bubble bursts on Yardley SS - market plummets...

[bythbook]

In the past two days, two unused Yardley shaving soaps in orig. wooden bowls have sold on dbay for under $50 each!!!!

After the run up of the past year... and my hoarding & buying & cheating & stealing to GET MORE YARDLEY... I feel like I have a portfolio full of mortgage based securities. Yes... I was investing in vintage shaving soap.

Oh, well - I guess I can always shave with it!

 

[Easttexasman]

Is this another super good soap that I cannot buy?

Paul

 

[Rivguy]

Yes, I used it for a number of years until my source could not get it anymore.
I miss that and Old Spice soap which were my regulars.

Enjoy your shaves,

Doug

 

[SliceOfLife]

Between you and me, there are really only a handful members who ranted and raved about Yardley a few months back. And the most vocal of them have stopped posting much in Soap forum. Maybe do a "Favorite Soap" thread to try and draw them out again?

Frankly IMHO yardley is actually in the lesser half of the vintages I've tried. If I hadn't already sold the three bowls of Yardley/Wrisley I've owned, I'd be selling them now even at the new price (I bid $20 on a NOS bowl of Saddle Club, a EverReady brush, and a "Doctor" occupational Shaving mug on eBay yesterday for the wooden bowl and the brush and damn near won. It finished at like $25 if I recall. Still had the Imprint on the soap and everything.)

 

[ouch]

I'm waiting for it to come down to a nickel.

 

[bythbook]

YOU!!!! It's YOU, SoL, who has poisoned the well!

hahahahahha

These things have their ups & downs, I suppose.

(Wrisley is NOT Yardley, I maintain.)

I do love my Yardley, though....

Between you and me, there are really only a handful members who ranted and raved about Yardley a few months back. And the most vocal of them have stopped posting much in Soap forum. Maybe do a "Favorite Soap" thread to try and draw them out again?

Frankly IMHO yardley is actually in the lesser half of the vintages I've tried. If I hadn't already sold the three bowls of Yardley/Wrisley I've owned, I'd be selling them now even at the new price (I bid $20 on a NOS bowl of Saddle Club, a EverReady brush, and a "Doctor" occupational Shaving mug on eBay yesterday for the wooden bowl and the brush and damn near won. It finished at like $25 if I recall. Still had the Imprint on the soap and everything.)

 

[bythbook]

I'm waiting for it to come down to a nickel.

...like my mortgage-based toxic pension fund assets?

 

[KaiserKrebs]

Well, it doesn't make me feel so hot that I bought at the height of the market... a few months back, and suddenly the Yardley comes out of the woodwork in droves. I do however love the soap, it was NOS with the box. However, doing a cost analysis, if I tell myself that I spent $ 50.00 on the soap, the consarn box cost me $ 40.00.

Maybe the luxury of owning several bowls of the stuff, for those that do...somewhat lessens the prestige, or the excitement of acquiring it. Trying to be a member of that club would, keep the baby from getting new shoes and put me in the poorhouse.

Have never seen vintage Yardley in the wild, and never expect to, but would jump on it at most price points. But the same can be said for vintage Old Spice, and that seems to be getting a lot of attention these days on the Bay.

I guess for us newer guys the soap du-jour ends up being whatever guys like Jon, Slagel, Seraphim, TopGumby, Ouch, etc. says is the ne' plus ultra of shavedom.

 

[bythbook]

Well, it doesn't make me feel so hot that I bought at the height of the market...

...

I guess for us newer guys the soap du-jour ends up being whatever guys like Jon, Slagel, Seraphim, TopGumby, Ouch, etc. says is the ne' plus ultra of shavedom.

...really - you don't want to listen to those other guys anyway....

(They don't fall for the "flavor of the month" anymore....)


...BUT I STILL DO!!!!!!!

 

[joshmpdx]

Regardless of market prices, we know each puck is worth hundreds!

 

[Joe Edson]

I guess I got lucky. I bought during the peak of prices, but got mine for ebay UK for $55 shipped. Thought I got a really good deal at the time, but now I see them going for around that on Ebay US.

I haven't used mine in awhile. Might have to break it our here soon.

 

[DSB]

There are many great soaps out there, and Yardley easily remains in my top 5. YMMV, and all that. The $100 prices were rediculous, though. I am glad the price is coming down a bit (despite having bought a few pucks at the height of the market). The more reasonable price means that more people here will be able to try it, if they choose to.

