Liberate your shave!

[CzechCzar]

I recently made a liberating discovery that I thought I should share with you. Many (most) of us suffer from some kind of acquisition disorder. The result of this is an ever-growing stash, that realistically will never be used up.

My stash is smaller than others, but still annoying. Three soaps that just did not get along with me - scent or performance were sub-par. And some aftershave balms that just smelled not good.

Because of the economics of selling used shave goods, I have found that even if I am able to sell, I typically only make a few dollars back - nowhere near my initial spend. If an item costs $20 to buy, after all is said and done, I would be lucky to make $5 back from the resale. When I factor in time and money spent packing and shipping, for me that's a loss overall.

I will share two economic concepts that have a bearing on this (both from Wikipedia):

1) Opportunity cost: In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of an activity or option is the loss of value or benefit that would be incurred (the cost) by engaging in that activity or choosing that option, versus/relative to engaging in the alternative activity or choosing the alternative option that would offer the highest return in value or benefit (the best forgone opportunity).

2) Sunk cost: In economics and business decision-making, a sunk cost (also known as retrospective cost) is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.[1][2][3] Sunk costs are contrasted with prospective costs, which are future costs that may be avoided if action is taken.[4] In other words, a sunk cost is a sum paid in the past that is no longer relevant to decisions about the future.[3] Even though economists argue that sunk costs are no longer relevant to future rational decision-making, in everyday life, people often take previous expenditures in situations, such as repairing a car or house, into their future decisions regarding those properties.

This sounds complicated, but the application to the current scenario is relatively straightforward. The opportunity cost of list/selling/packaging/shipping a used shave good is generally greater than the money I get from the actual sale. Moreover, the money spent on the initial purchase is a sunk cost.
So what have I started doing? Throwing it out! Sacrilegious I know, but it actually surprisingly liberating. No more feeling obligated to use a product that I hate simply because I have purchased it. Life is too short to waste my shaving time!
I encourage all of you in a similar situation to give it a try!

 

[Ivo4u2]

Not sure if you have a local circular welfare thrift shop or some other place for the less fortunate
but you could inform if they are happy with passing it on instead of binning it.
I always try to give my not my thing soaps away.

 

[Vespasian]

Too much stuff = PIF. No need to apply recondite economic theory.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I agree that fewer possessions, shaving related or not, can be liberating. If recent events have taught me anything it is that there are many things more important to me than acquiring stuff; in truth sometimes we are owned by our possessions I think. That said, I would donate or PIF most things before I simply discarded them.

 

[slim6596]

Too much stuff = PIF. No need to apply recondite economic theory.

/\/\/\
This

 

[bjm]

How about PIF and have the recipient pay the shipping cost. Except for the time spent packing and mailing, everybody wins. I still think it's better than just throwing it out. Your stuff, your choice.

 

[guitarslinger]

I've been down this road. It's so easy for people to just say "PIF it, man."

I've piffed 50 soaps. 50 aftershaves. thousands of blades. dozens of razors. brushes. etc.

I've spent hundreds of dollars in shipping. I'm tired of it. half of the recipients don't even say "thanks".

I've tried giving stuff to salvation army, but they aren't allowed to accept alcohol aftershave.
I've tried giving away lots of soaps, but Most people don't have shaving brushes.
My friends got tired of getting 10 bottles of aftershave.

It's become tiresome for me to try being the good deed guy. I've gotten to the point where it makes sense to throw stuff away.

Most people don't have a shaving acquisition disorder.

 

[linty1]

Shipping here makes selling something, especially with a lower value such as a soap, prohibitive. Add in that theres a possibility it never arrives/chargebacks etc I usually just pif to somebody here in real life, be it friend or relative. I would never "just toss it", its a perfectly good item and just plain wasteful to toss. Even just use it as a handsoap? And use it up. But thats just me, obviously if it gives you happiness and is worth it, then by all means.

I will add that sometimes if you out it aside, and revisit it in.... a period of time? Sometimes you'll hit it with a fresh prespective and it might work out for you?

But I agree with bjm, your stuff, your choice, happy shaves.

