Is this a good deal?

[LabGuy]

Apologies. I posted this on another's thread. It really should be a thread of it's own.

Just bought some soaps from a local company http://bayfronttreasures.com/ . I am using the Sandalwood scent currently. Very nice scent, lathers nicely, and leaves my skin feeling silky smooth.

They charge $5.00/5 oz bar. Does this seem like a good price to you guys?

 

[Dusty1]

Nope

 

[mistercitizen]

Most artisan bar soaps made with natural ingredients seem to be about that price. Seems very comparable to the competition.

Ben

 

[LabGuy]

Nope

Care to elaborate?

 

[LouSee]

I answered over there so I'll copy it here....

The lowest typical retail price I see for artisinal/premium/handmade/organic hippie foo-foo soaps is about $1 per ounce. So, that's ballpark. Buying Ralph Lauren soaps is teens of dollars per ounce.

I'll pay that if I'm trying something out but for stocking up, I want to be under $1 per ounce - unless it's something I'm in love with - like MdC Marseille soaps!

Stirling Soaps makes awesome bath soaps for <60c per ounce in a wide variety of both manly and feminine scents for the wife. He said he's developing more manly-scented bath soaps - his shaving scents are awesome.

Of course, simply using $/oz. is a crude metric because some soaps last longer than others, some dissolve just being in a humid shower, etc... My little 55g Martin de Candre bath soap lasts as long as a fullsize Old Spice bath bar. It costs 3x the price but we're talking $25 or $70 per year for soap.

A lot of this "which is the cheapest" misses the point that while we're talking real dollars here, the overall impact is rather small. $50 a year is a small price to pay for something that lathers better, smells better, doesn't make my skin itchy as all heck, doesn't require the wife to slather bottles of lotion, etc...

So, $1/oz. is on the high-end of what I'd pay but it's certainly in the ballpark of reasonable. If you like it - use it!

 

[LabGuy]

I answered over there so I'll copy it here....

The lowest typical retail price I see for artisinal/premium/handmade/organic hippie foo-foo soaps is about $1 per ounce. So, that's ballpark. Buying Ralph Lauren soaps is teens of dollars per ounce.

I'll pay that if I'm trying something out but for stocking up, I want to be under $1 per ounce - unless it's something I'm in love with - like MdC Marseille soaps!

Stirling Soaps makes awesome bath soaps for <60c per ounce in a wide variety of both manly and feminine scents for the wife. He said he's developing more manly-scented bath soaps - his shaving scents are awesome.

Of course, simply using $/oz. is a crude metric because some soaps last longer than others, some dissolve just being in a humid shower, etc... My little 55g Martin de Candre bath soap lasts as long as a fullsize Old Spice bath bar. It costs 3x the price but we're talking $25 or $70 per year for soap.

A lot of this "which is the cheapest" misses the point that while we're talking real dollars here, the overall impact is rather small. $50 a year is a small price to pay for something that lathers better, smells better, doesn't make my skin itchy as all heck, doesn't require the wife to slather bottles of lotion, etc...

So, $1/oz. is on the high-end of what I'd pay but it's certainly in the ballpark of reasonable. If you like it - use it!

Thanks - that was helpful. I agree that it is not all about price. I think it is about value. I don't mind paying a little more for a better product. Do you have any idea how long a 5 oz bar of bath soap should last if used by one person every day in the shower?

 

[LouSee]

well, the MdC little 55g (~1.5 ounces) has lasted about a month for me, 1 shower per day. I put it in a face cloth and lather up the cloth until it starts flying off the cloth. Most soaps require a second lathering to finish up, the MdC doesn't, neither does the Stirling. Can't remember on others but anyway....

A regular commercial soap (e.g. Lever) lasted less than a month for me.

I would think a 5oz hard soap would last 2 months for me, a soft soap maybe 6 weeks. I don't know any standardized/rigorous testing of hard/soft (or even soft left to dry out) soaps and their different lifespans. It's all anecdotal like with shaving soaps/croaps and creams - which lasts longer? You tend to use more when it's softer because it's easier to remove product from the bar.

 

[mretzloff]

Do you have any idea how long a 5 oz bar of bath soap should last if used by one person every day in the shower?

Make sure it dries between uses. This will extend the life of the soap by a long time.

 

[JayHawkMechanic]

well, the MdC little 55g (~1.5 ounces) has lasted about a month for me, 1 shower per day. I put it in a face cloth and lather up the cloth until it starts flying off the cloth. Most soaps require a second lathering to finish up, the MdC doesn't, neither does the Stirling. Can't remember on others but anyway....

A regular commercial soap (e.g. Lever) lasted less than a month for me.

I would think a 5oz hard soap would last 2 months for me, a soft soap maybe 6 weeks. I don't know any standardized/rigorous testing of hard/soft (or even soft left to dry out) soaps and their different lifespans. It's all anecdotal like with shaving soaps/croaps and creams - which lasts longer? You tend to use more when it's softer because it's easier to remove product from the bar.

Stirling is an awesome soap, I've been using their body soap for the last two months exclusively and can say I think they are some of the better soaps I've used. I shower basically twice a day and can get 2 1/2 to 3 weeks out of one of their bars using a wash cloth. Chris

 

[mariechin1234]

I use Cetaphil body soap and it cost $5 as well.