 

[bythbook]

I'm trying to solidify my lifetime hoard of supplies before (choose one):

a. Shavepocalypse

b. personal bankruptcy
​

Just arrived from Merry Olde: unused soap-in-bowl of Cusson's Imperial Leather Classic; just sealed the deal on dbay: unused soap-in-bowl of Wrisley's Saddle Club. (Not the one Ian re'd above.)

I'm just about set on soap, after shave, cologne (goes w/out saying: brushes, razors)... if I lay in about 4000 blades, I'm there!

 

[DSB]

I'm trying to solidify my lifetime hoard of supplies before (choose one):

a. Shavepocalypse

b. personal bankruptcy
​

Just arrived from Merry Olde: unused soap-in-bowl of Cusson's Imperial Leather Classic; just sealed the deal on dbay: unused soap-in-bowl of Wrisley's Saddle Club. (Not the one Ian re'd above.)

I'm just about set on soap, after shave, cologne (goes w/out saying: brushes, razors)... if I lay in about 4000 blades, I'm there!

Can I make one simple request? Please stop out bidding me on vintage soaps.

Yes, I am kidding.

 

[Seraphim]

Well, it doesn't make me feel so hot that I bought at the height of the market... a few months back, and suddenly the Yardley comes out of the woodwork in droves. I do however love the soap, it was NOS with the box. However, doing a cost analysis, if I tell myself that I spent $ 50.00 on the soap, the consarn box cost me $ 40.00.

Maybe the luxury of owning several bowls of the stuff, for those that do...somewhat lessens the prestige, or the excitement of acquiring it. Trying to be a member of that club would, keep the baby from getting new shoes and put me in the poorhouse.

Have never seen vintage Yardley in the wild, and never expect to, but would jump on it at most price points. But the same can be said for vintage Old Spice, and that seems to be getting a lot of attention these days on the Bay.

I guess for us newer guys the soap du-jour ends up being whatever guys like Jon, Slagel, Seraphim, TopGumby, Ouch, etc. says is the ne' plus ultra of shavedom.

You can see that my bashing of modern Williams has sucessfully driven down the price to about a buck a puck. That has been my plan all along, I mean, it's not like you really think that I dislike that soap, do you? I'm simply playing the market...

 

[SliceOfLife]

YOU!!!! It's YOU, SoL, who has poisoned the well!

hahahahahha

These things have their ups & downs, I suppose.

(Wrisley is NOT Yardley, I maintain.)

I do love my Yardley, though....

I had some Yardley and thought about the same as I felt about my Wrisleys. Not creamy enough for me. Like the more recent Colgate/Palmolive, the last batch of Williams (2000ish, right before the current stuff) and MWF. It just didn't have the cushion I like. I never compared them head to head to see if they performed identically, but I'd certainly not take either over Tabac or Vintage Old spice/Williams (50/60's).


But that's the problem with listening to what others say is the "Best" soap. I tried Tabac as my first big tallow soap. It blew me away. I posted how much I like it and a bunch of Yardley lovers started rattling off names of what's better than Tabac. I've spent six months (and lots of cash) or better trying all those soaps convinced that they must be better and frankly Tabac is miles ahead of all of them in giving me the lather I want to shave with. MWF is a good comparison. I'd consider it decent but not good enough for me to use. I know dozens of people who will swear it blows Tabac out of the water. There you go.

Of all the shave soaps I've used, the commercial stuff that's still on my shelf is no more than: Tabac, IM, Vintage Williams, Vintage mystery (suspected Hersheys Cocoa Butter shave soap), Kells Original (my favorite glycerin of the ones I've used... kept mostly because I like their spice scent a lot). The Kells may not last many more shaves (just because I do prefer pure soaps for the slip). I've used Old Spice and Wrisley as body soap. No joke.

 

[bythbook]

Can I make one simple request? Please stop out bidding me on vintage soaps.

Yes, I am kidding.

hahahahhahaha

I'm finished... well, almost.

(Lentheric in bowl... I need that. Maybe some others.)

 

[bythbook]

I had some Yardley and thought about the same as I felt about my Wrisleys. Not creamy enough for me. Like the more recent Colgate/Palmolive, the last batch of Williams (2000ish, right before the current stuff) and MWF. It just didn't have the cushion I like. I never compared them head to head to see if they performed identically, but I'd certainly not take either over Tabac or Vintage Old spice/Williams (50/60's).


