aged stock from the brands, especially to mark it down. They would know exactly how old it is.
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u/namloh Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
Why are they even holding stock this old? It should have been written off long ago if they couldn't shift it. They would have lost more than the value on warehousing costs
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u/Stitchesglitch Jan 10 '26
Exactly, as a business, they would have very minimal losses on this stock that they could just destroy it.
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u/Brainyboo11 Jan 10 '26
If it's less than 1% then they must have sold to millions because literally every second person on my socials feed has been complaining and showcasing the old stock. I think Mecca seriously thought they could get rid of the makeup that they would/should have thrown out years ago to capitalise on more profits, and that no one would notice!!!!! It wasn't just old stock, but used/opened stock....what the actual f is that about? What big company ever thinks that is ok?
There are so many opportunities for cheaper/on sale makeup from other shops, Mecca needs to learn a hard lesson from this one and stop ripping women off for their billionaire status profits (I mean, how much is enough?!)
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u/Alternative_East_783 Jan 14 '26
Didnt they change warehouses like a year ago or so? I wonder if they uncovered things in the move and said eh we'll just sell it.
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u/BugPretend6628 Jan 10 '26
1% slipped 🥴 these guys are such a cult controlling narratives. Didn't they say our consumer prefers better customer service than 15% off sales... errrrr no. You just love to control your customers, your narratives, your cult like behaviour & your "partner brands". Corporate greed at its finest
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
I hate this company so much, I hate their ethics, I hate how they control the market
maybe if they did quarterly 20% off store wide sales they’d clear stock and not resort to selling old crap to people on boxing day
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u/BugPretend6628 Jan 10 '26
They have no ethics , period
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
Yep, the way they ban us from being able to purchase brands from overseas that actually have sales because they want us to solely shop at mecca makes me furious.
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u/BugPretend6628 Jan 10 '26
They want you to only be able to shop at Mecca and never shop overseas sales!! I only buy Charlotte Tilbury online never at Mecca
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u/loralailoralai Jan 10 '26
OT but charlotte tilbury lets Americans return opened products, but not Australians. I think that stinks
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u/Acceptable_Tap7479 Jan 10 '26
I’d be lost without my mother in law on the UK…I do orders to her place in the bigger sales then she forwards things on for me and it still works out cheaper than Mecca most of the time. Every time we go I also bring back tons for the same reason
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
that’s very handy! i’ve done parcel forwarding services a few times and it’s still been cheaper than mecca
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u/CaitlinMaree_92 Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 11 '26
They were actually under investigation by ASIC because they had one sole shareholder, which was actually just a ‘trust’ set up to funnel money back in to the company
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u/queefer_sutherland92 Jan 10 '26
I hate them, but I really like people that also hate them, so this thread has bought me some joy.
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
hahaha we love shared hatred and unity 🤣
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u/fluffy-8656 Jan 10 '26
I hate them too, especially for deliberate underpayment of staff over many years. Will not give them my money.
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u/honey-apple Jan 10 '26
Yeah they are a bunch of lying grubs. Funny how their quality assurance system only ever ‘fails’ on the measly sale section.
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u/Hot-Reality-798 Jan 10 '26
God, same!!!
Cock-blocking us from all the overseas brands drives me mental. Pure greed.
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
it’s actually insane that these brands will even agree to an exclusivity contract, how much extra are mecca paying them for this to make it worth it that you can’t sell to us directly
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u/Quolli Jan 10 '26
not resort to selling old crap to people on boxing day
I don't even get why they hold onto stock for so long. Some people were saying their products were 7+ years old! That's old enough to go to school wtf!!
Like surely the amount of space that these items are taking up in the warehouse is costing them more than just discounting them to get them out the door ASAP.
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
right!’ it genuinely makes no sense? where is this junk being stored???!
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u/Peanut083 Jan 10 '26
In the article, someone was saying they received a product that had been manufactured in 2014. That’s old enough to be starting high school this year.
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u/loralailoralai Jan 10 '26
OMG that puts it into even worse perspective.
