Blade costs/savings

[zimmer]

I just acquired a Gem Micromatic this week. I decided to try one to compare it to my Slant and Fatboy since I"ve heard about the close shaves that some get with the Gem.
I went off to search for SE blades and finally found some at a local Walgreens...right there, next to the newer 3 and 5 blade cartridges, which brings me to my point.
The cartridges were priced from $9.00 for a pack of 5, to $13.00 for a pack of five. I couldn't believe it! They even had the things locked behind a little plexiglass door. The DEs and the Gems, of course were not.

The more guys I talk to about wet shaving, the more I hear about the outrageous prices and environmental costs of the plastic stuff.
Just had to comment.

 

[tater_salad]

Cartridge packs are highly stolen items.. They are small, you could probably stick about 5-10 of them in each pocket and still not look bulky..
Then you can sell em on e-bay and probably get at least $6 for each pack.. 120 bux for 5 mins of work.

 

[cricky101]

At the Walgreen's near my house, even the SE and DE blades are locked away behind the Plexi.

 

[LittleJon]

I looked into alternatives to cartridges when I saw the crazy prices at Sam's for Fusion and Mach 3 cartridges.
$54.88 for 16 Fusion Cartridges Thats 3.43 for each.

 

[sandmountainslim]

Cartridge packs are highly stolen items.. They are small, you could probably stick about 5-10 of them in each pocket and still not look bulky..
Then you can sell em on e-bay and probably get at least $6 for each pack.. 120 bux for 5 mins of work.

Even DOLLAR GENERAL covets the Fusion blades
I noticed today that rather than have the cartridges on display they have a pad of paper with photos of the cartridges which you take to the counter to purchase.
Wp

 

[praetorian2000]

Cartridge packs are highly stolen items.. They are small, you could probably stick about 5-10 of them in each pocket and still not look bulky..
Then you can sell em on e-bay and probably get at least $6 for each pack.. 120 bux for 5 mins of work.

there was a documentary on tv about people who make a living off shoplifting. long gone are the days when people would walk in and stick stuff down their pants or in their pockets. nowadays, they just walk in, grab a whole bunch of whatever, and run out. they don't care who sees them. one police caught up with a group and they had a whole slew of blades (mach 3 & fusion). and they're priced to sell on ebay.

and of course, the more that get stolen, the higher the cost will be cause the store wants to compensate for its loss.

 

[Rufust445]

A sign of the times, and why Web sites like this one are still growing in popularity.

In their marketing and pricing strategies, P&G/Gillette is showing about as much integrity as a Wall Street banker. Their own neo-criminal practices are breeding crime at the retail level.

 

[daven1986]

At least no one wants to steal DE blades as the resale value isn't that high

 

[Monkeydad]

At least no one wants to steal DE blades as the resale value isn't that high

Yeah, but you get "carded" sometimes. Darn Emo kids...