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Is the Cheap Stuff As Cheap As You Think?

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
A couple of years ago I did a cost comparison between Proraso cream and Castle Forbes. While the initial price was no contest, it turns out that the difference in size and difference in required product told a very different story. The CF cost me a little less than half a penny a day more than the Proraso.

I used a puck of ABC soap and noticed it required a lot less product than most soaps, but that one was in my rotation and I have no actual data.

This year I have been using a jar of MdC exclusively (4-5 exceptions) while at home (don't take it on vacation-6 weeks total) and visually I'm guessing the jar is somewhat less than half full. I'm expecting to get a year from the jar which cost me $48 including shipping (purchased 2 at the time) and a free sample of bar soap.

Both Castle Forbes Balm and Clinique moisturizer also last a very long time given the small amount of product they require.

Now I'm not claiming that this level of quality is the same actual cost as the cheapest stuff, and it may not even be the same as the popular mid-priced products - but I suspect it's pretty close. It's probably a lot closer than many people think.

How much do you spend a year on soap? Many of you have no idea because you're rotating 67 pucks! But I strongly suspect that $48 a year is not a lot higher than what many of you are spending for products (at least for me) that are a tier down from top shelf. (yes, I know - Arko smells better and costs a lot less).

Initial price can be daunting, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
An £8 block of MWF will easily last me well over a year. A £0.50 Palmolive stick will last a long time too, and I would guess considerably more than 50 shaves, though I'm too new to the product to put an accurate number on it. I have had a lot of use from Nivea Sensitive Shave Balm too.

Moving away from soaps, I bought a Wilkinson Sword Classic razor 25+ years ago, used it almost exclusively for 20 years, and it's still in service now. Look at some of the blade life that Excaliber members get from blades which cost less than £0.10 each.

I think that shaving truly can be both very enjoyable and very low cost, providing you don't yield to the peer pressure of buying more than you need.
 
Great point! To me the issue is cost/shave. Plus shaving stuff is a bargain compared to my other hobbies!
 
A 1,5 euro can of Figaro shaving foam (400 ml) lasts me around a year of daily shaves.
A can of 2,5 euro Proraso red (300 ml) around nine months.

I am still using the same ,hand down from my father, Gillette Fatboy since 1980 when I started shaving and a Merkur 34c I bought in Berlin in 2000 when I discovered that I forgot my Fatboy during a trip there.

A 100 blade pack of Shark blades costs 8 euros and lasts easily for 2 years...

Shaving for me is not exactly bank breaking :)
 
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The last soap I bought I paid just under $20. That was October 2016. I use it 2-5 days per week. Since I have yet to buy blades by the 100, the blades I use the most are GSB's and Astra SP's. Normally I get between 24-30 shaves per blade. That is less than $0.02 per shave per blade. (assuming $2.25 per tuck for GSB and $2.00 per tuck for Astra SP @ WCS) It has to be just pennies a day. I would be surprised if I spend $0.10-0.15 per day at the very high end (and probably 8-12). That means if I shave no more than 350 days per year, I am spending no more than about $50 per year on soap and blades and as little as $35/year. I bet I easily spent more than that on shave gel and blades when I was using carts. And I was using either Sensor Excel or Tracer carts @ about $2.00 per since they were two blade carts and I didn't really get any more shaves per blade. So that is 6-8 cents per shave just for blades.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Cost per shave?

MWF £0.02? / Palmolive <£0.01, Razor <£0.01, Blade <£0.01, Balm £0.01, Alum <£0.01

It probably costs me more for a sink of hot water.
 
I've actually done the same math, comparing Arko with Saponificio Varesino and, while the price per shave was a bit higher on SV, it was only by a very small amount.

I must say, the path of filling your cabinets with cheap stuff it's a bad habit. I've been there, I've ordered 5 pucks of Arko and 6 of Palmolive, I've got Williams and other cheap products. I've ended up throwing most of them because the quality of better products it's just much better and I would never use Arko or Williams again. It's just no point if you ask me, price-wise or otherwise. Most soaps are decently priced and... Let's just say that I'm not gonna believe someone that's gonna write me on forums that he can't afford a $30 puck that's gonna last him a year.

Can you shave just fine with low priced products? Sure you can. But why wouldn't you go for better quality if you end up paying roughly the same price in the end? It's like buying the unknown brand of tires when you can get Michelin ones for $20 more.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
That all depends on your circumstances wherever you may be, and all things are relative. One puck of Saponificio Varesino would cost me 50 sticks of Palmolive, or three pucks of MWF. Knowing those two cheaper products as I do, they both perform absolutely brilliantly, and I don't consider either to be low quality. As such I'm not going to gamble and pay the equivalent of 4 to 8 years worth of damn good shaving soap on one unknown (to me) lump of soap. Sorry.

(Yes, I'd roughly get 4 years from three MWF, and I'm guessing at least 8 years on 50 Palmolive sticks)
 
Cost per use is a relative measure!!

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Whilliam

First Class Citizen
I've actually done the same math, comparing Arko with Saponificio Varesino and, while the price per shave was a bit higher on SV, it was only by a very small amount.

I must say, the path of filling your cabinets with cheap stuff it's a bad habit. I've been there, I've ordered 5 pucks of Arko and 6 of Palmolive, I've got Williams and other cheap products. I've ended up throwing most of them because the quality of better products it's just much better and I would never use Arko or Williams again. It's just no point if you ask me, price-wise or otherwise. Most soaps are decently priced and... Let's just say that I'm not gonna believe someone that's gonna write me on forums that he can't afford a $30 puck that's gonna last him a year.

Can you shave just fine with low priced products? Sure you can. But why wouldn't you go for better quality if you end up paying roughly the same price in the end? It's like buying the unknown brand of tires when you can get Michelin ones for $20 more.
Well put. Mirrors my experience precisely. Too often, I've ended up with the world's most expensive collection of cheap stuff.
 
More or less I have the same opinion,
SMN cost was 30€ in Italy and at 70 shaves I used the half of it...plus I think that it is one of the best available Croap..

Tam
 
Yup, always have to consider how much mileage you get out of the product when comparing prices. My favorite comparison used to be SV vs RR, though the price bump SV has recently had somewhat weakens my point. Still, the average SV puck should last at least as long as 3 average RR soaps. In the case of SV you just buy in bulk. However, as some have pointed out, if price is everything to you then there are certainly better deals than SV or RR. Several triple-milled soaps can be had for under $15 and, from a purely economical standpoint, they are very hard to beat.
 
Imo you can easily spend the money you could buy a nice soap with on soda or coffee throughout the week. So if it is that big of a deal just skip that a few times to justify the purchase. Just my opinion guys. I love cheap soaps too
 
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