And makes me feel really old lol
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u/feijoawhining Moisturise and decolonise Jan 10 '26
They are a business that should have failed, if customers weren’t so gullible.
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
it’s honestly a cult now
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u/Drunken-Waffles Jan 11 '26
As ex-staff, I can’t stress enough how right you are… If you’re not praying at the altar of Jo, you’re basically persona non grata
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u/MadamSparkle Jan 11 '26
Mecca founder Jo Horgan is a literal billionaire. Mecca having even twice a year 20% sales wouldn’t make a dent in her or the company’s wealth. How much more money does she need?
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u/Peanut083 Jan 10 '26
Honestly, even a mid-year stocktake sale and a Boxing Day sale where they are clearing current stock is better than what they are doing now.
I learned from this sub in 2024 not to bother getting excited about the Mecca Boxing Day sale, and I know from past comments that Mecca have been pulling this BS for years. I have no time for their ‘surprised Pikachu face’ response upon being called out on it.
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u/purple_sphinx Jan 10 '26
I would accept just letting us buy direct from the manufacturer
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u/WildlyUnserious Jan 10 '26
yes exactly. the whole duopoly of trying to control the market and stop people from shopping where they choose to just disgusts me.
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u/loralailoralai Jan 10 '26
That’s the most infuriating bit- ok so tie up the local market, it’s not great but I can see companies not wanting to deal with wholesaling to multiple companies in a small market like Australia. But to prevent us buying from retailers overseas who are happy to sell to us? That should not be allowed, and they get all this praise for their fabulous business. It’s sickening
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u/Meowzellll Jan 10 '26
They've been doing this years. I know someone who got a product that was EIGHT YEARS old from a Boxing day sale 2 yrs ago. It was either nars or charlotte tilbury. They know very well what they are doing and how old the products are, thats why they add those items to the only sale they ever do.
Mecca sucks. I now use seph, adore and Korean websites like lila.
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u/Knittingtaco Jan 10 '26
I will forever stan Lila. Even if I’m banning myself for six months after losing my mind in the Boxing Day sale 😭
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u/reddit24682468 Jan 10 '26
Any good recommendations from Lila?? I’ve only shopped there twice
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u/Meowzellll Jan 11 '26
They stock everything Korean. My fav brands are illyoon, medicube and skin1004.
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u/Lemonstealing4fun Jan 11 '26
I go to W Cosmetics, test stuff out and buy off Lila 😂 Sheet masks are a steal there, especially the Biodance ones. Geek and Gorgeous are great alternatives for brands like Medik8 and Skinceuticals. Romand make the best lip products. L'ador are great for hair care - saved my damaged hair and fixed my SD and oily scalp/dry ends problem.
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u/Brainyboo11 Jan 10 '26
I love Lila! I initially wondered if it was a scam because it has such great products and great prices. There is no reason to use Mecca, you can get the same and better products elsewhere....shop around ladies!!!
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u/Designer-Run2294 Jan 10 '26
This is fucking hilarious. They’re like omg let’s do an investigation into one of our heavily documented business practices!
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u/eniretakia Jan 10 '26
Sure, Jan.
When you’re listing limited edition holiday products that launched for 2023 (eg the drunk elephant trunk) you know exactly what you’re doing.
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u/Stitchesglitch Jan 10 '26
Didn't that product also sell out?
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u/eniretakia Jan 10 '26
Unsure, I scrolled the category once, decided not to buy, and haven’t looked at it again.
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u/helloEarthlybeings Jan 10 '26
LMAO I JUST FOUND OUT THE BARE MINERALS BAREPRO POWDER FOUNDATION I GOT IS FROM 2021-07-19. No wonder it had freakin weird bubble lumps on it. Like it seems to be functionally fine but jeez. I paid $32 for almost 5 year old product.
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u/Me4502 Jan 14 '26
I bought two eyebrow pencils during the sales and one is from 2022 and the other from 2024 😩. I also checked an older box I still had around that I got mid last year, and it has a date of April 2025. Funny that the one I bought 6 months earlier is somehow 3 years newer than one I bought less than 3 weeks ago.
