Hey guys, I realize that these soaps aren't exactly hundreds of dollars, but with soaps like Mike's, Irisch Moos, and others being around 10 dollars, how do these soaps command the prices that they do?
Why are MWF, Tabac, etc. so expensive?
- Thread starter TacticalPanda
- Start date
If you look around a little you can find both MWF and Tabac in the $12 range. Mikes is $9. Irish Moos (which was made by Tabac btw)...good luck finding that one at all. Not sure that qualifies as expensive, especially given their size and longevity.
It's probably based on the economic factor of demand and supply. Irisch Moos is now discontinued (the soap) so that one might go up if someone wants it. However, MWF and Tabac aren't too bad, it's a matter of looking at how much of a puck you are getting for x$ If you bring all your soaps back to 100grams and look at the price, you might be surprised.
MWF and Tabac, well, if you buy the bowl each time, yes, that's expensive, just the refill, it's not too bad.
You probably would also need to factor how many shaves you get from them. I mean, a $10 soap that gives you 100 shaves versus a $5 soap that give you 50 shaves would be same, but if that $5 soap give you 40 shaves, the $10 soap is more economical.
MWF and Tabac, well, if you buy the bowl each time, yes, that's expensive, just the refill, it's not too bad.
You probably would also need to factor how many shaves you get from them. I mean, a $10 soap that gives you 100 shaves versus a $5 soap that give you 50 shaves would be same, but if that $5 soap give you 40 shaves, the $10 soap is more economical.
In the UK a MWF refill puck is priced around £5-6 which would make it about $9, which isn't expensive for a 125g puck. If they are more expensive in the US I'd assume it's because US vendors have to increase the retail price to cover the cost of importing these items.
Yup, plus, believe it or not, the Euro is slightly more valuable than the dollar, so stuff imported from Europe will cost a little more. Tabac and Mitchell's are pretty reasonably priced. It's AOS that's got the outrageous price tag.
^^I think this is the key. OP, are you looking at the refill prices or the prices including a bowl?
MWF will way outlast a puck of Mikes. It may cost more initially, but it is far more cost effective in the long run.
That is why I compared to Palmolive Classic ... that also is a hard soap which lasts very long.
If you order MWF from the UK - the *shipped* price is ~$10/puck (less if you order more)
This seems almost impossible to answer and if you've found another product that works better for cheaper than it sounds like more of an abstract discussion about how various products are priced at their respective price points. It seems to me that there are three reasons why one product (be it shaving soap, vacuum cleaners, or jeans) is priced differently than another. (A) Cost of production; (B) distribution costs; and (B) "name" or branding.
I imagine the reason why MWF costs more than Mike's (and remember that its about a $3 difference) has more to do with distribution costs than anything else. When a US-based vendor carries a product from out of the country, they need to pay shipping and import duties. This can also influence how much they carry, which in turn can influence how they price it. I'm sure that "name" or branding adds costs, in that MWF's packaging is more "professional" than Mike's and the name carries some cache. This doesn't take the ceramic jar into account.
For what its worth, if you are really interested in purchasing a good amount of MWF, and you're in the US, I would suggest Wingham Wool Work. They carry yarn and knitting materials, but they also carry MWF. I recently purchased four refill pucks from them for 28 pounds UK, which works out to about $42, so it was about $10.50 shipped per puck.
Yes!
In terms of the cost per shave a hard soap like MWF is very economical and I think it will provide many more shaves than a soft soap like Mike's. The matching bowl is expensive but you don't have to buy that to enjoy the soap.
In terms of the cost per shave a hard soap like MWF is very economical and I think it will provide many more shaves than a soft soap like Mike's. The matching bowl is expensive but you don't have to buy that to enjoy the soap.
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They are fantastic soaps and should cost much, much more
Nice one - lol!
Even if you could objectively measure how much better MWF is (not possible IMO) - price/performance never scales linearly. What I meant is - while I don't think price is always an indicator of performance when it comes to shaving soaps - you may have to pay 200% more in price for just 40% improvement in quality/performance (food, cars, clothes, employees, whatever....)
Is it worth it? Only you can answer than. Or as they say more succinctly - YMMV.
Ok, fair ... so it is economy of scale. MWF will also give you a more exclusive product, and more of a luxury (e.g. packing) indeed.
But I was deliberately NOT comparing to a soft soap. I was comparing to one of the hardest soaps I know ... the Palmolive stick.
But indeed, it is not "fair" to compare one of the least expensive mass produced soaps to an artisan product. I am using the euro prices, btw; I know that Palmolive can be had even cheaper in the UK. Cheapest I found here in a brick and mortar store was 99 cents.
), but the price "is what is is".Similar threads
