Wet shaving in Taiwan: a lament

[mightyeskimo]

Here in Taiwan, the range of shaving soap available is absolutely pathetic. Most local men don't shave (or at least don't need to), and for those who do there are typically only two options; stupidly expensive Gillette or Shick cartridge razors, accompanied by dodgy canned shaving cream (faux soap, or "faup" as I call it). Locally available shaving products for wet shaving are typically confined to a tiny handful of stupidly over-priced Crabtree & Evelyn soaps, or a ridiculously small range of complete silliness from Body Slop.

But even ordering overseas is fraught with peril. Here's what happens when I try to purchase shaving products on Amazon.

1. Try to purchase a badger hair shaving brush; "Sorry, can't ship this overseas, has animal hair, might be a protected species". Fair enough I guess, I'm all for stamping out animal trafficking and protecting endangered species. Let's do this another way.

2. Buy it anyway and have it shipped to my US PO box with my freight forwarder, to be sent on to me in Taiwan.

3. Freight forwarder says "Oh, animal hair, please identify the manufacturer, and the species and genus of the badger; also, you'll need three documents from this government agency, which will cost $80 and take a week, to confirm this isn't a protected species". For a $40 brush. End up having it sent to a friend of mine in the US.

4. Go back to Amazon, try to buy some innocent shaving soap.

5. Get to checkout, "Sorry, can't ship this overseas, this is a controlled substance". Seriously?

6. Buy it anyway and have it shipped to my US PO box with my freight forwarder, to be sent on to me in Taiwan.

7. Freight forwarder says "Oh, two soaps, total weight of 8 ounces, yeah that'll be $40 in shipping fees thanks, and should take a week to arrive". For $25 worth of soap, I am not paying $40 in shipping fees, for the privilege of waiting a week for it to arrive.

Hilarious. Now here's what typically happens when I try to purchase directly from artisan or mainstream manufacturer soap websites.

1. Get to checkout, filling in shipping address. Wait, Taiwan isn't even listed as a shipping option. I leave that site and move on. Sale strike one.

2. Find another website, get to checkout, filling in shipping address, wow Taiwan is listed and I can even specify my region and city, impressive. Complete shipping details, go to pay, and suddenly receive the message "No Shipping options are available. Please contact us for assistance!". Oh ok, so you don't ship to Taiwan after all even though you gave the impression that you did. Or maybe you actually do, but it's obviously going to be a complicated process, and probably expensive. Sorry, don't have time for that. I leave that site and move on. Sale strike two.

3. Find another website and wow, Prosaro on special at 50% off, I'll take three tubs for $5.99 each thanks. They list Taiwan as a shipping option, and I get to actually calculate the shipping fee, so they're definitely going to ship it to me. This is looking great, finally I'm going to... Wait, what? Shipping is going to cost me US$37.99? I'm buying $17.97 of product and it's going to cost me more than twice that in shipping fees? I leave that site and move on. Sale strike three.

I start hanging out on TSN and Badger & Blade, waiting for bargains when other shavers clear their dens. It works much better. I've indulged in a soap spree over the last three weeks, and I'm looking forward to trying everything when it arrives.

I have your Tabac. Meet me at the port of Keelung at 3am. Come alone. Wear black. The passphrase is "The fat man walks alone".

 

[mightyeskimo]

I looked at the UK first, then looked away quickly when I discovered the exchange rate. However, thanks to the forums I have now discovered shaving.ie, which looks like a winner, especially given the very good shipping rate and the fact that I'm buying at the ex-VAT price.

Sent from my Neville 5000 using Tapatalk.

I've purchased two brushes from shaving.ie. Good transactions and good service.

 

[BigJ]

Sorry! I feel your pain. I also agree that getting kit from Amazon, Ebay and others of that ilk may prove hazardous. Caveat emptor!

I suggest you consider some of the B&B vendors. IME they have been both reliable and helpful in selecting good/great products!

 

[Jaidmaster]

Sounds like the place to be to curb all of our acquisition disorders!

At least you have found a way to get some good deals on the forums.
Good luck!

 

[MpMinNY]

I have never heard of a badger brush that couldn't be shipped internationally. All of my badger brushes are from China, actually. Boar is not endangered. Nor is horse. I have a Virginia Sheng horse brush that I kinda like. Is trade/travel between Taiwan and China currently restricted? Overseas shipping from China costs almost nothing. I suspect the government subsidizes the shipping industry to help keep foreign markets viable for their goods. Most stuff I buy from China ships free to the U.S. which is quite a bit further than Taiwan is. Too bad they don't make a good DE blade or a good soap or cream, but as for brushes, while some are garbage, a few brands are quite good. They make some junk DE razors but I have seen a couple that were okay. I buy a LOT of Chinese straights, but I basically use them as unfinished blanks to create something much more refined and functional. They have issues. However a lot of guys have had success with Gold Dollar or ZY razors, unmodified, just honed.

The rules for importing product in Asian countries are restrictive. It is easier to purchase something from China into the US than it is to purchase from China to... let's say the Philippines. A simple camera will cost double or more in the Philippines than if imported into the US.
BTW... try to import something from the US to China. It is more difficult than from the US into Taiwan. You will find similar challenges in Viet Nam, Korea and Cambodia.

 

[arief]

I have the same problem down here in Indonesia.
I have to pay crazy shipping fee to get all the software and hardware.

 

[leather & steel]

The rules for importing product in Asian countries are restrictive. It is easier to purchase something from China into the US than it is to purchase from China to... let's say the Philippines. A simple camera will cost double or more in the Philippines than if imported into the US.
BTW... try to import something from the US to China. It is more difficult than from the US into Taiwan. You will find similar challenges in Viet Nam, Korea and Cambodia.

