A&F Woods - overhyped by 200 or 2000%?

[djmike523]

WOW! I have a nearly full bottle of Abercrombie's Woods cologne that was discontinued a few years back. I was looking to throw it on here to trade; I was thinking it was worth about a cake of cheap shaving soap, but my newbie status prevents me from posting in the WTT.

I went on Ebay, and again, WOW! This stuff has been selling for upwards of $199.99 a bottle!!! Is it just outrageous brand loyalty, or...? IMO the scent isn't even all that great.

 

[atlguitfiddle]

WOW! I have a nearly full bottle of Abercrombie's Woods cologne that was discontinued a few years back. I was looking to throw it on here to trade; I was thinking it was worth about a cake of cheap shaving soap, but my newbie status prevents me from posting in the WTT.

I went on Ebay, and again, WOW! This stuff has been selling for upwards of $199.99 a bottle!!! Is it just outrageous brand loyalty, or...? IMO the scent isn't even all that great.

I find A&F Woods to be quite nice, although you won't find me spending that much on a bottle of it.

As far as why it is so popular, I suppose one should never doubt the power of the word "discontinued." It may be a decent scent, but its limited availability gives it that unobtainable mystique. In the world of shaving, one may compare it to Proraso Red, Shulton Old Spice, and perhaps in the near future, Tom's of Maine mint...all are certainly decent products on their own, but the fact that they can no longer be purchased makes them REALLY special.

Of course, that's just my opinion

 

[richmondesi]

I agree. It's thoroughly an "ok" scent that my high school/college girlfriends loved. It's not nearly as nice as some of the Penhaligon scents, but I'd trade you some cheap soap for it

How about a brand new Tabac

 

[ClubmanRob]

Ahh... supply and demand. I guarantee you I will pass by two or three bottles of it in the next month that will be lucky to get a ten dollar winning bid. Such is the case with Ebay...

 

[mretzloff]

A&F in general is overhyped. Then again, all stores that reek of Axe and desperation are.

 

[richmondesi]

Ahh... supply and demand. I guarantee you I will pass by two or three bottles of it in the next month that will be lucky to get a ten dollar winning bid. Such is the case with Ebay...

If you do, hook me up. My wife was one of those high school girlfriends that just loved it

 

[ClubmanRob]

If you do, hook me up. My wife was one of those high school girlfriends that just loved it

Hopefully you have since reconditioned her into enjoying the "smell of old man"...

Will do.

 

[richmondesi]

Hopefully you have since reconditioned her into enjoying the "smell of old man"...

Will do.

Actually... No, I had to sell my Tabac ASL because every time I wore it she looked like she was about to throw up and wouldn't come within 10' of me... not good. I've not tried the clubman yet, but it's cheap enough I should

 

[The Nid Hog]

Actually... No, I had to sell my Tabac ASL because every time I wore it she looked like she was about to throw up and wouldn't come within 10' of me... not good. I've not tried the clubman yet, but it's cheap enough I should

Here's what you do: First off, reorder that bottle of Tabac. Then get your local department store to save you the empties of a couple of popular frags. Maybe Aqua di Gio, a Polo, something from Tommy. Carefully clean them up and use them to decant your suspect fragrances. Fill an empty Dolce & Gabbana bottle with Clubman. Put some Lilac Vegetal into that nice green Polo. And the clincher? Top off an empty A&F Woods bottle with your Tabac. Tell the missus that they've all been reformulated. From then on, you're in clover.

 

[mretzloff]

Here's what you do: First off, reorder that bottle of Tabac. Then get your local department store to save you the empties of a couple of popular frags. Maybe Aqua di Gio, a Polo, something from Tommy. Carefully clean them up and use them to decant your suspect fragrances. Fill an empty Dolce & Gabbana bottle with Clubman. Put some Lilac Vegetal into that nice green Polo. And the clincher? Top off an empty A&F Woods bottle with your Tabac. Tell the missus that they've all been reformulated. From then on, you're in clover.

