British Goodwill Empire set

[ChiefBroom]

Just landed this:



Which looks to be this.

Got it for about $45 plus shipping. There were only 3 bids. I don't take this razor to be an object of common desire, but I'm curious to know what anyone's opinion of it might be.

Seller said no cracks at all. Fingers crossed.

[MacDaddy]

Congrats on the pick up. It looks like a proper Empire set to me, too. That seller's shipping quote was pretty high, or I might've given you a little competition there.

As a shaver it'll feel just like a regular long-comb NEW, but of course they're a fair bit less common.

[ChiefBroom]

Congrats on the pick up. It looks like a proper Empire set to me, too. That seller's shipping quote was pretty high, or I might've given you a little competition there.

As a shaver it'll feel just like a regular long-comb NEW, but of course they're a fair bit less common.

Thanks for the reply. I agree re the shipping cost (high by about $10-12, I thought), but my guess is that it has more to do with risk aversion than greed.

I've been using a #77/#88 over the past 3+ weeks. Didn't really expect to like OCs much. Now I have a hard time laying mine down. I didn't use to to like the looks of ball-end Gillettes, but they've recently grown on me. I really look forward to trying this one out.

[ERVARGASNY]

Nice Catch, i was looking at that set also, Seems UK Sellers are jacking up there shipping price, while others give free shipping ? What gives? I know Shipping prices in the UK went up 30% but some of these sellers are jacking prices to 100% increase. Something that used to cost $8 bucks to ship are now charging $16.00 What is going on?

[ChiefBroom]

Nice Catch, i was looking at that set also, Seems UK Sellers are jacking up there shipping price, while others give free shipping ? What gives? I know Shipping prices in the UK went up 30% but some of these sellers are jacking prices to 100% increase. Something that used to cost $8 bucks to ship are now charging $16.00 What is going on?

I don't know. You're right, though, seems like a wide range. I'd assumed some Sellers don't want to take the risk of refunding the purchase price for goods their Buyers claim were not delivered. I believe trackable shipping with signature upon delivery eliminates that. But it's also about twice as expensive, I think.

[retturn2blades]

I don't know. You're right, though, seems like a wide range. I'd assumed some Sellers don't want to take the risk of refunding the purchase price for goods their Buyers claim were not delivered. I believe trackable shipping with signature upon delivery eliminates that. But it's also about twice as expensive, I think.

Main thing is to get a tracking number...that costs only 85¢.

[MacDaddy]

Main thing is to get a tracking number...that costs only 85¢.

Not internationally. But even so the Royal Mail International Signed For rate should only be somewhere around £9, and that includes insurance up to £50 at no additional cost. I'm pretty sure even the cheaper Airmail Small Packets rate includes enough insurance to cover the amount of this razor in its base fee.

[ChiefBroom]

Main thing is to get a tracking number...that costs only 85¢.

My experience with tracking on packages shipped from the UK and France is that they are tracked until they're delivered to US Customs. Same from here to there, I think. If I pay for Priority Mail with tracking to the UK or France, which I've recently done, what I get is a shipment that's trackable until it passes from the USPS to local customs or the next carrier.

[alex2363]

i think its a great deal, it will increase in value with time anyways.

[swamps]

Nice Catch, i was looking at that set also, Seems UK Sellers are jacking up there shipping price, while others give free shipping ? What gives? I know Shipping prices in the UK went up 30% but some of these sellers are jacking prices to 100% increase. Something that used to cost $8 bucks to ship are now charging $16.00 What is going on?

Its the same with sellers in the states i have been quoted more than 40$ a heck of a lot of times just for a razor thats not cased for 1st class and not priority mail but by far the worst one was 52$ recently for an ever ready brush so i wouldn't say its just uk sellers jacking up the price just with the post office increasing postage charges people did have to raise the p&p price but some people will use this to take the piss..

Not internationally. But even so the Royal Mail International Signed For rate should only be somewhere around £9, and that includes insurance up to £50 at no additional cost. I'm pretty sure even the cheaper Airmail Small Packets rate includes enough insurance to cover the amount of this razor in its base fee.

Yeah it does but the only issue with that is the package is only tracked while in the uk once it leaves that's it and then you have to hope they get a signature once delivered or you end up being subjected to bouts of fraudulent claims which is why most of us go for airsure it's a little more expensive but its fully trackable outside the uk which is good to have in case a claim is made...

[Sledgehammer39]

Awesome Haul!

[Jake]

Great score on a rarely seen set. Congratulations.

