I have no sympathy for people that complain about the high prices of DE razors. Anyone who just wants an excellent inexpensive razor can simply make a one-time modest investment of $15 in a fat-handled Tech and be set for the rest of his life. This fine razor gives as good a shave (or better) than a #16 or #58. Everyone else (including me) is in it for the thrill of the chase and for the perverted pleasure of possesion. These people must bow to the inexorable laws of supply, demand and fashion. There are close to 40000 members of B&B now. When I joined, it was half that number. Is this fact somehow supposed to be without significance? How many of the people who are complaining joined up in the past year and bought all those Fatboys? The only real question is: will the DE movement grow or will it fade? That alone, and nothing else, will set prices in the future. No one knows the answer to the question, so why worry?
Razor inflation ... again
- Thread starter Pioneer
- Start date
Well, I just paid more than I should have for a Slim. It is in excellent condition and was a birth year razor. I just had to have it for that reason.
Newbe here. What is this elusive $15 fat-handled Tech you speak of?
Well said. Maybe some people call that inconvenient truth but it is at least true.
Reading through the replies so far has been interesting . . . but if I may go back to Pioneer's original post . . .
While many point to the evils of the eBay marketplace and blame dishonest (or stupid) sellers for the high prices of razors, the reality is that the market, in all its forms with all its buyers, sets the selling prices. The seller ultimately has little say in the market price of an item.
The price of oil example is a great case in point, but not because the oil companies are evil. Prices are up right now because buyers (not sellers) at the wholesale level have panicked over the political unrest in the Middle East. They can afford a little panic because they know the retail buyer (we) is willing to pay $4 per gallon at the pump!
Yes, razors (and vinyl LPs) are getting harder to find "for cheap" in the wild . . . but they are also getting less commonly found in estate sales due to their lack of manufacture over the past 25 years or so.
Yes, people do buy them just to "flip" them on eBay. That is a feature of our economy known as free enterprise. As long as it is profitable to do so, it will be done. While the razor market could go in one of two extremes: either the supply dries up and prices go through the roof, or the bottom drops out and you won't be able to give them away. The most likely scenario, however, is that prices at both the wholesale and retail levels ebb and flow within an acceptable range as supply and demand fluctuate.
While starting prices may be higher now than last year, the number of bidders actually placing bids or just "watching" has sharply declined in the past few weeks for "common" razors. (There is always high demand for "special" items.) I have seen the same trend in other item categories that I have interest in as well, and believe it to be seasonal as much as anything since the same trend was noted last year at this time.
Last fall, "Speedy" could list a razor at $6.99 and be certain that it would bring at least $9.99 with a few bidders involved. Today, there are fewer bidders and more items selling for opening bid.
Since it is no fun to sell everything at opening bid one can always raise the opening price to a profitable level - easier done now that eBay is offering free listings with BIN. But, there is no guarantee that the buyer will pay the higher opening price!
As to the OP's final question . . . a wider range of options (that exceeds demand) generally produces lower prices. Lower prices will cause production to drop off. (I haven't listed any razors in two weeks.) Production dropping below demand then causes prices to rebound. Ebb and flow, rise and fall, balance and . . . balance?
Isn't a free market grand???
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Moshulu's point is well taken. If we are just looking for great shaves without exorbitant expense, any number of inexpensive Gillette's will do (not to mention many modestly priced Merkur's). Instead, we get entranced with all of the various models. I'm not saying that's bad...I'm under the spell as much as anyone.
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