Is there a reason Gillette doesn’t sell DE blades in the US? Ow was looking online for some Permasharps, which seem to be out of stock in bulk sizes at most places, and all the Gillette blades seem to be made in Russia or India and then imported to the US from countries like Turkey?
Is there a reason Gillette doesn’t sell DE blades in the US?
- Thread starter Journeyman Paul
- Start date
M
mtcn77
Gillette was the original inventor of the DE safety razor. Afterwards, safety razors became unprofitable, so Gillette introduced the cartridge blade system. It is related to company direction.
Gillette sells DE blades in the US. Did you mean to say manufacture? You can find King C. Gillette blades in places like Walgreens & CVS. They're very good but expensive blades. But they would prefer you to spend a lot more money on cartridges, which are inferior to most DE blades, so they can maximize their profits.
They do, but at 60 cents a blade for the same ones you can buy from Russia, not many folks here are probably very interested.
gillette.com
King C. Gillette Safety Razor Blades (10-count)
King C. Gillette sharp platinum-coated razor blades are designed for a precision shave and long-lasting durability. Recommended for shaping and styling a beard.
gillette.com
The United States is a wealthy first world nation. People here who are willing to buy Gillette products can generally afford, and most prefer due to ease of use, their patent-protected cartridge products.
The DE blades Gillette makes are made in Russia and India and East Asia, but are not approved by the company for import to the US, except for the King C. Gillettes. The others are made and intended for sale in the second and third world nations where people still shave with DE because they can't afford cartridge products. The blades are only available via gray-market here (distributors are violating their contracts with P&G by bringing them in, but there isn't enough demand to make it worth P&G's while to make the importers stop doing it.)
The DE blades Gillette makes are made in Russia and India and East Asia, but are not approved by the company for import to the US, except for the King C. Gillettes. The others are made and intended for sale in the second and third world nations where people still shave with DE because they can't afford cartridge products. The blades are only available via gray-market here (distributors are violating their contracts with P&G by bringing them in, but there isn't enough demand to make it worth P&G's while to make the importers stop doing it.)
Why sell a $0.02 cent double edge razor blade for $0.50 cents when you can sell a $0.02 cent cartridge for $25.00?
Even the King C Gillette razor and blades are not listed in the page I linked as blades for shaving, but rather for the purpose of "beard shaping and styling".
Toothpick nailed it. Basic business principles dictate refraining from any actions that undermine your major line of business which also has the highest profit margin and is inherently susceptible to new and innovative models, compelling loyal users to upgrade. How many people who tried a cartridge in the formative years could have foreseen it leading to a heated swivel headed razor with a handful of blades in a five dollar cartridge? I predict the Dollar Shave Club following Motel Six and pricing their product well in excess of the premise the name conveys.
Since DSC was acquired by Unilever, they are much more about software than hardware anymore. Other than that, DSC's blade supplier Dorco was forced out of doing business in the United States due to patent infringement, so the $1/month Humble Twin (a Dorco product) is off DSC's shopping page and hard to find. You can find the page if you do a web search for it, and even add it to your cart (I didn't bother to find out if they'll actually ship me blades and a razor.) But considering the cost of mailing, it wouldn't necessarily make much sense for the average buyer to use the 2-blade in any case.
Other than that, Gillette was happy to keep selling DE blades and razors for a long time in the '70s and '80s, but sales fell off a cliff once the Trac II and Good News came out. There's a reason it's so difficult to find a Gillette DE razor made after 1973. It turned out that US consumers actually liked the cartridge and disposable products; they weren't just forced into buying them. Lots of guys are bad at DE shaving and wanted an easier alternative.
+2! This^
Gillette/P&G has chosen not to compete in the laboratory/pathology/medical market - that's where the money is in US DE/SE blade manufacture, which Personna pretty much has all to themselves. That we can use the med blades to shave with is a serendipitous event, made easier by Personna's miniscule sideline of marketing house-branded DE blades to various chain pharmacies and GEM blades to mom-and-pop drug stores.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
They might be protecting where they dominate in the Cartridge market and not encourage DE shaving possibly. Mind you they just recently came out with 2- 3 pc razors in the last two years. Who knows what their marketing is up two. The competition in cart market is also fierce & could be losing market shave.
Gillette should make a tame mid range slant that they have never made before and that would be a hot seller, King Gillette never showed interest in slants and they could of built a beautiful one in their hay day of DE razors.
Gillette should make a tame mid range slant that they have never made before and that would be a hot seller, King Gillette never showed interest in slants and they could of built a beautiful one in their hay day of DE razors.
Gillette does similar things as part of their strategy in other countries as well. In the Philippines, Gillette DE blades are not sold in any national grocery store or drug store chain. They only sell cartridge razors there. To get the London Bridge DE they sell, you must go to the local Sari Sari store, or perhaps to the wholesaler that supplies these generally very small businesses.
Note that Pure Gold (mainly a distributor), was having a promotion for sari sari shop owners to buy London Bridge shaving foam! That might look good on the bathroom counter....https://www.puregold.com.ph/promos/__trashed/
Note that Pure Gold (mainly a distributor), was having a promotion for sari sari shop owners to buy London Bridge shaving foam! That might look good on the bathroom counter....https://www.puregold.com.ph/promos/__trashed/
ylekot
On the lookout for a purse
If you wish to purchase U.S. made double edge blades I believe your only option is Personna
From Gillette's perspective why would they sell DE blades for 10 to 20 cents each when they can price gouge consumers for a cartridge blade at several bucks a blade? Its simply a case of not wanting to kill the goose laying the golden eggs.
I'm still new at this DE thing, didn't know about Gillette attempts to squelch the blade market. Pretty low.
And there is the problem. Lots of guys were never taught how to shave properly. Unless they find a site like B&B, they are doomed to think that is just the way shaving is. Very sad indeed.
Chandu
I Waxed The Badger.
Easier and good enough almost always triumph over more difficult and better. It's been that way since the beginning. I can get a better shave with and SE or DE, but not in the same amount of time as a cart. I can literally take a Gillette Skin Guard and be done with the entire shave and have a dfs+ in under a minute. I could shave with a DE in a minute, but I'm going to have little areas needing touch ups because I lost the angle etc from going so quickly. So for time invested the cart wins easily.
Though I will say a two pass dfs+ with a DE takes me about 4 - 5 minutes. I absolutely don't understand the "If I don't have 20 minutes, I can't shave with a DE" stuff.
You can get the King C Gillette DE blades in the US. Theyre made in Russia though. Do you mean why arent they MADE in the US? That is most likely due to labor cost. With such a low cost item like razor blades, its difficult to find enough profit margin to justify making them in the US. Its difficult to pay the wages and provide the benefits that we expect here in the US and still compete with the labor costs that you would have in countries like Russia, China or some of the other countries where DE blades are made where people work for peanuts with no benefits.
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