have any of you noticed the the same items that they have at the art of shaving are wildly overpriced. I stopped by the one we have here near my house and it made me sick what they are charging just because it has their logo on it. Dovo best quality hollow ground on line is about 80-90 $ ,at the art of shaving the same razor ( you don't have to look to hard at it to see that this actually is the razor they are selling) is about 125 $... i know i wont be looking there again. i went to just look around and see what they have and it took everything i had not to tell the little girl in there that she was out of her mind. i saw a brush that is not anywhere near as nice as the Parker 100% silvertip badger brush that use and it cost about 40$ more than what i paid for the one i have.
what are they thinking at the art of shaving
- Thread starter gunmonkey
- Start date
B&M stores cost a lot more to run than webstores. A LOT more. Also, they apparently hire eye candy (I've never seen an AoS store). And they have a "brand name" appeal.
All those add up to more money. 30-40% premium (like on the Dovo) for B&M vs Web price alone doesn't surprise me. Compare Best Buy price on computer parts vs Newegg and you'll see 50-100% or more premium at BB (excluding limited quantity DoorBuster sales).
All those add up to more money. 30-40% premium (like on the Dovo) for B&M vs Web price alone doesn't surprise me. Compare Best Buy price on computer parts vs Newegg and you'll see 50-100% or more premium at BB (excluding limited quantity DoorBuster sales).
Don't let it bother you, brother. Shop where you like and buy what you like. They charge what they charge. B&M stores have higher overhead and rarely match the best price you can find on anything. Premium stores, Lord & Taylor, Neimann Marcus or whatever, think they provide a "shopping experience" and tend to be higher yet. If you like what they offer, you do business with them for your own reasons. If you are shopping for some criteria they don't offer, you shop elsewhere. You make your choices based on your needs. I'm sure, if no one bought their products at the price and service level they offer, they would reevaluate their business model. It seems to be working for them. It doesn't work for you. That's fine. Don't worry.
Cheers,
Ken
(ps - well explained, Ian)
- Thread starter
- #4
I get the overhead cost and that retail shops in the mall are more pricey... It just seems to me that over the years that I have been shaving with a straight razor that things are going the opposite way you would expect. When I started about 20 years ago ther were not many supplies available but they cost less now that there are many sites and shops that offer the items that we all need the price has went up. It is kind of a double edged sword I am glad that we all have the availability of the stuff we need but due to the popularity of wet shaving we are all paying more... I do have to admit though the quality on a lot of items has gotten better. Could be worse I could be paying 12$ foe a pack of four Gillette multi blade cartridges. Plus how oftes do you have to replace a brush or cut throat.
Good perspective
Ken
Ken
I'm not sure that I buy the overhead explanation. I've been to the art of shaving at Mall of America, which is clearly not cheap real estate. It was a nice shop, staff wasn't real helpful, prices on razors were pretty bad, and their selection was pretty thin. I did buy some soap because it has gotten good reviews, and while they don't make it, it isn't just an overpriced rebrand of something easily available elsewhere.
2 Weeks later, I stopped in the downtown Chicago Merz Apothecary, which is in the Palmer House. Also not cheap real estate. Shop was handsome. Selection was amazing (at least 100 soaps and creams, several brands of razors, brushes, blade), prices were on par with what I'd pay online, at least for soaps (I didn't price razors), and the staff was helpful and knew their products. I suppose they have the advantage of not relying solely on shaving sales but still. I'll be back to Merz, probably not to AOS.
2 Weeks later, I stopped in the downtown Chicago Merz Apothecary, which is in the Palmer House. Also not cheap real estate. Shop was handsome. Selection was amazing (at least 100 soaps and creams, several brands of razors, brushes, blade), prices were on par with what I'd pay online, at least for soaps (I didn't price razors), and the staff was helpful and knew their products. I suppose they have the advantage of not relying solely on shaving sales but still. I'll be back to Merz, probably not to AOS.
AoS markets themselves as a 'premium' retailer, costs have very little to do with the prices they charge.