Ingenius

How do you think of this?

 

[FLTiger]

Here's what you do: First off, reorder that bottle of Tabac. Then get your local department store to save you the empties of a couple of popular frags. Maybe Aqua di Gio, a Polo, something from Tommy. Carefully clean them up and use them to decant your suspect fragrances. Fill an empty Dolce & Gabbana bottle with Clubman. Put some Lilac Vegetal into that nice green Polo. And the clincher? Top off an empty A&F Woods bottle with your Tabac. Tell the missus that they've all been reformulated. From then on, you're in clover.

I am in deep admiration of your deviousness.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Ingenius

How do you think of this?

I am in deep admiration of your deviousness.

Aw..I'm blushing!

 

[dwnwrdishvnwrd]

Wish I would have bought this when it was on clearance. My sis loves that store so for her birthday I took her there and they had this on clearance. It's not impressive by any means. If I only knew....

 

[christopherh]

I find A&F Woods to be quite nice, although you won't find me spending that much on a bottle of it.

As far as why it is so popular, I suppose one should never doubt the power of the word "discontinued." It may be a decent scent, but its limited availability gives it that unobtainable mystique. In the world of shaving, one may compare it to Proraso Red, Shulton Old Spice, and perhaps in the near future, Tom's of Maine mint...all are certainly decent products on their own, but the fact that they can no longer be purchased makes them REALLY special.

Of course, that's just my opinion

Tom's of Maine cream is being discontinued???

 

[Scentronic]

It's not that it is so great of a scent that people pay so much for it - What they're paying for is the nostalgia. This stuff was very popular in some of our high school days, and just a whiff of it really takes us back.

There really hasn't been anything released since then that smells like it, either. (not that it is an incredibly complex scent) Some find Aramis to be in the same ball park, but it really just doesn't do the trick. I found a bit of a resemblance to that deep woody smell in Montale's Aoud Lime, but it's still not exactly what we're looking for either.

I've been lucky enough to snag a full 50 ml and a 1/2 full 100 ml on ebay for good prices, and my buddy also gave me a 1/2 full 100 ml that I've been hanging on to as well. I suppose I don't need all of it. I do wish that A&F would do a limited-edition reissue, though. I'd buy more.

 

[djmike523]

Perhaps it is just me, but I thought the botanicals and/or synthetics in cologne 'turns' after a few years? It's been probably 3 or more years since being discontinued..?

 

[dwnwrdishvnwrd]

Perhaps it is just me, but I thought the botanicals and/or synthetics in cologne 'turns' after a few years? It's been probably 3 or more years since being discontinued..?

In his book, Perfumes: The Guide, Luca Turin says that frags can turn but it's normally due to poor storage and not how old they are.

 

[SRock]

If you do, hook me up. My wife was one of those high school girlfriends that just loved it

Actually... No, I had to sell my Tabac ASL because every time I wore it she looked like she was about to throw up and wouldn't come within 10' of me... not good. I've not tried the clubman yet, but it's cheap enough I should

Here's what you do: First off, reorder that bottle of Tabac. Then get your local department store to save you the empties of a couple of popular frags. Maybe Aqua di Gio, a Polo, something from Tommy. Carefully clean them up and use them to decant your suspect fragrances. Fill an empty Dolce & Gabbana bottle with Clubman. Put some Lilac Vegetal into that nice green Polo. And the clincher? Top off an empty A&F Woods bottle with your Tabac. Tell the missus that they've all been reformulated. From then on, you're in clover.

Clever, clever indeed. The funny part is it would probably work! My wife doesn't like Clubman when she sees me apply it from the bottle. However, if I'm just wearing it she always says, "You smell so good."

 

[Chessman]

Does it smell like you've been out in the woods?

 

[richmondesi]

Does it smell like you've been out in the woods?

No, not really. It smells pretty nice for a HS/College kid scent though