A little RANT

[cactusjack]

While I am only new to DE shaving I am now a total convert. To this end I have done some looking around and research and would like to get hold of a FAT BOY. Seems like a pretty resonable thing. But this is were things get a little interesting. Im in Australia and the chances of stumbling on one in the wild are very slim and getting one locally on eBay just as much.
So to this end I have tried a wider eBay search and come up with quite a lot of ones for sale. Thanks to some advice from members here i have a good idea of the price range from $30 to $200 depending on quality and accessories included (case etc). I also know how much I want to pay and what it would cost to get shipped here.
This is where it gets annoying. Ive been quoted approx $15 USD which is resonable but hell some sellers want around the $50 mark for priority shipping. While I understand the benefits of this I cant bring myself to pay that kind of money on shipping when the item itself can go for $50 to $60. Along with a lage portion of them only shipping inside the US
Lastly I have noticed a scary trend of one particular eBay member bidding on a large percentage of these razors but never actually buying any, im guessing price inflation which happens but is driving me bonkers.
Anyway thats my rant, it just makes me mad enough to kick a Kangaroo ;-) when all I want is a nice Fat Boy.

 

[rivieraranch]

Forget ebay and post a wanted listing here. You can find one from an Australian member.

 

[Toothpick]

Forget ebay and post a wanted listing here. You can find one from an Australian member.

bingo

if you can wait out the 45 days and have 50 quality posts then the BST here is your best bet. There are a lot of members from down under here.

 

[cactusjack]

Thanks guys I think I may have to just bide my time till my 45 days are up. I would rather deal with the fine members here and give someones Fat Boy a good home.
It did feel good to let off some steam tho

 

[OkieStubble]

+1 on the BST/Aussie Member advice. Or, you will have to move...

 

[brucered]

keep in mind, if it's coming from say "Canada". I send you a FB uninsured, untracked for $11 for surface, $20 for air, $45 for surface with insurance or a whopping $52 for Air with tracking/insurance according to the CanadaPost website.

Postal rates are crazy high for us in Canada.

But as others have said, wait it out and see if you can score one from an Aussie member.

 

[MixedMotives]

check out BST

 

[Nomad1600]

Seems to me there were a few Fatboys at reasonable prices on B/S/T recently. Even if the seller says "CONUS", it would seem to be worth a PM to the seller asking if you could pay the shipping cost.

btw, is it specifically the Fatboy, or any Gillette adjustable? If a Slim or Black Beauty are possibilities you really open up a larger supply of razors.

 

[Toothpick]

As far as I know you can make a purchase via the BST at anytime. You just have to have 45 days here and 50 quality posts to post a thread there.

so check it daily and often and you might score one sooner.

 

[cactusjack]

Have supscribed to BST so will keep my eyes open there.

Nomad initally I want to give a Fat Boy a try. If its to my liking ill look at getting both the Slim and the Black Beauty. I can see a collection already starting ;-)

 

[John Von Wuggz]

I still haven't ever used eBay and I still advise people to avoid it. Follow the above advice, eBay is for chumps.

 

[Legion]

Keep hunting. I found a very nice one, cased, in an antique shop here. They do pop up if you are patient.

 

[cactusjack]

Thanks Legion, its nice to know all is not lost locally. Im on a mission thats for sure. Ill get one if its the last thing i do

 

[BlackBear]

I draw the line at about $15 US for shipping too. I've even seen postage costs range from $10 to $30 with the same seller, when all he was selling was razors - I don't get how they work it out, I guess in cases like that it's best to contact the seller and ask the question (especially if it's something you really want) I did end up getting a FB, but it was cased and re-plated in Rhodium and paid in excess of $150.

Best bet is to look for them on BST, but most ones get snapped up while we down under are fast asleep once you can post in that thread, put an ad in saying you want to buy one. I did that with a Cobra thinking it would be a waste of time - but it worked! and I got a very nice one too.

 

[olschoolsteel]

I am with you on the ebay bidding thing. It's called a schill bidder. Somebody, usually a friend of the bidder, will drop in and drive the price up, then bail at the right time. Supposedly illegal on ebay, but I see it in the parts arena all the time.

 

[cactusjack]

Thanks BlackBear im leaning toward that.

oldschoolsteel, I have seen this too but what im finding interesting is that this person makes the first bid on a range of razors and thats it. Not just for one seller either its really strange and I cant seem to understand that the deal is.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Thanks BlackBear im leaning toward that.

oldschoolsteel, I have seen this too but what im finding interesting is that this person makes the first bid on a range of razors and thats it. Not just for one seller either its really strange and I cant seem to understand that the deal is.

That's how I bid - put in lowball bids on a couple dozen items at a time, you're bound to hit on one and it reduces the temptation to get into bidding wars.

 

[Legion]

Thanks Legion, its nice to know all is not lost locally. Im on a mission thats for sure. Ill get one if its the last thing i do

Where we do have the advantage over the yanks is finding British Gillettes in the wild, and they are usually great shavers, and often worth more money on the open market. If you were to find, say, a British aristocrat, you could trade that on the forum for a fatboy, and probably postage each way. I've found a few of them, plus rockets, etc.

 

[cactusjack]

Thanks for mentioning that go west young man. It never occurred to me that's what might be happening. Maybe I should try it

 

[Mad Man]

Hey Cactus,

PM me, I'm in Melbourne and if you like I'll lend/send you my FB for a while (my Fatip Grande & Slim get most of my joy these days).

If you really like using a FB at least you'll know what you're prepared to pay for one once you've tried it for a while.

I've also got a ball-end tech sitting around if you wanna give that a spin too...