Lot codes, PAO and expiry: what to check before you list beauty stock

Every sealed beauty product carries a batch or lot code — a short string of letters and numbers printed, embossed or laser-etched on the crimp of a tube, the base of a jar or the flap of a carton. It tells the manufacturer when and where that unit was made. For a reseller, it does something just as useful: it ties a unit in your hand to a line on a supplier invoice.

Why the lot code matters to an online seller

When a marketplace, a customer or a brand asks whether a product is genuine, "I bought it from a distributor" is a weaker answer than "here is the invoice line, and here is the matching lot code on the unit." It is also how you handle a recall quickly: a manufacturer recall is almost always published by lot range, not by product name.

That's why PrimeCart records the lot code and expiry for every line on every invoice. If you receive the case, you already have the record.

Expiry date vs. PAO

US law does not require most cosmetics to carry an expiration date, so you'll see two systems on the shelf:

• Printed expiry ("EXP 03/2028") — common on sunscreens (regulated as OTC drugs), acne treatments and many dermocosmetic lines.
• PAO — period after opening — the small open-jar symbol with a number such as "12M". It tells the end customer how long the product stays good once opened. It says nothing about shelf life while sealed.

Where a product has only a PAO symbol, the lot code is how you estimate age. Many brands encode the production date in it, and several free batch-code lookup sites decode the major brands.

What to check when a case arrives

1. Match the product title, UPC and count against the invoice line.
2. Check that the lot code on two or three units matches the one on the invoice.
3. Note the expiry (or production date) in your inventory sheet next to the SKU.
4. Photograph the carton label and one unit's lot code. Keep it with the invoice.
5. Report any mismatch within 8 days — after that, a claim gets much harder to prove.

Minimum dating: set a rule and stick to it

A sensible rule for online sellers is to refuse anything that will have less than nine months left when it reaches a customer. Allow for time in your warehouse, time in a fulfillment center and a slow month. If a supplier can't tell you the dating before you buy, that is your answer.

Keep reading

• Case packs, inner packs and FBA prep: a beauty seller's guide
• Storing makeup and skincare stock: temperature, light and rotation

← Back to the Journal