Downstairs At Felton Antiques

[temjeito]

I stopped by this antique store on my way home from Boston today, because I had read somewhere on this forum that they tend to carry a selection of vintage razors.

They had about a dozen razors, mostly old Techs. The best one was in awful condition. Not a bit of plating left on any of them, and most covered in tons of oxidation. Each was $20. There were two Schick injectors that looked usable for $15 each.

Am I nuts or are those prices nuts? Is this just a reflection of the hipster shaving "bubble"? Their prices on other stuff seemed much more reasonable.

Razors aside, that place is awesome!

 

[David in Boston]

The answer is no. I'm familiar with the place and what happen over a year ago was the owner and the dealers heard about us and DE shavers etc. They started getting any DE razor they could find and jacking up the price. It use to have some interesting razors at reasonable prices. I stopped by there a few weeks ago and they had the same razors they had since a year ago. I just gave up on the place.

 

[Phog Allen]

Definitely ridiculous pricing. It should dawn on anyone who grew up around these things that there were tens of millions made. Granted not every one of them survives due to age and many of them winding up in the dustbin. Still, you can go to eBay on any given day and find hundreds of listings. I have personally been on a boycott of any but the rarest Gillette razors. I have not bought one in nearly ten years. Three slim adjustables. Two off scambay for less than 15 dollars each(with case) and the other for two dollars at antique shop. If I am going to pay any kind of money for a razor it will be a nice Edwin Jagger Chatsworth. Just my take. Buy what you like and enjoy it.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Go West Young Man]

The price listed is where the negotiations start.

 

[David in Boston]

The price listed is where the negotiations start.

Not always.

 

[itsmedave]

I stopped dealing with Antique shops a while ago. It's a huge pain in the tail to go look for then and then when you find them, 90 percent of the time they're really overpriced. If most items are under $25, they won't discount at all and even if it's just over that, they'll discount them 10 percent or so (which is tax). I'd much rather spend a bit more and get them on here or other forums and put some money back in a fellow shavers pocket instead of lining the pockets of an antique dealer. Short of the BST on shaving forums, the best place to look is at flea markets as well.

 

[David in Boston]

I stopped dealing with Antique shops a while ago. It's a huge pain in the tail to go look for then and then when you find them, 90 percent of the time they're really overpriced. If most items are under $25, they won't discount at all and even if it's just over that, they'll discount them 10 percent or so (which is tax). I'd much rather spend a bit more and get them on here or other forums and put some money back in a fellow shavers pocket instead of lining the pockets of an antique dealer. Short of the BST on shaving forums, the best place to look is at flea markets as well.

I'll still give a flea market a try and small town shops.

Other than that I've had it with Antique shops.

 

[Mojo88]

I'll still give a flea market a try and small town shops.


Other than that I've had it with Antique shops.

Same here, I was in an antique store the other day and had a similar experience. A super-speed and lady Gillette were priced at 28 each . I looked at the razors and put them back after seeing the price, and asked the owner if those were really the prices. She commented. "Yes, as people actually shave with those old razors". I pointed out the the razors were rusty and in very bad shape. She again said people buy them and she sells quite a few.

The only thing I can figure is that people in the area are desperate to find a razor in the wild. I am not a big Bay fan, but at those prices you could have bought a lot of the same razors for a total of 28 dollars. There is one mall that has had the same mis-matched set for four years. It is priced at 42 and the owner has a FIRM price tag on the razor case. I will only buy razors that are rare or sold for a reasonable price, as I have most of the razors I want. For me looking at the malls gives me something to do on my lunch or break and I would never spend the gas money or time on the weekend only to be frustrated. It is the out of the way places that will have the best pricing, the dealers in the malls have greater exposure to higher foot traffic and they are making the most of it.

 

[Mark1966]

I've been to Downstairs at Felton Antiques!

No big deal you say but I live in Australia

It was in July last year and I think I know the razors you are talking about.

I bought a slim handle NEW because I was DESPERATE to find something in the wild while in the US.

 

[Borked]

Exactly Mark, us Aussies have a fraction of the opportunities that our fellow Seppo's have available to them.
Those prices are cheap for what we see down under...

 

[Toddy]

The prices are high because they expect to be haggled down. Give it a try next time.