This. Also, the employees have nothing to do with the prices either. I'll never understand why people get mad at the employees (of any store) when they feel the prices are too high. There's nothing they can do about it.
The pricing at AoS is marketing as much as anything else. They are marketing themselves a purveyor of "Premium" shaving products to an upscale demographic for whom high price says something about quality and status. The theory goes if you price it cheap, the consumer will perceive it to be cheap, if you mark it high the consumer will perceive it to be valuable. They are absolutely NOT marketing to anyone who does their own research and compares prices at 3 other stores and the internet before buying. For better or worse this is their marketing strategy. I know it doesn't work for me, and it clearly doesn't work for you either, but A0S is a small feather on a wing of a major corporation, the sales people there have even less say about the prices than you or I do which is to say less than none. You obviously know of other places to get the same products, so I don't see where you have a problem. As for those who choose to shop in stores charging premium prices? well that's their problem.
Are AOS creams and soaps actually cheaper online than at the shop?
They keep sending me coupons to visit the shop, so if i stock up it would basically cover the tax.
They keep sending me coupons to visit the shop, so if i stock up it would basically cover the tax.
It's a little from column A, a little from column B. Real life situations rarely depend on a single variable as people seem to think.
How about $199 for a Merkur Vision, or $75 for a 34c? Nobody else in the mall carries anything else like it, so people walk in and buy. I saw one guy buy a $150 brush and a 34c + soaps and aftershave while I was browsing.
I believe the razors they sell are actually Thiers-Issard, not dovo. So their prices aren't THAT unreasonable
Their software, while expensive, is very high quality and priced similarly to other manufacturers in that segment of the market. The rest of the stuff is not worth looking at.
AOS employees are notoriously unknowledgeable. I have low expectations for retail employees, so I don't see how AOS is any different. I recently bought some cream there. I was in the store for less than a minute. If you don't want to talk to the staff, I recommend going in, getting what you want, and leaving.
They really get too much flak in my opinion. Yes, I know that its a shaving store, but when was the last time you walked into an electronics store and the salesperson knew all the components of a TV, or knew how to replace a hard drive, etc...
I'm in no way affiliated with AOS, but they do make some good products. And I'm happy to see 1 B&M store nationwide that carries shaving products. C&E was in the same mall as AOS, it just closed. Now all thats left is AOS and L'Occitane. Not all their products are a good deal, but there is no store you're ever going to go to where every single item is a good deal that you want to buy...
- Thread starter
- #14
They do have some T-I razors there but if you look on line and at the stores they do have Dovos that have the AoS logo and they are a lot more than you will find them on line. And yes I know that it is not the employees' fault it is just the fact that they are the only show in town, there is no place else that offers the items you need unless you want to wait two weeks for the shipping... I went looking for some shaving soap and they want a mint for their soap ( I think they wanted 30$ + for some sandalwood soap ). I feel bad for the guys that are new to wet shaving and wind up getting sucked into their marketing
Their soap is $22.00 for a refill and $45.00 for a puck with a wooden bowl. That Sandalwood soap is considered by many (including myself) to be one of the best current-production soaps on the market. I guess we're all suckers for marketing. 
- Thread starter
- #16
I cannot afford to try it so I will have to take your word for it. I have tried alot of soaps including the dove face soap my wife uses every day but the one that I like the best is the Col Conk bay rum and not because it is cheap but more so because it is more like what I grew up with on the farm
How about just not going to an AOS store if you don't like it that much? Quit whining.
They may be overpriced, but it is nearly impossible for a B&M to compete with internet pricing. If it weren't for AOS a lot of people would still be using carts and goo. I never would have found B&B, much less started wetshaving. So I have to thank them, even if I'm not the ideal client and I'm a sucker for buying their starter kit 
I will always have a puck of AoS soap in my rotation if I can help it.
They don't force you to buy the wooden bowl or anything.
They don't force you to buy the wooden bowl or anything.
If it weren't for AOS a lot of people would still be using carts and goo. I never would have found B&B, much less started wetshaving. So I have to thank them, even if I'm not the ideal client and I'm a sucker for buying their starter kit
Finally, someone said this!
Similar threads