 

[emwolf]

I tend to PIF away stuff that doesn't do it for me, although I haven't done a PIF for more than a year due to the pandemic. The nice thing about that is people know they're getting a used brush or soap before going into this. I have been the grateful recipient of several used soaps and brushes in my time too.

 

[luvmysuper]

Hardware is out of the equation for me, so it comes down to software.

If it's a soap and I don't like it, it gets used for hand washing or the bath.
If it's an After Shave I don't care for, I will either use it till it is gone (which reminds me to be more selective) or give it to family or friends who do like it and tell me so.
If it is a cream, then it gets tossed. You can't really wash off a cream so that others don't get the Ick factor. I don't suffer from Icky-itis, but there are a lot of people who do. If it came in a nice tub, that gets saved.

 

[rbscebu]

I have found that accumulating material possessions to be restrictive in life. I move houses about every 5 to 7 years or so. This gets me to reassess those material possessions that I have accumulated.

Due to travel restrictions and business, I have recently moved out of my house in Cebu. I packed my needed possessions into two large suitcases and gave everything else to some poor people I know, all household furniture, electrical goods, food, motorcycles and bicycles.

I am now primed to move to another location that is more conducive to my business requirements.

On the shaving side, I gave away almost half of my SR's (and sold a few locally), about half of my soaps, most of my brushes and strops and some of my honing gear. I am now down to 18 razors, 3 brushes, 3 soaps, 3 strops and a set of lapping films, diamond pasted balsa and a couple of rocks.

Once I settle down again, I expect that I will again start to accumulate ready for the next giveaway and relocation.

I doubt that I will live another 20 years so material possessions mean less and less to me as time goes on.

 

[Timor1322]

I am trying to "convert" people to wet shave. I am donating to my converted people my excess stuff. This is my biggest weapon to finish my soap and blade stock.
This year I converted 4 people. So I multiplied my soap and blade consumption by 5 (including me).

I admit this way is not paying you back the initial investment of Soaps or Blades. But the happiness of the idea to share the excess soaps and blades with other is incomparable.

Binning the excess stuff will not libarete me, but instead can feel me guilty due to my greed. This is my way to finish my excess stuff, as always YMMV.

Nowadays, my greed reduced dramatically. When you realise how hard to convert people, your SAD or BAD disappears

 

[BigJ]

I recently made a liberating discovery that I thought I should share with you. Many (most) of us suffer from some kind of acquisition disorder. The result of this is an ever-growing stash, that realistically will never be used up.

My stash is smaller than others, but still annoying. Three soaps that just did not get along with me - scent or performance were sub-par. And some aftershave balms that just smelled not good.

Because of the economics of selling used shave goods, I have found that even if I am able to sell, I typically only make a few dollars back - nowhere near my initial spend. If an item costs $20 to buy, after all is said and done, I would be lucky to make $5 back from the resale. When I factor in time and money spent packing and shipping, for me that's a loss overall.

I will share two economic concepts that have a bearing on this (both from Wikipedia):

1) Opportunity cost: In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of an activity or option is the loss of value or benefit that would be incurred (the cost) by engaging in that activity or choosing that option, versus/relative to engaging in the alternative activity or choosing the alternative option that would offer the highest return in value or benefit (the best forgone opportunity).

2) Sunk cost: In economics and business decision-making, a sunk cost (also known as retrospective cost) is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered.[1][2][3] Sunk costs are contrasted with prospective costs, which are future costs that may be avoided if action is taken.[4] In other words, a sunk cost is a sum paid in the past that is no longer relevant to decisions about the future.[3] Even though economists argue that sunk costs are no longer relevant to future rational decision-making, in everyday life, people often take previous expenditures in situations, such as repairing a car or house, into their future decisions regarding those properties.

This sounds complicated, but the application to the current scenario is relatively straightforward. The opportunity cost of list/selling/packaging/shipping a used shave good is generally greater than the money I get from the actual sale. Moreover, the money spent on the initial purchase is a sunk cost.
So what have I started doing? Throwing it out! Sacrilegious I know, but it actually surprisingly liberating. No more feeling obligated to use a product that I hate simply because I have purchased it. Life is too short to waste my shaving time!
I encourage all of you in a similar situation to give it a try!

