Good price for a Rooney?

[andyml73]

Hi,

I'm thinking of upgrading my brush to a Rooney style 2 small, best.

I've seen one advertised in the UK for £36, is this too good to be true? Anyone used charlesnicholls.co.uk before?

Crap photo's but surely a Rooney's a Rooney?

 

[cvac]

There are like 5 different grades of Rooney badger hair. I've heard UK prices tend to be more expensive than US prices, even though they are made in the UK. Weird.

See here:

http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vshop/xcart/home.php?cat=152

 

[40boy]

That's about the same price as Classic Shaving here in the US charges for a 2/1 Best.

http://www.classicshaving.com/Rooney_Shaving_Brushes.html

My only experience with a Rooney is a 3/1 Super Silvertip.
It is an awesome combo of soft and dense. YMMV

 

[chicken neck]

I have bought through Charles Nichols and did not have a good experience. They sent me the wrong brush in the wrong box! However, I decided to keep it as it was a much more valuable brush!

The company appears to be run by the same people that run The Executive Shaving Company. Most people's experience of them is very poor indeed. In particular, they never used to respond to anyone's attempt to contact them. However, we believe the ownership may have recently changed hands.

The bottom line is that it is very hard to buy Rooney brushes in the UK apart from these companies. The alternative would be to buy in the US and risk the customs fee. The main supplier in the US, Vintage Blades, will not ship overseas. I think the only one that will is Classic Shaving.

Regarding the pricing, I am not sure. However, I would expect the Best grade to be a lot cheaper than the Super Silvertip grade which is the one most of the guys in the US go for.

Good luck.

 

[andyml73]

OK, I decided to treat myself and get a silvertip (Rooney 2 sml) brush instead; from ...

charlesnicholls.co.uk

My birthday was close by so I suggested it as a gift from SWMBO. I sent her a URL link to avoid any misunderstanding, not very spontanous I know but she was just pleased to be getting me something I'd like.

She received a brush very quickly with a hand written note. Stating...

'Apologies but the brush you have ordered is out of stock, we have upgraded you to a more expensive brush at no extra cost', they stated that the new brush was worth £50.

Just to be certain she asked if I wanted to check it first. They had 'upgraded' us from a silvertip to a best brush (same style and size.

Just to be clear on this, on the web site the best brush was £36, the silvertip £43.20.

We decided to check how long the brush would be out of stock for, rather than pay over the odds for a cheaper brush. SWMBO phoned them directly, posing as a new customer. Well... would you believe it the brush (silvertip's) were in stock all along !!!

Hmmm, lots of apologizing later they sent out the correct brush and refunded the return postage.

I really hope this was a genuine mistake and not a scam to take advantage of a non-shaver buying a product that has varying grades and costs.

I notice that 'chicken neck' also had a mysterious upgrade from this seller?

Are they trying to push Executive Shaving prices from the Charles Nicholls web site???

 

[chicken neck]

I find this really worrying. I have heard of many people now extremely unhappy with their service. Is there any way we can make sure everyone in the UK knows about this?

What surprises me is that a well known UK vendor (albeit one that does not sell badger brushes) is banned from being mentioned on B&B but gives fantastic service. In contrast, Charles Nicholls is a disgrace.

 

[Drubbing]

Shonky, shonky, shonky.

Mistakes like that wouldn't happen regularly. When they do, it smells of shonk.

 

[benjybhoy]

I know your post is a bit dated now (regarding Charlesnicholls.co.uk) but my brother told me that them and Executive Shaving are the same company - anyway according to Ian my brother, they are a good firm to deal with and willing to drop their prices if you have the brass neck to barter with them! Ian saved 15% on a blackie C-Mon open razor and a taylors avocado soap so worth keeping in mind.

 

[Ignatius]

I know your post is a bit dated now (regarding Charlesnicholls.co.uk) but my brother told me that them and Executive Shaving are the same company - anyway according to Ian my brother, they are a good firm to deal with and willing to drop their prices if you have the brass neck to barter with them! Ian saved 15% on a blackie C-Mon open razor and a taylors avocado soap so worth keeping in mind.

They don't know about shaving brushes and often send the wrong brush. They don't answer queries, don't know the difference between genuine and super silvertip. In fact they don't even know the difference between best and any grade of silvertip. I would not buy (a brush) from them.

 

[andyml73]

As it's my birthday today I finally got my hands on the brush. This is a Rooney Silvertip this time and look's awesome.

I wouldn't shop with these people again though, trying to 'upgrade me' to a cheaper brush is shocking behavior.

The new brush looks good, although it did come in a non-descript plain cardboard box, i.e. not Rooney branded .

I'll be taking her for a test run later