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art of the shave........somewhat disappointing today

So today for lunch I ran to the mall to go get some Christmas gifts for the wife, and a co-worker went along with me, actually the one that got me into wet shaving, and we decided to swing into Art of Shaving, and after looking at the prices and smelling the soaps and the other various items in the store, I came away very un-impressed. The sandalwood that everyone raves about smelt brutal to me, the only one that smelt half way decent was the eucalyptus and mint.

I did see a nice selection of brushes and straight razors, but the prices were a little over the top though. Does anyone else here think the same, or am I just being a little over critical perhaps.
 
I've never been to an Art of Shaving store. The only one near me is too far away to be practical...
Things seemed a bit $$$ at their website so I just buy from Amazon, Maggards...

Just a question I'll throw out here, somewhat related:
Do you think that small "local" shops that sell shaving supplies would actually survive these days?
(razors, blades, soaps, etc as well as maybe colognes, beard supplies?)
I've been thinking about possibly starting a local business.
There are no stores like that anywhere around here that I've ever seen. Maybe for a good reason.
 
Id agree with you 100%. AOS is very overpriced and their stuff isnt THAT good. Ive never smelt their sandalwood but I have used Fine Absolut Santal, which is supposedly based on AOS Sandalwood and I wasnt impressed with it. I know sandalwood and it wasnt a very good sandalwood, IMO.
 
I've never been to an Art of Shaving store. The only one near me is too far away to be practical...
Things seemed a bit $$$ at their website so I just buy from Amazon, Maggards...

Just a question I'll throw out here, somewhat related:
Do you think that small "local" shops that sell shaving supplies would actually survive these days?
(razors, blades, soaps, etc as well as maybe colognes, beard supplies?)
I've been thinking about possibly starting a local business.
There are no stores like that anywhere around here that I've ever seen. Maybe for a good reason.

Earlier this week, I went to Palm Springs, which used to have a retail outlet of Classic Shaving. The online business is still around, but the retail space is now empty. You might check with them, or the good folks at places like Maggard’s or Bullgoose (do they have a storefront?). West Coast Shaving is another, but it has morphed a lot over the last several years; I have no idea, but there’s a definite corporate feel to WCS these days (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

I’ve been to an Art of Shaving exactly once, during Christmas season a few years ago. The sales guy was trying to help a woman buy a razor for her husband. He knew nothing, so I stepped in and helped her (and him). To his credit, he was grateful for my help. She was ecstatic, and I offered to help her husband with thoughts about his new gift, and gave her my card. Understandably, he did not contact me, but I hope he enjoyed his gift!
 
We have an Art of Shaving store in Crossgates Mall, Albany New York. An easy 20 minute drive from my home.
Back in the summer of 2016, when I first got interested in the possibility of traditional wet shaving, I bought a
small "sample pack" from AOS, which included a "baby" pure badger brush, pre-shave oil, shave cream, and
after shave balm. I used all their stuff, along with my (at that time) Gillette Fusion razor, and immediately realized
that a brush and cream was so much better than my can of "Edge", and that the balm was so much better than
a simple AS splash. Because of that, I bought my first real brush (a Simpson's Colonel X2L) and first real razor
(a Merkur 34C) --- both from "The Superior Shave" website (a heartfelt Thank You to Jared) --- and was very
immediately hooked onto this hobby. Since then, I have not bought anything else from Art of Shaving, as I have
found that website vendors (West Coast Shaving, Italian Barber, Maggard's, and Amazon) offer much better products
at much better prices. And during my occasional visits back into the AOS store, I have asked for small samples
of different creams and balms, but have always left the store empty handed. The clerk is never able to allow me to try anything, and that's a shame. However, whenever I go into another local mall's The Body Shop store, the clerks are always friendly and happy to give me samples, and I have since bought several Maca Root shaving products.

So, for me, that's the problem with AOS. Heck, if my local delicatessen is always willing to let me taste an infinite amount of meats and cheeses before making a purchase, and my local wine shoppe pours me a few small samples of an exciting new wine before I decide what to buy (and, YES ---- I always purchase a nice amount of stuff from both the delicatessen and the wine shoppe) ..... why can't the Art of Shaving store do the same thing ?
 
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Do you think that small "local" shops that sell shaving supplies would actually survive these days?
(razors, blades, soaps, etc as well as maybe colognes, beard supplies?)

We have one here that seems to be doing alright. But I should mention 4/5ths products that appeal to a female cliental and 1/5th shaving. It must work because they recently expanded to a second location. I buy shaving soap and beard oil from them.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
Been to the NOLA location...

Remember there is the older, tallow, Valobra-made AoS sandalwood, then there's the new version.

I have their sandalwood oil (a gift), and it's the real deal. Super expensive, like all their stuff.