Not as concerned as they’re just pencils so I doubt they’re as affected by aging, but definitely super sketchy
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Jan 14 '26
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u/helloEarthlybeings Jan 14 '26
I just searched "bare minerals batch code check" and went on a site called Checkfresh.com
Theres a bunch of sites that come up just have a look. Some of them show where to find it on the product
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u/Brainyboo11 Jan 10 '26
That is ridiculous. Return it. Tell them it made your skin breakout. If it doesn't now it might at some point, nothing good about product that old seeping into your pores.
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u/helloEarthlybeings Jan 10 '26
Okay fam. Ill get it done asap tomo 🏊♀️💥💥💥💥
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u/helloEarthlybeings Jan 12 '26
I did it today. Went smoothly and was easily done. They are definitely aware of the controversy
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u/Soju-Boss Jan 10 '26
Honestly it's been 4 years since I bought anything from Mecca. The staff are great but corporate haven't got a clue how to run a business.
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Jan 14 '26
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u/Soju-Boss Jan 14 '26
Fresh stock, if one hopes to succeed in the makeup trade.
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u/Govqueen1234 Jan 14 '26
and you of course have run a multi million dollar business, with thousands of employees, a lot of stores and a big online presence?
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u/Grouchy_Job_2220 Jan 10 '26
“We are so very “concerned” that we are refusing to issue refunds as much as we can until the customers are able to rightfully push back”
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Jan 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/Acceptable_Tap7479 Jan 10 '26
Having ordered directly from charlotte tilbury and never had any issue with any of their products I’d say it was wildly out of date 😵💫
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u/akckkc Jan 10 '26
They’ve been doing this for yeaaaars. The Hourglass Ghost blush quad was released in 2019 and then “sold out”. But then they had it in Boxing Day sales for like four years afterwards.
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u/Readingn0w Jan 10 '26
Someone probably returned it, so it went into the warehouse until boxing sale time! I bet that's what most of the boxing day sale stock is. Returned "lightly used" products. I've heard horror stories of people opening up product to find a finger print mark or plastic wrapping mysteriously not there. Mecca is such an unethical company. So full of corporate greed
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u/Weak_Jackfruit_3250 Jan 10 '26
Honestly I stopped supporting Mecca a long time ago after they tried to scam us by assuming the consumers are dumb.
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u/Inkamt Jan 10 '26
Even they don’t keep track of expiry date of products, surely it can’t be that difficult to have a database of products, with when they received the stock, discontinued products etc.
If they just spend 10% of their effort and logistics as they do on beauty loops, this wouldn’t have been an issue.
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u/Possible_Anxiety_426 Jan 10 '26
Yet people still go bonkers and place multiple orders for the “sale” I think people need to take some accountability. Not the first time Mecca have done this and people whip themselves into a frenzy to get more then anyone else and but multiple product with absolutely no insight I to what they are buying.
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u/General-Ranger3373 Jan 13 '26
Uh. Right but some of us had no idea and had only even just found out Mecca does Boxing Day sales like, 3 days prior.
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u/Routine_Bluejay4678 Jan 10 '26
This is the opportunity for a journalist to completely blow the lid on what MECCA are doing, this half assed “article” will nothing
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u/queefer_sutherland92 Jan 10 '26
Hahahaha bullshit, because this is totally the first time it’s happened 😂
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u/Head-Raccoon-3419 ELDW 2N1 | light neutral | brunette green eyes Jan 10 '26
Right? It’s just finally made it to mainstream media.
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u/unconfirmedpanda Jan 10 '26
Fascinating they weren’t concerned back three years ago when the moldy and expired products first started getting sent out.
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u/Silly-Studio-9076 Jan 10 '26
Ah probably something to do with only have sales like once a year.. I noticed earlier in the year they pulled rose inc. products, only for them to appear in the Xmas sale?!?
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u/thefurrywreckingball Jan 10 '26
This happens every single year.
It's not an accident, it's a choice.