In my case the problem is not importing in to Taiwan, but exporting from the US. The problem is at the US end, not the Taiwan end. When someone sends me a badger brush, it enters Taiwan with no problems at all; customs doesn't impound it. But retailers in the US who are exporting badger brushes overseas, must comply with the US Fish and Wildlife Services’ (USFWS) Regulations (US Title 50 Code of Federal Regulations (50CFR) – Wildlife and Fisheries). I assume some retailers already have all the relevant documentation sorted out and are perhaps registered with the relevant government agency, but obviously some aren't, and freight forwarders aren't.

 

[leather & steel]

So, another foreigner in Taiwan helpfully pointed me to a shave shop which is actually close by me. It's an upmarket boutique kind of place, clearly serving Taipei's small but determined hipster population. To give you an idea, it's the kind of place which sells half a dozen different kinds of beard comb, and US$43 beard oil (which comes with an eyedropper, for reasons which escape me).

Amazingly, it also stocks (some), of the better shaving soaps; a couple of the Dr Jon soaps (including Hydra), as well as two or three from Truett & Hill, several from Taylor of Old Bond Street, and at least one cream from Suavecito. Prices are typically 20-25% higher than US and UK prices. It sells a Suavecito Premium Blends X Tim Hendricks Sandalwood Capsule for the fairly eye-watering price of US$90.

On second thoughts I might be better off selling them soap, since they have the kind of clientele who are happy to pay US$30 for a Parker buffalo horn shaving bowl (which is sold on Amazon for half that price).

 

[Heron]

I hate eBay. It's a great place to get sniped or end up paying more than you should. I never buy anything there. On contrast I've found the marketplace on B&B to be excellent.

There's no such thing as getting "sniped". Either you win an auction or you lose. The highest bid wins, regardless of when it's submitted.

 

[leather & steel]

There's no such thing as getting "sniped". Either you win an auction or you lose. The highest bid wins, regardless of when it's submitted.

Maybe it's different now to when I used eBay over 15 years ago, but back in that day you had to increase your bids manually, and if you weren't online constantly refreshing the page every few seconds, you could get sniped by someone who was refreshing and bidding faster than you, or who was using software specifically to place their bid in the last fraction of a second. That's precisely why sniping software was invented and used.

 

[Slash McCoy]

So, another foreigner in Taiwan helpfully pointed me to a shave shop which is actually close by me. It's an upmarket boutique kind of place, clearly serving Taipei's small but determined hipster population. To give you an idea, it's the kind of place which sells half a dozen different kinds of beard comb, and US$43 beard oil (which comes with an eyedropper, for reasons which escape me).

Amazingly, it also stocks (some), of the better shaving soaps; a couple of the Dr Jon soaps (including Hydra), as well as two or three from Truett & Hill, several from Taylor of Old Bond Street, and at least one cream from Suavecito. Prices are typically 20-25% higher than US and UK prices. It sells a Suavecito Premium Blends X Tim Hendricks Sandalwood Capsule for the fairly eye-watering price of US$90.

On second thoughts I might be better off selling them soap, since they have the kind of clientele who are happy to pay US$30 for a Parker buffalo horn shaving bowl (which is sold on Amazon for half that price).

Only a hipster would think that maybe his buffalo should have its horns shaved.

 

[Heron]

Maybe it's different now to when I used eBay over 15 years ago...

Interesting. I wasn't on eBay back then. That would be frustrating.

 

[skibik]

Nothing wrong with eBay these days. You put in your highest bid you want to pay for the item and it automatically bids for you up to your max bid. If you lose the bid you did want it that bad. Your max bid isn't put in as your only bid. It only bids enough to outbid the other person that is bidding. Each time the other person raises his bid your bid will be raised up to the max you entered. There are a lot of buy it now shave items. It seems kind of funny how a package of Feather blades I ordered came from Thailand and money is still being made considering international shipping. In the future I am looking at purchasing a 100 Gillette Permasharp blades and at under $13 not sure how those can be shipped from India and money still is made by them.

I know you are trying to ship from the US but it is hard to believe you can't findwhatyou need from other vendors outside the US.

 

[leather & steel]

I know you are trying to ship from the US but it is hard to believe you can't findwhatyou need from other vendors outside the US.

The US artisanal soaps and brushes are obviously sold almost exclusively from the US, with virtually no exceptions. The UK soaps and brushes I can order directly from the UK, but at a much higher exchange rate and more expensive shipping. The European soaps and brushes I can order directly from Europe, but typically with expensive shipping.

Thanks to these forums I have found shaving.ie, which offers quite a few of the best English and European soaps (and a few brushes), at good prices with very reasonable shipping. I also picked up an Vulvix badger brush on Massdrop which turned out to be surprisingly cheap with very cheap shipping. So I'm gradually getting there.


Sent from my Neville 5000 using Tapatalk.

 

[leather & steel]

I have your Tabac. Meet me at the port of Keelung at 3am. Come alone. Wear black. The passphrase is "The fat man walks alone".

How did you know I have Tabac?

 

[ackvil]

Glad you found a source. This thread has been an educational experience. Nothing like bureaucracy in action.

 

[mightyeskimo]

How did you know I have Tabac?

 

[leather & steel]

Actually I'm no less impressed that you knew about the port at Keelung.

 

[mightyeskimo]

Actually I'm no less impressed that you knew about the port at Keelung.

I haven't always lived in an Igloo.

 

[midniterambler]

what about australian vendors and australian ebay? i know there is at least one good soaper in australia (shaver heaven), he's not even on the list. and there must be australian shaving shops online. would think shipping less to taiwan than from the west, but, of course don't know for sure.