The simple answer is to do research and not rely on the sellers listing as on the whole i find a lot of sellers listing Candles as rare when they quite clearly are not! Some also list candles as retired when they are a re-release of a retired scent. Yes the original candle with the original label is retired, but the one re-released 5 years later that is a different colour wax is not!
It goes without saying that any candle that is actually Black Band is worth bidding on but if it seems too good to be true always message the seller to check - a lot of newbie sellers will just grab the first picture they find of the candle they are selling so its common to see a picture of a black band candle without it being mentioned in the title or description.
Here is a common example of candles being listed as rare some are and some are not. For this example i am using the scent Witches Brew
These particular jars of Witches Brew are listed as Rare and priced at £24.99 ~ they are indeed a rare collectors edition of this scent in a black opaque jar. It was released in the USA and in limited numbers. It is a little pricey and i would suggest that £15~£20 would be a more suitable price point
This jar of Witches Brew on the right is also listed as Rare, but also retired. Witches Brew is not retired it is a limited scent available for sale during Halloween. The confusion surrounding Witches Brew is that the scent is patchouli which is retired from Yankee Candles core range. This Medium Jar is listed at £14.99 and is the most common version of the jar currently available in the UK.
The jar to the left is Purr - Chouli another limited edition jar.
This jar is also Witches Brew but with the hologram label, this is less rare than the Black Opaque Jars and a worthwhile buy for the collector.
