I am feeling very annoyed right now...

[JasonJT]

Good evening all.

I am feeling somewhat annoyed right now. When I visited my local supermarket earlier this afternoon to pick up a Click and Collect item; I took the time to visit the shaving section. The various Gillette refills all had some sort of electronic tag on them that must be removed on purchase (for instance one pack of Gillette Fusion blades cost about the same as a bottle of fine red wine).

I even made a comment on Gillette's Facebook page 'Why are your blades so expensive that you need to take out a mortgate to pay for them?' Obviously I was exaggerating there but even so, Gillette never replied (go figure).

Never mind. Thanks to everyone on this forum and some of my own research, I am now enjoying wetshaving very much!

Jason.

 

[nemo]

... various Gillette refills all had some sort of electronic tag on them that must be removed on purchase (for instance one pack of Gillette Fusion blades cost about the same as a bottle of fine red wine) ...

Who here cares when it's possible to buy 100 Astra or comparable blades for the price of an everyday bottle of red wine? (<$10)

If you haven't switched to a DE yet that wake-up call in the supermarket aisle should've done the trick.

 

[JasonJT]

If you haven't switched to a DE yet that wake-up call in the supermarket aisle should do the trick.

I switched to DE shaving about 2 months ago (with my 39c Sledgehammer) and the shaving soap/brush my wife got me. Never looked back since.

Jason.

 

[nemo]

Right, of course Jason, I remember now. So don't be annoyed!

 

[brucered]

I just got 100 Gillette Guard cartridges from India for $25cad, landed.

They prey on the N/A market.

 

[linty1]

Why are your blades so expensive that you need to take out a mortgate to pay for them?

Because ppl will pay for them, and profit to them knows/cares not where it came from.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

Because it's the best a man can get (tm)

Because ppl will pay for them, and profit to them knows/cares not where it came from.

 

[NorthernSoul]

With the money you're saving on expensive cartridges, you'll now be able to buy other expensive shaving stuff.

 

[SharpieB]

Gillette disposable carts are insanely expensive and are sold in small packages. People tend to steal expensive things in small packages, therefore they are locked up.

 

[talibeard]

I hear you and the answer Gillette didn't want to give you is very simple; profit maximization. And the only reason they can ask so much for a product that costed less than 10 cents a piece to make is the fact that enough people accept that and just pay.....

 

[JoWolf]

Good evening all.

I am feeling somewhat annoyed right now. When I visited my local supermarket earlier this afternoon to pick up a Click and Collect item; I took the time to visit the shaving section. The various Gillette refills all had some sort of electronic tag on them that must be removed on purchase (for instance one pack of Gillette Fusion blades cost about the same as a bottle of fine red wine).

I even made a comment on Gillette's Facebook page 'Why are your blades so expensive that you need to take out a mortgate to pay for them?' Obviously I was exaggerating there but even so, Gillette never replied (go figure).

Never mind. Thanks to everyone on this forum and some of my own research, I am now enjoying wetshaving very much!

Jason.

King Gillette was never about making razors. They were made extremely well and durable to last a hundred years and they do. The bugger wanted to sell a lot of blades and he does. The DE blades are cheaper than the plastic monstrosities. The best blade for use and economy was the straight at that time and surprisingly still is. The King could not kill the straight but he made a difference. His safety razor was introduced during the war years to aid troops in achieving a decent shave under awful conditions. Selling blades was and still is what Gillette does. Razors are the incidental.

 

[esky15]

Even the DE blades are expensive here. Something around $5 for a pack of 5. I do like them, but they’re so expensive side. Anyone know of a blade that is very similar?

 

[APBinNCA]

The various Gillette refills all had some sort of electronic tag on them that must be removed on purchase (for instance one pack of Gillette Fusion blades cost about the same as a bottle of fine red wine).

Maybe for a laugh, have a look at one of the videos that shows how to remove those tags. Also, I don't think you will be sneaking out of the store with the bottle of wine in your pocket.

On this side of the pond, they have resorted to special shelves that have a lock and I guess you have to ask somebody for help like you are buying drugs? With the tags, people just pop the package open and put the items in their pocket. Most stores here have a no confrontation policy so you can guess how that's going...

 

[Jack Goossen]

Good evening all.

I am feeling somewhat annoyed right now. When I visited my local supermarket earlier this afternoon to pick up a Click and Collect item; I took the time to visit the shaving section. The various Gillette refills all had some sort of electronic tag on them that must be removed on purchase (for instance one pack of Gillette Fusion blades cost about the same as a bottle of fine red wine).

I even made a comment on Gillette's Facebook page 'Why are your blades so expensive that you need to take out a mortgate to pay for them?' Obviously I was exaggerating there but even so, Gillette never replied (go figure).

Never mind. Thanks to everyone on this forum and some of my own research, I am now enjoying wetshaving very much!

Jason.

I thought despising what Gillette has become is compulsary here, so even if you were not really, really annoyed, your mood seems logical to me

 

[Jack Goossen]

Maybe for a laugh, have a look at one of the videos that shows how to remove those tags. Also, I don't think you will be sneaking out of the store with the bottle of wine in your pocket.

On this side of the pond, they have resorted to special shelves that have a lock and I guess you have to ask somebody for help like you are buying drugs? With the tags, people just pop the package open and put the items in their pocket. Most stores here have a no confrontation policy so you can guess how that's going...

Maybe they wish to discourage people buying those. Asking someone to unlock and get you a Gillette cart must be more embarrassing than asking the lady salesperson for the extra small condoms.

 

[APBinNCA]

Maybe they wish to discourage people buying those. Asking someone to unlock and get you a Gillette cart must be more embarrassing than asking the lady salesperson for the extra small condoms.

It's all Kabuki theater. Everybody working at these places knows it. The companies have to show they tried to prevent theft, but can't even confront someone if they catch them. They just write it off, they don't care either. It actually prevented me from ever trying carts. I will say this though: DO NOT BUY "GENUINE" CARTS ONLINE. There is so much mixed inventory with fakes mixed in, your only choice is physical retail unless you use one of the shave clubs. I used to work in transportation and getting carts from the manufacturer to the distribution center is considered serious business, they don't want fakes getting into retail stores. I think people have figured that out otherwise they wouldn't be stocking ANY shave supplies any more.

 

[Ron R]

Even the DE blades are expensive here. Something around $5 for a pack of 5. I do like them, but they’re so expensive side. Anyone know of a blade that is very similar?

Check any online shaving supplier company and they will have DE -100 blades in the $20 US range of the best quality you can find. I like Gillette or Personna blades because they have been manufacturing them for over 100 years.

 

[rbscebu]

Even the DE blades are expensive here. Something around $5 for a pack of 5. I do like them, but they’re so expensive side. Anyone know of a blade that is very similar?

Don't know where you are but it's about the same here in Australia, AUD 14 (about USD 10) for a tuck of 10 Gillette WS DE blades. The same in the Philippines is about half that price.

Makes me feel happy that I skipped DE razors and went straight to SR's. I have only purchased about USD 3k of SR razors over the past two years.

In the Philippines I was known to be kuripot.

 

[esky15]

Sorry, forgot to specify that they are the “king c Gillette” blades.

I enjoy the feathers, derby green, and astra blues normally.

 

[SharpieB]

Sorry, forgot to specify that they are the “king c Gillette” blades.

I enjoy the feathers, derby green, and astra blues normally.

Try Gillette Platinums. Close to the KCGs and many think they are the same blade.