Gillette Trac II on E-Bay

[radiodork6096]

I was looking on E-bay during my lunch break on Friday and came
across a 1976 Trac II unused, still in the original unopened package.
Seller had listed for a buy it now price at $8.99 with free shipping.
Would I be a fool in opening it and adding it to my rotation?
It should be here in a couple more days.

 

[Greybeard]

I'd go ahead and use it. It's not highly valued by collectors and it's a good shaver. You bought it at a good price.
I recently bought a NOS one for my brother as a replacement for his broken old one. It's the only razor he's used for the last 36 years.

 

[ajkimmins]

I was looking on E-bay during my lunch break on Friday and came
across a 1976 Trac II unused, still in the original unopened package.
Seller had listed for a buy it now price at $8.99 with free shipping.
Would I be a fool in opening it and adding it to my rotation?
It should be here in a couple more days.

I found a Trac II at a yard sale last week, picked up some Persona carts at WalMart for $4/10 and must say, it will be a nice flying razor!! Did a good job, I just prefer my DE's!

 

[michiganlover]

I'd go ahead and use it. It's not highly valued by collectors and it's a good shaver. You bought it at a good price.

+1

It has very little value to a collector, as there were literally millions of them made.

Also, unlike a DE razor where there are potentially 100's of different blade brands available, the Trac II is tied to having it's cartridges available. While I don't see them going out of production anytime soon, the razor could have very little value in the future if the blades were no longer made.

 

[Jaymo]

I'd use it, as it's not really any more collectible than a Sensor or Atra.
I got a nice 1984 Atra handle with a lot of razors I bought a couple months ago. I was going to sell it until I found 4 packs of 10 carts for it on clearance for $4.34 at Rite aid. I bought all 4 and gave it a test drive. It shaves great, about like my old Sensors.
To me, it's like a car, most guns and most knives. It's only worth having if it's worth using.

 

[kingfisher]

Use it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

+1

It has very little value to a collector, as there were literally millions of them made.

And everyone threw them away, right?

Just like all those old comic books, baseball cards, advertising, kids' toys, old cars, unfashionable furniture, old buildings, and much else.

It always seems like everyone wants something, then everyone throws it away, then everyone wants it again and wishes they still had that 1957 Chevy or the collection of baseball cards they put out in the trash because they were never going to be worth anything.

Alright, so there won't be quite as much nostalgia involved as with a first car or favorite toys, but still, I think that there's a case to be made for preserving this. Your kids might get a few dollars for it, or perhaps take a several hundred dollar writeoff by donating it to a museum.

Everything seems to become interesting about 40 years out. By 60 years, they're collectible and around 80-100 years, the market is very well established.

 

[Slivovitz]

If it were mine (EDIT: and if I didn't already have two Trac II capable handles), I'd shave with it. That would be a decent price for a modern Trac II compatible handle.

If it appeals to you to display it unopened, why not? That's what would make it valuable to some hypothetical future collector. Just don't count on seeing much profit in selling it yourself, and the kids or grand-kids may have lost it by the time it's really valuable.

 

[taffy]

These crop up on e bay uk, and half the time dont sell, nos with blades and no one seems to want them, they are fab razors, i have a few and use them all, as there are still loads out there that nobody seems to want

 

[sandmountainslim]

If it were me (and it isn't) I would leave it unopened and get an Indian made Trac II clone from ebay for five bucks.
The Indian made clones are identical to the 1970's Gillette except for not having a Gillette logo. I have one of the Indian copies and love the thing. If I wasn't so into DE shaving I would use it daily.
Wp