 

[shavefreak]

Between gas time and effort even seeing a semi decent razor in the wild will make you think about getting it for some internal gratification. It is just a long shot on a good find but the real fun is the hope of that bottom dial fat boy or a lather catcher.

I was at a flea market and a older guy with no computer or ebay knowledge had tons of razors priced well. Nothing I needed but he comes back every October with lots of stuff.

I can sit here with a cup of coffee and shop ebay for stuff and never see as many choices as driving around the state or country. Certainly not as much fun as the hope when entering a store but more practical and cheaper.

 

[Blooze]

The prices are high because they expect to be haggled down. Give it a try next time.

We have nearly a dozen antique stores here and I've never once been able to haggle one of them down on anything. Most will offer 10% off if over $30, but as said earlier, that covers the tax. On that note I do occasionally find a dealer at one of the shops that rents booth space that has a good price on a nice piece.

 

[goby]

I stopped dealing with Antique shops a while ago. It's a huge pain in the tail to go look for then and then when you find them, 90 percent of the time they're really overpriced. If most items are under $25, they won't discount at all and even if it's just over that, they'll discount them 10 percent or so (which is tax). I'd much rather spend a bit more and get them on here or other forums and put some money back in a fellow shavers pocket instead of lining the pockets of an antique dealer. Short of the BST on shaving forums, the best place to look is at flea markets as well.

I've had 2 great deals in 2 years: A Rocket HD for $12.00 (I didn't know what it was). And a Fatboy that was caked in soap for $10.00. After 5-6 hours of cleaning and photographing, I did get $105 for it on ebay. It looked minty pretty.

Other than that, I hate antique shops. They are so overpriced when you find the razors. It's better to buy it on BST and get a good deal that spend hours, day, months or even years finding just one great deal in an antique shop.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Not always.

Always ;-)

 

[FDEMS]

My goal is to find the lowest price Gillette that's not in terrible shape, my limit is around $10.00. I just recently snagged an Aristocrat for $5.00 but that's hard find with luck! I'll only check antique stores if I have time and they're within my vicinity. Junk stores, flea markets and estate/garage sales are generally good place to find one in the wild. I like to clean them up and if it needs a replate the low price of purchase justifies the cost.

 

[Argonaut]

There is an elderly couple in my hometown that have a booth at an antique store in a nearby town. I ran into them at the store as they were setting out a few razors, a black handle SS and a few 60's style SS's, nothing great but in decent shape. After chatting with them about the razors, which they had tagged for a dollar each, I told them they could get $10 each and not to leave them outside of a case because someone would steal them. They asked me to come by their house and look at some other shaving stuff they had like straight razors, old brushes and a few more underwhelming DE's. I told them what I thought a fair price would be for the items, showed them the wiki page on dating Gillettes, and went along my way. The next time I went in the store, everything I had looked at was marked triple the amount I had quoted them. The lady said they got to looking on ebay and thought I was trying to lowball price their stuff. I responded by telling her it was odd that I would do that without offering to buy anything or purchase her first lot of four razors for a total of $4 that she was now asking $35 each for. That was over a year ago, the other day I checked out their booth again, same razors are still there, marked down 10%.

 

[itsmedave]

There is an elderly couple in my hometown that have a booth at an antique store in a nearby town. I ran into them at the store as they were setting out a few razors, a black handle SS and a few 60's style SS's, nothing great but in decent shape. After chatting with them about the razors, which they had tagged for a dollar each, I told them they could get $10 each and not to leave them outside of a case because someone would steal them. They asked me to come by their house and look at some other shaving stuff they had like straight razors, old brushes and a few more underwhelming DE's. I told them what I thought a fair price would be for the items, showed them the wiki page on dating Gillettes, and went along my way. The next time I went in the store, everything I had looked at was marked triple the amount I had quoted them. The lady said they got to looking on ebay and thought I was trying to lowball price their stuff. I responded by telling her it was odd that I would do that without offering to buy anything or purchase her first lot of four razors for a total of $4 that she was now asking $35 each for. That was over a year ago, the other day I checked out their booth again, same razors are still there, marked down 10%.

And this is the reason why when you see high priced razors not to even fool with telling them they are too high or trying to use logic. Try to be nice and get accused of lowballing them (even though you never offered to buy them)