Are you a collector of antique & vintage perfumes or want to get started?  I have been collecting vintage perfumes for many years and have also sold them on ebay for several years. I will discuss several things people look for when buying vintage perfumes and things a seller should include or add to their item descriptions.

If you are a buyer or new collector of vintage perfume bottles, please read the following tips:

• Be sure to pick up some of the great books devoted to vintage perfumes. My favorites are Commercial Perfume Bottles by Jacquelyne Jones-North. The Monsen & BaerPerfume Bottle Auction Catalogs, and others. You can find many of them on ebay. Looking to join a collectors club then you definitely should check out the International Perfume Bottle Association on the internet at perfume bottles.org.

• Decide on what types of perfume bottles you would want in your collection. Would you like to collect atomizers, how about a collection of only DeVilbiss examples, or you can add the fabulous Czech atomizers, or other fine examples by Volupte, Apollo, Irice, Marcel Franck, Pyramid and Aristo. I wrote up a guide on DeVilbiss atomizers

• Do you like the pretty Czech crystal perfumes? In my opinion the most elegant pieces have jewels and filigree accents that look stunning when grouped together on a vanity or in a curio cabinet. There are many types of Czech perfume bottles such as mini purse flacons, jeweled and filigree examples, cut crystal with large intaglio stoppers, tiara style bottles, Irice minis with jeweled dangles as well as atomizers. Start your search for Czech perfumes

Czech clear & satin glass perfume circa 1920s.

• Are you interested in collection commercial perfumes? Do you prefer a certain perfume house such as Guerlain or Coty? Do you wish to collect the bottles with the fanciest labels? Do you like the Art Nouveau labels the best?

Guerlain Liu bottle with original box circa 1929.

• Want to collect Lalique, Baccarat perfumes or other art glass pieces? Some of the finest perfume bottles were manufactured from 1900-1930s. Satin glass perfumes have a certain ethereal quality about them. Cameo glass pieces are scarce and highly collectible as are the iridescent pieces by Loetz, Steuben and Tiffany. Look above to read about other manufacturer's of art glass perfumes.

• If you are looking to collect perfume bottles but don't have much space to store them or display them, then perhaps you should collect the miniatures! They don't take up too much space and they are easily displayed on shelves, in curio cabinets, and other places. There are so many different brands of perfumes, that you could have hundreds of minis to choose from for your collection. It is also nice to collect the different sizes of bottles and include the mini as well!

• Condition. Try to buy bottles in the best of condition. Bottles in the best shape retain their value.If you find a rare bottle, such a Lalique one, a minor chip or nick shouldn't be too devaluing. Are the labels present?  Is their gilding on the bottle? Is it worn? Sometimes crystal perfumes have little fleabites and nicks along the mouth of the bottle, this was most likely caused from the stoppers being taken out and put back in over time, and is usual wear. Some collectors prefer to buy sealed bottles full of juice. I find that it completes the presentation, shows off the bottles nicely, and looks gorgeous.

• Make sure the stopper and the base go together. Every now and then, I see a base paired with a stopper for a different perfume.Sometimes you will find numbers scratched into the base of the bottle and on the bottom of the stopper, these are not manufacturer's markings, they are merely a way to tell that the stopper was ground to an exact fit for its particular bottle at the factory. These numbers are generally found on French crystal pieces.

• Does the perfume have its original box? Boxes add to the perfume bottles value.

• Contents. If you are searching for that long lost or discontinued perfume of your memory such as Styx by Coty. Please remember that perfumes over 7-10 years start to lose their freshness and may start to smell like alcohol. The older the perfume, the less it may smell like what you may remember. I have had some buyers purchase vintage perfume and say that it stinks, I politely mention that  the perfume is blah blah blah years old and is no longer fresh. I make a point of putting this in my description. If you are looking to buy fresh smelling perfume, don't buy vintage or antique!

• Is there perfume residue inside? Perfume residue can be cleaned out by filling a dropper with a cleaning agent such as denture cleaners, bleach, ammonia, liquid bathroom cleansers, liquid dish soap or denatured alcohol. Be sure to keep any moisture away from the labels!

• Don't see the measurements in the listing? be sure to email your seller and ask for the size of the bottle,  how tall the bottle is and the width. Some bottles may look big/small on the computer, but a buyer may be disappointed in how big/small it may be in person.

• Try to buy perfume bottles that you enjoy looking at or you find beautiful. These will give you the most pleasure as they would no doubt be in your display cases, vanity, or wherever you choose to display them. I wouldn't advise in following trends. If you like Lalique perfume bottles, by all means, collect them, they are gorgeous! They can be expensive though, so if you have a budget, you may want to buy some less expensive ones.Lalique perfume bottles

• If you are unsure about the age of a perfume bottle, always ask the seller. Always ask your seller any questions you may have about the perfume bottle. You should also do some research on your own in case you have any doubts.

• Always inspect the pictures carefully as in most cases, they tell the true condition of the bottle. If you need a better picture, ask your seller, they will most likely send you one if need be. If you are unsure about condition based on a poor or blurry photo, ask about condition before bidding!

• By all means, purchase insurance if you buy a perfume on ebay. Just in case the bottle get damaged or lost in the mail, you can at least file a claim with the post office. Be sure to contact your seller right away if anything should happen to your perfume bottle. Insurance costs are cheap enough, I always get insurance on everything I buy on ebay. If you have special instructions on shipping your perfume, as a courtesy, please email the seller first to make sure they will do this for you, so there are no surprises at the end of the auction.

• Have fun bidding!

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• I have a passion for perfumes and I have added a perfume identification and appraisal service on ebay. Please contact me for details. Please see my site at www .freewebs. com/cleopatrasboudoir

• I have written over 200 guides on vintage perfumes, check them out too!