Insane in the membrane...

[Beezerpuppy]

I've been DE shaving for a few years now, and before that I used disposable razors for many years, so I haven't been keeping track of the prices charged for multi-blade carts. I was in a grocery store with SWMBO yesterday, and came across this package of 4 (+1 bonus, yay!!!!) Gillette Fusion carts for $21. First, my jaw hit the floor, and then I noticed that they had all their carts in anti-theft plastic boxes. Apparently, they're worried about being robbed, but at $21 bucks for 5 carts, who's robbing who? Are they nuts?

 

[kingfisher]

Yep. They're pretty darned expensive.

 

[sparco]

In Norway the cost of the same 4 pack of fusion blades is at somewhere around 35-45 USD. Depending on where you buy them.

Worlds biggest scam. Glad I found this site and went on too something more comfortable, fun and inexpensive.

 

[djh]

Insane in the brain....

 

[smalltank]

wow $2 per..for 5 metal strips attached to a plastic stick with 2 lube strips

 

[BallisticBurrito]

Four per.

 

[Johan]

They do it because they can even if the prices are hilarious. I´m very glad that i turned to safety razors last year. And i didnt even try Fusion razors ever but Mach 3 before.

 

[Rivguy]

Wow, I have not been paying attention to the prices of carts these days, that is just nuts! I guess this makes us all appreciate all of the money we are saving by using DEs and straights.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Sled Dog]

I was buying those in the 8 pack "to save a bit of money compared to the 4 pack", was still $35-$40 for 8
That being said...I found the Fusion blades to last me quite a long time..I never counted how many shaves but probably around 20 +/-
I imagine the cost per shave is still higher than DE blades but probably not quite as bad as it sounds...(depending on which DE blade and how much you spend-100 packs of Astra SP's are pretty cheap)
I know I wont be buying Fusions any more...having way to much fun spending that money on Vintage razors

 

[Klos Shave]

It's just amazing that people pay that. Huge scam.

 

[Rorpen86]

I read somewhere that razors are one of the most common items stolen from stores. Those things are crazy expensive.

 

[PugslyCat]

I've been DE shaving for a few years now, and before that I used disposable razors for many years, so I haven't been keeping track of the prices charged for multi-blade carts.

Before changing to DE I had claimed to be using Mach 3 cartridges, but to be honest I was buying disposables most of the time because the carts were too expensive.

 

[SheWolf]

Check out the prices of the "lady shavers"... they mould the handle to make it curvier, add a dot of colour and give it a pretty name like "soleil". BAM, like shooting fish in a barrel.

 

[El-a-Menthol]

Lol a few bucks more and you have a full cardboard box of 100 Astra SP blades. 100!
100 Vs 5 (4+ 1 "free")...

 

[johnf7478]

True, they are expensive, however, they have a special offer pack for sale in Dublin at the moment, you get the handle and 11 blased for 25 euro. I actually was going to buy that on the day when I bought my first DE razor ( a cheap one). The last time I bought 4 fusion they lasted around 6 months, 'cos I shaved twice a week then.

I thought that DE shaving would of course save me a lot of money, correct? ahah, no way,lol, That was around two months ago and I have since spent over 200euro on shaving gear. no of course I DID go a bit over the top, a gillette tech, '54 superspeed, black beauty, muhle R41, TOBS, new aftershave, shaving bowels, 3 brushes, a shaving jug (improvised), and close to 100 blades,lol. And of course I have decided to budget at least 20euro a month from now on for shaving stuff

Worth every penny

 

[Jtokle]

I got caught up in the marketing hype from the time I first started shaving. I was 14 when I got my first razor, a Mach 3 Turbo. Gillette was able to convince me that I needed each new razor that they put out. I have every new razor that they made after the Mach 3 Turbo. What finally convinced me to look for something cheaper was when I realized that I was paying $18 for 4 Fusion Power ProGlide cartridges when I used to pay $18 for 8 Mach 3 Power cartridges. They have kept cartridge prices the same per pack, but somewhere along the way we started getting 4 instead of 8.

I had an 8 pack of Mach 3 Power carts left from when I purchased them right before the Fusion came out. Even though they were six years old, they still worked just as well as the Fusion Power ProGlide that I had been using. It was then that I realized that the whole cartridge racket is a complete scam. More blades don't give you a better shave. If anything, it was a worse shave because it's hard to maneuver the five blade cartridge under the nose. They added the extra blade on the top of the cartridge for this, but it doesn't really work.

I began seeking a cheaper alternative, and discovered something far cheaper than I ever imagined. I was skeptical at first, but after a few weeks I was getting better shaves than the cartridges ever gave me. My chin and jawline have always given me trouble, and I had just accepted that they were never going to be smooth. Imagine how elated I was the first time I managed to get BBS over my entire face and chin, and with a single blade!

I will never be going back to cartridges. Astra blades are $10 for a 100 pack on Amazon, and each one gives me three or four amazing shaves. I could drag them out for longer, but at ten cents a blade it's just not worth it to me to not use a fresh blade.

Don't even get me started on canned goo, either. Edge gel is $5 a can now and would only last me 2-3 weeks. I've been using the same Arko stick for five shaves now and I can't even tell that any of it is missing, and I paid about $1.30 per stick. Not to mention the fact that it gives much better shaves.

I don't feel bad about shaving daily now that it costs pennies per shave. RAD acquisitions aside, I spent $30 on enough soap and blades to last me at least two years of daily shaves. That would have bought maybe two months worth of Fusion cartridges and Edge gel, and I only shaved every 2-3 days with those.

 

[Maxime D.]

The cart for the Proglide are even 'Moar' expensive :-/

 

[Maxime D.]

this package of 4 (+1 bonus, yay!!!!)

View attachment 263254

I don't want to destroy your overwhelming joy bot its a pack of 4 Cart :-/ the +1 is for the trimmer on the other side of each cart XD
I did the same mistake back then, its kinda frustrating when you realise that there is only 4 carts T.T

 

[SheWolf]

Lol a few bucks more and you have a full cardboard box of 100 Astra SP blades. 100!
100 Vs 5 (4+ 1 "free")...

LOVE.THE.AVATAR!! Futurama fan?

 

[Fkread]

Switched to DE a couple weeks ago and the cost of carts was one of the factors. I live in the Cincy area and have a buddy at P&G who gave me a Fusion to tryout. I was spending $80-120/year of them. The Fusion did a good job, but the carts are ridiculously expensive for the amount of time they would last (I was getting 2.5 to 4 weeks).

Even with changing blades every few days, I will break even in 10 months. Of course with my new ritual, I may be trading one addiction for another, but so far I have resisted looking at any new gear. Maybe I'll hold on to the carts I have 'til the price spikes then sell them individually on ebay (ha).