Interesting economic analysis!!

 

[BigJ]

Too much stuff = PIF. No need to apply recondite economic theory.

+1! That’s pretty much my approach. Except for soaps that simply won’t lather; those go to the bath.

 

[tamahagane]

4Rs: reduce, repurpose, repair, recycle. No need to throw away stuff (not only shaving), just think of where it fits other than your cabinet - @luvmysuper has some nice ideas. I have used bad blades to cut shipping cardboard to make it more compact, for instance.

 

[thombrogan]

Had a shedding, scratchy badger that found itself in the trash. Anyone worthy of that brush would’ve been more worthy of a knuckle sandwich dipped in Carolina reaper sauce, so no pif there.

 

[CzechCzar]

I've been down this road. It's so easy for people to just say "PIF it, man."

I've piffed 50 soaps. 50 aftershaves. thousands of blades. dozens of razors. brushes. etc.

I've spent hundreds of dollars in shipping. I'm tired of it. half of the recipients don't even say "thanks".

I've tried giving stuff to salvation army, but they aren't allowed to accept alcohol aftershave.
I've tried giving away lots of soaps, but Most people don't have shaving brushes.
My friends got tired of getting 10 bottles of aftershave.

It's become tiresome for me to try being the good deed guy. I've gotten to the point where it makes sense to throw stuff away.

Most people don't have a shaving acquisition disorder.

This x 1000!

The reason I don't simply PIF is that PIFing is difficult. Pack up the soap, drive to the post office, submit receipt to the recipient, nudge them that they need to reimburse me the expense of shipping, and on and on... Even if I get all the shipping costs back, it's a significant drain on my time, and my time ain't free.

As to the theory, regardless of whether it's recondite, it's certainly applicable

 

[kingfisher]

Having been reared by a Dad whose parents were in the prime of life when the Great Depression hit, it is really hard for me to waste even a single drop of an aftershave or a half-a-shave's worth of shaving soap. But I hear the OP's point; I really do.

This morning, I pulled out what was left of a puck of Mystic Water Soap's Rosalimone. All that was left was a slim ring around the outside of a small container. I thought, "maybe this shave will use it all up," but it didn't. There is still an even smaller ring remaining. But I didn't get my usual dense, wonderful lather this morning, and I think it's because it is too hard to load from such a small ring of soap. So I made the decision, right after I left the house, that tonight when I get home from work I would scrape out what was left and throw it away, and then recycle the container (too small; no longer useful).


I agree, generally speaking, that as I get older, material possessions mean less and less to me, with certain exceptions; some few posessions, for one reason or another, mean more and more. As an example, I was generously gifted a gorgeous Montblanc Starwalker ballpoint pen with my name engraved on it. It is a beautiful item and it writes wonderfully and fits my hand really well. It has sentimental value because of how it came to be in my possession. I now value this pen well beyond what it would cost to replace it. So I guess what I'm saying is that I have a whole bunch of stuff that I wouldn't mind if it went away tomorrow, and then I have a very few possessions that you would have to pry from my cold, dead hands. I just need to let go of some of the former and keep clinging to the latter.

 

[snowman]

I’m a minimalist at heart and try to use up what I have. Having said that, if i or my wife don’t like the scent of a soap or aftershave it’s getting tossed.

PIFing soap might make a person feel good about reducing waste, but how many resources were used to ship 2 ounces of used soap 1500 miles? I dunno, for me PIFing soap always seemed more about enabling or justifying a SAD than real conservation. I mean, if any of us bought a bar of hand soap at Wal Mart for $.30 would you PIF it across the country if you had an allergic reaction? But a $20 tub of soap gets PIFed. Is the environment the real consideration there or is it more about wanting to buy another $20 soap?

 

[JAHE]

How about PIF and have the recipient pay the shipping cost. Except for the time spent packing and mailing, everybody wins. I still think it's better than just throwing it out. Your stuff, your choice.

^^ my thoughts, too!^^