Razor Prices

[simmonds]

Ok, I haven't shaved in over a year (easy on me). I'm enjoying a beard for a while but have retained most my shaving gear cause I know I'll be going that route again at some point. Anyway, I've noticed a huge increase in BST prices for razors...used to find Slims for $10 and Fatboys for $20 both in user grade condition...even when the other sources (eBay, etc.) were much higher. Now the prices here on the BST seem more in-line with those on the Bay.

Anyone else who's been here for several years notice this?

 

[Toothpick]

Consumers dictate the prices right? Demand is high.

i've seen a few things on the BST that seemed higher than last year or even a few months ago. But people snatch them up.

What I've noticed is more people that have been gone from B&B for a long time coming back to sell on the BST.

I think with the current trend of wet shaving every outlet that allows selling and buying is being exploited.

 

[sam2wi]

It's funny how just a few years ago, vintage razors were pretty cheap and antique dealers couldn't give them away. I'm not sure if wet shaving has just blown up that much, or that there are more collectors out there who are buying these razors up. General price increases have even swelled the cost of razors few want to use, like the old Gem single edges.

 

[drifter]

Ever since Rick Harrison did that commercial for the Micro Touch, I think prices have gone up.
You cant even find vintage razors here in Vegas at the antique shops anymore, and if you do they want more than the going rate on Ebay.

 

[BSAGuy]

I am fairly new to this (since 1/1/14), so recent prices are all I know. Interesting to read how low they were a few years ago.

 

[Badger Bill]

I am fairly new to this (since 1/1/14), so recent prices are all I know. Interesting to read how low they were a few years ago.

Makes you wish you started a little earlier, eh?

 

[oleg1986]

its funny you say that i remember buying a str8 from a reputable dealer brand new for $69 for a DOVO and now its like $129. not sure why besides the demand.

 

[DimeBlade]

Ok, I haven't shaved in over a year (easy on me). I'm enjoying a beard for a while but have retained most my shaving gear cause I know I'll be going that route again at some point. Anyway, I've noticed a huge increase in BST prices for razors...used to find Slims for $10 and Fatboys for $20 both in user grade condition...even when the other sources (eBay, etc.) were much higher. Now the prices here on the BST seem more in-line with those on the Bay.

Anyone else who's been here for several years notice this?

I think the BST is simply a reflection of the higher prices in general. People want to recoup much of what they spent up front, and since prices are higher to begin with, resale prices on BST are going up accordingly. At least that's my half-baked theory.

 

[nuclearblast]

Consumers dictate the prices right? Demand is high.

+1

I also believe it's a cycle. Even on eBay the prices have been dropping a little bit. There's an additional exposure of traditional shaving these days, thinking Rick Harrison's commercial, etc ... But the number of people willing to try this shaving method is limited. Time is precious nowadays, and not everybody wants to make the effort of finding the extra time to use a DE razor.
Just my $0.02.

Not to mention the others, that are simply afraid of a DE razor ...

 

[mdevine]

I'm glad I started long enough ago that my RAD had subsided by the time prices shot up. It makes me wish I had bought more of them 4-5 years ago. The only upside is that you can now tell SWMBO that they are an investment. The rate of return on vintage razors over the past few years dwarfs what you would get on the stock market.

 

[chrisknight]

I haven't been in it that long but I too have seen prices go up since I started wet shaving. The B/S/T section here is ferocious, stuff sells faster than you can even consider the option. I try not to spend too much time in there, I'll either go broke or lose a finger.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Too many guys(me) around here have a bad rash of AD and they(me) are buying up everything.

 

[4ever3]

Most of the prices aren't as steep to me because I am new to this little corner of the universe. Granted there are a few of them that make me say GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY but as a rule they seem alright..

I'm with BSA, wish I would have found DE shaving a few years back...

 

[dpmtherrien]

I've noticed the trend towards higher prices, but I don't think there's anything that can be done about it. Its just the way everything seems to go. Compare anything to a few years ago, and then compare the same things to today's prices. I'm sure you'll find almost anything costs more today then back in the day. And the truth is there's nothing that you can do about it.

 

[Badger Bill]

Compare anything to a few years ago, and then compare the same things to today's prices. I'm sure you'll find almost anything costs more today then back in the day. And the truth is there's nothing that you can do about it.

Well said. Or, more simply put: inflation.

(although in the case of DE's, I definitely think that demand has risen drastically too and is likely a bigger driver than pure inflation.)

 

[Jut]

General price increases have even swelled the cost of razors few want to use, like the old Gem single edges.

speak for yourself, gem se's are the best

 

[SmoothLikeJagger]

Since I started looking into de shaving in march I've watched the same badger brush on amazon go up 2 bucks. Coincidence?

 

[California Cajun]

Ok, I haven't shaved in over a year (easy on me). I'm enjoying a beard for a while but have retained most my shaving gear cause I know I'll be going that route again at some point. Anyway, I've noticed a huge increase in BST prices for razors...used to find Slims for $10 and Fatboys for $20 both in user grade condition...even when the other sources (eBay, etc.) were much higher. Now the prices here on the BST seem more in-line with those on the Bay.

Anyone else who's been here for several years notice this?

Absolutely. I know that because it has been across the board on ebay and on the BST of other shaving forums.

In many cases the selling price is based on what the seller paid for it, and if he is selling because he prefers other things he has, he didn't use it very much and wants to recoup his investment. Maybe he paid what he's charging.

The year I hung up my cartridge razor and electric razor for good in 2010, I noticed immediately afterward that stores started putting cartridges in theft-proof cases.

Another thing I have noticed is that "dollar shave clubs" have sprung up, which means people got frustrated like I did and sought alternative ways of shaving. Four years ago I didn't know you could still get a DE or straight.

Finally, I think Dovo and Thiers-Issard make fewer razors these days. Dovo's best machinist suddenly died about 18 months ago and they were hard to come by. I read at the TI-UK site that the use of a straight in the last James Bond movie made the demand for straights skyrocket. I think the James Bond reason is an excuse.

Yeah, it's not your imagination that prices have risen. There is some price gouging on ebay, but on BST here they do a great job not allowing that to happen.

 

[simmonds]

Thank you everyone for the great responses.

 

[Slickside]

+1

I also believe it's a cycle. Even on eBay the prices have been dropping a little bit. There's an additional exposure of traditional shaving these days, thinking Rick Harrison's commercial, etc ... But the number of people willing to try this shaving method is limited. Time is precious nowadays, and not everybody wants to make the effort of finding the extra time to use a DE razor.
Just my $0.02.

Not to mention the others, that are simply afraid of a DE razor ...

+1. Prices on the Bay are beginning to level off and even drop. The super quality stuff is sill high up, though. I think we are seeing more going for collector grade razors now. Quality grade will always command higher prices. It's the user grade and just under mint that takes the hit first, when the market slows. JMHO.