The question is "Is a straight razor a veblen good?". Veblen good examples are mechanical watches, fountain pens, brand names. They are goods that command a ridiculous price because owning one shows your social status and how powerful you are. Why would you pay $15,000 for a Mt Blanc fountain pen when you can use a $0.65 Bic disposable pen?
With straight razors they don't seem to fall into that category. A very small group use them and use them with different motivations (a sense of history/utility/coolness). Even amongst the community there doesn't seem to be a 'show off' element saying "look at me, look at me" I own an X razor.
There are some who own some knock out razors that would have cost a small bundle, but my sense is they aren't trying to say I'm better, rather I like this work of art.
So could a razor be a veblen good, with gold scales & diamonds on the blade? Possibly, but I think most of us would see it as a RSO and ignore it. My 2 cents worth.
With straight razors they don't seem to fall into that category. A very small group use them and use them with different motivations (a sense of history/utility/coolness). Even amongst the community there doesn't seem to be a 'show off' element saying "look at me, look at me" I own an X razor.
There are some who own some knock out razors that would have cost a small bundle, but my sense is they aren't trying to say I'm better, rather I like this work of art.
So could a razor be a veblen good, with gold scales & diamonds on the blade? Possibly, but I think most of us would see it as a RSO and ignore it. My 2 cents worth.