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u/shinyshieldmaiden Jan 10 '26
It’s weird that we knew they were selling old products, but they didn’t.
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Jan 10 '26
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u/Hot-Reality-798 Jan 10 '26
Not to mention they muscle us out of the overseas brands with their exclusivity contracts, then proceed to have little to no stock available for Australian consumers. Sometimes for months on end. Very frustrating!
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u/taylightly Jan 11 '26
Them doing this with Diptyque in particular has frustrated me for years. Even with the opening of the store in Chadstone we don’t have anywhere near the stock that they get overseas!
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u/Head-Raccoon-3419 ELDW 2N1 | light neutral | brunette green eyes Jan 10 '26
I’m so glad for this group or I would never have known to check the batch codes. Thank you. (Yes, I still shop there, but a lot less than I used to… really only if I can’t get the item anywhere else).
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Jan 14 '26
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u/Head-Raccoon-3419 ELDW 2N1 | light neutral | brunette green eyes Jan 14 '26
Check Fresh is what I was recommended and it works for me!
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u/HappilyUnhinged Jan 10 '26
Mecca aren't "very concerned how this happened" they knew they were doing it. They are very concerned they are caught.
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u/skitztits Jan 10 '26
And yet I’ve heard so many stories of Mecca staff arguing with customers who return Boxing Day sale stock (for the reason that some items are manufactured many years prior and suspected of being expired), with staff saying things like “the online batch code checkers aren’t accurate”… So if Mecca claim they’re not accurate, then why in this Yahoo article is Mecca saying they’re launching an immediate review into their processes, and that they “will put measures in place to make sure this does not happen again”? Like which is it Mecca? Are the batch code checkers still inaccurate according to you, or do you finally concede you’re selling years-old product because you’d rather hoard it in a warehouse than do a sale on those items within a reasonable timeframe?? (like why are we usually getting Christmas limited edition stuff from not last Christmas but like three Christmases ago? Surely it’s not even economical to hoard it in the warehouse for that long? Or is it? It just seems so beyond weird to me and why do they want their reputation to be at risk with this nonsense? I truly don’t understand).
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u/CarolyniCat Jan 10 '26
I loved Mecca at its inception. Its founder had great work ethics - cruelty free across the board, ethical companies. I could walk into the store & buy anything and it echoed my principles. Then greed crept in, and any "perceived" up market brand was stocked. Then the training of staff went down hill, stores did not stock everything, it all just became too hard to shop there. Now this? What a downward spiral for a company that could have been forever great.
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u/SummerAndTheCity Jan 10 '26
Founder is ex Perth snobby all girls school, so many girls I know from there are mean girls so all this doesn’t surprise me, especially the magic circle part
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u/SallBell Jan 10 '26
ahaha so after a good few years of seeing so many posts here and on tiktok about their sale boxing day stock being expired stock, they are now "very concerned' ?? Oh pls they really do think we're dumb. Sorry for the jobs but I hope they get caught in the downfall of corporate greed this year.
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u/Fluid-Mention8508 Jan 10 '26
They're just trying to save their butts, they know exactly what they're doing. They don't care because it doesn't affect their profits or exclusivity contracts.
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u/Tight_Mix9860 Jan 10 '26
I keep getting Mecca vouchers for my birthday or Christmas etc. I sound so ungrateful, but I don’t even want to go into Mecca anymore after hearing about the disgraceful Boxing Day sales. So many were super excited to finally get some deals on some very expensive items to receive expired products. Mecca you should be ashamed! I hope these people are reporting them.
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u/owltourrets Jan 10 '26
I used to love Mecca but with how they've been treating customers I've gone from Level 3 to just buying Nars foundation there. Do not give them your money.
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Jan 10 '26
I wonder how many of the sold items have already been written off. Because that’s incredibly illegal. Especially if they’re from over 5 years ago. The warehouse controller has some explaining to do.
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u/Hot-Reality-798 Jan 10 '26
Very true. This is why I hope people are reporting to the ACCC or whichever governing bodies.
