My Fat Boy Is Not A Fat Boy

[cottontop]

So, I bought a razor that was advertised as a "Fat Boy" from that famous auction site that we all know and love. But, when I compared it to my Slim adjustable, it was exactly the same. Too late to do anything about it as several days have passed and I already gave the dishonest seller positive feedback (dumb old me). I did a search on our forum and found a thread that explained the difference, and sure enough, the seller screwed me. No wonder it sold so cheap. Real Fat Boys are selling for quite a bit of cash right now, so I think I'll just wait and watch for a while. I will probably give this Slim to a friend of mine who I am trying to convert to wet shaving. The conversion is not going so good right now, maybe this will help.

BTW, one also has to be careful of auction site sellers who advertise Slims as "Fat Boy Type," or who lists the Slim as "Fat Boy?" with a question mark acting as if it might be a Fat Boy, but he is not sure, hoping some uninformed person will buy it. To me that is even far from being a gray area and is just down right dishonest.
cottontop

 

[Haggises]

Sorry you got burned, but both Caveat Emptor and Mea Culpa apply.
Not all ebay vendors are honest of course, but an even larger number of them really don't know what they have.
Hope you didn't pay too much for a Slim and may your friend enjoy it!

 

[Padre OBrien]

I made a similar purchase, but was very happy with the slim. The price was reasonable and it's a great razor. I checked the sellers other items and nowhere did I see anything remotely razor related. Turns out to be an honest mistake. That happens.

but I also understand that sometimes it is done to deceive. Thanks for the warning.

 

[Luc]

I'm not saying right or wrong but not everyone knows the difference between a Gillette Slim and a Gillette Fat Boy. It's possible that the seller did not know, searched quickly and thought he had a Fat Boy. Anyways, for future references, this should help: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...Slim-from-a-Fatboy-Guide-(-and-other-things-)

 

[ArNav]

Just buy something cheap from the same seller and then leave a negative feedback. That should be a lesson for him, mwahaha.

 

[Atalk]

I'm not saying right or wrong but not everyone knows the difference between a Gillette Slim and a Gillette Fat Boy. It's possible that the seller did not know, searched quickly and thought he had a Fat Boy. Anyways, for future references, this should help: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...Slim-from-a-Fatboy-Guide-(-and-other-things-)

+1

Most of theses "vintage razors" do not originally belong to the sellers - They were obtained through various estate sales, sight unseen sell-offs, or passed down as a heirloom. As such, most of the sellers probably do not know what they have. Ultimately, I think it is the responsibility of the buyer to know what they are bidding/buying. Try contacting the seller and letting them know of the mishap - Although the razor did not match the description, it might be hard to get a return if the razor matches the pictures.

On a side note - Do not leave any feedback until after you receive and verify the item. A lot of sellers really care about their rating and are very open to making sure the customer is happy. But as soon as you leave a rating (especially a positive one), a lot of leverage is lost if the transaction did not go as well as you had hoped.

 

[Shutterbug57]

I bought a "Fat Boy" knowing it was a slim. It came with a '57 SuperSpeed, although the date was unknown at the time of purchase. I got them for $25 delivered. Given the condition of the Slim, I could probably sell it along for that or a bit more now that it is cleaned up and I can provide substantially better photography. Other things I have seen quite a few errors and/or fraudulent listing on e-bay, but my favorite is when someone calls a straight a safety razor.

Lots of sellers are arbitraging the market by buying up estates and selling individual items on e-bay. In most cases, they are honest, but don't know much about any specific item. I have, however, found many interested in learning - as it will help them in the future. I am looking for a C4 Red Tip SS. I will ask sellers who have not already posted the date code to let me know what it is. I will tell them how to find it and most want to know what it means. I have no problem letting them know so they can better represent their product in the future. Then there are the minority of sellers...

 

[nemo]

Start a PayPal dispute if it was not as advertised. It's not too late.

 

[Kev Kev]

'Fat Boy' is one of those descriptive terms being used extensively on the online auction site by deceptive or uninformed sellers attempting to 'cash in' on the name.
It seems I have seen practically every model that Gillette has ever made labeled as 'fat boy' somewhere in the title. The name attracts buyers and drives up the value.
It is a deceptive marketing technique used extensively there. People selling a cheap Asian-made guitar will often drop 'Martin' or 'Taylor' in the title to get a hit, trying to capture buyers looking for those makes using 'keyword' searches. Same for the razors. Selling a run-down Gillette superspeed? Call it 'Fat Boy-like' and the views will increase significantly.

Always best to check the facts (AND photos) in those auctions.

 

[ackvil]

Start a PayPal dispute if it was not as advertised. It's not too late.

First, contact the seller and tell him that the razor is a slim and not a Fat Boy. If you want a refund, ask for it. If that doesn't work go the PayPal dispute route.

 

[cottontop]

Thanks for all of the info, guys. I didn't pay a lot for it, and like I said, I am going to give it to a friend of mine. I was going to give himone anyway, and now that I have two of them, that seems like the logical one to give away. Sometimes what seems like misfortune turns out good and you are kind of glad it happened in the long run. I have sent a few messages out this morning to sellers who have listed Slims as Fat Boys and told them about their "mistake." One guy even listed a Slim as a 1962 Fat Boy, and they were not made in 1962.
ct

 

[chgruver]

I would say like some of the other's not to list the seller as dishonest, I probably would have made the same mistake as I have never held either a slim or a fatboy. I saw one seller that had a black handled SS with the case for a Gillette adjustable and it looked like he didn't realize that the case was not for the razor and that the razor was not an adjustable (as he mentioned having never seen an adjustable vintage Gillette with a handle that was mixed black and silver, he had only seen them all silver or all black).

 

[Badger Bill]

Sorry to hear about your troubles....
Be careful out there!!

Hopefully this thread will help others avoid a similar situation.

- Badger Bill

 

[DrAwkward]

There are dozens of non-fatboys currently listed on the 'bay as "Vintage Fatboy." I agree with Haggises, caveat emptor!

 

[Thaumaturge]

I'd see that a lot as well when I was on the bay looking for a slim/fatboy. I wanted an adjustable, it didn't really matter what kind. I would see people would list them wrong. Some were probably honest mistakes, and others I'm sure weren't. With enough time shopping/looking on B&B, I was able to distinguish them. There are still a LOT of razors I don't know anything about, but this is the place to learn about them.

Hopefully everything works out for you in the end.

 

[ackvil]

Lots of ignorance out there. Some time ago a fellow on ebay advertised an "adjustable red tip." I pointed out to him that the red tip was not an adjustable razor and that such razors have numbers on them something his razor did not have. He did not have a clue about vintage razors but did appreciate my comments to him.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Very common. FatBoy is such a buzzword that someone who doesn't know DE razors might easily think that he has one. Let's see... metal? Check. Twisty knob that opens the barn doors for loading a blade? check. Dial for adjusting? check. There. It's a FatBoy. Probably half are deliberately being deceptive, figuring the buyer will probably not know the difference, and the other half don't know the difference themselves.