Funny Vintage Shop Sellers

[gearchow]

So I go in this shop yesterday and see a 46-47 Aristocrat in the case, major plate loss on the head and they want $54 for it. Wow I say. Looked at another item and it was double what I would pay. Then I see this one:

View attachment 133981

That's a slant in a Red & Black case with a pack of Enders blades. Man, how wrong is all that? For $19. I pointed that out to the sales clerk, laughed and said I'll take this one home with me. I think I confused her.

The slant isn't in great condition, but it is a Mulcuto. So that's $10 for the Mulcuto, $5 for the blades and $5 for the case. perfect.

Then I saw this one on a lower shelf:

View attachment 133982

Given the other prices, I was sure this one was going to be around $30. Nope, $15. More smiling on my part and it's ok, I'll take that one too.

It's a Fuller and I'll buy those catalin, swirly, butterscotchy handles every time if they are $20 and under.

Now I'm not talking about ebay, just stuff you can find locally.

Another time I saw a completely brassed NEW going for $15, but from the same vendor, a slim adjustable and a super adjustable going for $9 a piece, both excellent condition.

It's continually amazing to me.

I'd love to hear your stories.

-jim

 

[gearchow]

Really? No razor hunters with good stories here? Don't tell me you all are buying modern razors or hanging solely on ebay?

Hunting for razors is great fun! It's a family oriented activity. Of course, the AD does spread. My daughter collects Wade figurines. My wife looks at jewelry, clothes and first edition, signed books (thank goodness she only likes the cheap ones!).

My daughter funds her Wade acquisitions by helping me spot razors and brushes. There are finders fees involved.

-jim

 

[weenerdog3443]

Not too much around me. Theres only 2 antique shops locally and they are only open 2 days a week. There is one in my parents town about a half hour drive but they never have anything shaving related. Next I would have to drive up to Pennsylvania which is about a hour drive till I hit the first one then there antique malls all over the place. So for me its just more convenient to buy online and save the gas. How ever I do love going north because its antique mall after mall mall

 

[grogals]

You've inspired me. Thanks.

I'll check out a few shops this week & report back if there's anything interesting.

SWMBO is not happy with you, filling my empty head with ways to spend money. She knew it was risky to snag a trophy husband.

 

[jeff2011]

I have 3 or 4 local shops I look at once in a while...

My best finds were at a flea market--they weren't pretty, but both are serviceable: an aristocrat and a red tip, $1/each.

 

[BBrad]

Anyone who has spent any time at all looking for razors in the wild will experience the same fun! It is a great pastime.

My most recent fun involved an ABC Pocket Edition set. It was in a display with two other Gillettes, a cased Old Type and a badly brassed and uncased NEW. The cased OT was $30, the NEW was $20, and the ABC was $10.

I asked to see the razors, and as she took them out of the case she started explaining a few things to me. (I had not yet asked any questions.) She told me that the two other razors were much older than the ABC. She proceeded to show me the patent date on the handle of the OT and said "See, this one was made in 1904." Likewise with the NEW, she pointed out the patent date on its handle. "Gillette stopped putting dates on their razors in the '40s, so this one is newer," she said, as she handed me the ABC.

I looked it over, found all teeth intact with only a slight bend on two corner teeth. The razor was well-tarnished, but the plating was intact. The set was missing the blade case, but I knew I already had the correct one at home in the parts drawer. The case was in good shape, just needing a little cosmetic attention.

As I turned the case over, she pointed out that shaving instructions were printed on the bottom of the case.

Of course, I purchased the ABC and left the other two for some other lucky collector to find . . .

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Nice Score

 

[miket]

I love looking for vintage shaving gear in antique stores. The problem is that it is hard to find. Some antique dealers have told me that certain people buy all the shaving gears as soon as they get it in the store. I presume these are the folks that turn around and sell it on Ebay. However, as you say, when you do find it, the pricing is erratic. I have passed on some nice razors because they are overpriced, and yet have bought some that I thought were good deals.

Mike

 

[stormpetrel]

I live 10 minutes from a small NC city with over 30 antique stores...I've only made it all the way through 5. I'm the same way...it's much more exciting to stumble upon one of these razors that has been lost in a forgotten corner of a quiet store than to sroll through the ebay listings. Most of the shop owners can direct you to a razor or two if you ask them, but some of the best finds the owners don't even know were there.

 

[ackvil]

I have gone to antique malls, stores, flea markets, and thrift stores and the only thing I ever came up with was a T&H travel brush that the thrift store thought was a brush to remove dust from shoes! I have yet to find a razor, blades, or anything else of a shaving nature that is of interest.

