I have noticed a number of merchants out of stock of Merkur razors. Is something going on with their production or are they so popular they can't keep up.
Merkur Production
- Thread starter slantman
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The two options are not mutually exclusive.
I would love to say that there is a resurgence in wet shaving. Maybe Mantic's article is helping?
I would guess that there are a number of factors at work. Recently, I have noticed more wet-shaving gear for sale in department stores in this part of the world so I guess that there might be some kind of "boom" taking place.
I keep doing my part. Anytime there is chance I'll bring up BB and Wet Shaving. Gas station, at work.. etc.
Not only that, but both could be happening at the same time.
Increased global demand would exacerbate any problems that might exist in the production and distribution chain. The retailer sold out, the distributor is out of stock, and the boat doesn't dock until the 9th of next month!
That doesn't make one feel any better when they have their heart set on one and can't find stock anywhere!!
I noticed the same. I went looking for DEs in a shaving shop recently (which means electric shaving, really) and the salesperson told me that they were selling DEs at an unprecedented rate at the moment.
This made me listen up, and I asked around: The same answer in most shaving shops; some told me that the interest (and sales) in straights was even higher.
There's a note at QEDusa.com explaining the situation. It's production issues in Germany.
About a year ago, there were rumors floating around that Merkur was re-tooling its production facilities to replace old, worn-out equipment.
Hopefully, this would alleviate some of the quality control issues that Merkur was having in recent years.
This is not to imply that Merkur is coming out with new models of razors. They are merely upgrading their factories to produce a better, more consistent product.
If this is/was true, you can expect many Merkur owners (including me,) to replace their existing rotation with the re-fabricated versions which would of course cause a rush on vendors and a classic example of demand exceeding supply. If and when that happens, you can expect a glut of old (not vintage) Merkurs to hit the BST forums and eBay.
Again, this is/was a RUMOR. I never saw any official announcements that would either confirm or deny this allegation.
Hopefully, this would alleviate some of the quality control issues that Merkur was having in recent years.
This is not to imply that Merkur is coming out with new models of razors. They are merely upgrading their factories to produce a better, more consistent product.
If this is/was true, you can expect many Merkur owners (including me,) to replace their existing rotation with the re-fabricated versions which would of course cause a rush on vendors and a classic example of demand exceeding supply. If and when that happens, you can expect a glut of old (not vintage) Merkurs to hit the BST forums and eBay.
Again, this is/was a RUMOR. I never saw any official announcements that would either confirm or deny this allegation.
Ahh! The good old workshare program. Where I work we have had our share of headaches getting parts and/or complete units out of our main facility thanks to this program. I`m not a fan.
Ah yes, I should have thought of 'Kurzarbeit'. Obvious, once you think of it. *slaps forehead*
Bullgoose and thesuperiorshave.com both said there are production issues in Germany. However, Bullgoose just got stock back in on the 34C.
I just purchased a Merkur 34C, Vulfix 2006 badger brush and the platinum blade sample pack. My birthday is in May so I asked mama for em for my bday
Byebye Weishi and tweezerman brush...
I just purchased a Merkur 34C, Vulfix 2006 badger brush and the platinum blade sample pack. My birthday is in May so I asked mama for em for my bday
Byebye Weishi and tweezerman brush...
We too have 34C back...for now...the problem's far, far bigger than we little wet shavers.
There are steps of metallurgy for which the finished razors are dependent upon, and the razors are but a small minority of the demand for these steps.
Much larger-scale lack of demand for bigger industries is what stalls these steps, and until they return to prior levels the problem will certainly persist.
Orders for stock will routinely be delayed by scale of months now, instead of a few weeks.
There are steps of metallurgy for which the finished razors are dependent upon, and the razors are but a small minority of the demand for these steps.
Much larger-scale lack of demand for bigger industries is what stalls these steps, and until they return to prior levels the problem will certainly persist.
Orders for stock will routinely be delayed by scale of months now, instead of a few weeks.
there back in production, when i went to the site they have most of the razors back out
It's a combination of DE shaving being popular and Dovo having production issues. Not a great combination for shops trying to keep these items in stock. Dovo is having issue with their suppliers as mentioned above. They also had to scrap a large number of parts last fall due to a defect and it seems like they're still recovering.
Was that the "T" (or is it "tee"?) in their Progress and other, similarly designed razors? I got a long-handled Progress last summer that was very aggressive at its lowest setting, equivalent to around '4' on my older Progress. I exchanged it for another one, but it had the same problem. According to Lee at Lee's Razors, Merkur changed the molds for the part, which evidently changed the threading. When I used a T from my older Progress in the newer razor, it worked just fine; same with the T from my 38C, which is interchangeable. However, because I didn't exchange the second razor, I'm now stuck with one T that isn't good for much, and have to switch around the parts if I want to change razors.
That was an issue, but not the one I was talking about. They had a defect in their 34C razors and scrapped a big lot. I was told sometime in October not to expect anymore before the end of the year. Of course, we ordered as many as we were allowed to purchase, but that didn't last long. About 2 weeks ago we finally started seeing them again reliabily. 6 months to recover on one razor.
Yikes. So, are they still making the Ts with the more aggressive design, or did they fix those, too?
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