Went looking for the model number for a Baili razor on Am****, and it wasn't there. Each time I checked, there were fewer Baili razors listed. Now there is only a Baili DE blade for sale, and it is really bad.
Is Baili getting out of the retail business?
Or are there new tariffs on the import of Chinese goods to the U.S. that has affected razor manufacturers like Baili? Someone mentioned there would be new tariffs on July 1, if I recall correctly, and this would be right on time.
I tried looking up tariffs, but there are so many old news stories on Chinese tariffs that it was impossible to sort things out. However, I did see mention of China providing rebates to exporters to offset U.S. tariffs. That might help explain the bizarrely low prices on some Chinese razors.
A lot of Chinese razors are junk, either bad knockoffs or goofy experiments. Yes, this means you, Yaqi. And some Chinese sellers on Am**** are dishonest.
But there are also excellent knockoffs, and some excellent original razors, like the Baili butterfly TTO. And many Chinese sellers on Am**** (and in China) are trustworthy. Plus, I suspect some/many of the name brand razor companies have their zamak heads cast and plated in China.
It's not like tariffs on Chinese goods will bring DE razor mass production back to the U.S. But it will encourage it in other countries, like India and Pakistan, and maybe Germany will actually make their own razors again.
And, let's be honest, the price of most zamak razors, particularly the knockoffs, is absurdly low.
I wonder what's going to happen to Baili, and to that strangely named outfit SNMIRN? How can they survive with such low prices?
But the bigger problem for Chinese razor manufacturers, as I see it, is they have terrible marketing skills. Your brand needs to have a name and names for each razor, names that can be pronounced, remembered, spelled and recommended to others. And your razors need a sense of prestige and pizzazz. Look at the old Gillette marketing! Those were razors that sizzled, with names, prices, and swank boxes that made them status symbols. And the gold plating made them into sex symbols.
If you want to see how to market knockoff razors, look at Roman Empire, sold by the reputable Razor Blades Club:
www.razorbladesclub.com
They come in a very nice box quite suitable for gift giving, with a good starter sampler of blades, they are genuinely good razors, and each has the name of a Roman emperor.
SNMIRN, Baili and MingShi should have been doing this. And with SNMIRN's beautiful, sleek magnetic adjustable razor, they should have started with an ultra-deluxe model, with shiny (real) gold plate and a durable plush box, like the old Gillettes. If you can get a vintage razor replated in gold at a reasonable price, surely they could have mass produced gold-plated razors at an affordable price, too. You could call it the "Fort Knox Special Edition," except no one in China has the faintest idea what "Fort Knox" is. Give your brand name some class! That's what Viking Razors is doing. (Did Vikings actually shave? At least Romans did.)
I'm not sure how much longer SNMIRN and Baili will be around, at least in the Western market. But I do see Baili razors still being sold under other brand names, including the prestige Vikings label. So you can still buy them, for now.
I have mixed feelings on the shave from the SNMIRN mag-adjustable razor. But it does deliver a good shave at some settings, and is remarkably pretty. The Baili butterfly TTO is a hidden gem, and delivers a great shave once you find the best (acute) angle.
OKOKOK, so it's a bit complicated. But the bottom line:
Does anyone know what is going on with tariffs on Chinese goods, in the U.S., EU and elsewhere?
Any thoughts on optimal razor marketing?
-=-
Is Baili getting out of the retail business?
Or are there new tariffs on the import of Chinese goods to the U.S. that has affected razor manufacturers like Baili? Someone mentioned there would be new tariffs on July 1, if I recall correctly, and this would be right on time.
I tried looking up tariffs, but there are so many old news stories on Chinese tariffs that it was impossible to sort things out. However, I did see mention of China providing rebates to exporters to offset U.S. tariffs. That might help explain the bizarrely low prices on some Chinese razors.
A lot of Chinese razors are junk, either bad knockoffs or goofy experiments. Yes, this means you, Yaqi. And some Chinese sellers on Am**** are dishonest.
But there are also excellent knockoffs, and some excellent original razors, like the Baili butterfly TTO. And many Chinese sellers on Am**** (and in China) are trustworthy. Plus, I suspect some/many of the name brand razor companies have their zamak heads cast and plated in China.
It's not like tariffs on Chinese goods will bring DE razor mass production back to the U.S. But it will encourage it in other countries, like India and Pakistan, and maybe Germany will actually make their own razors again.
And, let's be honest, the price of most zamak razors, particularly the knockoffs, is absurdly low.
I wonder what's going to happen to Baili, and to that strangely named outfit SNMIRN? How can they survive with such low prices?
But the bigger problem for Chinese razor manufacturers, as I see it, is they have terrible marketing skills. Your brand needs to have a name and names for each razor, names that can be pronounced, remembered, spelled and recommended to others. And your razors need a sense of prestige and pizzazz. Look at the old Gillette marketing! Those were razors that sizzled, with names, prices, and swank boxes that made them status symbols. And the gold plating made them into sex symbols.
If you want to see how to market knockoff razors, look at Roman Empire, sold by the reputable Razor Blades Club:
Razors - Razor Blades Club
www.razorbladesclub.com
They come in a very nice box quite suitable for gift giving, with a good starter sampler of blades, they are genuinely good razors, and each has the name of a Roman emperor.
SNMIRN, Baili and MingShi should have been doing this. And with SNMIRN's beautiful, sleek magnetic adjustable razor, they should have started with an ultra-deluxe model, with shiny (real) gold plate and a durable plush box, like the old Gillettes. If you can get a vintage razor replated in gold at a reasonable price, surely they could have mass produced gold-plated razors at an affordable price, too. You could call it the "Fort Knox Special Edition," except no one in China has the faintest idea what "Fort Knox" is. Give your brand name some class! That's what Viking Razors is doing. (Did Vikings actually shave? At least Romans did.)
I'm not sure how much longer SNMIRN and Baili will be around, at least in the Western market. But I do see Baili razors still being sold under other brand names, including the prestige Vikings label. So you can still buy them, for now.
I have mixed feelings on the shave from the SNMIRN mag-adjustable razor. But it does deliver a good shave at some settings, and is remarkably pretty. The Baili butterfly TTO is a hidden gem, and delivers a great shave once you find the best (acute) angle.
OKOKOK, so it's a bit complicated. But the bottom line:
Does anyone know what is going on with tariffs on Chinese goods, in the U.S., EU and elsewhere?
Any thoughts on optimal razor marketing?
-=-
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