AA
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Agreed
i walked in once and couldn't believe the prices
walked out
After the sales pitch that i got after asking if they have sales
 
Yeah I mean I know our hobby isn’t the cheapest but $25 for a tub of soft soap and then $45 for the Kingman edition, I can shave for a year on that for sure. 2 tubs of proraso and 2 aftershaves done and done!
 
I happen to like the scents they have, particularly the sandalwood. It is more sweet than real sandalwood, but I find it the most true scent out of itself, DR H, TOBS, and Proraso. I do agree their performance is middling, though the creams are pretty good comparatively for non-artisan.

Just goes to show once again how much is personal preference.
 
@Adam18, you are spot on! Why can't they give potential customers samples? I think it's a different way of looking at customers. Some stores view customers as clients they are trying to please & retain as happy customers, while other stores view customers as cash & they don't want to give away their earnings just to get some of the customers money. Happy or satisfied isn't in their corporate vocabulary. I have tried a few products from sample packs I've received. Not too impressed.

For those of you that do like AoS, the chain store Ulta has stopped carrying the AoS line of products & has all of their remaining inventory on sale 50% off. I was with my wife & saw the display. There is also a thread elsewhere on B & B about this.
 
There are AOS threads on the forum. Positive remarks re shaving creams.

Big markups. Mall rent is high. $5 for a tuck of blades.

Proctor & Gamble is the corporate owner.
 
I saw the prices on their website and determined it wasn't worth my time to visit. $70 for a Merkur 34C, which I can get at Pasteurs for around $40 or online for around $35-40. No thank you.
 
Most here agree on 2 points:
#1. Some AoS products are just fine/good quality.
#2. AoS prices are high compared to most vendors.
Still, nice to have vendors showing traditional shaving products to the general population!!
 
I've never been to an Art of Shaving store. The only one near me is too far away to be practical...
Things seemed a bit $$$ at their website so I just buy from Amazon, Maggards...

Just a question I'll throw out here, somewhat related:
Do you think that small "local" shops that sell shaving supplies would actually survive these days?
(razors, blades, soaps, etc as well as maybe colognes, beard supplies?)
I've been thinking about possibly starting a local business.
There are no stores like that anywhere around here that I've ever seen. Maybe for a good reason.

Local business: If your overhead is a table or a rolling cart, such as can be found at the farmers market, and there is good foot traffic, you might have a fun hobby business.

Otherwise, pretty hard to compete with Ama#on and fleabay and established vendors.
 
Earlier this week, I went to Palm Springs, which used to have a retail outlet of Classic Shaving. The online business is still around, but the retail space is now empty. You might check with them, or the good folks at places like Maggard’s or Bullgoose (do they have a storefront?). West Coast Shaving is another, but it has morphed a lot over the last several years; I have no idea, but there’s a definite corporate feel to WCS these days (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

I’ve been to an Art of Shaving exactly once, during Christmas season a few years ago. The sales guy was trying to help a woman buy a razor for her husband. He knew nothing, so I stepped in and helped her (and him). To his credit, he was grateful for my help. She was ecstatic, and I offered to help her husband with thoughts about his new gift, and gave her my card. Understandably, he did not contact me, but I hope he enjoyed his gift!
This. Went in once and the lack of knowledge about their wears bothered me.

Its different in retail outlets like Targrt, Walmart, etc. I wouldnt expect a team member to know about products. But AoS is a very specilized store. If anything, they should at least know about a section if items.
 
Love their creams and they always have sales. YMMV and all that. Sales staff does not bother me because I am a hobbyist. I don't expect them to have the knowledge base and experience I have. Trust me Hoffritz staff did not know jack all about cutlery and I was a customer there.
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
This. Went in once and the lack of knowledge about their wears bothered me.

Its different in retail outlets like Targrt, Walmart, etc. I wouldnt expect a team member to know about products. But AoS is a very specilized store. If anything, they should at least know about a section if items.
I'll betcha a dollar against a donut that the same place that won't let samples be given to potential customers won't let the employees try the product. And then they expect the sales staff to sell stuff they have no idea about? Oy.
 
I've never been to an Art of Shaving store. The only one near me is too far away to be practical...
Things seemed a bit $$$ at their website so I just buy from Amazon, Maggards...

Just a question I'll throw out here, somewhat related:
Do you think that small "local" shops that sell shaving supplies would actually survive these days?
(razors, blades, soaps, etc as well as maybe colognes, beard supplies?)
I've been thinking about possibly starting a local business.
There are no stores like that anywhere around here that I've ever seen. Maybe for a good reason.
I have been thinking about this very thing myself. I would think if I were to open something like this as part of a larger store. We have a local gourmet and gift store that has two different soaps that claim they are also "good for shaving" in addition to being a bath soap. They aren't. But having a small counter at a place like this might be viable. I don't see anything like Pasteurs or Merz scale in my market. But I sure would love to have a spot for enthusiasts to open up a soap or splash and smell.
 
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