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'The Shaving Racket'

I haven't seen this article linked here before; it's an interesting article on Gillette and Schick/Wilkinson Sword's rip-off pricing:

http://www.alternet.org/news/148869..._and_schick_getting_away_with_ripoff_razors_/

One of the things I found interesting was P&G's comment about the 'disproportionate growth of low-cost razor systems in developing regions.' I wonder if they're referring to double edge razors specifically.

The article links to the following article regarding Gillette's 4,750 percent mark-up on blades:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...r-heads-cost-just-5p-make-sell-2-43-each.html

The article says that replacement razor heads are the most shoplifted product in the high street, hence the reason they are now placed within anti-theft boxes. I remember thinking the first time I saw anti-theft devices for blades that things have gone too far if shops need to resort to that.
 
Interesting articles. The high price and the bad shaves of cartridge razors are what drove me to DE shaving. I can't believe how much they inflate their prices!
 
Cost was also a factor for me - even when I could get them at the Discount Warehouse, it was still $30 for an 8 pack of 4 cartridge boxes of Trac3s. Finding out it costs them 50 cents to make each box of 4 is doubly maddening. My wife is thinking of going DE for her leg shaving -- She was astounded that I could get 100 DE blades for under $15.00. It appeals to her thriftiness.
 
It's what businesses do tho... the company I work for sells a lot on sale or return (each item at least as expensive as a pack of carts), and the per unit cost is so low it's more cost effective to throw returned items away than pay for a member of staff to put them back into stock.
 
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