[72plymsatellite]

it looks like a crack just above the ball and the end of the handle. it could also be a reflection of the case tho but i dont see that same line on the top of the razzors handle. idk not trying to burst a bubble or anything just saying at what i see. idk why but i like the idea of owning the english razors. prob cuz its not something we get to see in amerca very often. grats on a cool set

[ChiefBroom]

it looks like a crack just above the ball and the end of the handle. it could also be a reflection of the case tho but i dont see that same line on the top of the razzors handle. idk not trying to burst a buble or anything just looking at what i see. idk why but i like the idea of owning the english razors. prob cuz its not something we get to see in amerca very often. grats on a cool set

I saw that too. And I won't be surprised if the razor turns out to have a fine crack. But I'm pretty sure what you pointed out is a reflection of the box top. It actually appears to extend -- faintly and intermittently -- all the way up and down the handle on the smooth surfaces, even including a shiny spot on the end. I think it's dotted-line appearance corresponds to variable reflection from the leatheretter box covering.

I inititially thought it was BS, but have come around to the view that vintage British-made Gillettes are for the most part superior to the ones made here.

[ChiefBroom]

I politely queried the Seller about her shipping charges. She replied as follows:

"Hi yes i use sign for service for many reasons i need tracking number as some customers clain not to have had the item when they have, also i need it to be covered with ebay and paypal, also you can only make a small amount of claims for loss a year with royal mail if you don't use the service, also i find 99.9% of items get delivered with this service. I agree it is quite exspensive, the sign for service alone costs £5.15 plus postage by airmail plus a small handling/packaging charge as packaging costs me, plus as a business seller my time has to be accounted for. Royal mail also put all there prices up in April by quite a large amount. I may look into using a courier soon as the cost with royal mail is getting silly. Hope this covers everything and problems please get in touch, many thanks."

[ERVARGASNY]

Over charging for shipping like $40.00-$52.00 isnt over charging its ripping you off, i would cancel the deal , leave Negative feedback and Report him to Ebay. I just shipped out a Razor to a friend Shipped first class with Delivery Confirmation and cost me $3.61 Now if u shipped it Priority it would cost me $5.35-5.95 and Delv confirmation at no additional charge. I dont know how someone can justify $40-52 Bucks in shipping :o/

[ChiefBroom]

Over charging for shipping like $40.00-$52.00 isnt over charging its ripping you off, i would cancel the deal , leave Negative feedback and Report him to Ebay. I just shipped out a Razor to a friend Shipped first class with Delivery Confirmation and cost me $3.61 Now if u shipped it Priority it would cost me $5.35-5.95 and Delv confirmation at no additional charge. I dont know how someone can justify $40-52 Bucks in shipping :o/

It was closer to $20. Still high, but more like by $10, and the signature requirement (which I'm OK with) covers about $8 of that. Overall, to me the set is still worth what I paid for it.

[ajc347]

Well done on snagging the Goodwill Ken. :)

I've taken a razor at random (a Tech), put in in a metal case and box and weighed it and it came in at 277 grams.

There are three shipping options available via Royal Mail.

These are; Airmail Small Packets (insured and untracked) which comes in at £5.54, International Signed For Small Packets (insured and tracked in UK) which costs £10.69, and Airsure (insured and tracked in both the UK and USA) which is charged at £10.94

The prices go up a notch at 301 grams to £6.76, £11.91 and £12.16 respectively.

What has surprised me in checking is that Airsure is now significantly cheaper in comparative terms than it used to be. It used to be a few pounds more and now it's on a matter of a few pence more.

There's no justification for sellers charging significantly more than $20 for postage to the US in my opinion.

[ChiefBroom]

Thanks!

I paid $22 as converted for "Royal Mail International Signed-for". Wish it had been Airsure with tracking on both sides of The Pond, but live and learn. What you found is very helpful. Maybe you should post it to its own thread with a Subject heading that would make it easy for people to recognize/find.

Well done on snagging the Goodwill Ken. :)

I've taken a razor at random (a Tech), put in in a metal case and box and weighed it and it came in at 277 grams.

There are three shipping options available via Royal Mail.

These are; Airmail Small Packets (insured and untracked) which comes in at £5.54, International Signed For Small Packets (insured and tracked in UK) which costs £10.69, and Airsure (insured and tracked in both the UK and USA) which is charged at £10.94

The prices go up a notch at 301 grams to £6.76, £11.91 and £12.16 respectively.

What has surprised me in checking is that Airsure is now significantly cheaper in comparative terms than it used to be. It used to be a few pounds more and now it's on a matter of a few pence more.

There's no justification for sellers charging significantly more than $20 for postage to the US in my opinion.