Wall Street Journal article....
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buyandhold2018
Thanks for the link
How pathetic - the owner hasn't even tried DE shaving yet.
There are some great quotes about planed obsolescence in shaving cartridges in that article;
"In 1975, the inaugural episode of "Saturday Night Live" included a mock commercial for a three-blade razor with the slogan, "Because you'll believe anything."
The introduction of Gillette's Fusion razor, kept secret until its debut in 2005, was eerily predicted the year before by the satirical Onion newspaper, which ran a fake memo from a shaving executive bragging about besting a competitor's four-blade razor by making one with five. "
"In 1975, the inaugural episode of "Saturday Night Live" included a mock commercial for a three-blade razor with the slogan, "Because you'll believe anything."
The introduction of Gillette's Fusion razor, kept secret until its debut in 2005, was eerily predicted the year before by the satirical Onion newspaper, which ran a fake memo from a shaving executive bragging about besting a competitor's four-blade razor by making one with five. "
Great...now the vintage gillette business on ebay should get a boost 
I've added a comment to the WSJ article. It'll be interesting to see if anyone takes note.
MAD magazine also did a parody back after the TRAC 2 came out. Maybe I should scan it. The bits of it which stood out for me are the TRAC 17, with dual handles, the propane-powered shaver, and the uranium-powered shaver.
MAD magazine also did a parody back after the TRAC 2 came out. Maybe I should scan it. The bits of it which stood out for me are the TRAC 17, with dual handles, the propane-powered shaver, and the uranium-powered shaver.
If you can get a scan I'd love to see that!
Ellen Byron's coverage was disappointing. To me, the article's message was "Hey look, there are some crazy guys who stockpile cartridges. But it gets better: I found this really crazy guy who paid hundreds of dollars to injure himself with a vintage razors!"
I think ebay fiends are safe, the article isn't much of a sell; time consuming, deep gashes and a $260 razor? Even die hard AD merchants here wouldn't stump up that much. DE users just come across as demented. Something most wives of posters here already know.
The most revealing part of that article is that Gillette/Shick recognise punters think the blade makers are full of it. Gillettes' answer to skeptics? throw more $$ at advertising and give away free stuff.
If you say something enough times to enough people, they start to believe it.
The most revealing part of that article is that Gillette/Shick recognise punters think the blade makers are full of it. Gillettes' answer to skeptics? throw more $$ at advertising and give away free stuff.
If you say something enough times to enough people, they start to believe it.
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Very cool find. thanks for sharing that.
You're doing it wrong! /meme
I agree that the portrait they painted of wet shavers isn't the greatest. It's like we're some sort of cult...which is kind of true.
Tangentially related to this, do you guys think the market for DE vendors has reached its saturation point? I've put some thought into opening a shop similar to West Coast Shaving or Bullgoose, but it doesn't seem like the market can support that many more vendors unless you have a real niche. I've done a little research and it seems like all the big boys (EJ, Muhle, Merkur, etc.) have distribution agreements in the US. Essentially, they make you choose which brand you want to carry and you're somewhat limited as to what other brands you can offer. Moreover, the wholesaler in the US for many of these goods marks up prices significantly. A good example is a Kent BK12. It retails for approx. $140 from Kent itself, but if you try to buy one in the US it'll run closer to $340. Any thoughts on this market?
Tangentially related to this, do you guys think the market for DE vendors has reached its saturation point? I've put some thought into opening a shop similar to West Coast Shaving or Bullgoose, but it doesn't seem like the market can support that many more vendors unless you have a real niche. I've done a little research and it seems like all the big boys (EJ, Muhle, Merkur, etc.) have distribution agreements in the US. Essentially, they make you choose which brand you want to carry and you're somewhat limited as to what other brands you can offer. Moreover, the wholesaler in the US for many of these goods marks up prices significantly. A good example is a Kent BK12. It retails for approx. $140 from Kent itself, but if you try to buy one in the US it'll run closer to $340. Any thoughts on this market?
I don't think the market has reached saturation ... the community is growing by leaps and bounds. B&B membership has quadrupled in the 2.5 years since I first joined, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
There are plenty of general vendors out there. I think you're right to seek out a niche market ... perhaps you might want to carve out a name for yourself as being the go-to guy for specialty products like Boar Brushes, strops and hones, scuttles, or other products that are only tangentially covered by other vendors, if they carry them at all.
If you find the right niche, you might make a killing ... you can just as easily lose your shirt. Do your market reasearch carefully, and don't quit your day job just yet.
I wonder if the Mr. Hagan mentioned in the article has considered that his 4 year stockpile of Mach3 blades is also preventing him from experiencing the wonders of DE razors until 2014? I doubt he'd consider shaving with anything else until his cartridges are all used up.
The $300 or so he "invested" in cartridges as a hedge fund could have been put to better use buying himself one heck of snazzy newbie kit ... and he'd have enough product to keep shaving well beyond four years. Not to mention he'd be getting a much better shave out of it.
What he considers a wise investment, most of us would call a shameful waste.
The $300 or so he "invested" in cartridges as a hedge fund could have been put to better use buying himself one heck of snazzy newbie kit ... and he'd have enough product to keep shaving well beyond four years. Not to mention he'd be getting a much better shave out of it.
What he considers a wise investment, most of us would call a shameful waste.
I genuinely believe I'm the only person on this forum who understands your comment.
Thanks for posting the article, but I was also disappointed in the portrayal of wetshaving. Maybe I'll drop the author a note to look here for different opinions to write a more in-depth followup article. I don't think that wetshaving is a cult - it seems like the noob threads are increasing. Also, old razors used to be plentiful in junk stores. Now, you rarely see them.
UOTE=denim;2230999]Done. The Space Age Razor Race is now on-line. 
[/QUOTE]
This is sooooo good ! I think the main stream companies are trying the old one up man ship and they are carrying things way too far. Mean while I sit back and giggle at all of the multi blade hype that's going on,it's hard for me to believe that people are willing to pay that much for those cartridges ! Oh wait a minute I'm not figuring in all of the money I've spent on razors,soap,cream,razor blades,brushes and ect,ect,ect. I have to learn to keep my mouth shut !
[/QUOTE]This is sooooo good ! I think the main stream companies are trying the old one up man ship and they are carrying things way too far. Mean while I sit back and giggle at all of the multi blade hype that's going on,it's hard for me to believe that people are willing to pay that much for those cartridges ! Oh wait a minute I'm not figuring in all of the money I've spent on razors,soap,cream,razor blades,brushes and ect,ect,ect. I have to learn to keep my mouth shut !
