Woman gets offered ‘free samples’ at Sephora. Then she gets her receipt—and catches the cashier in a scam: ‘They want to hit their metrics’
We’re living in an unprecedented era of side hustles and get-rich-quick schemes. On one hand, you really can’t knock the hustle. On the other hand, at some point, we have to draw a line.
Enter a TikToker who’s going viral for being on the receiving end of what seemed like one of these schemes. It all started with a haul of not-so-free samples.
A scam, or not a scam?
On Mar. 1, Cass (@ameliacass) posted a TikTok about a visit to Sephora. It has since racked up almost half a million views. She says she was pretty much duped into paying for what she thought were free samples. It happened while she was trying to pay for her main items.
“[The cashier] brought me over to the side of the checkout counter. And there was a bunch of samples on the counter,” Cass recounts in her video. “And so she scans my one item and she’s like, ‘Oh, did you want any free samples from the Sephora collection?’
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Cass says “sure.” The cashier retrieves a tray laden with face masks, pimple patches, blackhead removers, and “little things from the Sephora collection.” Cass picks three items, not thinking much of it.
“I put them in my bag and she’s like, ‘Oh sorry, like I have to scan them first,'” Cass says. “And I said, ‘Oh, OK. Yeah, no worries.’ And so I’m thinking she’s just scanning them for inventory purposes … And then I pay and I leave the store.”
After leaving, Cass ends up checking her receipt. Lo and behold, he was charged for every one of the “samples.” Calling the entire exchange “scammy,” Cass plans to return the items and wonders if there was some sort of financial incentive at play.
“I’m not sure if the Sephora cashiers get incentive … if they sell you these face masks that are at the checkout,” she muses. “…I’m just annoyed.”
Sephora employees respond
Cass’ video went so viral that it naturally found its way onto the algorithms of a few actual Sephora employees. They chimed in with helpful perspectives in Cass’s comment section.
“As a Sephora cashier, I highly doubt she said they were free samples,” wrote one commenter. “She probably asked if you wanted to add anything on and receive a free sample with your purchase (for buying Sephora collection). I’ve had people misunderstand me about that before so our store added the prices to the front of the display tray so that there are no misunderstandings.”
“As a sephora employee we do get credit for upselling sephora collection stuff, it puts our name on the sale if you do end up going with something we add on at cash,” another commented. “However they are NEVER presented to someone as free samples. sounds like someone wanted their name on the sale to get credit for the sephora collection stuff, i’m sooo sorry that happened.”
Other employees also expressed their sympathies, while fellow Sephora customers shared stories similar to Cass’s.
“They did the same thing to me!!!” a viewer commented. “They asked me if I wanted free samples and when I said yes they told me to grab a face mask or eye mask. I was so confused when I saw the face mask on my receipt. I didn’t notice a little bag of samples they put in the bag with it because they fully made it seem like the mask was the sample.”
Are Sephora’s free samples always free?
While it sounds like Cass just found herself a uniquely shady cashier, she is far from the only person with complaints about Sephora free samples.
While there is absolutely zero evidence for any widespread “scam” as such, some customers are definitely disgruntled about their free sample experiences. Online forum users have noticed Sephora occasionally charging for what appear to be samples. Others report their local Sephora suspending free samples altogether.
In terms of its actual free sample policy, Sephora’s website states that “with every online merchandise order, you can select two samples free.” When it comes to in-store purchases, there don’t appear to be any strict policies or hard-and-fast rules about sample numbers anymore. According to a Sephora community message board, customers are instead encouraged to approach Sephora staff and ask “if they have any items available for sampling.”
The Mary Sue has reached out to Cass and Sephora via email.
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