September 2, 2021

Here’s What’s Fishy About Sephora Price Matching the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Deals

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I’ve put the International Super Spy work in and I’m convinced Sephora has allocated a select amount of product for the Oh Snap Sale! As you know Sephora launched an Oh Snap Sale! which is a direct competitive sale for the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Event. Unfortunately, Sephora can’t actually compete with the sale as many of the brands that Ulta has up on offer during the sale aren’t sold at Sephora. This means that the Sephora Oh Snap Sale! will have off days where no deals will be available.

However, on days that Ulta posts something up that Sephora does have available you’ll find it 50% off just as you would at the 21 Days of Ulta Sale for one day only.

Cool concept right?

I think so! Why? Because if a shade or product sells out at Ulta you can go ahead and grab it at Sephora. That being said, it’s weird to me that Sephora sells put of stuff SO SUPER QUICKLY. I don’t know the exact time the sale goes up but it’s a bit after Ulta’s items are marked down. Ulta’s items go live around 12-1 AM EST whereas Sephora it’s more like anywhere between 3 to 9 AM.

It feels like Sephora very much sets aside a certain amount of product for the sale and limits it to just that amount. I don’t think they’re putting their entire inventory into the sale and likely have a certain limit on the item. Once that limit sells out it sells out.

I feel like Ulta is doing a hell of a lot better lately than Sephora but I could be wrong. I find it highly unusual the item on sale goes out of stock when it’ll very much be available at Ulta.

Hmmmmm………..

If it was going to sell out you’d think it would sell at Ulta. How did it sell out at Sephora but not Ulta?

But wait, there’s more!

Ok, so the product sells out at Sephora during the sale but log into Sephora the next day and it’s magically restocked already.

Have I blown your mind? I find it weird that the product just magically gets restocked the following day.

I’m convinced they just set aside a limited amount for the sale and when that select stock sells out it sells out.

What do you think?

15 Comments

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About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Jenny

    They definitely do that. They also do this with high-priced items (like Dyson) during the VIB sales.

    • Isabella Muse

      omg Jenny hi! How are you? LONG TIME no speak! Absolutely! Especially with high ticket items!

  • Kristie Wilson

    It sounds just like the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. They sell a pre-determined amount at the sale price and then it goes �out of stock�. Sale ends and a bunch of items are suddenly restocked.

  • kjh

    Totally true. Both hold off on new products until after the sale. S is notorious for this at the Christmas instore thing that probably will never happen again. The day after you go, boom! There�s a bunch of new stuff that would have been included in the store visit. U�s OOS notation can mean either not available yet or sold out with an iffy restock. And yeah, S have the accts figure out how many they can sell at x% profit, hold back the rest, and resume the original price after the sale. It�s BS all around, but there is more stink from big S. What do you think about U�s site redesign?

  • Nanners

    I LITERALLY had the same thought yesterday, like �it�s only noon Eastern time, why are all 3 items sold out? They�re totally skimping us.� Glad I�m not crazy!! Haha

    • Isabella Muse

      RIGHT? AND how are they still at Ulta when Ulta is the obvious choice for people to shop at! They must have like 50 to go around on sale and that’s it because it all sells out super fly fast!

  • Kate

    Don�t they temporarily change the SKUs? I thought I remembered hearing about that awhile back, and thought I ran into it once during a sale (on a $25 deluxe manicure set, of all things!)

  • Catherine

    Sephora is doing the match sale because they are counting on the people who buy the sale item will also grab a couple of other things, so they limit the availability of the item. So the sale brings a customer to the site and even when the item is sold out, they hope that the customer buys other stuff. It is kinda like a legal bait and switch. I have been less and less enthralled with Sephora, but dang it, they do have the better fragrance selection.

  • Frozendiva

    Not surprised. I have noticed that some items I�d be interested in during the discount sales were out of stock in no time. That much demand? Of course, after the sale ended, guess what magically appeared? The item I wanted.

  • Barbara

    I agree I saw that happen that an item was sold out during sale and the next day was available at full price and I was like what the heck? Totally happens.