Supply and Demand

[GoTeeGuy]

Here is a question that has been nagging at me:

If there seems to be so much demand in North America for new / used DE razors, why are these not being made available by manufacturers or retailers? Would it not be simple to (at the very least) import DE's from other countries such as India, Turkey, Italy, and Germany for sale to the North American market?

Currently, I am waiting for my very 1st vintage DE which I purchased on eBay; however, should there have been a local supply, I would have certainly purchased a new product instead. I know that some products are available online; however, shipping charges vary greatly from vendor to vendor, and there is something to be said about seeing a DE razor first-hand which is much more appealing to me. Personally, I like to know what I'm getting before I buy something.

Even if this is simply a niche market, does it not warrant consideration from manufacturers or importers? It seems to me that there are many more novelty products imported / manufactured / sold in North America than usefull ones.

The same question exists for DE blades!

Cheers,
Ken

 

[NMMB]

There are places that sell DEs, but they can be difficult to find. Some cities will have dedicated "shave shops", but most won't. However, you will probably find a small selection of shaving gear (including a very small selection of DEs) in a lot of smoke shops. As with many/most niche-markets you have to look for the niche if you want to be involved in the market (i.e., don't expect to find many niche markets being filled completely in big-box-stores).

As for blades - they are out there everywhere, just look. you may want to try Walmart, SuperStore/Loblaws, Shoppers Drugmart, etc... no, these places probably won't have 8 different brands to select from but they will likely have something in DE blades.

If you don't mind me asking, where in ON are you located? If you are in or near the Ottawa area I could suggest a few places.

 

[GoTeeGuy]

Hi NMMB,

I'm living in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. There seems to be a real lack of specialty shops here (unless you're looking for German goods), but I must admit that I never even thought of looking for specialty 'shave shops'. And the idea of searching for shaving supplies in 'smoke shops' is completely foreign to me. I'll definitely have to go on the hunt for these! Thanks for your suggestions.

- Ken -

 

[NMMB]

Ken,

If you visit the Ottawa-region Men Essentials is presently located in Aylmer (QC) but is planning to relocate to the Ottawa side of the river this summer or fall. If you visit Toronto there are B&B'ers from TO so I'm sure that they could point you towards some TO shops.

As for smoke shops - not all of them will have shave-gear. In fact, I would expect most of them not to. But some of the more well-established and privately owned (i.e. not in a loblaws store) shops may very well have a small selection of goodies (as I mentioned) - I know of one here in Ottawa, but there may well be others too.

 

[letterk]

I don't think there's much demand for these things as we'd like to think. Compared to the Mach3 users out there, we're a very very small minority. It's just not worth it for some of the big names to mess with wetshaving items.