But that's the problem with listening to what others say is the "Best" soap. I tried Tabac as my first big tallow soap. It blew me away. I posted how much I like it and a bunch of Yardley lovers started rattling off names of what's better than Tabac. I've spent six months (and lots of cash) or better trying all those soaps convinced that they must be better and frankly Tabac is miles ahead of all of them in giving me the lather I want to shave with. MWF is a good comparison. I'd consider it decent but not good enough for me to use. I know dozens of people who will swear it blows Tabac out of the water. There you go.

Of all the shave soaps I've used, the commercial stuff that's still on my shelf is no more than: Tabac, IM, Vintage Williams, Vintage mystery (suspected Hersheys Cocoa Butter shave soap), Kells Original (my favorite glycerin of the ones I've used... kept mostly because I like their spice scent a lot). The Kells may not last many more shaves (just because I do prefer pure soaps for the slip). I've used Old Spice and Wrisley as body soap. No joke.

...!

This is what makes it fun, though, isn't it?

I prefer Yardley's & Wrisley's Saddle Club to Tabac; I really really prefer HIS (House for Men) to any of 'em (for some reason, the scent is still there... yummy!). AVON kills! (I have three versions & I think they're the same stuff - maybe, maybe not.) Yardley English Lavender stick is awesome (I know a couple of guys who've tried it and don't like it - go figure); Williams stick (rose scented) is fabulous; old Williams, old Colgate's are great... and vintage Tabac is a whole 'nother thing, entirely. Much better - at least scent-wise - than current Tabac. I love Old Spice. Aramis. JHL. RL Safari. Tallow Woods of Windsor. Houbigant. Kanon.

However - and honestly - at this point in my shaving life I'm getting near-great shaves out of almost every soap I use - and I don't intend to disparage the non-tallow soaps at all - Mama's & SCS & QED... they are all wonderful, really. I even occasionally use Tabac & MWF & D.R. Harris & C&S... well, I have a lot of soap. (Can't abide Eucris, though.)

I'm having a real problem with this whole "better" thing. I like vintage soaps - and I like new ones, too. But there is an obvious romance in using something that hasn't been made in twenty or so years - and never will be again. (See the whole vintage Gillette thing, right?) Are they better? I don't know - but they're pretty darned good, and I really enjoy using a vintage razor and a vintage brush with vintage soap.

Heck, why can't we just all be friends?

[...and now that I'm onto little Seraphim's game... watch out.]

 

[DSB]

...!

This is what makes it fun, though, isn't it?

I prefer Yardley's & Wrisley's Saddle Club to Tabac; I really really prefer HIS (House for Men) to any of 'em (for some reason, the scent is still there... yummy!). AVON kills! (I have three versions & I think they're the same stuff - maybe, maybe not.) Yardley English Lavender stick is awesome (I know a couple of guys who've tried it and don't like it - go figure); Williams stick (rose scented) is fabulous; old Williams, old Colgate's are great... and vintage Tabac is a whole 'nother thing, entirely. Much better - at least scent-wise - than current Tabac. I love Old Spice. Aramis. JHL. RL Safari. Tallow Woods of Windsor. Houbigant. Kanon.

However - and honestly - at this point in my shaving life I'm getting near-great shaves out of almost every soap I use - and I don't intend to disparage the non-tallow soaps at all - Mama's & SCS & QED... they are all wonderful, really. I even occasionally use Tabac & MWF & D.R. Harris & C&S... well, I have a lot of soap. (Can't abide Eucris, though.)

I'm having a real problem with this whole "better" thing. I like vintage soaps - and I like new ones, too. But there is an obvious romance in using something that hasn't been made in twenty or so years - and never will be again. (See the whole vintage Gillette thing, right?) Are they better? I don't know - but they're pretty darned good, and I really enjoy using a vintage razor and a vintage brush with vintage soap.

Heck, why can't we just all be friends?

[...and now that I'm onto little Seraphim's game... watch out.]

Very well said. I am quite envious of your collection.*




*I'm hoping that if I compliment you enough, you'll stop outbidding me on vintage soaps.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

I once contemplated bidding on a tub of unused Yardley that was like around $100...then, I tiptoed back from the edge...