 

[klm099]

The antique stores are always an adventure, I started to walk out of one Sat. when I saw an Everready cased for $50. but on the way to the door a near mint thin handle pre 1951 tech caught my eye, it was $5 and the shelf below it had a very old Old Spice mug for $4

Best score was a 1930s German Apollo full sized razor in a travel kit (complete), including blade holder and blades; all with tags, it has never been used for $25, but passed on the Rolls that was $60

every trip is an adventure, but not always successful; Once I tried to get a shop to break up a collection they were trying to sell as a set for over $300, a year later it was $160, another year passed and still they wouldn't break up the collection....then about 6 months later I got them to sell me 2 fat boys, 3 slims, 2 techs for $50 (orignally if they had broke up the set I would have been willing to go over $100 for this lot)

ken

 

[_JP_]

Many antique stores operate by consignment sales. Because of that the pricing can be erratic with different people putting their own prices on their consignment items.

 

[BBrad]

I have gone to antique malls, stores, flea markets, and thrift stores and the only thing I ever came up with was a T&H travel brush that the thrift store thought was a brush to remove dust from shoes! I have yet to find a razor, blades, or anything else of a shaving nature that is of interest.

Nice brush, Jim!! You are lucky to live where you do and have so many shops within a short drive to pick from!

I have found several good buys in your neighborhood when I visit down there. The ABC set that I wrote about earlier in this thread came from a shop up on Indian Rocks Road (north of West Bay) and the "Box-O-Straights" that I wrote about in the Straight Razor forum came from a shop in St. Pete on MLK right around 22nd Avenue, Andrea and Friends.

When I am in Largo visiting my parents I take a day and make the rounds. I usually find something good somewhere. Most of the shops in Pinellas county are run by very nice people, and I always enjoy the day!

Any given shop on any given day will either be a home run or a strike out. I'm lucky to have the time when I visit to hit them all . . .

 

[_MementoMori_]

Last week when I found my silver ABC Empire razor for $15, it was sitting on a shelf with 4 GEM/Ever Ready 1912 SEs. They were all priced between $20 - $25. I had to rub my eyes and pinch myself for a solid 5 minutes before I asked someone to open the case for me.

 

[LiveOak]

I love finding razors in the antique stores. A couple of my finds:

1. A Dubl Duck Special No. 1 in awesome shape for $15

2. A Dubl Duck GoldEdge in similarly awesome shape for $20

3. A cased Aristocrat (gold Slim Adjustable) in pristine condition along with a mint regular Slim Adjustable for $30

4. A jar of 9 Gillette razors which included two Fatboys (both in excellent shape), two Slim Adjustables, a Red Tip, and various superspeeds for $30

I have become a fiend for poking around antique stores, although there aren't as many around as I wish there were. More often than not the sellers don't know you can even still shave with the old DE's so they think they are mostly conversation pieces.

 

[jlanger]

I always love poking around antique shops. I always get excited when someone talks about a "box o razors" that they through old razors from sales in. Usually they're $5 each. I'm amazed at how many rolls razor sets are out there for $50 with missing parts and are sitting right next to really nice superspeeds and adjustables for $5.

Haven't found too many executive model razors in cases though. Though they are still fairly rare aren't they?

 

[L. Martino]

Hiya,

I'll stop into antique stores if I pass any, and there's a few regular places I know of as well. Once in a while something will be worth finding, but it's few and far between. If I'm lucky it'll be something like a cased fatboy in nice condition, or maybe even a cased Aristocrat in great shape. Of course an excellent price is always part of those deals, otherwise I skip em.

A while back I found this at a regular stop. The box top was closed and I didn't know what the heck it was, and so I asked someone to unlock the display case. I open the box and it's a 1955 President in what looks to be excellent condition and used maybe five times at most. The price was inside the box.

I said I'd take the razor and went up front to pay. Since the people know me at this store, they were nice enough to take an additional 10% off the price. This brought the total down an additional $2.40, turning an already fairly reasonably price of $24 into $21.60 plus tax.

This was one of my better days,

Martin

 

[pauls51]

I'm yet to find anything worthy of posting!!! My local antique stores are very limited and they charge upwards of $40 for a SE in a case!... I usually rely on B&B and ebay...

 

[BowTieGuy]

I've been pretty fortunate in my antique mall shopping. As noted above, finding a deal or steal is part of the fun. I too will pass on the overpriced unusable Rolls razor sets or the crazy priced box sets with undistinguished contents. But the occasional "dollar find" makes it all worth it! Lately I stumbled on five random razors in a box full of junk - no prices anywhere - and the proprietor took a look and said, "Let's see. One, two, three,....how about five bucks?" Gem Jr., Gem featherweight, Gem Micromatic Clog Pruf, Gillette Superspeed, and a Slim Adjustable. A good day!