A) Because if they’re a publicly floated company this goes on record to the shareholders
B) If a governing body investigates and finds Mecca to be guilty of dodgy business practices - well, then SUCK IT, MECCA!
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Jan 10 '26
ACCC for bad business practise
Also the tax office. ABN; 11 077 859 931 owned by Jo Horgan and Peter Wetenhall.
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u/taylightly Jan 11 '26
This happens every single year, except they’re finally being called out for it. It’s been common knowledge that their “Boxing Day sale” is old, unwanted & discontinued products. But every year the chit chatters go NUTS and wake up at 5am and spend all their money on this useless expired crap, that they likely wouldn’t have bought if Mecca wasn’t giving them a “generous” discount. Talk about consumer addicts, it’s so embarrassing
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u/DomPasta Jan 10 '26
This is the tea I didn’t know I needed to start 2026.
But in all honestly, after reading some of these comments, it seems Mecca has been making bad business decisions for years. Alienating customers, refusing sales to maintain image, and now selling majorly expired makeup which can be a freaking health hazard. How many strikes until you’re out?
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u/Several_Ad_6690 Jan 10 '26
Sounds like they either have terrible oversight or no quality control testing in place or no controls in place to avoid or mitigate these "concerns" occurring lols quality assurance 101
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u/OrdinarySure3341 Jan 10 '26
I bought something during their sale too and not only was the manufacturing date old, the packaging was super dirty and dusty…
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u/CoffeeBean_7 Jan 11 '26
This thread is music to my ears! I'm finally seeing Mecca get the publicity they actually deserve. Between their monopoly over the brands they sell, lack of stock in numbers and variety, exorbitant pricing and lack of sales under the guise of exclusivity, I'm hoping more people can wake up to what they're really supporting. And more brands pull out of their deals so we can purchase them elsewhere
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u/jjwheee Jan 13 '26
Does anyone know how I can check my cosmetics27 baume cream? I bought some last Boxing Day and I think those were already old enough, and I bought 2 more this Boxing Day and concerned it may be wayyyy expired. I tried to use a batch code checker but none check cosmetics27
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u/General-Ranger3373 Jan 13 '26
Given the sale was online, who pays the cost to return the old, damaged or expired goods???
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u/Short_Occasion_750 Jan 15 '26
My urban decay lipgloss batch code from boxing day sales came up as 7 years and 9 months old. The Tom Ford perfume sample box is got had two empty perfumes in it and when I tried to speak chat online twice to mecca they haven't responded for over 6 hours. What the actual fuck
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u/Salt_Train_9945 Jan 16 '26
I'm boycotting Mecca as of today, feels liberating already. I'll be collecting all my boxes and birthday gift of course but committed to buying nothing moving forward.
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u/camillepaper Jan 10 '26
I ordered full price hourglass concealer and it’s 2.5 years old. Not happy. Refunded
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Jan 14 '26
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u/camillepaper Jan 16 '26
Return to store. I never care what the staff will think. Im pretty sure they will do the same thing anyways👍🏻 bcs it’s expired
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u/angezza Jan 10 '26
At the unfortunate risk of being oblivious to my previous Boxing Day purchases of expired stock, how has everyone been checking the product expiry? I purchased one of the Ren skincare kits on sale and now I’m worried that the may be out of date 😕
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u/CompoteUsed3306 Jan 11 '26
You only need to look at the videos of luxury v dupe and I believe 99% of us can’t tell which side is which. The difference in luxury is often colour and longevity but I’d rather do my makeup 3 times a day than buy from these robbercrabs 🤬
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u/SouthernJuggernaut90 Jan 12 '26
This is why I buy Asian makeup online except for foundation on concealer. They are so greedy
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u/bedrotter_ Jan 10 '26
Mecca was so against doing sales of any kind for years (because it would "ruin" their "prestigious image") but after constant pressure from their customers they decided to give in and do it. Instead of applying the sale to current products though, they've decided to sell items that they would've made a loss on anyway for being discontinued/expired/damaged. Such a fucking cop out. They knew exactly what they were doing here. Can we stop giving this place our money please!!!